Friday, September 5, 2008
Arkham Asylum: First LooksLater today we're supposed to have the first of the official previews, but a bit past 4 this morning the latest icv2 email brought me pics of the sculpts and cards for three of this set's rogues: Riddler, Mad Hatter and Gorilla Grodd. (Yeah, I was too lazy to keep them proportional in the graphic, but you're smart folks and know to look to the size of the bases to get a better sense of relative scale.)
No dial info, but here are the three (click on each for a larger view) alongside their cards. They didn't show us the back of the Mad Hatter's card presumably because his powers all fit on the first side.
First: Riddler
An interesting package, especially at 90 points.Stealth, then Leap/Climb, with Mastermind for Defense, he also has a couple of Special Powers:
Riddle Me This grants him the use of Incapacitate. If he chooses to gamble a little, it lets him do so as a Free Action against a single target providing he doesn't use another Free Action that turn (so, no Perplex or Outwit), and if he successfully hits the target he chooses a number between 1 and 6, then rolls two D6 dice. If the number he chose comes up once he can place one Incap token. If it comes up on both dice he can place two if the target doesn't have any. Considering that he could just use the first half of this SP to allow him to Incapacitate two targets (he has two lightning bolts on his base) and still be able to use Perplex and Outwit, I'm thinking the latter options aren't likely to be seen often.
His second Special Power is They'll Never Get This One, which allows him to use Outwit and Perplex. When he uses Perplex he can only use it to modify an opposing character's stat (other than Damage) by -2.
Will he be worth the 90 points? Show me the dial!
Next: Mad Hatter
Mastermind for defensive purposes is definitely thematic. A 6 range for Mind Control works well enough for him, as do two targets. Perplex is handier than ever these days.His Special Power is Hypnotic Hats, allowing him to take no feedback damage if he decides to Mind Control a single target, but it also has a fun extra element for his fellow Batman Enemies. Anyone he's Mind Controlled remains for the rest of that turn a Batman Enemy, which means that if the target is next to a Batman Enemy (or someone copying that TA) they can borrow his Attack Value and use it against him. This could be fun.
...and then there's Gorilla Grodd
At 157 points it's hoped he has killer stats to back him up. He's something of a swiss army knife with Mind Control, Telekinesis and Outwit among his bag of tricks, and with Indomitable (the special symbol next to his Defense) he has the built-in Willpower to act two turns in a row without pushing. Some are concerned, though, when they see his point value and his having no damage-reducer better than Toughness.
His Special Power is Your Will Is Mine, granting him Leap/Climb and Mind Control with a range of 8, which strikes me as very character accurate. Hopefully while I expect him to start with this it won't be entirely front-loaded. I'd like to see Charge come in fairly soon, then fall back to this power again -- perhaps even more than once as Grodd shifts tactics between mind games and raw, physical attacks.
Eat the Hostages! (Steal Energy) is a tad gruesome, but fun -- hopefully it'll work well. We'll need to see what sort of Damage he's capable of on those clicks.
The Mastermind on Riddler and Mad Hatter is likely part of a trend for the core Batman enemies, and will underscore the utility of those 19-point Street Thugs we'll be seeing in this set.
Labels: Arkham Asylum, first previews, Heroclix
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So with the Riddler's Riddle Me This power, he could have a successful attack roll, but not get to put any tokens on the target because the # they called doesn't come up? I'm with you; I don't see that getting a lot of play, unless someone is just screwing around.
Although, it is a bit like Justice League Batman's Out of the Shadows, since it's a free action, he could use it, then move somewhere else to set up for the next round.
Given that he's recently tried going straight as a private detective, I'm a little disappointed they didn't give Riddler Batman Ally, or some wild card team ability, to reflect his shifting loyalties.
The fact Mad Hatter does have Secret Six as a keyword means I'll have to see about getting one, since my Secret Six doesn't currently have six figures (would have been nice to get a new Harley Quinn with that keyword as well, but oh well, what will be, will be).
Hopefully that Grodd can make a nice attack centerpiece of a Rogues team. I wish the Telekinesis was at the front of the dial, instead of the middle, but that could come in handy if you needed to try and get a figure the heck away from some opposing mob/high point bruiser.
Wizkids has the Clown Prince of Crime fig up on their website. The idea of him having 3 different "mindsets" is kind of nifty, but you have to knock him out 4 times to get him out of the game entirely, from what I can tell. That could get tedious, especially if there's multiple teams that are fighting each other, as well as the Clown Prince's team. It does seem like he's a little different in each version, one version more focused on long range, others on close range. Some look better equipped to help teammates, others to handicap opponents. His stats look pretty good throughout.
Although, it is a bit like Justice League Batman's Out of the Shadows, since it's a free action, he could use it, then move somewhere else to set up for the next round.
Given that he's recently tried going straight as a private detective, I'm a little disappointed they didn't give Riddler Batman Ally, or some wild card team ability, to reflect his shifting loyalties.
The fact Mad Hatter does have Secret Six as a keyword means I'll have to see about getting one, since my Secret Six doesn't currently have six figures (would have been nice to get a new Harley Quinn with that keyword as well, but oh well, what will be, will be).
Hopefully that Grodd can make a nice attack centerpiece of a Rogues team. I wish the Telekinesis was at the front of the dial, instead of the middle, but that could come in handy if you needed to try and get a figure the heck away from some opposing mob/high point bruiser.
Wizkids has the Clown Prince of Crime fig up on their website. The idea of him having 3 different "mindsets" is kind of nifty, but you have to knock him out 4 times to get him out of the game entirely, from what I can tell. That could get tedious, especially if there's multiple teams that are fighting each other, as well as the Clown Prince's team. It does seem like he's a little different in each version, one version more focused on long range, others on close range. Some look better equipped to help teammates, others to handicap opponents. His stats look pretty good throughout.
The (relatively) recent changes for the character are ones I'd heard about but hadn't read; I tend to let Batman/Detective build up for several years and then dip into some of the trades. I guess they felt he didn't really warrant the perma-Stealth of the Batman TA, and that the flexibility of the Detective and Gotham City keywords would give him plenty of options if one chose to play him on a Bat-family team even as a hero.
I realize that in my rush to toss up the basic info I didn't stop to address the rarity of each piece -- from the Common Grodd and Riddler to the Super Rare Mad Hatter. Hopefully the Mad Hatter will prove enough of a niche piece that while some will want him badly many won't. Flash and Superman Prime are almost certain to be the big two people will be after; the rest may end up being in much lower demand, though it's certainly too early to say.
I was commenting on some of the Clown Prince of Crime threads, but hadn't tackled anything over here this evening. Finishing work, running some errands, replacing a protective cover for a window well ahead of the heavy rains we're expecting tomorrow, and having some dinner have all kept me busy most of the past four hours. I may post something on it yet just for my little record over here, but it won't be a great loss to anyone if I don't get to it.
Yeah, he has those four tokens, and getting him to hit one of his AA or the KO knocks him off the map momentarily and awards one of the tokens (worth 75 points) to the player who did it or who was the last one to deal him damage if he actually went out on a push. As I understand it he can also be prevented from returning by KOing the rest of his team while he's off the map, ending the game. His rules will probably bear another reading or two before trying him, though.
If nothing else he's a reasonable point total for fairly standard builds and looks much more interesting to play than World's Finest did. The randomness of not knowing which of the three versions he could come back with will test both players' knowledge of the dial.
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I realize that in my rush to toss up the basic info I didn't stop to address the rarity of each piece -- from the Common Grodd and Riddler to the Super Rare Mad Hatter. Hopefully the Mad Hatter will prove enough of a niche piece that while some will want him badly many won't. Flash and Superman Prime are almost certain to be the big two people will be after; the rest may end up being in much lower demand, though it's certainly too early to say.
I was commenting on some of the Clown Prince of Crime threads, but hadn't tackled anything over here this evening. Finishing work, running some errands, replacing a protective cover for a window well ahead of the heavy rains we're expecting tomorrow, and having some dinner have all kept me busy most of the past four hours. I may post something on it yet just for my little record over here, but it won't be a great loss to anyone if I don't get to it.
Yeah, he has those four tokens, and getting him to hit one of his AA or the KO knocks him off the map momentarily and awards one of the tokens (worth 75 points) to the player who did it or who was the last one to deal him damage if he actually went out on a push. As I understand it he can also be prevented from returning by KOing the rest of his team while he's off the map, ending the game. His rules will probably bear another reading or two before trying him, though.
If nothing else he's a reasonable point total for fairly standard builds and looks much more interesting to play than World's Finest did. The randomness of not knowing which of the three versions he could come back with will test both players' knowledge of the dial.
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