Attacktix Duel

[gamerdad'o]

I like thinking up new rules. I really like attacktix as a war-game, but think it doesn't quite apply to superheros, such as 5 Spideys v.s. 2 Doc Ock's and 3 Magneto's (assuming the point costs work out that way). Grand melee's are visually great if you have only one of each figure. However, most of the battles I read in the comics are more of a one-on-one deal. Here is a shot at recreating that in tix form. This divides into three sections: set-up, hits and terrain, with customizing potential necessary.

SET-UP
A player has several poses of the same character, while the opponent has several poses of a different character. Any one pose is picked to start with, grinded, and placed 2 tix in from the start edge. Various terrain is placed on the field.

Limitations: a player can only have a mega if his opponent also has one to use. A 40 point figure can only be used once, a 30 can be used twice, a 20 three times, and 10 pointers up to four times. Players agree on a number of total hits before the game ends (usually 4 or so), but if a character runs out of figures, it's also a lose situation.

HITS
Each time a character is knocked over/off the table, the player loses one of his hits. He then replaces his figure with another of the same character, but it can be in a different pose (prodder Wolverine into striker Wolverine). Place the new fig where ever the old one landed. A player loses if losing all hit before his opponent. A character can loose two hits at a a time from terrain.

TERRAIN
Place destroyable terrain on the table, such as a short tower of Jenga blocks, pre-cut cardboard walls, or stacked Lego bricks. If the Lego's have smooth tops and are stacked then figures can try to bust though on purpose, or enemies shoved through for extra damage. The terrain must be breached or collapsed to cause the extra hit (cracks or dents don't count.) Cardboard walls can be cut puzzle-like, and should hold together until hit. The whole wall can be loose (lots of work) or just pre-set weak points in a otherwise solid wall. Thrown through windows never causes any damage (just watch movies!).

Cardboard boxes make great buildings to knock figs off of, with ramps to other buildings (sky-bridges), and ladders drawn on the side (maybe 4 move tixs climbs one level in one turn - cut base slots in the ladder at each level). Fliers can get to the top in one turn. Entering building allows using the elevator to the top in one turn.

Obviously, this may call for customizing existing characters into new poses. The terrain might be some work, but should be visually exciting. Well, that's the idea, try it out (I have no Marvel figs), post your ideas/improvement/minor complaints.

[AWOL]

Great idea! I love it when players make up new rule sets to play with, especially with a game that is so basic enough it practically invites different varieties of game play.

I like how you use different posed figures! I think that the number of hits a personality has should depend on how many different figures he has of that personality (different or same pose). That way, if you have only three Hulks, even if they are three striker Hulks of the same pose, you can count three hits against Hulk, that way you can use the figures to serve as a check so that you won't need to keep a tally on paper! Plus, it would encourage many of us to actually use a lot of our repeat figures we acquired from blind boosters! So if you want a really strong Hulk, go out and buy several Hulks (each figure sort of represents a hit point, in D&D terms!).

Nice idea about terrain! Using different figures as hits is probably the only way to get terrain to effectively "damage" your heroes. I really like the idea of having terrain that could not only help you by providing cover, but could also potentially kill you if you get knocked around a lot. Great idea!

I want to add that you could very easily incorporate this idea (of using different figures as "hits") even in regular squad vs squad battles. Simply designate an other area as Repeatables (Defeated, Backups, Repeatables), and fill your Repeatables area with all the multiple figures you have of your heroes you are starting out with on the play field. That way, when one of your heroes is defeated and he has a repeatable in the Repeatables area, you can simply place the repeatable where the hero had fallen. Those heroes who do not have repeatables are more or less "squishies" and get destroyed after only one knock-down!

I think if you use repeatables in this fashion, special abilities only come into play when the player decides to destroy the hero. So, let's say you have Hulk playing on the field, and in your Repeatables area, you have 3 more Hulks waiting to come into play. Your Hulk on the field gets knocked over. If his special is white, you can opt to use his special and not bring in another Hulk figure, effectively destroying Hulk from the game, or you ignore his special and bring in another Hulk figure. Once you use a hero's special, you cannot ever bring in any of his repeatables (the hero is defeated from the game).
Anyway, kinda got off tangent with you original idea, but I like how your idea really can work in a regular squad battle and enhance game play! Karma for thinking outside of the box!

[gamerdad'o]

Here's some ideas for custom figures:

Take Doc Ock and cut off the end of the big tentacle, glue on the prodder/twister from Transformer Ransack, puddy up the connection so it looks like the tentacle, paint, and voila!


More technical custom: take The Thing's smash arm and attach it to the Hulk, paint and sand so the Hulk has a direct attack. It may be easier and more effective if the body spring is left out, and the shoulder manually twisted, for either an uppercut or a downward smash.

Or maybe add an effect: Hulk Rage - if Hulk move directly toward a character and the tix window is red at the point of contact, Hulk may throw the character for his attack. This would up Hulk's points by 10 or 20.


P.S. I hope to figure out how to upload pics, to show various wall designs.