The Book of Gray Fox

[IAmBatman]

yea

[Tornado]

You think Bullseye is a better figure than Gray Fox?
I never thought of him as a premiere design.

[Arch-vile]

Bullseye kicked butt in these games at least. He's always performed pretty well for me.

[Tornado]

OK. Yea

[Yodaking]

yea

[Arch-vile]

This passes

[Arch-vile]

Based on feedback from Soundwarp, I'm going to simplify the special attack from this:

HIGH FREQUENCY BLADE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 4 + Special.
Instead of moving and attacking with Gray Fox, he may use this special attack. Figures subtract 1 from their defense dice when attacked by Gray Fox with this special attack. When attacking with this special attack, if at least one skull is rolled, Gray Fox may move up to two spaces then attack again with this special attack. He may continue moving then attacking with this special attack, rolling 1 fewer attack die for each subsequent attack, until you fail to roll a skull.

To this and send that to FreshFoods.

HIGH FREQUENCY BLADE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 4 + Special.
Figures subtract 1 from their defense dice when attacked by Gray Fox with this special attack. After attacking for the first time with this special attack, Gray Fox may move up to two spaces then attack one additional time with this special attack, rolling 3 attack dice for the second attack.

EDIT: Also changed the first power name from "Singleminded Vendetta" to "Mysterious Vendetta" to better express the theme.

[Arch-vile]

Pretty rough losses here:

Originally Posted by FreshFoods

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT : Gray Fox

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = GRAY FOX
SECRET IDENTITY = FRANK JAEGER

SPECIES = CYBORG
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = NINJA
PERSONALITY = UNSTABLE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = 200

SINGLEMINDED VENDETTA
At the start of the game, choose an opponent. That opponent may choose a Unique Hero they control. If Gray Fox is engaged to that Hero at any point during his turn, he can not attack figures other than that Hero during that turn, if possible.

HIGH FREQUENCY BLADE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 4 + Special.
Figures subtract 1 from their defense dice when attacked by Gray Fox with this special attack. After attacking for the first time with this special attack, if at least one skull is rolled, Gray Fox may move up to two spaces then attack one additional time with this special attack, rolling 3 attack dice for the second attack.

PARTIAL INVISIBILITY
Gray Fox can move through all figures and is never attacked when leaving an engagement. If Gray Fox is not engaged with an opponent's figure, he cannot be targeted by opponents' non-adjacent figures for any attacks or any special powers that require clear sight.

SUPER STRENGTH

Army Test
Map : Conflict Chernobyl (No Glyphs)
Units :
Gray Fox (200), Hand Ninja x2 (170), Karai, (185), Shredder (245)
= 800

VS.

Doctor Doom *Sorcerer* (345), Kristoff von Doom (115), Doombot x2 (190), Wong (90), Final Ruin (10), Crimson Bands (50)
= 800

Spoiler Alert!

Pre-Game Thoughts/Preview : Ninjas vs. Doom. Gray Fox is going to want to kill Doom ASAP, since the army falls apart pretty rough without him. If Doom buffs himself up with his Invocations it might be tough though.

Damage Done (Normal Attack) : Used 3 times. Killed 1 Doombot.
Singleminded Vendetta : Wong was selected, but Gray Fox was able to position himself to avoid attacking Wong when he didn't want to.
High Frequency Blade : Used 1 time. 2 wounds to Wong.
Partial Invisibility: Useful to keep threat off of him in the early game, and let's him hunt down a foe without getting bogged down.

Wong is chosen for Singleminded Vendetta.

ROUND 1 : Ninjas take initiative.
Strong start from team Doom, he and Wong take the high ground in the center, with Kristoff coming up behind. They take out 3 Hand Ninjas, but Wong takes a wound in the process. Karai and Gray Fox both begin moving up the side, while Shredder heads down the center.

Doom places the 2nd Invocation Marker.

ROUND 2 : Doom initiative.
Doom and Kristoff start the round by killing one Hand Ninja each, leaving one Hand Ninja left. Shredder heads into the center and attacks Wong/Doom, dealing 1 wound to Wong. The ninjas struggle to get any wounds down, while Doom kills Shredder. Shredder does get 2 wounds onto Doom with Ruthless Counter Strike however. Gray Fox manages to take Wong out with his High Frequency Blade.

ROUND 3 : Doom initiative.
Doom starts by using Crimson Bands of Cytorak to escape Gray Fox, and go after Karai. She fights back against him and Kristoff, but she dies to their assault. Gray Fox is pummeled by Doom in melee, takes 3 wounds, and Kristoff finishes the last Hand Ninja. Gray Fox breaks free from the Bands and one shots a Doombot, he's still in the game.

ROUND 4 : Ninja initiative.
Gray Fox goes after the other Doombot, but fails to kill. Since he's adjacent to a foe, Doom moves into range, attacks from height, and kills Gray Fox. Doom wins!

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Doom 3/5 Life, Doombot 2/2 Life, Kristoff 4/4 Life

Post-Game Thoughts : Pretty clear loss for the Ninjas. Doom backed by Wong is some seriously nasty offense right out of the gate, and it just becomes scarier and scarier as the game extends. Gray Fox felt like he might work as a frontliner that's able to reposition himself as needed.

Army Test
Map : Conflict Chernobyl (No Glyphs)
Units :
Gray Fox (200), Livewire (230), Gizmo (160), Mech. Constructs x4 (160), Nebula (240)
= 990


VS.

Arkham Inmates x3 (180), Hugo Strange (155), Mister Zsasz (100), Bizarnage (220), Poison Ivy *1* (165), Animated Vines (55), Joker Goons (120)
= 995

Spoiler Alert!

Pre-Game Thoughts/Preview : This is an Insane army that I've run against friends that did well, so wanted to try it here. The red team is gonna have Gizmo/Mech. Constructs/Livewire at its core, with Nebula and Gray Fox working as assassins.

Damage Done (Normal Attack) : Used 2 time, Killed an Inmate.
Singleminded Vendetta : Didn't come into effect this game.
High Frequency Blade : Unused this game.
Partial Invisibility: Not too useful this game, Ivy was still able to use Plant Animation on him since it doesn't require clear sight.

Livewire is chosen for Twisted Obsession. Bizarnage is chosen for Singleminded Vendetta.

ROUND 1 : Red Team initiative.
Early game movement with the common squads, lots of constructs and inmates move up. Gizmo also moves forward and kills an inmate. Ivy starts to move forward, while Nebula moves down a one of the side paths.

ROUND 2 : Red Team initiative.
Heavy common losses for both sides this round, with 4 constructs getting bodied (all died to Frantic Disengage) and 2 Inmates getting taken out. Ivy targeted many foes with Plant Animation, but failed to wound any.

ROUND 3 : Red Team initiative.
Early in the round, Gizmo moves up some Constructs, and kills an Inmate. A few of the Inmates use Frantic Disengage, losing an Inmate but killing a Construct in the process. Nebula fires at Ivy, dealing 1 wound. Ivy retaliates with Plant Animation, killing a Construct, and dealing 1 wound to Nebula/Gizmo. Nebula kills a Vine, but Ivy continues her assault. 3 wounds to Nebula, 2 to Gizmo.

ROUND 4 : Blue Team initiative.
Ivy's plants are too much for Nebula and Gizmo, taking them both out. Livewire takes out an Inmate. Strange moves 3 Inmates, Ivy, Zsasz, and Bizarnage up. Livewire moves around the flank near Gray Fox, and deals 2 wounds to Ivy. Ivy returns the favor by killing 3 Constructs, leaving 2 alive. Gray Fox moves around the ruins, towards Ivy.

ROUND 5 : Blue Team initiative.
Ivy opens the round, dealing 2 wounds to Livewire with Plant Animation. Gray Fox knows he can't make it to Ivy because of Entangling Vines, so he just kills a nearby Inmate. Bizarnage springs into action and attacks Gray Fox, but fails to wound him. Livewire fires at Ivy and deals 2 wounds, leaving her with 1 life. Bizarnage peels away from Gray Fox and gets adjacent to Livewire thanks to his Clamber, and he COMPLETELY whiffs his attack, and takes 1 wound from his Obsession. Gray Fox goes after Zsasz, but fails to wound him.

ROUND 6 : Red Team initiative. Strange activates Mutagenic Experiment on Zsasz.
Gray Fox starts the round by running away from Zsasz, he gets near Bizarnage but not close enough to attack. Joker Goons and Zsasz move up. Livewire attacks Bizarnage with Technopathic Control, no wounds. Zsasz catches up to Gray Fox and attacks him twice with All Part of the Plan, Gray Fox goes down.
Zsasz also goes after Livewire, the combo of 2 attacks per turn with 2 turns kills her.

ROUND 7 : Blue Team initiative.
The last few Constructs die fairly quickly to the Joker Goons and Zsasz. Blue Team wins!

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Arkham Inmates 2/9 Alive, Hugo Strange 4/4 Life, Zsasz 4/4 Life, Poison Ivy 1/6 Life, Animated Vines 3/3 Alive, Joker Goons 1/4 Alive, Bizarnage 5/6 Life.

Post-Game Thoughts : Really rough game. The red team really could not get their game started, and Poison Ivy controls space so well on Conflict Chernobyl. Losing Nebula before she could really do anything hurt the team pretty severly, and Livewire failed to deliver much. Gray Fox himself also didn't do much, but he fared a bit better than his allies.

Thoughts on the Tested Unit's Cost, Balance, and Draftability : I think he could come down in price a bit, maybe 20 points. 200 points has some great figures to drop into any army like Lizard or Kraven, and I don't really see myself taking him over them. I think he works well with the Ninja synergies even though he lost that game.

General Thoughts on the Tested Unit : I like his design, but I don't think he brings enough at 200. He slots well into a Ninja army, but he just feels a bit underwhelming at his current price point. I'm onboard for his cost dropping a bit.

Originally Posted by FreshFoods

Thought of this right after hitting send, but whoever tries him next should def run him with Ninjas imo. I think that's where he has the most potential. Fun design! Had a good time with him

[Yodaking]

Taking away 2 of his potential attacks with the SA should come with a point drop.

[Arch-vile]

I agree, though SW already ran his tests, so I was waiting to see what his results show before making any changes.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Sorry I'm a bit late here

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Grey Fox @200 points

Set 1
Map: Island Plane Crash (No E-Glyph)
Units: Fox on Foot: Gray Fox (200), Karai (185), Kirigi (175), Hand Ninja x4 (340)- 900 total vs Marvel's Gang: Ms. Marvel (350), Doppelgänger (250), Red Tornado (300)- 900 total

Spoiler Alert!

Results:
Game 1: Red Tornado with 5 life
Game 2: Doppel with 2, Tornado 3.
Game 3: Doppel with 3.

-After SA change

Game 1: Gray Fox with 2 life
Game 2: Dopple with 1 life.
Game 3: Tornado with 2 life.


Ok, long story short with the original version here was he just didn't do anything worth doing. The other two heroes on his team could equal his offense while also doing other things and without being hamstrung by not being able to move, so basically all he had going was being invisible (sometimes).

He felt better after the change, he's still mostly only really useful for bypassing defenses that care about normal attacks, but at least now he can move well enough to get where he needs to be to do that job. The other team being able to clear out Hand Ninja's quickly was more a determining factor in the games than anything else, but at least after the change the Ninja team didn't feel like it started in the hole.

The negative power never really came up enough to matter. It kinda just felt like text that was there for the sake of filling the card up.

Set 2
Map: Sewer Labyrinth
Units: Foxy Lady: Gray Fox (200), Ms. Marvel (350), Lady Death (365), Chucky (85) - 880 total vs Branding Iron: Abigail Brand (170), Iron Man (Stealth) (270), Ghost Rider (380), Atom (50), Skrull Infiltrator x1 (10)- 880 total

Spoiler Alert!

Results:
Game 1: Ghost Rider 2 life, Brand 2 life
Game 2: Grey Fox with 2 life.
Game 3: Brand with 3 life.

-After SA change

Game 1: Chucky with 1 life, Grey Fox 5.
Game 2: Brand with 2 life and a Skrull Infiltrator.
Game 3: Lady Death with 3 life, Grey Fox with 5 life.


So the big play here is just the rest of the army does it's thing and Grey Fox is a clean up dude that can avoid getting sniped early. He has enough move that even without flying he can hang at the edge of Marvel's range and still have a chance to move up and get a relevant attack off. He is much nicer when that attack can be his SA.

This set I intentionally gave the other team a relevant thing to screw him over with on the Vendetta power (Atom), but it still didn't really come up since he was just the back-up guy.

After the SA change he was ok, nothing amazing, but ok.

Overall: He seems a lot better after the change, honestly could probably still use a bit of a point drop, but he at least feels functional now.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Originally Posted by Yodaking

Taking away 2 of his potential attacks with the SA should come with a point drop.

Originally Posted by Arch-vile

I agree, though SW already ran his tests, so I was waiting to see what his results show before making any changes.

I mean, I do think he needs a point drop, but he's 100% stronger with the current version. Getting to move before the attacks is worth way more than maybe getting two irrelevant attacks at the end (except against like... low defense melee squads or something, which aren't exactly a big factor in the C3G meta)