The Iron Campaign (part 2)

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First step in the Iron Campaign is to figure what went right and wrong with the previous attempts.

The 2300-point birthday game

V Iron Man (X-Plosion) 189 + Trick Shot 20
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188 + Brilliant Tactician 20
V Iron Man (Armor Wars) 172
Hulkbuster 165
Iron Man (Supernova) 160
+ Stunning Blow 10
Iron Man (Avengers) 154
Tony Stark 150
Iron Man (Ultimates) 144
E Iron Man (Armor Wars) 135
+ Mercenary 15
V War Machine 124
Spider-Man (Avengers) 111
E War Machine 109
U Iron Man (Mutations & Monsters) 100
+ Protected 8 +Vendetta 6
Anthony Stark 100 + Outsmart 10
U Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89
R Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89
Guardsman 32

= 2300 points.

In a battle royale against Psicardi’s “ladies’ night” team featuring Ms. Marvel (Skrull), Wonder Woman (Arkham Asylum), Moondragon, Chase Spider-Womanand a full complement of six Cuckoos, among many more; Lord Timothy (aka Bilbo3000) and his Parallax, CR Mordru, AV Ares, Magus, SN Thanos, Immortusand more; and Lenny’s JL Superman, AV Silver Surfer, SI Iron Man, CR Green Lantern, Gamora, Iron Spider, CR Green Arrow, OOTS Batman and the like.

RESULT: Took 75 points, lost 344, by far the worst showing on the map.

What went right: Using XPlosion Iron Man as the hidden Trick Shooter. Thanks to his awful-for-the-points attack values, this old rendition of the character is good for nothing other than this niche role. Fortunately, it worked eminently well, leading to my only points of the night.

What went wrong:

Trying to use Ultimates Iron Man to Energy Explode a pile of Cuckoos. While the first attack succeeded, the followup to get the girls off their dangerous clicks failed, leading to said Iron Man — who ventured well within their retaliation range — taking about 2 more clicks of Psychic Blast damage than he could stand. Lesson learned: better to pick targets off one by one if possible. Also, never NEVER move + attack INTO an enemy’s shorter range if it can be helped.

Not being able to leverage Brilliant Tactician enough. The indoor map and my huddled pieces hindered my ability. Lesson learned: equipping Secret Invasion Iron Man with Coordination in addition might prove beneficial. Also, I need to otherwise be prepared for cramped spaces that hamper ranged attacks.


Six-person Battle Royale:

Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188
U Iron Man (Mutations & Monsters) 100
Paramedic 8

= 296 points.

RESULT: I was the first one wiped, since we had a special rule that prevented teams from pouncing on the nearest enemies (and me from targeting most of the weaker players on the board).

What went right: Not much, really, despite being the first player to score a KO.

What went wrong: Missed a gift of a first-turn shot at Gamora by forgetting the range-boosting aspect of M+M Iron Man’s SHIELD team ability. When that same player’s Batman and Gamora closed in, I risked a close-range Running Shot that I absolutely could not afford to miss…and did. Lessons learned: This is a range-centric team that should leverage that ability at all times and in all ways. When the enemy closes in, Running Shot away…or just run, period.


The late Father’s Day team

SI Iron Man 188 + Inside Information 4 + Thunderbolts 10 (Ultimates)

AV Spider-Man 111 + Lunge 5
Spider-Girl 77 + Lunge 5

This game was a Father’s Day holdover in which 2 figures on the team had to be a father and his offspring.

RESULT: I beat Nathaniel Richards, his son FF Reed Richards, his son Franklin Richards, V Corsair and his sons V Havok and V IC Cyclops and a couple more pogs. Lost the Spiders, though.

What went right: Pretty much everything. I caught Nathaniel Richards with his pants down (i.e., away from Mastermind fodder) and hit hit early with Iron Man’s Running Shot to put Paul on the defensive early on. I was also well-equipped with Outwit and two boot speed Leap/Climb figures to tie up the opposition pretty well. Lesson learned: Use that range advantage and maintain it, even if tie-up pieces have to be put at risk.

What went wrong: Still lost significant portion of team. That’s just the way the dice roll sometimes, though. Lesson learned: Cheap tie-up is better.


Finally, I played one more Stark swarm:

U Iron Man (Mutations & Monsters) 100
Anthony Stark 100 + Outsmart 10 + Alpha Flight 0
U Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89 + Alpha Flight 0
R Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89 + Alpha Flight 0 + Armor Piercing 10

= 398 points
against a Warskrull, V Vampire Lackey and White Martian x 3 team and a JL team of CR Green Lantern, CR Green Arrow, OR Carter Hall and LE Atom.

RESULT: I was wiped first and scored no KOs.

What went right: Nothin’.

What went wrong: An early attempt on Warskrull proved a huge game-breaking error. Not only was I only marginally successful (putting the target on its Stealth clicks and causing later problems with range attacks), but I put my whole team in range of multiple Charging White Martians, who couldn’t even be Force Blasted away. Thus tied up, my force was helpless against the JL team shooting mine in the back even while the Martians fought me. Lessons learned: No matter how tempting/fearsome the target, do not EVER give up the Stark team’s range advantage under any circumstances. A tied up Iron Man is halfway lost already.

Using R and U Armor Wars Iron Man. The one has too-low damage (requiring Armor Piercing) and the other, too-low range. Forced to choose between the two, I’d pick the Unique for its better damage, Super Strength and tie-up ability. Lesson learned: It’s probably better to fill the team out with Stark-built generics like Mandroid Armor or Guardsman instead of these pieces, anyway.

That final lesson was key, actually, in that it reminded me that in a “Stark Industries” theme team would allow me to field Mandroid Armor, which would serve well to add Telekinesis to the team’s range.

I would have a chance to apply some of these lessons in a 1000-point match a week later. Would the Iron Campaign’s numbers in the loss column slide into double digits? Find out in Part 3 of the Iron Campaign in a couple of days!

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