by Javey Villones
Hello everyone. I’m here to talk about the WKO event from our corner of the planet, The Philippines! To give a brief background of the local scene, we have four venues, two of which are very active, with 6-8 regular attendees. We have casual groups here and there, with new groups forming in other parts of the country. Thanks to Wizkids’ new structure, we get to gather as a group more often. 20 players showed up for our WKO.
Good turnout!
Qualifying Rounds
We had four rounds of 300pt sealed with each player opening a pack of Mighty Thor and Elseworlds. I thought this was a good combination of sets to do sealed with because even though both sets have powerhouse SRs/Chases, they also have good mid-range attackers and utility figures. True enough, a Uni-Mind and two Chase Supermen showed up among the pulls.
My boosters came with:
TMT: Sif, Piledriver, Jane Foster, Warrior Soul, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan) Rare
Elseworlds: Common Batman, Diana Prince Justice Rider, Nekhrun, The Joker Creature, Green Lantern Rare
Not very good. I went for Ms. Marvel first, as she had both utility and survivability. I considered 200 point Nekhrun, thinking that his raw stats are good. But I was worried with mobility and getting out-actioned, so I decided I’d go with:
Ms. Marvel
Diana Prince Justice Rider
Sif
Green Lantern Rare
Round 1: Uni-Mind at 150, Superman Uncommon, Batman Common
What a nightmare of a first round. My opponent did get a little aggressive early on, moving right away across the map. He overextended, so I saw an opening to attack with Green Lantern. Critical miss! An exchange of attacks followed, my Sif and his Superman got KO’ed. Having the points advantage, I had to retreat to use the elevation to keep Uni-Mind within our range. I had to sacrifice Ms. Marvel and Diana Prince to get Uni-Mind to his stop click. Uni-Mind was about to HSS-steal energy Green Lantern – my last figure on the board, and my opponent rolled snake eyes. What a way to offset my opening miss.
Result: W
Round 2: Superman Rare, Superman Uncommon, Loki Agent of Asgard
Another Superman! Thankfully, we were at the Olympus map, so we were able to get close. Sif got KO’ed. Superman Unc got KO’ed. GL used the giant boxing glove to attack Superman Rare from a lower elevation (useful!). Superman Rare used the object to try to KO Diana, but missed. We moved a lot away from Loki’s LoF.
Result: W
Round 3: Green Lantern Common, The Flash Common, The Flash Uncommon, Makkari
I knew that I was going to be outranged this time, but luckily I got to pick map. So I took it to Arthur’s Castle and moved my team on elevated terrain to limit my opponent’s movement. Green Lantern’s “World Without a Superman” trait allowed my to KO The Flash Common early, and after another rough exchange of attacks, we eliminated Makkari.
Result: W
Round 4: Green Oracle, Wonder Woman Uncommon, Wonder Woman Common, Diana Prince Justice Rider
A team that’s roughly similar to mine also ended up 3-0. We played on Arthur’s map. Green Lantern was able to reach and KO Green Oracle from another elevation, leaving one of the figures stranded on elevation level 3. My Diana Prince was able to snipe his for 5, and the game was pretty much done from that point.
Result: W
Single-Elimination Rounds
We were then paired off for single elimination finals round. The format was Modern Age 300 point constructed. Our first major constructed tournament after TMT’s release. I was expecting a lot of ID Call-Ins, as they got a huge buff from the new rules. I gravitated towards Beta Ray Bill, because his ability provides protection against the notorious ranged Call-Ins – Nick Fury, Green Arrow, Hawkeye and Cosmic Spider-Man. I added the Symbiote so he can easily break out of sticky situations.
I considered Overdrive to taxi him around the map, but I found that Al Jhor Dan is better for that job. They can take turns carrying each other so I can constantly reposition for map pressure. I added Brainiac so that I have the option to pick Impervious (if I need defense, as long as Al is regular-sized) or a utility power like Outwit or Prob. This allows me to pick another power for Al’s special ability.
I have a few points left, so I added Carnage and The Atom, because Colossal Retaliation is always useful. For the ID cards, it’s the usual suspects – S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 (with TMT Hulk, Hawkeye and Nick Fury), Green Arrow (Elseworlds Green Arrow) and Spider-Man (Cosmic Spider-Man and CW Spider-Man)
I still have a few points left over, so I assigned Supreme Intelligence to Beta Ray Bill. I can use that for more utility options (Outwit, Perplex, Prob) or I can switch to Super Senses – so I have the option to give him all three (Shape Change, Senses and Impervious – that ignores penetrating damage). I was able to play test this team for a bit, and the win condition is to pick off my opponent’s mobility options and let Beta Ray and Al deal with the rest.
The Team
TMT Beta Ray Bill 125 pts
+ Supreme Intelligence 12 pts
+ Symbiote
Al Jhor Dan 90
+ Brainiac 25
SMWW The Atom 15
TMT Carnage 10
S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 5 pts
Spider-Man 5 pts
Green Arrow 5 pts
SIDELINE:
TMT Hulk 100 pts
ADW Hawkeye 65 pts
NFAOS Nick Fury 120 pts
WI Cosmic Spider-Man 75 pts
CW Spider-Man 80 pts
EW Green Arrow 80 pts
Quarterfinals: Uni-Mind 275 points (Forged in Blue Flame with Sersi, Makkari, Ikaris, Thena) and a Knobbed Mace
Map: Bifrost (Outdoor)
My opponent didn’t have any ID Call-Ins to protect my team from. We advanced to secure the Symbiote, and Uni-Mind crossed the map to take out The Atom, who was not adjacent to Beta Ray at the time. That gave me the opening for Al Jhor Dan to hit Uni-Mind with a Pulse Wave. Carnage then retaliated. He missed, and he popped a symbiote next to Uni-Mind. Uni-Mind failed a breakaway HSS Steal Energy attack. That gave me an opening to summon Green Arrow to hit him to his next stop click. Uni-Mind was eventually popped, and Al Jhor Dan Pulse Waved the Eternals.
Result: W
Semifinals: Mephisto 130 points, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Overdrive, Dormammu, Justice League Teleporter with 5 IDs
Map: Mount Olympus (Outdoor)
This was the easier match up for me. But I was wary of Mxyzptlk, as he can take Beta Ray off of his first click as well as my colossal. I summoned Hawkeye to deal with him, but despite having two Probs on my end, I still missed. Hawkeye was KO’ed and I was behind on points. We moved around the big blocking terrain in the middle until I finally caught up with Green Arrow shooting down Mxy. It was then easier from that point onward. With Beta Ray’s immunity from Mystic damage, he took out Dormammu. And then Beta Ray and Al based Mephisto to finish off my opponent’s team.
Result: W
Finals: Goblin King, Boxing Ring, Mirror of Mysolljh
Map: Arthur’s Castle (Outdoor)
I knew this was my toughest match of the day. And I realize that once Goblin King gets that Mirror, it’s going to be extra difficult for me. But that was also my window. When Gobby pushed to equip the object, I crossed the map so that Al can Pulse Wave him off of his Invincible clicks. Instead of hitting Al back, he went to my side of the map to KO The Atom. Carnage tried to retaliate, but he rolled Shape Change, and I forgot to put down a Symbiote. Carnage was killed, but I had time to move Beta Ray to Al, and I double Perplex Al’s speed so he can carry Beta Ray to set up for a Nick Fury summon. Now that Goblin King is off of his first click, I was able to cancel Shape Change and damage him further. Goblin King then sidestepped away to Regenerate. So I saw this as an opportunity to tie up Goblin King with Beta Ray (Symbiote = Plasticity) and Al Jhor Dan changed size so he can do single target Pulse Wave to Goblin King.
Result: W
That’s me on the left
So that’s it! I had fun playing the team (because Beta Ray Bill!), and despite my team having a total of 12 clicks across the board, his ability was very helpful in keeping those intact. Sadly I didn’t get to play against the popular Uni-Mind build, as the players planning to run it didn’t make it in the sealed rounds. I do encourage you to try this and let me know how it goes!
