Well like, I can understand being demolished. It happened to me a number of times last season (see my match against Kontrol and Zak). In truth it's all the same, it's just a game, and whatever, but I made that first strike to be nice. In the spirit of the game. In all honesty, I could have -really- made it all about 1 dice roll, and hung out in the back and waited til turn 15 to net the win. I'm more frustrated that in a game that didn't matter, you played -so- competitively. Where it would be advantageous for us to just rush each other, you shut me down, limiting me to 2 stats, and later, a superfluous gift stat. Like, great, you won decisively, against one of the greatest pieces in the game *pats on the back*, but I have never had -less- fun in a Heroclix match. Yes, bad rolls (all, what? 6 of them?)played a part, but I really saw no need to play so stingily. [/end rant]

And I don't mean to be a poor sport, Cur, you played a great game, and you're team is a force to be reckoned with, for sure. It's balance is preposterously good, and I completely understand how you got back2back championships. I'm just frustrated, and needed to vent. Apologies all around.

Also, apparently I repped you too recently, so *ghost rep*

TheVagrantKing's Skrulls

V Warskrull** 110 pts (x2)
SA [7] KO [0] AST [3] DFD [1]
E Skrull Warrior 30 pts
R Skrull Infiltrator 25 pts (x2)
SA [11] KO [0] AST [0] DFD [0]
V Super-Ape: Peotor 50 pts
SA [0] KO [0] AST [1] DFD [0]
V Ms Marvel (Skrull) 168 pts
SA [0] KO [0] AST [0] DFD [0]
R HYDRA Medic 12 pts
SA [0] KO [0] AST [0] DFD [0]
E Jarvis (Skrull) 36 pts
SA [0] KO [0] AST [0] DFD [0]
V Yellowjacket (Skrull) 100 pts
SA [0] KO [0] AST [0] DFD [0]

Thwart 15 pts
** Swingline 10 pts, Outsmart 10 pts, Thwart 15 pts

37 Recruitment Points

Updated for my 2 SAs, 1 AST, and 10 RP.

Again, I apologize. I agree that yes, in preseason, ideally both sides should be getting stats. And I would have been open to rushing into the fray headlong just like that. Like I stated earlier, I never even had a valid attack on your team until after your first strike. I fully expected any advance that my team made into the center of the board would be met by a HSSing Ms. Marvel who would then beat a retreat deeper into stealth, leading me to play chase against an indomitable hit-and-run piece that was hitting me for 4-6 damage per turn.

I can't see Peers' map right now, but back in Turn 4B, during your first attack, I believe you had the swing to head upstairs onto W22 with Marvel, grab the heavy from underneath Saturn Girl, then drop onto grounded terrain at X21, where you could make a ranged attack on the now unstealthed Saturn Girl for a 10 on 14 for 4 damage. This attack would have been out of Black Cat's LoS, and an almost sure 1-shot KO, and I was very surprised that you didn't take it.

Maybe I counted squares wrong, but that was the best percentage attack you had, followed by the option to one-shot Black Cat from W22 with the heavy, then drop down out of sight. Having to hit a 10 on 15 twice may not be as good odds as 10 on 14 once, but it's still far more likely than a 10 on 17 twice. Had you taken out my PC or my perplex early on, then scootched to X21, then I'd have faced significant challenges in killing Marvel. The retreat to X21 alone would have prevented me from TKing Aquaman into her grill for a 5 damage attack.

Anyways, I'm probably shooting myself in the foot for talking on like this. (I'm imagining a taunting voice saying, "Why didn't you do that, stupid?" and hoping that my post doesn't come off like that). Sorry my gameplay upset you, and I hope there are no hard feelings.

Actually it makes me feel a bit better

My main worries, of course, were Batman and Green Arrow. Aquaman is your keynote damage piece, and was well guarded. My main advantage was my Exfilaration. I couldn't get back to stealth to protect it, so I felt I needed to Eliminate your ability to cancel it. Had I gone your way, and eliminate Cat or SG, I would have been prevented either 1 damage (SG) or a better chance to hit be with a retaliatory strike. With 3 CP tokens, I assumed you would hit, and 1 damage didn't much matter, compared to following up with a retaliatory-retaliatory strike. Had I been able to hit Batman, I could have exfiltrated to Stealth the following turn, and had a second go to KO a figure of yours, probably Black Cat or Saturn Girl. Similarly why I attempted to breakaway the following turn with Ms. Marvel, rather than get a few SAs. Also, retreating to the object, whereas was a possibility, Reddy could have Tked it INTO me, or away to someone else in stealth, or anyone with range, and 1 damage (between your plentiful Shield TA and Perplex) could have ousted the object, outwitted invulnerable, and wiped her out. I made a gamble going for the Bat, granted, but it wasn't -much- of a difference. With your supreme defensive position on the roof (aka, Turtling ), my support crew was next to worthless. I imagine Tanis went through the same predicament in your DC Title game, with him having the option of crippling a support piece vs. crippling your tentpole, both resulting in the probable loss of his tent.

And honestly, yeah, had you gotten any closer, allowing me to use the ample stealth terrain, you probably wouldn't have gotten more than a couple shots on Ms. Marvel and she would have systematically crushed all who opposed her (assuming rolls higher than 5 and 4 *rolls eyes*), so I can't really blame you for your strategy. But even in that scenario, my generics and monkey would never be out of the thick of battle, attempting to get as many KOs as they could. Once Ms. Marvel has gotten Aquaman, Batman and Green Arrow, she probably would have quit, and left, allowing for more stats for the rest of us, she'd prolly get at least 2 more KOs against Kontrol, and I'd be a happy clam. My only issue, was with -such- a competitive game. I almost wish that I didn't have Ms Marvel on my team. She's just going to attract ultra competition, like my WarSkrulls did last season.

And no, definitely no hard feelings . Just frustrated that I couldn't land more than a single hit on you, and it was all the more frustrating because I saw it all happen before I did it. When I get whipped, I at least like to be surprised when it happens .

One thing that perplexed me was your redundant stat accumulation. Aside from Green Arrow, your only stats were in categories where you had -more- than scored an upgrade. I had assumed that in a preseason game you would have at least tried to have spread the love.

In a playoff game, sure, you might go for the always-dangerous outwitter. But even then, why be greedy? Saturn Girl's 44 points are practically a sure thing, they give you a point advantage, and her loss prevents me from tacking a click of damage on an attack each turn. Take the shot from X21, and now I'm forced to chase you back into stealth, where your team thrives. Always, always squeeze out every drop of movement from your HSSing tentpole. There was no reason to stay on that rooftop, even if you missed the attack.

I beg to differ. Once you had that 44 point lead (and let's say your crappy attack roll of 5 applied toward Saturn Girl instead; that would have been enough to hit), my defensive position on the roof becomes just that: a defensive position. I need to get those 44 points back, and I won't find them on the roof. That's where you can play run away and let the potential stats chase after you AND your teammates.


Wasn't the title match, but it might as well have been, considering how tough he played me. Tanis is better qualified to talk about the choice he had to make, but like with you, he wasn't exactly offering me much in the way of attack options either.

You could have worse problems than having to field Ms. Marvel in your lineup. PM me if you want to talk more about maximizing her possibilities in the league.

Yeah, I've got a lot of stats waiting for upgrade after the playoffs. As you can tell, I was definitely trying to upgrade Green Arrow (ask me how easy it was to upgrade Jack of Hearts, my big gun last season, ugh). While I'd love to get more stats in areas that don't already qualify for upgrades, I pretty much only cared about the ones for GA. Batman's got 3 upgrades ready, Aquaman's on the verge of 3, Reddy's got 2. As for Black Cat, Saturn Girl, and Sentinel Trooper, there's really not much more to go from there. I get 4 points for the Trooper's next upgrade, Saturn Girl gets 16 points to go to the Vet, and Black Cat's already up to her Vet. No clue what I'd do with more stats for her: Book of Destiny maybe?

Ok, yeah, I could have gone to X-21. I could have gone to X-21 and still gone for Batman, but that's the difference. It's preseason. I didn't really care about the win. Losing is actually advantageous to me, as I need the RP midseason. My goal was to offer up some stats, and to clog you up a little, which clearly didn't work. My main frustration was after the fact, when Ms. Marvel was crippled, and you mercilessly slaughtered the generics, who were the only things I really cared about getting stats for . I'm not a competitive player, I never have been. Yeah, I'm playing the 'cheese' that is Skrulls, apparently, but that's cause I love the Super Skrull He's probably my favorite villain ever. Our strategies differ, yeah, and had I hit with my shot on Batman, it's possible that you could not have done enough damage to knock me off Exfiltration, and I would be in the exact position that you spoke of. But yeah, I'll PM and we'll talk

You play the Skrulls because you love the Super Skrull? Last time I checked you kicked him off your team!

My rationale, and this is 100% my thought process in regards to my team change between Seasons 4 and 5:

Man, we Skrulls had a lot of problems this season. Way outranged, our stealth was nerfed, we just got beat down. Being outmaneuvered/out ranged was out worst flaw (See: Every game we lost.).

And then, came along Secret Invasion. A set, specified for my team. Well, I -have- to play a few figures from THERE! Hot dang!

Oh Super Skrull. You made such a noble effort, RSing and pushing into Stealth, then subsequently getting demolished, and either being KOed, or forced to run away, leaving me with 150 points vs. -hopefully- like their squad with a key figure crippled. You've failed us, time and time again. What would the Skrulls do? Banish you. That's right. Your banished. We vow to never be -outmaneuvered- again. (heh, it took til preseason #1 for that promise to go down the drain ). You are replaced with new hotness, which is 100% the story of Super Skrull in the comics. I really didn't think I had a choice

My ears are getting all hot. Who's talkin about me? ; )

Yeah it was definitely a tough choice. Should I clear or push Captain Marvel and attack? If I attack, do I go for the tentpole, TK, CP'ed Aquaman, or Batman? All very dangerous in their own right. I couldn't risk him nova blasting and cross my fingers that he rolls a crit miss again. ; ) I finally decided on the TK because I wanted to limit his manueverability which would've gave me a slight edge and allowed me to last as long as I did. If I would've went for JoH, he was still pretty dangerous after taking the hit and would've still had mobility with TK from Reddy.

Ah well, I tried my best but Cur's support pieces were just too good compared to mine.

the JLA win this one:

JLA (Satellite Era) - 298 pts
Skrulls - 0 pts