The Book of Ares

[japes]

Originally Posted by zeekthefreak

How do i become a "hero".

Experiments, Mutant abilities, accidents, training, mystical artifact...lots of ways to get gifts but the key is..

to use your gift's for good.

Otherwise you would end up a Villain.



or read the thread Arkham linked to.

[Arkham]

This passes on time.

[Arkham]

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Ares

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 1
Map: Custom
Units:
Ares(565), Ragdoll(100), Atom(50), Jon Stewart(340), Beast Boy(Reg + Bear + Cheetah)(100), Alfred(60), Aaron Cash(75), Green Construct(Decoy) x3(150) (1,440)
vs.
Luke Cage(200), Iron Fist(260), Wolverine(280), Spider-Man(250), Swordsman(160), Tigra(170), Firestar(120) (1,440)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R1T2: 5 wounds on Iron Fist(rolled 7 skulls), kills him. (+2 attack, -1 defense)
R2T2: 4 wounds on Firestar(botched defense), kills her. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R3T1: 5 wounds on Tigra(botched defense), killa her. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R3T2: 4 wounds on Luke Cage(botched defense), kills him. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R3T3: 6 wounds on Wolverine(botched defense), kills him. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R4T2: 6 wounds on Spider-Man(botched defense), kills him. (+2 attack, -1 defense)
R4T3: 6 wounds on Swordsman(botched defense), kills him. (+3 attack, -1 defense)

God of War:
R1T1: +1 marker.
R1T2: +1 marker.
R1T2: +1 marker.
R4T1: -1 marker.
R4T1: -1 marker.
R4T2: +1 marker.
R4T2: +1 marker.

Healing:
R2T3: 1 wound. (Alfred)
R3T1: 1 wound. (Tigra)
R4T2: 1 wound. (Spider-Man)
R4T3: 3 wounds. (Gar + Bear + Cheetah)

Notes:
R1T1: Iron Fist and Cage roll out.
R1T1: JS carried Beat Boy, Alfred, and Cash out. Attacks IF, 1 wound.
R1T2: Cash takes 1 wound for Alfred.
R1T3: Cage kills Cash.
R1T3: Decoy is placed adjacent to Cage, JS puts 1 wound on Cage.
R2T1: Decoy is placed adjacent to Firestar, JS puts 1 wound on Cage.
R2T1: Tigra moves and kills a Decoy. Cage destroys a Decoy.
R2T2: Tigra puts 2 wounds on Ares. Cage attacks JS(5 skulls), JS removes battery.
R2T3: Decoy is placed adjacent to Tigra, JS puts 1 wound on Cage.
R2T3: S-M moves and attacks JS(5 skulls), JS removes a battery. Cage moves and kills Alfred(botched defense).
R3T1: S-M puts 2 wounds on Beast Boy. Cage puts 1 wound on John Stewart.
R3T3: S-M puts 4 wounds on Ares(botched defense), used Web Slinger from height.
R4T2: S-M puts 3 wounds on Ares, used Web Slinger.


Ares with 3 wounds, John Stewart with 1 wound, Ragdoll and Atom with 0 wounds, and 1 Green Construct.

Botch city for Cage's team. However, it was a good learning experience.
I didn't feel Ares' team was unstoppable, in fact I feel the results do show that it could have gone either way considering Ares got down to 4 life remaining at ones point, and the rest of his team was just filler at that point. However, with team Cage botching all their defenses, and Spider-Man only avoiding 1 attack, it just wasn't their game.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 2 (rematch)
Map: Custom
Units:
Ares(565), Ragdoll(100), Atom(50), Jon Stewart(340), Beast Boy(Reg + Bear + Cheetah)(100), Alfred(60), Aaron Cash(75), Green Construct(Decoy) x3(150) (1,440)
vs.
Luke Cage(200), Iron Fist(260), Wolverine(280), Spider-Man(250), Swordsman(160), Tigra(170), Firestar(120) (1,440)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R1T2: 2 wounds on Iron Fist. (+1 attack)
R2T2: 5 wounds on Wolverine. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R3T1: 5 wounds on Wolverine, kills him. (+3 attack, -1 defense)

God of War:
R1T2: +1 marker.
R1T2: +1 marker.
R1T3: +1 marker.

Healing:
R3T1: 1 wound. (Decoy)
R3T1: 1 wound. (Wolverine)

Notes:
R1T2: Iron Fist kills Cash(takes the wounds for Alfred).
R1T3: IF puts 4 wounds on Beast Boy(botched defense), Cage kills Beast Boy.
R1T3: Decoy is placed adjacent to Cage and Iron Fist. JS kills Iron Fist.
R2T1: Cage kills a Decoy.
R2T1: Decoy placed adjacent to Firestar. JS puts 2 wounds on Firestar(botched defense).
R2T2: Wolverine kills a Decoy. Cage puts 2 wounds on Alfred.
R2T3: Wolverine puts 2 wounds on Ares, Cage puts 3 wounds on Ares.
R2T3: Decoy is placed adjacent to Wolverine and Cage. JS can't leave engagement to finish off Wolverine, puts 1 wound on Cage.
R3T1: Wolverine kills the last Decoy, puts 3 wounds on Ares.
R3T2: Swordsman puts 2 wounds on Ares. Cage kills Ares.
R3T3: Swordsman puts 3 wounds on John Stewart. Cage whiffs his attack on Alfed.
R3T3: John Stewart heals 2 wounds from Alfred, puts 3 wounds on Swordsman.
R4T1: John Stewart heals his 1 wound from Alfred, kills Swordsman.
R4T1: Firestar uses MBSA, 6 skulls, kills Alfred, JS removes battery, 3 wounds on Ragdoll.
R4T2: JS puts 1 wound on Cage.
R4T2: Spider-Man puts 1 wound on John Stewart.
R4T3: S-M puts 1 wound on John Stewart, used Web Slinger. Cage kills Ragdoll.
R5T1: Cage kills Atom.
R5T2: S-M takes 1 wound from JS's Green Shield Strike, so does Cage.
R6T1: JS puts 1 wound on Cage.
R6T1: Cage kills John Stewart.


Luke Cage with 3 wounds, Firestar with 2 wounds, Spider-Man with 1 wound, and Tigra with 0 wounds.

This game slightly edged in the favor of Cage's team in terms of luck, but overall this was a much more fair game in terms of luck. There was no string of botches from either side, and both sides felt like they could have taken it had the momentum played in their favor. Ares wasn't able to dominate as much here, and once he was swarmed by a Wolverine that just barely escaped death, and then later Swordsman, Ares just couldn't keep up. John Stewart put up a decent fight, but he had some big attacks on him that forced his markers to come off, dealing wounds in the process at least.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 3 (Ares at 5 attack)
Map: Custom
Units:
Ares(545), Jean Grey(180), Invisible Woman(215), Jason(175), Merlyn(160) (1,275)
vs.
Mr. Fantastic(235), Thing(325), Human Torch(225), She-Hulk(310), Jocasta(180) (1,275)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R1T1: 1 wound on She-Hulk.
R2T1: 1 wound on She-Hulk, kills her. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R2T2: 2 wounds on Mr. Fantastic, kills him. (+3 attack, -1 defense)
R3T1: 6 wounds on Human Torch, kills him. (+3 attack, -1 defense, height)

God of War:
R1T1: +1 marker.
R1T2: +1 marker.
R1T2: +1 marker.
R1T3: -1 marker.
R2T1: +1 marker.
R3T2: -1 marker.
R3T2: +1 marker.
R3T3: -1 marker.

Healing:
R2T1: 1 wound. (She-Hulk)
R2T2: 1 wound. (Mr. Fantastic)
R3T1: 1 wound. (Human Torch)

Notes:
R1T1: Mr. F. rolls an 8. She-Hulk and Mr. F. moves.
R1T2: Mr. F. rolls a 19. She-Hulk puts 2 wounds on Ares. Human Torch puts 1 wound on Ares.
R1T2: Invisible Woman puts 3 wound son She-Hulk(botched).
R1T3: Mr. F. rolls a 15. She-Hulk takes 1 wound from Jason's Relentless Assault.
R2T1: Mr. F. rolls a 4. She-Hulk puts 1 wound on Ares, takes 1 wound from Jason's RS. Mr. F. puts 2 wounds on Ares.
R2T2: Mr. F. rolls a 13. Human Torch uses Supernova. Jason takes 4 wounds, Invisible Woman takes 3 wounds, Ares takes 1 wound, Mr. Fantastic takes 4 wounds.
R2T3: Merlyn puts 2 wounds on Human Torch.
R3T2: Thing puts 4 wounds on Ares.
R3T3: Thing kills Ares.
R4T2: Merlyn puts 2 wounds on Thing, but Jocasta takes them instead.
R4T2: Thing kills Merlyn.
R4T3: Thing puts 1 wound on Jason. Thing takes 1 wound from Jason's Relentless Assault.
R5T1: Jean puts 1 wound on Thing.
R5T3: Thing kills Jason.
R5T3: Jean pushes Jocasta away, puts 1 wound on her, then puts 1 wound on Thing.
R6T1: Jean kills Thing.
R6T1: Jocasta puts 1 wound on Jean.
R7T1: Jean puts 1 wound on Jocasta.
R7T1: Jocasta puts 1 wound on Jean(botch).
R7T2: Jean kills Jocasta(botch).


Invisible Woman with 3 wounds, Jean Grey with 2 wounds.

A very close game. The luck was certainly with Ares' team's rolls as Jean managed to keep Thing locked down in the end game, keeping him from going after Invisible Woman, as well as continually throwing Jocasta away so he couldn't use her Self Sacrifice or for Clobberin' Time. Jean carried her team in the end, but Ares played his part in the first half. Could have gone the other way had the rolls been different.

___________________________________________________________

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY:
Ares definitely has some bite to him. You can feel the momentum during his matches, and momentum is absolutely everything in terms of who wins. His attack of 9 + a -1 to his opponent's defense, it can get nasty real quick. The first game definitely wasn't the best tell on his average performance, but it does show how dominate he can be if things are going strongly into his favor.

Overall, I'm not worried about him being too good, as his opponent can put the focus on him and really take it to him with the +1 attack he is offering them as well. Ares can also harm his own team's defense, which definitely makes his team fall quicker, and the lockdown aspect can hurt his own team's options at times from attacking who you may want/need to due to starting your turn engaged. So there's a lot of factors at play that both help and hinder each side, so ultimately it doesn't feel overwhelming for either side, but mutually difficult, requiring a bit of strategy with each turn. In the 3rd game Ares' attack was reduced to 5, and I felt this helped keep him more in check. I don't really have any worries based on my tests, he seems to be a fun unit that definitely fits the theme of the character. When the heat is on him however, he will struggle to hang in there.

[laughing matter]

Just so we're (I'm) clear, all of the effects of Malevolent Influence stack; right?

[Arkham]

That is correct.

[japes]

Technically you tested him at 565 right? If you could edit your post to reflect that I'd appreciate it. This isn't a criticism of you but I've noticed a few reports around lately that I have the same issue with. If he doesn't have a cost nailed down (which if he did we wouldn't be testing) then he is essentially being tested at Opponent's army total - His allies total.

Again this isn't exclusively for you Arkham but since it's a public thread I wanted to get those thoughts out there.

EDIT: I am in favor of the attack reduction by the way. I don't think 2 test is enough to call the initial test over but as I reread your post it is likely I misunderstood and you are not done just stating that you are making an adjustment.

EDIT 2: Typically when we have a design like this that would be useless to do Squad and Heavy Hitter test on we do more than the two army test.

[Arkham]

I usually put the total of the figure adjusted to the opponent's army, so it's all good. Just hadn't on this one.

I can do 1 more test, but I felt the 3 I had done prior to ease into these 2 were probably sufficient enough to get an idea of what we're dealing with, even if it's been modified after each test. I suppose that's not the case, based on your reaction.

[Tornado]

I think the more tests the better here. He is essentially a scenario.

I would like to see him with perhaps some boosters like Invisible Woman or Bane.
Sue makes him even tougher and may force the opponent to destroy her first which falls into Ares' plan.

[Arkham]

That's fair.

Though, it seems either way we're going to want a fair degree of Public testing, as generally there's only so much I can do myself before we want to see what others can do with the design. So I'd rather not pour all of my tests into the Initials alone. I do plan to follow up with Public testing as well once we have things settled(which I feel like we do after all the tweaks that have been made, + the attack reduction), as I usually do. But I'm game for 1 more test with that reduction just to put a bow on it for now.

[Arkham]

I'll be rolling with this:

Ares(545), Jean Grey(180), Invisible Woman(215), Jason(175), Merlyn(160) (1,275)
vs.
Mr. Fantastic(235), Thing(325), Human Torch(225), She-Hulk(310), Jocasta(180) (1,275)

[Tornado]

Yikes. That is a top notch F4 build.

Though Ares did steal Sue which is really fun.

[Arkham]

3rd test is in, a pretty close game that could have gone either way had the rolls not been so lucky by Jean in the end. I played the 3rd one with Ares' attack at 5, and I feel we're good to go here. He's come along way since the initial proposed design, and I feel he's at a pretty well balanced point to go into Public Testing.