The Book of Phantom Stranger

[IAmBatman]

After looking through a lot of marker powers, I think there's actually enough interaction with the "remove" specific language to keep it to working only with powers where removal explicitly happens (so not powers that place markers only. Has to be powers that specifically "remove" them from a card for an effect).

Figures that might be fun to try with him (looking through the index):

Amazo, Ares (DC), Bishop, Black Alice (he may break her a little?), Black King, Black Lanterns, Blue Lanterns, Bob (and Carol and Ted and Ringo), Captain Britain, Emma Frost, Green Lanterns (especially Guy Gardner and Alan Scott and Kilowog), Havok, Hourman, Incredible Hulk (C3G) (this one is a great combo), Indigo Tribe, Justice League Batman, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, and Superman, Killer Frost, Leatherhead, Livewire, Michael Myers, Nemesis, Nico Minoru, Nitro, Penguin (II), Red Hulk (though probably not a great pairing), Red Lanterns, Scarlet Spider, Scarlet Witch (but just against commons), Sinestro Corps/Yellow Lanterns, Squirrel Girl, Star Sapphires, The Mask, Volstagg, Yakuza Enforcer, Zatanna (I).

Speaking of Zatanna (I) I am going to edit the text to make it clear you can't replace an Order Marker!

[tcglkn]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Phantom Stranger

Army Test
Map: X Marks the Spot
Units: Phantom Stranger, Bob, Carol, Ted, Ringo, Captain Britain, Red Tornado and Incredible Hulk (1665) vs Heimdall, Valkyrie, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg (1660)

Spoiler Alert!

R1: Asgard init. Warrior 3 placed near bifrost. BCTR advance. Warrior 3 advance. BCTR get 1w on Hogun and 4w on Fandral. Valkyrie placed near Bifrost. Hulk lands 2 wounds on Volstagg.

R2: Stranger init. BCTR kill Fandral. Volstagg burns his first food marker and puts 5! wounds on the Hulk. Hulk whiffs on his 11 dice attack. Volstagg sneaks in another wound on Hulk. Hogun burns Carol's marker. Stranger advances. Valkyrie lands 1 wound on Stranger and adds another with Dragonfang. X OM burned to save Carol.

R3. Asgard init. Hogun burns Carol's marker again. BCTR deal 2 to Hogun. Valkyrie lands 1 wound on Stranger but missed on Dragonfang. Hulk deals 2 to Volstagg again. Volstagg responds by killing Hulk. Hogun kills Carol and uses Bludgeoning Strike to force Bob to burn his marker but Stranger deals 1 to Volstagg and puts Bob's Marker back.

R4: Asgard init. Volstagg burns marker to heal, Hogun removed Bob's marker again. BTR whiff on all attacks. Valkyrie burns Ted's marker. Stranger whiffs. Volstagg kills Ted. Hogun kills Bob and burns Ringo's marker with his Bludgeoning Strike. Captain Britain advanced and Stranger heals himself.

R5: Asgard init. Volstagg moves and wound Cap Brit. Brit wounds Volstagg and Tornado moves Brit and Volstagg and then wounds Volstagg from height. Valkyrie lands 4 wounds on Tornado. Stranger moves closer. Brit loses confidence on a whiff attack. Tornado moves Hogun and Volstagg but doesn't damge anyone. Volstagg burns a marker to heal then misses. Stranger heals Brit and puts him back to full confidence.

R6: Asgard init. Volstagg kills Tornado. Brit wounds Valkyrie. Valkyrie misses. Brit loses his confidence again. Stranger uses the X OM to change his roll and wounds Hogun.

R7: Asgard init. Volstagg wounds Brit. Valkyrie deals 2w to Brit. Brit rolls 5 skulls to get his confidence back but only gets 1 wound on Valkyrie. Valkyrie rolls lethal on Brit and Stranger burns X OM to change his roll to save him.

Now we have Brit with 5 wounds and both markers, Phantom Stranger with 2 wounds VS Volstagg with 1 wound, Hogun with 4 wounds, Valkyrie with 2 wounds and Heimdall still in SZ.

R8: Asgard init. Volstagg immediately rolls lethal on Brit and Stranger once again saves with the X OM. Hogun kills Brit anyways and OM 1 is lost. Valkyrie advanced and Stranger lands 2 wounds on her.

Not much happens for a few rounds but eventually Heimdall joins the fray and it ends up with Volstagg and Heimdall winning.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Volstagg with 3 wounds and Heimdall with 2 wounds.

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Army Test
Map: X Marks the Spot
Units: Phantom Stranger, Loki and Green Lantern (Alan Scott) (1170) vs Fantastic 4 with Lightspeed, Energizer and Mass Master (1170)

Spoiler Alert!

R1: Fan 4 init. 1 on Leader roll. Loki advances. 17 on Leader roll. Mass Master and Lightspeed advance with Energizer getting the carry. Loki advances. 14 on Leader roll. Invisible Woman advances and Mr. Fantastic engages Loki in the middle of the street. Stranger advances.

R2: Stranger init. Loki whiffs. 10 on Leader. Mass Master uses Jack Hammer to wound Stranger. GL burns his glove and only gets one wound on Mass Master. 7 on Leader. Human Torch wounds Loki. GL misses. 17 on Leader. Human Torch gets to deal 2 to Stranger with Flame On without taking any wounds and then GL burns his Shield marker to defend against the attack. Stranger heals GL and returns the Glove marker.

R3: Stranger init. GL burns his Glove and Stranger uses the X and they only get 2 wounds on Human Torch. 20! on Leader (if it had been 19 or 18 Stranger could have changed it), Torch takes 2 LEA wounds and puts 2 wounds on both GL and Stranger and gets another on Stranger with his attack. Mass Master burns his cloud marker again to deal 1 to PS. Thing advances. Mr. Fantastic deals 3 wounds to Loki but a 19 deals those wounds right back to Mr. Fantastic. Mr. Fantastic blocks Loki's attack. 14 on Leader roll. Human Torch misses. Thing Clobbers GL with +4 from Human Torch but only lands 1 wound. Mr. Fantastic deals 2 wounds to Loki. Loki kills Mr. Fantastic. OM 3 lost. Stranger heals GL and returns his Shield.

R4: Fan 4 init. Thing Clobbers GL to death and he had OM 1. Stranger burns X OM to save Loki but Thing Clobbers him anyways.

Goes for a few more rounds and Stranger picks off Mass Master and Energizer but his attack is too low to fight them all off.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Invisible Woman and Thing with 0 wounds, Lightspeed with 1 wound and Human Torch with 4 wounds.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: He felt a little overcosted to me but he's a tricky figure to maximize. I did like how he played with BCTR.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: He is a lot of fun. I enjoy burning the X to either adjust rolls or heal people up. Getting the extra X from Loki was nice but not as over powered as I initially thought.

[Arkham]

I don't think the Hulk combo would work out, as Phantom Stranger may put it back on at the end of the round, but his marker gets taken before rolling for initiative.

[Arkham]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE TEST UNIT Phantom Stranger

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Army Test 1
Map: Custom
Units:
Phantom Stranger(440), Amazo(700) (1140)
vs.
Cap(240), Ms. Marvel(350), Valkyrie(350), Oracle(110), Angel(90) (1140)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R1T1: 1 wound on Cap. (height +1)

Mysterious Guidance:
R4T1: removes OM3 to add 1 skull to Amazo's attack. Adds 1 wound to Cap.
R5T1: removes OM3 to add 1 skull to Amazo's attack. Extra wound on Oracle ends up not mattering.

Crisis Management:
R1end: removes X to place a marker back on Amazo.
R2end: removes X to remove wound from Amazo and place a marker back on Amazo.
R3end: removes X to remove wound from Amazo and place a marker back on Amazo.
R4end: removes X to remove wound from Amazo and place a marker back on Amazo.

Notes:
R1T2: Amazo removes a marker, puts 1 wound on Valkyrie.
R1T3: Ms. Marvel puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R1T3: Amazo removes a marker, puts 1 wound on Valkyrie.
R2T1: Cap puts 3 wounds on Amazo.
R2T1: Amazo removes a marker, kills Valkyrie.
R2T2: Cap puts 2 wounds on Amazo. Ms. Marvel puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R2T2: Amazo lassos Ms. Marvel, removes last marker, kills her.
R2T3: Cap puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R3T1: Cap puts 1 wound on Amazo.
R3T1: Amazo removes a marker, but fails on the attack.
R3T2: Cap puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R3T2: Amazo puts 1 wound on Oracle.
R3T3: Cap puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R4T1: Cap puts 1 wound on Amazo.
R4T2: Amazo kills Cap.
R5T1: Amazo removes a marker and kills Oracle.
R5T2: Amazo puts 3 wounds on Angel.
R5T2: Amazo kills Angel.


Phantom Stranger with 5/10 wounds, and Amazo(0 markers) with 4/10 wounds.

Amazo can be quite the force, and Phantom Stranger being able to get him a marker back each round, is a deadly combo. I felt like they had the match pretty well under control throughout, but not totally to an unreasonable degree. Feels like this may be a combo that drives his cost up a tad.

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Army Test 2
Map: Custom
Units:
Phantom Stranger(440), Martian Manhunter(II)(420), Green Lantern(Hal)(350), Green Lantern(John)(340), Green Lantern(Kilowog)(310) (1860)
vs.
Odin(620), Destroyer Armor(460) Thor(430), Valkyrie(350) (1860)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:


Mysterious Guidance:
R3T1: removes X to add 1 skull to Kilowog's attack on Thor, adding 1 more wound.
R4T3: removes X to subtract a skull from Destroyer Armor's attack on Martian Manhunter, but the attack still kills him dead.
R6T2: removes X to add a skull to Hal's attack on Thor, ends up being just enough to kill.

Crisis Management:
R1end: removes X to place a battery back onto Kilowog.
R2end: removes X to heal Kilowog 1 wound, and place a battery back onto Kilowog.
R5end: removes X to heal himself.

Notes:
R1T1: Kilowog removes a battery.
R1T2: Kilowog removes 2nd battery.
R1T3: Hal puts 5 wounds on Valkyrie.
R2T1: Martian Manhunter removes a marker to take a turn with Hal and John. John puts 2 wounds on Valkyrie(she is kept alive by Odin Force).
R2T2: Hal puts 2 wounds on Odin.
R2T2: Thor puts 3 wounds on Phantom Stranger with GOTS. Valkyrie is killed by John's GSS from his marker removal. Destroyer Armor puts 1 wound on John.
R2T3: Thor puts 3 wounds on Kilowog. Destroyer Armor takes 1 wound from John's GSS from marker removal.
R3T1: Destroyer Armor takes 1 wound from John removing a marker for GSS.
R3T1: Martian Manhunter removes a marker to take a turn with himself and Kilowog. Kilowog puts 3 wounds on Thor, then Martian Manhunter puts 2 wounds on Thor.
R3T2: Thor kills Kilowog.
R3T2: Hal puts 3 wounds on Odin.
R3T3: Thor puts 5 wounds on Martian Manhunter. Destroyer Armor puts 1 wound on John.
R3T3: Hal hits a streak of turns, killing Odin.
R4T1: Thor puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R4T3: Martian Manhunter removes last marker to take a turn himself and one with Hal. Both put 1 wound on Destroyer Armor.
R4T3: Destroyer Armor kills Martian Manhunter.
R5T1: Hal puts 1 wound on Destroyer Armor.
R5T2: Hal puts 1 wound on Destroyer Armor.
R5T2: Destroyer Armor puts 2 wounds on Hal.
R5T3: Hal kills Destroyer Armor.
R5T3: Thor put 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.
R6T1: Thor puts 1 wound on Phantom Stranger.


Phantom Stranger with 5/10 wounds, Hal with 2/4 wounds(4 markers), and John with 2/4 wounds(0 markers).

Decent win here, which felt like it could go either way, but the Phantom Stranger's team got the edge. Odin's army got chopped up by some big attacks, and they just got outlasted in the end.

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THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY:
The decision making is fun, and overall he serves his purpose. He does capture a very hands off feel, for better or worse. Definitely useful for those with strong marker focus such as Amazo, the JLA, and the Lanterns. I think with these 3 pairings specifically, and 2 fairly decent wins here, he could come up a tad in cost. Perhaps 460 or even 470 based on these tests, but that's without taking into consideration any other test results.

[IAmBatman]

Originally Posted by Arkham

I don't think the Hulk combo would work out, as Phantom Stranger may put it back on at the end of the round, but his marker gets taken before rolling for initiative.

It does work, but a bit more subtly. The hardest thing with Hulk is getting that marker on him (due to the need to get 2+ wounds in one turn to place it) and then keep it on. There will be times where you've had it placed previously, but then people fled from Hulk specifically to let him calm down, then re-engaged the next round. At that point, as long as they don't hit him for 2+ again, they don't have to worry about calming him down at the end of the round. Phantom Stranger would potentially make it so that Hulk can reengage at the end of the round then have his marker placed at the end of the round.

Perhaps a bit tougher to finagle then I was giving it credit for, but probably easier than consistently getting another 2+ wound turn.

[IAmBatman]

And yeah, Amazo is nasty nasty. I think now that we're delving into some more combos for him, his cost could definitely go up. Any thoughts on how much @Arkham ?

[Arkham]

470 couldn’t hurt for the next set. I believe tcglkn’s first game is him at 465 anyway, so perhaps he could alter the 2nd’s opposing team to go at that point value.

[IAmBatman]

Sounds good! I'll put him to 470 in the SP and @tcglkn please adjust him to 470 in your tests.

[tcglkn]

Will do.

[IAmBatman]

Thanks!

[tcglkn]

Realized while getting set up that Loki might be absurd with Phantom Stranger since he gives you a second X OM to abuse here. I am gonna test Loki instead of Amazo since Arkham covered that and no one has tested him with Loki.

[Karat]