by Patrick Yapjoco
It was right after I won the WKO Regional in San Diego that I seriously thought about running our Quinjet build. After more testing I came to the conclusion that I needed to cut Red Hulk and put in Nova. Having a Pulse Wave character is a must for your ID Card suite. I also changed the Ultron (Future) Drone to the flying Ultron-18.2 Drone (carrying is needed much more). Nearly everyone who came into my store threw what they had against it. From Krang teams to Zombies to various Nick Fury teams, the Quinjet ALWAYS came out on top. After much hesitation and deliberation, my teammates convinced me to play it for the simple fact that I had invested so much time in testing it, and they felt that I would know it the best out of anyone we would expect to see play it at Origins. You can see my list here.
Quinjet Main Team
Once we had our plans squared away it was time to make the trip. I would be teaming up with Kevin Afrooz and Clay Wood for the 3v3, and we would all fly out on Wednesday morning. It was a smooth flight, and we arrived around 5pm Ohio time. Clay, being a University of Michigan graduate, felt a little uneasy at first because we are of course, at THE Ohio State territory. Ultimately, he didn’t quite care too much, but didn’t flaunt his alma mater either. We take an Uber to the Sheraton Hotel, which is about a mile from the convention center. We drop off our stuff and proceed to the Gaming Hall. Clay gets in line to get his badge while Kevin and I meet up with my friend and Boss Monster co-creator, Chris O’Neal. He gives us our Exhibitor Badges (we are so special!) and we go play some Blood Rage. We check out the WK gaming area and then grab a bite to eat. We go to a Burger Bar and Chris treats all of us to dinner (must be nice to be the king, Mr. Boss Monster!). I order “water” after everyone orders beers. The waiter comes back with a beer… I shrug and just drink it. We are all confused and when I asked the waiter why he gave me this beer, he said I ordered “watermark, right?” Oh, I get it… I quickly order another as it was very good! Afterwards we just went back to the hotel and rested to ready for the next day.
Thursday morning, we expect it to be madness at the WK gaming area, so we get there by 8:30am and stand in line. I catch up with many, many great people and friends while waiting in line (see, this is what it’s all about!). Registration opens at 9:00am and I register for US Nationals, while Kevin registers for the first Worlds Sealed Qualifier and Clay registers for Battle Royales. The event is taking longer than expected to start as there are literally hundreds of people in the WK area, between Heroclix and Dice Masters. The Con LE booth was also full and they had their usual displays of what was upcoming. People were buying the LEs left and right (there are so many of them this year!). US Nationals is supposed to start at 10:00am, but we don’t start until close to noon… ugh.
There are 52 players in US Nationals that qualified (and attended), with many of the top players like Kennie Pena, Scott Cramton, Derek Thompson, Easton Brock, Warren Ginn, Dustin Hall, and Jason Allen all in attendance. It was going to be a tough field indeed. It’s announced that it’s going to only be 3 rounds of Swiss with a Cut to Top 8… ugh. This basically means you cannot lose a round unless you score a HUGE amount of points in a loss. The good news is that they will take the top 13 players into the World Championships. We are about to start and I check pairings and face…
Round 1 – Kennie Pena
Quinjet 140
-Resource 5
Nighthawk Prime 65
Jarvis 40
Ultron-6 Drone 30
6 ID Cards (Green Arrow, SHIELD Level 7, Nova, Black Canary, The Atom, Nightwing)
We are chosen to play on the premium map and Kennie decided why not? So he grabs the outdoor map with the bridge between two buildings. He pilots the jet with Jarvis and moves up to the bridge part, with Nighthawk and Ultron-6 Drone in tow. I move up towards him, but just far enough to where he has to move up to attack. I leave the Ultron Drones in the back just a square away from touching my own jet. He calls in Green Arrow (135pts) with Ultron Drone and spins the Resource Dial… wait, he actually can’t because Green Arrow is more points than Ultron Drone’s 120pts… we back up and he calls in Nick Fury instead. He uses the SHIELD pump and Perplex’s up Nick’s damage to 4 and KO’s my Ultron-6 Drone. He Sidesteps farther back.
On my turn, I set up a shot with Nick after I call him in with my remaining Ultron Drone. Since Nighthawk is hurting my range value, I put Nick exactly 9-squares away from Nighthawk. I roll the Resource Dial… 6. Perfect! I bring in Nova via the Resource Dial and now I really have an advantage. I use Running Shot with Nova, lock his damage at 2 and roll a Crit Hit on his team! Ultron-6 dies, Nick Fury disappears, Nighthawk and the Quinjet take 3-damage each. I then turn off Super Senses on his Nighthawk and Nick blasts him for the KO. Now I have my bonuses back!
He tries to recover by bringing in The Atom through his Resource Dial, but misses on the Retaliation. He then Calls In Nightwing, drops Tony Zucco, Perplexes Attack and Damage once and Charges my Quinjet. The Flurry doesn’t connect at all, and now it’s really getting bad for him. My next turn consisted of Atomica KO’ing his Atom, Iron Man piloting the Quinjet and the jet attacking his jet for a lot of damage, with the help from HENRY. He has to clear and I press the attack by calling in Winter Soldier and blasting the Quinjet for even more damage. He Calls In Green Arrow with the jet this time and he is able to roll a knockback shot, KO’ing Atomica, HENRY, and hitting my Ultron-18.2 Drone for 1. I counterattack by hitting the jet yet again and he counters by bringing in Nova, but misses his Pulse Wave attack… I KO Nova and hit the jet again. He brings in Black Canary for another Pulse Wave, but misses again… at this point I have Red Tornado in the game via the Resource Dial and I proceed to Force Blast the Quinjet twice as he is pushed. I use Atom to Colossal Retaliate on Black Canary and she disappears. After he clears, I just Force Blast his jet two more times for the win. Win.
Round 2 – Markus Wade
Krang 170
Juston Seyfert 40
Baxter Stockman 30
Ultron-18.2 Drone 30
Pandora’s Box (Wrath, Sloth Relics) 20
ID Cards (SHIELD Level 7, Nightwing)
He wins the map and we go to the Technodrome. He puts Sloth on Krang first and just passes. I move the Quinjet up inside a room, ready for my Ultron-6 to do some work the following turn. Markus decides to go for the hit-and-run tactic by boosting up Krang’s stats to basically +3 with the help of Baxter. First he puts the Wrath Relic on Baxter. He then sends Krang as far as he can with Juston Seyfert’s power and KO’s my Atom in the back row. He then moves all the way back to safety in his side of the board. As he is pushed, I have to take the opportunity to close the distance while he “rests” his Krang. I run all the way to his side of the map, just outside of the corner he is hiding in. I bring the rest of team with me and protect my Drones behind a piece of blocking terrain.
On his next turn, he Calls in Nick, blasts my jet, then pushes Juston to let Krang hit the jet as well. Then clears Krang. Since the jet has taken damage, I am able to click up 2 clicks. On my next turn, I Call In The Atom via the Resource Dial and I bust through the blocking with Ultron-6 and Call In Nova. I position Atomica so she can see everyone. Nova Running Shot/Pulse Wave, locking the damage at 2 and roll two 4s! Knockback and sends everyone into a wall. Ultron Drone and Juston are KO’d, and the rest take 3-damage each. I Colossal Retaliate with The Atom, but I miss the finishing blow on his support pieces. I clear with the Quinjet and pass to him. He Calls In Nightwing with Krang and tries to heal Krang with Tony Zucco’s Support. He succeeds on his first roll, but I PC it into a miss.
I feel that I am in control at this point and I Call In Nick Fury with an Ultron Drone, and I get a free Peggy Carter as well. Between Nick and Peggy, Krang goes down. He extends his hand. Win.
Round 1 – Tom
SR Superman 175
Mr. Myxzptlk 70
FF Nigthwing 25
Teleporter 30 (Green Lantern, Shazam!, SHIELD Level 7, 2 more ID Cards)
Tom is from Canada and is part of the Meta Lab show. He is playing a unique team, a swiss-army knife, if you will. He sees my team, then decides to use the Teleporter’s ability to swap his Superman for KC Green Lantern. I win the map and we to the Turtle’s Lair. He also rolls for Mxy’s trait and gets a “5.”
I do my normal move by just moving straight up, but outside of his range to attack me on turn 1. He just moves Mxy around to get a token and Sidesteps Nightwing in front of Green Lantern, and copies the JSA team ability. I just clear. He pushes Mxy to get on his second click and makes Nightwing Tiny. I see my opportunity and take it. I first bring in The Atom for free, then I Sidestep up the Drones, and I Call In Nick Fury with one of them. With SHIELD pumps to my range and HENRY providing the damage boost, Nick is able to shoot 12-squares away. I need a 7 with two PCs to KO Mxy. I turn off his Super Senses and hit. Poof. Down goes the imp. On his turn he uses Running Shot to take out one of Ultron Drones.
My turn consisted of my just moving up and basing his team with my jet. I couldn’t Colossal Retaliate because he put up a Barrier with Nightwing through an Inspiration he received from the Teleporter. After I move up, I bring in Red Tornado for free and KO Nightwing through Force Blasting him up against the Barrier he put up. Atomica and the jet are based with GL at this point and he decides to just push and attack. He misses. The next turn I bring in Peggy Carter for free and turn off his Invincible. Red Tornado comes in and Force Blasts him for 1-damage.
After clearing, he brings in Batman and Pulse Waves everyone, including his GL. We all get hit and take 1-damage, and my Peggy and Red Tornado go away. I Call In Nightwing, then bring in Iron Man for free. I use Tony Zucco and Iron Man to Perplex up Nigthwing’s Attack to a 13, then Charge/Flurry carrying HENRY and KO’ing Green Lantern. Win.
With a 3-0 record, I secure my spot in the Top 8. There were two 2-1s that made it in as well. I am the 2nd overall seed going into the Top 8.
Top 8
KC Spectre 130
-Brainiac 25
Nighthawk Prime 65
KC Green Lantern 35
Solaris 25
Pandora’s Box (Lust and Sloth Relics) 20
This was a really interesting and tough match. This was an archetype that we missed in our testing, and moreso, I haven’t really tested extensively against Nighthawk Prime, so I didn’t know exactly how to approach this match. I win the map and we to Olympus. My thinking is that the blocking terrain will prevent Spectre from using his massive range advantage. I move half way across the map with my team. He puts Sloth on his Spectre then Sidesteps closer. He Perplexes with Green Lantern and sets up a Barrier. I clear. He puts Lust on Solaris, Sidesteps closer. He Outwits my Running Shot with Solaris and passes. I just call out The Atom via the Resource the Dial and pass. He rolls for the Box and gets Running Shot. Spectre comes across and KOs my Ultron-6 Drone.
I retaliate on his guys and manage to hit Spectre before Atom goes down. I just move to his side of the map where we go for a couple of turns just trying to take pot shots at each other. His Solaris is able to come over and lock down some of my guys, while I’m able to hit to his last click with a Nick Fury Call In. I also have Nova brought in for free, but miss the KO shot on Spectre. This is where I realize I have made a mistake in my decision-making. Between Regeneration from Brainiac and the Sloth Relic, Spectre is able to heal to his second click! All that work for nothing.
So, with about 5 minutes left in the round, I make a complete change in my strategy. I now have to focus on KO’ing Nighthawk and Green Lantern, since he has KO’d an Ultron Drone, an Atom, and scored a few ID Cards. I start by Calling In Nightwing with Ultron Drone and bringing in Iron Man for free. Iron Man pilots the jet, I Sidestep bringing Atomica around to grant her Outwit and counter Nighthawk’s defense. I then send Nightwing with a Perplexed up Attack, carrying HENRY to KO Nighthawk. I now have to survive the Retaliation, which I do, since he missed the 18-Defense on my guys.
I actually have time now because Spectre has spent two turns healing up, but he is now clear. I then turn my sites on his Green Lantern. I bring in Peggy Carter for free and turn off Barrier so GL doesn’t box me out. I Perplex up her attack twice and KO Green Lantern. I then take a pot shot on Solaris, but miss. It’s basically the last turn for me and he rolls onto Running Shot from the Box and tries to take a shot at Peggy Carter. However, since I am on his side of the map, Peggy Carter has Stealth and Shapechange, and his LoF goes through hindering terrain, which means he cannot shoot her. I positioned so the rest of the team is behind the jet and he can only attack the jet (since Peggy is in Stealth). He shoots the jet for a few clicks and time is called. That was a close one as a I barely win 95-80. Win.
Clay Wood
I’m into the Top 4, but since the tournament took so long for the 3 rounds of Swiss to conclude and the top 8 to begin, the Judges are gracious enough to allow us to finish out the Top 4 the next day (Friday). This was decided so we could play in the 4pm Team Sealed Qualifier. It’s very fortunate for me as I do not want to leave my other two teammates behind. I know I am matched up with Easton Brock, my fellow Apex Insider writer and friend. He hasn’t lost all day either.
Kevin Afrooz
With that out of the way, we turn our focus to the Team Sealed portion. There are 112 teams of 3 players each (!) and it’s 6 boosters of Uncanny X-Men. Clay has done the studying of the set and we have our plan. We would try and go low point X-Men Theme, possibly another if we had enough to do so (with higher point figures perhaps), try and play uncommon Juggernaut and just play the best leftover pieces. Marauders are also a consideration.
We open our 6 boosters and we pull some pretty juicy pieces: Emma Frost Prime, Sabretooth and Wild Child, Dark Angel, and SR Iceman. There is also a Juggernaut in our pull as well. I immediately tell them I’m playing an X-Men theme and I will handle my end of the group. I first have Nightcrawler 60pts on my force, but after Clay points out how much better the 50pt version is for my team, and that Kevin needs a carrier for his X-Men Theme, I go with the 50pt version. My team is a solid one and consists of:
(X-Men Theme)
Chase Sabretooth and Wild Child 130
C Cyclops 50
C Storm 50
C Nightcrawler 50 
Clay opts for a Dark Angel tentpole team while Kevin gets the Iceman X-Men theme team. My Round 1 is against Alan Mason and he is playing a brutal X-Men team himself:
C Storm 50
C Storm 50
R Magneto 90
SR Iceman 110
He wins the map and we play on Arcade’s Arena. The first couple of turns is just setting up, inching closer, while setting up Smoke Clouds to protect us. After some clearing, I set up an attack on his Iceman with Wild Child. I move Sabretooth up, then Charge with Wild Child (Perplexed up Attack), and hit Iceman, but only roll a 1 for BCF (at least it is penetrating damage). We get closer and Iceman does his thing when Magneto TKs Iceman back. He does a good move by using Running Shot to move through Wild Child, but shoots Sabretooth. He connects and Sabretooth takes 2, but Wild Child’s Combat Reflexes prove too much and he misses him.
I take a pot shot with Cyclops, which I miss and I move Nightcrawler to base his Magneto and Storm. We take shots at each other, both using our Perplexes to good use and it’s starting to get dirty in the pitch. I am able to take down one Storm with Nightcrawler, and he hits Sabretooth pretty low with his other Storm. The big play comes when Iceman needs a 6 to KO Sabretooth, but rolls a Crit Miss(!). He is all out of PCs and the counterattack is brutal as Iceman and Magneto both go down in short order to both Cyclops and Sabretooth. Sabretooth is able to heal a couple of clicks, and his Storm tries to run, but is tracked down by my team. Win (300-0).
Kevin is able to pull out a win with the Iceman lock down on his end, and we win the Round 2-1.
Round 2 – Drake Conrad
I play against one Canada’s finest and all-around great guy, Drake Conrad. He is playing a vicious
Marauders team:
(Marauders Theme)
Harpoon 50
Harpoon 50
John Greycrow 60
Lady Mastermind 45
Riptide 45
Arclight 50
This is quite a team, with multiple attackers. He wins the map and we go to the Technodrome. I use the walls and blocking to keep my team safe with Storm’s Smoke Cloud protecting my team. He comes up with Riptide first, and predictably Pulse Waves my team. My retaliation KO’s his Riptide the next turn with Cyclops dealing the fatal blow.
He gets closer towards me and keeps his guys spaced pretty evenly. I use this opportunity to send Wild Child into the fray as I move Sabretooth towards him. Wild Child deals a chunk of damage to Grecrow (4) and I lock up his Harpoon as well with Wild Child. He moves up with Lady Mastermind and he uses all 3 of his Themed Team PCs to hit Sabretooth with Harpoon to keep him from moving next turn. Wild Child goes down, but I replace him with Nightcrawler, who ties up his team even more. We get close and I use Storm’s Smoke Cloud to keep his Harpoons from getting a clear shot on Sabretooth to KO him.
After some back and forth, I KO his Lady Mastermind, he hits my Sabretooth to almost his last click. This is good for me as he loses Battle Fury and Storm (who has taken some damage and is on Sidestep) is able to carry Sabretooth out of harm’s way. Nightcrawler and Cyclops go on the offensive, taking down a Harpoon and Greycrow. Nightcrawler’s Defense is too high as he isn’t able to trigger his Mutant Massacre trait on any of his characters. Eventually, he gets close and hits Cyclops with Harpoon. I take down Harpoon and it’s just a full dial Arclight against my beaten up team of X-Men. With Sabretooth’s healing (he must have healed around 5 clicks, between Regerneration and his trait) and Cyclop’s offense (he gets better as he gets hit!), I am able to take down Arclight. Win (300-0).
Clay gets trounced, but Kevin is able to pull off a 50-0 win behind the lockdown tactics of Iceman. We are now 2-0. We only need one more win to secure our spot in Team Worlds.
Round 3
Chase Sugar Man 120
Chase Weapon X 80
C Storm 50
UC Magneto 50
Yes, you read that right, this guy is playing two(!) Chases. He is playing with his brother and father and they are also 2-0, so this will be an intense match. He wins the map and we go to the Sewers. I do my normal creep up and Smoke Cloud with Storm as does he. After we get close enough, I decide to pre-empt him since he has TK on his end. I run Sabretooth all the way up and pop out Wild Child and smack Magneto for 3-damage. I’m feeling good until I realize he is on Sidestep/Pulse Wave. He gets the break away, then uses the once per game Running Shot and Pulse Waves my entire team, KO’ing Wild Child in the process. Ouch. He then sends Weapon X towards Sabretooth and hits for 4, putting the Slash marker on him as well. He then just moves closer with Storm carrying Sugar Man. I have to retaliate quickly as he is closing in fast. I KO his Magneto with Cyclops and I clear with Sabretooth after I Sidestep away from him. Nightcrawler is sent up to tie up his team with Combat Reflexes and Smoke Cloud to hinder attacks. It works as Sugar Man and Weapon X miss his 20-Defense.
I push Cyclops and Nightcrawler to KO his Weapon X, while Sabretooth runs towards Storm. After some repositioning and pot shots, his Storm goes down and I hit his Sugar Man to click 5. For my troubles, my Storm is 3 clicks down, Nightcrawler is KO’d and Sabretooth is on his last click.
I retreat to heal Sabretooth with Regeneration and his trait. At this point he has taken quite a bit of damage. I mis-place him and he able to use Sugar Man’s special power to pull Sabretooth in. He KO’s him the next turn and now it’s on me to catch up as I am behind on points now. He ties me up for a few turns with Sugar Man and we take turns missing attacks and Sidesteps. I finally get a Sidestep with Cyclops to get away from him and I am able to hit him to his last click… a STOP Click. Luckily, his offensive stats are low enough to where he cannot KO Storm in one shot and I use her Pulse Wave a couple of turns later to KO him and pull out the tough victory. Win (300-180).
I go over to Kevin, who just got annihilated by a 3x Riptide team… so it’s up to Clay. I look over there and it’s a tough match. He is going up against 2x Juggernauts (these pulls are crazy!). I check the status and he just KO’d a Juggernaut and it’s Dark Angel vs Juggernaut. Clay misses a HSS breakaway… but Juggernaut Crit Misses his attack on a push… Clay KO’s him shortly after and we pull out a tough 3-game set. We each get a Con LE for our efforts and it’s on to the next day!
We are 3-0 and we make it to the Team Worlds portion of the World Championship. We are elated as we don’t have to worry about trying to qualify the next day. That night we relax and go out a bit for a drink or two and we check out the convention a little bit. We eat at Dick’s Last Resort with a whole MESS of people and it was good times. We had Team Statagem, Team Pusheen, Phoenix Nest, guys from Brazil, Mexico, Canada, just a good ol’ time catching up with old friends and making new ones. This is what it’s all about. I will keep repeating it until I convince everyone to make a trip to Origins, Gencon, or ROC Cup or whatever large event. It’s moments like these which makes it all worth it.
Very kind of you to mention me in such esteemed company. Congrats, to team majestix