08-02-06

Three players tonight so rather than going every man for himself we decided to do 1 player (Mr Hunt) with 1000 points agains the other two (Craig and I) with 500 each and 5 actions per team. Ste used 1000 points of Avengers™, Craig used a 500 point assortment of his favourite figures and in tribute to the newly announced classic Electro™ and Rhino™ releases in Sinister© I used 500 points of Spider-Man™ themed bad guys.

We were all set to start as the Crimson Duck uttered those fateful words that will now forever send shivers down the spine of Mr Hunt and and Avengers™ who were present, "OK, I play the Madness Battle Field Condition for a laugh" ... and a laugh it was for some of us. Read on to find out why!

As the Avenger™s had lined up with a Qucksilver™ it was immediately apparent who the Sinsiter Syndicate™ would try to trap as WE HATE QUICKSILVER! As added incentive it was decided that Mysterio™ was now Magneto™s adopted son and Quicksilver™ had been disowned. Now Mysterio™ had to be involved in taking down the blue streak freak to fully inherit his rightful place at Magneto™s side.

Norman Osbourne, Bullseys™ and Doc Ock™ immediately made a move into the warehouse designed to lure the fleetfooted target into isolating himself alone against the Syndicate. The plan saw Doc Ock™ taking the first hit of the night but it was worth it ... it was so, so worth it as Quicksilver couldn't resist trying a second strike after he rested falling into exactly the cunning plan that the Kingpin™ and Co. had laid for him. It may have taken six of them to fully execute the plan, but as Quicksilver™ was isolated his fate was sealed ... although thanks to a round of bad dice rolls it took longer than hoped. Magneto™ and his adopted son Mysterio™ did the damage with outwit and a hefty five damage but the Lizard™ finished Quicksilver™ off and Norman Osbourn meanwhile ran to the otherside of the warehouse in search of his next victim.

The Avengers™ line up with a newly glued Quasar base

Meanwhile The Sinster Syndicate™ plus a few new recruits spread out into the warehouse looking for a strong position to attack from (the new recruits appear to be a bunch of flankers)

There was no rest for the Sindated Syndicate though as they pressed to make sure their advantage was a telling one. Quasar™ and Warbird™ made an attempt to outflank the Syndicate's supporting cast trough the warehouse office, but Norman and Co. spotted this ploy and acted quickly to put a stop to it. Osbourn and BullseyeV lead the counter assault and were joined by Shaman™ and after some wall destruction Deadpool joined the fray™. It was a tight and feroucous battle in the confines of the office area, but thanks to some exceptional moves by Norman Osbourn the Syndicate again came of the better from these exchanges and looked favourites to take the game.

This event description can't be complete without a mention of "The Hawkeye™ Horror", as the novelty value alone makes it worth a mention. Mysterio™, master of illusion used his mind control to well and truly bambusal the bow weilding hero of Avengers™ fame. He used a ranged attack to make Hawkeye™ run straight at his opponents basing them. Surely, thought Mr Hunt, that was a bit of a waste just to stop him getting his Ranged Combat Expert and reducing his damage ability to zero, but still he tried to breakaway in case a plan more cunning had been hatched, alas for Hawkweye™ he failed. Cunning plan part two kicked in as after resting, Mysterio Mind Control Hawkeye™ once again. This time he used Hawkeye™'s Spider-Man (Wild Card) Team Ability to change to an X-Men and heal the wounded Cable. Hawkeye was horrified when he recovered, but even more horrified when Mysterio™ then pushed to do it again! (Cue ... "Your My Wife Now" in Papa Lazaru voice). One of the funniest moments in our casual Heroclix games to date.

Magneto™ and his adopted son Mysterio™ survey the scene as Norman Osbourne leades a counter offensive against the Avengers™

Captain America™ and Quasar™ now seen a little outnumbered and more than a little worried

Well for this game, just before we kicked off I declared that Madness should be in play as it would add to the fun and all players agreed. During the game I rolled 3 double ones (usually critical misses, but here beautifully converted into critical hits) and my partner managed another two with two shots using Magneto™. The look(s) on his face were classic as the shock and horror of a critical miss turned to the joy of realising he had critically hit. Neither of us rolled double six all game.

On the other side of the table Mr. Hunt managed to pull off two critical hits, or at least he would have had I not called the Madness card. Both these were converted to critical misses. Ste didn't roll any critical hits. So thanks to the inspired last call for Maddness seven critical rolls were all reversed from against us to in our favour. Now do you like Madness? We do!

For once we even managed to finish a big game too, so the winners could easilly be seen. Hoorah for the Sinister Syndicate and their new friends.

The survivors on the victorious team. The Lizard got two KO's but was just pipped to the MVP Award by Norman Osbourne who played like a beast and covered almost every square on the board.

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