Post by Cosmic Commissioner on Mar 16, 2011 13:11:39 GMT -6
Stepping Up Your Game – Signature Villains
These articles are infrequent at best, but there are a lot of hidden gems in the rules. And it is true that there are options that usually only come to light when Rick decides to show his hand. In my continual campaign to screw Rick over, I wanted to touch briefly on a technique he hasn’t used in quite some time that just got a major overhaul – Signature Villains.
To start, let's review the rules on Signature Villains;
"When a player is choosing a Villain to be placed on the board, he may elect to choose a Signature Villain from outside of the Villain Pool. All the normal rules and restrictions apply."
This forgotten rule was useful once, but that time seems to have long passed. Since then, this option has fallen into obscurity… in danger of being removed for lack of use/usefulness. I was reviewing this rule closely with the season 8 revision and rulings on SP’s - Sometimes it’s amazing what will happen when one rule gets tweaked… it opens up doors for forgotten rules like this one.
So what the heck am I talking about? Here it is – Signature Villains are the bomb!
How so, you may ask? Well, in a somewhat aggressive league (like we are seeing this season), the offensive capability for these little WMD’s is outstanding. You see, it all started with a little rule I like to call Double Trouble;
“The roll of doubles on the Villain Table when revealing Villain Tokens allows the player choosing the villains to either a) Add an additional Villain for the point total that was rolled or b) choose a single villain worth double the point value that was rolled. Villains valued over 160 points must be provided by the players.” – Page 5, IQ 8.0 Rulebook
With the power/points creep that we have seen over the past few sets and the ability to introduce villains over 160 points onto the board, if played aggressively, this could REALLY ruin someone’s day. But don’t forget about the SP ruling on villains – if you provide your own signature villains (and accompanying cards for them), then they may use their SP’s.
Look over the past few sets… there are soooo many possibilities. Heck, look at GSX. I’d love to use and take control of a new Juggernaut to knock down walls that could be potentially problematic for my team (especially when trying to get that last Cosmic Crystal). How about dreaded villains like Atrocitous? An aggressive (or clever) player could really put the hurt on his opponents by playing the right villain. Of course, if it’s a questionable SP (dealing with move action or tokens) or just complicated, you may want to discuss it with me before your game to make sure it’ll work like you want it to.
But enough of the lip-service. It’s time for the counter-argument: How often does it really come up? How reliable of a strategy is it?
It usually comes up at least twice a game, and sometimes many times more. I counted 7 times in one game. I cannot recall a game this season where Double Trouble didn’t occur. As for being a reliable strategy… it’s not. But it is one heck of an Opportunity. And sometimes those can be just as dangerous.
Anyhow, whether you feel I am being overly optimistic or are chomping at the bit to use it, I hope you will all take a moment to look through your villainous pieces to see if you have any baddies that could prove useful to your team… or perhaps the perfect foil to others.
So, let's review.
Very low VP cost to you – very big cost to your opponents due to the wide variety of Special Powers available!
Wanna Step Up Your Game? Look no further than Signature Villains.
These articles are infrequent at best, but there are a lot of hidden gems in the rules. And it is true that there are options that usually only come to light when Rick decides to show his hand. In my continual campaign to screw Rick over, I wanted to touch briefly on a technique he hasn’t used in quite some time that just got a major overhaul – Signature Villains.
To start, let's review the rules on Signature Villains;
"When a player is choosing a Villain to be placed on the board, he may elect to choose a Signature Villain from outside of the Villain Pool. All the normal rules and restrictions apply."
This forgotten rule was useful once, but that time seems to have long passed. Since then, this option has fallen into obscurity… in danger of being removed for lack of use/usefulness. I was reviewing this rule closely with the season 8 revision and rulings on SP’s - Sometimes it’s amazing what will happen when one rule gets tweaked… it opens up doors for forgotten rules like this one.
So what the heck am I talking about? Here it is – Signature Villains are the bomb!
How so, you may ask? Well, in a somewhat aggressive league (like we are seeing this season), the offensive capability for these little WMD’s is outstanding. You see, it all started with a little rule I like to call Double Trouble;
“The roll of doubles on the Villain Table when revealing Villain Tokens allows the player choosing the villains to either a) Add an additional Villain for the point total that was rolled or b) choose a single villain worth double the point value that was rolled. Villains valued over 160 points must be provided by the players.” – Page 5, IQ 8.0 Rulebook
With the power/points creep that we have seen over the past few sets and the ability to introduce villains over 160 points onto the board, if played aggressively, this could REALLY ruin someone’s day. But don’t forget about the SP ruling on villains – if you provide your own signature villains (and accompanying cards for them), then they may use their SP’s.
Look over the past few sets… there are soooo many possibilities. Heck, look at GSX. I’d love to use and take control of a new Juggernaut to knock down walls that could be potentially problematic for my team (especially when trying to get that last Cosmic Crystal). How about dreaded villains like Atrocitous? An aggressive (or clever) player could really put the hurt on his opponents by playing the right villain. Of course, if it’s a questionable SP (dealing with move action or tokens) or just complicated, you may want to discuss it with me before your game to make sure it’ll work like you want it to.
But enough of the lip-service. It’s time for the counter-argument: How often does it really come up? How reliable of a strategy is it?
It usually comes up at least twice a game, and sometimes many times more. I counted 7 times in one game. I cannot recall a game this season where Double Trouble didn’t occur. As for being a reliable strategy… it’s not. But it is one heck of an Opportunity. And sometimes those can be just as dangerous.
Anyhow, whether you feel I am being overly optimistic or are chomping at the bit to use it, I hope you will all take a moment to look through your villainous pieces to see if you have any baddies that could prove useful to your team… or perhaps the perfect foil to others.
So, let's review.
Very low VP cost to you – very big cost to your opponents due to the wide variety of Special Powers available!
Wanna Step Up Your Game? Look no further than Signature Villains.