The Book of Mentallo

[Hahma]

ERB from Porkins:

This guy is going to be scary in a Prof X / Angel build. Use Angel to get Mentallo into position, then roll only 8'so take turns with the enemy's figures!?! Yikes!

Psycho Helmet is a confusing sentence with the sort of double negatives going on (isn't affected / powers that keep). I think it could be reworded to be more clear:

PSYCHO HELMET
Special Powers on the cards of opponents' figures that prevent them from being targeted by non-adjacent attacks or that require clear sight do not affect Mentallo.

Or maybe the ultra-simple: Mentallo does not require clear sight to attack.

Maybe there's a reason I'm not thinking of why that wouldn't work.

So in a fight, who would win: Mentallo or Living Laser. If I recall correctly, Living Laser has a power that says something like: Living Laser cannot be targeted by a non-adjacent attack. Now Mentallo has a power that says that he ignores any power that prevents non-adjacent attacks. So there is a problem with order of precendence, because both powers cancel the other.

[SirGalahad]

[Hahma]

Originally Posted by SirGalahad

Bats started it

[SirGalahad]

Originally Posted by Hahma

"Me so horny" I put it where I can

[IAmBatman]

I like his first suggested wording for Psycho Helmet here:

PSYCHO HELMET
Special Powers on the cards of opponents' figures that prevent them from being targeted by non-adjacent attacks or that require clear sight do not affect Mentallo.

Or maybe the ultra-simple: Mentallo does not require clear sight to attack.

Maybe there's a reason I'm not thinking of why that wouldn't work.

So in a fight, who would win: Mentallo or Living Laser. If I recall correctly, Living Laser has a power that says something like: Living Laser cannot be targeted by a non-adjacent attack. Now Mentallo has a power that says that he ignores any power that prevents non-adjacent attacks. So there is a problem with order of precendence, because both powers cancel the other.

Living Laser (and other figures with Intangibility) say they can't be targeted by attacks that require clear sight. Mentallo specifically says he isn't affected by such powers. So Mentallo wins. Living Laser breaks the basic rule of the game involving ranged attacks. Mentallo specifically breaks the rule made with Living Laser's breaking of the rule.

I think it's pretty clear. The Civvie questions and the like that David brings up might end up being dicier.

[Hahma]

That works

[Hahma]

I updated the SP with Porkin's version of Psycho-Helmet and changed the contractions of "didn't" to "did not" in a couple places.

I also though about a couple wording changes based on Porkin's comment about Angel/Mentallo combo. Porkins brought up a good point about Mentallo and Angel, as could also be said with Mentallo and [redacted]. It would seem there would be a loophole in getting the +5 bonus if he didn't move on his turn, but was moved by some other means like Angel or [redacted], as each would allow Mentallo to take a turn after being moved, either by Prof X's second activation or [redacted].

The reason for the boost if he doesn't move is that it's a weakness. He needs to stand still to concentrate more and thus the boost.

choose a Unique Hero within 10 spaces and roll the 20-sided die. If Mentallo did not move was not moved this turn, add 5 to the die roll. If you roll 13 or higher, you may take temporary control of the chosen figure and immediately take a turn with it. At the end of the turn, control of the chosen Hero returns to the player who controlled the Hero before Telepathic Suggestion was used; or

or

choose a Unique Hero within 10 spaces and roll the 20-sided die. If Mentallo did not move this was not moved during the controlling player's turn, add 5 to the die roll. If you roll 13 or higher, you may take temporary control of the chosen figure and immediately take a turn with it. At the end of the turn, control of the chosen Hero returns to the player who controlled the Hero before Telepathic Suggestion was used; or

[IAmBatman]

If you're reading the card, because you control it, then you are the controlling player. So I think it'd be clearer to say "your turn" there.

Good thoughts, though, and good addition!

[Hahma]

choose a Unique Hero within 10 spaces and roll the 20-sided die. If Mentallo did not move this was not moved during your turn, add 5 to the die roll. If you roll 13 or higher, you may take temporary control of the chosen figure and immediately take a turn with it. At the end of the turn, control of the chosen Hero returns to the player who controlled the Hero before Telepathic Suggestion was used; or

Thanks Bats, that makes a ton of sense, and saves text

Updated SP

[IAmBatman]

Sweet.

[Hahma]

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT MENTALLO

- 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 too 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 -.

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? .Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 80-90
- Give a brief overview. . When going 1 v 1, Mentallo is pretty weak, as he should be. He can sometimes manipulate an opponent with Telepathic Suggestion to move into a different spot that isn't beneficial for them, but ultimately it's not enough to really matter because he has a low attack and defense. His Psycho-Helmet was helpful vs. Sharon Carter in nullifying her Covert Agent so he could attack her. He also is a good counter to Puppet Master as PM has no effect on him and lower defense and lives. In a real game though, PM can affect others to handle Mentallo perhaps, but Mentallo can still be an option to neuter PM.

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Green Arrow Conner (130)
Green Arrow wins with 1 wound on T3R2
TEST 2
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Green Arrow Conner (130)
Green Arrow wins with 0 wounds on T4R1/
TEST 3
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Batroc The Leaper (130)
Batroc wins with 2 wounds on T2R2
TEST 4
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Batroc The Leaper (130)
Batroc wins with 0 wounds on T6R1
TEST 5
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Puppet Master (140)
Mentallo wins with 1 wounds on T4R2/ Had to try this one just for the heck of it. Puppet Master's powers are useless vs. Mentallo.
TEST 6
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Pyro (120)
Pyro wins with 1 wound on T4R2.
TEST 7
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Dazzler (100)
Dazzler wins with 2 wounds on T2R2
TEST 8
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Dazzler (100)
Dazzler wins with 2 wounds on T1R2
TEST 9
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Sharon Carter (90)
Mentallo wins with 2 wounds on T1R2/ Initiative really helped Mentallo pull off the win, but he did nullify her Covert Agent power.
TEST 10
Map: Custom
Units: Mentallo vs. Sharon Carter (90)
Sharon Carter wins with 2 wounds on T2R2

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? .YES
- What should be the unit's point value? 120
- Give a brief overview. ..It looked bad for AIM early as Mentallo used Telepathic Suggestion after moving and rolled well (18, 8 and 20) when needing 13+ after moving. One of the Agents killed another one but the second controlled one missed. AIM managed to get 2 wounds on him and then he didn't move (had height) and used TS again and rolled 3, 20 and 14 when needing only 8+. One more Agent got killed from his teammate but the other one missed. This is where I decided that Mentallo shouldn't be able to use TS when engaged because thematically he needs to concentrate and can't when someone is in his grill. So AIM engaged him and he had to attack normally and killed an Agent, but then AIM won initiative to engage another one with him so he couldn't use TS. They lit him up after that with their normal attacks when he had height. Had he won initiative for round 2, he could have possibly won because at that point he wasn't engaged and only needed 8+ to have the remaining 3 Agents attack each other.



Map: .Custom.
Units: Mentallo vs. A.I.M. Agents x 2 (140)

Spoiler Alert!

Who won and how many wounds did they have? 3 of 6 Agents live to win on T3R2.

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? .YES
- What should be the unit's point value? 120
- Give a brief overview. .It was really ugly for the Inmates early as Menatallo again had a great initial TS after moving with rolls of 18, 19 and 11 when needing 13+, to get 2 Inmates to attack other Inmates. The funny thing about this is that if the attacker doesn't kill the other Inmate, Aggravated Assault kills the attacker. So 2 Inmates got killed by the controlled attacker, and 2 attacking Inmates got killed by Aggravated Assault. Eventually an Inmate got adjacent to Mentallo after he attacked and missed to get the Inmate adjacent to him with Aggravated Assault and put a wound on him. Mentallo took 2 wounds from Aggravated Assault and eventually fell to a 2/0 attack from the last Inmate.

Map: . Custom.
Units: Mentallo vs. Arkham Inmates x 2 (120)

Spoiler Alert!

Who won and how many wounds did they have? 1 of 6 Inmates wins on T6R2.

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No?.YES
- What should be the unit's point value? .140
- Give a brief overview..Mentallo did just about 140 points of damage with Telepathic Suggestion, as he had a Ninja put 3 wounds on Bullseye and Bullseye put 1 wound on Boomerang. KP's army didn't have enough figures to really protect Mentallo from getting moved adjacent to, and the Skrull Infiltrators were key in keeping him engaged. That said, Sandman and Electro didn't hold up their end and really couldn't take down Bullseye that had 3 wounds from like the 2nd turn of the game. He had height to give him a defense of 6, but they just couldn't bust through it as he rolled great defense. Had they taken him out, it would have been a much closer game IMO.
.
Units: . Mentallo (140) Kingpin (220) Sandman (210) and Electro (135) for 705 VS. Ninja x 3 (255) Bullseye (175) Boomerang (130) Talia (110) and Skrull Infiltrators x 3 (30) for 700 points.

Spoiler Alert!

KP had Mentallo move forward just a bit and behind a rock formation to give him max cover close to their SZ, as well as a good bit of Telepathic Suggestion range for the map. Bullseye and 3 Ninja had moved out first so after Mentallo had moved, he was in range of 3 Ninja and rolled well to get higher than the 13+ needed after moving, with rolls of 11, 14 and 17. So with the 2 Ninja he controlled, he had one attack and miss a Ninja in their SZ and the other move to height and hit Bullseye with a 3/0 attack to get 3 wounds on him. Bullseye shook that off and went toward the enemy SZ and barely got LOS from a side angle but from 6 spaces so no Deadly Aim vs. Mentallo, but he did put 1 wound on him. Ninja moved but only 1 could attack and missed Kingpin.



Mentallo stays put and rolls 18 (way more than 8+ needed) for Telepathic Suggestion vs. Bullseye and has him move back toward his own SZ and attack with Deadly Aim vs. Boomerang, but his 3/2 attack only put 1 wound on Boomerang. Then KP attacked and killed Ninja that was replaced with Skrull Infiltrator. Bullseye moves back and attacks KP with Deadly Aim, but his 2/3 attack misses. Ninja move and one gets adjacent to Mentallo and puts 1 wound (2) on him, while another one puts 1st wound on KP. Electro kills Ninja adjacent to Mentallo, but it's replaced by a Skrull Infiltrator, then KP kills Skrull Infiltrator adjacent to him.



Bulleyse's army won initiative for round 2 and Bullseye moved to single-space height and hits KP with 1 wound (2), while Ninja move with 1 getting adjacent to Mentallo and 1 adjacent to KP. Mentallo takes 3rd wound and KP takes 3rd wound. Electro uses ESB vs. Ninja and Skrull adjacent to Mentallo and kills them both, but the dead Ninja was replaced with last Skrull Infiltrator so Mentallo is still engaged. Then KP kills adjacent Ninja. Bullseye kills KP with a 4/0 Deadly Aim attack with height and Ninja move. KP dead for the next 2 turns so no turn for his team. Meanwhile, Bullseye puts 3 wounds on Electro and Ninja kill Mentallo but miss Sandman.



Electro starts out Round 3 by killing a Ninja but missing Bullseye (with height) with Electrostatic Bolt. Bullseye puts 1 wound on Sandman and Ninja misses. Sandman Sandstorms to kill last Skrull Infiltrator and a Ninja, but whiffs attack vs. Bullseye with height but SM heals to 0 wounds. Bullseye hits SM for a wound as does a Ninja, while another Ninja misses Electro. Sandman attacks normally (6) vs. Bullseye with height, but his 3/3 attack misses and he heals down to 1 wound. Bullseye hits Sandman for 2 wounds (3), while Ninja kill Electro and miss Sandman.



Round 4 has Bullseye win initiative and attack with height vs. Sandman and kill him with a 3/0 attack.



Who won and how many wounds did they have? Bullseye with 3 wounds, Boomerang with 1 wound, Talia with 0 wounds and 3 of 9 Ninja live to win on T1R4.

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? .YES
What should be the unit's point value? .120
- Give a brief overview. .Mentallo had moved up against the SZ side of the building to max his range and keep out of sight from enemy. He tried and failed once to use Telepathic Suggestion vs a Sentinel. Had he succeeded, things could have been different as he was going to send it into lava and that was the Sentinel that later came and killed Prof. X and Mentallo. He would have tried more, but his teammates were in better position with better attacks vs. the menacing Sentinels and it felt a safer choice to attack with them than try to roll an 8 or higher to get the +5 to make it 13 or higher for success. I probably could have tried it again, but I couldn't count on the poor attack rolls of his teammates and the great defense rolls of the Sentinels.

Map: .HYDRA Base Gehenna
Units: .Mentallo (140) Prof X (220), Colossus (260) Jean Grey (180), Magma (170) Banshee (160) Angel (90) Shadowcat (80) and Jubilee (60) fgor 1360 points Vs. Magneto II (375) Archangel (260) Sage (180) Sentinels x 3 (480) Destiny (55) and 1 Skrull Infiltrator (10) for 1360 points.

Spoiler Alert!

The Sentinels really were the stars for the first half of the game as they rolled good attack dice and good defense dice. Mutant Alert helped get them extra moves. One of them got adjacent to Prof X and Mentallo and forced Prof X to burn his X marker for himself, but then he fell in 2 more attacks as the Sentinel got up to 3 wounds but lasted long enough to take out Prof X and then Mentallo. Mentallo had only tried Telepathic Suggestion once and rolled failed, even after the +5 bonus for not moving. He had planned on sending a Sentinel into lava created by Magma.



Magma had laid out some lava on one side of the map and had an nice piece of lava to sit on on the roof to attack with her special attack once in awhile. Colossus had battled Sentinels, but they were rolling good defense and he was kept occupied too long for the good guys liking. Eventually all the Sentinels were taken down and then Archangel and Magneto came out. Archangel did some good damage for a little bit, but Jean Grey stopped him from moving a couple times that kept him from doing more damage. Eventually he was taken down, but Banshee got taken out.



Magneto was crazy good by tossing Colossus around for auto-wounds. After killing him, he took out Shadowcat and Jean Grey. Angel and Jubilee took out Destiny, but couldn't hurt Sage in the SZ. Eventually Mags came back and took out Angel with a throw and Sage had finished Jubilee off.



Who won and how many wounds did they have? Magneto with 1 wound and Sage with 0 wounds win on T1R9

[Hahma]

TELEPATHIC SUGGESTION
If Mentallo is not engaged, instead of attacking, you may do one of the following:

I made this change this in the SP to only allow Telepathic Suggestion to work if Mentallo wasn't engaged. It makes thematic sense since he need needs to concentrate somewhat and he can't do so with an enemy in his grill.

Gameplay wise, it also helps keep him from being more powerful than he should be. He can still be protected by teammates somewhat, but considering the control he can have over multiple figures with squads, it is a good change IMO.