From Panel to Play: Ultron, Metal Tyrant

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!