The Book of Carnage (Maximum Carnage)

[Arkham]

Really just comes down to whether you want Psychopath synergy or Slasher synergy. Tormentor is another option. Same synergy as Slashers but Pinhead can't resurrect him. He has 9 life though, so I don't know how often you'd go for that anyway.

[Ronin]

There are versions of Carnage I'd totally buy as a Slasher, but probably not this one in particular. I could see him as a Destroyer, if we wanted to shake up the leftbox, but not sure we want Black Order stuff in the mix.

[Lazy Orang]

Yeah, basically the main class choices seem to be giving him one of:
1) Slasher synergy
2) Future Injustice League synergy
3) Black Order synergy

None of which I think'll matter much, given this Carnage is kind of his own factional hub.... although other Insane and Savage figures with IL friendly classes could make him a good fit there, and having one of the Black Order on hand could be a good backup bonding option to Conductor of the Crazy Train... honestly, I reckon Slasher's the one that'll be least useful to him synergistically, because Slasher synergy's probably going to be harder to sprinkle in than BO or IL.
Not sure whether we want that or not.

[Lord Pyre]

Still a cool design! I wonder how annoying he will be to play. You have to keep track of exactly how many attacks are made and does what, and then potential bonding. Maybe it'll be smooth, but there's a lot going on.

He might be completely devastating against squad swarm armies. If he throws 1 die 6 times, picks off a few squaddies, then have his friends go nuts, could be nasty. But that's the issue with having squad armies I guess?

As much as I'd like to not reuse Psychopath, I don't like him having other synergies. I don't think he should run with Slashers or Thanos.

[IAmBatman]

He shouldn't run with Injustice League either, though. I'd rather Slasher synergies than anything else on that list.

Conductor of the Crazy Train should be a fun one!

[Lazy Orang]

Originally Posted by Lord Pyre

As much as I'd like to not reuse Psychopath, I don't like him having other synergies. I don't think he should run with Slashers or Thanos.

Probably not the Black Order, though I don't think it's all that much of a stretch - Destroyer still feels odd, though. I honestly don't see why he shouldn't run with the Slashers - he basically is one.

[Lord Pyre]

Sure Cassidy is a serial killer. But this Carnage is a leader of crazies, not a slasher as much himself. I could see our first one being one.

[Ronin]

Injustice looks like a non-factor here to me. He's a 350 point marker for some of the hubs, that doesn't actually mesh terribly well mechanically, and comes with a lot of baggage due to his own leadership stuff having its own specific drafting requirements. There's more to being a good fit in a JL/Injustice army than just granting a marker and I think that gets lost in some of our conversations.

I dislike this version being a Slasher thematically. Not even for synergy reasons, just from looking at the unit by itself. He feels very much like Crossover Event Carnage - he's tapping into stories like Maximum Carnage and Absolute Carnage (especially the former). Carnage just doesn't act as a slasher in those stories.

[IAmBatman]

That's all fair. I also just like varying left boxes between versions if possible so they don't feel like they're competing with each other for lanes.

How about Stalker?

[Lazy Orang]

Yeah, I honestly kinda wish the first Carnage were a Slasher and this guy were a Psycho....

[Ronin]

Yeah, it could have worked on the first one. Not enough of a must-have that I regret not having it there, though. If we ever do another stand-alone Carnage, I'd be down for Slasher.

[Yodaking]

The -5 defense throws up a red flag for me. It's only 1 wound at that point, but some earlier combination could be more deadly. Like -4 def. on a unit with only 4 def. results in two auto wounds, on a unit that often only has 4 life. That's a pretty effective SA, combined with the fact you get 2 bonus attacks from other figures on top of that. I'd consider caps.

Also that power reads funny to me, doesn't sound like the other ones that work in a similar way. Seems to suggest you get to make the SA at the start of each turn, then move. Just looked up Flash's power, his states "Start the Attack with ...." rather then "Carnage starts each turn with ..." Looks like you'll save some space by switching that around.