Figs in Review: John Constantine and Tim Hunter

I think the figs I'm happiest about from the TRINITY WAR set are these two, John and Tim. Aside from these two being key figs in some of my recent games, my reasons for being happy about them are mainly sentimental, these two being some of my constant companions growing up as an angsty teenager who enjoyed non-superhero comic books - I once had a complete set of the John Ney Reiber and Peter Gross BOOKS OF MAGIC and an almost complete run of HELLBLAZER (my faves being Delano's, Ennis's, Ellis's, and Azzarello's, in that order) back in the day, those two books becoming fundamental on my understanding of the story possibilities of the form (mainly horror and nonD&D fantasy) so I'm very happy that they've been Clixed, and that I have them in my stash. Pity it's their New52 variations, but still.

I think they dialed John well enough, in the sense that his dial alternates between effective magician that plays with synchronicity - he has two Probs, his Outwit-Perplex outwits the opponent's Outwit and Perplex (depending on which you pick) - and conman you shouldn't trust at all - Exploit Weakness for an assured hit. I think they should have traited his two Probs (John has always been lucky that way) and that they should have given him some locomotion trait like Spiral or Shatterstar, and maybe some form of Mind Control and Regen (an Ennis reference). But still, all in all, a pretty good fig.

I think they did a good job with Tim, too, although not as well as they did with John. I like the concept of pushing Tim to turn him into a magus, and I like his early white powers, but they should have turned his magus click into a stopclick, and they should've given him an owl token which he could use a la Fantomex and EVA, and they should've given him the Mystics team sumbol. I love his traited anti-Prob, though, and all this for the cheap cost, that's very very generous already.

As for the sculpts, I think they're both great. Again, Tim lacks Yoyo, his owl, but the books are a great detail. These two make me wish they'd make Clix on PREACHER and V FOR VENDETTA.

Battle Report: the Mystical Justice League Dark with Pandora's Box and the Cosmic Treadmill VS Iron Patriot and Wolverine

Build:

* 400 points

* My team: Frankenstein, Tim Hunter, John Constantine, and Abra Kadabra with Pandora's Box and the Cosmic Treadmill

* Opponent: Iron Patriot and Wolverine

Map:

Hellhouse map from the DEADPOOL OP kit

Report:

I rolled for initiative and assigned Frankenstein the Sloth sin. He Sidesteps to the portico. John Constantine joins him as Prob support. Abra Kadabra and Tim Hunter both move around in their room. Iron Patriot and Wolverine move to the middle of the map, aiming to destroy the Cosmic Treadmill.

The Wrath sin is assigned to Tim Hunter, pushing him. Abra Kadabra pushes himself to move, then forces Tim to push again. Tim Sidesteps near the door. Frankenstein Sidesteps against the wall, positioning himself for a potential Charge. Constantine then clears.

Iron Patriot and Wolverine both clear.

Abra Kadabra pushes Tim one more time, activating his magus setting. Tim sidesteps. Constantine walks to Frankenstein for Prob support. Kadabra and Tim both clear. Iron Patriot and Wolverine walk and hide behind hindering terrain.

Tim Hunter then Perplexes his damage, Sidesteps, then Running Shoots and Pulse Waves full force for five damage at Wolverine. Frankenstein Sidesteps then Charges and BCFs Wolverine for five damage, reduced to four, activating Frankenstein's special BCF power where if you roll 4 and above, the target can't be healed or Supported at any point in the game. Abra Kadabra pushes himself to go to the Cosmic Treadmill. Constantine moves to the middle of the map.

Iron Patriot Running Shoots Constantine and Frankenstein but misses. Wolverine tries to wave his claws around but hits only air. Abra Kadabra runs in the Treadmill, activates its powers, clearing everyone of one action token each, freshening both Frankenstein and Tim. Frankenstein hits Wolverine for 3 damage, killing him. Frankenstein Sidesteps to Iron Patriot. Tim Hunter then Sidesteps and Running Shoots Iron Patriot, hitting for 4 damage, whittling him down.

Iron Patriot tries to shoot Frankenstein, but he misses. Frankenstein hits him with his sword for 3 damage. Tim Hunter shoots Iron Patriot, and it hits for 4, sending him to the scrap heap.

Winner:

The Mysticals won. They basically outmaneuvered Iron Patriot and Wolverine, with four figures moving against two high-cost figures. By the second half of the game, I had five Probs per turn for everyone (six if the Cosmic Treadmill activates), and having established a killbox, it was relatively easy to pick people off the map. The Justice League Dark figs also have really good synergy with each other - Tim and anybody beside him can't be targeted by the opponent's Prob, Constantine and anybody beside him can use Stealth, Frankenstein has a nasty trait where if he KOs a character, all Justice League Dark figs can do any move actions for free - and the Sidesteps from the Sins really really helped me control the map. Pretty good game, pretty fast kills, all done in 15 minutes.

 

Battle Report: Justice League Dark VS Birds of Prey

photo by Koko C

Build:

* 400 points

photo by Koko C

* My force: TRINITY WAR Deadman, I, Vampire and John Constantine with Pandora's Box with five Sins / Justice League Dark themed team

photo by Koko C

* Opponent: STREETS OF GOTHAM Lady Blackhawk, Black Canary, Lady Shiva, Huntress, and Oracle with Mandarin Rings and Battery / Birds of Prey themed team

Map:

House of Mystery from the TRINITY WAR OP kit

Report:

BoP got initiative roll and crossed nearly twenty squares of the map with four figs thanks to Oracle granting free move action to Lady Blackhawk who carried everyone twice in one turn (one free, one not). Placed near the doorway, blocking my potential path for placement. Rings were assigned for bonuses and such.

I assigned Sloth to Deadman and moved I, Vampire to a corner close to the doorway to avoid a direct line of fire, carrying Constantine. Huntress then rushed with an attack against Deadman, followed by a free Mind Control which hit. Deadman was then moved to a corner of the map to avoid usefulness. Lady Shiva and Black Canary then based I, Vampire and Constantine via Lady Blackhawk's Carry.

photo by me

I took a gamble and assigned Wrath to I, Vampire, losing two potential attack moves for two turns, then Perplex-Outwitted Lady Shiva's BCF both reducing her Attack value and deactivating her Attack power. I cleared Deadman then healed him one click thanks to Sloth's non-action incentive.

Which proved to be useless because Huntress proceeded to run and shoot Deadman in the corner, killing him but then activating his resurrection countdown timer. Lady Shiva and Black Canary took chances at hitting I, Vampire but the Combat Reflexes, Constantine's two Probs, and one team Prob proved useful.

We both then cleared for one turn each. Deadman's countdown timer counted down to one.

Constantine then Perplex-Outwitted Lady Shiva's Super Senses then I, Vampire BCFd Lady Shiva for six hits, killing her instantly. Deadman, newly resurrected, moved to the crowd to position for a potential Charge (Deadman oscillates between long ranged and close combat everytime he resurrects) and to sponge attacks.

Black Canary gambled for a shot against Constantine but failed. Huntress shot Deadman succesfully. Constantine then Outwit-Perplexed Black Canary's Combat Reflexes then I, Vampire BCFd Black Canary for four hits. Deadman was pushed to Charge Lady Blackhawk succesfully, but killing himself in the process, activating his resurrection timer again.

Huntress then shot I, Vampire for a successful hit, then Mind Controlled him to move almost ten squares away. Constantine and I, Vampire were both pushed to clear. Deadman's timer counted down to one.

With Constantine open, Huntress successfully ran and shot for three damage but not without sacrificing Lady Blackhawk for a team Prob, pushing her to death. Oracle was then moved closer to the fight.

photo by me

I then moved I, Vampire to Charge Oracle, working through her Shape Change thanks to the Wrath relic, then BCFd for four damage. Deadman then came back in play and shot Oracle out of her wheelchair, killing her. Constantine Phasing/Teleported to inside the house to form a killbox for Huntress. I rolled for Pandora's Box and got Prob, granting my team four normal Probs and one team Prob for the foreseeable future of the game.

Even though she was in full click, Huntress waved the white flag.

photo by me

Winner:

Justice League Dark, thanks largely to Constantine's two Probs and Perplex-Outwit power that can't be countered. Also thanks to I, Vampire's 6-4-4 BCF rolls. A pretty good combo of a sniper, a brawler, and a supporter.

photo by me

Deadman and I, Vampire with Pandora's Box

Build:

TRINITY WAR Deadman for 107 points and I, Vampire for 170 points, both keyworded with Justice League Dark, with Pandora's Box with two Sins for 20 points make a team 3 points shy of 300 so I can't do three non-free actions per turn, but with two figs, I only really need to make two actions per turn.

Plan:

Assign Wrath to I, Vampire for Combat Reflexes and anti-Shape Change and Sloth to Deadman for the +1 in Defense and the instant heal. Both have Running Shot and Charge, and with the Sins assigned, they also both now have Sidestep, so it's a very mobile team.

Basic strategy is I, Vampire is the Brawler, Deadman is the Sniper. Both figs also have strange clix behaviour with regards to their lives draining, so the majority of the strategy is on keeping one's dial fresh via the other's interference work.

With only two figs to assign Sins to, the Pandora Box's dial is limited to the dial's second level. Despite I, Vampire's melee advantages, I thought it'd be better for everyone to keep the Pandora Box's dial in the Sniper setting, so I can always roll for Running Shot (1-3) and Probability Control (4-6). By my second turn, that's two more Probs that I can roll for 50/50 per turn (or always on if I lock it there) on top of two Themed Team Probs. Good on paper.