Hey all,

It is a new year and the last edition of this was successful with nearly 864 posts. Let's continue this in the new year and see what everyone is playing.

We all submit teams on this forum in hopes to tweak and get advice before our upcoming tournaments. One thing I think is missing is a how did you do post. It would be good to see how the team faired in terms of gameplay even if it only went 0-3, or 3-0 doesn't matter. Give us a run down of your teams. Please only post teams that have been played after a tournament.

HOW TO POST:

DATE PLAYED:
POINT TOTAL:
SCENARIO: (Any Special Rules, House Rules, Constructed or Unrestricted)
TEAM:
BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS:
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED:
WIN/LOSS:

If you want give us a small run down of what happened in the tournament and what you faced (you don't need to remember the exact team. If you faced Galactus and got housed you only need to mention you had some usual trouble against Galactus).

Please remember to be polite when responding to threads. The purpose of this thread is to be informative and constructive. Feel free to give eachother feedback, but be pro-active about it.

DATE PLAYED: 1/6/08
POINT TOTAL: 300 Points
SCENARIO:UNRESTRICTED: YOU MUST HAVE A HULK ON YOUR TEAM
TEAM:

Rampaging Hulk Unique
Amadeus Cho Bystander
Lambda-Zero LE
Clarice Ferguson LE
Justice is Served LE
Con Artist Rookie

BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: Great Arena, Ordinary Day
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: Meteorite
EVENT DIAL: Captain Universe
WIN/LOSS: 3-0

Well I have been prepping for this event most of the week as I knew I would be able to actually make it. I think I had about 11 teams put together ranging from themed teams to stuff I wanted to play. I put this team together last night. I was putting stuff away and saw Justice is Served and realized I had never used him. All cool, then I though I am playing Hulks I NEED pulsewave, immediately I thought Lambda Zero and then the team built from there.

FIRST ROUND: The player I played had just opened his case of M&M and went with:

Green Scar
The Hood
Marvel Girl

We played on the Junkyard Map and we played with the Captain Universe dial, but it really did not come into effect. We positioned for a bit until Green Scar hit Rampaging Hulk with some knockback. Lambda Postioned and hit Scar for 4 damage after a perplex. Scar then pushed and missed on Lamda Zero due to a well rolled super-senses. I pushed with Lamda to get a full Pulse-wave off and hit hard!! Justice is seved was TK'd up and smacked Green Scar out of the game. From there it was just clean up with Hulk and Lamda Zero taking everyone out.

SECOND ROUND

I played my ORDINARY DAY on this and we played on the JLA Bank map. My opponent chose not to use the EVENT DIAL. My opponent played.

Hulk 2099 Unique
-Fortitude
-Nanobots (He made a mistake on this one)
Emerald Empress Veteran
-Novablast
Shrinking Violet

We did a little positioning here and then I TK'd out Justice is Served and hit Empress for 4 straight to the head. Hulk then did his little move and quake and nearly smacked Empress out of the game. My opponent had 4 critical misses in the game and had to contest with a Lamda Zero who was full dial and Rampaging Hulk who was extremely upset and on the opposite side of Lamda's Range. So my opponent was either hit for 3 from one sideor for 4 on the other. Tell you what I was shocked out of pants on this one.

THIRD ROUND

Final round I played the other undefeated player and we played with the CAPTAIN UNIVERSE Event Dial. He Ordinary Day'd my Great Arena. He played:

Rampaging Hulk
-Fortitude
-Protected
JLA Batman
-armor piercing
Marvel Girl
Paramedic Rookie

We started out with a little positioning and then I TK'd out Justice is Served to smack BATMAN for 4 damage. Justice is Served was the man this round. His Rampaging Hulk came after JIS and I rolled the Super Senses. He broke away with Bats to go to Medic. I pushed my Hulk and Quaked Paramedic and Marvel Girl for 4 damage (2 damage+Critical Hit+Walls). Hulk was then tied up with Batman for a little while and Lamda Zero and Hulk took turns missing eachother. I finally got a pulse wave off on Hulk and then a nice hit from Clarice on Hulk. My HULK ended up taking out the batman with a little help from Amadeus Cho. His Hulk then got some the CAPTAIN UNIVERSE power and hit me, but I LOVE Super Senses. Lamda was just not having any of it today. I then got the CAPTAIN UNIVERSE power and gave my Hulk a chance at his Hulk and smacked him into a wall. He had to clear and I got the Captain Universe power again and in fitting fashion it was LAMBDA ZERO who went into Herald mode and took out the game for a win.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Dear GOD Lamda Zero is crazy good. His attack value and range may be lower, but you know what? If he gets that hit off the game is yours as Lamda can position any place and just pulse wave people to death. I had a lot of fun and walked off with my Talisman. YEAH.

Venue: Cyborg One Comics, Doylestown, PA
Date: 1/6/08
Point Value: 400
Scenario: Unrestricted

I hadn't been to the ol' venue in a couple of weeks, what with all the holidays and visiting relatives and what-not. I could have made it last week, but it was 1600 points (aigh!) and I'm just not that kind of masochist. This week was good, though, because it was a more reasonable point value, I had time to think about teams, and even a chance to playtest one or two of them with a friend - almost unheard of, for me.

I passed up the opportunity to play JLA and Avengers keyword theme teams (as well as Legion and Brute, but those teams were not nearly as good) in order to play the following:

131 Professor X
68 Mr. Mind
60 Saturn Girl
50 Jean Grey (Danger Room)
50 Dream Girl
40 Marvel Girl (First Class)
399 total

This team might have been improved by the use of Mental Shields or Extended Range on the Professor or the Venusian worm, but I hate playing that few characters per 100 points. I figured Marvel Girl would be a good source of X-Men TA healing clicks, as would Saturn Girl and Jean Grey, who both improve as they take damage.

Turnout was good, as we had all the regulars, all the semi-regulars, and one new player.

First round, I played Pete. Pete played a team similar to the Avengers team I passed up, but with more muscle and higher point value figs:
Jack of Hearts
Victor Shade LE
Hawkeye SR
Two Gun Kid SR
Scarlet Witch SR
Mockingbird
(plus sundry Feats, including Nova Blast)

This match looked pretty even to start with. I brought everyone to a central hallway in the JSA Museum, and Mockingbird based my Professor and my Mr. Mind. Hawkeye and Two-Gun took positions in cover to improve their already nice ES/D defenses. Having to deal with the up-close threat of Mockingbird, I was unable to really address the 18-19 Defenses on his ranged pieces. Jack of Hearts was also circling around to Nova Blast my grouped-up pieces. We fenced like this for a while, trading shots, until Hawkeye finally hit my Mr. Mind (20 Defense in hindering), costing me Perplex and Mind Control. I was able to set up a fairly credible click-trading bucket brigade with Marvel Girl, Saturn Girl and Prof. X. I was able to take down Jack of Hearts and hurt a few pieces, but it ended up being one-sided, for the most part. That Victor Shade LE is a nice little piece. A good match - Pete always brings a smart play style and is a pleasure to play against.

0-1

(Second round, I got the bye. This was fine, as it allowed me to catch up with such important discussion topics as the etiquette of bringing Japanese hookers onto US military bases. It also meant I didn't have to play Will, who kept misusing the German article "das" to refer to the Brood.)

0-1-bye

I played Rich in the third round. Rich was either really bored when he was team-building or he was running an experiment in the necessity of using a theme team. Rich played:
KC Green Lantern (with Protected. Sigh.)
LE HYDRA Medic
LE HYDRA Guy
Another HYDRA Guy
Another HYDRA Guy
Another HYDRA Guy
Another HYDRA Guy
Oracle (with Double-Time.)

I was waiting for the weird or fascinating synergy these particular figures would all possess. Nope. Just Running Shot, 10 range, 12 attack, +1 attack per HYDRA figure, and Oracle providing a really weird support role. Oh, yeah, and 20 razzin-frazzin' Defense. I lost this match. And really, it was mainly my own fault. I just see those big expensive pieces and assume I can't win. I should have Perplexed the hell out of people and TK'ed them into the fray. I didn't. I should have done a lot of things. I mostly didn't. Things I did right included running Marvel Girl up to get in KC GL's grill, mind-controlling his mobile HYDRA blockers, and keeping his HYDRA guys from being an effective block of figures. However, the game was essentially an easy equation:
(Number of figures I have within range of KC GL's Running Shot) / .66 (a constant representing the 2 turns out of 3 that KC GL can act) = Number of rounds this game will last. : )
I was fortunate enough to work some Perplex-Mind Control and have one of GL's own HYDRA guys crack him over the head with a rifle butt, but he just burned his Protected. Of course.
(It was a good team, Rich, I'm just a cranky sore loser.)

0-2-bye

Our judge is awesome in his generosity, though, and put out a vast selection of LEs, Uniques and SRs, and everyone got a pick. Even me, although I think I may have been in last place. I got a Captain Mar-Vell, which made me very happy, and reminded me that I should really pick up the #1 of his new book. Thanks again, Tim!

Rich's team suggests to me that Theme bonuses, while good, are not essential. I'll have to think more about that.

--wyld

DATE PLAYED: 1/7/08
POINT TOTAL: 300 Points
SCENARIO: Week 5? 6? Of the Planet Hulk events. Sealed for Esme Cuckoo

Hulkbuster
Jean Grey (AOA)
Marvel Girl (First class)

BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: None
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: Tombstone
EVENT DIAL: None
WIN/LOSS: 1-2

I figured I had a decent team. I pulled decently, my origional team was going to be team bad math consisting of Hulkbuster, Marvel Girl, and Silver Savage. Until I used good math and realized that would put me 1 point over. I tossed on jean for the psyblast and outwit and she turned out to be a giant waste.

Round 1

Colossus
Bishop
Cuckoo

Only theme pulled of the night. Hulkbuster and jean took out colossus, Bishop went down soon after. I lost Marvel Girl.

Round 2

Hulkbuster
Marvel Girl
Cuckoo
X-23
Zombie Wasp pog

3 critical misses and many failed attack rolls later, I went down. I managed to KO X-23, but I couldn't hit much else. High point of the night had to be the zombie wasp pog single handedly taking out marvel girl over the course of 5 or so turns, including marvel girl crit missing on a push, and then wasp crit hitting for the KO. Eating good in the neighborhood indeed.

Round 3

Cyclops (First Class)
Maverick
Beast (Fuzzy lion)
Cuckoo

This game took forever. The guy fielding it is a nice man but takes a long time to decide moves. He might have had another piece as well, I forget. Both Jeans did next to nothing, and I waited too long to get beast and his perplex let him plink down hulkbuster until I was too weakened to do anything.

I did win fellowship, so all is good! Now I have an esme and 4 other cuckoos, I need no others and can't wait to play them

1-8-08
300 sealed for esme cuckoo

I pulled Hulkbuster and Warskrull!

I played

Warskrull w/ streak of luck
Gambit w/ inside info
X-23
Brood

Round One

Emma Frost
Blue Beast
Ahab
Cuckoo

Brood carried Warskrull up into hindering to outwit emma. Gambit and X23 got into place. Brood brought x23 into close combat with emma. Gambit then pushed to have a 12 on a 17 against emma. He hit for three and put her on support/WP clicks. Next turn ahab shot my x23 for three after perplex. X23 regenerated back to her first click. Brood then Pushed for a BCF attack. I rolled a 6 and killed emma. Beast was brought down and i gave the guy my brood.

1-0

Round two

Maestro
Unus the Anus
Amadeous Cho

I waited for this guy to come to me. He finally TK'd maestro to me and charged gambit w/ a heavy. Maestro got a Crit Hit and smacked Remy for 9. Brood carried x23 to base maestro, but he pushed to run away. Warskrull based maestro with a Heavy. X23 based maestro followed by brood. Warskrull used OW on Maestros imperv and hit him with a crit for 6. x23 got another 3 in. Maestro hit Warskrull with a flurry then crit missed to die. WS killed amadeous and 23 missed on unus. Warskrull tried a BCF on unus and rolled a five, but unus avoided. I decided it was time to avoid unus and win on points. X23 tied unus up for the rest of the game while brood was on the evac. The guy was pissed i won and said i could have beat him if i pushed x23 to her 8 atk BCF click. I say WTF and move on.

2-0

Round 3

Strong Guy
Marvel Girl
Cycke FC
Cuckoo
X23

I Hit strong guy and cyke on the first two turns. Strong guy based gambit and he died. Warskrull took out x23 and his cyke died. He ran for the rest of the game and i won Esme.

3-0

DATE PLAYED: Jan 6, 2008
POINT TOTAL: 1200
SCENARIO: (Unrestricted - 6 actions)
TEAM: Robot Uprising
KEYWORD: Robot
Initiative Bonus +12
Rerolls = 4
BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: Power Dampening Field, Blood Curse
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: None
WIN/LOSS: 2-1


Well, after last week's defeat at he hands of Several Heralds of Galactus, I came prepared to fight the Big G himself. I've been wanting to use Cyborg Superman with an OMAC swarm since Origin released, and this was my chance. Plus, I was inspried by the Sentinel/Posse post in the General forum and thought I'd run the Colossal figure.

My team:

Sentinel 300
4 x R Omac 59 pts each = 236
3 x E Omac 83 pts each = 249
LE Victor Shade 91
+ Thunderbolts 5
E Red Tornado 53
R Cyborg Superman 133
+ Camouflage 8
Danger 124
Total = 1199

Superman Ally would come in handy for dealing with Stealthy figures, and Thunderbolts was there as a catch all - but mostly to serve as protection for my Omacs - by T-bolting Mystics.

Round 1: I played Nate who had an impressive army:

KC Superman
KC Flash
Hulk 2099
Doomsday
Loki
Ghost Widow
SR Scarlet Witch
V Ultimates Cap
Space Phantom

He played Shrunk, and then I ignored and forgot it - or it would have been a very different game. We played in the new Arena map, and with very little cover I had an advantage with Range to his Groundpounding Bricks. He made a few early tactical errors. KC Supes attempted to pick up Doomsday while DOomsday was holding an object. I made good use of my Outwit - shutting down his mobility and forcing him to snipe the Sentinel at range - giving me a 19D with ES/D. I slowly picked apart his team - staring with Flash & Hulk, clearing, and then using two turns of Multi-attack to Psyblast Doomsday, Cap, Supes & Finish off Flash. I fired up the Death Star - perplexing the Sentinel's attack & damage each time. My biggest mistake had to be forgetting Danger's Special Power which would have negated a lot of modifiers from his team (KC supes RCE for 7!). He kept forgetting Shrunk was in play, and I didn't call him on it as he was having a tough go against my somewhat mean team. He was left with two figures: Supes who fled to the back field and hid behind Loki as time was called. I lost one E Omac and had my Sentinel down on his last click.

Round 2: on the NYC debris map
Jim played
CoG Surfer
Man of Steel + Fortitude & Damage Shield
NGN Bat Ally Superman
V Icons Superman + Fortitude & Repulsor Shield
JL Green Arrow (Conner)
2x oots Batman.

Did I ever mention how much I don't like Superman? Or that I have a policy that Batman dies first? This was a tough round, as all of his Hypersonic Bricks could very easily put a huge dent in my Sentinel who has a glass jaw for an opening click. Jim played Malice, and I played Power Dampening field thinking to avoid massive hits from the Kryptonian peanut Gallery. I made a huge tactical error in ignoring Malice, but there you go. Had I been able to dish out more damage early in the game it would have ended differently. This game came down to about four turns for each of us, and with PDF in play the only figures I managed to take down were Batman - so I stayed true to my word. My sentinel got shot up and I pushed him to KO on his last 11 AV click to multiattack/psyblast, which gave me a huge defecit in points. I would have popped the Surfer on my last turn but I once again forgot Danger's SP was in play so Norrin's ES/D saved him from 3 Omac attack rolls and secured him the win.

Round 3:
Tim played a many Armors of Iron Man theme team back to the arena map.

NGN Silver Centurion
LE Tony Stark
V Iron Man (AW)
War Machine
Hulkbuster
Iron Spider-Man
NGN SPider-Armor
2x Mandroid Armor
2x Guardsmen
+???

I observed his team as a theme team and we both ignored my Blood Curse - he had a placemarker for this round's BFC. I lost initiative, and went next - perplexing up my Range to snipe a few Stark drones in the back row. I finally remembered my Danger's SP! I don't remember the specifics of this fight, except to say that I kept capturing Hulkbuster, who kept getting released. He pushed most of his force to release Hulkbuster only to have me capture again... ad infinitum. When time was called he had only War Machine & Iron SPidey left on the map, and I had lost an Omac or two and my Sentinel.

In all this was probably what some would consider cheese despite being theme, and I have no regrets playing it. It's very effective, and while it would have been torn to shreds by Galactus - I feel I may have given the Big Guy a run for his money.

DATE PLAYED: Jan 8, 2008
POINT TOTAL: 300
SCENARIO: Sealed event for Esmee Cuckoo
TEAM: 40 pt. Cyclops, 100 pt. Iceman (Streak of Luck), 124 pt. Strong Guy (Terify) - "Mutants" theme team (plus all X-men)
BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: No BFCs pulled this eveneing
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: None
WIN/LOSS: 3-0

FIRST ROUND: Bye.

SECOND ROUND: Faced off against Devil Dino and Mimic. He was a fairly new player, so we did a lot of rules explaining and back and forth strategizing. He got in some great shots with Devil Dino and I was lucky to base Mimic while he had RCE (and lucky later to roll break away when he went into his melee clicks). Over all a very easy going, light hearted game. Lots of fun with some really good hits.

It was also during this game that I realized how good Strong Guy is. Wow.

THIRD ROUND: Faced off against our venue's best player (I've never seen him loose) with Cyclops, Marvel Girl, X-23, Maverick, and Black Tom Casidy. He also had "the vine". It started off badly on my end with him taking high ground and me making a poor starting choice in who Ice Man should carry. I knew that even with two run and gunners, Strong Guy would take, like, half the game to get across the map to them. Plus his Black Tom was in hindering on the corner and outwitting my RS.

I played defensively my first two or three turns to get myself positioned again and then used Iceman to carry Strong Guy the 10 spaces to drop both of them up on the elevated terrain in the enemy center. He had Marvel Girl TK Strong Guy out and as far from the ladder as possible. Doh! But fourtnately luck was very much with me in my rolls and a pushed attack from Iceman dropped him on his 18 DEF and he was able to hold out while Strong Guy trudged all the way around the elevated to get up the ladder. Eventually Iceman took out 2-23 and from there Strong Guy grabbed a heavy object and started wailing on people. I tried to knock Marvel Girl off her TK click ASAP and generally tried to pick my targets carefully as I was surrounded and outnumbered.

Overall it was a great deal of luck on my part (I rolled quite a few doubles and that little extra from falling took a few figs out) and bad die rolls on my opponents part (Maverick missed quite a few crucial shots).

But in the end, I took out all his figs and won myself an Esmee Cuckoo.

This was my first tournament win ever and I kept my scorecard as a souvineer.

Sealed Week, Esme Prize

My pulls:

Krakoa, The Living Island BFC
Evolutionary War event dial
SR Silver Savage
High Evolutionary
Fabian Cortez
2x Dazzler
Box
Morph
Agent Brand
Chamber
X-23

My first idea was a 5-figure mutant team, but at 230-ish point I had to say NO.

I went with High Evolutionary, Fabian Cortez and Silver Savage, plus Krakoa.

All games were on the NYC map.

It looked like it was going to be just two players, but luckily flatmatt showed up. We were going to try a game of Captain Universe, but when flatmatt came (there was some confusion of start times) we switched up to more standard play.

The short:

I won my first game against flatmatt's X-men (?) theme team of Colossus, Bishop and Cuckoo.

I won the "bye"

I lost against Apocalypse and First Class Cyclops.


Without going into details on the individual games, I'll just say a few things about how my team played:

Silver Savage was A-1, especially with the starting TK from HE and the Power Boost of Fabian Cortez. He didn't disappoint at all. His only undoing was that Apocalypse successfully made a shape change roll on my first attack of the game, otherwise that game would have been EXTREMELY different.

Fabian Cortez, when teamed with long dial/Invuln figures was suprisingly effective.

High Evolutionary is a figure I've faced enough to know his weaknesses, and I think I played him as well as anyone could have with my team (aside from an early mis-placement in my first game...I didn't see a small block of hindering terrain.)

Krakoa bit me in the butt, with the terrain successfully incaping HE 2 times in a row (on his 19 DV!), when I should have been Psyblasting Apocalypse.

No fellowship or first place for me, so I get to make the sad face.

I did get some good figures: SR Silver Savage (a brutal dial even without range or "special white powers") two "sixth elements" that I didn't have and some low-cost figures for ugly floor teams (my fourth Agent Brand, my second X-23)...so I can make the happy face.

300 Point Sealed for Esme

I used:

Box 125
Omega Red 124
Agent Brand 44
Tombstone (heavy)
293 points total

I pulled hardly anything I thought was usable but looked over the map and figured I would use close combat pieces since there was so much blocking and elevated mixed around. I didn't pull any pieces I thought were a lock to use except Agent Brand. I had never used Box or Omega Red.

First round: Played Against:

Living Monolith, Pete Wisdom, First Appearance Iceman, X-23, Black Tom Cassidy. I'd explain the match but it's hard to explain where you are on the map. I ended up sweeping.

2nd Round played against: SR Wolverine, Zombie Spidey, Zombie Giant Man. I was able to get in a quick 2 hits on Wolvie with Box and Omega Red then eventually KOd him. I got everything and he got Agent Brand.

3rd Round: The last round was weird. I was 2-0 and everyone else was 1-1. In order for the guy I played to win he had to sweep me. He had 2 Mimics as his team. In order for me to win I had to either not lose a piece or KO one of his Mimics. We had time to figure this out somehow before the other match was over when we were bored haha. Anyway. I moved Box and Omega behind elevated and moved Brand on elevated on an object I placed there. He had to sweep me to win the whole thing, and he was putting both Mimic in soaring so I waited for him. He KOd Agent Brand in one hit with a heavy but was in range for me to charge with both my figs because he couldn't go back into soaring. I ended up KOing 1 Mimic and he killed everything else. I ended up winning Esme by 200 points even though I lost the last match, never had that happen before.

I never used Omega Red or Box and after this tourney I will for sure. Box is just awesome, 18 defense and that perplex is huge, plus 6 range means you don't have to charge if you don't want and you can use the Tombstone for the +2 and still make ranged attacks without having to use it right away, but if they miss it's gone. Omega Red is HIGHLY pushable as he has 17 invulnerable for the first 3 clicks then you can get to his steal energy SP.

Saturday Jan. 12th Sealed 300 for Esme

Played in another tourney for Esme. Pulled SR Mastermind (blah!) Anyway, my team was Archangel, Colossus, Pete Wisdom, Swarm pog, and shield disruptor. I noticed no one pulled a BFC so I didn't theme. There were a bunch of people playing too I think 12 and no one played a BFC, tons of SRs pulled everywhere.

First round I played against a guy in his first tourney. He used Mimic, Morph, and Black Tom. He was a really cool guy and I helped him out on how to play, I still swept though somehow.

Next round I played against Green Scar/Marvel girl. I luckily got to pick the map (we only had 4 of the new maps so highest rolls out of everyone got to pick first out of Great Arena or the new streets map) I picked the streets map. I placed the shield disruptor on top of the 2 square wide elevated. I placed Archangel and Pete caddicorner next to each other with Archangel on the shield dis. I moved swarm next to archangel and then Colossus next to Archangel so he wasn't able to immediately use his special power. He has leap climb though so he TK'd then moved Green scar next to the elevated. I was able to charge him with Colossus for 6 unpreventable then archangel for 3 more and took Pete along. Pete KOd Green Scar next turn and it was over. Wow, I don't know how I did it.

Next round I played against a younger guy and he was going to be picked up 4 I guess and it was already 3:40 so we tried to play fast but he ended up having to forfeit. Not a way to win but I guess a win is a win. It was a really fun tourney but wish we could have finished the game, he would have beat me with Storm, Box, Cuckoo, and Pete Wisdom, I know I would have got smoked.

DATE PLAYED: 1-11-08
POINT TOTAL: 500
SCENARIO: No Ranged Combat Attacks
TEAM: Green Scar (w/Fortitude)
Hulk (Avengers Ultimate)
FCBD Wolverine
BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: None
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: Game 1: None
Game 2: Dumpster, Desk, Mailbox
WIN/LOSS: 1-1

Game 1:
Took place in the JL Bank map, and played against a swarm(ish) team(?) that contained Xorn, a unique Justice League Flash, Sir Pietro Maxitoff, Orphan, Skurge, some other figure I can't remember, Wild Sentinal and a Paperboy. Throughout, both of us had trouble hitting anything, so there was a lot of waiting and failed hit attempts.

Early on, the match turned into Flash, Orphan, the forgotten character and the Sentinal vs. Hulk while Green Scar did battle with Skurge and Maxitoff, while he held Xorn in reserve to take advantage of its support properties. Wolverine was taken out early by Orphan however, so didn't get a chance to do much of anything. First attack had Scar attempt to smash a light object onto Maxitoff, who was just in range of the opening 7 movement (which he missed, or else he probably would have moved him away.) The result wasn't enough, setting up the beginning of a long, miss-filled match.

In true Hulk fashion, both my remaining figures had an easier time taking out the opposition as they got hit. Even better, Hulk's giant status went the extra mile for the scenario, as with the exception of the Flash, everyone had a difficult time closing in so that they could actually hit him. The game was at a standstill for most of the match, with Hulks missing their attacks and not getting hit either, with the speedsters taking HSS option 2 to try to break through the Hulk defense powers. Eventually, Scar knocked Skurge down enough that he tried to run, only to be unable to make a breakaway roll before he was finished off. Orphan was knocked down well too, only to run, heal up (after he missed the first heal attempt), and return to battle. While he was busy with that, Hulk took out the forgotten clic. When Orphan tried to run again, Hulk followed (with a successful breakaway) and finished him off, then with his boosted angry hulk attack was able to score a major hit on Flash.

Once he knocked Xorn off his opening click, the game proceeded much faster. Hulk was able to finish off Flash, Xorn, and the Sentinal before aiding Scar in taking down Maxitoff and the Paper boy.

Game 2
Game two was against a Green Scar (w/Insinde Information and some other feat) (the piece to have for the night, apparently - many more saw action in squads from what I could tell), Justice League Zathrel (w/Monster Hunter), Bronze Tiger(w/Swingline), and a couple Kobra Fanatics.

I lost and it went a lot quicker, which I'm feeling mixed about. See, the guy's kind of a jerk, and just has this amazing ability to suck the fun right out of a game without even trying. It's like when he play's, it's 100% serious and all business - I can't have fun playing him even if I want to. So on the one hand, I didn't have to play him long, but on the other hand, he's one of those people who I really would have enjoyed beating.

So, Green Scar took the Dumpster and finished MY Green Scar off in a couple of attacks, Bronze Tiger finished off Wolverine, and Zutherel did battle with Hulk. With everyone else gone, Hulk was soon teamed up on and defeated within a couple turns.

DATE PLAYED: 1/12/2008
POINT TOTAL: 600
SCENARIO: Unrestricted game, expectation of some theme, vs NeoShazam
TEAM:

tyroclix:

Team 1: (eventually better be keyword 'Hellfire Club')
SR Emma Frost + Mental Shields
U Donald Pierce + Armor Piercing + Contingency Plan
U Black Queen
R Tessa
U Black King
SR Mastermind
R Hellfire Guard x2
V Hellfire Guard

Team 2: (eventually better be keyword 'Mutants')
U Sinister Wolverine
C Colossus + Move-Through
SR Storm
SR Scarlet Witch
U Ultimate Quicksilver
LE Morlock Leader
V FF Rogue

NeoShazam:

Team 1:
NGN Hulk
V FF Ghost Rider
V Iron Fist
E Black Cat
V Nova
SR Iron Spider-Man + Vault
E Sinister Daredevil

Team 2:
E Origin Hawkman + Armor-Piercing
R Mister Miracle
LE BiBtB Dr. Fate
LE Origin Booster Gold
E SHAZAM! / Captain Marvel
E Ray

BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: None, the game was for pride

SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: A lot

WIN/LOSS:1-2

First round was my Hellfire team vs NeoShazam's Marvel Team. I decided to play in the Circus map. NeoShazam made an early mistake, not knowing Black Queen has Running Shot and moved Ghost Rider too far out. Carrying Tessa, Jean lit him up for 4 straight.

I then forgot the Circus map is Outdoor / Indoor which allowed Nova with the meteorite to hit Pierce for 4 knocking him past everything good.

I did what I could to put up a fight, using Mastermind to MC Iron Fist to punch Nova, but it rarely worked out. Iron Fist hit Nova into his HSS clicks - ugh. Black King, needing a 6 to punish Spider-Man missed it a few times as did Mastermind and his 12 attack. Not pretty.

I got cleared and only managed to take down Ghost Rider & Iron Fist.

0-1

Next we decided to try our team 2's, my Marvel Mutant team and his JLI or something team.

We used the Legion Outdoor map - Small town. Early on I was able to punish Ray for existing with Storm, but that would be the highlight until near the end. The battle condensed into the alleyway near the restaurant.

Captain Marvel with that flamin' meteorite bashed Rogue onto her Regen clicks - and with 2 attempts to roll, I couldn't heal her for anything. Booster Gold was golden this day, hitting Storm for 3 and eventually finishing her off, finishing off Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Wolverine. I did manage to KO Ray, did I say that already?

Highlight was Wolverine, who despite not being able to roll Regen ('natch) did manage to bury his claws into Captain Marvel while on the flurry BCF click (yeah the one with the 7 attack). Wolvie nailed him for 3 (-2 then for Imperv) and then followed it up with a Crit Hit for 7 (6 + 1) to knock CM down to his last click - at which point he gets a 15+CR defense (17) which meant my Colossus, Quicksilver, and Wolverine would never be able to finish him off. So I wrote it, so shall it be.

Again cleared (yay me) and I KO'd Booster Gold (THAT's what I thought!) and Ray.

0-2

Game 3: ('Cause I love the punishment)
My team 2 vs his team 1. Now its on the indoor Legion Map.

I mess up leaving Colossus in a spot to get psy-blasted for 3 by Ghost Rider. NeoShazam screws the pooch bringing Daredevil and Nova in way too close - Rogue smashes DD for 5 and Morlock Leader goes Medieval on Nova, chewing him up with her Flurry + Blade click. No HSS this game (w00t!).

Daredevil eventually goes down and Iron Fist gets torn up. Hulk pounds out Scarlet Witch and Storm is down 2 clicks and is getting tied up by what's left of Nova and Black Cat (who Quicksilver introduced her to his fist). I get to great chances to hurt Iron Spidey and get him off that Inv + Outwit click and can't connect with either Rogue nor Wolverine.

Iron Fist gets finished off and Rogue, Wolverine, and Morlock Leader decide to make it their mission to KO the Hulk. Callisto starts off strong, nailing the rolls (12 attack thanks to the Morlock TA) and whittles down Hulk to his CR clicks. Still, no one can finish him off and Rogue is knocked to her Regen clicks and Wolvie is on that Blades + EW clicks. When its Callistos turn again using Flurry + Blades she manages to crit miss the first attack and then whiff the second. I had to chances to hit a 6 and failed. Drat.

Storm pushes to pulse-wave and then she goes bye-bye. Meanwhile Colossus is down to his "sweet" 2 damage click after KOing Ghost Rider.

Iron Spidey in still on that top click when he pushes to finish off Rogue (and my only taxi). I swing my team around Spidey so we have him surrounded near the stairs.

Spidey blasts Morlock Leader to knock her off BCF (so she needs a crit to get past his Toughness) and Wolverine is on to his Flurry + Blades click (7 attack revisited).

Meanwhile Quicksilver manages to keep missing Black Cat and her 14 defense. Wolvie thinks back to his violent stabbing of Captain Marvel in game two and unleashes holy hell... on himself. Crit Miss. Not too bad, his attack goes up and still has Flurry. Second roll - fail.

With Regen showing I know what NeoShazam is going to do - use Spidey to KO Wolverine. Knowing he is the best chance I have at hurting Spider-Man I push Colossus to exchange a click with Wolvie putting him 4 away from KO and sending Colossus to his final click.

Spidey, sure enough, hits Wolverine for 3 - putting him on his last click.

My go. If I push to Regen, I run the risk of KOing myself. And I haven't made a regen roll today. Wolverine has the highest attack he (or any of my figures) get, a 10. And a 4 EW might put him on a spot where Quicksilver, Colossus and Morlock Leader have some shot at hurting him.

So I say, "Wolverine is going to try the ol' tackle the villain off the cliff, trick. He is dead next turn anyway so let's see if I can take Spidey with me."

NeoShazam rolls Shape-Shift - a 4. I get the chance to attack. Wolverine lunges with blades glimmering in the futuristic lights of the Legion's home...

I need a 7 to pull it off - and nail a 12. 5 clicks straight through. Knockback off elevated for 2 more. 7 clicks and Spider-Man is KO'd.

As is Wolverine - but best self KO, ever.

I clear his team and have the remnants of Colossus, Quicksilver and Callisto to show for it.

1-2

DATE PLAYED: 1/12/2008
POINT TOTAL: 300
SCENARIO: Sealed for Esme Cuckoo
TEAM:

houdinimachine:

R Danger
C Box
C Marvel Girl
POG Jarella

WIN/LOSS:3-0

First game was against a team consisting of Omega Red, Bishop, X-23, and a Cuckoo. I TKed Danger up to the top of the elevated terrain and she controlled the battlefield from there after Box knocked Bishop on to his RCE click where he couldn't damage Box or her. Omega Red and the Cuckoo based Box, but despite Krakoa attacking Danger every turn, I did manage to hit Omega Red with Box's large object and my own turn of Krakoa finished him off. My opponent did manage to take my Jarella, but Danger's special power pretty much took care of the field along with Box's charge and perplex.

Second game was against a team consisting of Gambit, Pete Wisdom, Box, and Dazzler. I once again TKed Danger up to the top of elevated terrain, but this time the stealth of Gambit really turned the tide against me early on. It wasn't until I managed to push Box to charge Gambit and hit him with an object that I began to turn the game more my way. By the end, my Box had taken out his Box and Gambit and Danger had neutralized Dazzler early on. To allow Box to heal up, I had Jarella base Pete Wisdom and so my opponent did take Jarella, but not before Box nanobotted a small object to heal himself back up to his invuln clicks and make it near impossible for Wisdom to do any damage to him. I eventually swung him around in a charge and finished the match only losing Jarella.

Third game was against a team of Colossus, Fabian Cortez, and FC Beast. My opponent was one of the younger members of the venue and Fabian's special power pretty much being nullified made this game all the more one-sided. Danger and Box KOed Colossus in three turns and the rest was just clean up. I felt bad that I had cheesed out by using Danger so I gave the kid Danger for free (as I have two more at home.)

Still, it was nice to go 3-0 and win Esme as I'm a huge fan of Morrison's run on New X-Men, and I've been playing with the Cuckoos nonstop since I got my first three. Now, all I need is one more to complete the set. Then, I will be complete spiritually.

DATE PLAYED: 01/12/08
POINT TOTAL: 300
SCENARIO: (Sealed)
TEAM: Gambit, Morph, 2x Meik 300 pts.
BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS: None
SPECIAL OBJECTS PLAYED: None
WIN/LOSS:3-0

Game 1 Win
vs. Bishop, Omega Red, Maverick, Val Cooper
Opponent bunched up his dudes I based him w/Morph and 2x Mieks of which all had Plasticity at one point in the match not allowing them to breakaway. All the while Gambit picked them off from a range. Lost Morph.

Game 2 Win
vs. Gorgon w/Streak of Luck, Jean Grey w/Inside Information, Cuckoo, Agent Brand
Drew first blood hitting Cuckoo w/Gambit from Stealth. Tied up Gorgon with Miek & Morph. Opponent pushed several times and missed several key rolls. Again late game Plasticity by Morph and 2x Miek helped tie them down while Gambit got the job done. Lost Miek.

Game 3 Win
vs. FC Cyclops, Emma Frost, Shatterstar, Korg
Drew first blood on Cyclops w/Gambit Running Shot. Tied Korg and Emma up with Miek and Morph while Gambit did his thing from a range. No blood spilled on my side.

NOTES*****
Miek makes for some very good "blocking terrain".
Gambit is awesome in the NYC map.
Morph is a very useful taxi being able to breakaway almost at will w/Plasticity. Will try him out with Drag later.

I was hoping flattmatt would post one of his detailed write-ups, here is a small summary of another:

Sealed M&M 300-points, prize: Esme

I forget my entire pulls, but non-used highlights included:

300 Monster Theme: Zombie Spider-Man, Zombie Giant-Man, Grey Hulk
(I had played that team in sealed before, so I sat them out)

Bonus Commons: A Cuckoo and a Brood (woo-hoo!)

My Team: Green Scar, FC Marvel Girl, BST Amadeus Cho, BST Val Cooper.

Green Scar was the last of the CUR's that I didn't have...and given the secondary market price there was no way I was going to be able to get one without pain. It isn't the type of figure I normally play, so I knew I had to use him. The rest of the team fell naturally into place, given the points.

Game 1:

I played against Devil Dinosaur & Moon Boy, Fabian Cortez, X-23, The Hood, BST Val Cooper and BST Janet Pym. There may have been more figures on that team, it seemed like a huge swarm.

My strategy was simple: Take out Fabian and try to keep the Scar's mobility in order to deal with DD&MB. It worked. We had a little "Benny Hill/Yackety Sax" type chase as Green Scar ran after Red Hood for the last points of the game(!)

Game 2:
I played against Danger, Box and FC Beast.

My strategy: Knock Danger off of Psyblast, Prob Control/Special power ASAP. Try to use up objects so Box couldn't heal. My opponent had an unlucky break. I used Green Scar's LEAP/CLIMB to make a close-combat attack against an elevated Danger...upon the re-roll Green Scar got a crit hit (we actually forgot to assign knockback, but it didn't matter) so the now 6-damage pushed Danger right onto the clicks where I wanted her.

Box tried some snazzy moves, but the Danger/Box team only succeeded on putting Green Scar onto his REALLY NASTY clicks, and they were done.

Game 3:
I played against flatmatt's: Mimic, Gambit, BST Swarm and FC Cyclops...plus a Shield Disruptor that never came into play.

He gambled and swooped in with Mimic/Gambit...and Green Scar made him pay...but I couldn't do "just enough" damage to get Mimic past regen...and Mimic Regened for a full four clicks! That didn't save either Mimic or Gambit, but some hasty intervention by the Swarm kept me occupied so that FC Cyclops ended up with the killing blow on Scar!
(That was a game in which Scar could have easily won on points by just running away, but what's the point of that)

Anyway, 2-1 for me. Flatmatt was a real champ, passing his first-place prize to a player that didn't have it (not me though! :disappoin)

Anywho, I had a blast at the two sealed M&M events I attended this week...nobody was complaining about buying product, or ranting about the AP program or the like. Turnout was low-ish...and while I'm sad I didn't get an Esme, I'm sure I can borrow one from another player if I want to try a Cuckoo team for floor.