The Book of Ravage

[johnny139]

Originally Posted by Soundwarp SG-1

Cat Robot. His original toy is supposed to be a jaguar specifically. Hence his super creative Japanese name... Jaguar. Also sometimes known as Black Panther Man.

For real? I would not have guessed that at all. I guess looking again the limbs are kind of cat-like...

[Yodaking]

Okay, I'll leave it as is then.

I Propose Ravage for Initial Playtesting

YK - yea
T - yea
Ronin - yea
Johnny - yea
Scape - yea

[Tornado]

Yea

[Ronin]

yea

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Originally Posted by johnny139

For real? I would not have guessed that at all. I guess looking again the limbs are kind of cat-like...

For real for real (not joking about that Black Panther Man thing either). Ravage has always been a cat, but lots of people think he's a dog, so you're not alone there. I think part of the confusion is because he tends to be drawn with a longer face than normal for a cat, which comes from how the original toy looks due to having to turn into a flat rectangle.

For the curious, you can see Ravage at a several levels of catness on his wiki page (and sub pages).

[Scapemage]

Pounce Attack is really similar in name to Cheetah's Pounce 1 power. I'd either reuse it without the Stealth Leap clause or find a radically different name.

[Yodaking]

Happy to change the name.

[Yodaking]

Changed the name to Pouncing Assault for now. Still open to better name ideas but it can work as a place holder for now. Going to call this vote on time tomorrow if it doens't get up to 5.

[johnny139]

Yea

[Scapemage]

Yea to testing now.

[Yodaking]

Thanks guys. This officially passes. I'm going to knock out some 1 on 1 hero tests for him today and see if he is coming in under Laserbeak or not.

[Yodaking]

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = RAVAGE
SPECIES = CYBERTRONIAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = HUNTER
PERSONALITY = CUNNING
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 3

LIFE = 4
MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = 130?

CASSETTE STORAGE
At the start of the game, instead of placing Ravage in your start zone, you may place this figure on the Army Card of any figure you control with the Eject! Special Power.

POUNCING ASSUALT
When attacking an adjacent opponents figure with a normal attack, add 1 automatic skull to whatever is rolled if Ravage was not engaged at the start of your player turn.

ARMOR PIERCING ROCKET SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Attack 4.
For each skull rolled when attacking with this special attack, the defending figure subtracts 1 from its defense. Ravage can only attack a non-adjacent figure with this special attack and can only use this special attack once per round.

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NAME OF THE TEST UNIT (Ravage)
Hero Tests
- Does it pass, Yes or No? A little disappointed to see Ravage not be able to climb up a 3 hex high plane body, seems like he should be able to jump up their pretty easily, so a climb or leap power would be nice. Defense of 5 seems pretty solid, but I think he needs it to combat the higher attack Transformers. The 3 attack is pretty weak on it’s own, either taking LEA or pairing him up with someone who can let him disengage will be a must in the team tests.
- What should be the unit's point value?I’m okay with him being cheaper at 120, or giving him a climb/leap power and/or disengage power then running the team tests at 130.
- Give a brief overview. I ran some one on ones vs. figures with some light synergy (Insane, Assassin, Agent, & Lawmen) to account for Ravage’s light synergy with Soundwave, then a direct comparison to the one completed tape in Laserbeak. He felt pretty evenly matched against the two 120 point figures, splitting with both of them. Mocking Bird felt like she had more going on than he did though and he was an underdog, he also lost both games to her. He then lost both games to Jonah Hex as well, although Hex was swinging that sabre of his with amazing effectiveness. I called off the 140 point test vs. Laserbeak at that point, with flying & a ranged attack, plus the auto-wound power, Ravage will need to get lucky with the APR in order to have any chance at all.
Map: Island Plane Crash

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Units: Ravage vs. Firefly (120)
Ravage scores a quick 2W with the APR, then Firefly engages him to negate his two offensive powers. Ravage’s defense holds up quite well initially but eventually fails him and he goes down. Thinking I should have taken a LEA here when he was at full health to try and use the APR again.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Firefly w/3W won.
TEST 2
Units: Ravage vs. Firefly (120)
Firefly decides to try and use his flying power & ranged attack more to his advantage here and heads towards the plane tail when Ravage moves up onto the nose. Ravage again scores a quick 2W with the APR, but then Ravage can’t engage with Firefly after that. Ravage has his 2nd APR blocked, but is able to Pounce on Firefly after that and rolls a perfect 3 skull attack while doing so to end the match.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Ravage w/2W won.
TEST 3
Units: Ravage vs. Typhoid Mary (120)
Ravage opts to get in an APR shot before engaging but fails to deal any damage, Mary can’t engage so she burns him instead. Ravage then pounces on her from HG and Mary does not fight back for some reason. Ravage wins initiative and takes HG for an attack, Mary moves up to even ground and throws down 6 att. dice but gets blocked. Ravage takes a LEA W to use his APR, then rolls just 1 skull again. Mary stays on HG and tries to burn him but fails. Ravage can’t get back up next to her in 1 move so he just retreats instead, Mary pursues and takes out Ravage with her normal att. (def. roll whiffed).
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Mary w/2W won.
TEST 4
Units: Ravage vs. Typhoid Mary (120)
Starts out the same way with Ravage having his APR blocked, Mary fails to burn him this time though, then Ravage whiffs on his Pounce Assault from HG and Mary doesn’t shut down, attacking Ravage from HG instead. Mary wins initiative but doesn’t capitalize on is with a terrible att. roll, Ravage takes HG and takes a chunk out of Mary, who shuts down. Ravage keeps snapping at her and scores another hit. Mary snaps out of it but is hurting so she tries to burn him and fails, she does however hold Ravage off. Ravage wins initiative and keeps on attacking to no effect, while Mary misses completely with her blade. Ravage’s teeth get past that blade and Mary goes down.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Ravage w/1W won.
TEST 5
Units: Ravage vs. Mocking Bird (130)
Mocking Bird runs out and pole vaults onto the top of the plane right away. Ravage moves towards her and hits her with a 3 skull APR for 3W! Mocking Bird rushes down to engage Ravage and hits him from HG for 2W (def. whiff). Ravage moves up to HG, Mocking Bird can’t think of any good taunts and he rolls 3 skulls, but she has a perfect 3 shield block! Mocking Bird then moves up to HG herself and smashed down with a 5 skull attack that ends it.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Mocking Bird w/3W won.
TEST 6
Units: Ravage vs. Mocking Bird (130)
Mocking Bird is a little more careful here and moves up by a Jungle tree first this time, Ravage fires his APR at her again but deals no damage. Mocking Bird moves up to HG and uses her ranged att. but also fails to do any damage. Ravage can’t get up next to her so he just moves towards the front of the plane nose. Mocking Bird botches another attack at range from HG. Ravage can only engage and att. her form LG and decides to give it a try since he’s getting the auto-skull from Pounce, this ends up being a bad decision as she counter strikes him for 1W. Mocking Bird wins initiative and att. from HG, but Ravage has a fantastic def. stand and takes no damage, she mocks him none the less though and he opts not to attack as a result. She then hits him for 1W and he fights back but gets blocked. Ravage then blocks her last att. of the round and opts to take a LEA (miss), to fire his APR, Ravage has a great 3 skull roll but Mocking Bird matches him with 2 shields on 2 dice to take just 1W. Ravage wins initiative and fires off another 3 skull APR att., only to watch Mocking Bird roll 2 shields again! Mocking Bird then engages and delivers her own 3 skull attack, that scores 2W and ends the match.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Mocking Bird w/2W won.
TEST 7
Units:Ravage vs. Jonah Hex (130)
Hex shoots first to no avail, then Ravage misses with his APR. Hex hits from LG, and Ravage pounces on him from HG for 2W. Hex swings his saber from HG for another W. Hex wins initiative and att. with his sabre from HG again, this time rolling 6 skulls and this match is over.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Jonah Hex w/2W won.
TEST 8
Units: Ravage vs. Jonah Hex (130)
Ravage tires to be a little sneakier here and manages to get in the first shot with his APR, but it’s blocked. Then Hex hits him with some fancy shooting. Ravage manages to get in a Pounce from HG, and Johan whiffs on def. to take a quick 3W’s! Hex then uses his sabre and rolls a perfect 6 skulls on 6 dice to take Ravage out.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Jonah Hex w/3W’s won.
TEST 9
Units: Ravage vs. Laserbeak (140)
.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? .
TEST 10
Units: Ravage vs. Laserbeak (140)
.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? .

*card updated with an ‘ignore figures height when climbing’ power before these tests*
Army Test 1
- Does it pass, Yes or No? yes
- What should be the unit's point value? Starting to think 110 might also be feasible here for him after a pretty big blow out, if he doesn’t score a big hit with the APR and/or the initial Pounce attack he’s unlikely to give you much.
- Give a brief preview. Storm brings the Rain to free up Ravage and Laserbeak and let them do their thing, Jubilee gives her someone to bond with when it’s her turn. A little Outlaw team here for them to deal with. Bane is strong melee figure while Red Hood can do some damage at range. Storm will be Catman’s Prey.
Map: Island Plane Crash
Units: Ravage @120, Laserbeak, Storm, Jubilee (540) vs. Catman, Bane, Redhood (540)

Spoiler Alert!

Pouncing Assault Usage: Used while att. Bane from HG, 1W.
APR SA Usage: Att. Red Hood, 2 skulls rolled, blocked! Red Hood leaps next to him to engage and prevent a new Pounce.
Damage Taken: Catman att. while adj. to Bane, 4 skulls rolled, 2W’s. Catman at. Again while adj. to Bane, 2 skulls rolled, def. whiff on 5 dice, Ravage goes down w/OM1 on his card.
Damage Dealt with Normal Attack: 1W to Bane (Pounce) from HG,
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Red Hood w2W, Catman w/2W, & Bane w/3W won.

Recap: Outlaws won initiative in the first 3 rounds and were pretty efficient in this one. Bane boosting Catman puts down Ravage in just 2 attacks, then Bane moves over and breaks Jubilee’s back after just one att. That was just on R3T1, OM1 was lost on Ravage, then Red Hood takes out Storm with his guns on R3T2, OM2 was lost as a result. R4, Laserbeak wins initiative and scores 1 wound with Observe, then Red Hood shoots him up and he falls while trying to return fire with a normal att.
_____________________________________________________________
Army Test 2
- Does it pass, Yes or No? IDK, he’s feeling pretty weak after the two team tests. I’m wondering if Devestating Pounce SA might not be a better option here since he’s going down pretty quickly anyway, the self W issue isn’t a big deal as he’s not getting to attack very many times anyway so may as well roll 6 att. dice once and get the SA immunities.
- What should be the unit's point value? He’s feeling more like 100 points or less after this one. WW at 100 points is giving you more for your money. Zabu at 130 is a better points investment for sure.
- Give a brief preview. Since this is a Jungle Map I thought it would be fun to have Ka-Zar and Zabu run around with the robot panther, Weather Wizard tags along to give Ravage disengage again. Kraven is on the Hunt for Ka-Zar, while the classic duo of Batman and Robin are looking for Weather Wizard and his new pet cat. Ka-Zar prey is Batman though, should be fun!
Map: Island Plane Crash
Units: Ravage @120, Ka-Zar, Zabu, Weather Wizard (520) vs. Batman I, Robin (Tim), Kraven (520)

Spoiler Alert!

Pouncing Assault Usage: Never used.
APR SA Usage: Fires APR at Robin and rolls 3 skulls! But Robin is on HG next to a Jungle Bush so he still rolls 2 shields and only takes 1W, when 2 would have KOed him.
Damage Taken: Kraven Nerve Punches him from HG for 2W (removing OM3 in the process), Kraven then bolo’s Ravage and Nerve Punches him again from HG for another 2W and he’s done for.
Damage Dealt with Normal Attack: Never used.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Batman w/3W & Kraven @full health won.

Recap: I didn’t account for how fast Kar-Za moves across a Jungle Map with no OM reveals and had put OM3 on him. As a result he ended up in the thick of things right away and Kraven Boloed and Nerve Punched him to take him out before he could reveal OM3 in R1. This pretty much doomed his team. They keep fighting though and Zabu pounces on Robin to take him down, WW fires off a couple of Lightning Bolts at Batman, taking 1W in the process but also inflicting 2W. Then Kraven KO’s Ravage in just 2 att. from HG. Zabu wins initiative and Pounces on Batman, rolls 4 skulls but only inflicts 1W when 2 were needed, killing himself. Batman then hits WW, who fires off a Lightening Bolt at Batman and kills himself as well.

Final Thoughts: While I wanted him to be on the cheaper side so he could be more affordable to draft, I still wanted him to be effective and he wasn’t here in either one of the two team tests. Once he was facing figures at higher point levels he dropped pretty quickly, so your window for him to do something for you is pretty small. Thinking about bumping up the defense by 1, and changing the Pouncing Assault effect to something else, maybe a defense subtraction or auto-wounding power instead of an auto-skull? IDK, I really didn’t want to do some kind of bonding here and force you to draft Soundwave with him every time but both Robin and Zabu have full bonding at 120 & 130 points and it’s easier to get some value out of them as a result.


Additional Testing:



***Increased base attack and defense by 1 each and ran the previous test again***
Army Test 3
- Does it pass, Yes or No? He’s getting closer.
- What should be the unit's point value? He had a pretty strong showing in this one, both on offense and on defense so I’m going make another tweak and run another test.
- Give a brief preview. Redo test here. I’ll use what I learned in the last one and not have Kar-Zar & Zabu move up right away using the free move when Batman takes a turn. Instead I’m just going to lead out with Ravage & WW and focus the OM’s on Ravage to see how well he plays with a disengage ally where he’s the OM focus. Batman is Kar-Zar’s prey while Kar-Zar is Kraven’s prey.
Map: Island Plane Crash
Units: Ravage @120, Ka-Zar, Zabu, Weather Wizard (520) vs. Batman I, Robin (Tim), Kraven (520)

Spoiler Alert!

Pouncing Assault Usage: Pounced on Robin while avoiding engagement with Batman, rolled 1 skull on 4 dice, 1W inflicted.
APR SA Usage: Att. Kraven next to Palm Tree, rolls 1 skull, blocked. Att. Robin, rolls 3 skulls!, 2W’s inflicted. Att. Kraven, rolls 2 skulls, 2W’s!
Damage Taken: 1W from Batman att. from LG in 1 att. (5 vs. 7), 1W from Batman in 1 att. from even ground (5 vs. 6),
Damage Dealt with Normal Attack: 1W to Robin (Pounce), 2W to Kraven from HG in 1 att. (def. whiff by Kraven), 2W to Kraven in 1 att. from even ground (another def. whiff by Kraven), 2W to Batman in 1 att. from even ground.
Details: WW moved up first to provide Fog & Rain, then Ravage ran out and fired his missiles at Kraven to no effect, then Pounced on Robin. Ravage won initiative and used the Rain to disengage and run up onto the tail for some HG, then fired his missiles at Robin and sent him reeling, Batman engages Ravage from LG in an attempt to save Robin from further attack, or at least a Pounce, Robin goes after WW. WW has OM2 though and takes out Robin with a lightening Bolt. Batman grapples up to HG on the tail above Ravage and continues his assault, gets blocked. Ravage uses the Rain again to disengage and goes after Kraven from HG, no Pounce though. Kraven takes HG on Ravage and Nerve Punches him, but Ravage blocks! Ravage wins initiative again, disengages and fires his missiles at Kraven. Kraven takes out WW with OM2 on his card, then misses Ravage. Ravage fights back but gets blocked. Batman moves in and lands a blow on Ravage. Kraven wins initiative, continues to miss his Bolo roll, hits Ravage with a solid Nerve Punch but Ravage blocks with 4 shields! Ravage takes down Kraven. Batman can’t crack Ravage’s armor. Ravage bites Batman. Batan still can’t damage Ravage, Kar-Zar & Zabu move up, then attack Batman from LG, Kar-Zar misses and Zabu takes 1W. Batman wins initiative and hits Kar-Zar for 3W from HG, Kar-Zar takes HG on Batman and attacks, only to kill himself off. Zabu pounces on Batman and ends the game.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Ravage w/2W & Zabu w/1W won.

Recap: Well I got my win here and for a while I was thinking it was going to be a blow out, but then Kar-Zar fell really quickly to Batman at the end and it looks a little closer. Ravage had a really strong showing after the first round, WW letting him disengage and use his missiles or go after a better target had a lot to do with that, as did Kraven’s terrible defense dice rolls in this one. Kraven also failed on something like 6 bolo rolls so he just flat out didn’t have a good performance here. Still, thinking maybe the defense of 6 felt a little too strong now as Ravage just kept on rolling shields to block attacks. Maybe drop defense back down to 5 but bump life up to 5 for the next one. The base attack of 4 felt good here though.

***Left attack up at 4 in this next test, but dropped the def. back down to 5 and gave him 1 more life instead to see it that is the better way to increase his staying power a bit. ***
Army Test 4
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes, this game felt the most competitive out of the 4 team matches so I think I’m just going to leave him alone now.
- What should be the unit's point value? This ended up being an improbable win for Laserbeak, before that it was looking like a pretty solid loss again and Ravage wasn’t able to do much even though he had many opportunities. As such I’m thinking I’ll send him out for Public testing at 110, if Soundwave makes him better then the extra cost should be on Soundwave’s card.
- Give a brief preview. Rerunning the first team test. I’ll leave Laserbeak in the SZ until the opponent’s team gets down to 2 figures, then bring him out to hunt for #ed OM’s. I’ll send Ravage out first on his own, then bring up Storm and Jubilee to try and free him from being engaged and hopefully draw the Outlaws attention away from him. Storm is Catman’s Prey again.
Map: Island Plane Crash
Units: Ravage @120, Laserbeak, Storm, Jubilee (540) vs. Catman, Bane, Redhood (540)

Spoiler Alert!

Pouncing Assault Usage: Att. Bane from HG, rolls just 1 skull on 5 dice, blocked. Pounces on Red Hood (next to Bane, but didn’t want to give up HG to att. Bane), this doesn’t work out for him when he rolls just 1 skull on 4 dice, takes 1W from Red Hood’s Evade power as a result. Pounces on Bane from even ground, 2 skulls rolled on 4 dice, 1W inflicted.
APR SA Usage: Att. Bane next to Jungle Bush, 2 skulls rolled, blocked. After disengaging form Bane & Catman via Storm’s Rain, Ravage fires at Red Hood, rolls 2 skulls, 1W inflicted. Another Rain assisted disengage allws him to fire his missiles at Catman, but he only rolls 1 skull for 1W. Ravage disengages (Rain) from Red Hood, then fires his missiles at Red Hood (next to Bane), rolls just 1 skull again, blocked.
Damage Taken: Red Hood uses his SA on Ravage from LG, gets off 3 shots, first one deals 2W’s. Ravage Pounces on Red Hood and takes 1W from Evade. Red Hood fires twice at Ravage with his SA after first taking down Storm, scores 1W. Red Hood uses his SA again, first shot is at Ravage for 1W finishing him off.
Damage Dealt with Normal Attack: 1W to Bane (Pounce) in 2 att.,
Details: Ravage gets all 3 OM’ to start the game, wins initiative, fired his missiles on T2, & Pounces on T3, fails to deal any damage though while taking a quick 2W from Red Hood’s SA. Catman wins initiative and takes HG on Ravage but fails to deal any damage, Storm moves in a hits Catman. Red Hood goes after Storm from HG and scores a hit. Ravage now freed, retreats and fires his missiles at Red Hood. Catman decided to go after him Prey Storm, thinking he can score a W in two attack and motivate Bane into engaging Ravage, this works out as intended. Storm flies over to the plane tail while Jubilee engages with Catman & Red Hood. Storm wins initiative, but her and Jubilee only roll 1 skull on 10 dice and do nothing. Catman moves adj. to Bane and att. Jubilee, but she blocks! Ravage disengages with the Rain and runs up to the top of the tail, fires his missiles at Catman, but also can’t generate more than 1 skull. Red Hood moves adj. to Bane and unloads his guns on Storm from low ground, who blocks all 4 attacks including two 3 skulls rolls! Ravage then Pounces on Red Hood and only manages to hurt himself. Bane hurts himself with his Injections, att. Jubilee who blocks. Storm wins initiative, Catman moves towards her and gets nailed in the face, Jubilee fights Bane to no effect. Catman takes HG on Storm and motivates Bane into punching Jubilee after he moves adj. to Red Hood. Ravage disengages and fires his missiles at Red Hood, but rolls just 1 skull again. Red Hood stays unengaged so he can potentially shoot at multiple targets, takes out Storm in 2 att. then fires at Ravage twice. Bane attempts to take out Ravage but gets blocked. Jubilee wins initiative, takes LEA (miss) from Bane and hits Bane & Red Hood with her SA, scoring a W on Red Hood. Red Hood finishes off Ravage with 1 shot, then fires at Jubilee 3 times and doesn’t score a single W. Jubilee scores a W on bane this time. Red Hood scores a W on Jubilee, but the guns jam after the first att. Jubilee can’t use her good fortune to her favor though and fails to W anyone. Bane then takes her out. Laserbeak wins initiative and flies out to att. Bane, who blocks. Red hood unloads on Laserbeak, but gets blocked all 4 times. Laserbeak scores 1W on Bane, Red Hood delivers 2W’s back. Laserbeak takes out Bane, who had OM3 on his card. Laserbeak wins initiative, observes 2 #ed OM’s on Red Hood’s card (including #1) and rolls 2 skulls to take him out! He then takes out Catman out to pull out a win.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Laserbeak w/2W won in a surprise victory.

Recap: This looked like it was going to be a solid Outlaw win until Laserbeak pulled off a crazy comeback and took down all three of the (wounded) Outlaws to secure a win. Ravage rolled some pretty poor attack dice in this one, even with Storm giving him multiple opportunities thanks to her Rain. Some good defensive rolls kept this one from spiraling out of control for the Decipticon team.