The Book of Swordsman

[Griffin]

Really nice writeup.

[Hahma]

Thanks Griff

[Hahma]

Test from Clembo

Swordsman results
C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT (Swordsman)

- THEME TEST/
Pass

- MIRROR TEST/
Pass

- BONDING TEST/
Pass

- SYNERGIES TEST/
Pass

- POWER CHECK/
Pass

- FUN TEST/
Pass

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/
Pass

- DRAFTING TEST/
Pass

- USAGE TEST/
Pass

- STRATEGY TEST/
Pass

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 170.
- Give a brief overview. Swordsman seemed pretty fair for a Fighter. He bonds well with Luke Cage and likes to be an Avenger. He got fairly lucky this game when a prime initiative switch allowed him to get a HUGE 7 dice attack on Azrael, followed up by a big 6 dice attack against Rhino. So other than the dice rolls favoring the Avengers, this game felt REALLY balanced.
Map: Icy Road.
Units: Swordsman, Captain America, Blink, Emma Frost, Dagger, Luke Cage (1000) vs Kingpin, Rhino, Azrael, Clayface, Elite League Assassins (1000).

Spoiler Alert!

Blink helps move Captain America really far up the field, while Luke Cage and Swordsman head east on the road. The original plan was to head to the starting zone the long way, but allowing Rhino and Kingpin to face Captain America alone was not an option, so they cut down the road, and ended up having a huge clash between the two glaciers where the road S curves.

It started out as a bit of a stalemate, with Rhino landing one wound on his initial charge on Luke Cage, but then they couldn't do much to each other as they traded blows. Captain America had good position on the high ground in the back, where he could throw his shield and no one could get to him due to the path being choked off on both sides. Azrael comes into the battle after losing a turn and starts to tip the scales. He and Kingpin start wearing down Luke Cage slowly. Then he loses a turn and is forced to attack Kingpin, Rhino and Luke Cage. He takes out Luke Cage, but also puts wounds on Rhino.

This is when things go very bad for the Criminals. Captain America lands 4 skulls on two of his shield throws in a row, putting a couple more wounds on Kingpin (killing him), and also 1 on Azrael. The OM on Kingpin goes to waste, and Swordsman gets the chance of a lifetime, landing a big 7 dice attack (6 skulls) on Azrael (dead), and 6 dice attack (5 skulls) on Rhino (dead).

Swordsman moves up towards the hill, but a good initiative switch allows Clayface to Smother Swordsman on the low ground. The go toe-to-toe for a while, and Clayface manages to put 3 wounds on Swordsman, but due to the Avenger bonus and Counterstrike (along with getting to attack so much), Swordsman takes out Clayface. Captain America tries to take out some Elite League Assassins, but they land both of their Vanishes and close the distance. Captain goes from 0 wounds to dead in 3 turns, while Swordsman tries to close the distance. Without his Avengers boost, Swordsman is much less able to withstand punishment, and gets taken out by a 4 skull attack from the Assassins (however he does manage to take one of them out). Blink easily handles the last 2 Assassins before they can get close to anyone.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Blink (0 wounds), Dagger (0 wounds), Emma Frost (0 wounds).

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 150.
- Give a brief overview. This game really showed the difference between an Avenger Swordsman and a non-Avenger. Without 6 attack and 6 defense, his Swordsplay and Counterstrike aren't nearly as fearsome. He still good, but he doesn't dominate like he does when Cap is on his team.
Map: Icy Road.
Units: Swordsman, Luke Cage, Morbius (590) vs Wonder Man and Winter Soldier (590).

Spoiler Alert!

Wonder Man cuts off Luke and Swordsman on the road. His first attack puts 2 wounds on Swordsman. Wonderman hits a bunch of middling numbers, so even with multiple attacks Luke and Swordsman only manage a couple wounds. Wonderman only gets one wound on his next attack, but then during the next volley by Swordsman he hits a 19, and wounds both Luke Cage and Swordsman (killing him). Luke Cage and Wonderman go toe to toe, and Luke Cage ends up living with 3 wounds. Winter Soldier is able to pick off Luke Cage before he can close the distance, so it's just Morbius vs Winter Soldier (Morbius is marked by Winter Soldier). Winter Soldier manages to get the first strike and land 3 wounds, but once Morbius closes the distance he eats Winter Soldier up, healing off anything more that Winter Soldier pumps out.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Morbius (3 wounds).

[Hahma]

First game Swordsman benefited from Cap killing Kingpin on the initiative switch and then getting a free big attack on Azreal and then Rhino. 6 skulls on 7 dice and 5 skulls on 6 dice are well above average, so it certainly isn't the norm. Rhino could have maybe left engagement to charge someone else, it's certainly worth taking a wound to get the charge boost, even if he backs up and charges LC again. Cap can help lots of others with his boosts, so in the case when he's teamed with LC and some Fighters/Crime Fighters, it makes a tough choice between who to attack, LC to get rid of the bonding or Cap to get rid of the boosts.

Second test didn't seem to have much going on from Swordsman.

[IAmBatman]

Yeah, arrow might be pointing up slightly here, but I'd say his range is still 150-160.

Cap makes everybody look good.

[Hahma]

From Yodaking:

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Swordsman

- THEME TEST/ Check to see if there are any powers or stats on the test unit card that does not accurately reflect the theme or likeness of what the character would and could do. Also consider destructible objects, and whether or not this characters powers should affect them.
pass

- MIRROR TEST/ Check to see if the unit were played against itself, if there would be any loops that would upset the balance of the Game.
pass

- BONDING TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing Bonding abilities to make sure there are no continual Bonding possibilities that do not stop appropriately or do not stop at all. This is to prevent loops in Bonding.
pass

- SYNERGIES TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing synergies to make sure there are no factors that could break the game by making any unit to powerful or too weak.
pass

- POWER CHECK/ Consider the test unit and all existing units and all glyphs to compare to and check for any powers that could be over amplified and break the game. Each power must define when it takes place, who or what it affects, and What are the stipulations on the power if there are any.
pass

- FUN TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play.
pass

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play against.
pass

- DRAFTING TEST/ Consider whether or not this design is worth drafting.
pass

- USAGE TEST/ Consider whether or not all of the powers on this card were used or at least usable.
pass

- STRATEGY TEST/ Consider whether or not the design offers any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game.
pass
_____________________________________________________________


Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? yes
- What should be the unit's point value? I’d maybe bump it up to 160, he really shined here getting on quite a roll with swordplay. I could see him really putting a hurting on figures that limit you to 1 wound per attack since he could potentially attack 6 times in one round if he starts out on HG and keeps rolling at least 1 skull.
- Give a brief overview. Swordsman had a real good showing here, using sword play every time and cutting down many enemy figures with some skull heavy rolls.
Map: Under the El
Units: Swordsman, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Tigra, Shang-Chi (1000) vs. Bane, Mr. Freeze, HQ, Joker (II), Green Goblin, Arkham Inmates x2 (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1: Inmates move up, 1 under each section of the EL. HQ moves up & tosses Smilex Bomb at the fighters, 4 skulls rolled! Iron Fist, 2W, Luke, 1W, Tigra, 3W, Swordsman, 1W, Shang-Chi, 2W. Shang-Chi moves up & att. Inmate once, dead. Luke moves up & att. Inmate, dead. Inmates move up from SZ, 1 att. Luke, blocked. HQ moves up & att. Tigra from HG, blocked. Swordsman moves up adj. to 2 Inmates, att., dead, att. again, dead. Luke moves back by HQ & att., blocks & moves up hill. Green Goblin flies onto the El & att. Luke from HG, blocked. HQ moves down & att. Luke from HG, blocked. Iron Fist moves adj. to Shang-Chi, reveals X OM and removes 1W from Shang-Chi. Luke att. HQ, blocks & moves up hill.
Round 2: Tigra stealth leaps up above HQ & att., blocks & moves down the hill. Luke att. HQ, blocks & moves back up the hill. Inmates move up, 1 att. Swordsman from HG, 4 skulls rolled, 2W, 1 att. Shang-Chi, 1 skull rolled, counterstruck, dead. HQ moves down & att. Luke from HG, 1W. Tigra leaps onto the El adj. to Goblin & att., blocked, 3W, blocked. Luke moves up & att. last Inmate from HG, dead. Freeze moves up & att. Shang-Chi w/SA at range, 1W, places ice marker on his card. Tigra moves around Gobin & att., dead. OM 3 on Goblin.
Round 3: Iron Fist moves adj. to Luke, att. HQ from LG, dead!!, reveals X OM & heals Luke of 1W. Luke moves up adj. to Joker & att., 1W. Freeze att. Swordsman w/SA at range, blocked. Tigra leaps down into street & att. Joker, 1W, 1W, ends turn via laugh it off. Luke att. Joker, 1W. Joker rolls for Toxin, fails, att. Luke, 1W. Tigra moves up onto curb & att. Bane, 1W, blocked, 2W. Luke att. Joker, blocked. Bane rolls for Venom, 20, +4 att, att. Tigra, dead!
Round 4: Joker uses Toxin, fails, att. Luke, blocked. Swordsman moves onto ladder adj. to Freeze & att. from HG, 4 skulls rolled, 3W, att. again, 3 skulls rolled, dead! Luke att. Joker, 1W. Bane moves adj. to Luke, rolls for venom, 3, 1W to Bane, att. 1W. Swordsman moves adj. to Bane & Joker, att. Bane, 3 skulls rolled, dead, att. Joker, 2 skulls rolled, dead!
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Swordsman w/3W, Luke w/3W, Shang-Chi w/2W, & Iron Fist w/2W win.

_____________________________________________________________


Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? yes
- What should be the unit's point value? Game came down to the wire so I guess 150 might be accurate even though Swordsman never got a chance to do anything.
- Give a brief overview. This game reminded me why I prefer bigger maps, Swordsman & Strong Guy both die without ever leaving their start zone.
Map: .Under the El
Units: Swordsman, Vision, Strong Guy, Gambit, Falcon (1000) vs. Kang x2, Chronos, Electro, Shocker, Capt. Boomerang (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

Round 1: Vision moves onto hill & att. Electro from HG, blocked. Electro moves under the EL & att. Gambit, Swordsman, & Strong Guy w/SA from LG, 2 skulls rolled, blocked, 1W, blocked. Gambit moves up onto ladder, att. Electro w/SA, blocked, 2W, miss, miss, 1W. Electro moves to even ground adj. to Strong Guy, att. Strong Guy & Swordsman w/SA, 1 skull rolled, blocked x2. Vision moves up & att. Chronos from HG, 1W. Chronos flies up adj. to Vision on even ground, places TD Glyph on the hill, att. Vision, blocked.
Round 2: Vision moves onto TD glyph, moves Chronos down to adj. LG & att., 1W. Electro att. Strong Guy & Swordsman w/SA, 3 skulls rolled, 3W!, failed to redirect, 2W!, only 1 shield rolled on 11 dice. Gambit moves up the ladder, att. Electro w/SA, miss, miss, dead. Chronos takes LES, miss, drops TD glyph onto the El, then lands adj. to Vision on HG & att., 1W, Chronos is placed on his card, wounds removed. Vision moves onto the TD glyph on the El. Kang (1) moves up, places TD glyph on warehouse ruin, ends turn.
Round 3: Gambit moves onto the El & att. Kang (1) w/SA, 2 dice - miss, 2 dice – 2 skulls, 2W, 1 die – 1 skull, blocked. Kang (1) moves adj. to Gambit & att., 1W, uses Time Warp, moves adj. to Gambit & att. again, blocked. Gambit att. Kang w/SA, 2 dice – miss, 2 dice – 1 skull, blocked, 1 die – 1 skull, 1W. Kang (1) moves around Gambit, drops TD glyph, att., blocked, uses Time Warp, att. Gambit again, blocked. Vision moves adj. to Kang (1) & attempts a Physical Disruption, fails. Kang (2) moves up, drops TD glyph on ground, att. Gambit from LG, blocked, uses Time Warp, moves onto the El, att. Vision, 3W!
Round 4: Vision attempts Physical Disruption on Kang (2), rolls a 20, dead! Kang (1) att. Vision, dead! Uses Time Warp via TD Glyph left on the El by Chronos, moves up & att. Strong Guy from HG, 2W, fails to redirect, dead! Gambit moves onto top rung of ladder, att. Kang (1) w/SA, 2 dice – 2 skulls, 3 shields, dead!, att. Shocker w/SA, 2 dice – 2 skulls, 2W, 1 die – 1 skull, blocked. OM 2 on Kang(2). Gambit moves down ladder & att. Shocker, 2 dice - miss, 2 dice - miss, 1 die – 1 skull, blocked.
Round 5: Gambit moves up & att. Shocker w/SA, blocked, miss, miss. Chronos is placed on the board, moves adj. to Gambit, places TD glyph on hill & att., 1W. Gambit att. Chronos w/SA, 1W, 2W, miss, miss, blocked. Shocker moves across street & att. Gambit w/SA, blocked. Gambit att. Chronos w/SA, miss, dead, att. Shocker w/SA, 2 dice - miss, miss. Capt. Boomerang att. Gambit, dead!
Round 6: Shocker moves into the street, att. Swordsman from LG w/SA, dead. OM 1 on Swordsman. Shocker moves up behind wall & att. Falcon w/SA, 2W. Falcon moves adj. to Shocker & att., blocked. Capt. Boomerang moves into the street & att. Falcon, miss, again, blocked. Falcon att. Shocker, dead!
Round 7: Falcon moves adj. to Capt. Boomerang & att., 2W! Capt. Boomerang att. Falcon, miss, again, blocked. Falcon att., blocked. Capt. att., blocked, again, blocked. Falcon att., dead!
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Falcon w/2W wins.

The first test will give you quite a bit to chew on but then the second test really didn't provide much insight. After you get back all the public play tests, if you feel like you need more I'll run a different 2nd test for you and try to get some more meaningful results.

[Hahma]

Seems like 160 is a better option after these.

[Hahma]

From Scapemage:

Originally Posted by Scapemage
C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

:
Originally Posted by Scapemage

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Swordsman.

- THEME TEST/ Check to see if there are any powers or stats on the test unit card that does not accurately reflect the theme or likeness of what the character would and could do. Also consider destructible objects, and whether or not this characters powers should affect them.
Pass.

- MIRROR TEST/ Check to see if the unit were played against itself, if there would be any loops that would upset the balance of the Game.
Pass.

- BONDING TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing Bonding abilities to make sure there are no continual Bonding possibilities that do not stop appropriately or do not stop at all. This is to prevent loops in Bonding.
Pass.

- SYNERGIES TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing synergies to make sure there are no factors that could break the game by making any unit to powerful or too weak.
Pass.

- POWER CHECK/ Consider the test unit and all existing units and all glyphs to compare to and check for any powers that could be over amplified and break the game. Each power must define when it takes place, who or what it affects, and What are the stipulations on the power if there are any.
Pass.

- FUN TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play.
Pass.

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play against.
Pass.

- DRAFTING TEST/ Consider whether or not this design is worth drafting.
Pass.

- USAGE TEST/ Consider whether or not all of the powers on this card were used or at least usable.
Pass.

- STRATEGY TEST/ Consider whether or not the design offers any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game.
Pass.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 200-220.
- Give a brief overview. This game, Swordsman earned roughly 300 points. He completely obliterated Banshee and Nick Fury, as well as a couple of SHIELD Agents. Swordplay helped quite a lot, as did his special attack, which provides some great choices. Counterstrike didn't help him out, but he sure lasted long enough to make a difference.
Map: Ivy's Greenhouse.
Units: Swordsman, Spider-Man (C3G), Moon Knight, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage (1000) vs. Nick Fury, SHIELD Agents x2, Spider-Woman, Banshee, Black Widow, and SHIELD Sniper (1000).

Spoiler Alert!

Nick grabs a squad of SHIELD Agents for his drop team. Moon Knight jumps onto his card early, and the SHIELD Sniper takes his position next to a bush with height. The drop team hits, but a well-planned Killbox misses. Luke Cage takes 2 wounds, and Swordsman slashes up a SHIELD Agent. Moon Knight comes in, attempting to take out the Sniper, but misses and suffers 3 wounds in return. Luke engages Nick to brawl for a while and the game progresses into the third round. Luke doesn't do much damage to Nick, but Swordsman sweeps up the SHIELD Agent he is engaged with and comes in to make the kill on Nick Fury. Moon Knight takes pot shots from the Agents, but manages to stay alive. Moon Knight and the Sniper continue to pester each other to no avail, during which an Agent goes down to a dart. Banshee hits Luke Cage and almost kills Spider-Man with a couple rounds of Sonic Scream. Iron Fist heals a wound off of Like Cage, and Swordsman comes along the road and fires his Makluan Sword to nearly kill Banshee. Moon Knight just can't hit with his darts, and Banshee kills Spider-Man with a well-timed Sonic Scream, wounding Luke and heavily hurting Swordsman in the process. Banshee finally goes down to a Makluan Sword, and Black Widow is forced onto the bridge by Luke. Swordsman attacks 5 times off of Swordplay, but rolls only a single skull each time, which Black Widow automatically blocks. Luke seems to be better at the craft and hit Black Widow for 3 wounds, after which the Sniper finally wounds Moon Knight again. Still standing, Moon Knight finally kills the Sniper off of a dart. Black Widow single-handedly kills off Luke Cage and Swordsman, and engages Iron Fist with Espionage. Spider-Woman engages Moon Knight, who only hits an Agent with his darts. Black Widow gets a couple of wounds onto Iron Fist before he kills both her and the last Agent. Iron Fist engages Spider-Woman, and Moon Knight survives the fight. Iron Fist deals all but one of Spider-Woman's lives in wounds, and Spider-Woman kills him. Moon Knight rolls for a dart, but misses, and Spider-Woman picks up the narrow win.




Who won and how many wounds did they have? Team 2: Spider-Woman w/ 4 wounds.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 200-220.
- Give a brief overview. Once again, Swordsman completely annihilated the competition. He suffered a close encounter with death due to a whiff, but the army build really allowed him to isolate individual enemies and slaughter them. Outside of a Fighter army, Swordplay, Makluan Sword, and Counterstrike are still very useful, and playing him with attack and defense buffs lets him wreck the board.
Map: Ivy's Greenhouse.
Units: Swordsman, Captain America (C3G), and Invisible Woman (605) vs. Eradicator and 2x Kryptonian Infiltrator (600).

Spoiler Alert!

Before I get into game stats, the army I chose to include Swordsman in is built entirely around him. Although Cap and in part Invisible Woman can definitely hold their own, they are meant as support units for Swordsman. The attack buff is for Swordplay, and the defense buffs for Counterstrike.





Everybody moves in the first round, and Captain America quickly engages an Infiltrator. No wounds are dealt in the second round, but things pick up in the third round. Cap throws his shield and wounds an Infiltrator and Eradicator. An Infiltrator manages to bypass Swordsman's 8 defense for a wound, who hits the infiltrator for 3 wounds off of a strengthened Swordplay. Counterstrike kills that Infiltrator, and Swordsman isn't done. Before the end of the round, he moves in and kills the other Infiltrator with Swordplay. Eradicator flies over the top of Swordsman right to Invisible Woman and deals her two wounds, letting Cap engage from below. Invisible Woman is killed, but Swordsman is there to deal Eradicator two wounds. Swordsman takes two off of a whiff, but kills Eradicator on his first attack at the end of the round.

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Team 1: Swordsman w/ 3 wounds, and Captain America w/ 1 wound.

[Hahma]

Despite the damage Swordsman did, his army still lost the first test. He should be handled with range when you have it to keep Swordsmanship and Counter Strike from being such a huge factor.

Second test wasn't a blowout. 1 life left for Swordsman and 4 left for Cap.

160 still seems a fine bump

[IAmBatman]

160 sounds perfect. Pre-yea for Final Editing if you go that way.

[Hahma]

Thanks Bats!

I propose Swordsman move to final editing at 160 points.

[johnny139]

Yea