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| Spider-Man & the Outlaws A Grade-C rip-off of "Batman & the Outsiders" |
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| The Sinister Syndicate Disclaimer below* |
Today's battle report begins a two-day mini-study of the concept of "balance" in war-game point value systems. (Sounds pretentious? Wait until tomorrow!)
Games like Heroclix often make the claim that as long as opposing forces consist of pieces totaling an equivalent sum of individual point values, the sides are "even" in strength and ability, regardless of the difference in numbers of units, and the battle should be a fair one. Let's see if that holds true in this match-up...
For the non-Heroclix player, here's the unit-by-unit breakdown of each force by point value, along with the "hit points" for each unit in parentheses:
OUTLAWS
Spider-Man 78 (6)
Rocket Racer 60 (5)
Puma 56 (6)
Will-o-the-Wisp 54 (6)
Prowler 50 (6)
TOTAL 298 (29)
SINISTER SYNDICATE
Dr. Octopus 121 (6)
Sandman 101 (7)
Mysterio 75 (6)
TOTAL 297 (19)
By the numbers as they are above, the Outlaws appear to have some amount of advantage over the Syndicate. They have more units, they've got much more life to outlast their enemies, and one of them rides a rocket-powered skateboard. Add to that the fact that the Syndicate members can only initially deal 1 or 2 base damage per hit, and it sounds like the Outlaws have got this one won before it begins. Unfortunately for Spidey and friends, there are so many other factors that affect combat in this skirmish game that the above stats ultimately mean very little.
When it comes to skirmishes, to me it's never about the TOTAL force power; rather, it's about considerate deployment of that force. I've never worried much about side vs. side "balance" issues. In fact, in the last nine+ years playing this game, I've seen plenty of supposedly weaker tournament forces (translation: no Hypersonic Speed or Support) beat superior foes. Think of a wannabe starlet who gets $60,000 worth of plastic surgery to help her make it in Hollywood. Sure, she may be super hot, but her success is not about WHAT she has, it's about HOW she jiggles it.
Yeah, that's my point. Jiggle it.
As the Outlaws used their strength of numbers to cover more square-inchage of the battlefield, I had the Syndicate focus on chopping up the cohesiveness of the Outlaws, directing overbearing power on smaller contingents of the Outlaws while preventing the others from coming to their allies' aid. Suddenly, any overall advantage that the Outlaws may have had disappeared. Yes, it's divide-and-conquer, even more potent in skirmish battles than mass combat, and I didn't invent the strategy. Caesar, Alexander, and Napoleon got together and came up with it at a cocktail party.
Dr. Octopus and Sandman quickly engaged Puma and Will-o-the-Wisp while Mysterio laid down the obfuscation tactics that would allow the 222 points-worth of villains to smack around the 110 points-worth of heroes without interference. Quickly, Puma was out of the game, and so was the Outlaws' heaviest damage-dealer besides Spidey.
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| "Hey...don't you guys want to fight me? I'm the amazing Will-o-the-Wisp! Seriously, I'm standing right here. Hit me or something. Please." |
In retaliation, the Outlaws tried to poke at Doc Ock and Sandman, but their defenses and special powers - like Dr. Octopus's mechanical arms of 4 freely-distributable combat points - secured them against any spitball the Outlaws spat at them. When the Syndicate got a reinforcement roll and the Scorpion joined the fight, the situation only got worse.
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| Scorpion stands atop an overturned bus and surveys the "battle." He wonders if he should attack or get a sandwich. |
Spider-Man tried to slow the villains down, covering Mysterio in webbing while praying for a reinforcement roll for his team. Mysterio gassed Spidey, and, soon enough, the baddies formed a comic book cover by ganging up on their friendly neighborhood nemesis.
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| Sensational? Mmm, not quite. |
Help finally came in the form of a rescued Puma, back to have it out with Sandman again! The two went at it mercilessly, and it appeared that the Puma would redeem his criminal past and crappy first turns in the game with claws of vengeance! Sandman got slashed up a treat, but he still held it together and, though severely weakened, triumphed over Puma who got KO'd a second time.
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| Puma: Rrreeeoooowww! Sandman: Ssssand! |
When Mysterio took out Spidey, the end was near. The Outlaws could only hope to rout then, but it never happened. They got wiped out, victims of the oldest strategy in the book, the one Genghis Khan published after Napoleon gave him their final draft.
So, Dr. Octopus, Scorpion, Mysterio, and a very hurting Sandman will join Dr. Doom and MODOK's 11 in the next phase to utterly over power the unsuspecting Thunderbolts. Oh, that will not be pretty...
Tomorrow, I'll post the results of an even more dubiously "balanced" game - lots of little Police vs. the Serpent Society.
Jiggle it.
*Disclaimer: Spidey fans, calm down! I'm very aware that during the brief time that the Outlaws existed, Sandman had reformed and even joined them along with Silver Sable. However, I've always maintained that I wasn't going to bother following Marvel continuity during this game, and, seeing as how Marvel doesn't bother following Marvel continuity either, my team line-ups above are perfectly legit. Boom.
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