PeopleofEarth...
09/05/2007, 01:13
Well, it's been nearly five years since DC heroclix debuted, and I for one can't believe that the original ideas for the DC team abilities were so well conceived that they aren't ready for a change. Are we too big to admit that we haven't learned anything from five years of gameplay? Let's be honest with ourseleves- with the exception of a few (Batman, Superman, Police, KC/Hypertime) the TA's from DC stink.
A great man once said, "This town needs an enema!" On that note, I humbly present my ideas for making DC TA's fun again. Did I say "fun?" I meant "thematic yet strategically relevent."
Green Lantern Corps- This character can use the Willpower power. If this character already has Willpower showing on its dial, this character may use the MOE team ability.The old power is too strategy specific (ranged tank teams) that it doesn’t feel like a GL strategy. And 2 GL members on a team can’t even help each other or work together. The new ability makes a GL a powerhouse on his/her own, and besides, what screams GL more than Willpower?
Batman Enemy – If this character has Mind Control, Incapacitate, Poison, Mastermind, Outwit, Perplex, or Leadership, it may use Probability Control. If this character uses this ability to reroll a die or dice roll, give an action token to a friendly character that has the Batman Enemy symbol, or a character that has no powers, abilities or team symbol. This team ability may not be copied by wild card team abilities. The delicious randomness and unpredictability of Batman’s foes is encapsulated by PC. The need for low cost backup figs (thugs/hired muscle often used by Gotham villains) is built in to the TA. Plus, PC is least effective against stealth figures, playing up Batman’s ability to most effectively deal with the specific threat of Arkham’s deadliest. The seven prerequisites provide thematic consistency- Killer Croc wouldn’t deserve PC himself, but what if he was a pawn of a bigger Riddler or Joker plot?
Teen Titans- Current FF team ability (Not the ATA. The real ability.) This old FF TA never worked with 4 mid to high cost figs, but what if a team of low to mid cost figs could use it? Besides, don’t Titans have a storied history of dying?
Justice League- Current Teen Titan Ability A TA that’s good enough to keep in the game and is useful for all size point costed figs. JLA brings a huge character base to pick from, something the Teen Titans don’t have, limiting their strategy.
Outsiders- the normal power, but can be used any time during your turn. If you could use it like Outwit, wouldn’t you think it’s a great TA?
Superman Enemy- Same ability as the before, but with this extra effect: If an opposing figure on the board has the Superman or Batman team ability, this character gains outwit. Since Hypertime, everyone has thought this TA was overcosted, and the need for adjacency on a TA limits its playability because it restricts strategic movement. Instead, lets penalize your opponent for playing Superman or Batman, which everyone does all the time.
Suicide Squad- normal power, but any other friendly SS member KO’d anywhere on the board activates the power for 1 SS team member w/o the -2 penalty. Shouldn’t we reward playing an actual “squad” of Suicide Squad members and not a “squad” of Lian Harpers?
CSA – Any CSA team member can replace it’s attack value with any other friendly CSA member’s attack value. (FF ATA, but with Attack, not Defense) With their penchant for destruction, let’s tweak the highly used FF ATA to fit the CSA theme. Besides, who would want a 242 point Ultraman on their team whose last 2 clicks have an attack of 6 and 5? Especially if you’re not going to have many points left over for support figs, sharing AV makes them less a liability in the late game and evens out their lack of available actions vs. multiple fig opposing teams. The fact that they are all high point characters prevents this TA from being abused.
JSA – Current JLA ability. Decent TA that deserves to stay, at least until we think of something better. Besides, it plays right into the heroic “to the rescue” nature of the granddaddy of superleagues.
And finally, my most gamebreaking idea needs a new concept: the BFC Toolbox. BFC's need to be more dynamic and fluid. Mid-game entry would make BFC's super fun. Therefore, your "BFC Toolbox" is three secret BFC's you bring to each match that can be selected from when playing a BFC mid-game. A BFC can only be played mid-game if a power or ability tells you you can- I'm looking at you special powers! In this case, I've tied it to a TA.
Injustice League- Give a friendly character with the IL symbol an action token; you may play a BFC from your toolbox that remains in play until the chosen character has no action tokens. If an IL character put a BFC card in play on the previous turn, you may give that character a second action token (as an action) to keep that BFC in play. (Normal pushing rules apply.) For every IL team member on your squad after the first, increase your BFC toolbox limit by 1. This is a group of supervillians. They have master plans coming out of their ears and are driven to execute them, so much so that they may choose to push to keep their plan in place. There is a need to get BFCs in play midgame, and the high point costs of many IL’s will keep the advantage in balance.
Feel free to use these TA's in your casual gameplay, tournament house rules, or if you happen to design or produce Heroclix, your next legal PAC.
A great man once said, "This town needs an enema!" On that note, I humbly present my ideas for making DC TA's fun again. Did I say "fun?" I meant "thematic yet strategically relevent."
Green Lantern Corps- This character can use the Willpower power. If this character already has Willpower showing on its dial, this character may use the MOE team ability.The old power is too strategy specific (ranged tank teams) that it doesn’t feel like a GL strategy. And 2 GL members on a team can’t even help each other or work together. The new ability makes a GL a powerhouse on his/her own, and besides, what screams GL more than Willpower?
Batman Enemy – If this character has Mind Control, Incapacitate, Poison, Mastermind, Outwit, Perplex, or Leadership, it may use Probability Control. If this character uses this ability to reroll a die or dice roll, give an action token to a friendly character that has the Batman Enemy symbol, or a character that has no powers, abilities or team symbol. This team ability may not be copied by wild card team abilities. The delicious randomness and unpredictability of Batman’s foes is encapsulated by PC. The need for low cost backup figs (thugs/hired muscle often used by Gotham villains) is built in to the TA. Plus, PC is least effective against stealth figures, playing up Batman’s ability to most effectively deal with the specific threat of Arkham’s deadliest. The seven prerequisites provide thematic consistency- Killer Croc wouldn’t deserve PC himself, but what if he was a pawn of a bigger Riddler or Joker plot?
Teen Titans- Current FF team ability (Not the ATA. The real ability.) This old FF TA never worked with 4 mid to high cost figs, but what if a team of low to mid cost figs could use it? Besides, don’t Titans have a storied history of dying?
Justice League- Current Teen Titan Ability A TA that’s good enough to keep in the game and is useful for all size point costed figs. JLA brings a huge character base to pick from, something the Teen Titans don’t have, limiting their strategy.
Outsiders- the normal power, but can be used any time during your turn. If you could use it like Outwit, wouldn’t you think it’s a great TA?
Superman Enemy- Same ability as the before, but with this extra effect: If an opposing figure on the board has the Superman or Batman team ability, this character gains outwit. Since Hypertime, everyone has thought this TA was overcosted, and the need for adjacency on a TA limits its playability because it restricts strategic movement. Instead, lets penalize your opponent for playing Superman or Batman, which everyone does all the time.
Suicide Squad- normal power, but any other friendly SS member KO’d anywhere on the board activates the power for 1 SS team member w/o the -2 penalty. Shouldn’t we reward playing an actual “squad” of Suicide Squad members and not a “squad” of Lian Harpers?
CSA – Any CSA team member can replace it’s attack value with any other friendly CSA member’s attack value. (FF ATA, but with Attack, not Defense) With their penchant for destruction, let’s tweak the highly used FF ATA to fit the CSA theme. Besides, who would want a 242 point Ultraman on their team whose last 2 clicks have an attack of 6 and 5? Especially if you’re not going to have many points left over for support figs, sharing AV makes them less a liability in the late game and evens out their lack of available actions vs. multiple fig opposing teams. The fact that they are all high point characters prevents this TA from being abused.
JSA – Current JLA ability. Decent TA that deserves to stay, at least until we think of something better. Besides, it plays right into the heroic “to the rescue” nature of the granddaddy of superleagues.
And finally, my most gamebreaking idea needs a new concept: the BFC Toolbox. BFC's need to be more dynamic and fluid. Mid-game entry would make BFC's super fun. Therefore, your "BFC Toolbox" is three secret BFC's you bring to each match that can be selected from when playing a BFC mid-game. A BFC can only be played mid-game if a power or ability tells you you can- I'm looking at you special powers! In this case, I've tied it to a TA.
Injustice League- Give a friendly character with the IL symbol an action token; you may play a BFC from your toolbox that remains in play until the chosen character has no action tokens. If an IL character put a BFC card in play on the previous turn, you may give that character a second action token (as an action) to keep that BFC in play. (Normal pushing rules apply.) For every IL team member on your squad after the first, increase your BFC toolbox limit by 1. This is a group of supervillians. They have master plans coming out of their ears and are driven to execute them, so much so that they may choose to push to keep their plan in place. There is a need to get BFCs in play midgame, and the high point costs of many IL’s will keep the advantage in balance.
Feel free to use these TA's in your casual gameplay, tournament house rules, or if you happen to design or produce Heroclix, your next legal PAC.