The Book of Merlyn

[SirGalahad]

and

[IAmBatman]

True, guys. Good points all around for why Deadly Shot here shouldn't be a problem due to the various restrictions in place. If Doom hasn't been a problem with all the other enhancing powers out there that Hahma mentioned (and Doom hasn't been a problem for me at least!) then I don't think this is an issue either.

[Griffin]

Good stuff. The main point is: Beware of DOOM!!!

[Good Pig]

Makes sense.

[IAmBatman]

ERB sent.

[IAmBatman]

C3G INITIAL PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT (MERLYN)

- 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 characters 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

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 130
- Give a brief overview. Merlyn elevates his game a bit against other Archers, and will be a thorn in Green Arrow (Oliver Queen’s) side, but he felt like 125-130 against other units, so 130 balances out well.

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Robin (120)
Merlyn got two shots from height on Robin and hit 2 skulls each (making each a 4 skull attack).
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn wins with 1 wound Turn 3 Round 1.

TEST 2
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Robin (120)
It took until Merlyn’s last attack to roll more than 1 skull on his attack. The 2 skull roll (for 4 skulls total due to Deadly Shot) put the last 2 wounds on Robin.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn wins with 3 wounds Turn 2 Round 3.

TEST 3
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Batgirl (130)
Defensive Premonition didn’t score any wounds for Batgirl, but it did help her roll 4 shields against a 2 skull roll from height by Merlyn (4 skulls with Deadly Shot).
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Batgirl with 1 wound wins Turn 2 Round 2.

TEST 4
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Batgirl (130)
Batgirl hit her Defensive Premonition roll when she needed it, but still only rolled 2 shields on 7 dice against Merlyn’s 3 skull roll from height (6 skulls with Deadly Shot). She took all four wounds on this attack.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn with 1 wound wins Turn 3 Round 1.

TEST 5
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Green Arrow (130)
Going one-on-one versus another Archer gave Merlyn a range of 12. He managed to get a first shot on Green Arrow from range here, roll 2 skulls for a total of 4 skulls with Deadly Shot, and Green Arrow whiffed the defensive roll on 3 dice to lose a quick one.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn wins with Full Life Turn 1 Round 1.

TEST 6
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Green Arrow (130)
Merlyn rolled poorly on his attacks here, whereas Green Arrow rolled one skull from height early, Merlyn whiffed on his defense, then Green Arrow hit an 18 on Piercing Arrow to put an additional two wounds on Merlyn. After that, Green Arrow managed to close in and Close Combat Expert finished Merlyn off.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Green Arrow wins with 1 wound Turn 2 Round 2.

TEST 7
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Catwoman (145)
Merlyn got in 5 wounds on Catwoman in two early attacks, with Catwoman failing to Stray, but Catwoman responded with consecutive 3 skull attacks from her Whip, and tore Merlyn to bits.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Catwoman wins with 5 wounds Turn 3 Round 1.

TEST 8
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Catwoman (145)
Catwoman hit 2 skulls for most Whip rolls here, but going 2 of 4 on Stray rolls helped her out.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Catwoman wins with 6 wounds Turn 2 Round 2.

TEST 9
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Green Arrow (150)
Green Arrow rolled miserably for Skill Shot here, hitting a 7 and a 2, whereas Merlyn’s attack rolls were solid and he outranged the Emerald Archer.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn wins with 1 wound Turn 3 Round 2.

TEST 10
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Green Arrow (150)
Merlyn rolled well here, hitting all skulls on both attacks, whereas Green Arrow only got a good roll for his Skill Shot once (1 but failed to roll more than 1 skull to back it up, despite being on height.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn wins with 2 wounds Turn 3 Round 1.

_____________________________________________________________

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 130
- Give a brief overview. This one felt close!
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Beat Cops x2 (130)

Spoiler Alert!

Despite whiffs on three of his last four attacks, Merlyn’s defenses held up well against two dice attacks from the Cops, and when he hit skulls, Cops died.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Beat Cops win with 2 Cops left Turn 2 Round 3.

_____________________________________________________________

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 130
- Give a brief overview. Merlyn did better against the Hired Guns than most units in his range do.
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn vs. Hired Guns (130)

Spoiler Alert!

Merlyn’s first strike capabilities helped a lot here, but there were just too many attacks for him to defend.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Hired Guns win with 2 Hired Guns left Turn 3 Round 1.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 150+
- Give a brief overview. Pairing Merlyn with a meat screen like the Hand Ninja and then putting him up against an army built around a unit (Batman) whose biggest weakness is 6+ range attacks, played into Merlyn’s hands completely. Merlyn never faced a single Evasive Strike roll here.
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn (130), Hand Ninja x3 (255), Body Guard (15), Ra’s al Ghul (200) (600) vs. Batman (200), Robin (120), Batgirl (130), Alfred (60), Commissioner Gordon (90) (600)

Spoiler Alert!

Merlyn one shotted Gordon, put the last wound on Robin, the last two wounds on Batgirl, and the last four wounds on Batman (he healed two up thanks to Alfred). He also took out Alfred in three attacks in end game. Merlyn rolled well for his attacks the entire game and his range was the perfect counter to an army built around Batman. The Hand Ninja were great for screening him off from vigilantes. Next time Batman would definitely focus all fire on Merlyn as a priority, rather than using Batarangs to clean up Hand Ninja.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Merlyn with 1 life, Ra’s al Ghul with 1 wound, and 1 Body Guard win Turn 3, Round 6.

_____________________________________________________________

Army Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 130
- Give a brief overview. Merlyn’s early distraction let Kingpin live long enough to take out Black Canary and wound Batman, causing the Vigilante army to fall apart. Even the threat of Merlyn was worth something in this test.
Map: Custom
Units: Merlyn (130), Kingpin (220), Killer Croc (200), Hired Guns (130), Penguin (120), Elektra (170), Body Guards x2 (30) (1,000) vs. Black Canary (180), Green Arrow (150), Robin (120), Beat Cops x2 (130), Batgirl (130), Commissioner Gordon (90), Batman (200) (1,000)

Spoiler Alert!

Merlyn went out in Round 3 of this epic battle without doing any wound, bearing the full brunt of Black Canary, Robin, and Green Arrow (with Batgirl grappling around as well). They took out Penguin in this fashion as well. Then Kingpin came in and one-shotted Black Canary and it was all downhill for the Vigilantes from there. Other than a nasty Defensive Premonition that took out Kingpin, Batgirl, Batman (who hit Evasive Strike about once out of seven or eight tries) and Green Arrow (who never hit higher than a 5 for Skill Shot) all rolled really poorly on the D20. Later, Killer Croc terrorized the remaining good guys, until some Cops on height finally took him out, leading to an end game of Gordon, three Cops, Robin with one wound, and Alfred versus two Body Guards, the Hired Guns, and Elektra. Even with a Cop on height taking out a Hired Gun early, the Hired Guns were brutal here. Gordon got the Hired Guns down to their last man, but couldn’t take him out in about five attacks. The Hired Gun and Elektra finished him and Robin off, then Elektra took out Alfred with ease.
Who won and how many wounds did they have? Elektra with 3 wounds, 1 Hired Gun, and 2 Body Guards win Turn 1 Round 14.

All of the Assassin synergies really help Merlyn quite a bit, raising his cost to at least 140, if not 150. I think sending him to playtesting at 140 makes sense at this point.

[Griffin]

You don't want to test with Ras al Ghul? I thought that would have been obviously up your alley.

[IAmBatman]

Good call. Forgot about Ra's. I'll work him into the first test. I know I'll be running Merly and Ra's together plenty once I get to testing the Elite League Assassins and Talia.

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by Porkins

Wow, you guys have been busy!

I don't know this character, but I like this write up, nice niche long range filler guy. "Archer Rivalry" is a great power title, but the power looks like it would be really difficult to ever use, since there are only two Archers. How about having it activate against anybody with range greater than 'x'? Also, what happens if the opponent has both Green Arrows, and both have OM's? Or if there are two opponents, and each one has an Archer with OM's on it?

If an opponent had two Green Arrows, the power would just trigger twice, and you'd add to his range for each of them.
The power is a tad niche, yeah, but I think I'm OK with that. His other power's really useful and he fits nicely into a few factions. Also the ranged bump isn't that powerful, so I don't think he'll have to pay much for such a niche power.
And I imagine we'll get a few more archers in time. Just letting it work based on range would kill the theme a bit when he's using it on snipers and the like.

Thanks for the feedback!
Bats

[Griffin]

Maybe Archer Rivalry should work with ANY Unique Archer Hero on the battlefield, and not just one that belong to opponents? That would make it slightly less niche and more controllable with army builds of Archers. Plus having some Archer Synergy that Merlyn benefits from is fun and thematic - he is still going to rival with any other Archer, friend or foe.

[Hahma]

That seems like a good idea Griff. That way if Green Arrow is in his army, Merlyn's going to want to show him up, so if GA has 1 numbered OM and the X, Merlyn will add 2 to his range to match GA's.

[Good Pig]

Originally Posted by Griffin

Maybe Archer Rivalry should work with ANY Unique Archer Hero on the battlefield, and not just one that belong to opponents? That would make it slightly less niche and more controllable with army builds of Archers. Plus having some Archer Synergy that Merlyn benefits from is fun and thematic - he is still going to rival with any other Archer, friend or foe.

I like that.