The Book of Kingpin (II)

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Alrighty, got an opening round of testing done, sorry it took awhile. I'll have the rest of the tests up tonight or so.

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Kingpin II @220 points

- Theme Test - Pass
- Bonding Test - Pass
- Synergies Test - Pass
- Power Check - Pass
- Fun Test - Pass
- Fun Competitive Test - Pass
- Drafting Test - Pass
- Usage Test - Pass
- Strategy Test - Pass

Army Test 1
Map: Island Plane Crash (No E-Glyph)
Units: Kingpin's Crew: Kingpin II (220), Wrecker (230), Bulldozer (190), Piledriver (190), Thunderball (190), Daredevil (180)- 1200 total vs Blue Avengers: Ms. Marvel (350), Incredible Hulk (C3G) (380), Thor (430), Skrull Infiltrator x 4 (40)- 1200 total

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary: Island Plane Crash isn't the greatest map for a group of ground-pounders like the Wreaking Crew, but Kingpin helps them absorb some shots while getting into smacking range. The game was a fairly standard back and forth smack fest with the 'field leaders' Wrecker and Ms. Marvel being the first to go down. Thunderball then got promoted to Crew Foreman and received the bulk of the crew's OMs where he managed to get a few decent Wrecking Crew chains going to take out their classic enemy Thor. He somehow managed to stay alive as his other buddies fell to the Hulk (mostly because both of them ate a lighting bolt from Thor early on), and barely managed to finish off the jolly green giant by eating a disengagement attack to remove Hulk's rage marker between rounds. After that, it was just a matter of Infiltrator cleanup.

Kingpin started the game behind the ruin in his starting zone (with Daredevil keeping him company) and saw no reason to move for the duration of the game. But the Wrecking Crew did seem to appreciate his hands-off management style.


Unit Summary:

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): None
• Kingpin of Crime: Used to give the rest of the army 1 extra defense during the entire game.
• Criminal Frame-Up:Used to convert Daredevil into a Criminal.
• Damage Taken: None.

Result: Kingpin's Crew wins with a 1 life Thunderball, full health Kingpin, and full health Daredevil.

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Army Test 2
Rematch of the above

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary: With the Wrecking being so high variance, I wanted to try this one again. The match ran pretty similar for a while, but then the Wrecking Crew hit a cold patch of D-20s and even with Kingpin's extra defense die to keep them warm they never quite recovered. In the end, they went down with a 5 Life Thor still around. Daredevil completely failed to hit his Radar Sense rolls, but his Kingpin backed defense held out long enough for him to land 2 more wounds on Thor. Kingpin fared even worse against the thunder god, taking a hammer smack to the face before having his 2 skull attack blocked and his head caved in by Thor's following attack.

Unit Summary:

• Damage Done (Normal Attack):None (failed to land a hit on Thor with his one attack of the game)
• Kingpin of Crime: Used to give the rest of the army 1 extra defense during the entire game.
• Criminal Frame-Up:Used to convert Daredevil into a Criminal.
• Damage Taken: 1 Wound from Thor's special attack, followed by another 4 from Thor's normal attack during Thor's next turn.

Result: The Blue Avengers win with a 3 Thor and 3 Skrull Infiltrators

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Army Test 3
Map: Sewer Labyrinth
Units: Kingpin of Mutants: Kingpin II (220), Whirlwind (190), Mentallo (135), Spider-Girl (140), X-23 (220), Typhoid Mary (120), Gambit (210), Armor (100), Jubilee (60), Oracle (110)- 1405 total vs Cage Fighters: Luke Cage (190), Iron Fist (260), Wolverine (280), Shang-Chi (230), Tigra (170), Moon Knight (150), Firestar (120), Skrull Infiltrator X1 (10)- 1410 total

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary: Going for the 'Triple Combo' build here. Kingpin decided to make Spider-Girl a Criminal over Firestar, as Angelica just wasn't a very concerning piece of the other army. The first round was just set up as neither army could mobilize but so fast, as Kingpin's team was splitting OMs between Spider-Girl, X-23, and Gambit, and Cage's team wanted set Moon Knight up for future Air Dropping and didn't want to over extend their commander. Round two saw Moon Knight deploy to neutralize Mentallo, he managed to KO him with a 'lucky' hit, but that OM just bounced to X-23 which was perfectly ok with the Kingpin team. After that, super X-23 went on a bit of a spree with her gal-pal Armor, killing Moon Knight and Iron Fist while managing to end the round with only 1 wound herself. Gambit's third turn chasing after the girls was much less impressive. The next round team Kingpin decided to switch to having all numbered Oms on X-23, as bouncing around between different Heroes just wasn't worth it compared to X-23 dishing out attacks and healing efficiently. She made good use of Kingpin's attack boost, managing to shred through most of Luke Cage's life before killing herself attacking Shang-Chi during a Scent Frenzy. After that, momentum shifted against the Kingpin team, and eventually Wolverine ended up tearing through them right back. It finally came down to Oracle and KP vs Wolverine with Firestar still hanging in the other team's start zone. They gave it a fair shake, with Kingpin landing a solid three wounds on Logan thanks to Barbara's attack plan, but yeah, they weren't wining it against the king of clean-up.

Ultimately, the 'triple combo' option is just very tricky to use even with the Mutant sidekicks providing some level of OM efficiency, though it doesn't help that there was only one mediocre Thief option or that X-23 is such a sharky unit. Still, it was at least fun to play, though very hard to keep track of when you're playing both teams.

Unit Summary:

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): Three Wounds to Wolvie in one attack, though one of those was from Oracle's auto-skull
• Kingpin of Crime: Gave all the non-sidekick mutants +1 to move, attack, and defense for two rounds, then +1 attack to X-23 (and Mary) for a round, another round of triple boosts, then a round of +1 to Crimnal defense.
• Criminal Frame-Up:Used to convert Spider-Girl into a Criminal.
• Damage Taken: 7 Wounds from Wolverine over two attacks during one turn.

Result: Cage Fighters win with a 3 life Wolverine, and a full health Firestar.

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Army Test 4
Map: Sewer Labyrinth
Units: To Steal a Kingpin!: Kingpin II (220), Shocker (160), Catwoman II (170), Crime Alley Crooks x 3 (195), Bodyguard x1 (15)- 760 total vs Sacre Code Blue: Lt. Stone (140), Code Blue Officer x 3 (210), Beat Cops x1 (65), SWAT Assaulter x 5 (125), SWAT Rifleman x3 (105), SWAT Explosives Expert x3 (105), Skrull Infiltrator x1 (10)- 760 total

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary: This one was meant to test a few things, KP's viability in a lower point game among 'street level' types, how well he helps the weakest of his class boosting options (Thieves), and how annoying it is if he has a juicy enough Frame-Up target on the other team (Stone in this case).

Kingpin started the game by framing Stone, cutting off his ability to trigger Synchronized Assault with Coordinated Efforts or benefit from Stun Grenade. To make a long story short, the Thief team was surprisingly nasty here. Between KP shutting down a chunk of the other team's efficiency and making everyone on his team hella fast, the Coppers could just not match the Robbers mobilization or attack output. Shocker and Catwoman where pretty aces at taking out the Assaulters (who the CACs really don't want to tussle with) or at least moving them out of the way so the CACs could punch through to other targets. Lt Stone tried valiantly to lead his team on, but his already Kingpin sullied reputation took a further hit when he died ignominiously to a caltrop Shocker blasted him into.

The Thief team was a lot of fun to play, especially with Catwoman effectively transformed into a crazy caltrop-bomber jet. I suppose it could be a bit unfun from the Lawman's view (hard to tell in solo play), but it wouldn't even make my top 10 most annoying things to deal with in C3G list, so I'm not too worried.

Unit Summary:

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): None
• Kingpin of Crime: Used to give the rest of the army (except his bodyguard) 2 extra move during the entire game.
• Criminal Frame-Up:Used to convert Lt. Stone into a Criminal.
• Damage Taken: None.

Result: Kingpin's Thieves carry the day with a 2 life Shocker, 2 Catwoman, full health Kingpin, and a Bodyguard.

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THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: It's a bit hard to judge Kingpin's impact given his role as pretty much pure support, but I think he is in a good place. The Wrecking Crew are one of his better options since they're already a pretty potent team, but it didn't feel like anything Kinpin did propelled them into broken territory

[Yodaking]

Hmmm....should he maybe have a clear sight restriction on his boosts. Not sure if it would have made any impact on that game (jungle trees can block LOS too) but something worth discussing. From a theme stand point he seems more like the type of character that would fall into the LOS limitation group rather than those who do not (ie. mental powers/technology).

[Tornado]

Glad you did a re-match with Wrecking Crew.

I have found it is a good idea to get in two or three tests with them as they can be so swing-y. I would suggest each tester gets in at least one match with them, especially if they are a prime build.

I could not believe I defeated them with the Dark Judges the first match and then they completely crushed the DJs the next two.

Good stuff.

[japes]

Originally Posted by Yodaking

Hmmm....should he maybe have a clear sight restriction on his boosts. Not sure if it would have made any impact on that game (jungle trees can block LOS too) but something worth discussing. From a theme stand point he seems more like the type of character that would fall into the LOS limitation group rather than those who do not (ie. mental powers/technology).

Anyone have any comments to add here. If not we need to move this along.

[Ronin]

I thought we were waiting on another test or two from Soundwarp? I'd like to move him along as well, but two games is a little on the short side for an initial.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Yeah, I've got some more tests to get up. Sorry for the delay, a friend of mine was in the hospital for a bit, so I've been away from my computer and test stuff. On the line of sight issue, I don't think it is needed. Kingpin of Crime is a strategic level power, not a tactical one. It's meant to represent him organizing and inspiring (through fear mostly) underworld types, he's not like barking orders to 'doge that laser beam' or whatever in real time.

[japes]

Originally Posted by Ronin

I thought we were waiting on another test or two from Soundwarp? I'd like to move him along as well, but two games is a little on the short side for an initial.

Yeah I wasn't clear...I meant move the initial along...it looked like Soundwarp paused and YK made a comment. I was leading more to a ... "does anyone have anything more to add to YK's comment and if not continue on with the initial"

[japes]

Going off of the Batter Up! strategy...

Kingpin II 220
Shocker - Thief - 160 ( VIBROSHOCK KNOCKBACK)
TOMOE GOZAN - Assassin - 170 (Engagement Strike)
Electro - Criminal - 135 - Electric Skin

If you can get Shocker pushing a figure into a Tomoe/Electro sandwich you can have a lot of chances to put some wounds on a figure.

[Yodaking]

I believe Thunderball can move people with his SA too if you felt like trying him outside of the Wrecking Crew build.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Alrighty, finally got my other two tests written up. Sorry it took so long. I've now done a test for every bullet point of Kingpin of Crime except the Assassin one (though test three does switch to that for a bit), and both the enabling and disabling versions of Criminal Frame-Up.

[Ronin]

Looking good! What was the result of the Lawman match?

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Looking good! What was the result of the Lawman match?

Sorry, it cut off part of my edit apparently (my computer really hates this site), I've fixed it now.