The Book of Hourman (Rick Tyler)

[Viegon]

Originally Posted by dok

Oh, well then I'm wrong about it being purely a better version of Gypsy's power, since her's *is* before initiative, and *can* help Ozy.

Yeah, that was intentional. I wanted to make it as useful as possible in general builds, but I didn't want it being broken in certain combos. Removing Ozy was an easy fix, but I'm still concerned about Joker and Mad Thinker.

Originally Posted by dok

One other weird idea - Apoc gives Hourman the Reality Gem.

Ooh, that'd be fun. Do you think there's a viable build with those two? I'd be interested in trying it out.

[dok]

Truth be told Apoc doesn't have to give it away - he could just use it himself with Hourman knowledge.

Aside from that I don't see a ton of cross-synergy between them, so I'd just lean towards Hourman, possibly his wife, and then standard Apoc stuff. Forge is nice for his gem-copying abilities.

[Viegon]

Originally Posted by dok

Truth be told Apoc doesn't have to give it away - he could just use it himself with Hourman knowledge.

Aside from that I don't see a ton of cross-synergy between them, so I'd just lean towards Hourman, possibly his wife, and then standard Apoc stuff. Forge is nice for his gem-copying abilities.

Hmm, yeah, if Apoc keeps it that sounds a little stronger. I'll try that build out.

[Viegon]

Hey guys, I was putting together some games for Hourman in an Apocalypse build and I came across a couple odd questions:
1) If Apocalypse has the Reality Gem, can he use it and then activate one of his Horsemen? Or does the "before taking a turn with this figure" wording require Apocalypse to take the turn? I thought we already made a ruling on this type of wording, but I can't remember what it was.
2) How does the Glyph of Replicator interact with the Reality Gem? Can you replicate the Reality Gem and then use it? They have the exact same trigger, so I believe you could use the gem after replicating it, but I'm not certain.

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by Viegon

Well, I'm not opposed to this version, but the above seems kind of messy to me. What happens if I don't reveal an "X"? Does it continue with the same effect as the previous round or does nothing happen?

If you can activate something and deactivate it, then once activated it stays in effect until deactivated. Seems pretty intuitive to me.

That said:

Originally Posted by Viegon

MIRACLO INJECTION
Once per game, at the start of a round before Order Markers are placed, you may place 3 purple Miraclo Markers on this card. Before rolling for initiative each round, if there is at least one Miraclo Marker on this card, you must either reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card or remove a Miraclo Marker. If you remove a Miraclo Marker, for the duration of this round, Hourman gains the Super Strength special power and adds 2 to his Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.

That version works just as well. Does it even need to be that complex, though? Why not just:

MIRACLO INJECTION
Start the game with 3 purple Miraclo Markers on this card. Before rolling for initiative each round, if there is at least one Miraclo Marker on this card, you may remove a Miraclo Marker. If you remove a Miraclo Marker, for the duration of this round, Hourman gains the Super Strength special power and adds 2 to his Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.

What's the upside of all the extra mechanics or decision making?

Originally Posted by Viegon

Hey guys, I was putting together some games for Hourman in an Apocalypse build and I came across a couple odd questions:
1) If Apocalypse has the Reality Gem, can he use it and then activate one of his Horsemen? Or does the "before taking a turn with this figure" wording require Apocalypse to take the turn? I thought we already made a ruling on this type of wording, but I can't remember what it was.
2) How does the Glyph of Replicator interact with the Reality Gem? Can you replicate the Reality Gem and then use it? They have the exact same trigger, so I believe you could use the gem after replicating it, but I'm not certain.

What I believe to be the correct answers:

1) No. He'd be required to actually take a turn, not use an "instead of taking a turn" power.
2) Yes. You should be able to replicate it and use it, IMO.

[Viegon]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

That version works just as well. Does it even need to be that complex, though? Why not just:

MIRACLO INJECTION
Start the game with 3 purple Miraclo Markers on this card. Before rolling for initiative each round, if there is at least one Miraclo Marker on this card, you may remove a Miraclo Marker. If you remove a Miraclo Marker, for the duration of this round, Hourman gains the Super Strength special power and adds 2 to his Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.

What's the upside of all the extra mechanics or decision making?

Huh, yeah, we could probably slim it down like that. Though I do worry a little bit about the theme not coming across right, it could easily be misinterpreted that he has three pills or something that each last a round. I think the use of the "X" gives it more of a feel of him doing something to pause the Miraclo, especially when combined with the mechanic of you choosing when to inject it.

I guess it comes down to what people think feels more thematic, and/or if the extra mechanics are worth it for the extra theme. What does everyone else think?

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

What I believe to be the correct answers:

1) No. He'd be required to actually take a turn, not use an "instead of taking a turn" power.
2) Yes. You should be able to replicate it and use it, IMO.

That's how I would play both of them, but I wanted to check with you guys before I actually ran the game.

And, by the way, I did knock out two games with him yesterday, and I'll post them all once I get the third one done.

[IAmBatman]

Change the power name to MIRACLO DOSING to go with the streamlined text, and I think that gets across the theme.

[Viegon]

Here's a couple games with the current SP. I was trying to abuse his Hourglass power, and while you can make some nasty combos, I'm not too concerned. For the most part, Gypsy can already do anything he can, but better in some cases. I do want to raise the roll on it up to 11 though, just to play it safe, and because I don't want his main build being one that abuses Hourglass.

I didn't bother running any hero or squad tests because half of his design isn't even useful in those games. I do want to play him with Liberty Belle a couple times before looking at moving forward.

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Hourman

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl (no glyphs or special rules)
Units: Hourman, Captain Marvel (Batson), Mad Thinker, Vision (1,005 points) VS Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch (Johnny), The Thing (1,000 points)

Spoiler Alert!

UNIT SUM-UP
Damage: N/A
Power Usage/Effectiveness:
Tachyon-Enhanced Hourglass: Rolled for 6 times, 8+ rolled 5 times. Looking at opponent’s OMs was extremely useful.
Miraclo Injection: Not activated.
Bonds of Marriage: N/A

GAME SUMMARY:
Due to hot D20 rolls early (and throughout most of the game), Mad Thinker ran the game for the first few rounds. He was able to give Invisible Woman all but one of the OMs for the first three rounds, which bought Vision enough time to kill Human Torch and Thing. Sue and Reed managed to kill Vision in the fourth round, but both were wounded at that point. Captain Marvel rushed out to clean-up, but got stuck next to and lower than Reed, which slowed him down. However, he was able to finish the job in the end.

It’s worth noting that in this game, due to Mr. Fantastic getting all of the OMs most rounds, Gypsy would have been able to do the same thing Hourman did.

Round One: Army 1 wins Initiative and Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision flies out.
ARMY 2: Sue moves out.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision puts 2 wounds on Human Torch with a double-turn.
ARMY 2: Sue charges.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision fails.
ARMY 2: Sue fails.

Round Two: Army 1 wins Initiative and Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision puts 2 wounds on Torch with a double-turn.
ARMY 2: Sue puts 2 wounds on Vision.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision fails.
ARMY 2: Sue fails.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision kills Torch.
ARMY 2: Sue fails.

Round Three: Army 2 wins Initiative but Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 2: Reed and Thing put 1 wound on Vision.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision puts 4 wounds on Thing with a lucky 20.
ARMY 2: Sue fails.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision kills Thing.
ARMY 2: Sue puts 2 wounds on Vision.
ARMY 1: Vision puts 2 wounds on Reed.

Round Four: Army 2 wins Initiative but Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 2: Reed and Sue fail.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker: Vision fails.
ARMY 2: Reed and Sue kill Vision.
ARMY 1: Mad Thinker moves up.
ARMY 2: Sue moves up.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel flies out.

Round Five: Army 1 wins Initiative but Hourman fails his roll.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel puts 2 wounds on Sue.
ARMY 2: Reed and Sue fail.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel puts 1 wound on Reed.
ARMY 2: Reed and Sue put 1 wound on Captain Marvel.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel fails.
ARMY 2: Reed fails.

Round Six: Army 2 wins Initiative but Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 2: Reed and Sue fail.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel puts 1 wound on Reed.
ARMY 2: Reed and Sue put 2 wounds on Captain Marvel.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel fails.
ARMY 2: Sue fails.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel kills Reed.

Round Seven: Army 1 wins Initiative (Captain Marvel heals and Hourman doesn’t bother rolling).
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel fails.
ARMY 2: Sue puts 2 wounds on Captain Marvel.
ARMY 1: Captain Marvel kills Sue.

Hourman unwounded, Mad Thinker unwounded, Captain Marvel with 4 wounds.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Conflict Chernobyl (no glyphs or special rules)
Units: Hourman, Commander Rogers, Joker (I), Oracle, Zombie, Diablo (1,000 points) VS Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Lightning Lad, Colossal Boy (1,015 points)

Spoiler Alert!

UNIT SUM-UP
Damage: N/A
Power Usage/Effectiveness:
Tachyon-Enhanced Hourglass: Rolled for 5 times, 8+ rolled 5 times. Looking at opponent’s OMs was very useful.
Miraclo Injection: Not activated.
Bonds of Marriage: N/A

GAME SUMMARY:
The Legionnaires got off to a lucky start when Lightning Lad killed Zombie in a single turn. This left Rogers without his sidekick, which seriously slowed him down. However, with some lucky rolls he was able to kill Cosmic Boy by the middle of the second round, followed the very next turn by killing Saturn Girl. Joker, Oracle, Hourman, and Diablo kept up some very useful support, limiting the Legionnaires to some very ineffective turns. Phantom Girl successfully used Phase Drag to wound both Diablo and Rogers, but Rogers retaliated and killed her in the third round. With a lucky pair of attacks, Lightning Lad managed to take out Diablo, but by that point it was just down to him and a nearly dead Colossal Boy. Rogers kept up his rampage and killed Colossal Boy and then Lightning Lad in the fifth round to secure a win.

Round One: Army 2 wins Initiative but Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 2: Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad move up.
ARMY 1: Rogers and Zombie advance.
ARMY 2: Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad kill Zombie.
ARMY 1: Diablo teleports into position.
ARMY 2: Saturn Girl and Phantom Girl put 1 wound on Diablo.
ARMY 1: Rogers puts 2 wounds on Cosmic Boy.

Round Two: Army 1 wins Initiative, Hourman hits his roll, and Joker moves OMs.
ARMY 1: Rogers gets hit by Magnetic Throw Defense.
ARMY 2: Saturn Girl is stopped by Diablo.
ARMY 1: Rogers kills Cosmic Boy.
ARMY 2: Saturn Girl takes a disengagement wound to get away from Diablo, then takes another wound to deal 1 to Rogers.
ARMY 1: Rogers kills Saturn Girl.
ARMY 2: Phantom Girl puts 1 wound on both Rogers and Diablo with Phase Drag.

Round Three: Army 1 wins Initiative, Hourman hits his roll, and Joker moves OMs.
ARMY 1: Rogers puts 4 wounds on Phantom Girl.
ARMY 2: Colossal Boy fails.
ARMY 1: Rogers kills Phantom Girl.
ARMY 2: Colossal Boy takes a wound from Photonic Energy Shield.
ARMY 1: Rogers fails.
ARMY 2: Colossal Boy fails.

Round Four: Army 1 wins Initiative, Hourman hits his roll, and Joker moves OMs.
ARMY 1: Rogers fails.
ARMY 2: Lightning Lad is blocked by Diablo.
ARMY 1: Rogers puts 1 wound on Colossal Boy.
ARMY 2: Lightning Lad kills Diablo.
ARMY 1: Rogers puts 1 wound on Colossal Boy.
ARMY 2: Lightning Lad fails.

Round Five: Army 1 wins Initiative, Hourman hits his roll, and Joker moves OMs.
ARMY 1: Rogers kills Colossal Boy.
ARMY 2: Turn lost on Colossal Boy.
ARMY 1: Rogers kills Lightning Lad.

Rogers with 3 wounds, Hourman unwounded, Joker unwounded, Oracle unwounded.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Dark Dimensions (no glyphs or special rules)
Units: Hourman, Apocalypse (with Reality Gem and Space Gem), Cable, Spider-Girl (1,215 points) VS Yellow Lantern (Sinestro), Yellow Lantern (Arkillo), Sinestro Corp Soldier x5 (1,190 points)

Spoiler Alert!

UNIT SUM-UP
Damage: Caused a Sinestro Corps Soldier to burn a battery.
Power Usage/Effectiveness:
Tachyon-Enhanced Hourglass: Rolled for 4 times, 8+ rolled 1 times. Looking at opponent’s OMs was very useful.
Miraclo Injection: Activated at the beginning of round 5. Added 2 total attack dice, added 2 total defense dice.
Bonds of Marriage: N/A

GAME SUMMARY:
At first things looked very bleak for the Mutants when Sinestro got a lucky attack and killed Spider-Girl in the first round. However, the Mutants won initiative for the second round and Hourman successfully activated his Hourglass, which gave Cable the ability to control the entire opponent’s round. During this time, he killed a Corps Soldier and nearly killed Sinestro. They secured initiative again for the third round, but Hourman failed his roll, which led to Cable accidently moving the “X” at one point, which in turn gave the Yellow Lanterns the chance they needed to wound Cable and knock away the gem. After that Arkillo picked up the Reality Gem and used it to mess with the Mutants while he and his minions took out Cable and then Apocalypse (Sinestro again got kind of lucky with his attacks). Once the mutants were down, Hourman didn’t stand much of a chance, and he met a quick death at the hands of Arkillo’s Eviscerate.

Round One: Army 2 wins Initiative and Hourman fails his roll.
ARMY 2: Arkillo destroys a Sinestro Corp Soldier; another Corp Soldier moves out.
ARMY 1: Apocalypse moves and OM and then passes the Reality Gem to Cable.
ARMY 2: Moved OM: A Corps Soldier moves up.
ARMY 1: Apocalypse teleports himself and his Horsemen out.
ARMY 2: Sinestro kills Spider-Girl; Corps Soldier engages but fails on Cable.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable burns through a Corps Soldier’s battery, then puts 1 wound on him.

Round Two: Army 1 wins Initiative and Hourman hits his roll.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable moves an OM unto a Corps Soldier and then kills it.
ARMY 2: Turn lost on a Corps Soldier.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable puts 3 wounds on Sinestro and burns one of his batteries.
ARMY 2: A Corps Soldier moves up.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable puts 1 wound on Sinestro.
ARMY 2: A Corps Soldier moves up.

Round Three: Army 1 wins Initiative but Hourman fails his roll.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable moves an OM and burns through two of Sinestro’s batteries.
ARMY 2: A Corps Soldier fails.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable puts 2 wounds on a Corps Soldier.
ARMY 2: Arkillo moves; Corps Soldier puts 2 wounds on Cable and sends the Reality Gem flying.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable burns a Corps Soldier’s battery.
ARMY 2: Arkillo grabs the Reality Gem; Corps Soldier puts 2 wounds on Cable.

Round Four: Army 1 wins Initiative but Hourman fails his roll.
ARMY 1: Apoc: Cable kills a Corps Soldier.
ARMY 2: Arkillo moves an OM to Cable and then kills him; Corps Soldier puts 1 wound on Apoc.
ARMY 1: Apoc one-shots a full battery Corps Soldier.
ARMY 2: Arkillo moves an OM to Sinestro, then puts 3 wounds on Apoc; Corps Soldier fails.
ARMY 1: Turn lost on Cable.
ARMY 2: Sinestro kills Apoc and Corps Soldier puts 2 wounds on Hourman.

Round Five: Army 2 wins Initiative.
ARMY 2: Arkillo and a Corps Soldier put 1 wound on Hourman.
ARMY 1: Hourman burns one of the Corps Soldier’s batteries.
ARMY 2: Arkillo eviscerates Hourman.

Arkillo unwounded and with 1 battery, Sinestro with 4 wounds and no batteries, a Sinestro Corps Soldier unwounded and with 1 battery.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: I didn't play him with Jesse and never really got him into battle yet, so I can't judge him very well. Hourglass is a touch strong right now, but I think upping the roll to 11 will solve that.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: Like above, I've barely gotten to actually use him yet, so I can't really say much.

[Viegon]

Alright, so while I'm working on my Liberty Belle tests, I want to settle which version of Miraclo we want to go with, so that means poll time!

Please vote for which version is your favorite:
Option A:

MIRACLO INJECTION
Once per game, at the start of a round before Order Markers are placed, you may place 3 purple Miraclo Markers on this card. Before rolling for initiative each round, if there is at least one Miraclo Marker on this card, you must either reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card or remove a Miraclo Marker. If you remove a Miraclo Marker, for the duration of this round, Hourman gains the Super Strength special power and adds 2 to his Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.

Option B:

MIRACLO DOSING
Start the game with 3 purple Miraclo Markers on this card. Before rolling for initiative each round, if there is at least one Miraclo Marker on this card, you may remove a Miraclo Marker. If you remove a Miraclo Marker, for the duration of this round, Hourman gains the Super Strength special power and adds 2 to his Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.

[TrollBrute]

I like A. I think the choice of when to start using the markers is interesting.

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by TrollBrute

I like A. I think the choice of when to start using the markers is interesting.

You get to choose when to start using the markers regardless. The only difference is that in A you have to be prepared to stop using them (with the help of the X) if you don't want to use them all at once.

Feels needlessly complex and cumbersome (and wordy) to me, rather than letting the elegance of the theme and mechanic buried within the power shine through. B for me.

[TrollBrute]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

You get to choose when to start using the markers regardless. The only difference is that in A you have to be prepared to stop using them (with the help of the X) if you don't want to use them all at once.

Which is what I mean, and what I like about it. With B, you just use the markers whenever you plan to use Hourman in battle. With A, you have to make a choice and commit, or plan to use the up your X.