At some point in the last couple days, my deck/hand arrangement has gotten shambled. Sure, I'll take the damage and draw two, which I'll post once I get everything re-sorted. -- AZ
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
In play: Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception
Start of hero turn: Galvanize expires
Play a card: None
Use a power:Next Evolution. Legacy's skin turns a metallic green. Immune to melee damage.
Draw a card: The Legacy Ring to my hand, Next Evolution to bottom of the deck.
End of hero turn:
HP: 15
Hand: "Thokk!", Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Motivational Charge, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability, The Legacy Ring
In play: Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception
Deck: 16 x ?, Back-Fist Strike, Superhuman Durability, Lead from the Front, Inspiring Presence, Surge of Strength, Fortitude, Bolster Allies, "Thokk!", Lead from the Front, Bolster Allies, Next Evolution
Additional effects: -1 damage dealt to Legacy.
Any villain damage dealt to heroes may be redirected to Legacy.
Legacy is immune to melee damage.
Now I need to know whether everyone is discarding to get rid of Hostage Situation.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
Omnitron gets back to its feet and scuttles backward slightly, perhaps intimidated by the invincible Legacy as he attempts to close the distance between them. From overhead, another train slams on its brakes and derails.
Proving its display of fear to have been a ruse, Omnitron unfolds a fearsome weapons array from its "head", firing another spray of drugged needles which mostly catches Legacy with its brunt, though Absolute Zero also feels their sting. Piercing through Paul's mutating skin and Ryan's metal armor with equal ease, the flechettes deliver their toxic payload and both champions stagger, feeling their strength fade. A handful of the projectiles might manage to get past Legacy's blockade to reach the rest of the Freedom Five and inflict grevious wounds.
Round Five
Omnitron - Currently a Self-Aware Robotics Factory, soon to be a Rampaging Robot
Play a Card: Electro-Magnetic Railgun (another card bottomed)
End of Turn: Sedative Flechettes. Omnitron inflicts five instances of 6 projectile damage; Legacy may take any or all of them for the other hero they're meant for. Then Legacy's limited-invincibility combo, AZ's Cold Snap, and any other Ongoings I missed are gone.
(There were errors in my trash between the previous posts in the thread and my own records; I had mistaken one type of drone for another. And even though the trash is being shuffled, I've put it in the order I had it listed in both places to prevent confusion as I continually rebuild the deck for each turn, so that I don't have to omit Omnitron or Megalopolis from my real-life games.)
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
Trash: Ammo Drop, External Combustion, Flak Cannon, Gatling gun, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Recharge Mode(2), Upgrade Mode(2)
Deck: Heavy Plating, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Flak Cannon, Decomissioned Hardware, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Upgrade Mode, Ammo Drop, Heavy Plating, Omni-Cannon, Auxiliary Power Source, Ammo Drop, Recharge Mode, Heavy Plating.
Comment: We need to protect Tachyon at least long enough for her to unload Lightspeed Barrages. Main flaw in that plan is if Omnitron rolls out his remaining Adaptive Plating Routine since it will take an extra turn to get that out of the way.
Trash: Onboard Module Installation x 4, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Cold Snap
---
On the plus side, we've now had both Sedative Flechettes come out at us. On the minus side, there's still another of That Bomb and another Technological Singularity waiting to nuke Wraith, Bunker, and me.
It looks like everybody decided to take their own damage. I took 6-1 damage before my Fortitude was destroyed.
America's Finest Legacy
HP: 10
Hand: Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Motivational Charge, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability, The Legacy Ring
In play:
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception, "Thokk!", Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Start of hero turn:
Play a card:Motivational Charge enters play.
Use a power:Galvanize. Hero targets deal +1 damage until the start of my next turn.
Draw a card: Take Down to my hand, Surge of Strength to bottom of deck.
End of hero turn:
HP: 10
Hand: Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability, The Legacy Ring, Take Down
In play: Motivational Charge
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception, "Thokk!", Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Deck: ? x 14, Back-Fist Strike, Superhuman Durability, Lead from the Front, Inspiring Presence, Surge of Strength, Fortitude, Bolster Allies, "Thokk!", Lead from the Front, Bolster Allies, Next Evolution, Surge of Strength
Additional effects: Hero targets deal +1 damage until the start of my next turn.
Several well-dressed men and women rush onto the scene, snapping photos of the heroes, the machine "cult", the rampaging robot itself, the two derailed trains (one smashed head-first into a mattress factory, but thankfully almost empty when it crashed; the other having been safely guided to the ground by TACHYON), and the general chaos of the situation. Their snapping flashbulbs have little if any effect on OMNITRON and his "friends", but make the heroes' job of unloading their firepower on the deranged machine more difficult. One reporter makes herself particularly obnoxious by standing directly in front of the camera and keeping the viewer from seeing more than faint snatches of the heroes in action.
REPORTER: "Thanks Roger, this is Diane Jansen live on the scene, where America's newest superhero sensation, the 'Freedom Five', after their much-publicized battles against their comically inept 'nemeses', now have their hands full with a REAL challenge! This mechanical colossus, and an apparently suicidal legion of what appear to be ill-adjusted teenagers, are wreaking havoc in the heart of Megalopolis, and Legacy and his 'teammates' appear to have their hands full dealing with the threat! Let's see if we can get a quick soundbyte from the man himself...Mr. Parsons? Mr. Parsons! Is it true that this is actually a publicity stunt funded by the Department of Defense to support new legislation to de-regulate superhero vigilantism?"
Apparently not realizing that he has an unwitting ally in the press, OMNITRON discharges a beam of malevolent red energy which sweeps across the jostling reporters and vaporizes them, then swivels around to blast the police to atoms as well (he had been very patient with them so far, but enough was enough!). The sparkling reddish-gray dust into which both groups of professionals were transformed then seems to sculpt itself into solid shapes out of thin air...the shapes of more of the Terminator-esque robot soldiers, who immediately open fire on the Wraith, clearly not fazed by her attempts to conceal herself. In the midst of the robot legion, the pulsating sphere of the bomb stands resurrected. A stringent whine sounds as the camera cuts to each hero in turn; the viewer may at first assume it's a sound effect meant to signify their despair, but the final shot of TACHYON cringing and covering her ears suggests that the sound is actually present in the battle, produced by OMNITRON in order to grate on the heroes' nerves.
Round Six
Omnitron - Currently a Rampaging Robot, soon to be a Self-Aware Robotics Factory
Start of Turn: Flip to Self-Aware Robotics Factory side.
Play a Card: Terraforming destroys Police Backup and Paparazzi On the Scene, plays S-84 Automaton Drone and That Bomb; a total of three other cards bottomed, the last of which was an Interpolation Beam.
End of Turn: Omnitron rebuilds his other Interpolation Beam. Automaton Drone shoots Wraith for 5 energy.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
Between Bunker and Wraith I expect we'll take Omnitron and the drone down, plus weaken the Explosive appreciably. If the EPE hangs around to the next round it can be taken out then, or Tachyon can put a Synaptic Interruption in play that can be used to blast it with itself if has 3 or more HP left.
Trash: Ammo Drop, External Combustion(2), Flak Cannon, Gatling gun, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Recharge Mode(2), Upgrade Mode(2)
Deck: Heavy Plating, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Flak Cannon, Decomissioned Hardware, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Upgrade Mode, Ammo Drop, Heavy Plating, Omni-Cannon, Auxiliary Power Source, Ammo Drop, Recharge Mode, Heavy Plating.
Frost forms around one side of Ryan Frost's suit, streaming off it to the bomb before fire blasts out the other side, channeling the excess heat away from his core temperature.
HP: 11
In Play: Isothermic Transducer, Null-Point Calibration Unit
Trash: Onboard Module Installation x 4, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Cold Snap
----
Start: Nothing
Play: Hoarfire. Deal 3 cold damage to myself (14) and 3 fire damage to That Bomb (X). Deal 2 cold damage to myself (16) and 2 fire damage to myself (14), which lets me do 3 cold damage to Omnitron (X)
Dang, I thought Omnitron had a chance this game, but you handled him nicely. Oh well, the first movie is rarely the best. I'm already workshopping villain/environment pairs for the second, if folks would like to play again. One hero, probably Haka, is now "benched" towards the eventual launching of a second movie series.
I eagerly await any and all postmortem analysis.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
I don't think we communicated that well as a team. I sort of knew what various other heroes were up to, but that was mainly from having played them myself. So the strategy sort of defaulted into "Build up, deal with threats, and knowing that at some point Tachyon was going to bring Omni down to a vulnerable level." So, therefore, I think there needed to be a little more side chatter to confirm who was taking care of what, and so on. Such as, if the group thought sufficient damage was being inflicted whether it was worthwhile rolling out another IR Eyepiece to deck some of Omni's cards, etc.
And given the group's relative lack of on-going control I think we should have taken more steps to ensure a consistent capability regarding that if possible. Omni rolling out another Adaptive Plating Subroutine in that last round would be crimped Tachyon's barrage, and also slowed up our final series of attacks. Probably not enough to make a difference, but the threat was there.
And I think the "draw 2/play 1" mechanic makes the villains more threatening. Much less chance of a "dud play" by a villain such as wasting a healing card or something like Technological Singularity in the 1st round. It also lessens any attempts by the heroes at villain deck control. On the flip-side it helps the heroes as well, but probably not to the same degree.
Oh, and the Megalopolis environment did a fair job in rolling out its more annoying cards.
Cinematic Remarks:
One thing to make sure of is to add scenes where the reporters are annoying to either the heroes or Omnitron earlier in the movie. Disintegrating them in front of the heroes without there being some ironic justice being delivered just makes the heroes look bad. Especially given that the rambunctous pro-machine protesters get off scot-free. (Though I guess you can have Tachyon do a modified Accelerated Assault and spank all their asses on the way out.)
I liked it as Bunker, it instantly solves any slow starting Heroes card woes.
Speeding up the Villain is going to be hellish vs. a Baron Blade or Citizen Dawn.
Chairman being able to time up Jailbreak just seems nasty.
Overall I liked it. It takes increased effort to run your character, which is why I think the communication suffered, that wouldn't be a problem in person.
Regular Omni was cool, but even these rules couldn't make him a threat vs. 5 heroes. his danger there is his components, and 5 heroes don't let components survive. (I still think (H)x2 would have been better for component destruction)
Cannot Trumps can, and Tachyon Legacy and Wraith provide a lot of cannot.
I was thinking, with reveal effects like IR eyepiece, and Visionary's stuff, maybe change it so they don't put one on top, one/two on bottom, but could put any number on top or bottom, in any order (at least when used on Villain or hero decks). In my opinion that would leave them more useful for these rules, while still not as powerful as in regular play.
I enjoyed it! Your flavor text was often hilarious, Envisioner.
The deck stacking doesn't help Legacy so much, I don't think. I found myself not bothering with my card-drawing cards, since everybody's hand was already so good. As mentioned, it does really hurt the villain deck stacking possibilities.
Might I also suggest, for purposes of planning the next game, making Unity the next character on the bench? I can also see the Baron setting up in the Ruins of Atlantis being somewhat thematically appropriate, as he uses the power there to fuel the Impulsion Beam.
As promised, a post-mortem of this game detailing all the cards Omnitron bottomed.
Envisioner wrote:
Round One - Omnitron
Play a Card: Adaptive Plating Subroutine; S-85 Repair Drone bottomed.
End of Turn: S-84 Automaton Drone is played and deals 5 energy damage to Legacy; Terraforming is bottomed.
No-brainers on both counts.
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Police Backup; Impending Casualty bottomed.
Round Two - Omnitron
Play a Card: Sedative Flechettes (Interpolation Beam to bottom of deck). 6 damage to all heroes and their Ongoings destroyed.
I chose Police Backup in part because I'd already started writing flavor text for Omnitron, and didn't want to pause to verify whether you were destroying Impending Casualty in case the other Terraforming showed up (nevermind that the deck was stacked by IREP). But also because Impending Casualty is kind of a lame non-event, and I figured you could maybe use the help taking down that 100-HP juggernaut. (It didn't occur to me that the cops would step on Bunker's and Wraith's toes during turns when Tacky didn't manage to deal damage...I figured I was going easy on you.) Of course, picking the back-breaking Flechettes over wimpy Interpolation Beam was easy enough, especially with Legacy having half of his ubercombo in play - why dpt played Next Evo on a turn when he wasn't using its power I don't know, but it meant Omnitron had a fighting chance this game.
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Hostage Situation; Rooftop Combat bottomed.
Round Three - Omnitron
Play a Card: S-84 Assault Drone (Disintegration Ray to bottom of deck).
End of Turn: Technological Singularity is played (another Disintegration Ray bottomed).
I still consider Megalopolis a good choice for newbie games in large part because of Rooftop Combat, which enables you to ignore the Environment deck for several turns. (Others have pointed out that there are good reasons for reconsidering this policy....perhaps Megalopolis is still good if you stack the deck, but it can be problematic if Hostage or Paparazzi show up too early.) Since Rooftop suggests a climax, I didn't want it to show up this early, and anyway it was likely to help you more than it hurt you, and I wanted to give Omnitron all the help I could, since he has such a pathetic record in my experience. Once it got to his turn, I had an easy enough choice...Disintegration Ray is a Component, and Components seldom last long in five-hero games, so even the wimpy Drone was preferable to a card that wouldn't do anything until the next turn, and likely wouldn't last that long.
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Plummeting Monorail; Targeting Innocents bottomed.
Round Four - Omnitron
Play a Card: Electropulse Explosive (S-85 Repair Drone bottomed).
I didn't want Targeting Innocents to see play until there had been an Impending Casualty, as it seems narratively necessary - although in fact, I now think it'd be more appropriate to have one turn of TI without IC, then have IC start happening, as if the Targeting Innocents was getting worse (I had perhaps failed to grok that it does this every round). Even more ideal would be for IC to happen, then the deck to be reshuffled so TI could come out, and only then for IC to turn up again...but even with the deck burning an extra card each round, that would take a long time to happen. With a choice between two cards that both would need to avoid 10 damage within a round in order to do anything, I picked the one with the more dramatic effect, even knowing that it might (and did) prove repetitive. Once Omni's turn rolled around, I had a seemingly easy choice to make, but if I'd realized the Self-Aware Robotics Factory was going to rebuild a Drone, I might have made this choice differently, even though the ominous image of the Bomb rising into view was compelling to me. Still, I have a hard time getting out of the habit of considering Repair Drone a weak card, a waste of one of Omni's valuable plays, and EPE his strongest attack under all circumstances (instead of just most of them - stupid Hypersonic Assault), so I made the apparently obvious decision.
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Impending Casualty; Police Backup bottomed.
Round Five - Omnitron
Play a Card: S-83 Assault Drone (Technological Singularity bottomed).
End of Turn: Interpolation Beam enters play (Electro-Magnetic Railgun bottomed).
Revisiting the choice from the first enviro turn, I made it the opposite way (having perhaps forgotten the Terraforming risk, or just decided it didn't matter enough), but found myself un-inspired by IC now that it was finally coming out...I considered Poor Fluffy to be a weak point in my storytelling for this match. In retrospect, with Tacky having Hypersonicked (and I should have noticed it was coming), playing Targeting Innocents last round would have been even better, for it would mean there could be an "either/or" moment with IC that's normally impossible. Oh well, live and learn. On Omni's turn, I passed on TechSing because I figured poor AZ deserved a break, and on the Railgun for the usual reason of not wanting to wait a full round to get anything done...Interpolation wouldn't do much, but at least there was a chance it'd push a character closer to the breaking point, as I was very much hoping to do (I had forgotten the "one incapped hero is dropped from the team" rule, which would have suited my desire to keep the hero selection dynamic, but still, I get tired of effortless victories for the hero team, and wanted to see Omnitron take at least one of you out).
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Hostage Situation; Cramped Quarters Combat bottomed.
Round Five Six - Omnitron
Play a Card: S-85 Repair Drone (S-85 Automaton Drone bottomed).
Though I was mostly pretty careful with my recordkeeping, there was one turn in which I got distracted with IRL stuff and forgot to take note of which cards got bottomed on Omnitron's turn, so I was later forced to guess from an imperfect memory...I assume it must have been this turn, because I can't think why else I would have rejected a Terminators card in favor of the wimpy Repair drone. I really hated repeating Hostage Situation, but Legacy had actually activated Next Evolution at least once somewhere around here, and I wasn't about to turn all damage to Melee right then, when I actually had some hope of snuffing him out if I got a bit of luck on the card plays, before he entirely shut the game down with his Lead From the Front combo. I liked the idea of the heroes getting up close and personal with Omnitron, and I definitely liked the idea of upping his damage by one, not to mention the Plating if that was still in play...but as it was, I just couldn't risk it.
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Plummeting Monorail; Cramped Quarters Combat bottomed.
Round Five Seven - Omnitron
Play a Card: Electro-Magnetic Railgun (S-83 Assault Drone bottomed).
End of Turn: Sedative Flechettes (Adaptive Plating Subroutine bottomed) .
I really hated how much repetition was happening, but this time Legacy actually had the damn combo in play, so I definitely couldn't go CQC this time, as much as I wanted to. I was hoping fervently for the Flechettes, and got them...I knew the Component was doomed, but the Drone was even more hopeless with Legacy immune to melee, so at least we got to see it in the "movie". I don't remember whether I was relieved or annoyed to have APS get bottomed in order to play the critically-necessary Flechettes; I wanted to help Omnitron, and APS plus CQC would have been a beautiful combo if I could have finished Legacy off, but as it was, I needed the Ongoings gone, and was indeed able to make that happen, knowing it was my last chance to possibly turn the game around.
Envisioner wrote:
Megalopolis
Play a Card: Paparazzi On the Scene; Impending Casualty was bottomed, because I knew Terraforming was coming up, and as badly as I wanted the Paparazzi to actually do their thing, all that mattered was ensuring you couldn't reduce the number of Environment cards before the Villain turn.
Round Sixoh for the love of Eight - Omnitron
Play a Card: Terraforming (bottomed S-85 Repair Drone) destroys Police Backup and Paparazzi On the Scene, plays S-84 Automaton Drone (bottomed other Terraforming) and That Bomb (bottomed Interpolation Beam).
Writing the Paparazzi's dialogue was awesome, it was very sad that they didn't survive to affect the game in any way. Overall, the ending was the most unsatisfying part of this game by far...the main reason I say that I'd have to rewrite this "script," if the movie were actually being made, is that basically very little happened until the last round of the game, and then far too much all at once. You get a goofy picture of Tachyon standing around scratching her head for several minutes while the drones and Hostaging cultists postured and Trains fell ineffectually from the sky, then all of a sudden incredible carnage was unleashed all at once after all that nothing...it would take a fair bit of polishing to turn it into a decently paced action flick.
Still, all told, it was a good first outing for the SCUverse rules, and I'm glad that one of the decks ran all the way through so that the semi-predictability could affect the climax, even if it didn't work quite the way I hoped.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
At some point in the last couple days, my deck/hand arrangement has gotten shambled. Sure, I'll take the damage and draw two, which I'll post once I get everything re-sorted. -- AZ
Editing to add full turn status:
Absolute Zero
HP: 16
In Play: Cold Snap, Isothermic Transducer
Hand: Focused Apertures, Cryo Chamber, Cold Snap, Hoarfire, Isothermic Transducer, Frost-Bound Drain, Sub-Zero Atmosphere, Thermal Shockwave, Hoarfire, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Modular Realignment
Trash: Onboard Module Installation x 2, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Coolant Blast
Deck: ? x 21, Cryo Chamber
-----
Start: 2 cold damage dealt to all non-hero targets
Play: Nothing
Power: Nothing
Draw: Onboard and Transducer. Keep Onboard, deck Transducer. Draw Fueled Freeze and Impale. Keep Impale, deck Fueled Freeze
End: nothing
(Waiting on dpt.)
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
America's Finest Legacy
HP: 15
Hand: "Thokk!", Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Motivational Charge, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability
In play: Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception
Start of hero turn: Galvanize expires
Play a card: None
Use a power: Next Evolution. Legacy's skin turns a metallic green. Immune to melee damage.
Draw a card: The Legacy Ring to my hand, Next Evolution to bottom of the deck.
End of hero turn:
HP: 15
Hand: "Thokk!", Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Motivational Charge, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability, The Legacy Ring
In play: Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception
Deck: 16 x ?, Back-Fist Strike, Superhuman Durability, Lead from the Front, Inspiring Presence, Surge of Strength, Fortitude, Bolster Allies, "Thokk!", Lead from the Front, Bolster Allies, Next Evolution
Additional effects: -1 damage dealt to Legacy.
Any villain damage dealt to heroes may be redirected to Legacy.
Legacy is immune to melee damage.
Now I need to know whether everyone is discarding to get rid of Hostage Situation.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
Everyone is definitely discarding. I will discard Recharge Mode.
I'll discard the duplicate Cold Snap -- AZ
I'll discard "Thokk!"
Tach-Nuke discards Quick Insight.
“You gotta have blue hair."
-Reckless
One from Oaktree and we can proceed.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
Discard my extra Razor Ordnance per my earlier comment.
EXT - BATTLE IN DOWNTOWN MEGALOPOLIS, NIGHT
Omnitron gets back to its feet and scuttles backward slightly, perhaps intimidated by the invincible Legacy as he attempts to close the distance between them. From overhead, another train slams on its brakes and derails.
Megalopolis
In Play: Police Backup
Trash: Hostage Situation, Impending Casualty, Plummeting Monorail, Hostage Situation
--------------------------------------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Plummeting Monorail
End of Turn: The cops fire at Omnitron [65].
--------------------------------------------------------
In Play: Police Backup, Plummeting Monorail [10]
Trash: Hostage Situation, Impending Casualty, Plummeting Monorail, Hostage Situation
Effects:
EXT. - BATTLE IN DOWTOWN MEGALOPOLIS, NIGHT
Proving its display of fear to have been a ruse, Omnitron unfolds a fearsome weapons array from its "head", firing another spray of drugged needles which mostly catches Legacy with its brunt, though Absolute Zero also feels their sting. Piercing through Paul's mutating skin and Ryan's metal armor with equal ease, the flechettes deliver their toxic payload and both champions stagger, feeling their strength fade. A handful of the projectiles might manage to get past Legacy's blockade to reach the rest of the Freedom Five and inflict grevious wounds.
Round Five
Omnitron - Currently a Self-Aware Robotics Factory, soon to be a Rampaging Robot
Omnitron - 65
In Play:
Trash: Sedative Flechettes, Technological Singularity, S-84 Automaton Drone, Electro-Pulse Explosive, S-83 Assault Drone, Interpolation Beam, Adaptive Plating Subroutine,S-83 Assault Drone, S-85 Repair Drone, Sedative Flechettes.
--------------------------------------------------------
Start of Turn: Flip to Rampaging Robot side.
Play a Card: Electro-Magnetic Railgun (another card bottomed)
End of Turn: Sedative Flechettes. Omnitron inflicts five instances of 6 projectile damage; Legacy may take any or all of them for the other hero they're meant for. Then Legacy's limited-invincibility combo, AZ's Cold Snap, and any other Ongoings I missed are gone.
-------------------------------------------------------
Omnitron - 65
In Play: Electro-Magnetic Railgun
Trash: Sedative Flechettes, Technological Singularity, S-84 Automaton Drone, Electro-Pulse Explosive, S-83 Assault Drone, Interpolation Beam, Adaptive Plating Subroutine,S-83 Assault Drone, S-85 Repair Drone, Sedative Flechettes.
Deck: 1x ?, [CARD], [CARD], S-85 Automaton Drone, Interpolation Beam, Electro-Pulse Explosive, [CARD], [CARD], [CARD], [CARD], [CARD], [CARD], [CARD], [CARD].
Effects: ST: Flip.
ET: Play a card.
Hero HP: Tachyon 11, Bunker 18, Wraith 18, Absolute Zero 16, Legacy 15
(There were errors in my trash between the previous posts in the thread and my own records; I had mistaken one type of drone for another. And even though the trash is being shuffled, I've put it in the order I had it listed in both places to prevent confusion as I continually rebuild the deck for each turn, so that I don't have to omit Omnitron or Megalopolis from my real-life games.)
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
"OW Okay don'tpanicTachy, justdealwiththetrainfulofpeopleplummetingtotheirdeathsandthentakeoutthemassivegoddamnrobot. Simple."
Tachyon
HP: 5
In Play: HUD Goggles
Hand: Sonic Vortex, Lightspeed Barrage x2, Blinding Speed, Lightning Reflexes x2, Nimble Strike, Quick Insight
Deck: Hypersonic Assault, Blinding Speed, Supersonic Response, Hypersonic Assault, Synaptic Interruption, Sucker Punch, Lightspeed Barrage, Synaptic Interruption, Synaptic Interruption, Research Grant, Supersonic Response, Blinding Speed, Sonic Vortex, Sucker Punch, HUD Goggles, Pushing The Limits, HUD Goggles, Accelerated Assault
Trash: Fleet of Foot x3, Accelerated Assault, Pushing The Limits x2, Nimble Strike x2, Hypersonic Assault, Accelerated Assault, Quick Insight, Sucker Punch, Research Grant [9]
-------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Blinding Speed; destroy the train.
Quick Insight; draw Hypersonic Assault and Blinding Speed, deck Blinding Speed, draw Supersonic Response and Hypersonic Assault, deck Hypersonic Assault, draw Synaptic Interruption and Sucker Punch, deck Synaptic Interruption, discard Supersonic Response and Sucker Punch.
Use a Power: No time.
Draw a Card: Lightspeed Barrage and Synaptic Interruption, deck Synaptic Interruption.
End of Turn:
-------------------------
HP: 11
In Play: HUD Goggles
Hand: Sonic Vortex, Lightspeed Barrage x3, Lightning Reflexes x2, Nimble Strike, Hypersonic Assault
Deck: Synaptic Interruption, Research Grant, Supersonic Response, Blinding Speed, Sonic Vortex, Sucker Punch, HUD Goggles, Pushing The Limits, HUD Goggles, Accelerated Assault, Blinding Speed, Hypersonic Assault, Synaptic Interruption, Synaptic Interruption
Trash: Fleet of Foot x3, Accelerated Assault, Pushing The Limits x2, Nimble Strike x2, Hypersonic Assault, Accelerated Assault, Quick Insight x2, Sucker Punch x2, Blinding Speed, Supersonic Response, Research Grant [13]
“You gotta have blue hair."
-Reckless
I take 5 for my shot, lose Ammo Drop and Upgrade.
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BUNKER
HP: 13
In Play: Heavy Plating
Hand: Adhesive Foam Grenade, Auxiliary Power Source, Decommissioned Hardware(2), External Combustion(2), Flak Cannon, Gatling Gun, Grenade Launcher, Omni-Cannon, Turret Mode
Trash: Ammo Drop, External Combustion, Flak Cannon, Gatling gun, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Recharge Mode(2), Upgrade Mode(2)
-------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Flak Cannon
Use a Power: Flak Cannon, 3 Projectile to Omnitron (62)
Draw a Card: Auxiliary Power Source to hand, Heavy Plating to deck.
End of Turn:
-------------------------
HP: 13
In Play: Flak Cannon, Heavy Plating
Hand: Adhesive Foam Grenade, Auxiliary Power Source, Decommissioned Hardware(2), External Combustion(2), Gatling Gun, Grenade Launcher, Omni-Cannon, Turret Mode
Trash: Ammo Drop, External Combustion, Flak Cannon, Gatling gun, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Recharge Mode(2), Upgrade Mode(2)
Deck: Heavy Plating, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Flak Cannon, Decomissioned Hardware, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Upgrade Mode, Ammo Drop, Heavy Plating, Omni-Cannon, Auxiliary Power Source, Ammo Drop, Recharge Mode, Heavy Plating.
(Wraith takes 4 points of damage as reduction from a Stealth a number of rounds back gets used)
Wraith
HP - 14
In Play: Microtargeting Computer, Throwing Knives
Hand: Micro Targeting Computer, Infrared Eyepiece, Throwing Knives, Razor Ordnance, Utility Belt, Smoke Bombs, Mega Computer, Combat Stance,
Inventory Barrage, Trust Fund
Deck: 17x ?, Mega Computer, Suture Self, Inventory Barrage
Trash: Infrared Eyepiece, Utility Belt, Stun Bolt, Impromptu Invention (x2), Grappling Hook, Throat Jab, Razor Ordnance
--------------------------------------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Razor Ordnance
Power: Activate Razor Ordnance -
5 points projectile to Omnitron [57] - Electro-Magnetic Railgun goes KABLOOIE
Draw: Stun Bolt, Suture Self; Stun Bolt to bottom of deck
End of Turn:
-------------------------------------------------------
HP - 14
In Play: Microtargeting Computer, Throwing Knives, Razor Ordnance
Hand: Micro Targeting Computer, Infrared Eyepiece, Throwing Knives, Utility Belt, Smoke Bombs, Mega Computer, Combat Stance,
Inventory Barrage, Trust Fund, Suture Self
Trash: Infrared Eyepiece, Utility Belt, Stun Bolt, Impromptu Invention (x2), Grappling Hook, Throat Jab, Razor Ordnance
Deck: 15x ?, Mega Computer, Suture Self, Inventory Barrage, Stun Bolt
Effects:
ST:
ET:
Comment:
We need to protect Tachyon at least long enough for her to unload Lightspeed Barrages. Main flaw in that plan is if Omnitron rolls out his remaining Adaptive Plating Routine since it will take an extra turn to get that out of the way.
HP: 10
In Play: Isothermic Transducer
Hand: Focused Apertures, Cryo Chamber, Cold Snap, Hoarfire, Isothermic Transducer, Frost-Bound Drain, Sub-Zero Atmosphere, Thermal Shockwave, Hoarfire, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Modular Realignment, Onboard Module Installation, Impale
Trash: Onboard Module Installation x 2, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Coolant Blast, Cold Snap
Deck: ? x 17, Cryo Chamber, Isothermic Transducer, Fueled Freeze
---
Start: Nothing
Play: Onboard Module Installation. Draw Onboard Module Installation & Coolant Blast. Keep Onboard Module Installation; deck Coolant Blast. Search for Null-Point Calibration Unit & Shuffle.
Play: Onboard Module Installation. Draw Isothermic Transducer & Fueled Freeze. Keep Transducer; deck Fueled Freeze. Fish out Null-Point Calibration Unit. Shuffle deck.
Play: Null-Point Calibration Unit
Power: Thermodynamics to zap myself for 1 cold damage & heal (11)
Draw: Thermal Shockwave & Focused Apertures. Keep Thermal Shockwave; deck Focused Apertures.
End: Nothing
----
HP: 11
In Play: Isothermic Transducer, Null-Point Calibration Unit
Hand: Focused Apertures, Thermal Shockwave, Cryo Chamber, Hoarfire, Cold Snap, Isothermic Transducer, Frost-Bound Drain, Sub-Zero Atmosphere, Thermal Shockwave, Hoarfire, Modular Realignment, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit x2, Isothermic Transducer
Deck: ?? x 13, Focused Apertures
Trash: Onboard Module Installation x 4, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Cold Snap
---
On the plus side, we've now had both Sedative Flechettes come out at us. On the minus side, there's still another of That Bomb and another Technological Singularity waiting to nuke Wraith, Bunker, and me.
Edited to fix HP error from no Galvanize.
AZ, Galvanize is not currently active, so I think you only heal for 1.
It looks like everybody decided to take their own damage. I took 6-1 damage before my Fortitude was destroyed.
America's Finest Legacy
HP: 10
Hand: Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Motivational Charge, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability, The Legacy Ring
In play:
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception, "Thokk!", Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Start of hero turn:
Play a card: Motivational Charge enters play.
Use a power: Galvanize. Hero targets deal +1 damage until the start of my next turn.
Draw a card: Take Down to my hand, Surge of Strength to bottom of deck.
End of hero turn:
HP: 10
Hand: Bolster Allies, Flying Smash, Heroic Interception, Surge of Strength, Superhuman Durability, The Legacy Ring, Take Down
In play: Motivational Charge
Trash: Inspiring Presence, Heroic Interception, "Thokk!", Fortitude, Next Evolution, Lead from the Front
Deck: ? x 14, Back-Fist Strike, Superhuman Durability, Lead from the Front, Inspiring Presence, Surge of Strength, Fortitude, Bolster Allies, "Thokk!", Lead from the Front, Bolster Allies, Next Evolution, Surge of Strength
Additional effects: Hero targets deal +1 damage until the start of my next turn.
EXT - BATTLE IN DOWNTOWN MEGALOPOLIS, NIGHT
Several well-dressed men and women rush onto the scene, snapping photos of the heroes, the machine "cult", the rampaging robot itself, the two derailed trains (one smashed head-first into a mattress factory, but thankfully almost empty when it crashed; the other having been safely guided to the ground by TACHYON), and the general chaos of the situation. Their snapping flashbulbs have little if any effect on OMNITRON and his "friends", but make the heroes' job of unloading their firepower on the deranged machine more difficult. One reporter makes herself particularly obnoxious by standing directly in front of the camera and keeping the viewer from seeing more than faint snatches of the heroes in action.
REPORTER: "Thanks Roger, this is Diane Jansen live on the scene, where America's newest superhero sensation, the 'Freedom Five', after their much-publicized battles against their comically inept 'nemeses', now have their hands full with a REAL challenge! This mechanical colossus, and an apparently suicidal legion of what appear to be ill-adjusted teenagers, are wreaking havoc in the heart of Megalopolis, and Legacy and his 'teammates' appear to have their hands full dealing with the threat! Let's see if we can get a quick soundbyte from the man himself...Mr. Parsons? Mr. Parsons! Is it true that this is actually a publicity stunt funded by the Department of Defense to support new legislation to de-regulate superhero vigilantism?"
Megalopolis
In Play: Police Backup
Trash: Hostage Situation, Impending Casualty, Plummeting Monorail, Hostage Situation, Plummeting Monorail
--------------------------------------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Paparazzi On the Scene
End of Turn: The cops fire at Omnitron [56].
--------------------------------------------------------
In Play: Police Backup, Paparazzi on the Scene
Trash: Hostage Situation, Impending Casualty, Plummeting Monorail, Hostage Situation, Plummeting Monorail
Effects: Heroes cannot use powers?
EXT. - BATTLE IN DOWTOWN MEGALOPOLIS, NIGHT
Apparently not realizing that he has an unwitting ally in the press, OMNITRON discharges a beam of malevolent red energy which sweeps across the jostling reporters and vaporizes them, then swivels around to blast the police to atoms as well (he had been very patient with them so far, but enough was enough!). The sparkling reddish-gray dust into which both groups of professionals were transformed then seems to sculpt itself into solid shapes out of thin air...the shapes of more of the Terminator-esque robot soldiers, who immediately open fire on the Wraith, clearly not fazed by her attempts to conceal herself. In the midst of the robot legion, the pulsating sphere of the bomb stands resurrected. A stringent whine sounds as the camera cuts to each hero in turn; the viewer may at first assume it's a sound effect meant to signify their despair, but the final shot of TACHYON cringing and covering her ears suggests that the sound is actually present in the battle, produced by OMNITRON in order to grate on the heroes' nerves.
Round Six
Omnitron - Currently a Rampaging Robot, soon to be a Self-Aware Robotics Factory
Omnitron - 56
In Play:
Trash: Sedative Flechettes, Technological Singularity, S-84 Automaton Drone, Electro-Pulse Explosive, S-83 Assault Drone, Interpolation Beam, Adaptive Plating Subroutine,S-83 Assault Drone, S-85 Repair Drone, Sedative Flechettes, Electro-Magnetic Railgun
--------------------------------------------------------
Start of Turn: Flip to Self-Aware Robotics Factory side.
Play a Card: Terraforming destroys Police Backup and Paparazzi On the Scene, plays S-84 Automaton Drone and That Bomb; a total of three other cards bottomed, the last of which was an Interpolation Beam.
End of Turn: Omnitron rebuilds his other Interpolation Beam. Automaton Drone shoots Wraith for 5 energy.
-------------------------------------------------------
Omnitron - 56
In Play: S-84 Automaton Drone [5], Electro-Pulse Explosive [15], Interpolation Beam
Trash: Sedative Flechettes, Technological Singularity, S-84 Automaton Drone, Electro-Pulse Explosive, S-83 Assault Drone, Adaptive Plating Subroutine,S-83 Assault Drone, S-85 Repair Drone, Sedative Flechettes, Electro-Magnetic Railgun, Terraforming
Deck: [CARD 3], [CARD 4], [CARD 5], [CARD 6], [CARD 7], [CARD 8], [CARD 9], [CARD 10], [CARD 25 or CARD 1 whichever one wasn't Terraforming], [CARD 2], Interpolation Beam.
Effects: ST: Flip.
ST: Electro-Pulse Explosive deals each hero energy damage equal to its HP.
ET: Rebuild a destroyed Drone or Component.
ET: Automaton Drone deals the highest-HP hero energy damage equal to its HP.
Heroes can indeed use powers after all.
Whenever a hero draws a card, Omnitron deals them 1 energy damage. Destroy this Component if 7 or more damage is taken by Omnitron in a round.
Hero HP: Tachyon 5, Bunker 13, Wraith 9, Absolute Zero 11, Legacy 10
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
"Ohmygod,allthosepeople! Comeonguys,weneedtoendthisandweneedtodoitNOW!"
Tachyon
HP: 5
In Play: HUD Goggles
Hand: Sonic Vortex, Lightspeed Barrage x3, Lightning Reflexes x2, Nimble Strike, Hypersonic Assault
Deck: Synaptic Interruption, Research Grant, Supersonic Response, Blinding Speed, Sonic Vortex, Sucker Punch, HUD Goggles, Pushing The Limits, HUD Goggles, Accelerated Assault, Blinding Speed, Hypersonic Assault, Synaptic Interruption, Synaptic Interruption
Trash: Fleet of Foot x3, Accelerated Assault, Pushing The Limits x2, Nimble Strike x2, Hypersonic Assault, Accelerated Assault, Quick Insight x2, Sucker Punch x2, Blinding Speed, Supersonic Response, Research Grant [13]
-------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Lightning Reflexes; I can play three more cards this turn.
Lightning Reflexes; I can play four more cards this turn.
Lightspeed Barrage; deal 14 melee damage to Omnitron [42, smashy components]
Lightspeed Barrage; deal 14 melee damage to Omnitron [28]
Lightspeed Barrage; deal 14 melee damage to Omnitron [14]
Hypersonic Assault; deal 2 sonic damage to Omnitron [12], Electro-Pulse Explosive [13], S-84 [3]; targets hit cannot deal damage.
Use a Power: No time.
Draw a Card: Research Grant and Synaptic Interruption, deck Research Grant.
End of Turn:
-------------------------
HP: 5
In Play: HUD Goggles
Hand: Sonic Vortex, Nimble Strike, Synaptic Interruption
Deck: Supersonic Response, Blinding Speed, Sonic Vortex, Sucker Punch, HUD Goggles, Pushing The Limits, HUD Goggles, Accelerated Assault, Blinding Speed, Hypersonic Assault, Synaptic Interruption, Synaptic Interruption, , Research Grant
Trash: Fleet of Foot x3, Accelerated Assault, Pushing The Limits x2, Nimble Strike x2, Hypersonic Assault x2, Accelerated Assault, Quick Insight x2, Sucker Punch x2, Blinding Speed, Supersonic Response, Research Grant, Lightspeed Barrage x3, Lightning Reflexes x2 [13]
“You gotta have blue hair."
-Reckless
If it still matters when my turn rolls around, I think I've got 9 of the damage needed to wipe Omnitron in hand -- AZ
Between Bunker and Wraith I expect we'll take Omnitron and the drone down, plus weaken the Explosive appreciably. If the EPE hangs around to the next round it can be taken out then, or Tachyon can put a Synaptic Interruption in play that can be used to blast it with itself if has 3 or more HP left.
Nicely done Tachyon!
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BUNKER
HP: 13
In Play: Heavy Plating, Flak Cannon
Hand: Adhesive Foam Grenade, Auxiliary Power Source, Decommissioned Hardware(2), External Combustion(2), Gatling Gun, Grenade Launcher, Omni-Cannon, Turret Mode
Trash: Ammo Drop, External Combustion, Flak Cannon, Gatling gun, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Recharge Mode(2), Upgrade Mode(2)
-------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: External Combustion, 2-1 to me [12], 3 to Omni [9], EPE [10], S84 [x]
Use a Power: Flak Cannon, 3 Projectile to EPE [7]
Draw a Card: No thank you.
End of Turn:
-------------------------
HP: 12
In Play: Flak Cannon, Heavy Plating
Hand: Adhesive Foam Grenade, Auxiliary Power Source, Decommissioned Hardware(2), External Combustion, Gatling Gun, Grenade Launcher, Omni-Cannon, Turret Mode
Trash: Ammo Drop, External Combustion(2), Flak Cannon, Gatling gun, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Recharge Mode(2), Upgrade Mode(2)
Deck: Heavy Plating, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Grenade Launcher, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Adhesive Foam Grenade, Flak Cannon, Decomissioned Hardware, Maintenance Unit, Turret Mode, Upgrade Mode, Ammo Drop, Heavy Plating, Omni-Cannon, Auxiliary Power Source, Ammo Drop, Recharge Mode, Heavy Plating.
I think Galvanize is in effect and all those damages are increased by 1. So Bunker is at [11], EPE at [5], and Omnitron at [8].
Wraith
HP - 9
In Play: Microtargeting Computer, Throwing Knives, Razor Ordnance
Hand: Micro Targeting Computer, Infrared Eyepiece, Throwing Knives, Razor Ordnance, Utility Belt, Smoke Bombs, Mega Computer, Combat Stance, Inventory Barrage, Trust Fund, Suture Self
Deck: 15x ?, Mega Computer, Suture Self, Inventory Barrage, Stun Bolt
Trash: Infrared Eyepiece, Utility Belt, Stun Bolt, Impromptu Invention (x2), Grappling Hook, Throat Jab, Razor Ordnance
--------------------------------------------------------
Start of Turn:
Play a Card: Utility Belt
Power: (First Power) Activate Razor Ordnance -
6 points projectile to Omnitron [2]
(Second Power) Activate Throwing Knives
4 points projectile to Electro-Pulse Explosive [1]
Draw: Trust Fund, Combat Stance; Combat Stance to bottom of deck
End of Turn:
-------------------------------------------------------
HP - 9
In Play: Microtargeting Computer, Throwing Knives, Razor Ordnance, Utility Belt
Hand: Micro Targeting Computer, Infrared Eyepiece, Throwing Knives, Smoke Bombs, Mega Computer, Combat Stance, Inventory Barrage, Trust Fund (x2), Suture Self
Trash: Infrared Eyepiece, Utility Belt, Stun Bolt, Impromptu Invention (x2), Grappling Hook, Throat Jab, Razor Ordnance
Deck: 13x ?, Mega Computer, Suture Self, Inventory Barrage, Stun Bolt, Combat Stance
Effects: Wraith may use an additional power during her Power Phase
ST:
ET:
Comment:
We leave Omni at two hit points so that AZ or Legacy can knock its block off to complete the win.
Frost forms around one side of Ryan Frost's suit, streaming off it to the bomb before fire blasts out the other side, channeling the excess heat away from his core temperature.
HP: 11
In Play: Isothermic Transducer, Null-Point Calibration Unit
Hand: Focused Apertures, Thermal Shockwave, Cryo Chamber, Hoarfire, Cold Snap, Isothermic Transducer, Frost-Bound Drain, Sub-Zero Atmosphere, Thermal Shockwave, Hoarfire, Modular Realignment, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit x2, Isothermic Transducer
Deck: ?? x 13, Focused Apertures
Trash: Onboard Module Installation x 4, Impale, Null-Point Calibration Unit, Cold Snap
----
Start: Nothing
Play: Hoarfire. Deal 3 cold damage to myself (14) and 3 fire damage to That Bomb (X). Deal 2 cold damage to myself (16) and 2 fire damage to myself (14), which lets me do 3 cold damage to Omnitron (X)
Game.
Burn.
The SCU rules worked really well, I thought :D
“You gotta have blue hair."
-Reckless
Dang, I thought Omnitron had a chance this game, but you handled him nicely. Oh well, the first movie is rarely the best. I'm already workshopping villain/environment pairs for the second, if folks would like to play again. One hero, probably Haka, is now "benched" towards the eventual launching of a second movie series.
I eagerly await any and all postmortem analysis.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
Remarks:
I don't think we communicated that well as a team. I sort of knew what various other heroes were up to, but that was mainly from having played them myself. So the strategy sort of defaulted into "Build up, deal with threats, and knowing that at some point Tachyon was going to bring Omni down to a vulnerable level." So, therefore, I think there needed to be a little more side chatter to confirm who was taking care of what, and so on. Such as, if the group thought sufficient damage was being inflicted whether it was worthwhile rolling out another IR Eyepiece to deck some of Omni's cards, etc.
And given the group's relative lack of on-going control I think we should have taken more steps to ensure a consistent capability regarding that if possible. Omni rolling out another Adaptive Plating Subroutine in that last round would be crimped Tachyon's barrage, and also slowed up our final series of attacks. Probably not enough to make a difference, but the threat was there.
And I think the "draw 2/play 1" mechanic makes the villains more threatening. Much less chance of a "dud play" by a villain such as wasting a healing card or something like Technological Singularity in the 1st round. It also lessens any attempts by the heroes at villain deck control. On the flip-side it helps the heroes as well, but probably not to the same degree.
Oh, and the Megalopolis environment did a fair job in rolling out its more annoying cards.
Cinematic Remarks:
One thing to make sure of is to add scenes where the reporters are annoying to either the heroes or Omnitron earlier in the movie. Disintegrating them in front of the heroes without there being some ironic justice being delivered just makes the heroes look bad. Especially given that the rambunctous pro-machine protesters get off scot-free. (Though I guess you can have Tachyon do a modified Accelerated Assault and spank all their asses on the way out.)
I liked it as Bunker, it instantly solves any slow starting Heroes card woes.
Speeding up the Villain is going to be hellish vs. a Baron Blade or Citizen Dawn.
Chairman being able to time up Jailbreak just seems nasty.
Overall I liked it. It takes increased effort to run your character, which is why I think the communication suffered, that wouldn't be a problem in person.
Regular Omni was cool, but even these rules couldn't make him a threat vs. 5 heroes. his danger there is his components, and 5 heroes don't let components survive. (I still think (H)x2 would have been better for component destruction)
Cannot Trumps can, and Tachyon Legacy and Wraith provide a lot of cannot.
I was thinking, with reveal effects like IR eyepiece, and Visionary's stuff, maybe change it so they don't put one on top, one/two on bottom, but could put any number on top or bottom, in any order (at least when used on Villain or hero decks). In my opinion that would leave them more useful for these rules, while still not as powerful as in regular play.
I enjoyed it! Your flavor text was often hilarious, Envisioner.
The deck stacking doesn't help Legacy so much, I don't think. I found myself not bothering with my card-drawing cards, since everybody's hand was already so good. As mentioned, it does really hurt the villain deck stacking possibilities.
Might I also suggest, for purposes of planning the next game, making Unity the next character on the bench? I can also see the Baron setting up in the Ruins of Atlantis being somewhat thematically appropriate, as he uses the power there to fuel the Impulsion Beam.
As promised, a post-mortem of this game detailing all the cards Omnitron bottomed.
No-brainers on both counts.
I chose Police Backup in part because I'd already started writing flavor text for Omnitron, and didn't want to pause to verify whether you were destroying Impending Casualty in case the other Terraforming showed up (nevermind that the deck was stacked by IREP). But also because Impending Casualty is kind of a lame non-event, and I figured you could maybe use the help taking down that 100-HP juggernaut. (It didn't occur to me that the cops would step on Bunker's and Wraith's toes during turns when Tacky didn't manage to deal damage...I figured I was going easy on you.) Of course, picking the back-breaking Flechettes over wimpy Interpolation Beam was easy enough, especially with Legacy having half of his ubercombo in play - why dpt played Next Evo on a turn when he wasn't using its power I don't know, but it meant Omnitron had a fighting chance this game.
I still consider Megalopolis a good choice for newbie games in large part because of Rooftop Combat, which enables you to ignore the Environment deck for several turns. (Others have pointed out that there are good reasons for reconsidering this policy....perhaps Megalopolis is still good if you stack the deck, but it can be problematic if Hostage or Paparazzi show up too early.) Since Rooftop suggests a climax, I didn't want it to show up this early, and anyway it was likely to help you more than it hurt you, and I wanted to give Omnitron all the help I could, since he has such a pathetic record in my experience. Once it got to his turn, I had an easy enough choice...Disintegration Ray is a Component, and Components seldom last long in five-hero games, so even the wimpy Drone was preferable to a card that wouldn't do anything until the next turn, and likely wouldn't last that long.
I didn't want Targeting Innocents to see play until there had been an Impending Casualty, as it seems narratively necessary - although in fact, I now think it'd be more appropriate to have one turn of TI without IC, then have IC start happening, as if the Targeting Innocents was getting worse (I had perhaps failed to grok that it does this every round). Even more ideal would be for IC to happen, then the deck to be reshuffled so TI could come out, and only then for IC to turn up again...but even with the deck burning an extra card each round, that would take a long time to happen. With a choice between two cards that both would need to avoid 10 damage within a round in order to do anything, I picked the one with the more dramatic effect, even knowing that it might (and did) prove repetitive. Once Omni's turn rolled around, I had a seemingly easy choice to make, but if I'd realized the Self-Aware Robotics Factory was going to rebuild a Drone, I might have made this choice differently, even though the ominous image of the Bomb rising into view was compelling to me. Still, I have a hard time getting out of the habit of considering Repair Drone a weak card, a waste of one of Omni's valuable plays, and EPE his strongest attack under all circumstances (instead of just most of them - stupid Hypersonic Assault), so I made the apparently obvious decision.
Revisiting the choice from the first enviro turn, I made it the opposite way (having perhaps forgotten the Terraforming risk, or just decided it didn't matter enough), but found myself un-inspired by IC now that it was finally coming out...I considered Poor Fluffy to be a weak point in my storytelling for this match. In retrospect, with Tacky having Hypersonicked (and I should have noticed it was coming), playing Targeting Innocents last round would have been even better, for it would mean there could be an "either/or" moment with IC that's normally impossible. Oh well, live and learn. On Omni's turn, I passed on TechSing because I figured poor AZ deserved a break, and on the Railgun for the usual reason of not wanting to wait a full round to get anything done...Interpolation wouldn't do much, but at least there was a chance it'd push a character closer to the breaking point, as I was very much hoping to do (I had forgotten the "one incapped hero is dropped from the team" rule, which would have suited my desire to keep the hero selection dynamic, but still, I get tired of effortless victories for the hero team, and wanted to see Omnitron take at least one of you out).
Though I was mostly pretty careful with my recordkeeping, there was one turn in which I got distracted with IRL stuff and forgot to take note of which cards got bottomed on Omnitron's turn, so I was later forced to guess from an imperfect memory...I assume it must have been this turn, because I can't think why else I would have rejected a Terminators card in favor of the wimpy Repair drone. I really hated repeating Hostage Situation, but Legacy had actually activated Next Evolution at least once somewhere around here, and I wasn't about to turn all damage to Melee right then, when I actually had some hope of snuffing him out if I got a bit of luck on the card plays, before he entirely shut the game down with his Lead From the Front combo. I liked the idea of the heroes getting up close and personal with Omnitron, and I definitely liked the idea of upping his damage by one, not to mention the Plating if that was still in play...but as it was, I just couldn't risk it.
I really hated how much repetition was happening, but this time Legacy actually had the damn combo in play, so I definitely couldn't go CQC this time, as much as I wanted to. I was hoping fervently for the Flechettes, and got them...I knew the Component was doomed, but the Drone was even more hopeless with Legacy immune to melee, so at least we got to see it in the "movie". I don't remember whether I was relieved or annoyed to have APS get bottomed in order to play the critically-necessary Flechettes; I wanted to help Omnitron, and APS plus CQC would have been a beautiful combo if I could have finished Legacy off, but as it was, I needed the Ongoings gone, and was indeed able to make that happen, knowing it was my last chance to possibly turn the game around.
Writing the Paparazzi's dialogue was awesome, it was very sad that they didn't survive to affect the game in any way. Overall, the ending was the most unsatisfying part of this game by far...the main reason I say that I'd have to rewrite this "script," if the movie were actually being made, is that basically very little happened until the last round of the game, and then far too much all at once. You get a goofy picture of Tachyon standing around scratching her head for several minutes while the drones and Hostaging cultists postured and Trains fell ineffectually from the sky, then all of a sudden incredible carnage was unleashed all at once after all that nothing...it would take a fair bit of polishing to turn it into a decently paced action flick.
Still, all told, it was a good first outing for the SCUverse rules, and I'm glad that one of the decks ran all the way through so that the semi-predictability could affect the climax, even if it didn't work quite the way I hoped.
"Is there beauty in a forest, if no creature stops and calls it lovely, now and then? Isn't that what 'sapience' is for?"
--David Brin, "Brightness Reef"
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