Sunday 24 June 2018

"Wizkids" Battle Report: Fantastic Four - The Black Panther Strikes

THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND THE BLACK PANTHER BATTLE DOCTOR DOOM AND DRAGON MAN
This game was played using some homemade rules (M.I.S.S.) in order to allow us to quickly field a handful of my re-painted "Heroclix" miniatures, and took place upon the "Warlord Games" 32.5" x 22" rubber Science Fiction Playmat. The battlefield was populated with a variety of scenery produced by "Wargame-Model-Mods", “Wargames Terrain Workshop” and "Mantic Games"; most notably an abandoned vehicle, three ruined buildings and some street furniture.

The Fantastic Four, who started in the south-west consisted of the super-team's original line-up, Mister Fantastic (10pts), Invisible Girl (10pts), The Thing (10pts) and the Human Torch (10pts), as well as the Black Panther (10pts). Whilst Doctor Doom's forces began the fight in the north-east corner, and consisted of the Latverian Monarch himself (15pts), three Doombots (total 30pts) and Dragon Man. The New York City battlescape had five strategic locations, each worth an unknown number of victory points. These would only be revealed at the end of Turn Six, and could only be claimed by an unopposed unit touching it.
THE TABLETOP - A DESERTED PART OF NEW YORK CITY
"The story so far… Doctor Doom has reactivated the super-strong android, Dragon Man and plans to use the automaton to kill the royal leader of Wakanda. Deducing the Latverian's scheme to usurp T'Challa's throne, Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four have intercepted the mad tyrant's assassination squad, and together with the Black Panther plan to put a stop to the diabolical plot..."
THE FANTASTIC FOUR ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE BLACK PANTHER FROM DOCTOR DOOM
Having won the initiative, Doctor Doom confidently strode [Move: 6"] to Objective Four (Oil Barrels) and from his position commanded his robotic slaves to fly up into the air and fan out south-west towards his hated opponents.

In response Sue Storm-Richards closed to within almost touching distance of Objective Two (Grave), whilst her younger brother flew fast [Move: 8"] beside her east towards Objective Five (Drinks Machine). The Thing slowly thundered along behind the pair [Move: 4"], admiringly watching the lighting quick Black Panther race away north-east in the direction of Objective One (Bin). Finally, Mister Fantastic rolled his rubbery-form up into a ball and bounced after the King of Wakanda.

"The first superhero of African descent in mainstream American comics" swiftly reached Objective One [Move: 8"] and impatiently waited as Reed Richards approached. The Human Torch continued to fly east towards Objective Five (Drinks Machine), noting that his sister was somewhat behind his fiery trail. Ben Grimm lumbered up to Objective Two (Grave).
VICTOR VON DOOM SEIZES AN EARLY OBJECTIVE AS THE FANTASTIC FOUR SPREAD OUT
The super-heroes were making far too much progress for Victor Von Doom's liking, so with a motion of his armoured gauntlet, the Latverian ruler directed one of his three Doombots and Dragon Man [Move: 4"] to head ever closer to Objective Five (Drinks Machine). In the mean time the powerful Sorcerer ordered his remaining two Doombots north-west to tackle the Black Panther.

Doctor Doom fixed Johnny Storm with a hard stare, and chuckled as his armour's targeting sensor's locked onto the flaming human mutate's form. Laser beams poured out of the despot's metallic glove [Shooting: 2 dice] and caused a single wound. First blood to the super-villain, albeit the Human Torch was far from out of the fight yet.

With an audible roar, Dragon Man flew ever faster towards towards Objective Five (Drinks Machine) and landed a foot-step away from it. The increase in pace however, had made Professor Gregson Gilbert's creation significantly more vulnerable for a short while [causing him to be hit on a roll of 4, 5 or 6 rather than a 5 or 6]. The two Doombots to the north split up so that one was heading straight for Objective Three (Debris), whilst the other flew past an abandoned car towards the Black panther and Objective One (Bin).
THE THING SECURES AN OBJECTIVE BUT THE HUMAN TORCH IS WOUNDED
The other Doombot joined his fearless master's barrage upon Johnny Storm by firing his own laser-weapons at the flaming youth [Shooting: 2 dice]. Initially the robot failed to strike its target, but due to Doom's proximity and leadership ability [Command: A friendly unit that is within 12" may re-roll a single dice roll once per turn] eventually damaged the Human Torch, reducing the Hothead down to just two health before the battle was even half-way through.

The Fantastic Four and their Wakandan ally may well have covered more ground than Doctor Doom's less agile, robotic force, but in doing so they had exposed themselves to the mad Latverian monarch's withering firepower...

To be continued...

24 comments:

  1. That was brilliant (at first I was going to use fantastic but thought better of it lol)! Can't wait to see what happens next, hopefully you've already planned for that game this week.

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    1. Thank you kindly, Ivor. Part Two should be posted soon, as I have a few BatReps to go through... ;-)

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  2. Unsurprisingly Johnny impulsively rushes forward and pays for his rashness. Nice to see the FF off the paintimg table and indulging in a bit of action. Nice start, Simon.

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    1. Cheers Jez. I do try and use Johnny as an advanced scout in most of my games, who can rush forwards to claim an objective and then hold it til the slower models arrive. Unfortunately, that does mean he tends to take a few hits early on in the game as a result :-)

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  3. Excellent looking game dude!Look forward to the next part!

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    1. Thanks Simon. Shouldn't be too long a wait... ;-)

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  4. What a super team up ! Sorry had to be done ! LOL
    The models look great on the board, and the scenario is opening up an interesting result, look forward to reading part two, and see if Johnny's speed costs him

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    1. Cheers Dave. The scenario is pretty straightforward - as ever - but always plays out different ;-)

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  5. It is always a pleasure to see the Fantastic Four in action against Doctor Doom. It is too early to call but seeing as Doom was defeated by the FF last time, I'm sure he'll be seeking his revenge. Anything could happen and I'm very much looking forward to part two.

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    1. Thanks Bryan. I've been waiting to post this BatRep for ages, ever since I finished painting Dragon Man, and am pleased to have finally got the opening instalment out there.

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  6. Fabulous fun, as ever, Simon and nicely poised.

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    1. Cheers Michael. Nice to get a game in tbh :-)

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  7. Great Batrep Simon, also good to se the Thing in action!!

    Dragonman, and Doc Doom too! how terribly Kirby'esc, one for the true believers!

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thanks very much, Roger. Hopefully you'll enjoy the clash between Ben Grimm and Dragon Man which proved one of the highlights of this game's conclusion ;-)

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  8. what a fight and it's obly half-way through you say?
    Nice cliffhanger then thanks...

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    1. Cheers Joe. I tend to find a six turn battle a little long for a single posting tbh, hence I usually split them up about mid-way through :-)

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  9. It’s getting pretty tense with JS taking a pounding

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    1. Thanks Andy. Hopefully the second part won't disappoint.

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  10. After a long weekend working, it's always a pleasure to sit down with a brew and read a good batrep - and this one certainly didn't disappoint Simon :-)
    Roll on part two!

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    1. Cheers Greg. I too enjoy a nice cuppa and a good AAR. I'm pleased this one met your needs :-)

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  11. A nice little read, short, but sweet. The opening moves are over and I can't wait to read his this all plays out. Showing no favouritism, all I will say is, Wakanda forever!

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    1. Thanks Undercoat. You really must come across for a game of "M.I.S.S.", as a scenario usually only takes about an hour to play, so we can easily get a few super-teams involved over the space of an evening :-)

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  12. Good grief - only just caught this. I do like your game reports, Johnny is taking a bit of a pounding, hopefully the others will arrive in time.

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    1. No probs, Vagabond, and I'm glad you enjoy these AARs. Johnny's skill certainly lies in his speed and ability to reach objectives fast. But that does then leave him a little exposed until his team-mates arrive.

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