by Aaron Cantu
We are now about a month into the 2015 – 2016 ROC Season using the new 300 point Modern ROC Limited Format. Last month I previewed the format and since then there have been 3 events using this new format that have had 20+ participants. There have been a few surprises to show up as well as some things that, if you read my last article, we expected to see. I think now is a good time to highlight, review, and analyze some of the teams and figures that are working and possibly some of the ways they can be improved.
11/21-11/22 THE COMIC DIMENSION – GREENSBORO, NC
http://www.majestixccg.com/slider/patrick-yapjoco-wins-the-first-roc-super-qualifier-of-the-2016-season/
The first Super Qualifier of the new ROC season set many benchmarks for what to expect when building for the competitive scene. There were 28 participants and many things I wrote about in the Limited Format Primer (http://majestixccg.com/apex-insiders/articles/modern-age-limited-aaron/) showed up as expected. Our very own writer Patrick Yapjoco won with a team centered on Mr. Mxyptlk. There were familiar figures like Zombie Super Skrull, Nick Fury, Banshee, and Ultron Drones-o-plenty. So if you read the primer article, you knew to expect these things. However, there were plenty of things to show up that even I didn’t expect to see. I want to highlight my favorite team of the top 8. Brett Gathings piloted an unsuspecting team to a 3rd place finish utilizing:
SMWW021 Red Tornado 95
SMWW021 Red Tornado 95
WKD-017 Resurrection Man 92
Red Tornado is the piece that drives this force. It is a very unassuming piece. When you look at its dial, you will notice not a single special power. It has just moderate stats of 9,10,17,3 to start and is mostly support type powers with Sidestep, Telekinesis, Super Senses, and Outwit. However, Lois is packing a devastating trait to make her a force to be reckoned with.
“RIDE THE CYCLONE: Red Tornado can use Force Blast normally or as a free action. When she activates Force Blast, after actions resolve, if the target is still adjacent to her, deal that character 1 penetrating damage.”
If you are a listener to the show Two Clicks from KO, you know that this is a piece that we were up on from the start, but I dismissed the competitiveness of this figure. Brett proved me wrong. Most likely using the strategy of pinning down figures with Red Tornadoes on opposite adjacent squares, he can potentially dish out 4 clicks of penetrating damage in one turn, without worrying about those pesky attack rolls (I refer to this as “free damage”).
The choice of Resurrection Man as support is an interesting one. Resurrection Man is really tough to take down and can have a VAST array of powers and abilities, but I can’t help but wonder if he couldn’t have chosen something that would help him in his strategy. Using something like Juston Seyfert to get his Tazmanian Devils into position as well as get some free attacks off could have been devastating. I am certain we will continue to see variations of the twin tornadoes in the future, so it occurs to me that we take a look at some ways to avoid dealing with taking the free damage. Invincible is already a very useful power used to mitigate damage, but it could not be more important than it is against Red Tornado. Figures like Super Skrull can choose to use Invincible and because it is not a power possessed by it, they won’t have to worry about the Outwit on Red Tornado rendering it useless. Further, if they are based, they can choose to Poison Red Tornado or Flurry precision Strike to get rid of them. There are also a large variety of figures like Tiamat and various other Power Cosmic/Quintessence users that can use Invincible. It will take some clever building to work them onto teams, though.
Another thing I noticed I left out in the primer that I did not expect to see so quickly was the utilization of the NFAOS chase vehicles. Putting Ultron Drones in them seems to be the popular way to go, although I can see some things like Hulk being a good choice for Cap’s Cycle or Beyonder in the Sky Cycle. Time will tell if this was a fluke showing or if they are a thing to constantly prep for. Overall, this was a fascinating Top 8 with tons of variety. I am very excited to see more from the boys on the other side of the country and what they brew up next.
11/21 COLLECTOR’S INK — CHICO, CA
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8520691&postcount=39
While some of the big names were getting busy at the Super Qualifier in Greensboro, there was a trial going on in the West Coast city of Chico. This event had 32 participants (capped due to space) and had a very competitive top 8. Much of what was there was centered on Nick Fury as 4 out of the Top 8 teams utilized the power piece (the winning team using 2). Again, Mr. Mxyptlk made an appearance as well as other primer standouts like General Lane and Nighthawk Prime. There were two teams that stood out as unique to me in this top 8. The first team being the 5th place finisher, Brett Johnson’s team of:
Wonder Woman 165
Despotellis 30
S.T.A.R. Labs Technician 33
Mr. Mxyzptlk 70
Wonder Woman makes her allies harder to hit with her trait:
COMMUNISM IS SOCIAL JUSTICE: When a friendly character with a lower point value than Wonder Woman is targeted with an attack, modify the attacker’s attack and damage values by -1.
Coupling that trait with her solid damage output and Hypersonic Speed carrying the nuisance of Despotellis and you could have your hands full very quickly. Mr. Mxyzptlk also makes sure that either your dice are landing or your opponents dice are missing and can make Wonder Woman larger sizes to help out action or deal with Plasticity. It is a very clever team that I think could carry over into the tactics portion of the season. The obvious downfall of this team is that if you can knock Wonder Woman a good portion down her dial or even knock her out, there is not much there to damage your team.
The other team I would like to highlight is Skylar Scatchard’s 8th place team.
Nighthawk Prime 65
The Flash 195
S.T.A.R. Labs Technician 33
This team leaves 7 points off the board and I can’t help but feel like if those other 7 points were utilized, it would have likely done better. This team can be a support killer and be used to draw out the game. TK’ing Flash out to OHKO a STAR Labs Tech or something similar and then playing defense could be just enough to win. My feeling is that there were times Skylar was out of reach and I feel that something like Pym Particles could have been a huge difference maker. I also think that Nighthawk Prime is a great piece, but he could have served himself better using Rainbow Raider, or a strong secondary attacker like Cerise Prime instead. As is, this team is very vulnerable to standard size Plasticity users as well as things like Nick Fury who have the potential to take away all move and attack on Flash.
While the event at Chico had a much less diverse field in the Top 8, it showed that there is nothing wrong with going with what works.
12/5 DICE ADDICTION – TULSA, OK
https://www.facebook.com/majestixheroclix/posts/936028199806980
The final major ROC event of 2015 had a large turnout of 44 participants with another varied Top 8. Twin-force was strong at this event with two teams utilizing double trouble in the form of Koriand’r and two teams running twin-Tornadoes. While that doesn’t sound like variation, the rest of the Top 8 was all over the place. Joshua Earnest made it to Top 8 using his ant-bomb team (which you can read about here http://www.majestixccg.com/slider/ants-ants-with-bombs-roc-sq-team-for-tulsa-ok-joshua-earnest/ ), the eventual winner utilized an improved KC Flash team with Mr. Mxyzptlk and Pym Particles, and there was even a surprise showing for the NFAOS050 Thor figure. My favorite team of the top 8 was piloted by Zach Coffee. He ran:
Dr. Demonicus 80
Nighthawk Prime 65
H.E.N.R.Y. 15
Rainbow Raider 68
Mr. Mxyzpltk 70
Pym Particles 2
This team is near to my heart because it has some similarities to a team I was planning on using. Dr. Demonicus makes some very useful attackers using his trait:
GIANT MONSTER SUMMON!: Give Dr. Demonicus a power action if no friendly bystander token named on this card is on the map. You may choose one you haven’t chosen this game and place it on the map adjacent to him.
Dr. Demonicus’ Perplex coupled with H.E.N.R.Y. as well as the combo of Rainbow Raider and Nighthawk Prime keeps opposing combat values in check while Mr. Mxyzpltk ensures dice are what you need to be. The only real improvement I can see for this team is a way to deliver the monsters summoned by Dr. Demonicus. I suggest using Shatterstar and Blind Al instead of Mr. Mxyzpltk and H.E.N.R.Y. If you are looking for a way to counter this team, Poison comes to mind since only one of Dr. Demonicus’ monsters has any sort of move and attack, some clever usage of Sidestep, Poison, and Outwit could be all you need to handle the bulk of the damage dealers on this force.
The event in Tulsa is the first one to really utilize ATAs this format, which is what I really thought would be a large factor in Limited. Koriand’r using the “Red Hood and the Outlaws” ATA is a serious disruption for the power figures like Nick Fury and the General Lane variations you see in the Chico event by disallowing higher point figures to draw line of fire. It’s actually quite clever.
LOOKING FORWARD
After taking a long look at the first events of the season, you can see some trends already starting to develop. The primary things being double Red Tornado, KC Flash + support, Nick Fury Soldier tanks, and various Mr. Mxyzpltk builds. To me, these initial builds are just the tip of the iceberg of originality. There is still quite a bit of room to grow the double Red Tornado builds and you can pretty much slap Mr. Mxyzpltk on almost any team. KC Flash and Nick Fury are going to be pretty much what you have already seen as their point values and power sets don’t allow for much room to change the support around them. I am wholly impressed with the team building of the first month of the season and am anxious to see what the busy first quarter of 2016 will bring.
