Feral Predator (Public Playtesting)

[ALEXAN2507]

Feral Predator​

Card PDF

NAME = FERAL PREDATOR
IDENTITY =

UNIQUENESS = UNCOMMON HERO
SPECIES = YAUTJA
CLASS = HUNTER
PERSONALITY = RELENTLESS

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 6

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 2

POINTS = Aiming for 240

YAUTJA CLOAKING DEVICE
Feral Predator may move through all characters. While not on aquatic terrain, it is never in clear sight of enemies.

TRI-BOLT GUN SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Attack 2, 4, or 6.
Start this attack action with 6 attack dice in a dice pool. Attack with 2, 4, or 6 attack dice until all dice in the dice pool have been rolled. You may not attack the same figure more than once and you may reroll one die per attack. This ability may only be used once per round.

RAZOR SHIELD
Feral Predator has +1 block when defending. After combat when defending against an adjacent figure, if Feral Predator had 1+ shields, the attacker takes 1 wound.


FACTION =
PUBLISHER = DARK HORSE
KEYWORDS =
SYMBOLS = STEALTH

RELEASE NAME: blurb

Resources and Rulings

• The suggested figure for this unit is a 3D Printable model: Feral Skull Hunter Resilient Cat
• See this card's wiki page for synergies and strategies!

Credits

• Playtesters:
  • ...
  • ...
• Card art: Maxi Saavedra (Maxy3120)
• Character creators: Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison and Michael Vincent

Updates

• N/A

 

[Arch-vile]

Looks good! It's got less direct offense than a normal Predator, but makes up for that with more defense and Razor Shield providing pretty consistent autowounds defensively.

Edit - don't forget to post a link to this thread in the Welcome and/or Promotions thread!

 

[MrNobody]

Design looks good. Probably aren't gonna get many comments here until you post a link to this thread in the Welcome and/or Promotions thread.

After 48 hours have passed, you're free to call a vote for initial playtesting. But I might give it a little time just so everyone can see it?

 

[ALEXAN2507]

Design looks good. Probably aren't gonna get many comments here until you post a link to this thread in the Welcome and/or Promotions thread.

After 48 hours have passed, you're free to call a vote for initial playtesting. But I might give it a little time just so everyone can see it?

How should I format a post about this in those threads?

 

[MrNobody]

"Feral Predator" is all you need! Any extra info is up to you. (We have a few members who don't cruise 'New Posts' or anything like that - they just subscribe to a few threads and maneuver by there. So by posting a link, you're basically letting them know your thread exists.)

 

[IAmBatman]

Seems in the ballpark on cost. I got 220 as a guestimate on the calculator. Don't recall how the other Predators work well enough to know how this one fits the faction.

 

[Skinderella]

Cool stuff! Probably want to be 240 since it lets you go Predator Elder (280), and then some combo of Predator (240), and Feral Predator, with which you can get 3. That or have this at 160 to get 1 Predator, 3 Feral Predators, though that seems like a big price drop to aim for.

 

[ALEXAN2507]

Cool stuff! Probably want to be 240 since it lets you go Predator Elder (280), and then some combo of Predator (240), and Feral Predator, with which you can get 3. That or have this at 160 to get 1 Predator, 3 Feral Predators, though that seems like a big price drop to aim for.

240 is what I'm aiming for here yeah

 

[MrNobody]

So you're good to propose a VOTE for Initial Playtesting when ready. Just update the thread title to indicated that and make a post proposing it. I think once you're in initial testing, you'll have to sweet talk a sanctum member into running the 3-game initial for you.

 

[ALEXAN2507]

All being well I would to propose the VOTE for initial playtesting then!

 

[IAmBatman]

yea

 

[Arch-vile]

yea

Wording suggestions. I changed Razor Shield slightly to be after combat - I feel like that makes more sense than it wounding in the middle of combat. That's more in line with Counter Strike and such.

YAUTJA CLOAKING DEVICE
Feral Predator may move through all characters. While not on aquatic terrain, it is never in clear sight of enemies.

TRI-BOLT GUN SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Attack 2, 4, or 6.
Start this attack action with 6 attack dice in a dice pool. Attack with 2, 4, or 6 attack dice until all dice in the dice pool have been rolled. You may not attack the same figure more than once and you may reroll 1 die per attack. This ability may only be used once per round.

RAZOR SHIELD
Feral Predator has +1 block when defending. After combat when defending against an adjacent figure, if Feral Predator had 1+ skulls, the attacker takes 1 wound.

It's a small thing - but bolding your proposals helps alert people that there's a vote going on!

 

[Skinderella]

Yea

 

[Arch-vile]

Once this passes, I can tackle the initial here unless someone else wants it!

 

[ALEXAN2507]

yea

Wording suggestions. I changed Razor Shield slightly to be after combat - I feel like that makes more sense than it wounding in the middle of combat. That's more in line with Counter Strike and such.


It's a small thing - but bolding your proposals helps alert people that there's a vote going on!

Updated

 

[Ronin]

yea

Not totally sure he's worth that much but we'll see in testing!

 

[Ericth74]

yea

 

[ALEXAN2507]

yea

Not totally sure he's worth that much but we'll see in testing!

I'm happy for him to get buffed up if needed

 

[Arch-vile]

You’ve got 5 yeas, so you can say that this proposal passes and update the thread title to initial playtesting. I should have the initial done this weekend.

 

[ALEXAN2507]

The council has spoken
This proposal passes

 

[Arch-vile]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Prey

Army Test
Map: City Park
Units: Predator Elder, Feral Predator x3 (1000) VS Alien Queen, Alien Drone x5 (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

Testing a swarm of Feral Predators.

Round 1 is fairly bloody for the aliens, as the Feral Predators take out 3 Drones. The aliens retaliate by taking out one Feral Predator and wounding another.

Preds take out the last of the Drones while another Feral Predator falls. Razor Shield is brutal against a melee team, especially the low-life Alien Drones.

Predators shred the Queen. The Queen kills the last Feral Predator out with her dying acid blood.


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Predator Elder (0 wounds) wins.

In retrospect, not too surprising that a more melee focused version of the Predator excelled against the Aliens.

___________________________________________________________​

Army Test
Map: City Park
Units: Predator Elder, Predator x2, Feral Predator x1 (1000) VS Goku, Kid Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Beam Struggle (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

I imagine this will be a more typical Feral Predator build.

Feral Predator rushes at Krillin and kills him during the first round. Even in melee against a single target, Tri-Bolt Gun SA is essentially an attack of 7 - very worthwhile. A normal predator wounds Tien but takes a couple wounds from Goku.

Yamcha takes out a normal Predator like the champion he is. Feral Predator takes out Gohan. Goku one-shots a normal Predator. Predator Elder takes out Yamcha. Goku takes a wound from Razor Shield then switches targets to the Elder, putting 4 wounds on him.

Preds take out Tien and put a few wounds on Goku, but Goku’s high attack lets him minimize the effect of Razor Shield.


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Goku (4 wounds) wins.

Close game, Goku’s big attack helped here for sure.

___________________________________________________________​

Army Test
Map: Custom - Felucia Sarlacc Pit
Units: Predator Elder, Feral Predator x3 (1000) VS Nightwing, Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

Back to the swarm build as that felt more effective. Elder chooses Changeling as his prey.

Feral Preds put a couple wounds on Beast Boy. Titans Go ends the round - Raven wounds a Feral Predator but takes a wound from Razor Shield. Beast Boy is blocked and takes a wound from Razor Shield. Nightwing cannot engage the Feral Predators so he cannot see any of them to attack.

Cyborg takes a swipe to use his SA to wound both Predators (taking 1 wound from the adjacent one). Preds use their SAs to take Cyborg down to 1 Life remaining. Cyborg is blocked and Raven takes some wounds from Cyborg then puts 1 wound on a Feral Predator. Feral Preds take out Cyborg while Starfire can’t reach the Feral Preds to see them.

Feral Preds grab height and use their SAs against Raven to kill her. Titans Go: Starfire attacks a Feral Predator 4x, inflicting 3 wounds and taking 4 wounds in return. Beast Boy and Nightwing both wound a Feral Predator (killing one) and Beast Boy takes a wound in return too. Feral Preds take out Beast Boy. Starfire is blocked and dies to Razor Shield. Nightwing dodges the Feral preds then takes a wound from Razor shield while being blocked.

Feral Preds win init and take out Nightwing with their special attacks.


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Predator Elder (0 wounds), Feral Predator (4 wounds), Feral Predator (0 wounds) wins.

This felt unwinnable for the Titans. Cyborg and Raven could at least wound the Feral Predators while non-adjacent to avoid Razor Shield, but not efficiently enough to make a difference.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Offensively, this is a fun design, enjoyable to play alongside the greater predator faction. Gives the predators a slightly different play style. But as the opponent, it’s not real fun to play against.

I think the Feral Predator slightly outclasses the normal Predator now, and the Feral Predator swarm ends up feeling oppressive to play against. Tri-Bolt Gun ends up being only slightly worse than the normal Predator’s offense (I always used the single attack of 6). But defensively, 3 defense + an auto shield is better than 5 defense. And forcing the enemy to reliably take a wound when they want to attack the Feral Predator is very strong, especially if the enemy doesn’t have a heavy hitter (as then they’re forced to attack into the Razor Shield more). Factions that rely on a lot of small-medium attacks really struggle as they generally take as much damage from Razor Shield as they deal out.

Could take Defense down to 2, or maybe the defensive wound only happens if the Feral Predator doesn't take any wounds? A less reliable Cloaking Device is another option but personally I like keeping that the same as the other Yautja. Razor Shield just needs some sort of counterplay, I’m not sure it matters too much what that is.

 

[Arch-vile]

Personally, this is the change I'd make. I think with this change it'd be more fun to play against due to feeling like less of an inevitability of self-wounding when you attack it. But it's up to the LD - if another tweak is preferred, that's fine too!

RAZOR SHIELD
Feral Predator has +1 block when defending. After combat when defending against an adjacent figure, if Feral Predator had 1+ skulls and took 0 wounds, the attacker takes 1 wound.

 

[japes]

Razor shields counter strike feels like something that should hit back on a shield. I agree that taking a wound pretty much every time you have to attack is not going to be enjoyable.

 

[ALEXAN2507]

C3G STANDARD PLAYTEST FEEDBACK FORM

NAME OF THE PLAYTEST UNIT: Prey

Army Test
Map: City Park
Units: Predator Elder, Feral Predator x3 (1000) VS Alien Queen, Alien Drone x5 (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

Testing a swarm of Feral Predators.

Round 1 is fairly bloody for the aliens, as the Feral Predators take out 3 Drones. The aliens retaliate by taking out one Feral Predator and wounding another.

Preds take out the last of the Drones while another Feral Predator falls. Razor Shield is brutal against a melee team, especially the low-life Alien Drones.

Predators shred the Queen. The Queen kills the last Feral Predator out with her dying acid blood.


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Predator Elder (0 wounds) wins.

In retrospect, not too surprising that a more melee focused version of the Predator excelled against the Aliens.

___________________________________________________________​

Army Test
Map: City Park
Units: Predator Elder, Predator x2, Feral Predator x1 (1000) VS Goku, Kid Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Beam Struggle (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

I imagine this will be a more typical Feral Predator build.

Feral Predator rushes at Krillin and kills him during the first round. Even in melee against a single target, Tri-Bolt Gun SA is essentially an attack of 7 - very worthwhile. A normal predator wounds Tien but takes a couple wounds from Goku.

Yamcha takes out a normal Predator like the champion he is. Feral Predator takes out Gohan. Goku one-shots a normal Predator. Predator Elder takes out Yamcha. Goku takes a wound from Razor Shield then switches targets to the Elder, putting 4 wounds on him.

Preds take out Tien and put a few wounds on Goku, but Goku’s high attack lets him minimize the effect of Razor Shield.


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Goku (4 wounds) wins.

Close game, Goku’s big attack helped here for sure.

___________________________________________________________​

Army Test
Map: Custom - Felucia Sarlacc Pit
Units: Predator Elder, Feral Predator x3 (1000) VS Nightwing, Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy (1000)

Spoiler Alert!

Back to the swarm build as that felt more effective. Elder chooses Changeling as his prey.

Feral Preds put a couple wounds on Beast Boy. Titans Go ends the round - Raven wounds a Feral Predator but takes a wound from Razor Shield. Beast Boy is blocked and takes a wound from Razor Shield. Nightwing cannot engage the Feral Predators so he cannot see any of them to attack.

Cyborg takes a swipe to use his SA to wound both Predators (taking 1 wound from the adjacent one). Preds use their SAs to take Cyborg down to 1 Life remaining. Cyborg is blocked and Raven takes some wounds from Cyborg then puts 1 wound on a Feral Predator. Feral Preds take out Cyborg while Starfire can’t reach the Feral Preds to see them.

Feral Preds grab height and use their SAs against Raven to kill her. Titans Go: Starfire attacks a Feral Predator 4x, inflicting 3 wounds and taking 4 wounds in return. Beast Boy and Nightwing both wound a Feral Predator (killing one) and Beast Boy takes a wound in return too. Feral Preds take out Beast Boy. Starfire is blocked and dies to Razor Shield. Nightwing dodges the Feral preds then takes a wound from Razor shield while being blocked.

Feral Preds win init and take out Nightwing with their special attacks.


Who won? List figures remaining in the winning army (include life remaining for heroes): Predator Elder (0 wounds), Feral Predator (4 wounds), Feral Predator (0 wounds) wins.

This felt unwinnable for the Titans. Cyborg and Raven could at least wound the Feral Predators while non-adjacent to avoid Razor Shield, but not efficiently enough to make a difference.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: Offensively, this is a fun design, enjoyable to play alongside the greater predator faction. Gives the predators a slightly different play style. But as the opponent, it’s not real fun to play against.

I think the Feral Predator slightly outclasses the normal Predator now, and the Feral Predator swarm ends up feeling oppressive to play against. Tri-Bolt Gun ends up being only slightly worse than the normal Predator’s offense (I always used the single attack of 6). But defensively, 3 defense + an auto shield is better than 5 defense. And forcing the enemy to reliably take a wound when they want to attack the Feral Predator is very strong, especially if the enemy doesn’t have a heavy hitter (as then they’re forced to attack into the Razor Shield more). Factions that rely on a lot of small-medium attacks really struggle as they generally take as much damage from Razor Shield as they deal out.

Could take Defense down to 2, or maybe the defensive wound only happens if the Feral Predator doesn't take any wounds? A less reliable Cloaking Device is another option but personally I like keeping that the same as the other Yautja. Razor Shield just needs some sort of counterplay, I’m not sure it matters too much what that is.

Are you generally happy with the strength level of Tri-Bolt Gun?

 

[Arch-vile]

It’s certainly strong but as a once per round thing, it feels okay. I could see using the 2 or 4 dice option against squads but I think the 6-dice attack is generally going to be what you use.