The Book of Superman (Superman Family)

[IAmBatman]

A side by side comparison with Superman II could be instructive here.

[MrNobody]

It might be tough to get a direct comparison. They’re pretty different units in that they share just 1 power and have totally different power sets.

Totally possible I misplayed that game. Like I said, I think it’s worth about a grain of salt - I could’ve totally misread the units. As the F4, I was definitely trying to go after Kal first. Not only is the bonding not ending if Superboy is destroyed (Superman bonding + GA bonding), but I found that defense boost from Hope In Action to be pretty nasty. Maybe going after Suoerboy would’ve been the best move though.

[LordVenoc]

You only get one bonding per round with each, so killing Superboy would slow the bonding down for sure.

Good to know about Hope in Action feeling strong. Can definitely try and dial that back early.

[LordVenoc]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM
NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Superman IV
Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units: Superman IV (430), Supergirl II, Superboy II (1000) vs Fan 4 (1000)
Unit Summary
Version Tested

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = SUPERMAN
SECRET IDENTITY = KAL-EL

SPECIES = KRYPTONIAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = VALIANT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 8
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 7
DEFENSE = 7

POINTS = 430

SUPERMAN FAMILY
After revealing an Order Marker on a Unique Kryptonian Champion and taking a turn with that figure, if that is only one revealed numbered Order Marker on that figure’s card, you may choose a different Unique Champion you control that is a Human or Kryptonian within 6 clear sight spaces of that Kryptonian Champion. Take an immediate turn with the chosen figure, and you may not take additional turns with any figures you control.
HOPE IN ACTION
When rolling defense dice for a Champion or Sidekick figure you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Superman, you may reroll X dice, where X is the number of revealed Order Markers on this card.
MAN OF STEEL
When rolling defense against a normal attack from a figure who is not a Kryptonian, all blanks rolled count as extra shields.

SUPER STRENGTH
FLYING

Damage: 4 damage dealt.
Abilities: 1 reroll given. Bonding happened 4 times.

Spoiler Alert!

General Flow:
R1: Superboy gets an early wound on Reed. Superboy takes 3 wounds in return for this, being 1 space shy of Clark’s reroll. Superman puts 2 on Reed, then the reroll of a die saves Superboy from a wound.
R2: Kryptonians win initiative by just 1. Clark gets 1 on Reed, but Superboy fails to finish the job, rolling 4 blanks on his height advantaged attack. Thing smashes Kon for not finishing the job. Superman and Kara each take 2 wounds from Flame On, but Kara finishes Reed and Superman hits Torch. Thing rolls really well, and takes out Superman, who did not roll well on his defense.
R3: Supergirl wins initiative and Freeze Breath manages to kill Johnny (also thanks to a reroll moving her from 2 skulls to 3). Reroll lets her kill Sue, but she is down to 1 life at this point.
R4: Kara barely ekes out a win, killing Thing on her second turn.

General thoughts: Love how they played here. Wow that was really fun. Very very close game, coming down to the literal wire. I’m gonna actually try keeping the defensive reroll open for now (gonna test with Jon so he has an extra OM on him to see how things feel). Thinking limiting it so that people can only be chosen once per round (so can’t just keep bonding with the same figure, as keeping using Superman will feel fairly enticing).

Unit Summary:
R1 T1: Advances
R1 T3: Hits Reed for 2, allows Kon to reroll 1 die.
R2 T1: Puts 1 on Reed.
R2 T3: Puts 1 on Torch. Die to Thing.

Bonding Summary:

Spoiler Alert!

SM= Superman
SG= Supergirl
SB= Superboy
First listed had OM revealed.
R1 T1: SM+SB
R1 T2: SG+SB
R1 T3: SB+SM
R2 T1: SM+SB
R2 T2: Lost OM on Kon.
R3 T3: SG+SM

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Super Family wins. Supergirl with 1 life remaining.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units: Superman IV (430), Nightwing (Chris), Superboy (Jon), Krypto, Green Arrow II (1100) vs Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Daredevil II, Shang Chi, Luke Cage (1100)
Unit Summary

Version Tested

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = SUPERMAN
SECRET IDENTITY = KAL-EL

SPECIES = KRYPTONIAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = VALIANT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 8
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 7
DEFENSE = 7

POINTS = 430

SUPERMAN FAMILY
After revealing an Order Marker on a Unique Kryptonian Champion and taking a turn with that figure, if that is only revealed numbered Order Marker on that figure’s card, you may choose a different Unique Champion you control that is a Human or Kryptonian within 6 clear sight spaces of that Kryptonian Champion and has not been chosen for this power this round. Take an immediate turn with the chosen figure, and you may not take additional turns with any figures you control.
HOPE IN ACTION
When rolling defense dice for a Champion or Sidekick figure you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Superman, you may reroll X dice, where X is the number of revealed Order Markers on this card.
MAN OF STEEL
When rolling defense against a normal attack from a figure who is not a Kryptonian, all blanks rolled count as extra shields.

SUPER STRENGTH
FLYING

Damage: 14 wounds dealt.
Abilities: Lost track of rerolls, but it was a few, and generally was about clenching single wounds.

Spoiler Alert!

General Flow:
R1: Not a lot of successes here, but at the end of the round Jon manages to get a wound on Luke with his heat vision.
R2: Luke is healed by Iron Fist, then punches Chris for 2. Clark moves up, bringing Krypto along to distract multiple foes. Clark and Ollie fail to wound Iron Fist. Jessica hits Krypto for 1 and finds the X. Luke kills Krypto. Clark rolls all skulls, but Cage rolls the shield required to survive. Takes a wound from Shang. Chris puts 1 on Cage and Ollie removes a marker to cut in on the bonding, but only gets a single wound.
R3: Initiative Kryptonians. Clark puts a wound on Cage, and Nightwing’s telekinetics kill Cage, with the 20 stealing the 1 off him so Jessica can’t have it. Clark kills Jessica in a single punch. Superboy fails his Heat Vision. Chris gets a wound on Iron Fist, and Clark fails to do anymore. Daredevil puts a wound on Superman.
R4: Fighter initiative. Iron Fist puts a wound on Nightwing then heals. Iron fist takes 3 wounds from Superman, then 1 from Green Arrow. Shang can’t crack NW. Superman kills Iron Fist. Jon misses Heat Vision again. Daredevil fails to crack Nightwing. Nightwing puts some on Daredevil, but he goes the distance against Superman.
R5: Daredevil goes the distance, but can’t survive two Kryptonians. Shang Chi tries to hold his ground.
R6: Shang finally manages to kill Chris. Ollie kills Shang.
General thoughts: This one was…roughly how I expected. The general lack of Special Attacks for this bunch was liable to be rough, and definitely showed the potential power of Superman’s reroll when they’re only against normal attackers. Probably some early mistakes here in trying to go after Superman early with Cage when he probably should have been going after allies in the early stages. Gonna swap back to only one benefit a round on the defense like I’d once intended.

Unit Summary:
R1 T1: Advances
R1 T2: Fails to hit Luke, allows Chris 1 die reroll, saving him from a wound.
R1 T3: Drops back to allow Jon to move up.
R2 T1: Fails to hit Fist.
R2 T2: Puts 1 on Cage.
R3 T1: Puts 1 on Cage.
R3 T2: 1 shots Jessica (5 wounds dealt)
R3 T3: Fails to hit Iron Fist.
R4 T1: 3 wounds on Iron Fist.
R4 T2: 1 wound on Iron Fist (dead)
R4 T3: Would hit Daredevil, but Go the Distance.
R5 T1: Daredevil goes the distance again.
R5 T2: Puts 1 on Shang Chi.
R5 T3: Puts 2 more on Shang Chi.
R6 T1: Fails to hurt Shang.


Bonding Summary:

Spoiler Alert!

SM= Superman
GA= Green Arrow
NW= Nightwing
First listed had OM revealed.
R1 T1: SM+GA
R1 T2: NW+SM
R2 T1: SM+GA
R3 T1: SM+NW
R3 T3: NW+SM
R4 T1: SM+GA
R4 T3: NW+SM
R5 T1: SM+NW
R5 T3: NW+SM
R6 T1: SM+GA

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Superman Family wins. Superman with 2 wounds. Ollie and Jon unwounded.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units: Superman IV (430), Nightwing (Chris), Supergirl II, Flamebird (1300) vs Detective Chimp, Solovar, King Kong, GCW X4 (1300)
Unit Summary

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = SUPERMAN
SECRET IDENTITY = KAL-EL

SPECIES = KRYPTONIAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = VALIANT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 8
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 7
DEFENSE = 7

POINTS = 430

SUPERMAN FAMILY
After revealing an Order Marker on a Unique Kryptonian Champion and taking a turn with that figure, if that is only revealed numbered Order Marker on that figure’s card, you may choose a different Unique Champion you control that is a Human or Kryptonian within 6 clear sight spaces of that Kryptonian Champion and has not been chosen for this power this round. Take an immediate turn with the chosen figure, and you may not take additional turns with any figures you control.
HOPE IN ACTION
When rolling defense dice for a Champion or Sidekick figure you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Superman that has not rerolled dice with this special power this round, you may reroll X dice, where X is the number of revealed Order Markers on this card.
MAN OF STEEL
When rolling defense against a normal attack from a figure who is not a Kryptonian, all blanks rolled count as extra shields.

SUPER STRENGTH
FLYING

Damage: 8 damage dealt.
Abilities: 1 reroll helped Kara live a tad longer. 1 reroll unhelpful to Supergirl.

Spoiler Alert!

General Flow:
R1: Kong selected as Primal Rage target. Oms with Kryptonians are a bit easy to predict, so Chimp views the 1. Superfam wins initiative, so Kara reveals the X. She kills a GCW, and Clark hits Kong for 2. Kong can’t hit Clark back.
R2: Monkeys win initiative after again finding the 1. Kong risks disengage, but carries Clark to low ground. He puts 3 wounds on the Kryptonian. Supergirl risks the passing swipe to help Superman with Kong. Supergirl puts 3 on Kong. She puts 1 more on Kong, and Kong blocks Superman. Kong puts 2 more on Superman. Nightwing takes out a Warrior with his telekinetics. Flamebird only roasts one warrior.
R3: Super Fam wins initiative (1 found by Chimp). Clark kills Kong, which causes the monkeys to sit for a round. Flamebird and Nightwing each take out a monkey. Kara kills Solovar.
R4: Chimps seek revenge, putting 6 wounds on Kara. Superman manages to apparently attack the luckiest ape ever (4 skulls vs 4 shields), but Flamebird roasts two apes. Apes can’t keep any momentum. Supergirl and Superman each take out an Ape. Reroll doesn’t save Kara. Flamebird roasts 2, but NW can’t finish the last GCW.
R5 and R6: Superman kills final GCW. Flamebird doesn’t hurt Chimp. Chimp runs around a bit, getting a few hits in, but can’t seal the deal.
General thoughts: So I think this one might be slightly more on Kong wasting a whole round for the monkeys rather than an actual massive strength of the Kryptonians. Wow that is easy to exploit. Anyway, obviously they do well against normal attacks, but are still defeatable. A lot of damage is often done on the first turn of the round when Clark isn’t boosting anyone.

Unit Summary:
R1 T1: Moves up.
R1 T3: Puts 2 on Kong.
R2 T1: Puts 1 on Kong.
R2 T2: Fails to hit.
R3 T1: Kills Kong (1 wound)
R3 T3: Kills GCW
R4 T1: Fails to kill GCW.
R4 T2: Kills a GCW.
R5 T1: Fails to Chimp.
R5 T2: Fails to hit Chimp
R6 T1: Kills Chimp (2 wounds)

Bonding Summary:

Spoiler Alert!

SM= Superman
SG= Supergirl
NW= Nightwing
FB= Flamebird
First listed had OM revealed.
R1 T1: SM+SG
R1 T2: NW+FB
R1 T3: SG+SM
R2 T1: SM+SG
R2 T2: SG+SM
R2 T3: NW+FB
R3 T1: SM+SG
R3 T2: FB+NW
R3 T3: SG+SM
R4 T1: SM+FB
R4 T2: SG+SM
R4 T3: FB+NW
R5 T1: SM+FB
R5 T2: NW+SM
R5 T3: FB+SM

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Superfam win. Superman with 1 life left, Nightwing unwounded. Flamebird with 3 wounds.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl
Units: Superman IV (430), Nightwing (Chris), Supergirl II, Flamebird (1300) vs Destiny, Magneto II, Mystique, Juggernaut, Phoenix, Armor (1300)
Unit Summary

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = SUPERMAN
SECRET IDENTITY = KAL-EL

SPECIES = KRYPTONIAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = VALIANT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 8
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 7
DEFENSE = 7

POINTS = 430

SUPERMAN FAMILY
After revealing an Order Marker on a Unique Kryptonian Champion and taking a turn with that figure, if that is only revealed numbered Order Marker on that figure’s card, you may choose a different Unique Champion you control that is a Human or Kryptonian within 6 clear sight spaces of that Kryptonian Champion and has not been chosen for this power this round. Take an immediate turn with the chosen figure, and you may not take additional turns with any figures you control.
HOPE IN ACTION
When rolling defense dice for a Champion or Sidekick figure you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Superman that has not rerolled dice with this special power this round, you may reroll X dice, where X is the number of revealed Order Markers on this card.
MAN OF STEEL
When rolling defense against a normal attack from a figure who is not a Kryptonian, all blanks rolled count as extra shields.

SUPER STRENGTH
FLYING

Damage: 15 damage dealt
Abilities: Bonded a lot a lot. 3 rerolls attempted, only 1 helped.

Spoiler Alert!

General Flow:
R1: Mags throws supes for 2 quick wounds on turn 2. Flamebird races up and gets in range to bond him back into action. Jean blasts the Kryptonians off high ground, putting a wound on Nightwing. She attacks him for 2 more wounds. Kara puts 3 on Mystique. Mystique whiffs and dies to Nightwing.
R2: Magneto is knocked down to 1 life left by Chris (thanks to reroll from Kara). Magneto kills Chris. Supergirl kills Magneto. Phoenix blasts Superman and Flamebird by Juggernaut, but no wounds. Clark risks a swipe to go after Armor (and get out of Juggernauts way. He’s unwounded, and hurts her for 1. Juggernaut does nothing to Supergirl.
R3: Mutants win initiative, but Phoenix manages 0 autowounds, or even normal attack wounds. Armor takes a LEA to try and keep Clark in one place. He kills Armor. Supergirl does nothing to Juggernaut. Juggernaut charges through Supergirl for 2 wounds. She tries to go after Jean, but fails. Flamebird fails to wound as well. Jean gets a wound with her blast, and 1 with normal attack. Flamebird and Superman deal 3 wounds each.
R4: Superman starts strong, but FB can’t keep up. Jean puts a wound on SG, but she survives the actual attack. Supergirl kills Jean, but takes a hit in the process. Superman kills Juggernaut.
R5: Superman and Flamebird kill Destiny.

General thoughts: I was hoping the increase of autowounds and special attack might help here, but no dice. Gotta figure out a way to power him down a bit more, I think. Games are slowly feeling closer, but just not there yet.

Unit Summary:
R1 T1: Moves up.
R1 T2: 2 wounds on Magneto.
R1 T3: Reroll for NW gets a shield to reduce damage by 1.
R2 T1: Fails to hurt Magneto.
R2 T3: 1 wound on Armor.
R3 T1: Kills Armor (1 wound)
R3 T2: Reroll adds nothing to SG.
R3 T3: Puts 3 on Juggernaut.
R4 T1: Puts 2 on Juggernaut.
R4 T2: Kills Juggernaut (2 wounds).
R5 T1: Puts 2 on Destiny.
R5 T2: Puts 2 on Destiny.

Bonding Summary:

Spoiler Alert!

SM= Superman
SG= Supergirl
NW= Nightwing
FB= Flamebird
First listed had OM revealed.
R1 T1: SM+SG
R1 T2: FB+SM
R1 T3: SG+NW
R2 T1: SM+NW
R2 T2: FB+SG
R2 T3: SG+SM
R3 T1: SM+SG
R3 T2: SG+FB
R3 T3: FB+SM
R4 T1: SM+FB
R4 T2: SG+SM
R5 T1: SG+SM
R5 T2: SM+FB

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Superfam wins. Superman with 2 wounds, Supergirl with 1 life left. Flamebird unwounded.

_____________________________________________________________

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: The feel of how they play is great, its just obviously too strong. Not looking to see him go up in cost, but I do think we’re somewhere in the ballpark. I’m thinking on some possible tweaks before going forward anymore (whether its more initial testing or headed to Sanctum testing). The family plays together great, but the amount of momentum they can get off an initiative win (especially if you have Supergirl with him) is real real high.

[IAmBatman]

Just lead into the dominance. Bump him to 530 and make him even better. He'll still fit the same armies, just at 100 points higher.

[LordVenoc]

Thinking something like this to maybe echo Heroic Duty a bit and more mirror Kon than Kara.

HOPE IN ACTION
When rolling defense dice for a Champion or Sidekick figure you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Superman, If two or fewer shields are rolled, you must immediately move Superman adjacent to the defending figure, adding 1 automatic shield to whatever is rolled. When Superman uses Hope in Action, he will take all leaving engagement attacks.

Thoughts?

[IAmBatman]

Meh. Feels like you should just give him Heroic Duty then.

I liked how the other one represents him inspiring hope. This feels like a third version of “Superman swoops in and saves you.”

Like, that’s obviously totally a thing he does, I was just enjoying the exploration of a different role.

[LordVenoc]

The inspiration thing is also on Superman III, so no not really new. He's still as tough to kill as some earlier Supermen, his allies just work together really well.

Edit: Part of me does think just cutting the range on Hope in Action and the binding may already do a lot. 6 is pretty far, and there were several times if it was like 4 or 5 spaces that it wouldn't have worked.

[IAmBatman]

It's a different brand of inspiration, though. This take on inspiration feels pretty different from that take on inspiration, whereas the suggested take on heroic rescuing feels very similar to Heroic Duty, IMO.

Anyway, it's your LD. Just saying, I find that iteration of Hope in Action much less interesting. I guess it's a lot more action, though, which fits the title.

[MrNobody]

Yeah, generally agree with Bats here.

[LordVenoc]

I do agree that I liked the old one better, just spitballing ways to manage costs here. Thinking of proposing with the reduced range and start adapting as other testers get hands on. I like how it plays a lot! It's just a tough army (and one I'll likely test with a lot if my hoped for 1000 points is accomplished).

[IAmBatman]

How much would you playtest with it if it were 1100 points?