The Book of Major X17

[dnutt99]

The Book of Major X17
Zanafor's Discovery - Collection 4 - "Heroes of Trollsford"

Spoiler Alert!

If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, check Hasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio: Major X17 earned its reputation in the Soulborg fighting pits as a gladiator of renowned ability. It was granted a command position in the Soulborg battlefield forces, and later went on to earn the rank of Major. Like its Gladiatron counterparts, Major X17 uses a Cyberclaw to lock down its victims. With its immense size, it can lock down even larger opponents. After years of refinement and expert programming, the defense mechanisms of this disciplined gladiator are rivaled by few others. It is well known that any warrior foolish enough to engage Major X17 in hand-to-hand combat is likely asking for certain defeat. (Hasbro)
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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• - IMPROVED CYBERCLAW : Movement Using Improved Cyberclaw
  Is Major X17 also stuck in the engagement because of Cyberclaw?
  No. Cyberclaw only affects figures that are engaged to a Major X17. Once any opponent's figures enter a space adjacent to Major X17, they cannot move. That includes movements around X17 while still staying engaged. However, Major X17 may leave the engagement if it chooses to. On a side note; if 2 opposing sides both have figures with Improved Cyberclaw, they would lock each other down. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - CYBERCLAW : Units With Disengage and Ghost Walk
  Does Cyberclaw also affect a character with Ghost Walk or Disengage?
  Yes. As soon as they pass onto a space adjacent to Major X17, they are locked into the engagement. No special power on an army card or glyph can get them out of the engagement. (Hasbro FAQ)

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• - N/A

Synergy Benefits Offered

• - BLASTATRONS : Homing Device
  * Being a Soulborg that follows Vydar, Major X17 may aid Blastatrons with their HOMING DEVICE attack bonus.
  
  - SACRED BAND : Disciplined Army Defense Bonus
  * Having a Disciplined personality, Major X17 may aid the Sacred Band with their DISCIPLINED ARMY DEFENSE BONUS.
  *NOTE: See The Book of Sacred Band for proper application.

C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

Synergy Benefits Received

BEORN BOLTCUTTER: UPGRADE
As a Unique Soulborg Hero, X17 can benefit from Beorn's UPGRADE ability.

COMMAND COURIER : COMMAND DISPATCH
As a Medium Unique figure who follows Vydar, Major X17 may take a turn when a Command Courier uses COMMAND DISPATCH.

EXECUTIONER 616: REMOTE DETONATION
As a Soulborg, X17 can be exploded by Executioner 616's REMOTE DETONATION.

HOPLITRON : MELEE SOULBORG BONDING
As a Soulborg Hero with a Range of 1, Major X17 may benefit from Hoplitron's MELEE SOULBORG BONDING.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• - TBA

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-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Rankings

Jexik: Major X17- Though seemingly a strong figure, slow movement, lack of bonding, and lack of a great attack makes X17 a mostly wasted turn. D

OEAO: D

Cleon: Tier 2 (193/208)

dok (VC inclusive): D

Master Index

Originally Posted by MKSentinel

Major X17
As Counter to Q9? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=2123
Attack too Low? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=7459
Movement While Not Disengaging? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=2608

Unit Strategy Review

[Oyhedwig]

This is a figure that NO ONE played in our gaming sessions. Then, a couple of weeks ago, we sort of knocked the dust off of him and he's been in nearly every game since. What is it with this guy? Not a lot of folks really talk about him all that much, and now that I've used him a few times, I really love him. I came up with an idea for this guy. Use Theracus to fly him all the way to your opponent's starting zone, engaging and locking down as many figures as possible (preferably the melee figs.) in the starting zone. Do this as soon as the game begins. With his melee defense of 7 he can last a little while. Basically, I just thought this would be good if you wanted to do any of the following: a. keep your opponent's range figures from getting the high ground before you do, b. pick off the figures while they are stuck there c. force your opponent to activate units that he/she would not have. Some thoughts. I hope this reads coherently. We also use the Major to guard the bottoms of hills and castle doors.

[Eclipse]

In general, the problem with this guy is that he's weak to ranged squads, which puts him at a serious metagame disadvantage the way most people play the game. I actually consider him borderline undercosted personally. A 5 life, 5 move, 4 attack, 7 Defense figure is rather amazing for 100 points. He can really tank once he gets engagement, single handedly stopping quite a few units, even heroes who would normally just take the disengage to reach their target.

He really is a great figure, its just that nobody uses anything other than 4th Mass and Microcorps, which puts him at a serious disadvantage.

[Uprising]

I love Major X17, but Eclipse is right. He goes down way too fast by range. Than again, almost every unit does . Anyway, X17 is an absolute beast in melee. He's taken out my Krug on more than one occasion and he's a killer against the Marrden Hounds. Wicked sculpt!

[Roufus]

I like using him to clamp down on some deathwalkers, and allow my hordes through.

"CLAMP CLAMP KABAMP!" (futurama reference)

[IAmBatman]

Seems like if you're going to fly him all the way to the start zone, you'd want to tie down ranged units since -

a) melee figures probably have higher attacks and have the best chance at taking him out in close range
b) if the ranged figures are tied down, they have to focus on him, meaning your ranged figures are free to outshoot your opponent in the meantime
c) with his average attack of 4 and most ranged figures having a fairly low defense (soulborgs being the obvious exception), he stands a better chance of actually killing most ranged figures if you're using an activation on him.

though if you're going to put him in assassin mode like that, you might also want to go after primary support units like Raelin.

As to the issue of why he doesn't get any love - I think it's because the Gladitrons outshine him a bit.
Sure they can't tie down large figures, but how many large figures are worth tying down? Not a lot of large figures are ranged or used to tie down your ranged figures (thus maximizing the usefulness of tying them down) and most ranged figures have the attack capacity to take out the figures that are tying them down fairly easily (whether multiple attacks ala Q9 - who could probably have X17 here wittled down to 2 life or less by the time he reached an engagement or brutal multiple attacks ala Krug).
Also, with the Glads, you get more for your money, as they stand a greater chance of tying down more enemy figures, as they're a squad, and turn markers have less of a chance of being wasted on them since they're common and you can include multiples in your army. Throw in their great synergy with the Blastatrons and I think you have the reason that X17 gets overlooked for them often. When it comes to the 90-110 pt. range for heroes there are simply a lot of choices that seem better for most scenarios (Drake, NGS, Marcus, Gilbert, I'd even argue Carr).

[Oyhedwig]

Oops! I meant ranged figures in the starting zone, not melee. That wouldn't make much sense would it?

[Zealot]

I thought I'd add that Major X17 will probably be getting a lot more respect as an excellent melee counter to the new vampire heroes due to all his immunities to them: large size, Soulborg, melee defense boost, etc...

Cyprien has an arch nemesis that costs 2/3 what he does.

[Firemaster]

Originally Posted by Zealot

I thought I'd add that Major X17 will probably be getting a lot more respect as an excellent melee counter to the new vampire heroes due to all his immunities to them: large size, Soulborg, melee defense boost, etc...

Cyprien has an arch nemesis that costs 2/3 what he does.

Look again. Major X17 is Medium.

[Eclipse]

Originally Posted by Zealot

I thought I'd add that Major X17 will probably be getting a lot more respect as an excellent melee counter to the new vampire heroes due to all his immunities to them: large size, Soulborg, melee defense boost, etc...

Cyprien has an arch nemesis that costs 2/3 what he does.

Its been brought up several times actually, but its mostly been in Cyprien's own thread. I think the biggest problem he'll have is trying to catch a figure with 8 move and Stealth Flying, but he's certainly the better figure one on one.

[rdhight]

Originally Posted by Eclipse

Its been brought up several times actually, but its mostly been in Cyprien's own thread. I think the biggest problem he'll have is trying to catch a figure with 8 move and Stealth Flying, but he's certainly the better figure one on one.

Maybe force Cyprien to approach X17 on his own? Partner with Syvarris or other long-distance threat and let the range 1 vampire come to you. Or use X17 as a guard dog for those appetizing low-defense squad figures. Set a trap for Cyprien when he comes to feed-- very thematic!

[DingoDarkly]

I fear X17 quite a bit so i try and attack him with mainly with ranged attacks!