Public Design Workshop

[Arkham]

Well they finally lost. Mr. Fantastic rolled better on his FL4, allowing more to take a turn. They also jumped all over Malekith, making him burn his X order markers faster. Even with Thing taken out when it was 3 on 1, Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman managed to still deal out wounds on Loki until he died.

So it's not completely hopeless.

I will say though, I think the fact that he can have 2 X OM in itself is an unfair test. Because it's going to be one of those things, where if he's not paired with Loki, he'll feel easily messed with. So that's a tough thing to judge. I can easily see him at 280-290 right now, and it's all because of that 2nd X, and Loki's God of Evil deflecting 2-4 wounds each game, was a big deciding factor as well.

Game 7:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Fantastic Four (1000)

Damage caused by attacking:
-

Damage caused by IA:
-2 wounds on the Thing.(Instead of attacking Malekith, Gamora counter)

Game result:
Mr. Fantastic with 4 wounds. Invisible Woman with 3 wounds.

Notes:
-Mr. Fantastic has decent FL4 rolls.
-Malekith was targeted and attacked by each attack for the first 2 rounds, so his 2 X OM couldn't keep up.
-Loki hit GoE and put 4 wounds on Thing.

Starting to look a little less one sided, now that the FF have done more relentless offense on Malekith, taking LE to get to him. It was also the first game I successfully used Supernova Special Attack before HT died, which played a big factor.

Game 8:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Fantastic Four (1000)

Damage caused by attacking:
-2 wounds on Mr. Fantastic.

Damage caused by IA:
-1 wound on Mr. Fantastic.(Instead of attacking Malekith)

Game result:
Thing has 5 wounds.

Notes:
-IW whiffed her defense, took 3 wounds.
-Human Torch used SNSA to put 3 wounds on Loki, the final wound on Gamora, Malekith, and 1 on Mr. Fantastic.
-Loki hit GoE and put 2 wounds on Thing.
-Thing hit RWD4 and put 1 wound on Loki.

Anyways, I am doing as much play testing and preparing as I can, because I want my design to go smoothly and efficiently. I don't want a 6 month+ design phase. heh So I would like to do everything on my part, to get as much data and analysis already prepared. Something we can use when determining how to approach the design, and what might need changing. So rather than saying "I might be able to get to it this weekend", I can already have stuff available. It's easier this way, IMO.

[Arkham]

Played another game, and I'm thinking more and more the tide has turned, and this matchup is more even than initially thought. With HT used as a pure kamikaze unit, FO4 painting Malekith with wounds he can't avoid, and then everyone ganging up on Malekith out of the gate and not focusing on anyone else until he is dead, even if it costs them a couple casualties(Invisible Woman and Human Torch), it seems to be the kryptonite to this synergy. Loki even hit his God of Evil to deflect Thing's 4 wounds back on him, so it wasn't a case of bad luck on either side. I think if you examine the notes of each game, there's a definite pattern to the more one sided games, it was a matter of poor luck, not focusing enough on Malekith right away, or Human Torch not being used to his fullest.

Game 9:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Fantastic Four (1000)

Damage caused by attacking:
-1 wound on Human Torch.

Damage caused by IA:
-1 wound on Mr. Fantastic.(Instead of attacking Malekith)

Game result:
Mr. Fantastic with 4 wounds. Thing with 4 wounds.

Notes:
-Malekith was ganged up on from the start, and took 4 wounds total from HT's FO4.
-Loki hit GoE to put 4 wounds on Thing.
-Thing used Clobberin' Time and killed Gamora in 2 attacks.

3 more games. 1 win for Malekith's team, and 2 wins for the Fantastic Four. Both team had 1 strong win, and there was 1 where it came down to the last wound one ach team, with Thing taking the victory.

Game 10:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Fantastic Four (1000)

Damage caused by attacking:
-

Damage caused by IA:
-1 wound on Human Torch.(Instead of attacking Gamora)
-1 wound on Invisible Woman.(Instead of attacking Malekith)
-2 wounds on Human Torch.(Instead of attacking Gamora)
-1 wound on Thing.(Instead of attacking Malekith)
-1 wound on Invisible Woman.(Instead of attacking Loki)

Game result:
Loki with 6 wounds. Gamora with 1 wound. Malekith with 3 wounds.

Notes:
-Human Torch whiffed his defense, took 2 wounds.
-Thing hit a Clobberin' Time for 5 wounds on Loki(he missed his GoE by 1!)
-Gamora got 6 skulls, 3 wounds on Mr. F., killing him.

Game 11:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Fantastic Four (1000)

Damage caused by attacking:
-1 wound on Human Torch.

Damage caused by IA:
-3 wounds on Mr. Fantastic.(Instead of attacking Malekith)
-1 wound on Thing.(Instead of attacking Malekith)

Game result:
Thing with 5 wounds.

Notes:
-Loki successfully hits GoE to put 4 wounds on Thing.
-Gamora scored 5 skulls.

Game 12:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Fantastic Four (1000)

Damage caused by attacking:
-1 wound on Invisible Woman.

Damage caused by IA:
-1 wound on Mr. Fantastic.(Instead of attacking Malekith)

Game result:
Thing with 0 wounds. Mr. Fantastic with 4 wounds. Human Torch with 4 wounds.

Notes:
-Loki was taken out earlier than usual, thus eliminating the 2nd X.
-Malekith was the last alive on his team this game.

That'll do it for now. I feel it gave me a good idea on how this version plays, strengths and weaknesses, and what Malekith offers as a unit. The final tally:

Malekith, Loki, and Gamora (~1000, Malekith being tested at 270): 3
vs.
Cable, Wolverine, Sage, and Psylocke (995): 0

Malekith, Loki, and Gamora (~1000, Malekith being tested at 270): 4
vs.
The Fantastic Four(1000): 5

Total: 7 wins, 5 losses

[Tornado]

Nice work!

[Ronin]

The figure used for this unit is a Heroclix figure from the Sinister set.
Its model number and name are #070 / Whizzer or #071-072 / Speed Demon.

NAME = SPEED DEMON
SECRET IDENTITY = JAMES SANDERS

SPECIES = MUTATE
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CRIMINAL
PERSONALITY = CONFIDENT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 8
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 170-200(?)

SUPERSPEED
Speed Demon may move through all figures, never takes leaving engagement attacks, and does not have to stop his movement when entering water spaces. After taking a turn with Speed Demon, if Speed Demon did not use his Rapid Blows Special Attack this turn, Speed Demon may move up to an additional 4 spaces.

RAPID BLOWS SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 1.
Figures without the Superspeed special power may not roll more than 1 defense die against Rapid Blows Special Attack. After attacking with this special attack, Speed Demon may attack up to two additional times with this special attack, targeting the same or different figures for each attack.

------------------
Background: Speed Demon is a Marvel character with history going back to the late 60s; he was originally created as an all-new villainous version of Marvel's unfortunately-named Golden Age speedster, the Whizzer. He was part of the Squadron Sinister, a team of evil Justice League analogs empowered by the Grandmaster to battle the Avengers. After the Squadron was defeated, Sanders broke out on his own and took the name Speed Demon. Ever since, he's been a persistent (but small) thorn in the side of Marvel's heroes, often crossing paths with Spider-Man.

Speed Demon is a major cast member in New Thunderbolts and The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, both of which I highly recommend.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Kinda werid that Wally can't roll more than 1 die agaisnt the SA just cause he has super-super speed. I guess that ship already sailed with Zoom, though I don't get why his SA works better agaisnt Wally either.

[Ronin]

Yeah, it's weird against Wally, theme-wise. Not deliberate, just forgot there were speedsters without superspeed. In the case of Zoom, Zoom came first, so the interaction was likely just overlooked when Wally was designed.

[Tornado]

Pretty cool design for Speed Demon. Judge Dredd is always interested in new Criminals.
Without multiple normal attacks or range he should not cause an issue with LexCorp Security.

Kudos to Aggressive Sock for going the extra mile to playtest his design pre-LD.
I think it is really going to pay off for you.
I encourage everyone in the Public to do the same. It will help the development of the design and you may discover a great way to tweak the design before it goes to voting.
I would suggest not messing with it once voting starts and re-visit the design when voting ends.

I like how he interacts with Loki but keep in mind that single bit of synergy could drive up his cost. Hopefully not so much that he rarely gets his value unless teamed with Loki.

Does he work with others?

[Arkham]

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

From my tests, I don't feel he is overpowered with Loki, at 270. He just requires your full attention right off the bat, until he is dead, or Loki is dead. It's also worth noting that he has a lot of weaknesses/counters to Illusionary Arts, that bypass it. For instance, any auto-wounding figures can really mess him up(Magneto for instance, with Destiny, would toss him around with ease.). So that's one way, but also Wonder Woman, multiple attackers, multiple turn takers(FF, Wrecking Crew etc.), and anyone with Magical Defense(especially Doctor Strange, would give him a rough day with only 4 defense). So I don't feel his pro completely outweighs his cons, so much that his cost must skyrocket due to the one link with Loki, in which he seemed fine at 270.

As for how he works with others? Gamora or anyone with Master Martial Artist, to switch out with and potentially cause unblockable wounds on the opponent, is a nice combo. Darkseid, Blob, Electro, and anyone with auto-shields, would certainly play into his favor just off the top of my head. Loki himself, moreso than the additional X, made it difficult for the other team with his God of Evil, often deflecting 2-4 wounds back on the attacker.

So there's still some experimenting to be done, and brainstorming on good combos. My excitement and passion for the design was based purely on Illusionist Deception/Illusionary Arts, because it allows for a new type of synergy/threat. It requires not only thought on how to best supplement Malekith's options for switching out to really mess with the opponent, but also knowing what specials they have that could potentially hurt them as well.

One thing I was unsure of, is if Malekith switches out with an enemy Psylocke, does Psylocke's Master Martial Artist have to be used? As in, if Psylocke rolls excess shields, against her own ally technically, would they still receive wounds? Is it a choice? Because in my play tests against the mutants, who lost, I played that into effect that it had to be used. If not, those particular games would have faired slightly better for the Mutant army.

[Tornado]

Interesting. I am not sure how that would be ruled but if it does not say 'may' in the power I would guess that it must be used.
Just keep in my mind that no matter how many builds may be good against Mal, if there is a strong build for and a weak build against, it will drive his cost up.
However, demonstrating his weaknesses may give you some leverage in the debate.

I am looking forward to the LD. I knew it was destined for greatness after all the attention it garnered in the Public Design thread. That was really rare.

[Ronin]

I haven't pitched in too much on Malekith, but I've been following the conversation, and the amount of work put in here is impressive. Good luck with the upcoming LD! (Of course, the voting hasn't officially ended... but with Bill so close, it seems like the nomination thread should be moving along pretty soon)

[Arkham]

Originally Posted by Ronin

I haven't pitched in too much on Malekith, but I've been following the conversation, and the amount of work put in here is impressive. Good luck with the upcoming LD! (Of course, the voting hasn't officially ended... but with Bill so close, it seems like the nomination thread should be moving along pretty soon)

I'm quite excited to see what gets nominated this next round. I'm hoping mine goes as quick and smooth as possible, because I just want to see more Public Designs get made. There's a lot of solid designs currently being pushed.

And yes, I realize I have jumped the gun a bit, but, everyone suggested people play test and prepare for things etc., so that's exactly what I did. heh

[Arkham]

I played a game where the enemy team purposely refrained from using attacks, until Malekith was dead, completely denying him of IA. Relying solely on Magneto's MA(which Magneto was killed off pretty soon thanks to a 5 skull roll from Malekith) and Psylocke's PK to deal out auto-wounds, with the help from Destiny. It ended up being pretty close, but the Mutants took the victory.

Game 13:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Magneto II, Destiny, Psylocke, Gorgon(980)

Damage caused by attacking:
-4 wounds on Magneto.

Damage caused by IA:
-

Game result:
Gorgon with 4 wounds. Desrtiny with 0 wounds.

Notes:
-Psylocke is Magneto's outcast.
-Malekith rolled 5 skulls on Magneto, he rolled 1 shield.
-Magneto threw Malekith twice, 2 wounds.
-Loki rolled 6 skulls on Magneto.
-Psylocke rolled a 14 on Malekith 1 wound.
-Psylocke rolled a 23 on Malekith, killing him.
-Gamora rolled 5 skulls on Psylocke.
-Gorgon scored 5 wounds on Loki using his GKSA.
-Gamora rolled 5 skulls on Gorgon, only 1 wound.
-Gorgon got PS12 on Gamora twice.

This game was even closer.

Game 14:

Spoiler Alert!

Malekith, Loki, Gamora (~1000) (Malekith tested at 270)
vs.
Magneto II, Destiny, Psylocke, Gorgon(980)

Damage caused by attacking:
-

Damage caused by IA:
-

Game result:
Gorgon with 5 wounds.

Notes:
-Psylocke is Magneto's Outcast.
-Magneto keeps using MA on Malekith, and once on Loki.
-Loki deals 4 wounds to Magneto.
-Magneto kills Malekith with MA.
-Loki rolls 6 skulls against Magneto, kills him.
-Gorgon and Gamora duked it out for the final 1-on-1, coming down to 1 wound each.