The Book of Lex Luthor

[Master Tang]

I have a question and a comment about Lex Luthor.
The first is that you guys are aware he can still be killed by special powers (chilling touch, telekinesis, ect)?
EDIT: I retract my previous statement thanks to the wisdom and guidance of Bats.

[IAmBatman]

Yes - he can still be killed by special powers. That doesn't bother me, though. Most of the time, he's not enough of a threat to really target with those anyway, so if they want to target him with the special power, I'll just make you pay for not attacking my Kryptonian or Criminals in the meantime.
And no - when you take control of an enemy figure, they're considered your figure for that turn, so you can't roll leaving engagement attacks against them.

[Griffin]

Thank you gentlemen.

[Hahma]

Here's test results for Lex thus far. Just have ranged army test to do and will do that this weekend on Under El map with TF and Thugs on Lex's team.

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT ___Lex Luther @110 Points_PASS @ 100_

C3G CHECK LIST FEEDBACK FORM
- Theme/ Does it pass, if not, list your Theme Check observations. Pass - Mirror/ Does it pass, if not, list your Mirror Check observations. Pass
- Bonding/ Does it pass, if not, list your Bonding Check observations. Pass
- Synergy/ Does it pass, if not, list your Synergy Check observations. Pass
- Power/ Does it pass, if not, list your Power Check observations. Pass
C3G PLAY TEST FEEDBACK FORM
(Be sure to list what official units you used and what BoV map you used per section below.)
-
-Heavy Hitter/ Does it pass? Pass
-All tests done on Ruins of Pine Tree Marsh Map
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Vs. Agent Carr – Carr won with 1 wound on turn 2 of round 2.
Vs. Marcus Decimus Gallus – Marcus won with 5 wounds on turn 5 of round 4. This one went a little while.
Vs. Moriko – Moriko won with 0 wounds on turn 5 of round 2.
Vs. Kiova – Lex won with 3 wounds on turn 5 of round 3.
Vs. Toad 1– Lex won with 3 wounds on turn 1 of round 3. Lex won initiative and Toad whiffed against a 1 skull attack and died. It could have gone either way.
Vs. Toad 2. - Toad won with 0 wounds on turn 5 of round 1. Toad Tongue Lashed Lex to a lower space and put a wound on him. Then after Lex climbed back up higher and missed with an attack, Toad missed a Tongue Lash but got a 4 skull attack from Caustic Phlem that Lex whiffed on and died. Now that’s fun.

The two matches that Lex won were barely and could have gone the other way. Individually, he’s not much of a threat based on his 5 range 3 attack and 3 defense.


-Squad/ Does it pass? Pass
-Played on Ruins of Pine Tree Marsh vs. Marro Dividers x2 (100 points).
-
3 Dividers survive to take victory on turn 4 of round 2. They left their starting zone to form a pincer move to cover either height options that Lex could head for. He got to the double spaced height position in the center of the map that would only allow for one melee opponent to attack him at the same level at a time. In fact, with the Dividers only having a height of 4, they couldn’t attack him from 2 adjacent spaces that were water spaces next to a 4 hex high spot where Lex was. They also couldn’t attack him from two other spaces because he had a tree at his back. That Lex is a clever one to be sure. So he had it easy early on by only having one Divider at a time near him so he could attack with height as they came and none of them Cell Divided. It took a while for the other 3 to circle around to the back side so that he had one attacking him at same level and one attacking from one level down. So while he was doing great initially being a ranged attacker with height, the numbers caught up to him and he went down. Had he gone against a ranged squad, he’d likely not fare nearly as well.

-
- Melee Army/ Does it pass? Pass
Played on Ruins of Pine Tree Marsh.

Lex (110) Superman (400) Black Canary (190) and Catwoman (145) for 845 points.

They went against Abomination (320), Hawkgirl (225), Batman (200) and Toad (95) for 840 points.

Superman with 3 wounds and Catwoman with 5 wounds survived to take the victory on turn 5 of round 6.

Rnd1 saw everyone move out in groups to offer support to teammates. Lex had OM 3 on his card so he could act last. He had to be cautious and not move too far initially so that he could control Superman and he did. He had Superman move his full 8 spaces and punch Hawkgirl for 3 quick wounds.

Rnd 2 saw Hawkgirl get away from Superman with her Stealth Flying and double attack with height vs. Black Canary and kills her quick. Lex moves and attacks but misses Toad. He activates Superman, who punches Toad for 3 quick wounds. Abomination Super Leaps to height adjacent to Lex and with his adjusted attack of 5, he only puts 1 wound on Lucky Lex. Lex attempts a feeble attack vs. Abom and misses. He then has Superman leave engagement from Toad for no wound, so he could attack and put 2 wounds on Abomination. Toad Tongue Lashes Superman away from Abom to a lower level for 1 leaving engagement wound, but misses with Caustic Phlem. Black Canary had OM 3 on her and misses turn since she’s dead.

Rnd 3 saw OM 1 on Superman and he left engagement from Toad for no wound to attack Abom for 1 more wound. Hawkgirl had wanted initiative in order to fly next to Abom and attack with double attack and height vs. Superman, but it didn’t work out. So she flew next to Lex and attacked him twice and put only 2 wounds on Lucky Lex. Catwoman moved to height and Whipped Abom from across the river but missed. Abom attacked Superman for 1 wound. Superman showed Abom who’s the boss with a 6 skull to 2 shield attack, putting 4 more wounds on big green (for a total of 7). Abom tries to return the favor but could only put 1 wound on the Man of Steel.

Rnd 4 saw Abom seeing 2 OM’s on Lex’s card and 1 on Supes card, take a chance and attack with height vs. Lex and kills him. OM 1 was on Lex’s card so they miss a turn. Toad misses TL vs. Superman and also misses Caustic Phlem. Catwoman tries to put last wound on Abom with her whip but misses. Hawkgirl is only 2 spaces from Supes and he and Abom are on a double space height spot, so she would only get her normal attack with height disadvantage if she attacked Supes, so she flew over to attack Catwoman with one big attack and put 3 wounds on the non-Straying Catwoman. Superman attacks but misses Abom.

Rnd 5 saw Superman finally kill Abom. OM1 was on Abom so they missed a turn. Supes fly’s over to attack Hawkgirl but misses her. Hawkgirl misses Superman. Then Supes has had enough of the winged warrior chick and he rolls 7 skulls to her 1 shield to separate her from her wings. Batman Grapples adjacent to Supes but misses with his attack.

Rnd 6 saw Superman attack Bats, but take a wound from Evasive Strike. Toad Tongue Lashed Supes away from Bats but got no leaving engagement wound (Supes has been lucky with that) and then Toad missed with Caustic Phlem. Supes is getting tired of being Tongue Lashed, so he moves to same level as Toad and rolls another 7skull attack to squish the Toad. Bats is adjacent to Catwoman and attacks her for 2 wounds after she fails to Stray again. Then Superman fly’s over to attack Bats with a 4 skull attack that the then healthy Batman whiffs defense on and dies unceremoniously.

I had wanted to see how the Lex/Superman on the same team would work and if it were all that. Lex didn’t really bring anything to the table here, he missed with his only two attacks and was very lucky to survive 2 attacks from powerful foes. Supes went rogue a couple times in critical spots because he didn’t want Lex to fail his roll of control. Basically, had Lex not even been in the army, Superman could have done the exact same thing without worries about keeping close to Lex or Lex failing his D20 roll. Superman rolled huge defensively and very huge attacks. He had a stellar game, the best that I’d seen him in all games that I have played with him, he was a total beast. Maybe he was mad about Lex pulling his strings for a while.

Ranged Army/ Does it pass Pass
Played on Under the El map

Lex (110) Two-Face (130), Thugs x 4 (300) and Magneto (310) for 850 points.

They went against Superman (400), Cops x 2 (130), Jean Grey (180), Pyro (120) and Isamu (10) for 840 points.

Rnd 1- Cops move out and kill 2 Thugs. Two-Face moves and Flips 11 to attack and kill a Cop but he misses his second Flip. Thugs move and kill 2 Cops and one attacks Pyro but Superman is already adjacent and blocks the attack. Pyro bravely walks down the center of the street and is ready to take one for the team as he stands all by his lonesome and attacks the Thugs in their starting zone with Living Flame Special Attack. He misses the first target but kills the next 5 Thugs. “That’s right, Thug-Killer Pyro at your service mate.” Two-Face moves and wants revenge against that darn mutant, but he fails his Flip, but the Thugs at least put 1 wound on him and miss an attack on a Cop. Jean Grey moves adjacent to a Cop and fails to Throw a Thug from the tracks above, so she just kills him with her normal attack. Magneto doesn’t want to be outdone by the other mutants, so after Bubbling Up, he fly’s to middle of ladder on ruins side of map and attacks with height vs. Pyro and puts a whopping 1 wound on him. Pyro yells back in defiance, “Is that all you got you ol’ penny pinching sod?”

Rnd 2 – Cops move so one is adjacent to Jean Grey and one is adjacent to Pyro, and between those two and the third Cop going after the sneaky Thug heading behind the warehouse, they manage to kill 3 Thugs. Lex moves and attacks with height vs. Pyro but the Cop adjacent to Pyro takes the bullet for him. Jean Grey moves adjacent to another Cop and Throws Lex back to the end of the street at the edge of the ruins side of the map, but doesn’t wound him. The only opponent she could attack is Magneto halfway up the ladder and she misses with a feeble 1 skull/3 shield attack. Two-Face moves and misses his Flip again, so the Thugs move and miss the Cop adjacent to JG, miss a different Cop and miss twice vs. Pyro. Superman has OM 3 on his card and he fly’s all 8 spaces to land on the ladder just above and adjacent to Magneto. Supes then bursts Magneto’s Bubble with a 6 skull/2 shield attack, to send the feeble old man out of the game with only 1 wound inflicted on Pyro. Since Magneto had OM 3 on his card so he could fly up to the tracks and attack someone, Lex’s team lost that turn.

Rnd 3 – Superman wants to stay away from Lex, so he fly’s back to starting zone. Lex had desperately wanted to win initiative to be able to move and take control of Superman, but it didn’t work out that way, so with the Man of Feathers running away, Lex attacks with height vs. Pyro but his 3 skull attack is blocked by a 3 shield roll. Jean Grey misses her Throw attempt of Lex but can’t attack him, so she attacks Two-Face with height and puts 2 wounds on him. Two-Face fails another Flip so the Thugs move and attack a Cop and Superman saves the Cop with Heroic Duty. Then the Thugs attack another Cop and there’s only one space that Superman can go because of warehouse, Jean Grey, other Cop and Thug. So he goes to that space and saves the second Cop with Heroic Duty. Next Thug attacks Pyro and Superman has to leave engagement from 1 Thug to save Pyro with Heroic Duty, but the Thug rolls 2 skulls for his Villainous Entrapment enhanced Leaving Engagement attack and puts first 2 wounds on Superman. The last Thug that can attack is adjacent to Jean Grey and has to attack her, but Superman doesn’t need to do Heroic Duty since she’s being attacked by an adjacent foe. The Thug rolls 3 skulls to her 1 shield, so the adjacent Cop takes the bullet for her and dies. Jean then moves 1 space and keeps adjacent to Thug. She attempts to Throw Superman out of reach of Lex but misses and hen misses attack on adjacent Thug. Lex moves halfway up ladder for attack and defense bonuses and first attempts Red Kryptonite Control of Superman, but he fails with a roll of 5. So then he’s kind of mad and attacks Jean Grey with a 3 skull attack, but Superman uses Heroic Duty to save her, but he takes 1 wound for it and Lex smiles with some satisfaction.

Rnd 5 – Lex is happy to win initiative, and then he rolls an 18 for RKC and is really happy that everything is finally going his way. So he moves Superman adjacent to Two-Face and 1 Thug. Then comes part 2 of Lex’s plan, he attacks Pyro and forces Superman to leave 2 engagements for a possible 4 more wounds, but he only gets 1 wound from Leaving Engagement attacks for a total of 4 on Supes now. but then when he only rolls 1 shield vs. Lex’s attack of 2 skulls vs. Pyro and now Superman has 5 wounds. Lex is smiling from ear to ear. Superman is ticked off but he can’t attack Lex, so he goes and kills a Thug because he knows that Lex couldn’t reach him at this spot for RKC. Two-Face moves adjacent to Superman and fails his Flip again, so Thugs move and one misses an attack vs. Superman, one misses Pyro (luckiest SOB ever) and the other two put 2 wounds on Jean Grey. Jean Grey moves adjacent to Cop and between 2 Thugs. She Throws one next to Pyro but fails to wound/kill it ,but then she does kill the other that was adjacent to her. Lex is too far to reach Supes with RKC and can’t get there this turn, so he attacks with height vs. Pyro but misses again. Pyro attempts to Engulf the Thug that JG threw adjacent to him, but misses, so he attacks with height and kills the Thug with a 4 skull/ whiff attack.

Rnd 6 – Superman attacks with height vs. Two-Face and kills him. Lex moves on top of tracks and attacks with height vs. JG and puts 3rd wound on her. Jean Grey moves and fails to Throw Lex off tracks so she attacks and kills Thug that was adjacent to Superman. Lex moves and uses Red Kryptonite Control to take control of Superman and is happy as a lark until when he tries to send Superman to attack Jean Grey, Jean puts a hand out and strains while using her Psionic Grip to stop Superman from moving and attacking her. Lex throws a tantrum on the tracks and he can’t even attack anyone because he moved on tracks so he could see last Thug for defensive reasons and thought for sure he would have Supes do his dirty deeds. Jean Grey moves and Throws last Thug and kills it, but can’t attack Lex. Thugs had OM 3 on them and lose a turn as they are all dead.

Rnd 7 – Les moves and attempts to RKC Superman but only rolls a 3, doh!. So he attacks Pyro but Superman moves to save Pyro with Heroic Duty. Supes decides to be smart and fly’s far away, inside warehouse. Lex calls Superman bad names and attacks Pyro to put 3rd wound on him. Jean moves and Throws Lex adjacent to her and Pyro and puts a wound on him. She then attacks him and puts 2 more wounds on him. Lex attacks and misses Jean Grey with a feeble attack. Jean then Throws Lex but can’t wound him with it, so she finishes him off with a 3 skull/1 shield attack that kills him.

Superman with 5 wounds, Jean Grey with 3 wounds, Pyro with 3 wounds, 1 Cop and Iszmu (who was never activated) survive to take victory on turn 6 of round 7.



Overall Analysis: Lex isn’t all that on his own, but he did well with a bunch of Criminals in his army. He didn’t do much when Superman was in his army, but he had some fun when going against Superman. Taking control of Superman and getting Villainous Entrapment isn’t all that easy to pull off, as it takes some luck and planning ahead. It was neat when it worked and not as nice when it didn’t. I’m sure some games will work out great for Lex vs. Superman, but some won’t and other games when he’s not going against Superman, he will survive a long time with Criminals in his army, but so what, someone has to.

I’ll PASS him at 100 points.

[Griffin]

Thank you Hahma.

Hopefully now, anyone who was worried about Lex being too powerful, realizes that he really isn't. Thanks.

[Hahma]

No problem Griff.

I talked to Bats earlier about Lex and we thought perhaps if the order were changed so that the "controlled" figure could go first and Lex could go second, it might be an idea to consider. Maybe like sending out the Henchman first and Lex being able to react afterward. I don't know, it's a thought.

[IAmBatman]

Did he really feel like 110 to you, Hahma? No way I'd pay 110 to draft Lex. I'd pay 100, but that's my ceiling. I think he's probably worth more like 80-90 right now.
I did think of a possible change while talking to Hahma today on the phone that might help give him a little extra oomph.
What if we made the Red Kryptonite power kick in before moving Lex? That way, Lex could move Superman into an engagement near a friendly figure and then fire the shot to initiate Heroic Duty himself. Right now it's way too hard to pull off that maneuver.
Not to mention, there are annoying situations where you move out and then fail your Red K roll and aren't able to move Lex at all the next turn. It just functions better when Lex sends out his evil mind slave ahead of himself, IMO.
It can also make it a bit easier for a Kryptonian to dodge him at times, which could also be good.

Edit: Ninja'd by the running man!

[Griffin]

I updated the front page with you guys' suggestions and a tweak. I actually wrote the first part of the power wroonnnggg!!!!

The power was intended, and now allows, Lex to reveal an OM on his card, move, use the Red K, then attack. This will help him reach his optimal potential with the power by letting him find those Kryptonians on the board, use the red k to put them in sticky situations, and then attack, possibly even setting off Heroic Duty.

Sorry about that though, it was always meant to be used in that order to help give him the oomph that he needs.

[IAmBatman]

Ah ... well that would explain why I tested it the other way. I thought it was strange that I'd screwed it up so much (after talking with you on the phone). I like the change and I think it will help him get more use out of the power to be able to put the Kryptonian in a bad situation first, and then attack.
I'd say it makes him fully worth 100 - so you can make my link say "pass at 100" if you like.

[Hahma]

Just finished final Army test with Lex on Under the El. I will have to complete the test sheet either later tonight or early in the morning, but I'll pass him @ 100.

The armies were:

Lex, Magneto, Two-Face and Thugs x 4

vs.

Superman, Jean Grey, Pyro, Cops x 2 and Isamu.

All I can say is that it was very fun. Pyro is nice to clean out some of Lex's Thug protection (think Zelrig) and JG was fun to Throw Lex out of Red Kryptonite Control range of Supes as well has using her Psionic Grip to stop a controlled Supes from moving to attack her (he was two spaces away and she said "you ain't going nowhere big fella ). Villainous Entrapment was neat, but not easy to pull off, though it was effective when it did. Great stuff indeed.

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by Hahma

Just finished final Army test with Lex on Under the El. I will have to complete the test sheet either later tonight or early in the morning, but I'll pass him @ 100.

The armies were:

Lex, Magneto, Two-Face and Thugs x 4

vs.

Superman, Jean Grey, Pyro, Cops x 2 and Isamu.

All I can say is that it was very fun. Pyro is nice to clean out some of Lex's Thug protection (think Zelrig) and JG was fun to Throw Lex out of Red Kryptonite Control range of Supes as well has using her Psionic Grip to stop a controlled Supes from moving to attack her (he was two spaces away and she said "you ain't going nowhere big fella ). Villainous Entrapment was neat, but not easy to pull off, though it was effective when it did. Great stuff indeed.

Awesome! I very much look forward to reading that comic... uh.. I mean playtest report. That one sounds like a great one. I love the part where Jean stops a crazy Superman from doing something he would later regret.

[Confred]

RED KRYPTONITE CONTROL
After revealing an Order Marker on this card and after moving Lex Luthor, you may choose any Unique Kryptonian Hero figure within 4 clear sight spaces of Lex Luthor. Roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 6 or higher, take temporary control of that Hero and immediately take a turn with the chosen Hero. At the end of that turn, control of the chosen Hero returns to the player who controlled the Hero before the Red Kryptonite Control. All Order Markers that were on the chosen Hero’s card will stay on the card.
I like the flavor of pairing Lex with Superman. It reminds me of my initial dislike of pairing Sentinels with Mutants and then Bats so helpfully pointed out that should they be paired then something sinister is going down. Such a team feels like a snapshot to a greater picture.


CRIMINAL DECEPTION
If Lex Luthor is within clear line of sight of a Criminal figure you control, he cannot be attacked with a normal or special attack and he will not take any leaving engagement attacks.
I share some of the same concerns with the lack of range limits, but I am holding my reserves for now. I imagine some situations where the range would be long, but then others where he is all alone next to an opponent and there is a solitary Thug across the world and somehow he is protected? It feels to me like some condition is missing. With that said, for the sake of simplicity, I am holding out until I can play with him personally

VILLAINOUS ENTRAPMENT
Lex Luthor and all Criminals figures you control within clear line of sight of Lex Luthor roll one additional die against figures leaving an engagement with them.
Cool ability. It creates many visuals of trap making, noose pulling, and thug fodder.
I am completely against this next statement, but it would be cool if this extended to Utgar figures .


Lex Luthor is an iconic cheerleader figure. I wonder about his strength in that roll. B-lining Lex to Superman, completely unattackable, is odd.
But Kryptonian interactions aside, I am most interested in his playstyle once involved with the Criminals. I agree with others on brainstorming alternatives for Lex to not overlap too much with that of Kingpin.
The battle reports have been interesting and entertaining. I should be putting in my own soon enough. I have work within the hours, but no later than Sunday's end will I get mine in.
My first impressions is that he is close, but something is off.