The Tease of Things I Don't Need

Armor Wars: Another update & some rethinking.

Okay. So, this afternoon they debuted the details for this set's remakes of Ultron... and I'm not impressed. (This was another post of likely no interest to non-players, so pass it by as you wish.)

That's truly a shame since this was one of the characters I was looking forward to in this set. When I saw the different levels in the titles I became more interested, but then I saw the dials and costs, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

In early summer of 2002, when Infinity Challenge (and, with it, Heroclix as a whole) debuted the game was in its conceptual infancy, and a variety of powers weren't part of the game yet. The mechanics back then were different and even the designers of the game didn't know what would play and what wouldn't once everything went into the fans' hands and they started to road test everything with vigor.

Part of that debut set of Marvel characters was Ultron, a Frankenstein's monster of a robot with a mad-on for its creator and hints of an Oedipal complex. He would completely remake himself every so often, changing his number appropriately in what I've occasionally thought might be an admirable approach to life. I mean, really... while we're in school there's that potential to have a fresh start each year, but as adults we get mired in routine and unless we move to a new place and get new jobs we quickly find ourselves slotted into pigeon holes, seldom to be seriously re-evaluated. Wouldn't it be refreshing to take a vacation and return with a new number on one's forehead, declaring one's self a new model number? All sins absolved. All fuck-ups forgotten. Hey, I'm starting to see the appeal this "born again" deal has... and you don't even have to go to prison first!

Okay, maybe that's just me. Sorry for the digression.

Back to Ultron -- as of his 6th incarnation he started making himself mostly out of the nigh indestructible metal, adamantium. While Impervious - a damage-reducing power that drops the damage a character receives by 2 and providing a 33.33% chance of having the attack deal no damage at all - wasn't available (it would come September of that year, when the first DC Comics set would launch) the designers still delivered three potent versions (rookie, experienced and veteran) of Ultron.

Well, let's cut to the chase and do some quick comparisons of the 2002 and 2005 models, okay? While looking through these, keep in mind that the 2002 versions (the dials on the left) all have flight, too, while the 2005 versions are all grounded. Here's a look at both of them, using the pics from their website. The resolution of the old version (left) is obviously lower, but you should be able to get the idea.


The new version has something more of a human aspect to the body, but they're each good representations of him at different stages. I like them both.

Appropriately, we'll start with the rookies. The 2002 model is 111 points, while the 2005 is 118. (Click on the images for larger views.)


Huh?! The old model's faster for most of his dial, is a much better shot, can hit things from 10 squares away -- two targets no less -- while the new version has to be next to his target. The old version has an extra click of life, and while the back half of his dial is easier to hit and damage, he's still capable of hitting somone all the way through his final click with an Attack Value (the number that's added to a roll of the dice and compared to the target's Defense) that never drops below 9, while the new version is down to 7 for his final three clicks.

To attempt to be fair, these are both supposed to represent Ultron at his early stages, back when he was made of more conventional alloys. Back then Ultron wasn't doing a lot of ranged attacks. Still, designer Seth Johnson obviously looked at that history, hence the rookie (Ultron-5) has the Masters of Evil team affiliation. Maybe somewhere in this set is a 0 cost replacement TA card for the Masters of Evil TA that does something wonderful, but as it stands the TA's nearly useless, no matter how well-intentioned it was when it was being finalized in 2002.

So, in the battle of the rookie Ultrons, barring a Masters of Evil card that grants them instant the ability to make up dice rolls or knock opposing pieces off the board with your hand, I'm going to stick with the old version

Next, we have the experienced versions. Each of them have the extremely useful Minions of Doom wildcard TA, allowing them to copy the TA of anyone else on their team. The old version is 139 points, the new one is 164.



As you can see, we're seeing something of a theme ongoing. The new Experienced version does make one change we anticipated by working some Impervious into the mix. The new experienced version has some ranged attack capabilities, too... but only at a distance of 6 and only a single target. The old version, once more, can hit more opponents from farther away, harder, more surely, do it longer, and is less likely to be hit in the first place. The Viagra is strong with this one.

Let's move quickly to the veteran levels. In this instance, the point values move in the opposite direction, with the older version being more expensive at 188 pts vs the 177 pt newbie. This is due in part to the earlier version having that expensive Masters of Evil TA attached. Let's see what the points bought:



Okay, now we arguably have the basis for some decision-making depending upon one's playing style. The new veteran version has an extra click of life, is on the whole going to last longer against attacks, can actually do more damage to a target, and has many useful powers. Sure, he's still slower, lacks the "do I even need to roll?" attack values of the older version (an Attack Value of 14?! Only rolling snake eyes will see that go wrong) , lacks the 10 Range and only has one target... but the 8 Range isn't terrible.

With the addition of a card from this set - Extended Range - the new Ultron should be able to trade the 4 Damageof his opening clicks to extend his Range from 8 to 12 for Mind Control attacks. After all, the Damage is otherwise useless there, and that 10 pt card would bring the new one up to 187 - still one point lower than the old one. This is a viable alternative, giving us a different package and presenting us with a new Ultron one might actually consider fielding. Sure, this one can't fly, but on the other side of the coin this means he can be carried -- an argument one can make for all levels of the new Ultron.

When I saw that we were getting a grounded Ultron this time I thought he'd have a mix of Running Shot and maybe Phasing/Teleport (perhaps with a long-overdue feat to help Phase/Teleport characters appear and attack in the same move -- surprising someone as one would expect) on the highest version. Nope. The only one with a move & attack power is the Ultron-13 prize LE, and that's Charge. The LE is based on a version where multiple incarnations of Ultron - personality programs - were running in the same body, and the result was a war of multiple identities.

In general, the the Armor Wars versions of Ultron are typidfied by inferior range & attack values and targets... I do see where Seth is coming from on each of the dials -- I just can't be enthusiastic about the decisions and results.

So, the Ultron news is more bad news than good for this set, with partial by way of the vet. The rookie is nearly useless -- okay, that's hyperbole, but I honestly don't see using it outside of a sealed match where I simply don't have a better way to spend the points. The experienced is much the same -- I'd play the older versions without question if I wanted an Ultron. The veteran's at least something different. Let him hypnotize Lockjaw and use that to get around.

Here was a character we seemed assured of coming to us as a monster capable of holding off a team of opponents. Everything seemed in place, from the power escalations seen with newer sets, to the justifications seen in so many comics where Ultron appeared, to the fact that (at least to the Marvel fans) this is a high profile villain.

Hey... while I'm here, I may as well mention another piece they showed us today: Mystique. This 52 pt. version is the House of M-themed version, from a mystically-altered timeline where mutants are the ruling force. This explains why this version has the S.H.I.E.L.D. TA, which can be used to make an adjacent's ally's attack from a distance do more damage.

I'm going to run it up against the 51 pt. veteran version from back in the Xplosion set.



The old version has a team ability that makes it easier to get her where the player wants her to be by not letting it count against the player's allotted number of actions. Beyond that, she's best used at first to lurk, stealthed in the shadows and use her Perplex to alter another character's stats each turn. Both versions have a 6 Range and the same maximum damage of 2, but the new version's intended to take more of a role as an attacker. A new version offering new possibilities... it was anything but a necessary figure, but it's a potentially useful one.

Finally, we have two more cards unveiled today. Both are Battlefield Condition cards, which means a player can put one of them out at the start of a game, and providing his opponent doesn't cancel it with Ordinary Day it away it holds sway over the game.

Assembled rewards a player for running a large themed team. If a player has more than four characters on his team with the same team symbol they gain a +1 to their attack values when side any two are side by side. It's a nice little touch, and the card, appropriately enough, shows a group of Avengers. Having 5 or more pieces with the same team ability (the wording appears to eliminate any wildcards in the count) is some extreme team building unless we're talking about a high point game. Also, as I read it, the card would stop working for a team as soon as the number of pieces on the team dropped to four. Still, it doesn't cost anything to play this card in a game, so the themed team players will like this one. It's one of those I could see playing as a standard item, essentially adding its mechanics to the overall rules of the game, freeing a player to select a different card, too. But... that's me.

The other Battlefield Condition is Inertial Interference Field. This is one of those cards to be played... if one's sick of going up against dynamic teams, I suppose. It takes the damage dealt by any piece that moves and attacks (okay, that's not entirely true, as Transporters would be exempt) and reduces it by two. It has an image of Quicksilver on it, who (depending on the version) has Hypersonic Speed, Charge and a 2 Damage. I suppose if someone built a team bereft of Running Shot, Charge or Hypersonic Speed he would play this in order to severely damage his opponent, who almost certainly has at least one of those powers on his team.

I keep going back and forth on this set. The economics of it are that for the cost of half a case at retail I can get a full case online, but when I hit some of the decisions I ask myself how much I really want the set.

Well... that's far more than enough of that; I'm getting muddled.

I received some not so wonderful news today. Burying myself in the trivia of game chatter helps me relax a little, so I indulged myself.