Halloween Slaughterhouse I lethal replay

[PhoenixGamesUs]

Great Caesar's Ghost! I have never seen a Clix tournament with a modest turnout as intense as this one was. We had four participants (with one more who wasn't able to play in the event, but showed up for social play), and yet it had the feel of a release event. Everyone had tough teams and a game face right off rip. The players were Chris, Zach, Justin, and Tombstone Frank, a TO all the way from Jacksonville -- perhaps some of you have heard of him! :cheeky:

Due to the small player pool, and because we're committed to giving the players in Giant and Colossal events a lot of games for the money, we shifted on-the-fly from our now-signature Pod Play format to a Round Robin format. Everyone played everyone else once, with the top two records (T-Stone [3-0] and Chris [2-1]) squaring off in a Final Fight for the Grand Prize while the remaining two players (Zach [1-2] and Justin [0-3]) battled for 3rd and 4th place.

As we hinted at in the promo post, there were a number of scenario rules in place for this unique creature feature:
Halloween SlaughterHouseRules Summary

Each 400 pt. team may include up to 200 points of HorrorClix figures.

At the beginning of the game:
Just before placing object tokens, both players alternate placing victim tokens on the map, beginning with the first player. Victim tokens may be placed in any unoccupied square except a starting area and blocking terrain. Both players must place 3 victim tokens. When playing on a HorrorClix map, victims must be placed on Blood Squares.

Before your turn:
1. Slay Victims -- The most effective way to stop their endless shrieking and running! Each of your characters may slay one Victim that is adjacent to them. This is not an action, but a game effect and is automatically successful. Victims may only be slain in this way. When a Victim is slain by a:
HeroClix –- Release The Beast! This character gains Claws/Fangs, Steal Energy, and player’s choice of either Charge or Flurry until end of turn, in addition to existing powers and traits.
HorrorClix—Full moon fever! This character gains the Blooded trait, which grants the use of Charge until the trait is lost. Powers on character cards also apply.

The Victims may be weak, pink bags of flesh and blood, but they won't stand around patiently waiting to be devoured. Each Victim not slain by an adjacent character before the end of this step makes a free attack on one adjacent character. This attack hits on 11-12 on 2d6 and deals one damage. If the Victim deals damage in this way, it may immediately break away and be moved up to 2 squares by your opponent.

2. Move Victims -- Run for your friggin' lives! Move up to d6 Victims up to their speed rating. Victims follow all standard character movement rules, except that Victims break away only on a roll of ‘6’. A player may elect to “let go” of a Victim adjacent to a friendly character, in which case that Victim automatically breaks away. Characters automatically break away from Victims, and Victims do not block Line of Fire.

At the end of your turn:
1. Check for Monster Hunter Appearance -- Someone has to stem the tide of inhuman filth across the land. Roll 2d6. On a result of 9-12, place the Monster Hunter on a square that is in or adjacent to hindering terrain. You must make a close or ranged combat attack on an opposing character with the Monster Hunter. When the attack resolves, remove the Monster Hunter from the map.

Monster Hunter – RNG 8, AV 11, DAM 1, Exploit Weakness and Penetrating Blast
The Monster Hunter was any of the human HorrorClix figures that we provided (Ghost Hunter, Field Agent, Vampire Hunter, etc.). Although everyone dug the hapless Victims running around providing precious blood for the Blood Rage, it was this Monster Hunter mechanic that garnered the rave reviews; we may need to work the MH into future events..... So as to not rehash anything in T-Stone's generous recap, we'll leave the round-by-round details to his attached post.

At the last gasp, Chris was declared The Prince of Darkness and won a complete set of Web of Spider-Man LE's as well as a Green Goblin trophy -- holding a pumpkin bomb for full Halloween effect -- with personalized nameplate. T-Stone won Fellowship (LE Daken), 2nd place (LE's Toxin and Venom), and the preregistration drawing (LE Night Nurse), giving him nearly the Grand Prize just for being a good guy as well as a good player who signs up early for tournaments. Zach scored the highly-coveted LE The Burglar for 3rd place, and Justin was awarded a Legacy LE Lois Lane for 4th place and an Ultimates LE Dr. Otto Octavius as a random drawing prize. On top of ALL THAT SWAG, there were Achievement Prizes: In Round 1, Chris was the first to slay 3 Victims, and won a Zombie Gwen Stacy Bridge map, which is like the Bridge map from Web, only cooler. Round 2 saw Zach as the first player to roll a natural 6 on a Claws/Fangs roll, and was awarded a Vertigo Sandman T-shirt for his bloodletting prowess. Zach also was the player who slayed the last of the six Victims in Round 3, which earned him a VS. System Heralds of Galactus deck tin, for character card/action token storage, or just to hold his Eyes of Newt and Fangs of Tarantula.

Our next biggie is a Giant Event on Saturday, Nov. 20, where the Grand Prize is the Watchmen Collector's Set! See 'Phoenix Games Orlando Nov. Schedule' over in the Tourney/Event forum for full details!

Rock and roll crits!

[PhoenixGamesUs]

Review of the Slaughter House Game
Another Saturday has come and gone, and today is a bit of a different review. In addition to being an out of city Tourney review (was in Orlando), it is also a chance to give a review of a new game store (Phoenix Games 873 Good Homes Road Orlando, FL 32818). So let’s start with the drive and store review.

Lady Huntress and I left the house around 8am. MapQuest said it would be a 2 ½ hour drive, so the plan was to be there around 1030, including a swing through McDonalds for breakfast. The drive was nothing special, but there is a toll road to get to the store ($1.75 total, 1 way), so that was annoying. Being that I was the driver, we got to the store at 10am.

The store is located in a strip mall, next to Staples. The store is fairly new, so there is no big sign, just a banner. Walking into the store was a bit of a shock. The place is HUGE. It is single storefront and game room. As you walk in the left side is covered with wall hangings and about 35 tables, set up for all kinds of games. Behind the tables is a movie screen for DVD viewing on a projection screen, or for playing XboX. The small painting area is beyond the theater, near the bathrooms. Along the right side is the counters and store area. A glass counter front, approx 45’ long, serves as both display and countertop for the employees to chat and help customers. They have all types of rare or better cards and Clix figs, along with a stunning collection of one-shot card games, dice, binders, dice cups, and all manner of gaming supplies. As Lady Huntress and I took this all in, we noticed the gathering of Yu-gi-oh Players for a tourney. We were also greeted by a store employee, they call him Twitch, and a regular named Kenny. Both were friendly and talkative, and gave the impression of being both knowledgeable and an eagerness to help. As we moved through the store, we were told the Judge and others were on the way, so we decided to look at the store.

As far as clix go, they have a great collection of boosters to choose from. From Collateral Damage through Web of Spider-man, they had them available in boosters, usually a brick worth. They had the Batman, Iron Man, and Johna Hex Action packs, Blackest Night and Fantastic Four starters, and all types of 3D markers. As for other games, they had a great selection of board games, CCG’s, Miniatures, and RPG’s. They had novelty items, bobble-heads, and carry supplies as well. This was a game store, no comics were there, and it was a great atmosphere.

First impressions: 5 out of 5 stars for the store. It is a refreshing change to go to a strange store and be greeted as an old friend, not as a walking pocketbook or worse.

People started to arrive for the Tourney, and I met the Judge, MJ. He came dressed as the movie Bullseye, so I had a chuckle at that. He was very knowledgeable and friendly, happy I had come all the way from Jacksonville for they game. I laughed and said it was a change of scenery, and it was going good so far. As with all tourney games, it did not start at 11 like MJ had hoped, but I am used to that. We had a total of 4 players (Me, Justin, Chris W, and Zack). The matches were 3 50-min one-on-one fights, followed by a final match for winner.

I brought Bizarro #1, Batzarro, Yellow Lantern and Rocket Raccoon. Justin had Groot, Puma, and Gorilla Grodd all feated to the hilt. Chris W had LE Venom, Ulik, Noh-Varr, and Rocket Raccoon. And Zack had Eddie Brock, Morlun, Man-bat Assassin, and Noh-Varr. My first match was against Zack.

Zack is a quite, but skilled player. He had a solid team build and played with a gung-ho strategy, much like me, that worked well for him. We ended up at the Air Base map and the fight started quickly. We bunched up quickly on the southern elevated terrain and the fur started to fly as his Morlun and my Bizarro #1 went head to head. Ok, I had help form an ignored Batzarro, and the vamp paid for it. I lost my Rocket Raccoon, but I did manage to wipe out his team for a win.

Match 2 was against Chris W. I will admit, this was the team I was most worried about. Chris is a fantastic player, fun and smart, and he had a sound idea for how his team was going to play. In the bank, we move our pieces cautiously at first, setting up to make the most of our teams. Once the fighting started, however, it was fist to fist and bloody. The match was close the whole game, and it came down to my Bizzarro #1 on his last click, and his Venom also on the last click. Bizarro got the last word in, taking down the alien and winning a close, close match.

Midway through, pizza was provided for the players, and we sat around swapping stories and getting to know each other. I have to say, I was very impressed with the way they all were very open with a new person. It was nice to “talk shop” and have some great ideas tossed out, and different points of view expressed.

After food, I set up to fight Justin. He was the youngest and newest players today, and he had a serious Smack down team. He is an eager player, still learning tactics and willing to take advice openly. We played on the Brightest Day map, and it would have been close if my Bizarro #1 did not smack his Grodd with a crit and a dumpster. Once that happened, it was a drawn out match trying to take out Groot, but I did manage it to get my third win.

The finals were set, and I was to face Chris W again for the trophy and total victory. I had a feeling that Chris was a quick learner, and he would not be fooled with the Bizarros again. In the Lab, it was a hard fought match that I lost. Chris W adapted his tactics against me, and exploited my weakness to his advantage. I took out his Ulik and Venom and he got my team. We were both at a 3-1 record, so it came down to points.

When the points for first were tallied, I had 1384 and Chris W had 1391. I lost first by 7 points!! Amazed at how close it was, I had to give it to Chris W. He is a great player, and the better player won. At the closeing, I sat back and realized how much of a great time I had that day. I am glad Lady Huntress talked me into going. It was a great experience.

1st – Chris W. (Personalized Trophy, complete set of Web of Spider-Man LE’s)
Fellowship – Tombstone Frank (Daken LE)
2nd – Tombstone Frank (2 Web of Spider-Man LE’s)
3rd – Zack (1 Web of Spider-Man LE)
4th – Justin (1 Classic HeroClix LE)

In addition to the prizes, we all got t-shirts, but most of all, I met some great new players and it was refreshing to have some new strategies to fight against.

Tourney Review: 5 out of 5. Great Judge and players. Friendly and helpful. I recommend this store to anyone in the Orlando area. I will be going back to play again.

I will be back at Sun Coast Comics on Saturday November 6th for our belated Halloween B-Movie Game. The rules are on the Sun Coast Comics Thread.

I want to thank everyone involve with this game. I was greatly impressed with the store and players, and it is one of the best stores I have been to in a long time.

Until next time, BATTLE ON, BATTLE FAIR, AND KEEP IT FOUR COLOR!