Wyrm and I got together for a 30 point game of Marvel Universe Miniatures Game (MUMG), both running Superhuman factions but vastly different teams. This was Wyrm’s first game and my third, so we kept it at 30 points, which was Wyrm’s Avengers starter team and I took my street level team comprising Hawkeye, Black Panther, Deadpool, Daredevil and Elektra (would’ve had the Punisher, but alas have not been able to get my hands on him yet). There were some rules oversights for each of us over the course of the game, some more impactful than others, which showed our lack of experience with the game and our teams.
Set-up
We used Zombicide tiles for the board, so the play area was slightly oversized (the tiles are just under 10” a side, so it was a 39” square table rather than 36”), and we used my papercraft terrain and some toys I’d acquired. We had a really good mix of terrain and specified it as follows:
- Size One: signs and witches hats
- Size Two: traffic lights, dumpsters and phone booth
- Size Three: Police car, DeLorean and the concrete barricades
- Size Four: All other ground vehicles
- Size Five: Helicopter, shipping containers and the concrete wall
We rolled randomly for one of the scenarios in the rulebook, getting “Control the Energy Pillars”. This has three pillars evenly spaced across the centre of the table, which a model in contact can spend two POW to control. You score a victory point for being the first to control all three at the end of a round, one for controlling a pillar for three consecutive turns and one for having the most controlled at the end of the game.
Deployment
I had to deploy first, having more model than Wyrm, and elected to put Hawkeye up on the ship container stack in my deployment zone so he could snipe. Wyrm placed Thor on my left flank behind the Delorean, I played Deadpool wide on my right flank, Wyrm placed Ironman centrally, in line with the helicopter. I then deployed Daredevil nearby Deadpool, figuring they could team up.
Wyrm then deployed Captain America (hereafter, “Cap”) on his left flank, which in hindsight was a mistake owing to experience. Cap has the ‘Leadership’ special rule, which grants an additional power to other characters, but only has a radius of 4”. This would’ve been quite powerful early game on Ironman and Black Widow.
I placed Black Panther next to the pillar on my right flank, using his Infiltrator ability, which allows him to deploy anywhere on the board, and Wyrm placed Black widow next to the pillar on my left flank. Lastly, Elektra went next to the central pillar, as all going perfectly I could activate it, move the left one and activate it as well.
Round One
Wyrm wins the initiative this turn, and elects to activate Thor first. Thor moves up towards Elektra and uses ‘For Midgard’ (once per round, four POW, DMG four, Melee 6”, Push 1d8, Overload: Explosive/2). He rolls just enough to hit, however we realise at this point that Wyrm has moved Thor too close, and so he also gets caught in the blast. He fails his agility check, so each of them take four damage and Elektra is then pushed 1”, luckily not hitting the wall behind her which would’ve knocked her down.
I activate Elektra next, moving over to Black Widow, and launch a Flip Kick, thinking I’ll push her back off the pillar, however miss due to her high physical defence.
Ironman is off next, moving up towards Elektra, and using Repulsor Blast (two POW, two DMG, overload +1 DMG) on her. He rolls a triple six, which is a (supremely cool) critical, dealing 3 damage, then follows up with a second Repulsor Blast, hitting, at which point Elektra fails Stamina and is KO’d.
Black Panther activates next, using two POW to set the right pillar to me, then moves to the central pillar and activates that for me as well.
Black Widow activates next and uses Mixed Technique (two POW, one DMG, Distract/1, Awkwardness/1) on Elektra, hitting easily and seeing Elektra Incapacitated. Black Widow then activates the final pillar for Wyrm’s team.
Hawkeye uses his once a game Dead Shot (18” range, 4 dmg) on Thor, overloads it and hits Thor, pushing him in to the Pale.
Wyrm uses Black Widow’s Strategist ability at this point to pass, noting he also has an additional pass given his lower model count.
Daredevil activates and moves for two power, then uses his Grapple Stick ability to displace 12”, to get base-to-base to Black Widow. He throws an overloaded Billy Clubs attack (two POW, two DMG, Stun/1) but misses.
Cap moves up, and then uses his Agile special ability to move again. He throws his shield using Shield Bounce attack (once per round, three POW, two DMG, range 8, Irresistable and can be overloaded to ricochet) at Daredevil, but misses.
Deadpool activates and uses his Bodyslide ability (once per game he can displace to anywhere on the board) to move into contact with the left pillar Wyrm controls, and then switches it over to me.
That was the end of turn one, and saw me take the victory point for having all three pillars controlled at the end of the round. Thor has to make a Stamina check being in the Pale, and fails, becoming KO’d!
Round Two
I win the initiative this round, and start by activating Deadpool. He uses Trick on Black Widow, but she passes her Willpower roll so is unaffected. Doubling down, I use his once per game Armour Buster attack (two POW, two DMG, Irresistable, Distract/2) and hit, causing three damage and putting Distract 2 on her. Lastly I make a Stab-Stab attack, causing a further two damage
Wyrm activates Thor first, easily passes his Stamina roll and gets back up. He uses ‘For Midgard’ on Daredevil, gets a critical hit, with Daredevil taking four damage form this, and then being pushed into the pillar, taking a further one. The explosion affects Deadpool and Black Widow also, although they both pass Agility rolls, so each take two damage, and Black Widow fails Stamina roll and is KO’d. I realised after this had all concluded that Daredevil has a Dodge special ability I could have used to cancel Thor’s attack – which in hindsight probably would’ve been the way to go. Given I’d missed this at the time and we’d resolved all the damage and effects, we played on.
Daredevil activated next given he was looking shaky after the five damage from Thor. He gets up and uses two Billy Club attacks on Black Widow to Incapacitate her and camps on his last POW.
Ironman then moves up and shoots his Unibeam attack (once per game, five POW, four DMG, 12” range, Pierce/3, Penetrative) at Daredevil, which hits and then hits Deadpool as well due to Penetrative. This takes Daredevil close to the Red zone.
Black Panther then activates, moving towards Thor and launching an overloaded Savage Strike (two POW, two DMG, Irresistible, overload Knocked Down), as I figure the only way I’m going to stand a chance is to get Wyrm’s team on the ground to limit their effectiveness. Cap bodyguards this attack and uses shield block to cancel it, but fails his Agility roll, so uses Defensive Improvements to boost his physical. Black Panther then misses the attack. A second Savage Strike on Thor also misses
Wyrm picks Cap next, who makes an overloaded Shield Bounce attack on Daredevil with his remaining power, hitting him and getting a critical. I think Daredevil entered the Red zone at this point and passed his Stamina check.
Hawkeye goes last this turn, using his once a game Hook Arrow to Displace 12” towards the fray and then firing his Explosive Shot (once per game, two POW, two DMG, 12” range, Explosive/3) at Cap. He hits, and the explosion also gets Thor and Ironman who both pass Agility tests for half damage.
Wrapping up the phase, no victory points are scored, although I now have all pillars for two consecutive turns. A multitude of KO tests are taken, with Thor the only failure becoming KO’d (again!).
Round Three
I win initiative again, and activate Daredevil first given he’s dangerously close to being out of action (I think I missed making a Stamina roll here). He uses Grapple Sticks to get in contact with Cap, then makes a Billy Clubs attack which hits. A second Billy Clubs attack misses, however.
Wyrm activates Thor first up, who recovers from being KO’d, and moves next to the helicopter, grabbing it and throwing it at Daredevil. The roll is a critical hit, and Daredevil fails his Agility check twice (using the Acrobat re-roll), and is then incapacitated given the hit is for seven (size five object, Heroic Action from Thor and the critical).
I activate Hawkeye next, and fire a Specialist Arrow at Thor, which Cap uses Bodyguard on and completes a Shield Block to cancel. I then target Cap with his Nerve Gas Arrow (once per game, two POW, one DMG, 12” range, Ensnare/3) to slow him down next turn.
Ironman is up next and he moves up to the Combi, and throws it at Deadpool who comfortably dodges it. He then follows up with a Repulsor Blast on Deadpool, hitting and causing two damage.
Deadpool now moves up towards Cap and uses Trick, which goes off as Cap fails his Willpower roll. He follows up with a Stab-Stab which hits also.
Cap activates, and makes a grab and throw on Deadpool. The grab roll is a critical hit and Wyrm elects to throw him at Black Panther who easily dodges out of the way. Deadpool takes three damage from the throw and is knocked out immediately.
Black Panther activates last this round, moves up to Cap and makes a Claw Slash which fails horribly. He then uses Pounce to move back 4” from Cap.
I pick up three victory points this turn from holding the three pillars for three consecutive turns, taking my total to four. All the KO rolls made on both sides are passed this turn.
Round Four
Wyrm wins the initiative this turn and picks Ironman to go first. He uses the Micro Missiles attack (once per round, three POW, two DMG, 10” range, Explosive/1, Homing) on Black Panther, which achieves a critical hit. He follows up immediately with a Repulsor Blast, which also hits Black Panther, taking him into the Pale zone.
After that pounding, I activate Black Panther who runs 9” and then uses Pounce to take him a further 4” and positions him behind the nearby stack of shipping containers. I save his remaining power for Defensive Improvements.
Thor moves over to the KO’d Deadpool and picks him up, casually tossing him at the nearby shipping containers. Deadpool is splattered across the shipping container and Incapacitated. Turning his attention to Hawkeye he makes a For Midgard attack on him, dealing four damage and pushing him back 4”.
Next up, Hawkeye reacts by snapping off a Specialist Arrow attack at Thor, which crits for three taking Thor into the Red zone, before he ducks back into cover. Thor passes his Stamina check so is not KO’d.
Cap moves around the shipping containers to draw line of sight on Black Panther and makes a Shield Bound attack, which ends up a critical strike and takes Black Panther deep into the Pale zone.
At the end of the turn, both Black Panther and Cap fail their Stamina rolls and are KO’d. It’s looking dire for me this turn, with Black Panther KO’d, Hawkeye in the Pale zone and everyone else Incapacitated.
Round Five
Wyrm wins the initiative again, and has Ironman chase after Hawkeye, using a Repulsor Blast on him which hits despite Hawkeye’s Defensive Improvements. Ironman then fires again but the second shot misses.
I active Hawkeye here, which in retrospect was probably tactically the wrong move, with Black Panther relatively defenceless in his KO’d state. He shot at Ironman, missing, and then moves back further towards the corner of the board looking for more cover.
Thor flyover the stack of shipping containers, touching down where he can lift the top most one and throw it at Black Panther, getting a critical hit. As he’s KO’d Black Panthers high Agility is irrelevant, so he is crushed by the shipping container.
Cap recovers from the KO and moves back to the middle pillar (using Agile to move twice), and spends two power to flick it to Wyrm’s control.
Hawkeye again passes his Stamina test, remaining on his feet.
Round Six
I win the initiative, but it’s slightly irrelevant as I’m just running Hawkeye out of the way to try and keep him alive. I have plenty of POW remaining to use for Defensive Improvements.
Wyrm picks Thor to go first, who flies over to get Hawkeye in line of sight before declaring the use of his once a game Bring the Thunder! attack (five POW, four DMG, 20” range, Overload Stun/2). Wyrm rolls DOUBLE ONES for the attack, comprehensively failing to hit Hawkeye.
Ironman activates, needing a critical hit and a further hit on Hawkeye to Incapacitate him, but misses with the first attack, so Hawkeye remains standing at the end of the game.
I pick up two additional victory points for having held two pillars for a further three consecutive turns, as well as one for having the most pillars controlled at the end of the game, taking me to seven victory points. Now the key roll occurs, with Hawkeye making his Stamina test… which he fails! Having my team completely KO’d or Incapacitated sees Wyrm win the game.
Conclusion
It has been a while since I’ve played a game that came down to the final dice roll like that. The game was thoroughly enjoyable for me, and I was surprised at how competitive my team was against the might of the Avengers. When Elektra went down round one, I was very concerned that this would be over turn two or three, but with some major dice luck (like Thor being KO’d two rounds running), I ended up competitive. Throwing scenery pieces didn’t seem to be overpowered, but my team did neatly counter that with high Agility values and Acrobat across all members so maybe it’s a bigger deal for others. I did feel when attacked my Agility was somewhat countered and I didn’t have a lot I could do to prevent the damage being dished out, although I presume this balances out with my defence values. My team doesn’t really have any heavy hitters, so I think it will require practice and finesse to play, which is different to my usual lists, but I like the theme and character set (although am desperate to get the Punisher) so will be sticking with it for now.
Leave a Reply