The Book of Masahiro Arashi

[TrollBrute]

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Masahiro Arashi

- 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

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Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 150-170
- Give a brief overview. 5 tests 1v1, 5 2v2. Arashi was solid in both, though it's very tricky to use his bonding ability effectively.
Map: Chernobyl Conflict

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Units: Wasp (160)
Wasp had the advantage, but failed with her SA, only rolling two skulls out of six dice.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T6: Arashi with 2/4 wounds.

TEST 2
Units: Wasp (160)
Wasp rolled much better this time, hitting 4/4 skills on her SA.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R1T6: Wasp unwounded.

TEST 3
Units: Mother Russia (160)
Ruthless Counterstrike was nasty here, doing all the damage.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T1: Arashi with 2/4 wounds.

TEST 4
Units: Mother Russia (160)
Russia comes out on top.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T5: Mother Russia with 3/4 wounds.

TEST 5
Units: Baron Zemo (170)
This one was close, but Arashi pulled it out.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R3T2: Arashi with 3/4 wounds.

TEST 6
Units: Arashi + Kirigi (175) vs Luke Cage (190) + Jewel (150)
Arashi edges out Luke by a shield. Kirigi died after making a risky attack and failing.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T4: Arashi with 3/4 wounds.

TEST 7
Units: Arashi + Kirigi (175) vs Luke Cage (190) + Jewel (150)
Kirigi died early to the Fighters and Arashi couldn't take them both.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T5: Luke with 3/5 wounds, Jewel with 1/5.

TEST 8
Units: Arashi + Kirigi (175) vs Luke Cage (190) + Jewel (150)
Luke rolled well on defense, Arashi and Kirigi failed.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T2: Luke with 2/5 wounds, Jewel with 1/5.

TEST 9
Units: Arashi + Kirigi (175) vs Scarlet Spider (245) + Robin (Damian, 80)
Arashi fell early, but Kirigi pulled out the win.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R2T4: Kirigi with 4/6 wounds.

TEST 10
Units: Arashi + Kirigi (175) vs Scarlet Spider (245) + Robin (Damian, 80)
Super close, and Spider just did get the win.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R3T1: Scarlet Spider with 5/6 wounds.

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Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 140-160
- Give a brief overview. Ruthless Counterstrike is nasty against squads, but the ELA rolled really well here and took him down fast.
Map: Chernobyl Conflict
Units: Elite League Assassins (150)
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R1T5: 2 ELA remaining.
_____________________________________________________________
Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 150-170
- Give a brief overview. Arashi went down in the second round, but he took down a couple Warriors and used Kirigi effectively.
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units: Arashi + Kirigi (175) vs Skrull Warriors x3 (330)
Who won and how many wounds did they have? R3T3: Kirigi with 1/6 wounds.
_____________________________________________________________


Army Test 1
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 160-180
- Give a brief overview. Ruthless Command's boost is less exciting than it was before, but it's useful now and still adds plenty of interesting strategy to the game. The Mutants tried to protect their targeted figures, but Arashi's team was smart in timing their uses, and they made the most of the boost. Fun game. A decent win for the Assassins, but it could have gone the other way with a little better luck. I also forgot about Dazzler’s Sensory Assault in a few attacks. The extra die may have made a difference for the Mutants.
Map: Chernobyl Conflict
Units: Masahiro Arashi (160), Gamora (310), Hand Ninja x3 (255), Bullseye (175) (900) VS Professor X (220), Jean Grey (180), Whirlwind (190), Gambit (210), Dazzler (100) (900)
Unit Summary:
Damage w/normal: 1 wound to Jean.
Yakuza Oyabun: 8 times used.
Ruthless Command: 3 figures chosen, 6 dice added; 0 figures sacrificed.
Ruthless Counterstrike: 0 wounds inflicted (0 to).

Spoiler Alert!

Round One: The Ninja lose two of their number, but they manage 3 wounds to Whirlwind, leaving him a prime target for Masahiro's power.

Round Two: Dazzler tried to tie down Bullseye and Dazzle him, while Whirlwind ran. The Mutants were hoping that they could keep Whirlwind alive and force the Assassins to kill one of their own. Xavier kept Whirlwind alive for a turn, but Bullseye took him down on the next, thanks in part to a whiff from Whirlwind. Jean and Xavier each take a wound during the round, but the Ninja lose two more and Bullseye also takes 3 wounds.

Round Three: Bullseye goes down without dealing anymore damage. Jean takes two more wound from a Ninja, but she kills three, leaving them with only two left. Gamora deals two to Gambit.

Round Four: Arashi targets Gambit. It takes Gamora a couple turns, but she does KO him. She nearly dies to Dazzler and Jean, but survives and heals a wound at the end if the round. Arashi moves out, gets an attack on Jean and finishes her off.

Round Five: Gamora takes down Dazzler, but it takes her the whole round. Arashi struggles against Xavier, not dealing any damage and whiffing twice to take two wounds.

Round Six: Xavier puts up a fight, but he has a target on his back and falls.

R6T3: Arashi with 3/4 wounds, Gamora with 1/5 (she healed twice), and two Hand Ninja remaining.

Army Test 2
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 150-170
- Give a brief overview. I wanted to see how Ruthless Command would fair against a team with some tough to kill figures. Arashi saw a little less play than last game, but he was still useful, giving Merlyn three extra dice. The Ninja/Assassin team was playing from behind on this one though. Dragon Man was nasty, tearing through the Ninja and beating up on the heroes.
Map: Chernobyl Conflict
Units: Masahiro Arashi (160), Kirigi (175), Hand Ninja x3 (85), Merlyn (160) (750) VS Frankenstein (320), Dragon Man (320), Kid Flash (110) (750)
Unit Summary:
Damage w/normal: none.
Yakuza Oyabun: 2 times used.
Ruthless Command: 1 figure chosen, 3 extra dice; 0 figures sacrificed.
Ruthless Counterstrike: 0 wounds inflicted (0 to).

Spoiler Alert!

The first two rounds went quick, with Frankenstein engaging Kirigi while Dragon Man smashed the Ninja, taking down 5 in two rounds. Arashi’s contributions came in the third round when Frankenstein was at three wounds. It was risky, but he put the hit out on Frank, giving Merlyn an extra three dice throughout the round. Merlyn had height on Frank at the time, so he was rolling 4 dice with doubled skulls. He did a wound on the first attack, failed the second attack and just did KO Frank at the end of the round, so that he did not shame himself.

Unfortunately for Arashi, this was about all he did. Dragon Man took down another Ninja, then came right for Arashi, killing him at the end of the third round, just after Frank died. Merlyn put a wound on Dragon Man in the next round, and so did a Hand Ninja, but Dragon Man was too much, taking down the rest of the team. It also helped that Kirigi and Merlyn whiffed their defense on back-to-back turns.

R5T2: Dragon Man with 5/6 wounds, Kid Flash unwounded.

[TrollBrute]

Hero and Squad tests all wrapped up. I'm going to start him at 160 for the Army tests. It's tricky to use his bonding power well, but it's fun trying to balance OMs and decide when it's worth it to make a big attack. Kirigi is a nice option because he has a power that can deal wounds without risking an attack. The Man-Bat Assassins will be another nice one.

One question I'm wondering about is whether or not a unit attacking with an SA would be destroyed by Yakuza Oyabun if they fail to do any damage. Right now, I'd say only a unit using a normal attack would, but I'm not sure what the full intention is.

[A3n]

Special Attacks are still attacks. So the way it is written now, yes they would still die using a special attack.

How did the power feel to play? Did you only want to use when they were just about dead anyway?

[TrollBrute]

Originally Posted by A3n

Special Attacks are still attacks. So the way it is written now, yes they would still die using a special attack.

How did the power feel to play? Did you only want to use when they were just about dead anyway?

But it currently says "that attack" which implies that they die only after using a boosted attack.

I would be fine with allowing SAs to get around the power. As is, the Hand Ninja are usually a better option, but allowing SAs would keep him more useful.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Just an FYI, but your second squad test lists the opposing army as Scarlet Spider and Damian. I assume that is incorrect considering they're not a squad, and you mention Arashi taking down 'a couple of Warriors'.

[Viegon]

Looking good so far.

With the current power, it's a bit iffy since it doesn't specify normal attacks for the boosting part when it should. Assuming you can only use the boost for normal attacks, special attacks would bypass the auto-destroy part because it says "that attack" (meaning the boosted attack).

Mechanically, I like the idea of SAs being able to bypass the auto-destroy, but thematically it seems like they should die regardless of what type of attack they use. Not sure.

Regardless of what we decide, a "normal attack" part should be inserted like this:

After revealing an Order Marker on this card, before taking a turn with Masahiro Arashi, you may choose any one Yakuza, Ninja, or Assassin hero or squad you control and first take a turn the chosen hero or squad. If a figure taking a turn with this special power attacks with a normal attack, add 1 automatic skull to whatever is rolled for that attack. If the attacking figure does not inflict at least 1 wound with that attack, destroy the attacking figure.

[johnny139]

The boost should, of course, only affect normal attacks, but I don't like the idea of being able to use special attacks to get around the limitation. Seems thematically inconsistent.

Masahiro: "Hey, assassin, go take out that dude."
Assassin: "Sorry sir, I missed!"
Masahiro: "Then you must DIE FOR YOUR SHAME!"
Assassin: "But I was using a sniper rifle!"
Masahiro: "Oh, sorry, my mistake. Carry on."

[TrollBrute]

Originally Posted by Soundwarp SG-1

Just an FYI, but your second squad test lists the opposing army as Scarlet Spider and Damian. I assume that is incorrect considering they're not a squad, and you mention Arashi taking down 'a couple of Warriors'.

Huh, thought I fixed that. Good catch, thanks.

Originally Posted by johnny139

The boost should, of course, only affect normal attacks, but I don't like the idea of being able to use special attacks to get around the limitation. Seems thematically inconsistent.

Masahiro: "Hey, assassin, go take out that dude."
Assassin: "Sorry sir, I missed!"
Masahiro: "Then you must DIE FOR YOUR SHAME!"
Assassin: "But I was using a sniper rifle!"
Masahiro: "Oh, sorry, my mistake. Carry on."

I agree completely thematically speaking. Mechanically, I think it would really help the design if special attacks get around it. If SAs don't get around the power, he's going to be very tricky to use, and the Hand Ninja will almost always be a much better choice. Theme's always going to be a little weird anyway. Getting in one wound on Superman will save the figure, as will failing with a special power, or even just not attacking.

It's not my design, and I'll go with the group consensus, but my preference is to allow special attacks to avoid the auto-death.

[TrollBrute]

Poll time!

With Yakuza Oyabun, do you prefer that:

A) special attacks get around the auto-destroy part (i.e. a unit that uses a special attack and fails to do any damage is not destroyed)

or

B) specials attacks do not get around the auto-destroy part (i.e. a unit that fails to do damage with a special attack is destroyed)

[quozl]

.A.

[Karat]

I'll abstain I really see points for both directions and have no real preference.

Perhaps @Lord Pyre will though.

[johnny139]

B - It's a major problem thematically, and I think it removes a lot of the gravity of the choice being made. Also, I fear it would pigeonhole him to work with special attackers.