Many thanks for the feedback! I appreciate the language update and will try to bear that in mind for future dials. I’ve given you some credit and sent rep your way. I appreciate it!

Totally hear what you’re saying with these dials. Fwiw, the D+ set wasn’t on my radar for dialing these, as I’m not angling to fit a paradigm; I’m looking to transliterate as best I can within my interpretation of the show. I didn’t see these characters do much of anything throughout until maybe some token abilities. The official Billy & Tommy are fun, but feel too inaccurate to how I usually approach these. Haha I think it follows that these dials are novelties at best.

Dunno if it helps, but I always thought the fun of these movie threads is in dialing the characters as presented in their media as a way of contrasting their comic accurate takes. Like, show Alice was a poignant character who came with a good song; comic Alice is an urban fantasy witch with a magic gun. I’d have loved to see that, but it’s intriguing that the show made this choice.

Ahead of tomorrow’s entry, I admittedly made Agatha a bit stronger to round out the main characters to 150 points (Lilia was the first I dialed). Rio being a demi-god or major psychopomp made sense at 150 points, factoring in immortality. Haha as you say, though, 75-100 would probably have been an equally fair range.

It’s not like you made them bystanders in a chase booster so you’re showing more respect than the MLF got but man those dials are shallow.

I think the show focused heavily on character development but each had a past that drew them to the Road and other than the first two it feels like you sorta missed out on it. Jennifer Kale has been living since the early 20th century without her magic running a homeopathic remedy con. Lilia knows so much just not when so much, let alone she’s broke. Alice lived as a failed legacy that was actually a curse and ultimately just wanted answers as to the happenings of her ancestors (which we ultimately piece together also died to Agatha). Sharon Davis is lonely and suffering acute PTSD. If the goal is transliteration there’s a lot being lost in translation.

I think you may have missed the part where all witches are immortal. Agatha 1650’s. Lilia 1520s. Jen 1880s? Alice likely 1960s. Billy 2008/2021. If Rio has it factored why not the rest?

Cosmic beings are an odd bag. Omnipotence doesn’t translate well into a dice game. Mad Jim Jaspers and Molecule Man technically outclass them and they’re 50 points or less. Death specifically kills no one (‘It’s against the rules, remember?’), just claims the bodies. How that translates into 150 points is intriguing but my biggest complaint about the show itself was how anticlimactic it was compared to its predecessor. I wish Death actually did something that was befitting of 150 points. Lilia flipping the tower was the most impressive feat in the show and she’s 20 points. Ok, Billy willing the entire show into existence but honestly who didn’t see that coming? It’s a follow up to a show about a show being willed into existence.

But yeah, the cast of WandaVision basically each got 6 clicks with STOP and chases of Agatha and Wanda are even more playable. Thats kind of where my expectations were for a follow up mainly because those are the only pieces I own from that set lol.

Those are all extremely good points for which I don’t have many counterarguments!

I think for me it’s characterization =/= tactics. The characters have the emotional qualities you describe, but I rarely saw them use combat abilities as they translate to Heroclix. If I’d thought to include their longevity in their dials, they might each have 10 clicks, but their values and abilities would be the same and likely more stagnant. You make a great point about Lilia flipping the tower, so maybe her dial needs to be 30 points and the palindrome of it bookended with a minor board wipe of some kind. I might update it at some point. Billy offering global free movement at a cost was my attempt to show him creating the road— one that comes with deadly traps.

For my methods with movie sets, Death offered a lot. She opened the show with mind games and a knife fight, her identity was unclear for much of the series (lol unless you got spoiled by a Funko Pop), she popped up seemingly randomly, she displayed telekinetic powers, and, depending on your interpretation, she was the force of death on the team. I didn’t feel that her rules or relationship with Agatha was especially concrete, so that afforded some wiggle room. Did she kill anyone directly? She did Nicholas, there’s an argument to be made for Alice, and she attempted to kill Agatha twice (acknowledging that both instances could’ve just been lovers’ spats)

Again, I’m with you— these aren’t exciting dials, nor are they meant to be. I wouldn’t reach for any of them except maybe Lilia. I understand the frustration compared to the official sets. Haha you’re talking to a guy who ONLY owns the Man-Things and Werewolf by Night from Next Phase and both of those are preposterously good compared to their show performances.

#232 Unique Rio Vidal
Real Name: Death
Team: Cosmic Energy,Mystics
Range: 5
Points: 150
Keywords: The Coven, Deity, Mystical

6 10 17 2

6 10 17 2

6 10 17 2

7 10 17 2

7 10 17 2

7 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

3 KO KO KO

KO 2 KO KO

KO KO 1 KO

I’m Always Following You: When Rio Vidal is turned to click #10, STOP. She has immune and immovable while she is on her countdown clicks. At the end of your turn, turn her dial to the right. If no friendly characters are on the board while she is on a countdown click, KO her.
It’s Your Time…: Rio Vidal may target friendly characters. When she KOs a non-bystander character, modify her combat values by +1 for the rest of the game.
Down the Witches’ Road: If your force has exactly 5 characters, modify this character's Defense values by +1. If all characters on your force have this trait, modify this character's Defense values by +2 instead.
Death By a Thousand Cuts!: POWER: generate a standard Object. // Telekinesis. FREE: Telekinesis, but only to make object attacks.

UPDATED 11/09/24 - Thanks, Stormcrawler!

See, I like most all the design for a Mystics team or The Coven themed team. Most of the characters are bad for their cost up front but really deadly for their cost at some point later in their dial. I love that Billy can "create the road" for them to get to their lost powers at a price. I get that that strategy is likely not worth it in competitive play, and I also like the challenge. In game design terms this team is a bit of a "meme" team, but it's a fun meme team that challenges the "Johnny/Jenny" players in the audience (to use Mark Rosewater and MtG's language) to find ways to work around the limitations and claim the rewards at the end.

To me at some point this game had a pole shift. An 8 attack or less may as well be 0. Same with defense below 15. Those combat values have become rarer than 12/19 by a bit and 11/18 by a lot. Whether this is to sell new sets or increase the ratio of playable figures in a set is up to debate but it’s the environment we currently play in.

Rio did a whole lot of baiting and that’s about it. Nicholas died of a lingering birth defect and wasn’t supposed to have lived at all without Rio’s grace. When that grace ran out (in the form of a chronic and fatal illness) so did their relationship. She didn’t murder the kid, she did her cosmic duty and escorted him to the afterlife yet again showing enough grace to turn him around to kiss his mother goodbye before embarking. If anything, episode 8 showed us exactly how powerless Rio is. She needs Billy to essentially off himself willingly and it is THE only reason she has been around at all. Toying and reconnecting with Agatha was just a perk. At least that’s what I got from it.

I wish I had Man-Thing (insert joke) you lucky b. I’d likely play more often if I did lol

I probably would have expected a bit more power for the 5 without Death (especially the three outside Agatha/Wiccan), so with the 5 of them they get to 300 and make their trait work.

Now you have to select 5 of the 6 dials created to make the Down the Witches Road work, and that doesn't really get you to a logical point value.

But otherwise, great to see the dials with nice ideas implemented! (maybe one thing I would check, to limit Death's power to non-bystanders/tokens). And always great to read everyone's opinions.
I really liked the series more than I thought I would. It didn't take itself too serious and allowed the actors to have some fun, while it still build the universe pretty nicely.

Many thanks, friend! Glad that these at least felt interesting and worth the experimentation! I’ll never claim that they’re perfect, but I like how a few of them wound up with sly ways to increase their longevity either individually or as a coven.Oh, I fully agree on the point values. In this case, because most of the characters weren’t combatants, I figured their attacks didn’t need to be even as high as a 7 if they were unlikely to roll for attacks. Jennifer & Lilia are all about positioning and timing. The amount of Prob Control out there would aid those who’d be attacking, and synergy would hopefully give them longevity, the outlier is Death, who I figured could just as easily kill friendlies to plausibly get her values up to 11/13/20/5.

Haha I fully expect to make more orthodox-looking dials when I approach CAP 4 and THUNDERBOLTS.

Those are also good interpretations of Death that I can’t dispute; they just weren’t my reads. I took Death as operating not unlike Sandman’s Death, albeit with more purpose, agency, and glee. How much death she caused rather than simply ferried, I cannot say. Billy stands out to me just because the script-y rules of his immunity to her didn’t necessarily point to Death being helpless overall, but his/Wanda’s abilities somehow being more powerful.

Nothing I like more than slapping my Man-Things down on the table! People are always impressed! In seriousness, I’m lucky that I’ve got a great playgroup who cuts deals for each other for trades and internal buys. I was able to get both Man-Things relatively cheaply, and they have been loved.

I’m by no means a competitive player, but this team has been excellent:
https://hcunits.net/teams/f5209da3-1...-d0f18e0a765e/I definitely hear those notes! Had I made them to be more interpretive dials, I might’ve set the main 5 all at 60 and Death at 300. In this case, I designed the 5 witches first, trying to mirror their power levels and vibe, and approached Death last. In her case, it made sense with the show that her presence unbalanced the team and that at least one of the witches would need to die for Death to be more powerful and for the shared trait to work. Maybe not the cleanest in-game storytelling, but those were my goals.

Great note about the non-bystander characters! I’ve updated Death’s dial, gave you credit, and sent you rep. Thank you!

Glad you dug the show! Certainly seems like many enjoyed it and that Marvel Studios is noting its success. I suspect future MCU shows will hover around its budget level. Hopefully this is a sign that Marvel is getting back on track!

Great feedback. I was so focused on the starting force, that I forgot the trait would kick in if one kicked the bucket. That's actually very well-thought off! Although I still think Jen, Alice, and especially Lilia could use a little more oomph (but the basic thought behind Lilia is very nice and creative!)

My thanks, friend! I do totally feel the note that the characters might benefit from having stronger more interpretive/speculative dials.

I just finished watching the Assembled special on Deadpool & Wolverine, and I absolutely want to see that proposed Deadpool project that just consists of a bunch of scenes of other Marvel Studios films salvaged from the cutting room floor that reveals that Deadpool has been there all along. Not as a full film, maybe just a little fifteen to twenty minute thing, but it could be a lot of fun.