The Book of Balrog

[Scapemage]

That makes sense in my head. We haven't hit many villains from Street Fighter yet (Blanka would be the closest thing), and with Reptile already adopting the class, it's enough justification for me to believe that M. Bison and/or Shao Kahn will be able to pull them together.

[Yodaking]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I believe the Grey Hulk is an Enforcer, so it'll be cool to give him some army options.

[Lazy Orang]

Presently, I can think of Reptile, Joe Fixit and Firebrand already being Enforcers, though there may be others. (And the LexCorp, but they're a squad firmly immersed in a synergy of their own creation.)

[Spidey'tilIDie]

I knew all about M. Bison being changed, but I didn't know about the others. I'm surprised Sagat isn't also involved in all of that. Would it be cool to make alternate cards that had the other names on?

[johnny139]

Sagat is the exception because he actually shows up in the first Street Fighter as the final boss (its how he got his scar). So they figured it would be too confusing for the... like, seven people that played the first game.

I was going to suggest alternate cards with the Japanese names, but I figured it's probably more confusion than it's worth.

[quozl]

...and Sagat is rumored to be named after

Wikipedia (Links)

Wikipedia (Links)

[Lazy Orang]

Originally Posted by johnny139

Sagat is the exception because he actually shows up in the first Street Fighter as the final boss (its how he got his scar). So they figured it would be too confusing for the... like, seven people that played the first game.

I was going to suggest alternate cards with the Japanese names, but I figured it's probably more confusion than it's worth.

I like the idea of alternate cards... I'm planning to do a similar thing when I finally card up my Greek myth customs, I'm going to give them alternate cards with their Roman names.

[Scapemage]

Here's the initial! He is fun and works the way he's intended to. Crazy Buffalo is a very useful move for moving around even if it doesn't always get the most dice. Beatdown is super fun when it hits as well. Feeling really good about sending to testing at 140, though I definitely could see him drop 10 or 15 points.

Originally Posted by Griffin

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Balrog

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 150, maybe 160.
- Give a brief overview. Balrog definitely earns his cost. Crazy Buffalo is a great engage tool to begin a fight, then can become a useful bypass later if he wants to dodge certain defensive abilities. Once he’s in Beatdown is effective, but doesn’t get rolled as often as you’d think. How he fares in armies will definitely help tell the tale, but as a 1v1 fighter, he earned 150 if not 160 points with ease.
Map: Vallum by Killometer

[spoiler]
TEST 1
Units: Vs. Blanka (140)
Electric Skin actually increased Balrog’s Crazy Buffalo attack turn-of, but the 2 wounds were enough to sway things.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Blanka w/ 3 wounds.

TEST 2
Units: Vs. Chun-Li (150)
Crazy Buffalo was 5-out-of-5 skulls crazy.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Balrog unwounded.

TEST 3
Units: Vs. Dhalsim (140)
Balrog engaged too early and never hit a Beatdown roll.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Dhalsim w/ 2 wounds.

TEST 4
Units: Vs. E. Honda (130)
Another successful Crazy Buffalo.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Balrog unwounded.

TEST 5
Units: Vs. Guile (130)
Finally, Beatdown goes its job.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Balrog w/ 1 wound.

TEST 6
Units: Vs. Ken (150)
Supreme use of Crazy Buffalo to sidestep Close Combat Expert helped here.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Balrog w/ 3 wounds.

TEST 7
Units: Vs. Ryu (150)
Good positioning from Balrog plus a lucky attack roll.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Balrog unwounded.

TEST 8
Units: Vs. Zangief (150)
A hit on Spinning Piledriver did the dirty work.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Zangief w/ 3 wounds.
_____________________________________________________________


Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes, but too expensive.
- What should be the unit's point value? 140-150.
- Give a brief overview. Balrog played supporting offense this game in an Insane army. He found himself right into the fray early, which I believe is the most effective strategy for him. Unfortunately, he took a few too many wounds early. He takes big risks, often going for Beatdown strings to take someone out. He did get solid wounds onto Fandral with one attack, but a failed Beatdown roll due to Fandral’s high life value was problematic.
Map: Vallum by Killometer
Units: Balrog (160), Joker III, Joker Goons, Scorpion (Mac), Ragdoll, Harley Quinn II (920) vs. Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun (920).

Spoiler Alert!

Everybody rushes forward in round one thanks to lots of bonding. Fandral sticks his head out and gets 3 wounds onto Balrog with Swordplay. Balrog fights back in round 2, managing to hit Fandral for 2 wounds, but then the Warriors Three pile onto Scorpion, taking him out and turning their attention to Balrog, who dies. A Joker Goon is taken out and Ragdoll gets wounded twice. What a turn. The Goons miss their attacks, and Harley smacks Fandral for 2 more wounds, pushing him off the height. A Goon takes his life to allow Harley to move again, and she kills Fandral. The Goons and Harley move again but accomplish nothing.
Insane Asylum wins initiative and the Goon teams up with Joker to put 4 wounds onto Hogun before destroying himself for Harley to miss. Hogun wounds Joker three times, and Volstagg kills Ragdoll. Joker wounds Hogun with an Acid Flower but misses his follow-up Bang Gun. Hogun smashed Joker’s face in but Harley smashes Hogun’s face in right back. Shortly thereafter, Volstagg wins out.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Volstagg unwounded w/ 2/3 Mead Markers.

_____________________________________________________________


Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 140.
- Give a brief overview. Balrog is just worse in an army situation. He can quickly move around between figures with Crazy Buffalo, but without good positioning, he doesn’t roll too many dice. Merlyn really carried this game, but Balrog got his points worth too.
Map: Vallum by Killometer
Units: Balrog (140), Green Arrow I, Green Arrow II, Merlyn, and Hawkeye (Kate) (720) vs. Aquaman II, Mera, Aqualad, Firefly (720).

Spoiler Alert!

Kate and Aquaman advance. Mera moves up and Aqualad moves too. Connor attacks Aquaman but misses. Firefly moves, then Merlyn shoots Mera for a wound.
Atlanteans win initiative, and Aquaman hooks Kate, pulling her in and killing her. Aqualad moves up and Connor gets in there but misses. Mera and Aqualad miss Connor twice. Balrog rushes Aqualad with Crazy Buffalo, but Aqualad blocks miraculously! Firefly flies up and uses Flamethrower to hurt Connor and deal 3 wounds to Balrog.
Crazy Buffalo hits Firefly for 2 wounds, allowing Balrog to disengage cleanly from Aqualad. Aquaman wounds Merlyn and pulls him in for a miss. Connor slays Aqualad in one hit, but a well placed Flamethrower from Firefly takes out Balrog and Connor. Mera comes in and misses all of her kinesis rolls.
Oliver gains height and hits Mera for 3 wounds, then Aquaman hooks Oliver and slays him. In the next round, Merlyn takes out Mera and manages to defend himself. Merlyn wins iniatiative and hits Aquaman for 3 wounds. Merlyn slays Aquaman a few turns later, then Firefly the next turn for the win.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn w/ 1 wound.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Balrog has no synergy, so he’s tough to place in a right army. His threat range is really long between moving and using Crazy Buffalo, and once he’s in, he has the option of going for a Beatdown or moving around with Crazy Buffalo. Overall, I like the design, and 140 is feeling right. If he continues to underperform, 130 or 125 might be where he lands, but for not he’s working the way he was intended.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: (fill in here)

[Scapemage]

No news is good news? I feel confident with him starting out at 140 points, so I will propose an advancement to Public Playtesting.
@Arkham – yea
@Ronin – yea
@johnny139 –
@Yodaking – yea
@japes –
@Tornado – yea
@Spidey'tilIDie – yea

[Tornado]

I believe we still have a 48 hour buffer in place but I will give it a Yea.

[Ronin]

Only 24, T.

Games look fine to me.

Yea

[Tornado]

Dang, he had down almost to the minute, nice Scape!