The Book of Evil Ernie

[Lord Pyre]

The Book of Evil Ernie

C3G CHAOS WAVE 40
WAR OF THE INDEPENDENTS

Comic PDF

Mini PDF

The figure used for this unit is modified Heroclix figure from the Iron Maiden set.
Its model number and name are #002 / Phantom of the Opera.

Tutorial on how to modify this miniature.


NOTE: Evil Ernie requires 1x Glyph of Smiley the Psychotic Button
​

_________________________________________________________________

Character Bio - Ernest Fairchild was a special boy. He could see events before they happened, and could even read some people’s thoughts. But his parents didn’t understand what he could do, and began to abuse him, thinking he was possessed. Eventually they sought out a highly respected psychiatrist, Dr. Price, to see if he could cure him of whatever was inside. Price used an experimental machine of his own design, called the dream probe, to delve deep into his subconscious to try to find the root of his problems. It was then that Ernest met what was quite literally, his dream girl, Lady Death. Lady Death promised to love him forever, and only asked one thing in return, megadeath: the extermination of every single living human on earth.
Waking up renewed and refreshed, Ernest seemed cured. But upon his return home, he found an axe and went on a killing spree throughout his town, starting with his parents.
Dr. Price deems Fairchild evil to the core - a lost cause. Another hopefully doctor named Mary Young disagrees, and tries to perfect Dr. Price’s dream probe to cure Ernest again. Lady Death intervenes, and the Dream Probe explodes, killing Ernest. A nurse sadly pins a smiley button to the young boy’s shirt, and at that moment Lady Death imbues the pin with arcane energy, reviving Ernest as an undead monster. Powered through Smiley and dubbing himself Evil Ernie, his strength is increased, and his telepathic abilities are transformed into the Deadmind, a psychic connection between all things dead and dying. He quickly creates an undead army. And while Lady Death eventually abandons her plan for megadeath, throwing away the influence of Lucifer, Evil Ernie never gives up. Everything he’s ever done, he’s done for love.


_________________________________________________________________

-Rulings and Clarifications-

• N/A

_________________________________________________________________

-Combinations and Synergies-

Incoming Synergy:

• As Undead, Evil Ernie has these Undead Synergies.
• As a Destroyer, Evil Ernie has these Destroyer Synergies.
• Dead Onez' Quest For Megadeath power allows Evil Ernie to bond with the Dead Onez.

Outgoing Synergy:

• The Arcane Bond power allows Evil Ernie to choose a Hell Lord to be his Beloved.
• The Dead Mind power allows Evil Ernie to boost the Move, Defense and Attack of Undead.
• Dead Onez' Dead Onez Rise power allows Evil Ernie to place previously destroyed Dead Onez on the battlefield.

Immunities, Benefits, and Weaknesses:

• N/A

_________________________________________________________________

-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• N/A

-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

• Initial playtest: Lord Pyre
• Second playtest: Tornado
• Third playtest: MrNobody
• Art: Comic, Figure, Background
• Art by tcglkn

Card Updates:
24 February 2022 - Arcane Bond updated for Order Marker placement clarity

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

NAME = EVIL ERNIE
SECRET IDENTITY = ERNEST FAIRCHILD

SPECIES = UNDEAD
UNIQUENESS = EVENT HERO
CLASS = DESTROYER
PERSONALITY = DEPRAVED

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 8

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 380

BEST FRIEND SMILEY
Start the game with the Glyph of Smiley the Psychotic Button on this card. Evil Ernie may equip that glyph as if he was a Unique Hero and only loses that glyph if he receives two or more wounds from a single attack or special power or is destroyed. At the end of the round, if that glyph is on the battlefield, you may place it up to four spaces from its current placement on either an empty space or a space occupied by Evil Ernie.

ARCANE BOND
At the start of the game, you may choose a Hell Lord you control to be Evil Ernie's Beloved. When placing Order Markers for the round, you may place an additional Order Marker 1 on his Beloved's card as long as you place at least one Order Marker on this card. You may reveal that Order Marker normally on your turn instead of your other Order Marker 1.

DEAD MIND
Evil Ernie's Beloved and all other Undead you control within 6 spaces of Evil Ernie add 1 to their:
• Move number if you control at least 4 Undead figures,
• Defense number if you control at least 6 Undead figures, and
• Attack number if you control at least 8 Undead figures.

SUPER STRENGTH

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

NAME = GLYPH OF SMILEY THE PSYCHOTIC BUTTON
SUBTITLE = ARCANE EMPOWERMENT

EQUIPMENT GLYPH
If an Undead figure equipped with this glyph attacks an adjacent figure with a normal attack, you may add one automatic skull to that attack. At the end of this figure's turn, if this figure is Evil Ernie, remove one Wound Marker from his Army Card, otherwise, if it is not Undead or a Hell Lord, place one Wound Marker on this figure's Army Card.

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

ART:

Figure:

Spoiler Alert!

Comic:

Spoiler Alert!

Chaos Comics logo:

Spoiler Alert!

Mini background:

Spoiler Alert!

Some sort of post-apocalyptic city street

Smiley:

Spoiler Alert!

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

Alrighty, this guy should be a doozy. Been waiting to work on him for longer than even Lady Death, so I'm pretty excited to finally start. He's basically a 90's take on a zombie apocalypse, with his psychic powers all the undead he creates can still think like normal people and are completely devoted to Ernie, so they're extremely dangerous. I want Ernie coming in around 400 points, give or take.

My next design will be his Dead Onez, but I'm going to start here. My plan is to get him balanced, run him to Final Editing, then put on hold and work on the Dead Onez and balance them together. I feel like that's the best way to balance the whole army properly.

For consideration, here's the draft of the Dead Onez I'm currently planning on running. Obviously it can still change, but the feel of it should be similar.

NAME = DEAD ONEZ

SPECIES = UNDEAD
UNIQUENESS = COMMON SQUAD (3)
CLASS = MINIONS
PERSONALITY = ENLIGHTENED

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 1

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3

POINTS = 70?


DEAD ONEZ RISE
At the start of the game, you may choose any number of Dead Onez figures to not be placed on the battlefield. Whenever a Evil Ernie or a Dead One you control destroys an adjacent figure that is not an Android, Undead, or Destructible Object, replace that figure with a Dead One you control that is not on the battlefield, if possible.

QUEST FOR MEGADEATH
After revealing an Order Marker on the Army Card of Evil Ernie, or a Unique Hell Lord you control, before taking a turn with that figure you may either:

* roll one combat die, or 3 combat dice if the figure is Evil Ernie. For each skull rolled, place one Dead Onez figure that is not on the battlefield, within 2 spaces of the Evil Ernie or the Hell Lord; or
* Take a turn with the Dead Onez. You may not take any additional turns with other figures you control.

SALVAGED WEAPONS SPECIAL ATTACK
Attack 4, Range 4.
After rolling attack dice, if you rolled at least one blank, subtract one skull from whatever was rolled.

 

[Yodaking]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

Having the stat boosting power depend on him being engaged is one thing that stands out for me. Just remembering when it's on/off will be tricky, but then from a strategy POV, I'm guessing you either try to stay away from him and chip away at the army from afar, or engage him with everyone and kill him as fast as possible. Should be interesting to see it play out.

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I'm definitely willing to tweak this guy a lot. There's a lot of moving pieces here. But I want him leading his army rather than hiding, and that seem like the simplest way of doing so! Another thought I entertained was counting the number of undead you have engaged, but that's even harder to pull off and we'd have to probably tweak the numbers needed then.

 

[johnny139]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I feel like I've asked this question a bunch of times before, but I can't remember the answer - is it thematic for him to be working with multiple Hell Lords? Because in this case, he's already choosing a Hell Lord at the start of the game, so it'd be pretty easy to give that a label (Ernie's Muse? Ernie's Patron? Ernie's Lord?) and just have Dead Mind effect that single Hell Lord.

I know in Marvel the Hell Lords aren't really friendly with each other, but if they would tag-team in a big undead army in his universe, it's probably better as-is.

 

[Yodaking]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I think he teams up with Lady Death and that's it for comic lore. But that's just a guess based on things LP has said in the past since I've never read a comic with him in it.

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

Totally fine with choosing a single one. He’s in love with LD to the point of obsession.

 

[johnny139]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

Cool. Then I'd word it like this:

ARCANE BOND
At the start of the game, you may choose a Hell Lord you control to be Evil Ernie's Patron and start the game with an additional “1” Order Marker. At the start of each round, if there is at least one Order Marker on this card and his Patron's card, you may place the additional “1” Order Marker on his Patron's card. You may reveal it normally on your turn instead of your other Order Marker of the same number.

DEAD MIND
If Evil Ernie is engaged, while there is at least 1 Order Marker on this card and the number of Undead figures you control is:
* 2 or more, add 2 to your initiative roll; and
* 4 or more, add 1 to the move of his Patron and all Undead you control; and
* 6 or more, add 1 to the defense of his Patron and all Undead you control; and
* 8 or more, add 1 to the attack of his Patron and all Undead you control.

Again, if there's a better word than Patron, go for it - that's just what sounded right after reading your bio.

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I like the wording changes! Not sure I like Patron. She empowered/created him so if there's a word for that..?


Any other thoughts on the mechanics here? Like I said this is a design with a lot of moving parts, so I'd love some more eyes. I've never done a design quite like this before, with a glyph attached and such a big leader (And a future squad attached).

 

[Lazy Orang]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I like the wording changes! Not sure I like Patron. She empowered/created him so if there's a word for that..?

Patron sounds about right for that, to me.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

Benefactor? Diety? Goddess?

 

[MrNobody]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

To me, it’s one of those situations where Patron has the right definition, but in context it doesn’t really seem right.

One of my roommates is a metalhead, I’ll ask him if there’s anything that fits.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I think we might have the wrong perspective. It matters more what she is from Ernie's perspective. Beloved? Mistress?

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I think we might have the wrong perspective. It matters more what she is from Ernie's perspective. Beloved? Mistress?

This, but a little strange if he picks trigon or Mephisto

Could just do beloved I suppose! We did with someone else whose name JUST escapeD me

 

[Lazy Orang]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

I think we might have the wrong perspective. It matters more what she is from Ernie's perspective. Beloved? Mistress?

This, but a little strange if he picks trigon or Mephisto

Could just do beloved I suppose! We did with someone else whose name JUST escapeD me

Fairly sure that's pretty much how the Star Sapphires and Karnilla work, so not without precedent.

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie (Breathing)

Not too worried about the exact word at the moment anyway. So I guess if there's no other thoughts on the design...

I propose we move to initial testing!

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie ~ Vote for Initial

Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie ~ Vote for Initial

Under "Best Friend Smiley" I would use the word "equip" instead of "pick up."

Dead Mind seems potentially very powerful for the faction. Cool effect, though.

Arcane Bond should be the first or second power listed, probably. Should probably try to run by whether there are any unintended exploits that could come with having the extra "1" OM. I think the other OM placement requirements probably keep it in check, though.

400 seems like a good starting cost based on the calculator. I could see it going up from there in the right armies, though.

I'd like to see the checklists, at least the competitive one, run here before voting.

 

[Lord Pyre]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie ~ Vote for Initial

Under "Best Friend Smiley" I would use the word "equip" instead of "pick up."

Got it!

Arcane Bond should be the first or second power listed, probably. Should probably try to run by whether there are any unintended exploits that could come with having the extra "1" OM. I think the other OM placement requirements probably keep it in check, though.

I think our glyph powers are usually first? Obviously can fix when needed. I looked into it a bit, and the only issues with an extra marker come up when you have an "x" marker that I can see. We've done something similar here with Ozymandias already so I think we're good.

400 seems like a good starting cost based on the calculator. I could see it going up from there in the right armies, though.

Yeah I have no issues on cost. Anywhere from 360-460 is good with me, basically.

I'd like to see the checklists, at least the competitive one, run here before voting.

Hah whoops, knew I was forgetting something!


COMPETITIVE REVIEW BOARD CHECKLIST

Spoiler Alert!

1. Does the design disrupt opponent's Order Markers in a way that offers a net gain in turns taken with strong figures versus the turns your opponent can take with strong figures (Ozymandias, Joker (I), Meteorite)?
   
   No
   
2. Does the design offer auto-wounding that either doesn't require taking turns or is otherwise extremely efficient (War Machine, Jason Voorhees, Cosmic Cube)?
   
   No
   
3. Does the design immobilize figures or prevent turn-taking (Blob, Spider-Girl, Diablo, Green Lantern Alan)?
   
   No
   
4. Does the design move opponent's figures in a way that's easy to pull off and can move figures multiple spaces in multiple directions (Graviton, Magneto, Vulture)?
   
   No
   
5. Does the design allow for moving friendly figures without taking turns, or for moving 2+ friendly figures while still taking a turn (Martian Manhunter , Green Lantern John, Angel)?
   
   No
   
   [*]Does the figure allow for two figures, one of them being a wide range of possible figures, to both attack on a single Order Marker (Zombie, Robot, Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel, Rocket [II], Martian Manhunter [II], Nebula, Baby Groot, Havok)?
   
   No
   
   [*]Does the design offer any sort of passive boost outside of a narrow set of figures (Star-Lord, Sage, Brainiac 5, Captain America, Batman [III])?
   
   All Undead, which are pretty wide open, but he favors squads and commons by the nature of his power.
   
   [*]Does the design help keep your allies alive just by being nearby (Daring Decoy, Aaron Cash, Jocasta, Weather Wizard)?
   
   No
   
   [*]Is it OK for the design to have defensive abilities that could make it essentially unkillable in some matchups or endgame situations (Cosmic Cube, Healing Factor, Master Martial Artist)?
   
   He heals, but he's a big expensive figure so it's fine.
   
   [*]If the figure has auto-destroy powers or powers that can force the opponent's figures to attack each other, are they balanced for strong opposing figures and/or boosts that can make the powers more reliable (Puppet Master, Psycho-Man, Enchantress)?
   
   N/A
   
   [*]Is the figure likely to earn its value many times over by either running out alone at the start of a battle (pre-eval Crow, Solomon Grundy) or by sitting in the startzone until the end of a battle (Arnim Zola, Silk Spectre)?
   
   No
   
   [*]Will synergies in the design create concerns for future designs (Mad Thinker, pre-eval Enchantress, Star-Lord)?
   
   Possibly, with his boosts, but again he favors common squads, of which we don't make all that many anyway.
   
   [*]Does the design combo particularly well with one of the design concerns above (Magma)?
   
   No
   

CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST (SHORT FORM)

Spoiler Alert!

Consistency Concerns
Name and Identity
Verify character is named in a way that is clear, accurate and feels consistent with the way other characters are named.

Yep

Uniqueness and Type
Verify that the power text reflects the listed uniqueness and type, that the uniqueness fits the character, and that squad size is listed for squads.

Yep

Left Box
If the character's species, class or personality is reused, verify that the character feels thematically consistent with other figures that have that species, class or personality. If they are not reused, verify that there is no pre-existing species, class or personality that would make more sense.

Destroyer and Depraved are chosen as a nod to some of his storylines, and they fit the character perfectly (With destroyer being a reuse)

Size and Height
Verify that the listed size and height are accurate. Standing the mini up next to a stack of tiles, and a few other minis of various sizes, is encouraged.

Yep

Super Strength and Flying
Verify that these special powers are present if they make sense, and not if they don't.

Super Strength for sure!

New Powers - Names
Verify that any new powers are not using power names identical to, or very similar to, pre-existing powers. Verify that any new powers are actually new and not old powers with new names.

Believe we're good!

New Powers - Effects
Verify that the effect and timing of all new powers is clear. Verify that any logical immunities, benefits, or weaknesses (whether those be necessary for thematic or mechanical reasons) are implemented: consider whether defensive powers that work against normal attacks should also work against special attacks, whether or not a power has an elemental component that some figures should resist, and whether or not unliving figures (such as Undead and Androids) should be affected.

Believe we're good!

Reused Powers
Verify that the design is reusing powers in place of creating new ones, where reused powers could implement the same theme and mechanics with no differences or only trivial differences. Verify that any reused powers have the correct text.

N/A

Power Level
Verify that the character's movement, attack, range, and defense (in conjunction with any special powers that enhance those stats) feel consistent with the capabilities of characters with analogous powers and abilities. Verify that the character falls into a similar point range to characters with comparative powers and abilities.

Yep

 

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie ~ Vote for Initial

Yea

 

[IAmBatman]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie ~ Vote for Initial

yea!

 

[Yodaking]

Re: The Book of Evil Ernie ~ Vote for Initial

yea