The Book of Iron Man (Thorbuster)

[Scapemage]

Ronin, I'll wait for your miniature pictures unless I make a mini order soon (which is very possible).

Originally Posted by Griffin

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Iron Man (Thorbuster)

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 430.
- Give a brief overview. He’s batting stronger than my original guess by about 100 points, but that’s just my flawed pricing thoughts. He’s in league with Superman and more importantly Thor, so we’re in a good spot here. I’ll run the army tests at 430.
Map: Fossil.

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Units: Vs. Silver Surfer (C3G) (400).
Silver Surfer was kiting well against Thorbuster’s slow movement, but without healing against Iron Man’s ranged attacks, Mystic Gem Core kept Thorbuster alive long enough to beat through Surfer.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Iron Man w/ 3 wounds.

TEST 2
Units: Vs. Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) (400).
Cosmic Awareness is a great bypass for Mystic Gem Core. Iron Man did good damage but couldn’t finish the job.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Captain Marvel 2/ 4 wounds.

TEST 3
Units: Vs. Superman I (400).
Very close one. Repulsor Punch bypassing Man of Steel was huge here, but when wounds were dealt, Superman was forcefully knocked back which ended up being worse for Iron Man since he couldn’t double punch.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Iron Man w/ 5 wounds.

TEST 4
Units: Vs. Balder (420).
Iron Man took some beefy hits and rolled weak on his X reveal, but he was still ableto crush Balder through his destruction reduction.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Iron Man w/ 4 wounds.

TEST 5
Units: Vs. Thor I (430).
Mjolnir hit successfully for Thor, but so did a bonus wound Repulsor Punch or Iron Man.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Iron Man w/ 5 wounds.

TEST 6
Units: Vs. Thor (430).
Finally, people start missing attack rolls. Thor wins this one out and doesn’t attempt Mjolnir.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Thor w/ 5 wounds.

TEST 7
Units: Vs. Thor (430).
Getting knocked back into a weaker follow-up attack isn’t so bad. Thor blasted Iron Man here.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Thor w/ 1 wound.

TEST 8
Units: Vs. Balder (420).
The Repulsors did work, but Balder healed off a destroy attempt and won from there.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Balder w/ 5 wounds.

TEST 9
Units: Vs. Pluto (420).
Once the Helm of Invisibility was lost, Pluto had no chance.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Iron Man w/ 1 wound.

TEST 10
Units: Vs. Omni-Man (440).
Repeated Special Attacks bypassing Mystic Gem Core did Iron Man in despite Repulsor Punch getting through Omni-Man’s defenses.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Omni-Man w/ 3 wounds.

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Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 400-430.
- Give a brief overview. Iron Man did good work here, but not quite enough. Boosts from Vertigo and Star-Lord made him a destructive force at range, and Repulsor Punch is very effective against Asgardians. That said, his give and take played out well as the Asgardians were able to bypass Mystic Gem Core and take him out.
Map: Fossil.
Units: Thorbuster Iron Man (430), Star-Lord, Vertigo, and Doctor Mid-Nite (920) vs. Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral (920).

Spoiler Alert!

Normal Attack Damage:
2 wound(s) on Hogun in R1T3
1 wound(s) on Hogun in R2T1
2 wound(s) on Hogun (kill) in R2T2
2 wound(s) on Volstagg in R2T2

Type X Repulsor Punch Special Attack Damage:
3 wound(s) on Volstagg (1 from X reveal) in R2T3
3 wound(s) on Fandral (1 from X reveal) in R3T1

The Warriors Three advances fast on the road while Iron Man’s forces set up. Vertigo’s aura plus Star Lord’s boost brings significant power to Iron Man, who hits Hogun near the end of the round. Vertigo begins taking damage though, but luckily survives. Hogun is blasted by Iron Man’s offense, but not before he can engage Star-Lord and start swinging. Vertigo drops and Volstagg takes a Repulsor Punch, healing through mead soon after. Iron Man continues to pound on Fandral and Volstagg with Repulsor Punches, but Fandral gets the better of Iron Man and takes him out with a final blow. With their offensive threat gone, it doesn’t take long the the two Warriors to mop up.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Volstagg w/ 1 wound and 1 marker, Fandral w/ 4 wounds.

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Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 430 is still feeling pretty good, though I could see a drop in the ballpark given game 1.
- Give a brief overview. Iron Man can stand up to heavy hitters quite well. He doesn’t have quite the punch that the 7 and 8 attackers do, but he can attack twice and the Repulsor Punch knockback is super effective. He didn’t kite much with range in this game but Mystic Gem Core kept him around long enough to do serious damage.
Map: Fossil.
Units: Thorbuster Iron Man (430), Indigo-1, Karolina Dean, Invisible Woman, and Cable (1390) vs. Mongul, Sif, Beta Ray Bill, and Allen the Alien (1390).

Spoiler Alert!

Normal Attack Damage:
None.

Type X Repulsor Punch Special Attack Damage:
2 wound(s) on Mongul in R2T2
2 wound(s) on Allen the Alien in R2T2
2 wound(s) on Mongul in R2T3
3 wound(s) on Sif (1 from X reveal, kill) in R3T2

Beta Ray Bill is Mongul’s Champion. Sif and Beta Ray Bill teleport a few spaces, starting the battle. The rest of the round is mostly set up as Indigo-1 teleports the attackers to the map’s high point while the defensive auras advance. On the other side, Mongul gets into position to provide a boost to the pod of Sif, Allen, and Beta moving up. The fight kicks in hard and wound start flying as Cable begins attacking, sending Iron Man in for Repulsor Punch follow-ups. The Champions fight strong as well, beating away at the defensive auras. Sif returns to battle by teleportation, giving a double attack between her and Beta Ray, eliminating both Invisible Woman and Karolina Dean. Iron Man and Cable strike back, wounding Allen the Alien and slaughtering Sif with some Repulsor Punch action. Iron Man starts taking a beating from the heavy hitters, but it’s slow going thanks to Mystic Gem Core. Iron Man falls in the next round, and Allen the Alien is pushed to his last life point. Allen the Alien soon drops to Indigo-1, but Cable and the lantern are running out of options. Cable puts up a great fight but can’t finish off Beta. Fortunately, Indigo-1 can, and the fight comes down to Mongul and the lantern. Mongul wins, but only barely.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Mongul w/ 5 wounds.

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Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 430 is definitely holding up.
- Give a brief overview. Wow, this one was pretty one-sided. The Thorbusters really pack a punch. The other two games were showing them about even, and I don’t think they over-earned their points here by a severe amount.
Map: Fossil.
Units: Thorbuster Iron Man (430) x2, Iron Man Mark V, Iron Man Hulkbuster, Iron Man Mark IV, and Iron Man Mark II (1900) vs. Balder, Heimdall, Enchantress II, and Asgardian Warrior x4 (1900).

Spoiler Alert!

Normal Attack Damage:
(A) 1 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior D in R3T1
(A) 1 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior D in R3T1
(A) 2 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior C (kill) in R5T3

Type X Repulsor Punch Special Attack Damage:
(B) 4 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior A (1 from X reveal) in R1T2
(B) 1 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior D in R2T2
(B) 1 wound(s) on Balder in R2T2
(B) 2 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior D (kill) in R3T2
(B) 4 wound(s) on Heimdall (1 from X reveal) in R4T1
(A) 4 wound(s) on Heimdall (kill, 1 excess) in R4T2
(B) 2 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior C (1 from X reveal) in R5T1
(A) 1 wound(s) on Asgardian Warrior C in R5T3
(A) 2 wound(s) on Balder (reduced to 0, skull rolled for kill) in R6T1

Balder is Enchantress’ Bodyguard. The Bifrost goes down and the game begins! The Iron Men army starts mobbing around and Mark V slays an Asgardian Warrior pretty quickly, then flees to safety. Thorbuster B gets into a fight with some Asgardians coming off the Bifrost but can’t take out a Warrior himself in the first round. Enchantress is moved away from Balder by Mark II, and the clear edge belongs to the Iron Men for now. Heimdall gives Asgardians initiative for round two, but Thorbuster B starts rolling super well on defense. Meanwhile, Balder blocks the light thanks to Enchantress’ activation, which pulls Mark V out of the woodwork. Bad news for the Asgardians, as he puts a few wounds onto Enchantress over the course of the round. Some of the Warriors come to play with Thorbuster, but fail to wound him and Mark IV takes one out at the end of the round. Iron Men win initiative this time, and Mark V disengages to a wound in order to get away from Enchantress and a Warrior. Another Warrior drops to the hands of Thorbuster A, and Mark V takes out Enchantress later in the round. Mark II is destroyed handily by Balder, giving the Asgardians control of the map’s height despite being severely outnumbered. Balder starts to battle back as he dashes over to Mark V and takes him out, but it’s not for free as Balder dies to a one-two combo from Thorbuster B and Thorbuster A. Balder starts dealing heavy damage to Thorbuster B, but can’t finish him before his last Warrior friend falls. Balder does manage to take out Thorbuster B, but Hulkbuster comes to party and puts him on his last legs. It’s just the next turn however that Thorbuster A whacks Balder with a Repulsor Punch, ending it all.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Thorbuster A, Hulkbuster, and Mark IV unwounded.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Given my heavy hitters and all 3 Army Tests, 430 is feeling really good for public testing. There’s a lot of tactical play with this guy. Getting in for a Repulsor Punch is usually a good move, but if you want to keep the enemy around, it’s better to kite at range and blast them. Mystic Gem Core gives him the ability to go toe to toe with tougher opponents and keep his cost up.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: Getting a big punch in, knocking someone away, then following up with an energy blast sure is fun! This unit plays with the 400-range design space really uniquely and I love that. It also explores part of the Iron Man space that I haven’t seen before, being a really heavy hitter that also has tactility to it. I’m incredibly satisfied with the playstyle so far.

Wow, to my mild surprise, I really love this guy. I'm confident putting forth a vote to Public Playtesting at 430 points!