The Book of Big Barda

[johnny139]

The Book of Big Barda

C3G DC WAVE 32
YEAR OF THE HERO


Comic PDF


Mini PDF

The figure used for this unit is a HeroClix figure from the Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls set.
Its model number and name is #023a / Big Barda.

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Character Bio - Born a slave in the fires of Apokolips, Barda was ripped from her mother's arms and raised to lead the Female Furies, a battalion of woman warriors under the command of Granny Goodness. During one raid, she stumbled upon a young Scott Free - in a world where love and mercy were mere aberrations, she found both in him. Defying her station, she covertly aided Scott in his escape to Earth, and after some time defected alongside him. While the two quickly married, the quiet and peaceful domestic life she dreamed of was just that - a dream. The battle never ends for Barda, and alongside her husband, she has become a valuable ally to the Justice League and the forces of New Genesis.
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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• N/A

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Incoming Synergy:

• As a figure with a secret identity, Big Barda has these Secret Identity Synergies.
• As a Warrior, Big Barda has these Warrior Synergies.
• As a figure with the Super Strength special power, Big Barda has these Super Strength Synergies.
• As a Barda Free with the Bonds of Marriage special power, Big Barda may be activated by Mister Miracle with his Bonds of Marriage special power.

Outgoing Synergy:

• Big Barda may use her Bonds of Marriage special power to activate Mister Miracle.

Immunities, Benefits, and Weaknesses:

• As a figure with a secret identity, Big Barda interacts differently with these special powers.
• As a figure with the Super Strength special power, Big Barda interacts differently with these special powers.
• As a figure with a special attack, Big Barda can interact differently with these special powers.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• N/A

-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

• Initial playtest: johnny139/Ronin
• Second playtest: MrNobody
• Third playtest: LordVenoc
• Fourth playtest: Scapemage
• Art: Comic Art/Mini Pics/Background
• Art by Scapemage

[johnny139]

NAME = BIG BARDA
SECRET IDENTITY = BARDA FREE

SPECIES = NEW GOD
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = WARRIOR
PERSONALITY = TACITURN

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 6

LIFE = 6

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

POINTS = 320

APOKOLIPTIAN GRAPPLING
Before attacking, you may switch Big Barda and any small or medium figure she is engaged with. Switched figures never take leaving engagement attacks. If the switched figure does not have the Super Strength special power, after switching it, you may roll an unblockable attack die against that figure.

MEGA-ROD SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 4. Attack 2 + Special.
When attacking with this special attack, each skull rolled counts as one additional hit. When attacking an adjacent figure, if that figure was engaged with another figure you control at the start of the turn and was not engaged with Big Barda, roll 2 additional dice.

BONDS OF MARRIAGE
After revealing an Order Marker on this card and taking a turn with Big Barda, you may immediately take a turn with a Scott Free figure you control that has this special power, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. During this turn, that Scott Free figure can attack only while adjacent to Big Barda.

SUPER STRENGTH

[johnny139]

Comic Art

Spoiler Alert!

Mini Pics (from fret_gurglo)

Spoiler Alert!

Backgrounds

Spoiler Alert!

[IAmBatman]

Calculator came in at 325. I think you could do 320 with that and be exactly where you want to be.

[Ronin]

I could see going for a 275/325 or 280/320 split.

Still really like the direction here.

[Spidey'tilIDie]

FYI, that is NOT the Harley Quinn set mini. It looks like this:


Personally, I like this one best. It's from the older Batman set.

[johnny139]

Right, I wasn't sure on which mini to use - the one we have pics of (from you) is cheapest but a bit funky looking, that Batman one is probably the nicest looking but relatively expensive, the Harley one is kind of a "little of A, little of B" choice. I plan on putting the call out for all three and see what options we have available.

[IAmBatman]

Yeah, letting the photos decide never hurts. That Batman one kinda looks like Bruce Timm design.

[Spidey'tilIDie]

It's not the Animated Series one, it's from the older "Batman" set that NightRunner and BatWing also came out in. FYI, I have it and plan to use it myself (or I wouldn't have asked). When I took that pic it was our only option, pretty sure her options have gone way up since then.

[Scapemage]

This design is nice and simple despite having three powers. Big Barda, big fan.

[Ronin]

pre-yea for initial

[johnny139]

Competitive Concerns

Does the design offer worrisome Order marker movement or efficiency (Commander Rogers, Joker (I), Ozymandias)? - N/A

Does the design offer superior Auto wounding (War Machine, Cosmic Cube, Selene)? - Her grappling provides an unblockable die, but that's not too worrying since she has to be engaged and it's only against non-SS figures.

Does the design cause the prevention of abilities (Blob, Polaris, Meteorite)? - N/A

Does the design move opponent's figures (Graviton, Magneto (II), Vulture)? - Yes, but only one per turn, only if they're engaged, and only by switching.

Does the design move friendly figures (Angel, Martian Manhunter (I))? - N/A

Does the design boost other figures (outside of a narrowly defined set) (Captain America, Star-Lord, Sage)? - N/A

Does the design have one or more excellent defensive powers (5th Precinct Beat Cops, Magical Defense, Speedball)? - N/A

Does the design auto destroy or take control of other figures in a way that unbalances the design (Psycho-man, Gorgon, Enchantress)? - N/A

Does the design have any other concerns (Magma creating lava tiles, pre re-eval Crow's invulnerability, pre re-eval Mad Thinker Mind Games and limiting design space for Androids)? - N/A

Summary of Any Competitive Concerns/Suggestions for Changes: None

Apokoliptian Grappling hits a few of those buttons, but it's a reuse and not really potent in either direction. Not worried about her.

Consistency Concerns

Name & Identity -

Left Box - All reuses, and Warrior synergy is a good thing. I have her at Medium 6, hoping that the mini can be fudged as 6, but not pushing it if not - she's "big" after all!

Stats - Knockout & Wonder Woman are the best comparison points. Only thing that feels out of line is the 7 Attack, which is intentional, as both Wonder Woman designs and Knockout have other ways to boost their attack or provide bonus wounds. It's negotiable though depending on how she plays.

Special Powers - Two reuses (Grappling and Bonds of Marriage), one new one. Mega Rod is a mechanical power that feels appropriate for its power level (which is essentially "whatever Jack Kirby wanted it to do at the time"). Powers are in the correct order. Flying... is an open question.

Conclusion: Flying isn't something she does iconically. It's something she can do, and has done, and the Mega-Rod allows her to teleport and jump super high and that sort of thing - she's a quasi-flyer. I think we could go 5 Move/Flying or 6 Move/No Flying.

Based on the above... I think I'm going to test her at 6 Move and without Flying. I was never solid on her being able to fly, and I think it's more interesting mechanically if she can't. So I'll bump her move up to 6 and drop that, but if it doesn't feel good, we can always change it back.