Hello, our venue doesn't get much action much anymore so I find myself playing a lot of homegames between my Brothers and friends and I. We have been having a lot of fun with normal matches and still will, but we like to get in the occasional scenario to mix it up but I haven't had too much experience with scenarios really.

So what I want to know is what are your favorite scenarios? If you dont' feel like writing it all out and there is just a thread or link you can provide to explain it, that's fun too, but try and let us know what it is about the scenario that makes it fun and/or why you like it.

Speaking for myself now as to what my favorite scenario that I have played (so far) is actually one I came up with myself. I have only playtested it twice so far, but among the people I have tested it out with, they have all said it's tremendous fun. It's difficult to build a team for, but what is really fun about it is that it's simple and plays pretty much like a normal match with a few exceptions, there's not really anything you have to keep in the back of your head.

I haven't really given the scenario a name though, but here's how it works.

Un-named scenario

No set point value

The scenario works best with 2 teams, but can be played as a battle royal format as well.

No Feat Cards

Bystanders are okay

• Each player builds 2 teams, for example, two 300 point teams. Each team must consist of the same number of people.
  
• The teams must have an equal amount of members because each character on team 1 is linked to a corresponding character on team 2.
  
• The teams are not played simultaneously, you choose one of your two teams to play, and when a character is KOd, the character that he is linked to on the other team comes in in his place. There are a few different ways he could come in, but we found the best is just to immediately place the character in your starting area when the character he is linked to is KOd.
  
• The members that are "linked" must be within a certain amount of points of eachother, we said 10 points for the games we playtested. Meaning the character on team 2 linked to the character on team 1 could be a maximum of 10 points under the cost of the linked character, or 10 points over the cost of the linked character. So for example, if you have Bronze Tiger (60pts) on team 1, he could be linked to Merlyn (55pts) on team 2. We found this neccesary because frankly, if you KO Sandman, it would just be ridiculous if Darkseid came in in his place.
  
• You do not reveal the characters on the inactive team, it's just more fun that way and more surprising. Say you KO first class Cyclops from Mutations and Monsters, who is 50 points, any number of people could come in to replace him. Just go to the units section and find characters in the point range of 40-60 points. It's really exciting this way to see who replaces the KO'd character, and the anticipation builds as a character is widdled down and you are trying to figure out who might come in to replace them.
  
• When the replacement comes in, he is immune to damage, attacks, and detrimental effects such as Outwit, Perplex, Outsiders, etc. until the beginning of his controller's turn. We found this beneficial because it would be kind of cheap if right after you KO a character, his linked character is just a sitting duck just waiting to be beaten the snot out of by opponents just waiting to pounce on him.

So it looks like a lot at first, but while actually playing the match, it works just like a normal match, with the exception that when someone is KO'd, someone comes in in his place. The scenario plays incredibly simply, and the most challenging (or at least time consuming) part is actually making your team.

We found that the best way to do this is by finding a character you would like to play on one of your teams, and then going to the units section on HCRealms and searching in the point range of 10 points higher and 10 points lower than the chosen character. So if you want to assign August General in Iron (100 points) to squad 1, you could search in the point range of 90 to 110 points and find a character to link him to that you could place on squad 2.

The simplicity in actually playing the match, as well as the excitement really work in the scenarios favor and of the people that I have playtested this scenario with, we have all agreed that this is the most fun scenario that we have ever played.

This is best played on the Arkham Asylum map.

With the exception of one player, everyone brings one(just one) figure(regardless of point cost). Feats are allowed. The player not bringing a figure instead plays from outside the game 1-2(depending on the size of the cell) villains anytime a hero enters one of the cells. Normal pushing rules still apply. Also, the heroes can attack each other instead of entering a cell. Finally, once a cell is emptied, the player who empties it gets a free move.

The one time my group did this, I brought a feated up Crispus Allen while my opponent brought The Mighty Thor. Cris only took a few clicks and managed to own Judge Death, Bizarro(AA), Magdalena(V) and I think that's all. The Mighty Thor took down Kalibak, Dr Doom(FF Starter), and Jessica Drew LE before getting taken down by Magneto(AW).

Never got to finish the game, but it was such a blast!

Bizarro games, in which the dials are played from the last click to the first, are my favorite.

Another of my favorites was the scenario where you build a team and then all the players put their teams in the middle and you draft from the available figures.

I recall the last (and only) time I played it, it was in the Secret Invasion weeks so in addition to drafting, each force was either assigned to be Skrulls or Humans (choice of Fantastic Four, PD, S.H.I.E.L.D., and X-Men TA for everyone on the team[default TA ignored]). I recall that players rolled off (theme team bonuses ignored) to see who got to pick the first character, and the other person got to choose whether they wanted to be Humans or Skrulls.

It was actually quite interesting because with the drafting process, with a 300 point build, you could actually end up with a 450 point team since you take turns picking figures. While this team might have a better shot at winning, the maximum victory points they could score in a 300 point team build would be 150 points, since he already had 450 of the 600 points on his team.

There were a few different strategies to team building. One, probably the most daring, but also dumbest, was to make a team with one really powerful and expensive character, and just hope that you are able to win the roll off every time so you get first pick and can add that character to your force... assuring you a good chance at the victory.

Another was just to build a standard force with good characters and just try and draft as much of your original team as you can. This strategy worked better with self sufficient characters that were not reliant upon the rest of the team, so that if you didn't have every member of the team, it could still work out. For example, it would kind of suck if you had a lowish defense character, but your other character with defend, meant to protect him, got drafted by the other player.

Some players utilized a strategy to just build a horrible team so that your opponent had nothing good to pick from. Variants on this included using pieces with bloated point cost or characters that are just not worth their cost so that even if your opponent drafted (or got stuck with) something like the overcosted 188 point KC Batman, big deal that's just 188 free victory points for you.

The strategy that I used, successfully I might add, winning me the tournament, was to build middle classed figures that while effective, were not total game changing game winning figures that shift the tide of battle. That way if you have to use them, you know how to and can ensure a steady fight, but if your opponent has to, the characters are not that hard to contend with if their on the other side of the table either.

My 400 point team for this tourament scenario consisted of 5 Mieks from Mutations and Monsters at 60 points each, and Zombie Hulk from Super Nova. Most of the time I ended up facing opponents with standardly built teams and I ended up drafting their top figures before generally picking Zombie Hulk at about the middle of the drafting process. Generally the Mieks were left until the end where it was decided which of us would get 3 Mieks and which would get 2, depending on who picked last, unless I chose the Miek's over something on their team, like a filler piece or something I didn't like.

In the final round I faced a team of SI Namor, Starter Thing, Skrull Yellowjacket, and SI Spider-Man.

1 - My opponent's first pick is Namor.
2 - My first pick is Thing, knowing the Mobility and first strike potential would be key.
3 - My opponent drafts Skrull Yellowjacket.
4 - I draft Spider-Man.
5 - Much to my dismay, someone finally drafts my Zombie Hulk.
6 - I get 3 Mieks and my opponent gets 2.

I picked Humans and went with Fantastic four for my TA. This is one of my favorite moments of the tournament because I really learned the value of the Fantastic Four TA on teams with a lot of figures. I also learned in this match why everyone was raving about the Spider-Man so much.

I managed to defeat him in the final round securing myself a victory and also securing this drafting scenario as one of my all time favorite scenarios.

My favorite scenarios are those that:

1) Allow "normal" team building (e.g. you can show up with a classic X-Men lineup and have a fun game), and

2) Have simple rules, and

3) don't encourage "degenerate" builds. (As an example, almost all "collect the item" scenarios I've ever seen are foiled by TK+HSS)

We've played a few scenarios recently that I thought worked well:

The Traitor was a recent front-page scenario. We tweaked it a little and played a pair of themey teams subject to "betrayal" and it was good for two-players.

We also played a form of Assassination, which I think works really well at high-point levels. At the start of each game, after setup, each player picks one figure on the opposing team and removes them from the game, scoring the KO points immediately. This game REALLY forces players to build balanced teams! (I had a blast with a All-Star comics Golden Age JSA lineup...even though the Spectre was assassinated each round, they still did great!)

I agree 100% with all your numbered points, and that Assassination sounds like it could be really fun, especially as a tournament.

So... uh... anyone got any others?

What happened to the front page scenarios? Is there a link somewhere?

I liked the one in the original Wizkids list of scenarios, where there's a radiation leak, and every turn the map closes in by 1 square from all sides. Characters caught in the areas of the map that are outside the closing rim are dealt 1 damage per turn until they're out. Great to play because it forces people to actually grow a pair and fight up close, instead of sitting back sniping from a range. Plus it throws a wrench into people's strategy.

Is that the same as a "Shock the Turtle" scenario? (I ask because I honestly have never played that scenario but have heard the term a few times.)

I think that The7ofDiamonds is talking about one of the Skrull tournaments for Secret Invasion:
I did actually cnsider that (using Sinestro Corps Anti-Monitor) but decided that it wouldn't be much fun for my opponent if I did win the roll off.

That's basically the strategy that I took to the scenario, and you're right that it was a gamer-winner. Most of my characters cost about 50 points, as I recall, and they were all useful individually, but I was always able to get a few of my oponent's figures that were worth a lot more than I gave up.[/quote]

We play scenarios almost every week; the following thread goes back to 2006, so you should be able to find a few that suit you:

http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showth...wpost&t=174225

Many of these are "force build restrictions" kind of tournaments (the kind that tidge doesn't like) but there are plenty that have special rules or conditions and can otherwise be played by any kind of team.

Team exchange scenario- You build a team, but you don't get to play it. Instead, your opponent gets to use it and you use the one your opponent built. As a result, the object is to build a team that cannot possibly manage to win. All of those figures that have stayed buried at the bottom of your figure box can finally see the light of day!

A few restrictions have to be included, such as no cardboard. If you don't put this in place, you'll end up with a few pogs loaded down with feats. You also need to place a minimum point value for the team, or some joker will bring one rookie thug and call it a 300 point team. The ever popular Highlander rule helps as well.

Right, I've always seen it called "Shock the Turtle" and it really is fun without getting cumbersome. You have to be aware that pogs are very vulnerable since one shock and they are gone, and pogs generally can't push to stay ahead of the damage (because that kills them also!). If you don't plan ahead, you start getting more damage from the shocks than from the opponent.