The Book of Silk Spectre

[A3n]

Yea

[Lord Pyre]

This passes to playtesting!

[Lord Pyre]

I updated Whirlwind assault earlier today. A playtester pointed it out to me that I had the wrong name and some wrong wordage.

[Lord Pyre]

From Clembo. 100 still looks good to me.

Originally Posted by clembo2021

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT (Silk Spectre)

- THEME TEST/
Pass

- MIRROR TEST/
Pass

- BONDING TEST/
Pass

- SYNERGIES TEST/
Pass

- POWER CHECK/
Pass

- FUN TEST/
Pass

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/
Pass

- DRAFTING TEST/
Pass

- USAGE TEST/
Pass

- STRATEGY TEST/
Pass

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 100.
- Give a brief overview. Silk Spectre was only used for her cheerleading powers here. Still, her ability was quite strong, shutting down Joker's shenanigans. Usually Reorganized Chaos is the main problem for the Vigilantes in this type of match, but with Silk Spectre supporting Batman you can just load up OMs on him and go to town. It's not gamebreaking, but it definitely shifts things noticeably into Batman's favor. In a smaller point game (600) the effect would be more pronounced.
Map: Icy Road.
Units: Batman (I), Robin, Silk Spectre, Huntress, Punisher, Alfred (830) vs Joker (I), Harley, Hugo Strange, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, 2x Arkham Inmates (825).

Spoiler Alert!

Early Game
Batman and Robin make a mad dash for the middle of the map. They cut off the much slower Inmates and get some good rolls, cutting 5 Inmates down and only Batman taking one wound from Aggravated Assault. Then Mad Hatter puts a hat on Batman, making it so he can no longer reveal OMs, wasting OMs 2 and 3 and giving them time to put a Hat on Robin as well. Alfred remote field extracts Batman to keep Batman and Robin away from each other while they're hatted. Batman heals to full but Alfred can't wound him to get the hat off. Team Insanity beats on Robin who stands around helplessly while Punisher whiffs on Batman to get the hat off. After the first string of attacks, Punisher finally knocks the hat off then heads off down south.

Mid Game
Punisher gets a few shots off on Hugo Strange (whiffs), then its a new round so they load up on Batman again. Hugo and Harley peck away at Robin and Punisher while Batman makes his way across the map. Batman gets up on height between the two and unloads some batarangs. He takes out Hugo and then heads for Harley as she takes out Robin. Scarecrow comes in and throws down some Fear Gas and gets a big 2 wound attack off on Batman. Then Harley gets struck by Batman's Evasive Strike, and Batman finishes her off. Scarecrow is able to finish Batman off thanks to his gas, and then Punisher lands a huge 4 skull AP rocket on Scarecrow, killing him off.

End Game
Seeing that Punisher with 4 wounds is gonna go down soon, Huntress starts coming down. Joker (who doesn't have his powers anymore) takes out Punisher just as Huntress shows up. She puts a wound on the Joker from low ground with dual crossbows, then he whiffs on her and she gets adjacent to him and puts 2 more wounds on her. He chooses not to run and dies when he hits 2 skulls and she whiffs on shields but hits 4 skulls herself, finishing him off.

Then Huntress chases down the last Inmate and easily finishes him off.

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Huntress (2 wounds), Alfred (0 wounds), Silk Spectre (0 wounds)).

Re-test Results:

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes.
- What should be the unit's point value? 100.
- Give a brief overview. Things felt pretty balanced here. Without Silk Spectre the Fan4 team would've gotten absolutely stomped, because Mad Thinker would put OMs from Mr Fantastic onto Energizer or Zero-G. Investing 100 points to keep that from happening seems like a good investment, and Mad Thinker is built in such a way that he was still able to accomplish his goals of controlling an Android team and getting extra turns, even if he didn't get to mess with OMs.
Map: Icy Road.
Units: Silk Spectre, Mister Fantastic, Zero-G, Energizer, She-Hulk, Invisible Woman (990) vs Mad Thinker, Dragon Man, Jocasta, Human Torch, Sentinel.

Spoiler Alert!

Early Game
Mr Fantastic&Co. move out as a squad, and Human Torch and Dragon Boy lead out the Androids. Dragon Boy is able to use his huge 6 movement to get adjacent to Invisible Woman who was in a good position to shield She-Hulk (who lept at Human Torch and whiffed). Dragon Boy put 3 wounds on her, and then she moves back and Mister Fantastic ties down Dragon Boy. Human Torch puts some wounds on She-Hulk, then Zero-G forces Dragon Boy to low ground. Torch takes out She-Hulk just as Mister Fantastic kills of Dragon Boy.

Mid Game
Torch moves up top and puts 2 wounds on Energizer with Fireball, then gets to roll 2 unblockable dice against Invisible Woman, killing her off (it should be noted that there was no way to get to Invisible Woman except through AoE). Then the wounded Torch is easily taken down by Energizer and Mister Fantastic starts to move towards the middle.

End Game
Mister Fantastic and Zero-G move towards Mad Thinker. The Sentinel takes some pot shots at him as they try to come for Mister Fantastic. MrF whiffs on Jocasta, then Sentinel wounds him some more. Mr F puts 2 wounds on Jocasta, but Sentinel finishes off Mr Fantastic, and Mad Thinker uses the XOM to take another turn and kill off Zero-G.

Now Sentinel comes for Silk Spectre. Mad Thinker is able to use his ability to put OMs onto Energizer. Sentinel gets 2 attacks in a row thanks to Mad Thinker and kills off Silk Spectre without her getting a chance to fight back. Energizer whiffs on Sentinel and then he finishes her off too.

Who won and how many wounds did they have? Sentinel (3 wounds), Mad Thinker (0 wounds), Jocasta (2 wounds).

[IAmBatman]

Hmm, no point total for that last army. I agree that 100 is holding up thus far, though.

[Lord Pyre]

From TB!

Originally Posted by TrollBrute

Here you go! I know I didn't play her in any Vigilante armies, but I wanted to see what kind of value I could get out of her in other areas (Emotional Grounding in the first game; taking on swarms in the second).

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Silk Spectre

- THEME TEST/ Check to see if there are any powers or stats on the test unit card that does not accurately reflect the theme or likeness of what the character would and could do. Also consider destructible objects, and whether or not this character’s powers should affect them.
Pass

- MIRROR TEST/ Check to see if the unit were played against itself, if there would be any loops that would upset the balance of the Game.
Pass

- BONDING TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing Bonding abilities to make sure there are no continual Bonding possibilities that do not stop appropriately or do not stop at all. This is to prevent loops in Bonding.
Pass

- SYNERGIES TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing synergies to make sure there are no factors that could break the game by making any unit to powerful or too weak.
Pass

- POWER CHECK/ Consider the test unit and all existing units and all glyphs to compare to and check for any powers that could be over amplified and break the game. Each power must define when it takes place, who or what it affects, and What are the stipulations on the power if there are any.
Pass

- FUN TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play.
Pass

- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play against.
Pass

- DRAFTING TEST/ Consider whether or not this design is worth drafting.
Pass

- USAGE TEST/ Consider whether or not all of the powers on this card were used or at least usable.
Pass

- STRATEGY TEST/ Consider whether or not the design offers any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game.
Pass

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test 1
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 90-100
- Give a brief overview. This one was kind of a see-saw battle, but the Criminals pull it out. Some early luck by the Hired Guns dealt 3 wounds to Cloak, which severely hampered his usefulness, otherwise this could have turned out differently. Silk Spectre’s Emotional Grounding kept any worries of Riddle Me This away in the beginning of the game. She struggled with her attacks, but bonding with Robin made a nice team to go after Electro and Wizard.

UNIT SUMMARY
Damage: 2 wounds to Electro, 1 Bodyguard destroyed.

Map: X Marks the Spot
Units: Army 1: Silk Spectre, Baron Zemo, Cloak, Dagger, Judge Dredd, Robin, Trapster (1005 points) VS Army 2: The Riddler, Hired Guns, Wizard, Parasite, Bad Cops x3, Bodyguard x4 (1010 points)

Spoiler Alert!

Everybody but Robin gets a MoE marker; Spectre grounds Zemo.

1st Round:
Wizard flies out. Cloak takes the opposite wall. The Hired Guns move out. Dazzler moves up. The Guns advance, with a couple taking shots at Cloak, dealing 3 wounds. Dredd runs out, gun blazing, and kills a Thug.

2nd Round:
With the Initiative switch, Dredd charges in, taking out another Hired Gun. One of the Guns climbs atop the wall and fires down at Dredd, inflicting 2 wounds; 3 skulls from the other Gun deals another wound. Dredd’s Lawgiver takes out the last 2 Guns. Riddler sends a few Bodyguards up. Dagger moves up. Electro moves up but misses Dagger.

3rd Round:
Dagger’s shots at Electro miss their mark. Wizard’s two attacks deal another wound to Dredd, bringing him up to 4 wounds. Dredd takes a couple shots at Wizard, but they’re blocked. Electro’s Bolt finishes off Dredd. Dagger takes down 2 Bodyguards.

4th Round:
Trapster moves up but doesn’t do any damage. Electro also misses. Trapster Paste Pots Wizard, but fails to wound Electro. Electro inflicts 2 wounds to Trapster. Trapster deals back a wound to Electro. Wizard is stuck with no targets within Range.

5th Round:
Trapster does no damage. Wizard’s dual attacks are too much for Trapster and he is taken out. Silk Spectre moves up, Robin takes a shot at Wizard, but he blocks. Electro’s Bolt does no damage to Spectre or Robin. Silk Spectre deals a wound to Electro; Robin adds another. The Bad Cops move up.

6th Round:
Wizard inflicts 2 wounds to a whiffing Spectre. Silk Spectre fails to wound Electro; Robin goes after Wizard, but is blocked by his Forcefield. Wizard’s attack is blocked by Robin. Spectre and Robin do no damage. The Bad Cops move up.

7th Round:
Spectre and Robin dail again. Wizard inflicts 2 wounds to Robin. Silk Spectre takes down Electro; Wizard takes a wound from Robin. Wizard rolls 4 skulls, but Robin gets 3 shields, so only 1 wound. Dagger charges into the center of the map, but a couple skulls deals 2 wounds to Wizard. A couple Bad Cops shoot at Dagger from height, but only inflict 1 wound.

8th Round:
Dagger’s first shot is blocked by Wizard’s Forcefield and her second misses. Wizard takes out Robin. Dagger misses. The Bad Cops do no damage. Dagger finishes off Wizard and a Cop. The Cops deal 2 wounds to Dagger.

9th Round:
Cloak kills a Bad Cop. The Cops do no damage. Cloak pulls in Parasite, fails to wound a Cop. The Cops can’t hurt Cloak, but take out Dagger. Cloak takes out a Cop. OM 3 on Parasite.

Cloak heals a wound and wounds Parasite. Cloak then takes a wound from his Hunger.

10th Round:
Riddler moves up but does no damage to Cloak. Silk Spectre takes out a Cop. The last Cop, aided by Riddler’s Ambush, rolls 4 skulls on Cloak and takes him out. Spectre fails on a Bodyguard. Spectre whiffs her defense and takes a wound from Parasite. On her turn, she fails her attacks.

11th Round:
Silk Spectre takes out a Bodyguard. Parasite finishes off Spectre. Zemo moves up. Parasite moves up. Zemo does no damage. Parasite is Trapped.

12th Round:
Riddler activates Riddle Me This, but Zemo grabs the ‘X’. Zemo does no damage. Parasite is Trapped. Zemo scurries up the ladder, but is again blocked. Parasite does no damage. Zemo inflicts 2 wounds.

13th Round:
Parasite is Trapped. Zemo rolls 3 skulls and takes down Parasite. The Bad Cop moves up. Zemo runs to the top. The Cop deals a wound to Zemo. Zemo does no damage.

14th Round:
Zemo kills the last Cop. Riddler activates Riddle Me This, confounding Zemo; Riddler then spends 3 turns moving toward Zemo, finally catching up to him at the top of the wall and dealing 2 wounds.

15th Round:
Riddler is Trapped. Zemo cannot attack Riddler because of Befuddling Tactics, he decides to wait out the round. Riddler attacks, Zemo whiffs and the game is over:

Full Life Riddler and 1 Bodyguard win.

Army Test 2
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 90-100
- Give a brief overview. Another swingy but close game. Hydra seemed to have the advantage, then Red Skull went down in a hurry and the Assassins looked to be on top. That didn't last for long though, as the onslaught of the Hydra Agents is tough for any team to withstand, but the Assassins do pull it out in the end with some good rolls. Silk Spectre didn't get a lot of play and her rolls weren't very good when she did get the chance, but she did do her share by tying Madame Hydra up for a while.

UNIT SUMMARY
Damage: 2 Hydra Agents destroyed.

Map: Mad_Wookiee's Isenfell
Units: Army 1: Silk Spectre, Lady Shiva, Azrael, Hand Ninja x3 (700 points) VS Army 2: Red Skull (C3G), Madame Hydra, Chameleon, Hydra Agents x3 (700 points)

Spoiler Alert!

Lady Shiva Trains Silk Spectre, Spectre grounds Azrael, Azrael starts with the Suppression Marker, Chameleon Impersonates Shiva in the early rounds.

1st Round:
The Agents and Madame Hydra move up. Azrael and the Ninja head out. The Agents advance, Madame Hydra kills a Ninja. Silk Spectre moves up and the Ninja strike back, taking out 2 Agents. The Agents kill 2 Ninja; Red Skull moves out. Azrael charges in, a 5 skull roll inflicts 3 wounds to Red Skull (plus 1 from Burn damage) and knocks away the Cube, his second attack obliterates an Agent; the Ninja take out another Agent.

2nd Round:
The Assassins get the Initiative switch, Azrael rolls 4/6 skulls to finish off Red Skull; one Ninja kills an Agent and, with Madame Hydra’s protection gone, the other Ninja deals her 2 wounds. The Hydra agents do no damage to Azrael, but take out a Ninja; Madame Hydra kills another Ninja. Spectre moves up; the Ninja take out an Agent. One Agent kills a Ninja, while the combined effort of the other three inflicts 3 wounds on Azrael; Madame Hydra kills yet another Ninja. Silk Spectre does no damage; the Ninja takes out an Agent. The Agents finish off Azrael; Madame Hydra opts for her SA against Silk Spectre’s counterstrike, no damage.

3rd Round:
The Agents kill a Ninja and inflict 2 wounds to a whiffing Spectre; Madame Hydra misses. Silk Spectre takes out an Agent; the last Ninja takes out an Agent, as well. The Agents do no damage; Madame Hydra fails again. Silk Specte takes an LEA to go after 2 Agents, killing 1; the last Ninja takes out a whiffing Madame Hydra. The Agents finish off Silk Spectre and the Ninja. Lady Shiva moves up. The Agents deal Shiva 2 wounds.

5th Round:
Lady Shiva’s Leopard Blow takes out an Agent. The last Agent dies to Counterstrike. Lady Shiva moves up. Chameleon moves over. Shiva leaps in and takes out Chameleon in one hit!

Lady Shiva wins the game with 2 Life left.

Not a whole lot to say here. Solid, mostly re-used powers but they add up to a pretty fun unit. 100 felt maybe a tad high, but not too far off. Emotional Grounding is a little niche, so it's hard to get the full value out of that power. One suggestion I would make is to work a Mental Shield-like aspect into the power so the Grounded Hero can't be taken control of. This should also help clear up the Mindshackle issue. All-in-all, solid unit. She should make a nice low-cost filler option for the Vigilante armies.

[Lord Pyre]

I totally forgot to post this when he sent it to me, but he caught a potential problem.

Originally Posted by TrollBrute

I'm hoping to wrap up my Silk Spectre tests tonight, but I thought of a possible issue. What would happen if Spectre's chosen Hero is Mindshackled? For example: Silk Spectre Grounds Nite Owl and he is Pheromone Seduced by Poison Ivy. Ivy's player takes control of Nite Owl and would normally remove all order markers on his card, but Spectre's player chooses to leave them on the card. You would then have OMs on your opponent's Nite Owl.

I don't know if this situation is covered in the rules somewhere, but I though I would send it along in case there are any issues.

I see two fixes here. One is to add that she can prevent mind-control like he stated in his test (Which I'm not sure is all that thematic. It'd be pretty powerful for just an emotional connection).

Otherwise we add a "while you control both Silk Spectre and the chosen figure" to her power. I'm leaning towards option 2.

[Hahma]

I agree that the second direction would be better.

[IAmBatman]

Works for me. 100 points is working for me too.

[A3n]

Yea

[johnny139]

Yea

[SirGalahad]

yea to editing