The Book of Ultron (Drone)

[tcglkn]

Originally Posted by tcglkn

The figure used for this unit is a Heroclix figure from the Marvel Avengers Age of Ultron Movie set.
Its model number and name are #007 / Ultron Sentry.

While we are waiting for tests, does anyone have this figure to take photos for me?

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by tcglkn

While we are waiting for tests, does anyone have this figure to take photos for me?

No, but I'm placing an order soon, I'll throw some generic Ultrons in there.

[tcglkn]

Cool would hate to have this held up by a lack of photos.

[Lord Pyre]

I have the real old Ultron figure. It’s a good looking figure for drones in my opinion, if you need a backup.

[Karat]

I've built my armies, now just need to choose a map and delve in. Built 2 larger point value games, 1 with Ultron, and with Brainiac 13 and mad Thinker to see how they fair in each.

[tcglkn]

Awesome, looking forward to the results of those.

[Karat]

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Ultron (Drones)

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 90-100
- Give a brief overview. This was a pretty back and forth game. The one time Program Transmission got used I rolled a 1. I started this match by using Gizmo and the Constructs to tie down the other team. Then once they started falling like flies I sent in 2 Drones who stemmed the tide some and when the fell I sent Ultron and a single Drone at a time in using gizmo to heal the drones and Ultron and respawn Constructs and deal auto wounds. It seemed pretty effective and like Ultron might turn things around right up until Raiden entered the game and stole the win in a few short rounds.
Map: Road Rampage
Units: 4xDrones, 4xConstructs, Gizmo, Ultron (1400) Vs Iron Patriot, Commander Rogers, Baron Helmut, Hawkeye II, Weather, Raiden (1400)

Spoiler Alert!

R1
The Dark Avengers have initiative and Hawkeye moves up with Helmut due to Patriot’s Chaotic Leadership. In T1 Hawkeye flies back to the others, and Gizmo and 4 Constructs move out. In T2 Hawkeye flew Patriot up and Patriot moved up blasting a Construct away and Rogers runs down the road to join them, and Gizmo sends the drones forward and takes even height with Patriot. In T2 Hawkeye falls back to the SZ, and Gizmo sends the Constructs to surround Patriot.
R2
The Dark Avengers have initiative and Hawkeye moves up with Weather due to Chaotic Leadership. In T1 Hawkeye uses his Skycycle to fly up to height with Helmut and uses his Sky Shot to move up with Rogers, and Gizmo calls for 4 more Constructs and uses Android Assault to give Patriot a wound. In T2 Hawkeye uses his Sky shot to move Helmut into engagement with Gizmo, and Gizmo calls up 4 Constructs. In T3 Hawkeye disengages from 2 Constructs and uses his Skyshot to take out another and move up with Weather, and Gizmo sends 4 Constructs to surround Patriot. In T3 Hawkeye disengages with Rogers and flies Rogers into engagement with Gizmo and Rogers takes out 2 Contructs and gives Gizmo a wound.
R3
The Dark Avengers have initiative. In T1 Patriot opens fire taking out a Construct and activating Helmut who can’t get his Sword out of it sheath (whiff!), and Gizmo spawns a Construct and the n Disengages flying away from the oncoming Dark Avengers and uses his Androids to assault Helmut for a wound. In T2 Patriot opens fire taking out a Construct and activating Helmut who takes height disadvantage to engage 3 Constructs taking 2 of them out, and Gizmo sends out 4 Constructs and shoots Patriot for 2 wounds. In T3 Patriot moves up firing on the Constructs taking 2 of them out and Activating Weather who flies up striking Gizmo with his Lightning for 2 wounds, and Gizmo spawns a Construct and then flies to height and goes to shoot Weather but Fog suddenly obscures his vision.
R4
Team Ultron takes the initiative. In T1 Drones A&B fly out engaging Helmut and Patriot and one of them gives Patriot a wound, and Patriot unleashes his fury giving Drone A a wound and activates Helmut who just couldn’t break Drone B’s defenses. In T2 Drone B Repositions but can’t wound Patriot, and Patriot opens fire on Drone A giving it another wound and activating Helmut who still can’t break the defense of Drone B. In T3 Gizmo spawns a Contruct and flies in engaging Weather, and Patriot opens fire taking out Drone A and giving Drone B a wound and actuvates Helmut who still can’t break Drone B’s defenses.
R5
Team Ultron has Initiative. In T1 Gizmo spawns a construct and uses his Android Assault to finish off Patriot, Rogers moves OM 1 from Patriot to himself as he moves into Patriots previous positon taking out a Construct. In T2 Gizmo Spawns a Construct, and Rogers moves OM 2 from Patriot to himself taking out a Construct. In T3 Ultron decides to take a hand himself moving out sending a Drone C to engage Weather and Ultron hits Helmut for 2 wounds, and Rogers moves OM 3 to Helmut who disengages from Drone B taking height on Ultron but he can’t break his defense.
R6
Team Ultron has the initiative. In T1 Ultron sends a Drone C to height and would’ve wounded Rogers but the Photonic Shield got in the way, and Rogers takes out Drone B. In T2 Ultron sends Drone D forward and fires his Encephalo Ray at Rogers who dodges it, and Rogers can’t break the defense of Drone C or Ultron. In T3 Gizmo spawns a Construct and gives Weather 2 wounds, and Rogers moves his OM to Helmut who couldn’t wound Gizmo.
R7
The Dark Avengers have initiative. In T1 Rogers hits Ultron for 3 wounds, and Gizmo sends his Constructs to engage Weather, Rogers, and Helmut and then moves behind Done C and Ultron and uses his Android Assault to give Rogers a wound. In T2 Rogers takes out 2 Constructs and gives Drone C a wound, and Gizmo Spawns a construct and has the Androids Assault Rogers for another wound. In T3 Rogers has Helmut go all Master Swordsman on Ultron but he Can’t Break Ultron’s defense and Ultron has Drone D move into engagement with Hawkeye and Rogers uses his Photonic Shield to not take a wound. Gizmo removes a wound from Drone C.
R8
The Dark Avengers have the initiative. In T1 Rogers gives Drone B a wound and gives Ultron 2 wounds, and Gizmo has his Constructs move. In T2 Rogers can’t land a hit, and Gizmo has his Constructs advance. In T3 Helmut takes out a Construct, and Ultron missed Rogers. Gizmo removed a wound from Drone C.
R9
Team Ultron has the initiative. In T1 Gizmo Spawns a construct, and Rogers gives Drone C a wound and takes out a Construct. In T2 Gizmo spawns a Construct and uses his Androids to Assault Rogers for a wound, and Rogers takes out Drone C. In T3 Ultron has Drone D move into engagement with both Hawkeye and Rogers and Ultron hits Rogers for a wound. Gizmo removes a wound from Ultron.
R10
Team Ultron have the initiative. In T1 Gizmo Spawns a Construct and the Androids Assault Rogers taking him out, OM on Rogers. In T2 Gizmo has his Constructs surround Helmut, OM on Rogers. In T3 Ultron has Drone D disengage from Hawkeye and move adjacent to him taking a wound and Ultron hits Helmut for a wound, and Helmut takes out 3 Constructs. Gizmo removes a wound from Drone D.
R11
The Dark Avengers have the initiative. In T1 Weather moves up to the bridge releasing his bolts of Lightning but Ultron just laughs at the pitiful attempt to wound him, and Gizmo spawns a Construct. In T2 Helmut took out a Construct, and Gizmo had the Constructs converge on Weather. In T3 Helmut gave Ultron a wound, and Ultron would decimate Helmut but Raiden appears in his Thundering might taking out Gizmo and a Construct and giving Ultron a wound.
R12
Team Ultron has the initiative. In T1 Ultron targets Raiden with his Encephalo Ray but misses, and Raiden can’t wound Ultron. In T2 Ultron hits Raiden with his Encephalo Ray Stunning him, OM removed. Ibn T3 Ultron hits Raiden for 2 wounds, OM removed.
R13
Team Ultron has initiative. In T1 Ultron misses Raiden with his Encephalo Ray, and Raiden misses Ultron and then takes another turn to Defend the Earth Realm and hits Ultron for 2 wounds. In T2 Ultron misses Raiden with his Encephalo Ray, and Raiden hits Ultron for a wound. In T3 Ultron misses Raiden and rools a 1 for Program Transmission, and Raiden destroys Ultron.
R14
Team Ultron has initiative. In T1 Drone D misses Raiden, and Raiden gives Drone D a wound. In T2 Drone D misses Raiden, and Raiden destroys Drone D. In T3 the lone Construct gives Weather a wound, and Raiden engages and destroys the Construct for the win.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? The Dark Avengers won with Hawkeye unwounded, Raiden bearing 2/7 wounds, Helmut bearing 4/5 wounds, and weather bearing ¾ wounds.

_____________________________________________________________


Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 100
- Give a brief overview. This was an intense match. First it was solidly in the favor of Brainiac and his allies, then Cloak absorbed Brainiac into the Dimension of Shadows and the tide began to turn towards the other side but then Brainiac fell. The heroes managed to give him enough wounds to fall but Brainiac replaced a drone and then slowly whittled down the opponent’s team for the win.
Map: Road Rampage
Units: 2xDrones, Mad Thinker, Brainiac 13, Angel (1200) Vs Daredevil I, Cloak, Dagger, Shang-Chi, Conan, Black Widow (1200)

Spoiler Alert!

R1
Black Widow advances with Espionage and the Infiltrators have initiative. In T1 Cloak flies out to the bridge, and Brainiac flies up. In T2 Dagger flies up and Brainiac flies up giving Cloak a wound. In T3 Conan runs down the road engaging and giving Brainiac 2 wounds with a Barrage of blades, and Brainiac takes advanctage of the Aura of Darkness to engage Black Widow from height but she dodges the blow.
R2
Widow moves with Espionage and the Infiltrators have initiative. In T1 Daredevil advances, and Brainiac disengages taking height on Widow but still can’t wound her. In T2 Shang-Chi runs along the road to engage Brainiac but can’t break his defense, and Brainiac just barely misses the agile Widow. In T3 Dagger moves to height, and Brainiac uses his 12th Level Intellect to hit Widow hard (6/7+1 skulls vs ¼+1 shields!) eliminating her threat.
R3
Team Mind Games have initiative. In T1 Brainiac hits Shang-Chi for a wound, and Cloak hits Brainiac for 2 wounds. In T2 Brainiac can’t land a hit on Shang-Chi, and Cloak gives Brainiac another wound. In T3 Brainiac uses his 12th Level Intellect to give Shang-Chi 3 wounds, and Dagger flies to where she has clear sight on Brainiac’s Target point giving him a wound.
R4
Team Mind Games has the Initiative. In T1 Brainiac finishes off Shang-Chi, and Cloak puuls Brainiac into the Dimension of Darkness. In T2 OM on Brainiac and he has no Clear sight to anyone, and Conan Runs down the road towards the enemy SZ. In T3 OM on Brainiac, and Dagger flies forward along the brisdge. Brainiac remains stuck in the Dark.
R5
Team Mind Games takes the Initiative. In T1 Mad Thinker Moves OM 1 to Daredevil and Chooses Drone A who flies to height blasting Conan for a wound, and Daredevil advances onto the road. In T2 Thinker moves the X to Daredevil and chooses Drone A gives Conan a wound due to his Battle Hardened condition (4//5 skulls vs ¼ shields), and Dagger flies up giving Drone A a wound. In T3 Thinker moves OM 3 to Daredevil and chooses Drone A shoots wide of Conan, and Daredevil runs down the Road giving Drone A a wound from height. Brainiac Takes a wound from the Darkness.
R6
Cloak is getting Hungry for some Darkforce. The Infiltrators have the initiative. In T1 Cloak flies up behind the others, and Thinker moves OM 3 from Conan to Dagger and Chooses Drone A who takes advantage of the Aura of Darkness to fly behind Cloak. In T2 Daredevil engages Drone B but can’t dent its chassis, and Thinker moves OM 3 from Dagger to Daredevil and choose Drone A but it won’t follow his orders. In T3 Daredevil strikes at Drone B and misjudged its placement totally missing (whiff!), and Thinker chooses Drone A who hits Cloak for 2 wounds, and Daredevil attacks Drone B but can’t break its defenses. Brainiac takes a wound from the Darkness and Cloak heals.
R7
The Infiltrators have Initiative. In T1 Cloak pulls Drone A into the Dimension of Darkness, and Thinker moves OM 2 to Daredevil and chooses Drone B but the Drone won’t obey. In T2 Daredevil strikes at Drone B but swings wide (whiff!), and Thinker moves OM 3 to Dagger and Chooses Drone B who still won’t obey. In T3 Dagger flies out staying in sight of Cloak, and Thinker chooses Drone B strikes at Daredevil who senses the attack and takes height on Angel. Brainiac escapes the Darkness but Drone A is destroyed by it and Cloak heals a wound.
R8
Team Mind Games has the Initiative. In T1 Brainiac uses his 12th Level Intellect to eliminate the threat of Cloak, and Daredevil hits Angel for 2 wounds and Angel flies off to height with Thinker. In T2 Thinker chooses Drone B but it refuses to follow Orders, OM on Cloak. In T3 Thinker Chooses Drone B but it refuses to follow his orders, OM on Cloak.
R9
The Infiltrators have Initiative. In T1 Conan climbs to even height with Brainiac giving him a wound with his Barrage of Blades, and Thinker moves OM 2 to Dagger and chooses Drone B but it still won’t follow his orders. In T2 Dagger flies out getting clear sight on Brainiac but can’t break his defense, and Thinker moves the X to Dagger and chooses Drone B flies out blasting at Daredevil who dodges and Thinker Reveals the X and Drone B joins them on height but Daredevil Senses the second attack and engages Drone B and Thinker. In T3 Conan hits Brainiac with a Barrage of Blades giving him 3 wounds and then 2 more and would have taken him out but Brainiac just laughs as his Contingency Program takes ahold and he flows into the body of Drone B, and Thinker gives Daredevil a wound from height.
R10
The Infiltrators have the initiative. In T1 Daredevil gives Thinker 2 wounds and Angel flies away with Thinker, and Daredevil senses Brainiac’s attack moving to even height with him. In T2 Daredevil cqan’t break Brainiac’s defense, and Brainiac finishes off Daredevil. In T3 Conan runs along the road, and Brainiac flies to height blasting Dagger with his 12th Level Intellect (3/4+1 skulls vs a whiff!) taking her out.
R11
Team Mind Games takes the initiative. In T1 Brainiac blasts Conan for a wound, and Conan engages Brainiac giving him 3 wounds (whiff!) with a Barrage of Blades. In T2 Brainiac gives Conan a wound, and Conan gives Brainiac 2 wounds with his Barrage of Blades. In T3 Brainiac gives Conan a wound, and Conan unleashes a Barrage of Blades giving Brainiac 3 wounds.
R12
The infiltrators take the initiative. In T1 Conan tries to finish Brainiac with a Barrage of his Blades but hecan’t land asingle strike, and Brainiac misses Conan. In T2 Conan manages to give Brainiac another wound with his Barrage of Blades, and Brainiac finishes off Conan.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Team Mind Games wins with Brainiac bearing 9/13 wounds, Mad Thinker bearing 2/4 wounds, and Angel bearing 2/4 wounds.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: After my first test, I was feeling like they could come down slightly, but after the second game I feel like they really earned their points. I liked them

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: They are fun, and I liked playing them front and center, but I do see how leaving them in the rear and sending Ultron out to play by himself would be the more competitive play. It does concern me a little that it is a lot easier for Brainiac to use them as a replacement than it is for Ultron to do so. I think a lot of that is that Brainiac’s is a reactionary thing and Ultron’s is an active choice. Also Brainiac’s roll is significantly lower for just 70 points more, plus Brainiac gets a huge discount on it by nature of the Drones being Androids. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing the Ultron imperative roll going back up.

[Lord Pyre]

The problem with the transmission bonus with them is that it encourages them to hide. It's the bonus isn't HUGE, I'm still trying to transmit to an opponent's character for the auto-kill.

Personally I'm not worried about the Brainiac thing. They have other synergy with Ultron to make them good drafts with him!

[tcglkn]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Ultron Drones

Army Test
Map: X Marks the Spot
Units: 9x Ultron Drone and Ultron (1580) vs Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Jocasta and Silver Sulfer (1580)

Spoiler Alert!

R1: Fan 4 Initiative. General advancement, Surfer takes 3 wounds from a Drone on height then Ultron deals 4 to IW before I get her protected.

R2: Fan 4 Initiative. Jocasta deals 1 to a Drone and Torch deals 1 to another Drone, Surfer hits Ultron for 1. Ultron gets one wound on Mr. F.

R3: Ultron side steals initiative here and two Drones move since Ultron is Wrapped and he whiffs on his attack. Surfer gets 2 wounds on Ultron. This is when I get the pod set up that I shared on Discord (IW on the top of a ladder with Surfer and Mr. F on the two tower spaces adjacent to her (Ultron is still Wrapped up). Torch kills a Drone and deals 2 to another with Flame On and takes 1 wound from LEAs. On his next turn he kills 2 Drones and lands 2 wounds on Ultron with Flame On and takes 2 more wounds for his trouble before putting 1 more wound on Ultron with his normal attack putting Ultron to 7/13 wounds.

R4: Fan 4 gets Initiative back. Surfer lands a big hit on Ultron with the Power Cosmic adding a skull, putting Ultron to 11/13 wounds, Mr. F adds another on the same turn to make it 12/13. (I start to sweat because I put OMs 1+2 on Ultron for Transmission rolls this round) Ultron deals 1 to Mr. F with his Special attack and chooses to remove OMs so he gets an uncontested round. Next turn he whiffs his attack but rolls a 13 on his Transmission rolls after choosing a Drone with 2 wounds for max heal value, this does put Ultron engaged with Jocasta and Thing.

R5: Fan 4 initiative. Thing lands 2 on Ultron. Next turn Surfer and Mr. F both put 2 wounds on different Drones. Ultron hits Jocasta for 1. Mr. F rolls a 20 which lets Thing put 4 wounds on Ultron, Surfer kill a Drone and Torch deal 1 to Ultron, not a bad turn. This is when Ultron sneaks onto the ladder under IW and deals the final wound to kill her. On the last turn of this round Ultron did roll a 16 on Program Transmission when he chose a Drone, so if it had been +4 I would have had to work through another 7 wounds on Ultron.

Before R6 we are looking at Ultron with 7 wounds, 3 full health Drones and 1 Drone with 2 wounds VS Human Torch with 3 wounds, Surfer and Mr. Fantastic with 2 wounds and Thing and Jocasta with 1 wound each.

R6: Fan 4 Initiative. Surfer puts 2 wounds on Ultron and Ultron retaliates by putting 2 wounds on Mr. F. Torch kills a Drone that had 2 wounds and Mr. F Stretch Walks away from Ultron. Ultron then rolls 3 skulls and Surfer whiffs which hurt cause he had OM 3 this round (I was more worried about Mr. F dying). This allows Ultron to chase Mr. Fantastic.

R7: Important Ultron Initiative. Ultron kills Mr. F, who I had been a tad greedy with and put OM1 on. Ultron then puts 4 wounds on Jocasta bringing her to 5 total. This allows Thing to roll 11 dice attacking Ultron and he rolls 8! skulls, Ultron down. A Drone hits Thing for 1 and Thing Clobbers it over 2 attacks of 11. Clobbering time is busted at clean up.

Before R8 we have 2 healthy Drones vs Jocasta with 5 wounds, Torch with 3 and Thing with 2.

R8: Ultron gets initiative. Torch takes a wounds from LEA but deals 2 with Flame On and finishes off the Drone with his attack. Last Drone kills Torch. Thing Clobbers the heck out of the last Drone.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Jocasta w/ 5 wounds and Thing w/ 2 wounds.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: X Marks the Spot
Units: Brainiac 13, Ultron Drones x4 and Forge (1320) vs Green Lanterns: Hal, Guy, John and Kilowog (1320)

Spoiler Alert!

R1: GL initiative. Kilowog burns 1st marker immediately and advances. Brainiac advances, and lands 3 wounds on Kilowog. Hal deals 1 to Brainiac. Drones move forward. Guy moves adjacent to Kilowog to shield him and deals 3 to Brainiac, gives himself a wound and misses on next attack. Forge advances, deals no wounds and can't heal anyone.

R2: GL initiative. Kilowog burns 2nd marker. Kilowog and Brainiac both whiff on attacks. Brainiac uses X marker to block Hal's attack. John gets 4 wounds on Brainiac. Hal uses a marker to block for Kilowog when Forge rolls 4 skulls. Forge takes a wound off Brainiac.

R3: Drones initiative. Brainiac takes a wound to leave 2 engagements and fly to the top of the warehouse and gets a 5 skull attack on Guy that burns a marker. Hal follows Brainiac and gets 4 wounds through the X marker reveal. With Hal gone, an Ultron Drone takes the height next to Kilowog and rolls 5 skulls, no one is there to shield Kilowog and he dies. Guy retaliates by taking 2 turns in a row and killing an Ultron Drone. John lands the lethal wound on Brainiac, but Brainiac chooses a Drone and rolls 14 (+6=20) so we are down a Drone but Brainiac is fresh.

R4: Drone initiative. Brainiac lands 2 wounds on Hal. Hal takes 2 turns and only gets 1 wound on Brainiac. Forge sneaks a 3rd wound on Guy (first one Guy didn't deal himself).

R5: Drone initiative. Brainiac burns one of Hal's markers and Hal deals a wound back before he has to burn a 2nd marker. Guy lands 2 wounds on Forge, then Forge heals for 1.

R6: Lantern initiative. Hal takes 3 turns in a row, but only lands 1 wound on Brainiac. Brainiac does nothing then takes 3 wounds from John. Brainiac burns Hal's last marker with a 5 skull attack. Forge then forces Guy to burn a marker and heals himself for 1.

Forge, 2 Drones and Brainiac 13 w/ 6 wounds VS Hal (0 Battery, 2 wound), Guy (2 Battery, 3 wound) and John (3 Battery, 1 wound)

R7: Lantern initiative. Hal burns Brainiac's X Marker. Hal takes a wound. John lands a wound on Brainiac. Forge lands 2 wounds on John through 8 Defense... John puts 4 wounds on Brainiac to bring him up to 11 wounds. No one for Forge to heal.

R8: Drone initiative. John burns a marker to block Brainiac's attack and give him a wound. Hal forces Brainiac to reveal the X marker to not take lethal. Guy burns a marker when Ultron attacks him. John lands lethal on Brainiac again, but he chooses another Drone and rolls 14 again to heal himself and kill the Ultron. John then gives him 3 more wounds on his last OM.

R9: Lantern initiative. Hal takes 2 turns and gives Brainiac 2 wounds. Guy burns a marker on a 6 skull attack from Brainiac. John lands 2 wounds on Brainiac and Brainiac kills Hal. John adds 2 more wounds to Brainiac but Guy dies to Brainiacs 2 skull attack.

Match ends 2 rounds later after John kills Brainiac and he rolls a 19 to kill the last Ultron and heal himself.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Brainiac and Forge both at full health

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: They felt pretty good at 100 points. Brainiac dominated the second game, but any random Android would have done the same thing the Drones did there.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: They were pretty fun. I was a bit concerned when I played 9 of them in the first match and kept one in the SZ the whole game and placed all the OMs on that card, but for Ultron to use his Program Transmission he needs OMs too so you still have to balance that out.

[tcglkn]

This is where I am thinking of starting them for testing. It's been a while so any feedback on my army choices would be appreciated.

[Yodaking]

Seems solid. They'll be longer games at those point totals, but since we're testing an uncommon addition to event heroes it makes sense here to go a little bigger and push the boundaries a bit. Have fun!

[Karat]

Those look pretty good. I did like using them with Gizmo and his Constructs though.