The Book of Rocket Raccoon (II)

[johnny139]

It's not a smart move, but it's a possible move and it's one appropriate for the character. I don't think we need to be designing only for competitive play. If someone wants to play Iron Man and Batman and Deadpool and Rocket and Big Groot, they should still bond, I think.

You can argue it's "a little theme," but I don't actually understand the theme of the power at all - he's charging in "guns a'blazing," but only if it's strategically appropriate when teamed with people who are dissimilar. It isn't clicking.

I'm assuming he works like Groot - he hangs out with other weirdos, and can strategize with them to get bonus attacks, since their on the same wavelength. That's the root behind my suggestions, trying to get it in line with how I understood the power - how are you picturing the theme, so we can see how it needs clarifying (or if it needs clarification at all - I might just not be putting the pieces together in my head)?

[IAmBatman]

Maybe something like Guardian Gunner to explain the theme of the mechanics (i.e. he’s doing this within the team structure).

[Ronin]

Baby Groot's definitely viable in builds that aren't strictly Star-Lord builds. He's a good sidekick. I draft Robin into builds where can only bond with one figure all the time, and Baby Groot's got a lot more bonding options than he does.

[IAmBatman]

That's a good discussion for the Baby Groot thread, though. I'm with Yoda that it's not the wording or mechanics I prefer here or that I believe will do the most to make Rocket enticing to draft in a Guardians build.

[Arkham]

Wouldn't that last suggested Guns a Blazing power shut out Nebula's usefulness to the group since you wouldn't be able to actually attack with her unless she was the one taking the OM turn?

[Lazy Orang]

Originally Posted by Arkham

Wouldn't that last suggested Guns a Blazing power shut out Nebula's usefulness to the group since you wouldn't be able to actually attack with her unless she was the one taking the OM turn?

Yeah... if I'm honest, I'm not a massive fan of this direction. It feels so much more... generic than the last one. I still think the best solution is to go back to the last draft and give it a form of Double Attack.

[Arkham]

I'm down for a team attack/speed shot type ability. It's definitely a cool power that I think would see a lot of use. I'm just trying to make sure we're not shutting anyone out, even Nebula who may not be a traditional Guardian, but people will want to play her with the team. Rocket's ability would pretty much eliminate her as-is.

[IAmBatman]

It’d be like having Robin (Tim Drake) and Robin (Damian Wayne) in the same army. Having both options gives you flexibility and a back up.

[Yodaking]

Since it's a may power you can choose if you want to use it or pass up on the free Rocket attack to attack bond with someone else. Nebula is a tough decision to make since her bonus turn isn't guaranteed, but vs. figures like the Flash or Spider-Man you might not want to attack with Rocket and make that figure move before your hero can attack, then since they have a high chance to not-being wounded from your attack Nebula is more certain to go after the figure moves. Also the smaller aura of 4 clear sight spaces should led to times when Rocket get the free attack anyway, but someone else will qualify for their turn. I can test an army build with Nebula in it and track how much of an impact it has on her for you.

[dok]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Baby Groot's definitely viable in builds that aren't strictly Star-Lord builds. He's a good sidekick. I draft Robin into builds where can only bond with one figure all the time, and Baby Groot's got a lot more bonding options than he does.

^^ what that guy said

[Yodaking]

I was asked about the theme I'm trying to capture, so here it goes. It'll be a long one.

In the comics, when Rocket is on Half-World he's the chief law officer, a captain of a star ship with a walrus for a first mate, and nobody's sidekick. When Star-Lord is putting together a team and recruits him, while Star-Lord is clearly the teams leader, the team was put together in the backdrop of the Annihilation Wave Invasion and as such Rocket's skills as a military tactician results in him taking on the role of a secondary leader for the group. When the team members discover Star-Lord asked Mantis to mentally influence them to join the team and the team breaks up, Star Lord disappears and it's Rocket that reforms the team and leads them for a while. After they learned Star-Lord was trapped in the Negative Zone, they freed him and Star-Lord became the teams leader again. Then during the War of Kings story line, they decide to split the team up, with each team heading off to a different King. Star-Lord lead the Kree team while Rocket lead the Shi'ar team.

Even in the MCU, when we first meet Rocket and Groot working as bounty hunters, it's clear that Rocket is the leader there. After they get thrown into prison and the future GotG form a pact, they follow Rockets lead on the prison break. In Infinity War, Rocket makes the call to split the team with him and Groot heading off with Thror while the rest head off to Knowhere. There was no discussion or debate, Rocket makes the call and the team lets him. So for me Rocket is a leader, he may follow others lead from time to time, but he's not a sidekick.

That is why I instinctively sought to ape Star-Lords GotG synergy requirements and balked at Baby Groot's sidekick power concept. The GotG consist of sometimes 10 or more members, there's room for two leaders. Much like the Avengers and JL have multiple leader cards. They should work best together, but it would actually be kind of nice if I could run a Drax (330), Groot (275), & Rocket (105) 800 point team, toss in Bug (200), Mantis (200), or maybe Jack Flag (190-200?) for a 1000 point team without Star-Lord.

As for the more combat themes, Rocket isn't shy when it comes to the battle. He's no back line observer, carefully shooting a gun once or twice and then standing back watching Drax and Gamora stab everyone. He's a ferocious and active participant, utilizing his tactical mind in real time to move and shoot where ever he sees the team needs it most. That's why I'm really digging the combination of him actively shooting on his allies offensive turns, and actively moving on his opponents offensive turns. He gets to make tactical redeployment and attack decisions without needing a heavy OM investment, letting his allies Drax, Gamora, and Groot get the OM's. His leadership style isn't you go here, you go there, break on 3, it's more you do what you do best and I'll make it work on the fly. If someone tries to impede your path or flank you, I'll pop off a few shots at them, aka I got your back.

The last of the 3 powers is the bombs, clearly a nod to him constantly building and using different bombs in the MCU. In particular this scene from GotG2:

Spoiler Alert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=i1iEIoxd-4A

When Rocket comes up against 2-3 squads of the Orion Arm Ravagers in C3G, he can move after Ravager 1 shoots at him, but instead of moving away from them looking for cover he moves adj. to one, then he moves and leaves a bomb behind when Ravager 2 attacks, moving next to another Ravager, Ravager 3 attacks and he moves again leaving behind another bomb. Now it's his turn to go, he shoots, moves and drops off the 3rd bomb, then instead of shooting again he detonates the bombs and takes out 3 of the Ravagers in one go, evening the odds and giving him a chance to win vs. common squads.

Alternately he can try to drop all 3 bombs off next to a Hulk type figure for one big explosion. Auto-wounds that bypass defense and can be directed towards specific units as an offensive move are always useful for a team comp. Outside of Gamora's counter strike potential I can't think of any auto-wound powers at all on any GotG cards much less ones used on offense (not counting Rocket I's d20 power since this card could be drafted alongside that one).

So that power in part is just me trying to fill a need on the team from a mechanical/tactical perspective and making them more competitive. It's the one I'd most be inclined to replace if another idea came along.

[IAmBatman]

You’ve got my support for this direction.