Mer-Man

[IAmBatman]

Mer-Man (Squidish Rex)

Card PDF​

NAME = MER-MAN
IDENTITY = SQUIDISH REX

UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
SPECIES = AQUATICAN
CLASS = MINION
PERSONALITY = DUPLICITOUS

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = 130

MASTER OF THE DEEP
During setup, choose 3 empty spaces on the battlefield. Place a single-space water tile on each of the chosen spaces as long as it fits normally. Mer-Man has +2 Attack and Defense on water. During cleanup, if Mer-Man is not engaged, you may place him on a water space within 8 spaces.

DRAGGED UNDER 13
After Mer-Man’s move phase, you may choose an adjacent enemy. If you do, roll a d20, adding 4 to the roll if the chosen enemy does not have Super Strength. On a 13+, you may maneuver Mer-Man up to 4 spaces with Stealth. If he ends this movement on water, you may then place the chosen enemy adjacent to him.

CUT BAIT
If Mer-Man is the only active figure on your team when he occupies water, remove him from the game.

PUBLISHER: MATTEL
FACTION: SNAKE MOUNTAIN
KEYWORDS:
SYMBOLS: SUPER STRENGTH, WATER AFFINITY

THE MULTIVERSE IS FULL OF DARK THINGS: The ruler of Eternia's seas, he punishes those who dare set foot in the water!

Resources and Rulings
• The suggested figure for this unit is a Masters of the Universe: The Board Game - Clash For Eternia figure
• See this card's wiki page for synergies and strategies!

Credits
• Playtesters:

• IAmBatman
• Soundwarp SG-1
• toyhandle
• Lord Zed
• IAmBatman

• Card art: ...
• Comic creators: Michael Halperin

Updates
• N/A

 

[fret_gurglo]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Dragged under seems a little complicated, would a d20 roll work better or is there a specific reason to stick with the combat die?

 

[Arch-vile]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Looks a little more than 160 to me with 5/6/6 stats on water and the ability to place his own water. Did you want it only working on water, or should it work on aquatic terrain?

Does Cut Bait represent him running away when his allies fall? Neat ability which pushes him away water in the endgame to avoid auto-losing him. Though I imagine it means you'll just lead with Mer-Man to avoid the risk of it completely.

 

[Yodaking]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Always like to see new water folks, really want to do a full underwater map someday.

I dig the cut bait ability. Would be funny to have someone with 1 life left throw him into the water to win a game.

I had the same thought as Fret on the d20 option maybe being simpler.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

I'm not married to the combat die. The d20 might work better, yeah. Any thoughts on how to word that well?

Looks a little more than 160 to me with 5/6/6 stats on water and the ability to place his own water. Did you want it only working on water, or should it work on aquatic terrain?

Does Cut Bait represent him running away when his allies fall? Neat ability which pushes him away water in the endgame to avoid auto-losing him. Though I imagine it means you'll just lead with Mer-Man to avoid the risk of it completely.

He might be higher, but 4/4 outside of water keeps him in check, IMO. If he just tanks in water, he can be sniped by a lot of builds. I think broadening it to aquatic terrain probably works fine. Cut Bait also prevents him from tanking on water without consequence. He can try leading, but if you stay away from the water, there's not much he can do as a first assault figure.

And, yeah, it represents him bailing on the situation.

 

[MrNobody]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Usual question of water vs. aquatic terrain.

 

[japes]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

This one makes sense with Water to me. His advantage is being "in the water" not a mystical ability that draws power from moisture. And his kit is more about pulling folks under.

 

[japes]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

How about a third option keeping the combat die


DRAGGED UNDER
After Mer-Man’s move phase, you may choose an adjacent enemy and roll 1 combat die or 2 combat dice if the figure does not have Super Strength. If you roll a shield, you may maneuver Mer-Man up to 3 spaces with Stealth and place the chosen figure on a space adjacent to him, as long as either Mer-Man or the chosen figure ends this movement on water.

 

[MrNobody]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

This one makes sense with Water to me. His advantage is being "in the water" not a mystical ability that draws power from moisture. And his kit is more about pulling folks under.

I guess I'm a bit confused on what the standard is. Like Sandman calls out aquatic terrain and his whole logic is "sand gets wet in water." But that's probably more a me thing of not understanding the concepts?

 

[japes]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

That specific thing best I got is…Sand man would be impacted by a puddle where as merman can’t pull someone into a puddle and have an advantage.

Tigra fear of water isn’t because she’s scared of a glass of water sitting on the table, Mera however could take the water in that glass and weaponize it.

Aquaman actually gets power from the water contact even trace amounts?

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Yeah I think japes has the right of it, though it does get murky with swamp water.

 

[Yodaking]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

This one makes sense with Water to me. His advantage is being "in the water" not a mystical ability that draws power from moisture. And his kit is more about pulling folks under.

Agreed. Feels like he needs to be submerged in water where drowning someone is a legit concern.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

OK, some tweaks after feedback:

1. Dropped his Move number to 4
2. Had Master of the Deep boost his Move number as well
3. Upped the movement on Dragged under from 3 to 4
4. Made Dragged under work on a d20 instead of a combat die (16+ for SS, 12+ for non-SS). I like the d20 because I think I can create some nice in faction synergy with it.

 

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

+2 Move "on water" doesnt really make any sense? That would have to be like if he started his turn on water or something.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Yeah good call. I’ll just revert back to 5 base move and cut that bit.

 

[Shiftrex]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Oho a water placer That's exciting!

The Cut Bait power is pretty neat too, places him solidly as a support character that has to mix it up in mid-early game and can't wait until late to drag people around. The conditional boosts seem well suited to make him interesting at 160 though.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Design

Should be a while before I get there (Ice is up first) but I propose we go to initial playtesting here.

 

[Ericth74]

Re: Mer-Man - VOTE 4 Initial Playtesting

yea

 

[MrNobody]

Re: Mer-Man - VOTE 4 Initial Playtesting

Yea

 

[Tornado]

Re: Mer-Man - VOTE 4 Initial Playtesting

Yea

 

[Arch-vile]

Re: Mer-Man - VOTE 4 Initial Playtesting

yea

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - VOTE 4 Initial Playtesting

This passes, thanks. Up next for me this week, then I'll try to hit some public stuff.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Initial Playtesting

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM
NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: MER-MAN
VERSION TESTED

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = MER-MAN
IDENTITY = SQUIDISH REX

SPECIES = AQUATICAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = MINION
PERSONALITY = DUPLICITOUS
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 160?

MASTER OF THE DEEP
During setup, choose 4 empty spaces on the battlefield. Place a single-hex water tile on each of the chosen spaces as long as it fits normally. Mer-Man has +2 Range, Attack, and Defense on water.

DRAGGED UNDER 16
After Mer-Man’s move phase, you may choose an adjacent enemy and roll a d20, adding 4 to the roll if the chosen enemy does not have Super Strength. On a 16+, you may maneuver Mer-Man up to 4 spaces with Stealth and place the chosen enemy adjacent to him, as long as either Mer-Man or the chosen enemy ends this movement on water.

CUT BAIT
If Mer-Man is the only active figure on his team when he enters or occupies water, remove him from the game.

PUBLISHER: MATTEL
FACTION: SNAKE MOUNTAIN
KEYWORDS:
SYMBOLS: SUPER STRENGTH, WATER AFFINITY

Team Test
Map: SEWER LABYRINTH
Units: Mer-Man (160), Aquaman (360), Green Arrow (210), Flash (270) (1000) vs Shredder, Foot Clan Elite, Bebop, Rocksteady (1000)
Unit Summary: This map was soaking wet and Aquaman was a beast here. None of his allies were anything special, though, Mer-Man included, and the results couldn’t be closer thanks to the Foot closing the gap in endgame after Aquaman fell.
Game Summary

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Foot. Bebop and Rocksteady advance and Shredder and a Foot Clan member maneuver up. Flash pushes Mer-Man forward and follows. Green Arrow advances. Shredder advances and has two Foot follow. Flash pushes Aquaman forward and Mer-Man runs up onto water. Bebop and Rocksteady advance. Rocksteady’s shoddy weapon breaks failing to hit Mer-Man. Bebop blasts Mer-Man for 2 wounds from range. Two Foot advance. Aquaman flies forward and unleashes the Kraken but only hits Rocksteady for 1 wound. His attacks can’t hit Rocksteady or Bebop. Green Arrow uses a marker and snipes Bebop for 2 wounds. Two Foot defeat themselves (go back into the shadows).
A Foot pops up next to Green Arrow. Initiative Ocean Justice, with help from Flash. Flash pushes a Foot away from Green Arrow. Aquaman uses the X and pulls Shredder next to him. Aquaman defeats a Foot, puts 2 wounds on Rocksteady, would defeat Bebop who is too dumb to fall, and inflicts 1 wound on Shredder. Green Arrow uses a marker and hits Bebop for 3 wounds. Rocksteady punches Aquaman for 1 wound, fails a knockback roll, Clumsy Smashes Bebop to defeat, and himself for 1 wound as well. Bebop’s activation is skipped. Shredder takes a swipe maneuvering away. A Foot engages Aquaman. Knife in the Dark misses. Flash pushes Shredder down. Aquaman takes out a Foot and hits Rocksteady for a fifth wound. Green Arrow uses a marker and fails to hit Shredder from height. Rocksteady punches Aquaman for 2 wounds, knocks him back for another, and avoids clumsy smash. Shredder and a Foot maneuver. Knife in the Dark hits Flash. Flash pushes Shredder next to Mer-Man. Mer-Man fails an attack on Shredder. Green Arrow uses his last marker and fails an attack on Shredder. Rocksteady punches out Aquaman. Knife in the Dark fails to hit Flash.
A Foot returns next to Green Arrow. Initiative Ocean Justice thanks to Flash. Flash yeets across the map. Mer-Man punches Shredder for 2 wounds. Rocksteady punches Green Arrow for 2 wounds, fails the knockback wound on him and takes out a Foot and wounds Mer-Man with Clumsy Smash, while being spared himself. Knife in the Dark finishes Mer-Man. Flash can’t hit Shredder. Rocksteady takes out Green Arrow and puts a sixth wound on himself with Clumsy Smash. Knife in the Dark hits Flash. Green Arrow had OM3. Shredder and Rocksteady move towards the hiding Flash.
A Foot comes back next to Flash. Initiative Flash. He takes out Shredder. Rocksteady punches Flash for a third wound but stumbles around, too dumb to fall, from Clumsy Smash. Flash punches out Rocksteady from height. The Foot have no more Order Markers. Flash ends the round by punching out a Foot. One Foot remains.
Initiative Flash. He fails to take out the last Foot. The last Foot takes him out instead.

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): Inflicted [2] wounds on [Shredder [2]]
• MASTER OF THE DEEP: Placed tiles [on opponent’s side of the map to create a bit of a barrier] during setup. Boosts were [nice and easy to come by though often came with giving up height]
• DRAGGED UNDER: Rolled [0] times and placed [0] enemies; was [not really needed since water was abundant]
• CUT BAIT: Did not trigger.

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): A single Foot Clan Elite wins it.

___________________________________________________________​

Team Test
Map: Island Plane Crash
Units: Mer-Man (160), Batman (230), Red Arrow (150), Green Arrow (150), Wonder Woman (310) (1000) vs Beast Boy, Cyborg, Nightwing, Starfire, Raven (1000)
Unit Summary: Mer-Man was beastly here but once he fell his team went down like chumps. I’m thinking of dropping the range boost from being on water so that the dragging feels more relevant and he’s not quite so nasty.
Game Summary

Spoiler Alert!

Mer-Man sticks pools of water across the center of the plane.

Initiative Titans. Cyborg flies forward. Red Arrow advances and fails a shot on Cyborg from height disadvantage. Cyborg has Beast Boy advance. Mer-Man advances on the water. Red Arrow hits an obstructed Cyborg from height disadvantage for 1 wound. Titans Go sends Starfire, Raven, and Nightwing forward. Green Arrow advances and Red Arrow is blocked by Cyborg. Green Arrow fails to hit Cyborg.
Wonder Woman uses a Justice Marker. Initiative Titans. Titans Go! Raven takes a wound from Cyborg, then flies forward and hits Red Arrow for 1 wound from height. Cyborg flies next to her and his attack from height on Red Arrow is blocked. Nightwing advances, just behind, and snipes Green Arrow for 1 wound. Mer-Man advances and Red Arrow snipes Cyborg for 2 wounds. Raven heals Cyborg to full life and heals 1 wound from herself, then Soul Selfs Red Arrow for 1 wound. Mer-Man climbs to height and water on the plane. Red Arrow hits Cyborg for 1 wound. Mer-Man uses height, water bonus, and Wonder Woman’s bonus to fire down on Starfire with 8 dice, hitting 7 skulls! Starfire goes down like a ton of bricks. Starfire had OM3. Mer-Man engages Cyborg, fails to drag him under, Red Arrow fails to hit him, and Mer-Man fails to hit him.
Wonder Woman uses a Justice Marker. Initiative Ocean Justice. Mer-Man fails to drag Cyborg. Red Arrow and Mer-Man each hit Cyborg for 1 wound (no water bonus involved and height disadvantage on each). Titans Go! Raven takes two wounds from Cyborg, heals 1, and Soul Selfs Red Arrow to defeat him. Cyborg punches down on Mer-Man for 1 wound. Nightwing engages Mer-Man, taking the water space, but fails to hit him. Mer-Man drags Raven away onto water and punches her for 1 wound. Cyborg hits Mer-Man with a damage die. Raven heals 1 wound and fails a punch on Mer-Man. Mer-Man drags Raven off the side of the plane into the water and defeats her. Cyborg punches out Green Arrow from height.
Initiative Ocean Justice. Mer-Man climbs back up on the wing. Titans Go! Beast Boy flies over. Cyborg advances and fails an attack on Mer-Man. Nightwing hits Mer-Man for 2 wounds from height. Mer-Man fails to drag Cyborg off the plane but does punch him for 1 wound. Beast Boy punches out Mer-Man from height. Wonder Woman advances. Cyborg can’t hit Wonder Woman from height.
Initiative Ocean Justice. Wonder Woman punches Cyborg for 2 wounds. Titans Go! The Titans converge on Wonder Woman, she defends poorly, and they take her out. Batman advances and fails a ranged attack on Cyborg. Cyborg fires down on Batman but can’t hit. Batman auto wounds Cyborg to finish him and fails attacks on his two allies. Beast Boy hits Batman for a wound from height.
Initiative Titans. Beast Boy pummels Batman in Gorilla mode to finish it.

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): Inflicted [9] wounds on [Starfire [5], Raven [3], Cyborg [1]]
• MASTER OF THE DEEP: Placed tiles [in the center of the map on height of the plane] during setup. Boosts were [nasty stacked with Wondy boosts]
• DRAGGED UNDER: Rolled [4] times and placed [2] enemies; was [useful]
• CUT BAIT: Triggered round [did not trigger]

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Beast Boy with Full Life and Nightwing with Full Life win.

___________________________________________________________​

Team Test
Map: Cell Games Arena
Units: Mer-Man (160), Baron Zemo (180), Executioner (340), Enchantress (320) (1000) vs Iron Man (270), Captain America (240), War Machine (260), Black Widow (230) (1000)
Unit Summary: I played without the range bonus on water for Mer-Man. Fun game and he feels about right. Cut Bait came into play for the first time and really showed its liability here. Without the range, Mer-Man’s attack power is less nasty and more appropriate for his cost.
Game Summary

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Masters of Evil. Executioner and Enchantress fly forward. Cap advances. Zemo and Mer-Man advance. Black Widow and War Machine advance. Zemo, Executioner, and Enchantress advance. Enchantress blasts Iron Man for an all skulls attack from height and Iron Man takes 3 wounds. Iron Man and Cap both engage Enchantress and hit her for 3 wounds.
Initiative Avengers. Cap punches Enchantress for a fourth wound. Enchantress fails to charm Executioner or hit Iron Man. War Machine does a flyover and puts a fifth wound on Enchantress. Iron Man takes down Enchantress but is blocked by Executioner. Zemo hits War Machine with adhesive. Executioner hits Cap for 1 wound. Zemo hits War Machine for 3 wounds. Cap hits Executioner for 3 wounds and Black Widow hits him for 2 more. Mer-Man drags War Machine over onto water and punches him to defeat him. Zemo is blocked by Iron Man.
Initiative Avengers. Cap whiffs an attack on Executioner. Executioner smacks Cap down to 1 Life. Zemo can’t hit Iron Man. Zemo puts Iron Man in adhesive. Cap can’t hit Executioner. Mer-Man drags Cap over so he has height and the water bonus and punches Cap out. Iron Man takes out Executioner and puts 2 wounds on Zemo. Black Widow takes height on Zemo and finishes him off. Whoops. Mer-Man cuts bait!

• Damage Done (Normal Attack): Inflicted [2] wounds on [War Machine [1], Captain America [1]]
• MASTER OF THE DEEP: Placed tiles [in the middle area of the map, on height, towards the enemy side] during setup. Boosts were [X]
• DRAGGED UNDER: Rolled [2] times and placed [2] enemies; was [effective at letting him position well]
• CUT BAIT: Triggered round [X]

Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Iron Man with 1 Life and Black Widow with Full Life win..

___________________________________________________________​

UNIT SUMMARY: I’m happy with how he plays with that range reduction.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: Mer-Man - Initial Playtesting

I propose public playtesting (when I have a slot)

 

[Ericth74]

Re: Mer-Man - VOTE 4 Public Playtesting

yea

Looks like a good choice to adjust the range bonus.

What maps were games 2 and 3 on?