CP143Doctor Octopus

We hope you’re ready to dive into a new character as you won’t be able to get away from the tentacled grasp of today’s From Panel to Play’s topic. Make sure to study up, as although there won’t be any homework, you’ll still want to memorize what Doc Ock, Sinister Scientist brings to the battlefield.

Dr. Otto Octavius has been a villain for a long time, pursuing a variety of selfish goals as he moved from evil scheme to evil scheme. From humble beginnings and simple crimes, to plans of world domination, this man who could have done so much good has instead brought such pain and suffering to countless people.

Although his sinister plans have covered a wide range of activities, one thing he finds himself coming back to time and time again is his rivalry with Spider-Man. From the earliest days of Octavius’ budding supervillainy, Spider-Man has been there to thwart him and stop him in his tracks. Not content to let this situation continue, Doc Ock has decided to gather a host of other supervillains and bring about the end of Spider-Man through the Sinister Six!

This older, more powerful version of Doc Ock comes to your tabletop as a Threat 4 character with a strong set of base stats. He has 4 Physical and Energy Defense alongside 3 Mystic Defense and a respectful 12 Stamina split evenly between his Healthy and Injured sides. A man of consistency and steadfast resolve, you won’t find any surprises or differences when flipping this character’s card.

Having gained a bit more experience with the use of his Striking Tentacles, we find this version of Doc Ock able to reach out and touch you with a Range 3, Strength 5 attack. He gains power equal to the damage he deals with this attack and if he rolls a Wild during it, the enemy won’t know what hit them. The Flurry of Arms special rule means that each wild in the attack roll will count as 2 successes. With the right roll, you may not even have enough Bam, Biff or Bop sounds effects to cover all the hits you’ll get!

Ever looking to improve himself, Doc Ock has made sure to upgrade the weaponry included in his mechanical appendages. Arm Lasers 2.0 is a 4-die attack that doesn’t cost any power to use. Although that may not sound impressive by itself, when you see that it’s a Range 4 Beam attack, you’ll see where those upgrades went! He definitely didn’t just pick up some laser pointers from the dollar store either as when he rolls a Wild during any of the attacks, those lasers will Incinerate his target.

This Doc Ock wants to make sure his enemies see the Scientific Breakthrough he’s made. The effort required for the breakthrough does mean he needs to spend 4 Power, but the Range 3, Strength 7 attack is sure to impress. Even better, if the attack deals any damage, after the attack is resolved, the target is going to gain Bleed, Poison and Shock. Talk about defending your thesis! There won’t be many characters still in shape to question the results of that breakthrough.

We now come to the heart of this character and the force currently driving his ambitions. Sinister Six is a new Leadership for the Spider-Foes affiliation and something sure to lead to Spider-Man’s downfall! The first part of this Leadership means that once per turn, when one of Doc Ock’s allies is attacked, if the attack didn’t finish them off, they are going to gain an extra power. Supervillains LOVE having access to all their tools, which this Leadership is sure to help with. Not only does the Leadership help them have access to their most powerful attacks and all of their nasty little tricks, it helps keep them in fighting shape. Anytime they suffer damage during an attack, they are able to remove Shock, Slow or Incinerate from themselves. Note as well that the timing of this rule, being an effect for the defender of the attack, means that they can remove those conditions even when the attacker has JUST applied it, since the attacker’s rules resolve first.

Ock’s Grasp has also improved with time (we guess he found some stronger motors!) and for just 3 Power, this active superpower now allows him to throw Size 3 characters or terrain from within Range 3 Short.

Time has not managed to temper Otto Octavius’s ego by any means. Still a man convinced of his own genius, his Scientific Hubris is still an innate superpower that means whenever this character rolls dice, if those dice contain at least 1 Critical result, he’s going to gain 1 extra power.

Lastly, we see that even on dry land, an Octopus can keep up with a Spider (at least this Octopus can). His final superpower is the Innate superpower Wall Crawler, which when combined with his Medium movement, ensures that almost no terrain is a barrier to this man.

When you’re ready to see just how dangerous an octopus can really be, be sure to pre-order your copy of the Earth’s Mightiest Core Set at your local game store or through the webstore today. Also, be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!

CP143Crossbones

Who likes to play with the big toys and is willing to work for anyone that lets him wreak some havoc? That’s right, the topic of today’s From Panel to Play is the Merciless Merc known as Crossbones!

Brock Rumlow has been on the wrong path in life from an early age. He started out leading a gang on the streets of New York and has risen to work with some of the Earth’s most nefarious individuals in schemes ranging from world domination to world destruction. One of the most prominent supervillains to employ Crossbones throughout his life has been the Red Skull, who has used Crossbones in countless plots.

Crossbones didn’t gain his powers through the Super-Soldier Serum like Steve Rogers, but Crossbones is almost a dark reflection of Captain America. Sharing similar attributes in terms of being at the peak of human potential, he is the epitome of the darker human emotions, the balance to Captain America’s representation of the best of humanity.

Crossbones, Merciless Merc may be able to mix it up with the world’s superheroes, but that doesn’t mean he’s on their level in everything. This 3-threat character is going to appear deceptively simple, but there is beauty in simplicity. When you just want someone that can get up in the enemy’s face, take a punch and then hit right back, he’s going to be your guy.

Crossbones, Merciless Merc is a master hand to hand combatant, often noted as one of Captain America’s most deadly foes. He has a strong 4 Physical Defense and 6 Stamina on his healthy side. He may only have 2 Defense against either Energy or Mystic attacks, but you’ll soon see why you may want him to take a few scratches. He does drop down to 5 Stamina on his Injured side, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be out of the fight.

When looking at his Short movement speed, you may consider him to be a slow character. He makes up for a lower base movement with two separate movement related superpowers though! First, this merciless merc has access to the Active superpower Hit and Run. For two power (and an action), he will immediately perform an attack action followed by a move action. He can only do this once per turn, but the action compression this rule provides means that he will often be effectively performing three actions during his activation.

You’ll also find that Crossbones is very Aggressive. This innate superpower means that anytime Crossbones suffers damage from an enemy attack, he can choose to Advance Short towards the attacking character. The tempting target of his lower Energy and Mystic Defenses may just end up getting that enemy character punched in the jaw!

You may be getting worried that all of this is going to end up meaning your Crossbones will often be sitting around Dazed. He may not have the same defense dice other characters have, but he has one thought running through his head, I Can Take It. This superpower means that anytime he would suffer damage from an enemy effect, you can reduce the amount of damage he’ll suffer by 1 to a minimum of 1. You’ll notice as well that this version of the character has a bit more experience under his belt, meaning it’s an innate superpower that costs no Power to use; he always has access to this reduction!

Now, let’s take a look at the attacks available to this version of Crossbones. The first thing you’ll notice is that he’s no longer limited to just a strong right hook or two, he’s brought some toys along to the fight. His Plasma Beam represents some of the tech at his disposal and provides a Range 3 Beam attack that melts enemy characters with 5 Strength. This attack is going to provide him 1 Power for each attack he makes during the Beam and can even Pierce through the enemies’ defenses when rolling a Wild and Failure. Changing one of the enemies defense dice to a Blank is definitely going to help push that payback through!

Nothing fancy or complicated for his final attack, but this is where some characters are going to regret allowing Crossbones to get Up Close and Personal. For 4 Power, Crossbones unleashes a devasting barrage of Physical damage. As can be anticipated from the name, this is only a Range 2 attack, but it smashes the opponent with an 8 Strength hit. It packs such a wallop behind it, it also ensures that he can Throw Size 2 or less characters Short after the attack is resolved.

When you’re ready to hire on to the bad side of life, be sure to pre-order your copy of the Earth’s Mightiest Core Set at your local game store or through the webstore today. Also, be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!

CP143Ultron

When has the desire to create a powerful A.I. robot without rules or a conscience ever gone wrong? In today’s From Panel to Play, we take a look at one of most dangerous instances of a rogue A.I. to ever exist, Ultron, Metal Tyrant and his Drones!

Ultron may be a robot, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of the most intelligent and powerful beings on Earth. No mere machine of convenience, he is an A.I. on a mission. That all may sound great, but the problem is that he has a hard time understanding simple things like “Why do humans deserve to live?”.

Ultron is a being of Strength and Power in whatever iteration of his body he happens to be in. This version of Ultron is a Threat 5 character that anyone but the most powerful of individuals is going to struggle to damage. He is nearly impervious to Mystic attacks with an impressive 5 Mystic Defense and a host of superpowers that augment this. Those attacking him with Physical or Energy attacks don’t have much easier a time of things though since he also has a defense of 4 against both attack types.

His Stamina pool has an impressive spread, with 8 Stamina on his Healthy side and 6 Stamina on his Injured side. He also doesn’t have much trouble enforcing his will on any part of the battlefield given his Medium movement and 50mm base. Even ignoring the fact that he has the Flight superpower, his Size 3 allows him to leap over a majority of the battlefield.

Ultron is a robot ready to bring the fight to those standing in the way of his will wherever they may be. He has at hand his Concussion Blasters, which are a set of weapons that allow him to make a Range 4, Strength 6 energy attack for zero power. When he rolls a Wild during this attack, he also unleashes his Nano-Corruption on the target, inflicting them with both Poison and Bleed. This attack fuels his belief in his own cause as well, providing him power equal to the damage he deals.

Nothing embodies Ultron’s anger and his crusade against humanity quite so much as his Extinction Protocols. This Range 3 Physical attack costs 4 power to use and lashes out with a Strength 8 punch to the jaw. If that wasn’t good enough, the force unleashed in this attack is also nothing to be ignored as it Throws up to Size 4 characters before dealing damage. Last but not least, when a Wild shows up on the dice, he causes all other characters within Range 2 to be pushed away from himself short and suffer 1 damage when pushed.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is probably the thought that went through Ultron’s head before this latest upgrade. He continues to have access to his Kinetic Field Generator, a 3 power active superpower that allows him to throw a size 4 or smaller terrain feature within range 3 medium. After all, who would get rid of the ability to throw trucks and small buildings at people?
One major upgrade that he made sure to install is the new Encephalo-Beam. This 2-power active superpower allows him to choose an enemy character within range 3 and advance it short. He may only be able to use it once per turn, but numerous are the ways you can take advantage of mesmerizing your opponent out of place.

Who knows the ways of a robot’s mind? Even masters of the mystic arts find it difficult attacking Ultron on the mental plane. On top of his basic high defense stat against Mystic attacks, his Metal Mind also allows him to count each Wild in his defense roll as 2 successes against them. Countless sub-routines and backup algorithms also make it impossible for his enemies to Push or Advance him with superpowers or Mystic attacks.
We are going to jump ahead on his card for a moment, mentioning his last set of superpowers. We (almost) wrap up this character by pointing out his final Innate powers, the superpower Flight and as you’d expect from someone with a body made of metal, his Immunity to Bleed and Poison.

Now…back to the superpower we skipped over, an innate power called I Will Create A Better Age. We skipped this power at first as it’s going to require a bit of in-depth discussion. This is definitely the most unique superpower available to Ultron, Metal Tyrant and it introduces a new character able to command Grunts to Marvel: Crisis Protocol. When a terrain feature is destroyed by an allied effect (that means as a result of anyone in Ultron’s Squad!), if there is not an allied Ultron Drones already in play, he may place one within range 3 of himself. They do come into play Staggered, but it’s a new character created from the rubble of the old world!

The Ultron Drones are a swarming mass of robotic automatons that serve only Ultron’s will. There is nothing fancy to these Grunts, they get right to the point and are likely to earn a nickname based on one of their superpowers, Programmed for Destruction.

They have an above average stat line for Grunts with 3 Stamina and 2 defense against all attack types. Their attack is a range 3, strength 4 energy attack known as Energy Blast. Nothing fancy here, but a decent workhorse attack. The real trick to these bots is that they make sure they leave the table with a BANG! The Rough Around the Edges superpower means that when they would be removed from the battlefield, enemy characters within range 2 of them suffer 1 damage. Ultron, Metal Tyrant also made sure he had a high-quality wireless connection with his creations as this damage fuels him, providing him 1 power for each damage dealt, regardless of how far away he is.

Not only will you see these bots zooming around the battlefield with their medium movement, they’ll come cruising over even the tallest apartment buildings with their Flight superpower. They also have Immunity to Bleed and Poison, same as their creator. The one downside you’ll find these feisty little bots have is that they are pure Programmed for Destruction. This innate superpower means these grunts cannot pick up, hold Interact with or Contest objective tokens. They have one directive — ATTACK!

When you’re ready to subjugate earth and bring about a golden age of peace, be sure to pre-order your copy of the Earth’s Mightiest Core Set at your local game store or through the webstore today. Also, be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!