The Book of The Crow

[TrollBrute]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: The Crow

Army Test
Map: Swamp Lab
Units: The Crow (190), Commander Rogers (260), Nick Fury (220), SHIELD Agents x3 (330) (1000) VS Iron Patriot (290), Bizarro (330), Black Adam (380) (1000)
Unit Summary:
Damage: 2 wounds to Iron Patriot.
StWTR: times marker placed: 1 (Patriot).
Live for Vengeance: 3 wounds ignored; 1 defense subtracted (no wounds dealt).

Spoiler Alert!

Thanks to some poor rolls all around, the damage done through the first two rounds is 5 wounds to Black Adam (sucky defense and caught in a Killbox), 2 to Nick Fury, and 1 to Rogers. Fury got knocked out in round three thanks to an Init win by the Dark Avengers, Patriot finally destroying an Agent, and Black Adam hitting another Lightning Strike roll. Rogers and Crow also take a couple wounds, but deal two to Patriot.

After that, Iron Patriot finally gets a string of good rolls and starts taking everything out. He takes Crow down fairly easily, and then can cut through the Agents with impunity. A 6-skull roll from Black Adam to take down Rogers was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the Agents, though the SHIELD grunts held on for a little while longer.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): R6T2: Iron Patriot with 2/5 wounds, Black Adam with 3/7, and Bizarro with 5/6.

Army Test
Map: Swamp Lab
Units: The Crow (190), Commander Rogers (260), Nick Fury (220), SHIELD Agents x3 (330) (1000) VS Fantastic Four (1000)
Unit Summary:
Damage: 2 wounds to The Thing.
StWTR: Times marker placed: 2 (Torch twice).
Live for Vengeance: 4 wounds ignored; 11 defense subtracted (1 of those attacks dealt a wound).

Spoiler Alert!

The Crow got a lucky attack in on the first round against Thing, dealing him a couple of wounds with 5 skulls. After that, he was mostly a woundsoak. Though Live for Vengeance weakened Torch for a while, it didn’t help to kill him any faster.

The game ended up extremely close. The luck was against the FF early, with that lucky hit on Thing and a Killbox taking him out before he could do much damage. Mister Fantastic couldn’t roll higher than one activation a turn after the second round, and took a few hits from the Agents and Fury because his team didn’t deal damage very fast. Mister Fantastic got through Rogers though, and a Supernova took down three Agents. Eventually it came down to Invisible Woman against Fury and 4 Agents. With her mobility and a string of good rolls, she took down them all. One less shield during the last two rounds would have swung this game the other way.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): R6T5: Invisible Woman with 4/5 wounds.

Army Test
Map: Swamp Lab
Units: The Crow (190), Indigo-1 (340), Jason (175), Diablo (140), Spider-Girl (140) (985) VS Professor X (220), Blink (145), Omega Red (300), Polaris (200), Pyro (120) (985)
Unit Summary:
Damage: 3 wounds to Blink, 5 to Omega Red, 3 to Polaris, 4 to Pyro.
StWTR: times marker placed: 1 (Pyro).
Live for Vengeance: 0 wounds ignored; 1 defense subtracted (attack dealt 3 wounds).

Spoiler Alert!

This was just a crazy game. The luck was mostly in favor of Crow’s team, but Pyro had some crazy rolls and Omega Red only took one wound from Death Factor out of 4 rolls. The big swings were a couple of great rolls from Spider-Girl to wound Xavier and Blink, and Diablo/Spider-Girl blocked the Mutants’ entire second round, plus a couple other odd turns here and there. Blink’s two attempts to use Phase Javelin resulted in her wounding Spider-Girl but rolling an 18 the first time and a 17 the second time, preventing Blink from moving the annoyance. This gave Crow time to just fire away at the Mutants and Jason a few chances to deal wounds.

Omega Red struggled to finish off DIablo, and died to Jason on the turn where he finally managed it. Polaris only hit one Reactive Toss and rolled poorly on Defense. The Mutants would have died pathetically had it not been for Pyro. The cramped space of the wall height gave the maniac plenty of chances to use his SA, and it ended up dealing a couple wounds to Spider-Girl, one to Diablo, all four to Indigo-1, as well as burning the latter’s markers.

Crow ended up dealing a ton of damage this game, but it was largely due to his support units, and Double Attack was his most valuable power this game. He’s not the only one in his point range who could have put up this showing, and he really didn’t feel annoying in this game, which is a big key.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): R6T6: The Crow unwounded and Jason with 4/6 wounds.

___________________________________________________________

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: After the first couple games, I really thought we had gone too far in correcting him. The third game was a really good showing, though he’s not the only one who could have done that. I would still like to think about giving him a slight bump, and there’s a number of ways we could do that. Bumping his Defense to 5 would help him stick around longer and get better use out of his powers. Having the Unstoppable Resilience bit always in effect instead of just when his marker is on a card would also help accomplish that.

Probably my preferred direction though, is to keep the Crow marker on a marked figure until it is destroyed, rather than removing it when a wound is dealt. That way, he isn’t as forced into an army where he needs the opponent to keep destroying allies in order ot get full use out of his powers. I don’t think it would make him terribly stronger, but it would make him a little more fun to play.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT: Much less annoying now, but still a pretty cool figure. Definitely closer to the 190 level.

[dok]

Originally Posted by TrollBrute

Probably my preferred direction though, is to keep the Crow marker on a marked figure until it is destroyed, rather than removing it when a wound is dealt. That way, he isn’t as forced into an army where he needs the opponent to keep destroying allies in order ot get full use out of his powers. I don’t think it would make him terribly stronger, but it would make him a little more fun to play.

I very nearly suggested exactly that before we started testing.

[Viegon]

That sounds like a reasonable change to me.

[Lazy Orang]

Okay, I'm thinking of giving this guy a test. I have a couple of matchups planned, but I have no idea if either are really any good, so if you guys could offer your opinions it'd be appreciated.

The Crow, Dracula, Judge Fire, Judge Fear, 2x Vampire Minions (1,200)
vs.
Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Northstar (1,200)


The Crow, Comissioner Gordon, Jonah Hex, Batman (Bruce Wayne) (vI), Catgirl, 2x 5th Precinct Beat Cops (800)
vs.
Luke Cage, Blue Beetle, Ken or Ryu, Swordsman, Spider-Girl (800)

I'm going for squads because, looking at the reevaluated card for The Crow, I sincerely doubt he'll be of any use without them.

[Lazy Orang]

On second thoughts, I may wait a while to test this guy - you see, my family has the Crow DVD, but I've never actually seen it. I may wait a week or a little over so that I can watch it and I can actually give thematic input for once.

[dok]

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

I'm going for squads because, looking at the reevaluated card for The Crow, I sincerely doubt he'll be of any use without them.

If that's how you feel (and I don't entirely disagree) then it's a strong indicator that we should step up and make the change suggested above already. And honestly it feels reasonable to make it symmetric - the marker is placed when a figure on your team is destroyed, and removed when the figure that did the deed leaves the battlefield.

It also occurs to me that if the figure is mind controlled or something like that, it should probably cause the marker to leave. So...

Current version up for test:

SET THE WRONG THINGS RIGHT
Start the game with the black Crow Marker on this card. If the Crow Marker is on this card and any other figure you control is destroyed by an opponent’s figure, you may place your Crow Marker on the attacking figure's Army Card. If a figure with your Crow Marker on its card is removed from the battlefield or receives one or more wounds from a normal or special attack, place your Crow Marker on this card.

Possible revised version:

SET THE WRONG THINGS RIGHT
Start the game with the black Crow Marker on this card. If the Crow Marker is on this card and any other figure you control is destroyed by an opponent’s figure, you may place your Crow Marker on the attacking figure's Army Card. If a figure with your Crow Marker on its card is removed from the battlefield or your opponent loses control of that figure, place your Crow Marker on this card.

As for armies to play The Crow with - given his Event Hero status, there really aren't many direct synergies to worry about. He has nonding with Dracula and can be activated by Judge Death with Death Sentence, but both of them have other options that give them more benefit.

Setting that aside, even if we remove the "take a wound" language, Crow still does better with some relatively fragile figures in his army, so that he has people to avenge. (This is thematic, IMO.) I wouldn't build too much of my strategy around that - all I'm saying is don't make a team of Thor and The Crow.

One option that tickles my particular fancy would be pairing him with Angstrom Levy. That way, you can sequester the crow'ed figure. This can be tricky to pull off, though.

[TrollBrute]

Originally Posted by dok

If that's how you feel (and I don't entirely disagree) then it's a strong indicator that we should step up and make the change suggested above already. And honestly it feels reasonable to make it symmetric - the marker is placed when a figure on your team is destroyed, and removed when the figure that did the deed leaves the battlefield.

It also occurs to me that if the figure is mind controlled or something like that, it should probably cause the marker to leave. So...

Current version up for test:

SET THE WRONG THINGS RIGHT
Start the game with the black Crow Marker on this card. If the Crow Marker is on this card and any other figure you control is destroyed by an opponent’s figure, you may place your Crow Marker on the attacking figure's Army Card. If a figure with your Crow Marker on its card is removed from the battlefield or receives one or more wounds from a normal or special attack, place your Crow Marker on this card.

Possible revised version:

SET THE WRONG THINGS RIGHT
Start the game with the black Crow Marker on this card. If the Crow Marker is on this card and any other figure you control is destroyed by an opponent’s figure, you may place your Crow Marker on the attacking figure's Army Card. If a figure with your Crow Marker on its card is removed from the battlefield or your opponent loses control of that figure, place your Crow Marker on this card.

adding that bit in makes sense to me. I know Viegon is on board with the change. @japes @johnny139 @Tornado @Yodaking @Zettian Juggernaut if we can get to or three more Heroes on board, we can go ahead and make that change.

Originally Posted by dok

Setting that aside, even if we remove the "take a wound" language, Crow still does better with some relatively fragile figures in his army, so that he has people to avenge. (This is thematic, IMO.) I wouldn't build too much of my strategy around that - all I'm saying is don't make a team of Thor and The Crow.

One option that tickles my particular fancy would be pairing him with Angstrom Levy. That way, you can sequester the crow'ed figure. This can be tricky to pull off, though.

Yeah, with that change, squads won't be necessary, but you're still looking for figures that die fairly quickly. I used SHIELD Agents in my first build because I could add Commander Rogers to get OMs to Crow in the key situations. An OM on Fury was still a better choice a lot of the time though. For the second build I went with a bunch of supportive and defense figures that draw a lot of fire and give Crow plenty of time to dish out the hurt.

[japes]

YEA

[Tornado]

Yea

[Zettian Juggernaut]

[TrollBrute]

Okay, that's enough agreement for me. I'll update the post with that change.

[Ronin]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: The Crow

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = THE CROW
SECRET IDENTITY = ERIC DRAVEN

SPECIES = UNDEAD
UNIQUENESS = EVENT HERO
CLASS = REVENANT
PERSONALITY = VENGEFUL

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 5
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = 190

SET THE WRONG THINGS RIGHT
Start the game with the black Crow Marker on this card. If the Crow Marker is on this card and any other figure you control is destroyed by an opponent’s figure, you may place your Crow Marker on the attacking figure's Army Card. If a figure with your Crow Marker on its card is removed from the battlefield or your opponent loses control of that figure, place your Crow Marker on this card.

LIVE FOR VENGEANCE
While your Crow Marker is on another Army Card, if The Crow would receive one or more wounds, ignore one of those wounds. Any Unique Hero with your Crow Marker on its Army Card rolls one fewer defense die.

DOUBLE ATTACK
When The Crow attacks, he may attack one additional time.

Army Test
Map: Sacred Shrine
Units: The Crow, Black Tarantula, Jason Voorhees, Hired Guns (795) vs Iron Patriot, Kraven, Lizard, Oracle (800)

Spoiler Alert!

Kraven chooses Crow as his Prey. The Hired Guns rack up some wounds on Lizard to kick off the violence in this one, and Iron Patriot unsurprisingly makes them his first targets and earns himself a Crow Marker.

Crow sits this one out initially and lets everybody else beat up on each other, but once Kraven starts coming at him, he gets in on the action. Unfortunately for him, he takes a big hit early and winds up tangling with Kraven to take away Norman's bonding partner, rather than trying to shoot up at Iron Patriot (who has secured height). Crow has a few weak attack rolls and almost gets brought down, but he finally manages to take Kraven out and start attacking Iron Patriot.

Unfortunately, Iron Patriot gets three turns in a row (on an initiative swing, plus killing Black Tarantula while he had an OM) and makes rare offensive use of Oracle in order to close things off quickly while Jason is still dead.

Unit Summary:

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): 3 wounds to Kraven in 5 attacks, 1 wound to Iron Patriot in 1 attack
• Set the Wrong Things Right: marker placed on Iron Patriot.
• Live for Vengeance: Ignored 5 wounds. Reduced Iron Patriot's defense for attack against Iron Patriot
• Damage Taken: 2 wounds in 6 attacks from Kraven, 0 wounds from Oracle in 1 attack, 4 wounds from Iron Patriot in 7 attacks (destroyed)

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Iron Patriot with 3 wounds, Oracle with 2 wounds

___________________________________________________________

Army Test
Map: Sacred Shrine
Units: The Crow, Oracle, Wonder Woman, Amazon Warriors x2 (800) vs Wrecking Crew (800)

Spoiler Alert!

The Amazons and the Wrecking Crew advance on each other. Wonder Woman draws first blood by lassoing Bulldozer and putting a wound on him, then using Battle Cry to advance some Amazons around her (preventing engagements). Wrecker destroys an Amazon and earns himself a Crow marker, but rolls low enough to not pass off an extra turn. Crow advances and puts 4 wounds on Bulldozer in 2 attacks.

While Wonder Woman takes the brunt of the attack, Crow gets a couple more turns to attack Wrecker over the next couple rounds. After he manages to put down Wrecker, Piledriver and Thunderball finally bring down Wonder Woman. Thunderball gets the Crow Marker.

With Piledriver and Thunderball gunning directly for him (and Thunderball moving up to level height), the writing's on the wall for Crow. He does get a stupid number of turns in, escaping a lot of wounds with Live for Vengeance.

Eventually, however, Thunderball comes up with a big attack roll that punches through Crow and puts him down. Oracle takes out Thunderball in a last stand, but she's no match for Piledriver.

Unit Summary:

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): 4 wounds to Bulldozer in 2 attacks, 6 wounds to Wrecker in 3 attacks (destroyed), 4 wounds to Thunderball in 14 attacks, 1 wound to Piledriver in 2 attacks
• Set the Wrong Things Right: put the Crow Marker on Wrecker, then Thunderball
• Live for Vengeance: ignored 6 wounds. Reduced Wrecker's and Thunderball's defense for all of Crow's attacks
• Damage Taken: 5 wounds from Thunderball in 7 attacks (destroyed), 0 wounds from Piledriver in 1 attack

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Piledriver with 1 wound

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: One minor point of clarification that's needed here is that Set the Wrong Things Right calls out an attacking figure, but doesn't specify that your figure was destroyed with an attack. Not sure what the intent is.

Crow doesn't feel crazy as-is, but he does soak up a lot of attacks. Live for Vengeance gives him a ton of staying power against mid-level heroes. Benefited from some really solid luck in game two. Not all of his attacks were golden, but he got to make a lot of them.