A buddy of mine and I periodically have what we call “grudge matches.” These are pre-determined battles (usually high-point) between one of his favorite theme-y builds and one of mine.
For example, the first one we tried was this: Asgard vs. Asgard’s Enemies. This time, it was Hulk vs. Iron Man!
This is how these matches usually end in the comics.
His team:
Green Scar 230 + Fortitude 25 + Contingency Plan 12 + Unstoppable 5
Red She-Hulk 139
Rampaging Hulk 128 + Fortitude 25
Hulk (2099) 123
Jennifer Walters, Esq. 107
+ Kinetic Accelerator
+ Meteorite
= 794 points.
My team:
Iron Man (Web of Spider-Man) 202
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188
Hulkbuster 165 + Unstoppable 5
Iron Man (Mutations and Monsters) 100
War Machine (Hammer of Thor) 137 + Not So Special 3
+ Eleha’al Vine
+ Dynamostat
+ Kinetic Accelerator
= 800 points. My strategy ? To leverage my massive range advantage to soften the Hulks up before they ever get to me.
My plan was immediately frustrated by losing the map roll. He picked the Prison. I was ready for this.
Lenny set up slowly and carefully, using Ramp.Hulk as his lead man hidden safely behind a wall. But he failed to see my secret weapon in Hulkbuster equipped with Unstoppable, leading to the first of many…
TURNING POINTS
- The feat allowed Hulkbuster to destroy the wall, pick up the Dynamostat I’d used to lull Lenny into a false sense of security, and then light into Ramp.Hulk with multiple Running Shots.
- Frustrated by my inability to miss those opening attacks, Lenny moved a bit too recklessly his next turn. I couldn’t believe he forgot to hide the giant 2099 Hulk behind one of the remaining walls, at least. I got at least two too many shots at the big guy.
- In an effort to take out WS Iron Man, Lenny’d plugged up the narrow corridor and prevented Green Scar from getting to him with the deadly Meteorite. That gave me an opportunity to shoot Scar off his Super Strength and Leadership with SI Iron Man, making it even more unlikely for Lenny to hit me with his poor die rolls. It cost me those 188 points, though, as he was KO’d in short order.
- No matter. Once free of Jennifer, Hulkbuster Charged in, picked up Lenny’s lost Meteorite, and destroyed Scar with it, along with Lenny’s hopes for a comeback.
In the end, I took out the whole team, losing only SI Tony.
MVPs
- Hulkbuster, definitely. Not only did he land the deciding blow, but his use of Unstoppable to break walls for free instantly negated the terrain advantage against my range-conscious team.
- But some praise must be given to WS Iron Man, too. Being Indomitable helped him to keep the offensive pressure on, giving the Hulks no chance to avoid fire.
- Finally, it’s got to be said: in all but one of the eight or so of these matches Lenny and I have played, his die rolls have gone ice cold while mine ranged from average to, in this case, blazing like repulsor rays.
So far, Lenny has gotten 2nd place in all our non-tournament Heroclix duels. I don’t know how much more of this he can take.