The Book of Throg

[Zettian Juggernaut]

Originally Posted by Scapemage

Any traction here, ZJ?

Not yet, but since public is so full and the Palace Guards aren't done yet, I haven't really felt a need to rush. I'll probably get to it at some point, but not before the end of the month as work is keeping me busy plus have vacation coming up in a few days, so I'll be out of town for a week and a half.

[japes]

Originally Posted by Zettian Juggernaut

Not yet, but since public is so full and the Palace Guards aren't done yet, I haven't really felt a need to rush. I'll probably get to it at some point, but not before the end of the month as work is keeping me busy plus have vacation coming up in a few days, so I'll be out of town for a week and a half.

One of the great things about how we are set up now is that there isn't a lot of pressure. Enjoy the vacation.

[Scapemage]

Just got mini pictures of this guy today.

[Zettian Juggernaut]

Found time today to do this initial:

NAME OF THE PLAYTESTING UNIT (Throg)

Version used:

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = THROG
SECRET IDENTITY = SIMON WALTERSON

SPECIES = FROG
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = COMPANION
PERSONALITY = VALIANT
SIZE/HEIGHT = SMALL 3

LIFE = 4
MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 135

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
While there is a revealed Order Marker on this card, all Companions you control adds 1 extra die to their normal attack and adds 1 extra die to their defense when in clear sight of Throg.

FROGJOLNIR SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 4 + Special. Attack 3.
Throg may attack one non-adjacent figure within 4 clear sight spaces, even if Throg is engaged, and any or all figures adjacent to Throg. Roll 3 attack dice once for all affected figures. Each figure rolls defense dice separately.

SUPER STRENGTH
FLYING

Army Test 1
Unit Sum-up:
Damage:
Normal Attack: #.
Special Attack: Killed 3 Hand Ninja and 1 wound to Gamora.
Power Usage:
Pet Avengers Assemble:
- Total Attack dice boosted: 2
- Total Defense dice boosted: 7
Map: Island Plane Crash (no Glyphs)
Units: Army 1: Throg (135), Lockjaw (155), Lockheed (60), Zabu (130), Old Lace (140), Gert Yorker (30) (650) VS Army 2: Hand Ninja x2 (170), Tomoe Gozen (170), Gamora (310) (650)

Spoiler Alert!

First Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 on Lockjaw; #3 on Old Lace; X on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & #3 on Hand Ninja; x on Gamora.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Both teams move out, with the Pet Avengers taking the height on the front of the plane. Attacks are made, but no damage is dealt until the last turn when Old Lace chomps down on a Hand Ninja.

Second Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throng; #2 on Lockheed; #3 & X on Old Lace.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & #3 on Hand Ninja; x on Gamora.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: On the first turn Gamora puts 3 wounds on Lockjaw. Throg with a mighty Frogjolnir throw takes out 2 hand Ninja. Gamora repositions to put 1 wound on Throg; Hand Ninja put 1 wound on Lockjaw and Old Lace. Gamora puts 2 wounds on Throng; Hand Ninja take out Lockjaw (whiffed defense) and put 2 wounds on Lockheed (another whiffed defense). Old Lace takes outa Hand Ninja.

Third Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 & x on Old Lace; #3 on Zabu.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & #2 on Hand Ninja; #3 on Gamora; x on Tomoe.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Throg puts 1 wound on Gamora and takes out a Hand Ninja. Gamora finishes off Throg; the last Hand Ninja puts 3 wounds on Old Lace (perfect attack roll and whiffed defense roll). Old Lace kills the last Hand Ninja. OM lost on Hand Ninja. Zabu puts 1 wound on Gamora with his SA, taking 1 wound himself.

Fourth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 & x on Old Lace; #2 on Zabu; #3 on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & x on Gamora; #3 on Tomoe.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Old Lace puts 3 wounds on Tomoe (whiffed defense). Gamora puts 2 wounds on Zabu. Zabu dies attacking Gamora. Gamora fails to roll a skull attacking Old Lace. Tomoe puts 1 wound on Old Lace.

Fifth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 & x on Old Lace; #2 & #3 on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & #3 on Gamora; x on Tomoe.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Gamora finishes off Old Lace. OM lost of Old Lace. Rest of the attacks from both sides do no damage.

Sixth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: all on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & #3 on Gamora; x on Tomoe.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Gamora finishes off Lockheed.

Army 2 wins with full health Gamora and 1 life Tomoe Gozen.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test 2
Unit Sum-up:
Damage:
Normal Attack: #.
Special Attack: 1 wound to Hit-Girl.
Power Usage:
Pet Avengers Assemble:
- Total Attack dice boosted: 4
- Total Defense dice boosted: 7
Map: Island Plane Crash (no Glyphs)
Units: Army 1: Throg (135), Lockjaw (155), Lockheed (60), Nightcrawler (II, 210), Zabu (130), Ka'Zar (170) (860) VS Army 2: Black Bat (200), Nite Owl (130), Batgirl (130, Barbara Gordon), Robin (120, Tim Drake), Robin (80, Damian Wayne), Hit-Girl (135), Alfred Pennyworth (60) (855)

Spoiler Alert!

Black Bat chooses Bat-Grapple for Utility Belt. Ka-Zar chooses Black Bat for Big Game Tracker.
First Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Lockjaw; #2 on Throg; #3 on Lockheed; x on Ka-Zar.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & x on Black Bat; #2 on Batgirl; #3 on Hit-Girl.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Both teams move for the front of the Plane height, army makes it there first. Army 1's last turn Lockheed takes out Damian in one hit with height and whiffed defense roll from Damian.

Second Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 & #3 on Ka-Zar; x on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & #2 on Black Bat; #3 on Batgirl; x on Alfred.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Ka-Zar puts 1 wound on Black Bat and Zabu puts 2 wounds on Tim with his SA, doing 1 wound to himself. Black Bat puts 3 wounds on Lockjaw; Nite Owl puts 2 wounds on Zabu. Ka-Zar fails to do damage to Black Bat and takes 1 wound himself; Zabu puts 3 wounds on Nite Owl. Batgirl puts 3 wounds on Throg.

Third Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 on Ka-Zar; #3 & x on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & x on Black Bat; #2 on Batgirl; #3 on Alfred.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Black Bat Grapples over and puts 1 wound on Lockjaw; Nite Owl finishes off Lockjaw. Ka-Zar puts 2 wounds on Black Bat; Zabu finishes off Nite Owl. Alfred pulls Black Bat outs and heals her one.

Fourth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 on Lockheed; #3 & x on Ka-Zar.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & #2 on Black Bat; #3 on Batgirl; x on Hit-Girl.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Black Bat heals all the way up and move forward. Nightcrawler puts 1 wound on Batgirl; Lockheed puts 1 wound on Batgirl as well. Black Bat finishes off Zabu. Ka-Zar puts 2 wounds on Black Bat. Batgirl.

Fifth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 on Ka-Zar; #3 & x on Lockheed.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & x on Black Bat; #2 on Batgirl; #3 on Hit-Girl.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Throg puts 1 wound on Hit-Girl. Black Bat finishes off Throg; Tim puts 1 wound on Ka-Zar. Ka-Zar finishes off Black Bat. Lockheed takes out Batgirl who failed to roll a shield. Hit-Girl takes out Ka-Zar.

Sixth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1, #2, & x on Lockheed; #3 on Nightcrawler.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & x on Hit-Girl; #3 on Alfred.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Hit-Girl rolls all skulls on a whiff from Lockheed taking him out on the first OM of the round; Tim puts 1 wound on Nightcrawler. OM lost. Hit-Girl puts another wound Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler finishes off Hit-Girl.

Seventh Round:
Army 1’s OMs: all on Nightcrawler.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & #2 on Tim; #3 & x on Alfred.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Tim and Alfred fail to do damage. Nightcrawler finishes off Tim and puts 2 wounds on Alfred.

Eighth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: all on Nightcrawler.
Army 2’s OMs: all on Alfred.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Nightcrawler finishes off Alfred.

Army 1 wins with 2 life Nightcrawler.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test 3
Unit Sum-up:
Damage:
Normal Attack: #.
Special Attack: 1 wound to Noh-Varr.
Power Usage:
Pet Avengers Assemble:
- Total Attack dice boosted: 3
- Total Defense dice boosted: 4
Map: [Island Plane Crash (no Glyphs)
Units: Army 1: Throg (135), Lockjaw (155), Lockheed (60), Shadowcat (I, 80), Old Lace (140), Gert Yorker (30), Zabu (130), Kraven (200), Oracle (110) (850) VS Army 2: Hawkeye (140, Kate Bishop), Noh-Varr (260), Patriot (140), Speed (160), Stature (160) (860)

Spoiler Alert!

Kraven chooses Noh-Varr as his Big Game.
First Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Lockjaw; #2 on Throg; #3 on Lockheed; x on Oracle.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 on Patriot; #2 on Kate; #3 & x on Noh-Varr.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Teams move out. Patriot carries Stature out and puts 3 wounds on Lockjaw. Kate moves out and puts 1 wound on Throg. Kate puts 1 wound on Lockjaw, and Noh-Varr moves out. Noh-Varr puts 3 wounds on Old Lace who whiffs on defense.

Second Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 on Old Lace; #3 on Kraven; x on Oracle.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 on Stature; #2, #3, & x on Noh-Varr.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Throng puts 1 wound on Patriot. Stature finishes off Lockjaw. Old Lace puts 2 wounds on Noh-Varr. Kraven puts 1 wound on Noh-Varr and removes and OM; Zabu takes out Patriot who failed to roll a shield.

Third Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1 on Throg; #2 on Old Lace; #3 on Kraven; x on Oracle.
Army 2’s OMs: #1, #2, & x on Noh-Varr; #3 on Stature.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Throg puts 1 wound on Noh-Varr with an all skull roll. Noh-Varr puts 1 wound on Throg. Old Lace puts 1 wound on Noh-Varr. Noh-Varr finishes off Throg. Kraven takes out Noh-Varr. Stature takes out Old Lace.

Fourth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1, #2 & #3 on Kraven; x on Oracle.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & 3 on Stature; #2 & x on Kate.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Kraven puts 1 wound on Stature and removes an OM; Zabu puts 2 wounds on Kate. Stature puts 1 wound on Kraven. Kraven Bolas Stature, then finishes her off due to another defensive whiff.

Fifth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1, #2 & #3 on Kraven; x on Oracle.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 & #2 on Speed; #3 & x on Kate.
Initiative goes to Army 2.
Round Sum-up: Speed and Kate team-up to take out Zabu.

Sixth Round:
Army 1’s OMs: #1, #2, #3 on Kraven; x on Oracle.
Army 2’s OMs: #1 on, #2 on, & #3 on Kate; x on Speed.
Initiative goes to Army 1.
Round Sum-up: Kraven puts 3 wounds on Speed. Kate puts 1 wound on Kraven. Kraven finishes off Speed. Kraven finishes off Kate.

Army 1 wins with 4 life Kraven, unwounded Oracle, Lockheed, and Shadowcat.

This game was just Kraven going super crazy and killing everyone.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Throg felt well balanced, and makes the Pet Avengers viable option. Though he plays best with Old Lace/Gert as they have double attack and low defense, which is kind weird, but not a problem.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: Throg plays great, his attack boost isn't super useful (though definitely not unusable) as both Zabu and Lockheed have Special Attacks. The defense boost is a defense boost, always useful.

[johnny139]

You know I think playing best with Old Lace and Gert as a pair is kind of weird. Like the whole Pet Avengers gimmick is getting the pets together without their owners.

Maybe have his inspiration trigger if you only control Companions? Either by only drafting them or by having their masters knocked out in battle (making them a decent "backup" faction).

I dunno, just brainstorming. Seemed like they underperformed a bit, too, but not enough to cause concern as long as they felt fun. The SA thing is a bit of a downer but I imagine we'll have more normal attacking companions in the future.

[Zettian Juggernaut]

That is very good point that the Pet Avengers shouldn't be teaming up unless their companions aren't doing anything or in the game, so what about doing something like:

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
If all Order Markers are on this card or Companions' cards you control, all Companions you control add 1 extra die to their normal attack and add 1 extra die to their defense when in clear sight of Throg.

This way the Pet Avengers can fit into any army, but only swing into action if no one else is taking turns in your army.

It does removes the OM requirement for Throg, but that's not a big as he's got a solid SA, so you'll still want to take turns with him. But I would want to tweak Lockheed's companion power to have the OM reveal on the companion rather than on him.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by Zettian Juggernaut

It does removes the OM requirement for Throg, but that's not a big as he's got a solid SA, so you'll still want to take turns with him. But I would want to tweak Lockheed's companion power to have the OM reveal on the companion rather than on him.

That's a significant mechanical change, but it would suit our companion aesthetic a lot better - it's always been weird to me that Lockheed gets the OMs.

Combo Gert/Old Lace still counts as a Companion, so 'attack boost when all your OMs are on Companion cards' is still gonna encourage running OldGert, just with the OMs on Old Lace's card.

It might be best to move away from the attack boost angle entirely if we want to downplay OldGert - she's really the only Companion that super benefits from it.

[Zettian Juggernaut]

Okay, after some more thought, like Ronin mentioned the attack boost isn't really the best boost for this faction plus isn't really pulling them together, I'm feeling we should maybe move away from the a stat bump. As they already have good mobility: Lockjaw's teleport, Throg and Lockheed have 6 move flying, and Zabu has 7 move. When/if I get around to Redwing and Hairball, they both are going to have good mobility as well.

So taking stat boosts and movement powers off the table, it leaves two option in my mind, turn bonding and OM recovery, and I don't feel like Throg is a great tactician, so OM recovery feels weird, that leaves turn bonding. Options I've come up with:

A: (Attack turn after the full turn)

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and taking a turn with that Companion, you may choose another Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and take an immediate turn with that figure, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. Throg may be the chosen figure. Figures taking a turn with this power may not move normally.

B: (Full turn after attack turn)

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and taking a turn with that Companion, if that figure did not move, you may choose another Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and take an immediate turn with that figure, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. Throg may be the chosen figure.

C: (Full turn after failed/didn't attack turn) (option in blue)

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and taking a turn with that Companion, if that figure attacked but did not deal any damage, you may choose another Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and take an immediate turn with that figure, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. Throg may be the chosen figure.

D: (Full turn after full turn with X reveal)

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and taking a turn with that Companion, you may reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card to choose another Unique Companion Hero you control within clear sight of Throg and take an immediate turn with that figure, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. Throg may be the chosen figure.

E: (your own suggestion)

[Yodaking]

Since the companion figures are mostly lower in power level, I think this would be a great spot for some of those big turn ideas people had when discussing Capt. Cold II's Rogue power and Rocket Racoon II's I have a plan power. Bond with 1 Companion when revealing OM1, bond with 2 when revealing OM2, bond with 3 when revealing OM3. Reveal the X after revealing an OM and take a turn with up to 3 other Companions before taking your turn. Something like that where all the 'pets' attack at once and try to overrun you.

[L0B5T3R]

I second YK. That would be really fun and set them apart from other factions.

[Ronin]

Yeah, I could see going big on the number of turns.

I'd work it more like a traditional bonding thing, though. Have the bonding turns kick in after a turn with Throg, not just any Companion Hero. Makes him more of a "lead from the front" type.

[Zettian Juggernaut]

So maybe:

PET AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
After revealing an Order Marker on this card and taking a turn with Throg, you may either take an immediate turn with with a Unique Companion Hero you control or reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card to choose up to 3 Unique Companion Heroes you control. One at time, take a turn with each of the figures, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. All figures must be within clear sight of Throg before taking a turn.

This why we get consistency, with the option to go big once per round. I could be persuaded to basing it off the OM number or the like, but I don't see why he gets better at leading later in the round.