The Book of Atomic Skull

[Tornado]

Yea

[FreshFoods]

This passes

[FreshFoods]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT : ATOMIC SKULL

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = ATOMIC SKULL
SECRET IDENTITY = JOSEPH MARTIN

SPECIES = METAHUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CRIMINAL
PERSONALITY = OBSESSIVE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 6
POINTS = 300

ATOMIC POWER
Before taking a turn with Atomic Skull, place a blue Atomic Charge marker on this card up to a maximum of 3. Add 1 to Atomic Skull’s Attack number for each Atomic Charge marker on this card. If Atomic Skull would receive one or more wounds, you must remove any number of Atomic Charge markers from this card to ignore that many wounds.

ATOMIC BLAST SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 6. Attack 3+Special.
Add 1 die to this special attack for each Atomic Charge marker on this card. If Atomic Skull inflicts one or more wounds with this special attack on a figure that does not have the Environmental Suit special power, roll one unblockable attack die against that figure.

SUPER STRENGTH

Army Test
Map : CONFLICT CHERNOBYL (No Glyphs)
Units :
Atomic Skull (300), LexCorp Security x2 (260), Klaw (240)
= 800

VS.

Iron Man Mark V (280), Iron Man Mark IV (250), Iron Man Mark I (70), Iron Legion Drone x2 (200)
= 800

Spoiler Alert!

Pre-Game Thoughts/Preview : The Criminals overall hit harder, but the Iron Man army has some good versatility and lockdown.

Damage Done (Normal Attack) : Used 2 times, 4 wounds to Iron Man Mark 1, 4 wounds to Iron Man Mark V
ATOMIC POWER: Ignored 1 wound.
ATOMIC BLAST: N/A

ROUND 1 : Iron Man initiative.
The action starts fast, with Mark IV and both Drones approaching for the blue team, and Klaw is moving up with 3 LexCorp Security for his team. The wounds are pretty light, besides Blue Drone who gets torn to shreds by a Charged Sonic Cannon.

ROUND 2 : Criminal initiative.
A LexCorp goon and Klaw open the round strong, destroying Red Drone and Mark IV. Mark V moves up, and kills a LexCorp. A 2nd Lexcorp moves up to slow down Mark V, while Atomic Skull starts taking some turns. Mark 1 tosses a LexCorp to low ground before killing him.

ROUND 3 : Iron Man initiative.
Mark V continues trying to kite, while Atomic Skull charges forward and oneshots Mark I. Mark V gets some distance but fails to kill a LexCorp, and he dies pretty easily. Criminals win!


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Atomic Skull 5/5 Life, Klaw 4/5 Life, LexCorp Security 2/4 Alive

Post-Game Thoughts : Pretty quick and easy win for the Criminals. The Iron Man army lacks some firepower if they don’t bring Hulkbuster, and they couldn’t really handle Atomic Skull and Klaw blocking wounds. The small map didn’t help them either, as they want to keep their distance.

Army Test
Map : CONFLICT CHERNOBYL (No Glyphs)
Units :
Atomic Skull (300), Songbird (180), Punisher II (180), Frozone (200), Spider-Cat (40)
= 900

VS.

Ultraman (440), Owlman (210), Superwoman (250)
= 900

Spoiler Alert!

Pre-Game Thoughts/Preview : Punisher should pair well with Atomic Skull, so you can take a turn with Skull to charge him up but still attack from a distance with Punisher. Frozone + Songbird should be good at being the defensive options for their team against the hard hitting Crime Syndicate.

Damage Done (Normal Attack) :Used 2 times, 2 wounds to Superwoman.
ATOMIC POWER: Ignored 4 wounds.
ATOMIC BLAST: Used 1 time, 1 wound to Superwoman. Rolled unblockable 1 time, 1 wound to Superwoman.

ROUND 1 : Crime Syndicate initiative.
Both teams start moving. Crime Syndicate opens aggressively, with Ultraman lasering Songbird for a wound. Superwoman bonds (Punisher wounds her with Warning Shots) and attacks Songbird, dealing 2 more wounds. Frozone safely disengages from Superwoman, getting Songbird away as well. Songbird and Punisher end the round by attacking Superwoman ; she takes 2 wounds. Superwoman reveals the X and falls back.

ROUND 2 : Syndicate initiative.
Ultraman opens the round by pummeling Atomic Skull (and taking a wound from Warning Shot), who only lives thanks to being able to ignore some wounds. Superwoman goes deep to try and kill Songbird, but fails to wound and fails her Lasso roll. Punisher shoots via Relentless Punishment but fails - Atomic Skull cleans up and kills Superwoman. Ultraman backs up a bit, and lasers Frozone for a wound. Owlman fails to kill Atomic Skull after he burned a marker to block a wound. Atomic Skull and Punisher strike back, with Punisher dealing 3 wounds to Owlman. Ultraman gets a good attack roll and finishes Atomic Skull. Owlman deals a wound to Frozone.

ROUND 3 : Syndicate initiative.
Ultraman and Owlman open the round strong, by killing Frozone and Songbird. Punisher and Spider-Cat are on the back foot, but neither side gets much more going in the later OMs this round.

ROUND 4 : Crime Fighter initiative.
Punisher safely disengages from Ultraman to try and finish Owlman, but he doesn’t kill. Ultraman then disengages from Spider-Cat, and pummels Punisher. Owlman cleans him up for the kill. Spider-Cat then lives way too many attacks with Nine Lives, making it through the round.

ROUND 5 : Syndicate initiative.
Spider-Cat dies on Owlman’s bonding turn. Crime Syndicate wins!

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Ultraman 6/7 Life, Owlman 1/5 Life

Post-Game Thoughts : Struggling to finish Owlman made life pretty tough for the Crime Fighters. Atomic Skull was pretty much the only answer his team had to Ultraman, but he had to serve as a frontline and wall for his squishier teammates. Frozone and Songbird are a solid defensive core, but they got whittled down by Heat Vision.

Army Test
Map : CONFLICT CHERNOBYL (No Glyphs)
Units :
Atomic Skull (300), Kingpin (220), Wizard (140), Parasite (240) , Duploids (100)
= 1000

VS.

Royal Flush Gang
= 1000

Spoiler Alert!

Pre-Game Thoughts/Preview : Funky little Criminal army that wants to leverage the Duploids by opting not to attack with Parasite (for his autowounds) or Atomic Skull (to charge his markers but still do stuff). Wizard helps his 5 speed, ground pounding teammates. The Royal Flush Gang is fairly annoying to actually hit, so Parasites autowounds might be crucial.

Damage Done (Normal Attack) : Used 10 times, 5 wounds to Ace of Spades, 4 wounds to Queen of Spades, 6 wounds to King of Spades, 4 wounds to Jack of Spades
ATOMIC POWER: Ignored 9 wounds.
ATOMIC BLAST: Used 2 times, no wounds

ROUND 1 : Criminal initiative.
Parasite and the Duploids lead the charge for their team, and take the offensive. The Royal Flush Gang is mostly avoiding wounds, but Ten of Spades takes 2 wounds this round. Parasite destroys a Duploid after Queen of Spades does some swapping, and Ace of Spades pounds Parasite for 4 wounds.

ROUND 2 : Criminal initiative.
Parasite opens the round by whiffing a Life Drain on Ace, but he kills Ten after she whiffs her defense roll. Queen returns the favor by finishing Parasite. King moves up, but the destroyed Duploid is revived off of his attack. Atomic Skull starts working his way up, while Duploids tie down the RFG. Atomic Skull takes a potshot at King that misses, and The RFG manage to kill all of the Duploids on OM 3.

ROUND 3 : Criminal initiative.
Atomic Skull is now fully charged, but he misses an Atomic Blast onto King. Ace moves up and whacks Atomic Skull, removing 2 markers. Atomic Skull swings at the adjacent Ace, dealing 4 wounds. RFG tries to strike back, but they fail to wound Skull. Skull is back to full charge, and he destroys Ace. Jack gets a good blast on Skull, which burns all 3 of his markers. Queen ends the round by moving up near her allies.

ROUND 4 : Criminal initiative.
RFG is lacking heavy hits now, so they’re struggling to get wounds onto Atomic Skull. Skull keeps fluctuating between low and high charge, but he gets 3 wounds onto Queen.

ROUND 5 : Criminal initiative.
Atomic Skull pretty much just tears through the surviving members of the RFG this round, with the only survivor being a wounded Queen.

ROUND 6 : Criminal initiative.
Skull wraps this game up on OM 2. Criminals win!

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Atomic Skull 4/5 Life, Kingpin 5/5 Life, Wizard 4/4 Life

Post-Game Thoughts : Atomic Skull was a straight up raid boss this game, the RFG just couldn’t get through his defense and ignoring wounds. Gonna drop his defense to 5, should help the wound ignoring feel a bit more balanced.

Army Test
Map : CONFLICT CHERNOBYL (No Glyphs)
Units :
Atomic Skull (300), Doc Ock II (250), Vulture (90), Beetle (175), Kraven (200), Hydro-Man (190)
= 1205

VS.

Apollo (420), Midnighter (280), Sasquatch (295), U.S. Agent II (210)
= 1205

Spoiler Alert!

Pre-Game Thoughts/Preview : Sinister Six has the stronger OM efficiency, but the Operatives can boost each others stats well, and Apollo is always a beast. Same with a Sasquatch with a decent number of figures on his card.

Damage Done (Normal Attack) : Used 8 times, 6 wounds to Apollo, 4 wounds to Sasquatch
ATOMIC POWER: Ignored 6 wounds
ATOMIC BLAST: Used 3 times, 2 wounds to Midnighter, 3 wounds to Sasquatch. 2 unblockables rolled, 1 wound to Sasquatch.

Kraven chooses Apollo for his Prey.

ROUND 1 : Sinister Six initiative.
Sinister Six is able to quickly gain map control. U.S. Agent takes some hits, and Midnighter gets Bolaed by Kraven. Apollo makes a beeline for Kraven, dealing 3 wounds to him.

ROUND 2 : Sinister Six initiative.
Atomic Skull swings at Apollo, who blocks it thanks to Radiant Light. Kraven falls back thanks to Big Game Hunter, so Apollo attacks and destroys the adjacent Beetle. Vulture repositions Kraven so that he’s adjacent to Apollo and attacks, dealing 2 wounds and removing OM 3. Hydro Man washes away the Operatives, dealing a wound to Midnighter and removing the Bola. U.S. Agent nearly one shots Hydro Man, but fails to wound Kraven with his sidearm.

Apollo heals 1 wound.

ROUND 3 : Operative initiative.
The Operatives gain a good lead here, killing Kraven, Hydro Man, and Vulture. The Criminals have wounds, but they’re spread around so no one is dead.

Apollo replaces a Solar Marker.

ROUND 4 : Operative initiative.
Both armies are slugging away now. Apollo and U.S. Agent are heavily wounded, while Doc Ock and Atomic Skull are in pretty good shape.

ROUND 5 : Operative initiative.
Apollo gets a wound onto Atomic Skull. Skull responds with a big attack roll that kills Apollo, and Doc Ock kills U.S. Agent. Skull then keeps the good rolls coming, killing Midnighter ; Sasquatch is all thats left of the Operatives, but he’s healthy with 3 Operatives on his card.

ROUND 6 : Operative initiative.
Sasquatch fails a Great Swipe roll on both Criminals. Atomic Skull blasts Sasquatch for half of his life, OM 2, Sasquatch gets swiped away by Doc Ock, but pops Tanaraq Unleashed and kills Doc Ock. Atomic Skull and Sasquatch are all thats left - Skull ends the round by dropping Sasquatch to 2 life.

ROUND 7 : Sinister Six initiative.
On the initiative switch, a fully charged Atomic Skull kills Sasquatch. Sinister Six wins!

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Atomic Skull 4/6 Life

Post-Game Thoughts : Really fun game that had the Operatives open strong, but Doc Ock/Atomic Skull really put the team on their backs.

5 Defense feels better for sure.

General Thoughts on the Tested Unit : Dudes a beast. He’s really tough to kill for lower level figures, and feels like he’s even able to punch above his weight well. The huge synergy pool for Criminals gives you a lot of options with his builds, but Sinister Six felt like it has the most potential at 1200+ point mark.

He'll probably struggle a bit more against figures with beefy ranged attacks, multiattackers, and on larger maps.

It's pretty easy to keep his markers up on him, so the ignoring wounds + his defense was making him a real pain to kill. I think the drop to 5 defense has reigned him in some so I'm cool going forward at 300 with 5 defense, but I think his base attack could drop to 4 if he’s coming in hot with the public too.

[FreshFoods]

I propose we move to public playtesting

[Soundwarp SG-1]

yea

[fret_gurglo]

Yea

[Arch-vile]

yea

[Dr. Jekyll]

Yea

[IAmBatman]

Yea looks good. If he's coming in a bit juiced I think it's OK to bump his cost some too, since this is a guy who can go a few rounds with Superman.

[FreshFoods]

That's a pass

Sounds good Bats, I'll opt for a point increase instead of dropping attack if needed.

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by LordVenoc

Ditto. Atomic Skull is nowhere near main threat level. Dude gets taken down by Kate Spencer at one point as well. 8 dice should be the cap here, max.

Just want to bump this comment. Are we sure he should thematically be 300+ points? I don't know the character super well but LV seems to have thought he was a bit potent to begin with.

Everything else looks good though!

[FreshFoods]

I'd guess the Kate Spencer thing is akin to Spider-Man taking out Firelord, a big ol' outlier. I haven't actually seen Spencer/Skull fight, so maybe I'm wrong there.

The 300~ range feels about right for him imo. He is pretty much a straight jobber to Superman and his folks, but he still is able to go toe-to-toe with them in a fistfight.