The Book of Black Bolt (II)

[Tornado]

Yea

[Karat]

Yea

[toyhandle]

This passes.

Thanks guys!


EDIT: Slight change to Master Blow. Going to make it a "may" power, so the strategy doesn't become, "get him to 4 wounds and throw a squaddie at him."

[toyhandle]

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Black Bolt (II)
Version Tested:

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = BLACK BOLT
SECRET IDENTITY = BLACKAGAR BOLTAGON

SPECIES = INHUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = KING
PERSONALITY = RESOLUTE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 6

MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 6
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 330

TACITURN TACTICIAN
Immediately after you win initiative, you may move a figure you control. If you lose initiative this round and you roll the 20-sided die for a figure within 4 spaces of Black Bolt, you may add 2 to your roll.

BROKEN SILENCE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack Special.
Choose 3 spaces in a straight line from Black Bolt. All figures on the chosen spaces, and all figures other than Black Bolt within 1 space of the chosen spaces, are affected by this special attack. Roll 6 attack dice once for all affected figures, or 8 attack dice if a friendly Unique Hero was destroyed this round. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. You may only use this special attack once per round.

MASTER BLOW
If Black Bolt has at least 4 wounds, he may add 1 to his attack for each wound he has. If Black Bolt attacks and destroys a figure while adding to his attack this way he is destroyed.

SUPERSTRENGTH
FLYING

Army Test
Map: Ivy’s Greenhouse
Units:
Black Bolt (330), Namor (280), Reed Richards (200), Professor X (190) (1000)
Ms. Marvel, Cap I, Winter Soldier (Team Up), Moon Knight (Avengers) (1,000)
Results:
This game had what I would call “Smilex Syndrome,” where one good AoE roll is met with a pod of terrible defense rolls, and it cripples the opposing team severely. Black Bolt died the first turn of Round 2, but managed to let off two 4-out-of-6 skull screams each round. First did 3 wounds on Marvel, 2 on Cap, 1 on Bucky, and finished off a Great Evergreen, which did an additional wound on each of them. The second scream destroyed Marvel and did 2 wounds on Bucky.

I could have used Master Blow round 2, but it was better to use the AoE attack while I had multiple eligible targets. The initiative movement was useful for Professor X, especially with the teleportation belt.

After Black Bolt died, the Illuminati was struggling to get wounds in, and Moon Knight managed to close the gap a bit by the endgame. Still, a solid win for the Illuminati.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:

Initiative: Avengers. Namor takes the X off Professor, and takes a turn to attack a tree
R1T1(Player): Cap moves up, shield throws for 1 wound on the Great Evergreen. Bucky moves up, fails to wound Great Evergreen.
R1T1(Player): Black Bolt moves up and destroys a tree.
R1T2(Player): Cap Marvel moved, wounded Great Evergreen
R1T2(Player): Black Bolt screamed 4 skulls for 3 wounds on Marvel, 2 on Cap, (Buck’s Got Your Six hits BB), 1 on Bucky, 1 on Great Evergreen, which puts 1 additional wound on Cap, Bucky and Marvel, and destroys a Palm
R1T3(Player): Bucky grabs height on BB, rolls 6 hits, 3 wounds on BB, Marvel brings him to 5 wounds.
R1T3(Player): Prof X lands 1 Mental Blast on Cap.

Initiative: Illuminati
Reed gives Xavier the teleportation belt and Professor X moves next to BB
R2T1(Player): A 4 skull scream inflicts 2 wounds on Bucky, destroys Marvel, Cap Blocks, Got your Six destroys BB. Contingency Plan moves Order Markers to Professor X.
R2T1(Player): Cap puts 2 wounds on Namor, Reed blocks, destroys a bush. Namor blocks Bucky.
R2T2(Player): Professor X misses Mental Blasts.
R2T2(Player):
R2T3(Player): Professor X misses Mental Blasts.
R2T3(Player): Moon Knight obliterates tree.

Initiative: Avengers. Namor takes X off of Xavier and destroys Cap. Got your six misses.
R3T1(Player): OM1 Cap
R3T1(Player): Namor is blocked by Bucky
R3T2(Player): OM2 Cap
R3T2(Player): Imperius Rex fails
R3T3(Player): Moon Knight fails to wound Xavier
R3T3(Player): Mental Blast fails.

Initiative: Avengers, Namor takes X from Xavier, fails to wound Bucky.
R4T1(Player): Namor blocks Bucky.
R4T1(Player): Namor destroys Bucky, and takes a Got Your Six.
R4T2(Player): Moon Knight Stays put.
R4T2(Player): Namor moves to Xavier.
R4T3(Player): Moon Knight destroys Namor.
R4T3(Player): 2 Mental Blasts on Moon Knight.

Initiative: Illuminati
Reed takes the Kryptonite suit
R5T1(Player): Reed puts 1 wound on Moon Knight.
R5T1(Player): Moon Knight inflicts a wound on himself to attack Reed a second time for 1 wound.
R5T2(Player): Mental Blast finished off Moon Knight.

Who won?
Reed with 1 of 5 wounds, Professor X unwounded

Army Test
Map: City Park
Units:
Black Bolt (330), Iron Man (270), Black Panther (II) (220), Namor (280), Reed (200) (1,300)
Professor X (220), Cyclops (190), Jean Grey (180), Wolverine (Avengers) (270), Storm (270), Beast (170) (1300)
Results:
Kind of a weird build using Black Panther (II) instead of the Avengers version, because Black Panther, Iron Man and Namor are all competing for the X Order Marker, and Reed had more Kings than Visionaries to give inventions to.
On the other hand, I was really unable to wield Storm effectively, and usually wasn't rolling more than 2 skulls against better defense rolls.
Panther was the real terror in this game. Black Bolt was more of a looming threat that I had to manage by Negotiating order markers off of Bolt and Panther to deny him turns, while Bolt blocked most of my attacks.

Because Iron Man died in R1T3, Black Bolt was able to use his full scream, but only landed 2 of 8 skulls, which put 1 wound on Cyclops. Then Namor died R2T3, and he had another full scream, this time landing 6 of 8 skulls, which 1-shot Jean, and finished off Cyclops.

I won initiative most of the time, and there weren’t really any D20’s for Black Bolt to boost, but when they won initiative, it allowed Reed to give Black Bolt the Anti-Krypronite Suit.

No use of Master Blow this game.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:

Initiative: X-Men. Namor takes an Order Marker from Black Bolt, and attacks a tree.
R1T1(Player): Wolverine and Cyke move up, Namor blocks Cyke.
R1T1(Player): Iron Man moves up. Wolverine tracks. Wolverine ignores the attack, Great Evergreen takes 2 wounds.
R1T2(Player): Cyclops and Wolverine failed to wound.
R1T2(Player): Black Panther fails to wound Wolverine.
R1T3(Player): Storm moves up, throws Lightning next to Wolvie, Iron Man and BP. Iron man takes an electric wound. Wolverine destroys Iron Man.
R1T3(Player): Black Bolt unleashes a full scream with 2 hits, Cyke takes 1 wound

Initiative: X-Men. Namor takes Order Marker from himself, attacks Cyclops,
R2T1(Player): Jean moves up, puts 2 wounds on Namor, and Cyke fails to wound.
R2T1(Player): Black Panther puts 3 wounds on Wolverine.
R2T2(Player): Jean throws and wounds Namor. Attacks fails, Optic Blast lands 1 wound on Namor.
R2T2(Player): Reed moves up, fails to wound tree.
R2T3(Player): Optic Blast did 1 wound on Namor, Jean fails to throw Panther, and destroys Namor.
R2T3(Player): Psychic Grip fails, Black Bolt’s 6 skull scream destroys Jean and Cyke.

Initiative: Illuminati. Black Bolt lets Reed move, who gives Black Bolt the Anti-Kryptonite suit.
R3T1(Player): Black Panther reveals the X on Black Bolt, and attacks Wolvie for 1 wound. Black Bolt attacks Beast, Prof X prevents the attack.
R3T1(Player): Beast Negotiates OM off of Black Bolt, Storm failed to wound tree
R3T2(Player): Back Panther engages Storm, attacks for 2 wounds
R3T2(Player): Storm and Wolvie put 2 wounds on Reed.
R3T3(Player): OM3 negotiated
R3T3(Player): Wolvie and Beast fail to wound Black Bolt

Initiative: X-Men
R4T1(Player): Beast negotiates Order Marker off Black Bolt, and Wolverine is blocked.
R4T1(Player): Reed repositions, and whiffs on Xavier
R4T2(Player): Beast is blocked, Wolverine destroys the Anti-Kryptonite Suit and puts 2 wounds on Black Bolt.
R4T2(Player): Black Panther advances and destroys a tree.
R4T3(Player): Wolvie and Beast fail to wound BB.
R4T3(Player): BP fails to wound Wolverine.

Initiative: X-men
R5T1(Player): Beast Negotiates Order Marker off Black Panther, and attacks BB, Wolverine whiffs.
R5T1(Player): Black Bolt destroys Wolverine.
R5T2(Player): Beast and Storm are blocked by BB
R5T2(Player): OM2 BP.
R5T3(Player): Storm attacks BB for 2 wounds, Beast is blocked.
R5T3(Player): BB takes no LEA and is blocked by Storm.

Initiative: X-Men
R6T1(Player): Beast negotiates Order Marker off of BP, and is blocked by BB. Storm destroys BB. Reed puts Order Markers on BP.
R6T1(Player): BP attacks storm for 2 wounds.
R6T2(Player): Stuff happens
R6T2(Player): Stuff happens
R6T3(Player): BP takes a Lightning wound
R6T3(Player): BP destroys the tree, destroying Storm and wounding Xavier.

Initiative: Illuminati, Mr. F takes the Neutralizer.
R7T1(Player): BP puts 1 wound on beast, and Reed neutralizes Xavier.
R7T1(Player): BP blocks Xavier*
R7T2(Player): BP destroys Xavier.
R7T2(Player): OM2 Xavier
R7T3(Player): BP destroys Beast.

Who won?
BP with 1 wound, Reed with 2 wounds.

Army Test
Map: Conflict Cherobyl
Units:
Black Bolt (II) (330), Black Panther (210), Namor (280), Doctor Doom (375) (1195)
Doc Ock (250), Sandman (210), Grey Gargoyle (200), Kraven (200), Grid (200), Wizard (140) (1,200)
Results:
This is a House of M Council of Kings build, which turned out to be more of a demonstration of the strength of Doom and Black Panther (Avengers).
Honestly, I think these results should just be thrown out, since it was a series of misfortunes and missteps that resulted in basically a rush-to-get-this-over-with playstyle, like having Wizard intentionally not use his X shield so that he dies faster.

To summarize, Grid had Sandman move to center map, which only succeeded in Sandman being destroyed by Doom+BB from Panther bonding on turn 1.
Then Doom and Panther put 5 wounds on Kraven on turn 2.
BB finishes off Kraven Turn 3.
Round 2, Grid moves Ock into a Pit Trap and Fending Daggers, and then Doom destroys Ock Turn 1, and the game was basically forfeited at that point.

Again, not really much to learn from this game about Black Bolt.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:
Kraven is Grid’s study. Grid moves Sandman up.
Initiative: Illuminati
R1T1(Player): BB moves BP up, Doom gives Sandman 2 wounds. BB moves up, screams, destroying 2 bushes, and Sandman.
R1T1(Player): Grey Gargoyle moves up
R1T2(Player): Kraven takes 2 wounds from Doom. BP does 3 wounds on Kraven.
R1T2(Player): Wizard puts 1 wound on BP. Kraven avoids daggers and pit trap, Bolas’ Doom, attacks for 3 wounds.
R1T3(Player): Black Bolt destroys Kraven. Namor moves up.
R1T3(Player): Ock moves up. Grid stays put. Grey Gargoyle inflicts a wound on BP, and stones him.

Initiative: Grid moves up Ock, Doom Pit Traps Ock, and he gets Daggered.
R2T1(Player): BB moves up Namor, Doom destroys Ock,
R2T1(Player):
R2T2(Player): Doom attacks Wizard for 1 wound, Power drains, destroys him.
R2T2(Player):
R2T3(Player): BB and Namor put 3 wounds on Grey Gargoyle.
R2T3(Player):

Initiative: Criminals. Namor takes X, Imperius Rex lands on 3rd roll, and Fending Daggers hits twice, destroying Grey Gargoyle.
R3T1(Player):
R3T1(Player):
R3T2(Player):
R3T2(Player):
R3T3(Player): BB puts 2 wounds on Grid.
R3T3(Player):

Initiative: Grid, Namor puts 2 wounds on Grid.
R4T1(Player): Grid destroys Doom.
R4T1(Player):
R4T2(Player):
R4T2(Player):
R4T3(Player): Grid puts 2 wounds on BB
R4T3(Player): BB destroys Grid

Who won?
Black Bolt 2 of 6 wounds, Black Panther 2 of 4 wounds, Namor unwounded.

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units:
Black Bolt (330), Namor (280), Reed Richards (200), Professor X (190) (1000)
Fantastic Four (1000)
Results:
Black Bolt was able to zoom in and get 3 wounds on Sue R1T2 with a 4 of 6 skull scream.
R2T1 he landed a second 4 skull scream, which did 2 wounds on Thing and 1 on Sue.
A fully powered Thing destroyed Black Bolt on the next turn.

After Black But fell, the Illuminati were not dealing wounds fast enough and Flame On + Turn Efficiency took the game.

Taciturn Tactician was great for getting Xavier and Namor into good spots.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:

Initiative: Illuminati. Reed gives Xavier the teleportation belt, and BB allows Xavier to move to the side area of height and cover.
R1T1(Player): Black Bolt moves up.
R1T1(Player): 12; Johnny fails to wound BB. Sue repositions. Mr. F moves up.
R1T2(Player): Black Bolt screams a 4 skull attack for 3 wounds on Sue.
R1T2(Player): 5; Thing puts 3 wounds on BB. Mr. F is blocked.
R1T3(Player): Mind Blasts fail on Sue.
R1T3(Player): 3; Reed is blocked by BB.

Initiative: Massage the Truth wins initiative. Namor gets the Anti-Kryptonite Suit. Namor moves up.
R2T1(Player): BB rolls a 4 skull scream, 2 wounds on Thing, 1 wound on Sue.
R2T1(Player): 15; Thing destroys BB. Professor X takes his Order Markers. Torch takes 1 (of 2) LEAs from Xavier and Namor, both take 2 wounds from Flame On. Namor blocks Torch. Reed fails to wound a tree.
R2T2(Player): Mental Blast destroys Sue and misses Thing.
R2T2(Player): 4; Torch takes no LEA from Namor, and inflicts 2 wounds with Flame On. Namor blocks Torch. Mr. F gives Namor 1 wound.
R2T3(Player): Mental Blast puts 3 wounds on Thing.
R2T3(Player): 1; Namor blocks Mr. F.

Initiative: Illuminati. Reed chooses not to place a glyph.
R3T1(Player): Namor puts 1 wound on Reed.
R3T1(Player): 1; Reed destroys the Anti-Kryptonite suit and destroys Namor.
R3T2(Player): Mental Blasts fail. 9; Torch puts 1 wound on Reed. Reed blocks Mr. F.
R3T2(Player): 9; Torch puts 1 wound on Reed. Reed blocks Mr. F.
R3T3(Player): Mental Blast puts 1 wound on Torch.
R3T3(Player): 19; Torch takes a LEA from Prof X, Flame on destroys Prof X. Reed grabs the Teleportation Belt. Reed blocks Torch. Thing moves up. Mr. F Wraps Reed, and whiffs.

Initiative: F4
R4T1(Player): 20; Torch takes a LEA and puts 2 wounds on Reed. Reed blocks Torch. Thing moves up. Mr. F is blocked by Reed.
R4T1(Player): Mr. F blocks Reed.
R4T2(Player): 17; Thing destroys Reed.

Who won?
Mr. F (1 of 5 wounds), Torch (4 of 5 wounds), Thing (5 of 6 wounds)

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY:
It’s nice having a fast tank option for the Illuminati with a ranged SA option. Draftability and Cost are right, but I’ll tone down the base attack of the Broken Silence SA to 5 or 4.
I didn’t write down the rolls for the Sinister Six game, but for the other three games, the rolls were:
4/6, 4/6, 2/8, 6/8, 4/6, 4/6.
Far above average luck with every roll of 6 dice landing 4 skulls, but it covers a big area, and even at once-per-round, an AoE of 5 is still good, and 4 is not bad.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT:
I like him. I’m looking forward to trying him in bigger games, where I think he’ll be even more dynamic. I should also try playing him in the reserves more often, since I tended to send him out for explosive damage, and have him fall quickly. Lowering the base SA to 4 would encourage him to hold back more until later in the round.

KARAT’S THOUGHTS:
Blackbolt is a huge threat. His extra movement does a lot for his team and he himself is a powerhouse. Broken Silence is probably the biggest threat in my opinion. He can consistently use it and to devastating effect (depending on dice luck). Master Blow is neat and can absolutely be clutch in the right situation but is such a risk/reward type power that it rarely comes into play and by the time that it could he's weakened enough that he may just be taken out before he can use it.

I feel like the Illuminati as a whole is problematic but that Black Bolt isn't the major instigator of that. Black Panther is the one that really causes issues there, especially if you add in Doom and his Pit Trap to the equation. Blackbolt's extra movement absolutely helps out Black Panther set up his defensive pod though which makes me wonder if 330 isn't just a bit low (maybe up 20 points to 350) for what Blackbolt is bringing to the team (a heavy hitter that can tank a few hits and some extra movement if you win initiative which gets more likely if you bring Beast and Iron Man). His d20 boost seemed fairly negligible could be more useful by keeping him closer with the others and if you brought along Beast.

Overall though, he is an interesting design with a lot of neat little tricks that will let him fit into multiple builds. I am a bit concerned with how handily his team handled a couple of the teams that should be able to go toe to toe with the Illuminati most of the time (Cap+Ms Marvel Avengers team). Granted, luck was decidedly not on their side either which obviously had an effect there.

[toyhandle]

Originally Posted by toyhandle

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY:
It’s nice having a fast tank option for the Illuminati with a ranged SA option. Draftability and Cost are right, but I’ll tone down the base attack of the Broken Silence SA to 5 or 4.
I didn’t write down the rolls for the Sinister Six game, but for the other three games, the rolls were:
4/6, 4/6, 2/8, 6/8, 4/6, 4/6.
Far above average luck with every roll of 6 dice landing 4 skulls, but it covers a big area, and even at once-per-round, an AoE of 5 is still good, and 4 is not bad.

What do you guys think, 4 or 5 for the base attack?

[Ericth74]

Originally Posted by toyhandle

What do you guys think, 4 or 5 for the base attack?

I'd start with 5 and adjust after that.

[MrNobody]

5 sounds good!

[toyhandle]

You guys are quick, thanks!

[Splash]

Testing today, anything anyone wants to see?

[Splash]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Black Bolt (Illuminati)
VERSION TESTED

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = BLACK BOLT
SECRET IDENTITY = BLACKAGAR BOLTAGON

SPECIES = INHUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = KING
PERSONALITY = RESOLUTE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 6

MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 6
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 330

TACITURN TACTICIAN
Immediately after you win initiative, you may move a figure you control. If you lose initiative this round and you roll the 20-sided die for a figure within 4 spaces of Black Bolt, you may add 2 to your roll.

BROKEN SILENCE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack Special.
Choose 3 spaces in a straight line from Black Bolt. All figures on the chosen spaces, and all figures other than Black Bolt within 1 space of the chosen spaces, are affected by this special attack. Roll 5 attack dice once for all affected figures, or 8 attack dice if a friendly Unique Hero was destroyed this round. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. You may only use this special attack once per round.

MASTER BLOW
If Black Bolt has at least 4 wounds, he may add 1 to his attack for each wound he has. If Black Bolt attacks and destroys a figure while adding to his attack this way he is destroyed.

SUPERSTRENGTH
FLYING

Army Test
Map: Island Plane Crash.
Units: OG Illuminati - Black Bolt, Iron Man, Namor, Doc Strange (1,200) vs Thor Corps - Thor I, Beta Ray Bill, Valkyrie (1,200)

Spoiler Alert!

Namor’s Arrogance pushes him ahead. BRB misses with Stormbreaker. Bolty flies up and Bill dodges a whisper. Thor lands 1 on Bolty. Bill whiffs on defense and takes 2 from Strange. BRB does 2 to Bolt from height. Namor deals 1 to Bill.
Strange takes a big initiative risk to heal Bolt 1 but succeeds. Bolt moves IM up. Bolt takes 1 LEA to move away from Bill. Bolt deals 1 to Thor but misses BRB with Silence Broken. Thor misses Bolt and Bill does 3 to Namor. Bolty hits Thor for 1. Bill deals 1 to Namor. Strange Shifts BR away from Namor and Namor misses LEA. Black Bolt is also Shifted away from Thor, but Thor decides not to put Bolt at 4 wounds to avoid Master Blow. Strange misses. Thor rolls big and squishes Bolt.
Strange heals Namor 1. Namor misses a swing at Bill who subsequently destroys him. Strange flies up and misses Thor. Thor flies over to Iron Man and misses and IM misses him too. Valkyrie moves.
Strange ports IM to him. IM deals 1 to Valkyrie. Valkyrie is blocked by IM who then deals 2 more wounds. Strange blocks Valkyrie, he then Shifts her away (LEA miss) and misses Bill. Thor deals 2 to IM and Bill deals 1 to Strange.
Strange heals IM 1. He Shifts away Bill who takes 1 LEA and then deals 3 to Thor. Valkyrie deals 1 and another 1 with Dragonfang to Strange. IM misses Thor. Valkyrie hits Strange for 1 again. Strange shifts Bill and deals 1 to Thor. Thor finally destroys Iron Man.
Strange pushes Valkyrie and Thor and then KOs Thor with a normal. Strange blocks Val and deals 1. Valkyrie destroys Strange with 1 wound and 1 unblockable ending the battle.

Black Bolt was a big target because of Master Blow and most early game attacks focused on him. I also sent him out first since I figured it’d be useful against hard to destroy figures like Asgardians and he would get to use it more than once. Sadly I couldn’t get him to the sweet spot before he got stomped. Valkyrie was held back to deal with Strange after Bolt fell.

Damage Done (Normal Attack): Inflicted 1 wound on Thor.
TACITURN TACTICIAN: Iron Man moved up on R2.
BROKEN SILENCE SPECIAL ATTACK: Missed BRB on R1. Misses BRB, 1 on Thor on R2.
MASTER BLOW: N/A.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Beta Ray Bill (4/8 left), Valkyrie (3/7 left)

___________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Island Plane Crash.
Units: Illuminati - Black Bolt, Iron Man, Black Panther, Professor X (1,000) vs King Kong (1,000)

Spoiler Alert!

I wanted to test Master Blow last game and it didn’t happen, but my plan this game was to hold back a little for Broken SIlence dying team bonuses and I think I’ll stick to it.

Bolt moves Panther. Panther and Iron Man take height. Iron Man and Panther deal 7 wounds to Kong. Kong takes 1 from Force Burst and misses Panther, then he reveals the X, heals, and misses again (rolling a whopping one skull both times). Xavier Brain Blasts Kong for 2 and IM deals 3. Kong throws IM at Xavier but both are fine, but then he destroys Panther. King Kong has 1 life left!!!
Kong blocks Iron Man. Then Kong throws Iron Man into Xavier and 1 wounds Tony. Kong deals 3 and then 1 to Xavier destroying him. X reveal, heal, Kong throws IM into Black Bolt, dealing each 1 wound. From here I was going to target Iron Man, but it makes the most sense to target Black Bolt since I’ve already destroyed Xavier. Unfortunately Kong destroys Black Bolt. The next OM was there, so Tony doesn’t fare much better.

I decided to roll post-game on Broken Silence and got 3 skulls against no shields, so he would have destroyed Kong next turn had he lived.

Damage Done (Normal Attack): Inflicted 0 wounds.
TACITURN TACTICIAN: N/A.
BROKEN SILENCE SPECIAL ATTACK: N/A.
MASTER BLOW: N/A.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): King Kong (3/12 left).

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: The cost is where it needs to be for army building, but against heavy hitters (which I felt was fair since the Illuminati is supposed to deal with big threats) he doesn’t match cost and the games are more determined by his teammates. This is due to the fact that he was very much a glass cannon in these games and fell before he could use abilities that operate under him being wounded or his teammates being destroyed. Dr Strange lasts far longer at 10 points cheaper. In terms of his powers, I don’t think his life/defense should go any higher and that wouldn’t help drastically anyway. I think we should lean into his fragility as a powerhouse and a simple change of 4 to 3 wounds on Master Blow would suffice to be a fun draft for the Illuminati. It might mean he goes down earlier, but at least he would get some big damage in more often.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: He fills in some nice holes for the team, but each power sort of needs different things to happen to get the most out of him. His teams had one medium loss and one very close loss getting Kong down to 1 life. I think Master Blow should only require 3 wounds for his price to be worth it. Overall a fun, thematic unit.

[toyhandle]

Thanks Splash! I like that suggestion of 3 life for Master Blow. Using it with fewer wounds means he's less likely to destroy the figure, and himself. Means he can do a bit of hulking up, which suits his longstanding rivalry with Hulk.
Tested it with that change.
-------
NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT:
Version Tested:

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = BLACK BOLT
SECRET IDENTITY = BLACKAGAR BOLTAGON

SPECIES = INHUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = KING
PERSONALITY = RESOLUTE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 6

MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 6
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 330

TACITURN TACTICIAN
Immediately after you win initiative, you may move a figure you control. If you lose initiative this round and you roll the 20-sided die for a figure within 4 spaces of Black Bolt, you may add 2 to your roll.

BROKEN SILENCE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack Special.
Choose 3 spaces in a straight line from Black Bolt. All figures on the chosen spaces, and all figures other than Black Bolt within 1 space of the chosen spaces, are affected by this special attack. Roll 5 attack dice once for all affected figures, or 8 attack dice if a friendly Unique Hero was destroyed this round. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. You may only use this special attack once per round.

MASTER BLOW
If Black Bolt has at least 3 wounds, he may add 1 to his attack for each wound he has. If Black Bolt attacks and destroys a figure while adding to his attack this way he is destroyed.

SUPERSTRENGTH
FLYING

Army Test
Map:
Conflict Cherobyl
Units:
Black Bolt (330), Iron Man (270), Black Panther (210), Professor X (190) (1000)
Hulk (450), Spider-Man (280), Wolverine (270) (1000)
Results:
Black Bolt only lasted 1 round. His visible contributions are in blue in the spoilers.
He died in 2 attacks from the Hulk, but did 3 wounds to Hulk from his Master Blow. Those brought Hulk to 6 wounds, which made it too risky for Hulk to engage the Illuminati for fear of Fending Daggers, so Hulk had to rely on throwing Wolverine at them, and clapping. It might have gone in Hulk's favor if I had switched to Wolverine on Round 2 instead. Then, once Wolverine died, place OMs on Spider-Man to use Hulk's Rivalry, because Spidey's bonding was useless when Hulk can't engage.

Was rusty doing this, and had tried this matchup for 2 incomplete games before this one. It felt fairly even.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary: 
Spider-Man is Hulk’s Rival. Hulk and Wolverine get Avenger Markers.
Initiative: Illuminati. Taciturn Tactician moves Xavier up.
R1T1(Player): Bolt and Panther fail to wound Long Ruin.
R1T1(Player): Hulk throws Wolverine toward Bush, destroying it. Spider-Man moves up.
R1T2(Player): Wolverine blocks Bolt. Mental Blast puts 2 wounds on Hulk.
R1T2(Player): Hulk jumps to Wolverine. 4 wounds on Bolt. Bolt blocks Spider-Man.
R1T3(Player): 1 Mental Blast on Hulk. Master Blow puts 3 wounds on Hulk.
R1T3(Player): Hulk throws Wolverine to BP, no wound on BP. Hulk destroys Black Bolt.

Initiative: Illuminati
R2T1(Player): Wolverine blocks Iron Man and BP.
R2T1(Player): Hulk jumps to bush, thunder claps, destroying bush. Illuminati, Wolverine and ruin block.
R2T2(Player): Wolverine blocks Iron man. Hulk blocks Panther.
R2T2(Player): Hulk jumps to Wolverine. Claps for 1 wound on Wolverine, 1 on Iron Man, 1 on BP, 1 on Xavier and 1 on Ruin.
R2T3(Player): Iron man puts 1 wound on Wolverine. Mental Blast puts 1 wound on Spider-Man.
R2T3(Player): Hulk throws Wolverine for 1 wound on BP. Thunder Claps for no wounds.

Initiative: Illuminati
R3T1(Player): Iron Man puts 1 wound on Wolverine. Xavier destroys Wolverine.
R3T1(Player): Hulk destroys the ruin, 1 wound on Xavier. Spider-Man takes 1 of 3 fending Daggers to tie down the Illuminati.
R3T2(Player): Spider-Man blocks Iron Man. Mental Blast destroys Hulk.
R3T2(Player):
R3T3(Player): Mental Blast puts 1 wound on Spider-Man. Iron man destroys Spider-Man

Who won?
Xavier 3 of 4 wounds, BP 2 of 4 wounds, Iron Man 1 of 4 wounds.

Army Test
Map: City Park
Units:
Black Bolt (330), Namor (280), Reed Richards (200), Professor X (190) (1000)
Fantastic Four (1000)
Results:
Really interesting game. Visible results are in blue in the spoilers.
Taciturn Tactician boosted Mental Blast to destroy Mr. Fantastic R1T3. It also allowed Reed to move to give a 3-wound Namor the Experimental Medicine, which brought Namor back to full health. Unfortunately, Torch was able to reach Reed and destroy him quickly, removing the aid of Contingency to setup full Screams.

Black Bolt only dealt 1 wound from his 1 attack, but that scream with his speed was able to reach Torch, despite Torch retreating after Sue and Mr. F fell. Bolt took the attention off of Namor, who went on to do great things the rest of the game.
Bolt's scream brought Torch to 4 wounds, which meant no more more Flame On, but sadly, the fully enraged Thing with height immediately Clobbered Black Bolt in 2 attacks.
Spoiler Alert!

Spoiler Alert!

Game Summary:
 Inventions are Web Pistol, Experimental Medicine, Shrink Ray and Teleportation Belt
Initiative: FF. Arrogant Avenger moves Namor 4 spaces from Black Bolt, fails to wound tree.
R1T1(Player): 8; Thing moves up, fails to wound tree. Reed fails to wound tree.
R1T1(Player): Mental Blast fails to wound Reed.
R1T2(Player): 14; Sue destroys a tree. Torch puts 1 wound on Namor. Reed grabs height.
R1T2(Player): Mental Blast puts 2 wounds on Reed (natural 19 & 20)
R1T3(Player): 7; HT takes 1 LEA wound from Namor and puts 2 Flame on wounds on Namor, Retreats and Namor blocks. Mr. F engages Namor and Namor blocks.
R1T3(Player): Mental Blast destroys Mr. Fantastic with help from Taciturn Tactician. (12+2, 12+2, 17+2)

Initiative: Illuminati. Taciturn Tactician moves Reed adjacent to Namor and gives him the Experimental Medicine glyph.
R2T1(Player): OM1 Namor, Experimental Medicine rolls 15, Namor at full health. Namor passes the Experimental Medicine to Reed. 2 wounds on Invisible Woman.
R2T1(Player): Torch takes a LEA and Flame Ons 2 wounds on Reed, Stealing the Experimental Medicine. Attacks Reed for 2 more wounds.
R2T2(Player): Impreius Rex fails both rolls. Namor destroys Sue.
R2T2(Player): HT takes no LEA, and Flame on Destroys Reed. Namor blocks Torch.
R2T3(Player): Mental Blast fails all 3 rolls.
R2T3(Player): Thing puts 2 wounds on Namor.

Initiative: FF. Arrogant Avenger turn misses both Imperius Rex rolls, and Namor's 4 skull attack is met with a Rock Wall Defense for 1 wound on Namor.
R3T1(Player): HT takes a LEA, sending Experimental Medicine flying toward the Illuminati. Flame on rolls a 1. Torch puts 1 wound on Namor.
R3T1(Player): Black Bolt screams for 1 wound on Torch.
R3T2(Player): Thing takes no LEA from Namor, and destroys Black Bolt in 2 attacks.
R3T2(Player): OM2 Black Bolt.
R3T3(Player): Thing stands over the Experimental Medicine glyph.
R3T3(Player): All 3 Mental Blasts fail.

Initiative: FF. Arrogant Avenger. Namor attacks for 3 wounds on Thing.
R4T1(Player): Thing picks up the Experimental Medicine. Fails to wound Namor.
R4T1(Player): Namor fails all 4 Imperius Rex rolls. 1 wound on Thing. Thing loses the Experimental Medicine.
R4T2(Player): Torch fails to wound Namor.
R4T2(Player): Professor X grabs the Experimental Medicine. Mental Blasts fail.
R4T3(Player): Thing does 1 wound to Namor in each attack, destroying him.
R4T3(Player): All Mental Blasts fail.

Initiative: Massage the Truth wins intiative.
R5T1(Player): Xavier runs away and Mental Blast destroys Torch.
R5T1(Player): Thing approaches Xavier.
R5T2(Player): Xavier kites and puts 1 wound on Thing.
R5T2(Player): OM2 Torch.
R5T3(Player): Mental Blast destroys Thing.

Who won?
Professor X unwounded.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY:
I agree with Splash that Bolt is very glass cannony, especially for his cost. His team won both games, and he certainly helped, but he also died from two attacks both games. However, those were from Hulk and Thing, so tough to gauge.
I also agree that you're probably going to get more out of Strange for 10pts less.

Taciturn Tactician provides some interesting interactions, so I'd consider making Master Blow active at 4 wounds and bumping his life by one to 7 to give him just a bit more longevity to offer his support.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT:
I like how he plays. Eager to get this voted into Final Editing before the 1.0 deadline, so curious about thoughts on that last tweak.

[MrNobody]

That tweak sounds good to me.