Mutant League 01/24/2007 PM Game 6: melodyrider vs. The Fury

[mattbib]

Welcome to our second match of the day...

In the first corner we have melodyrider's Two Weeks' Detention (Karma, Nightcrawler, Tag, Scrambler, Thunderbird, Rhapsody, Husk)

vs

In the other corner is The Fury's Level 5 of Mad Professor Mariarti was Quite Hard (Psylocke, Bishop, Avalanche, Debrii, Colossus, Windshear, Mandrill)

Both participants have submitted strategies:

[mattbib]

Background music: Trigger Happy by "Weird Al" Yankovic

OPENING SALVO: (Occurs simultaneously)

Thunderbird takes to the air, letting off a flash of light to blind or distract the opponents. In all likelihood they will be expecting this and might defend against it by closing their eyes. This is all well and good as the main purpose of this move is to give my team a chance to change positions unnoticed. If they do not defend, they will be in a much worse position during this match.
Rhapsody will play her violin, allowing her to take flight. She will veer to the side, moving to flank the other team. This will take a bit as she flies upright and will move erratically so as to make herself a difficult target for ranged attackers like Bishop.
Nightcrawler will teleport to the other flank, maintaining the 100 meter distance. He will carry Tag and Karma with him.
Husk will shed into a rubber form and sprint toward the team. This will allow her to do so more quickly and should also help to absorb the affects of any attacks made against her, especially by Avalanche..
Scrambler will lay flat on the ground, making himself a smaller target and helping avoid the effects of a possible earthquake. He works with Arclight, so he's prepared for this sort of thing.
Karma will possess Mandrill. Mandrill??? Yes, Mandrill. Why? Pheromones, my friends, pheromones. Mandrill exudes pheromones that allow him to seize the will of others, much like Persuasion, except that his scent only affects women. These are extremely powerful pheromones that he constantly excretes and have a range of up to 250 feet! His whole team will have already been exposed to these pheromones, and two of them happen to be female.At this point the other team is potentially blinded and Mandrill is under Karma's sway.

PRIMARY ACTIONS:

Karma will also lay herself prostrate so as to escape notice and present a smaller target. Through Mandrill she will seize control of Debrii and Psylocke. Since pheromones are chemical rather than telepathic in nature, Psylocke's mental defenses should offer no protection from this. Mandrill will command the two women to provide him some entertainment by making out with each other! :eek: This should prove especially upsetting for Bishop, who will not appreciate hanky-panky in the middle of an operation, and Colossus, who is likely to think that Mandrill is once again indulging in his villainous ways.
Nightcrawler will teleport himself and Tag right behind the other team. He will then take hold of Avalanche and teleport him over to where Rhapsody is.
Tag will use his power on Bishop's massive shoulder pads, making them draw people toward them. This effect will apply to Windshear and Colossus only. Tag has shown on many occasions that he can be selective, so this will not be a problem. There's a very high chance that by now Windshear will have moved out of range of this effect, which means only Colossus will suddenly start saying "Must get closer..." Bishop has some rather unpleasant memories where Colossus is concerned, and will find the steel Russian climbing on his back very distracting. To make things even worse for him, Karma will have Madrill leap in and attempt to wrest his guns away.
Once Nightcrawler delivers Avalanche to her, Rhapsody will place him under her hypnotic influence. Playing on his greek heritage, she will create a mental fantasy where he is in a Greek temple and she appears to him as the goddess Aphrodite (Actually, she will play the role of Euterpe, the Muse of lyric song, but he's not likely to know that.) She works her magic on him, causing any tremors he had been creating to stop.
Scrambler will rise to his feet and run for the other team. It should be a lot safer for him by now.
As Husk nears the other team she will shed once again, this time assuming a form made of wood.
Assuming that Windshear has escaped the range of Tag's power, Thunderbird will engage him in the skies. Turning his body into plasma energy, he will hurl beams of heat and concussive force, alternating between the two, forcing Windshear to concentrate on defending from the assault. Thunderbird will attempt to drive Windshear away from Rhapsody and toward Bishop.Madrill is still possessed.
Psylocke and Debrii are kissing.
Avalanche is in la-la land.
Bishop has a very large metal man on his back.

MAIN ACTIONS:

By now Psylocke and Debrii's tongues have come into play, and their hands are beginning to wander...
Nightcrawler teleports over to Scrambler and bamfs him into the middle of the other team. Scrambler's mission will now be to depower as many of the enemy team as possible. He will start with Bishop and Colossus, then Psylocke and Debrii.
Husk, Nightcrawler and Tag will engage in hand-to-hand combat with Bishop and Colossus. Without their powers, and preoccupied as they are, they will not last long against this assault.
As Scrambler shuts down Madrill's powers, Tag and Nightcrawler debate letting Psylocke and Debrii continue on as they have been. Disgusted, Husk will bash the two ladies' heads together, knocking them out before any further threat is made to their modesty.
Karma releases Mandrill from her power. It is now him alone and powerless against four of my team. He will not be able to endure their combined assault.
If Windshear has managed to get driven close enough to Bishop to be included in Tag's pull, Scrambler will move on to him and he will be taken out next. Otherwise, Thunderbird will continue to keep him occupied until Karma can override his mind. She will force him to provide assistance and cleanup on the others as needed.
Avalanche will also be persuaded to help out if things start to go badly
for my team. Otherwise, with only him and Windshear left and both of them under my team's control, the battle will end. We are victorious.CONTINGENCY PLANS: (in case certain actions are defended against or prove ineffective)

If Windshear decides to run defense for the team and create a force bubble around them, Tag will start by tagging Nightcrawler under the 'repel' setting. When the two of them teleport behind his team this will cause most of The Fury's team to scatter like cockroaches and create the openings I need to proceed with the rest of my plan.
If someone tries to take Rhapsody's violin she will switch to her flute. If that too is is neutralized, Karma will have Madrill vocalize a '70s porn tune to accompany the entertainment Psylocke and Debrii are providing.
Certain women (such as Black Widow) have been known to resist Mandrill's pheromones. If somehow Psylocke manages to escape or shrug off the effects of Madrill's pheromones, Debrii will just be sent after her with the same goal in mind. She'll not find attacking my team easy with an overzealous telekinetic trying to glom onto her. Mandrill will also go after her, abandoning his harassment of Bishop if need be, making things even more difficult for the telekinetic ninja.CELEBRATION:

Tag will tell Debrii that he never misses her show and ask for her autograph. And then for her number.

Karma will ask Avalanche if he'd like to consider reforming, as there is an opening at the school for a new teacher.

Thunderbird will ask Psylocke if she's interested in getting back together with him.

Husk will flirt with Colossus (he'll be polite, but won't play along) while Nightcrawler argues classic cinema with Windshear.

Scrambler and Mandrill will debate which of them is the cooler villain. They
will both lose.

Rhapsody will insist that Bishop be the first to sing at the karaoke bar
they retire to.

[mattbib]

Initial stage (all occur at the same time):

Psylocke using her TK flies towards the other team as fast as she can dragging Colossus and Mandrill with her. To spare herself from hit by any attack by Thunderbird, she flies in a sidewards arc (as in not a direct line from my team to the other team). Colossus transforms to organic-steel during the move.
Bishop stands at the front of my team awaiting any attack from the other side, if Thunderbird fires a beam of energy Bishop will purposely Jump in front of it. While doing this he will fire a few shots at the other team (you know on the off chance he taks on of them out).
Now, it is presumed Nightcrawler will ‘port himself (or with someone) to my side to attack early on. To save from this the rest of my team will move away from that area straight away so they are not there when Nightcrawler arrives. Windshear will stay waiting for Nightcrawler. Debrii will while moving away disrupt the gound causing dust to move about obsurcing people view where my team are, and Avalanche will open the ground up beneath Windshear (Windshear will hover using his suit).Primary Stage:

Nightcrawler may port to attack my team, with them spreading out from the start it give me a chance of taking him down as he does not port to a person but a location. As soon as Windshear hears a ‘BAMF’ or anything that shows evidence that Nighcrawler is there, Windshear will cause a Hard-air big explosion inside the dome (so his teammates are protected while those inside are affected). A hard-air explosion is strong enough to knock Nightcrawler and anyone else he teleported with out. If it did not (for some reason) Windshear will fly immediately up and Avalanche will force the ground beneath Windshear up and to close on Nightcrawler trapping him, the force fo the attack should take him down. Because of the dust surrounding him, if he did stay consiuos after the hard-air explosion, he will not see the ground slamming into him.
A soon as Psylocke arrives at the area of my opponents she will drop Mandrill and uses Colossus as a half tonne wrecking ball, Slamming him into the middle of my opponents disrupting them and hopefully causing Karma to lose control over anyone she has control of or is trying to control. Psylocke will then head straight for Karma to take her out. Psylocke is immune from Karma powers. When Psylocke confronts Karma she will swipe her Katana through her and knock her out. If anyone attacks Psylocke to stop her, she’ll use her TK to force them away (Tag and Scrambler mainly but they both need physical contact to use their powers).
Mandrill after landing will just stand there and make any woman who is near him fall madly in love with him (What? It’s how his powers work) He has heightened strength and agility also to avoid any attack from any males around.
Avalanche will then use his powers to transport himself to the other side of the battle field on a massive earth wave. Debrii will follow behind him. Bishop firers his gun at Scrambler hoping to take him out while still absorbing any energy fired at him.Main Stage:

With Karma out, no one will be trying to mind control my team but Mandrill controls the females on the battle field…or in this case Husk and Rhapsody. He tells them to stop fighting.
Psylocke after taking out Karma will head straight for Thunderbird. Use her TK to protect her, she’ll fly at him and will try and hit him with her sword.
Avalanche is now arriving at the battle, he stops his wave of earth causing it to crash at the opponents I have left. With Thunderbird in battle, Karma and Nightcrawler out and Husk and Rhapsody controlled, that leaves Tag and Scrambler. That is if Scrambler was not teleported with Nightcrawler at the start of the battle and knocked out.
Avalanche will use his powers to shake the ground and force earth columns from the ground attacking Tag and Scrambler. Debrii will use any odd rocks that appear and hurl them at them also until they are knocked out (or killed as Avalanche won’t hold back). Colossus will also pick up rocks and attack. He I’m sure is more then happy to kill Scrambler. ;)
Windshear once he confirms Nightcrawler is down will join Psylocke against Thunderbird, his hard-air protecting him from blasts.Final Stage:

Husk and Rhaposdy should be in Mandrill’s control. After everyone but them and Thunderbird have been taken care of, Colossus will attack them, using his strength to knock them out. (few taps on the head)
Thunderbird is powerful but with Psylocke and Windshear confronting him he will soon be struck by Psylocke’s blade knocking him out.

[The Fury]

Hey, my colour you evil being you.

[Joe Acro]

Is it just me or there too much going on?

[The Fury]

Is it just me or there too much going on?

Both are good teams and both had to account for the other.

[venuscameback]

heh, both players using the purple text is really confusing!

First thought - won't Karma be a bit disorientated by Nightcrawler's teleport? Won't that throw off her ability to mind control for a few seconds or so?

[melodyrider]

Hey, my colour you evil being you.

Is it? I had no idea.



.
.
.
Honest.

Purple is my favorite color, but yeah, I totally stole it.

[The Fury]

Is it? I had no idea.



.
.
.
Honest.

Purple is my favorite color, but yeah, I totally stole it.

Lies LIES I tells ya....*reads hidden text*

...oh.

[AceOfSpades]

Both are good teams and both had to account for the other.

Yeah.. there is so much happening that I got a headache reading it.. Both are REALLY good though. Must mull this over for a while.

(I must say I liked melodyrider using Karma to control Mandrill to make Betsy and Debrii make out.. Karma would enjoy that:p )

And the use of Windshear was also really well done.. hm...

Does Scrambler have to be in skin contact for someone to be.. scrambled? And if so, does the effect last afterwards? I can only remember reading about Scrambler once during the mutant massacre and I don't know if he was still holding on to Rogue when she almost got harpooned

[melodyrider]

heh, both players using the purple text is really confusing!

First thought - won't Karma be a bit disorientated by Nightcrawler's teleport? Won't that throw off her ability to mind control for a few seconds or so?

I'd have to argue that she won't be too affected. She's very good with that power by now, and Nightcrawler has teleported with people using their powers on numerous occasions, such as Shadowcat while she's phasing (saving their lives when he teleported inside something solid) and more recently in Phoenix Endsong with Storm.

[The Fury]

I'd have to argue that she won't be too affected. She's very good with that power by now, and Nightcrawler has teleported with people using their powers on numerous occasions, such as Shadowcat while she's phasing (saving their lives when he teleported inside something solid) and more recently in Phoenix Endsong with Storm.
I guess people are putting up with it once they have ported with him alot. Karma has not, and it has been said that teleporting someone with him is like punching them in the stomach.

That's why his teleporting frenxy attack can do so much damage.

[melodyrider]

Yeah.. there is so much happening that I got a headache reading it.. Both are REALLY good though. Must mull this over for a while.

(I must say I liked melodyrider using Karma to control Mandrill to make Betsy and Debrii make out.. Karma would enjoy that:p )

And the use of Windshear was also really well done.. hm...

Does Scrambler have to be in skin contact for someone to be.. scrambled? And if so, does the effect last afterwards? I can only remember reading about Scrambler once during the mutant massacre and I don't know if he was still holding on to Rogue when she almost got harpooned

I believe it does have to be skin to... thing ( he also affects electronics) and his power works on a 1:60 ratio, so touching for one second will turn off the power for 1 minute.

[The Fury]

if he was still holding on to Rogue when she almost got harpooned
He does need contact...but didn't she and him have a backlash last time they touched due to conflicting powers? eitehr way.

[melodyrider]

He does need contact...but didn't she and him have a backlash last time they touched due to conflicting powers? eitehr way.



Good memory. She was going to toss him into the middle of his teammates (she had him by his shirt) but he touched her face at the last second.

[The Fury]

Good memory. She was going to toss him into the middle of his teammates (she had him by his shirt) but he touched her face at the last second.

Yeah and it knocked them both out.

[Mikl C]

Just finished melodyrider. First thoughts are that he's relying on the other team standing there just reacting to attacks.
Reading Fury's now.

[Mikl C]

I don't think Fury has got Karma out of the battle early enough for Mandrill not to be taken.

[Joe Acro]

I don't think Fury has got Karma out of the battle early enough for Mandrill not to be taken.
I was thinking something similar. However, I'm not sure if Karma will be able to take care of Mandrill and focus his power on Psylocke and Debrii before Psylocke deals with her.

[melodyrider]

Just finished melodyrider. First thoughts are that he's relying on the other team standing there just reacting to attacks.
Reading Fury's now.

Almost. I'm going more on the basis that Thunderbird's flash attack (which The Fury does not defend against) will buy me the time I need to get everything rolling

[Joe Acro]

Wouldn't the flash attack imply that all of them are looking at Thunderbird?

And doesn't Windshear have face protection?

[The Fury]

I don't think Fury has got Karma out of the battle early enough for Mandrill not to be taken.

You mean Psylocke taking her out first thing is not enough?....odd. Nighcrawler teleports KArma (this does harm ehr a bit), Psylocke is heading towards them, Nighcrawler then leave Karma on ehr own, defenseless. Mandrill pheromones are not like Purple Man's or Persuasions and take an instant or 2 to occur Psylocke is out for Karma end of.

But also, Psylocke drops Mandrill and leaves him near my opponents females then heads for Karma, if she is 100m away the Psylocke is 100m away which is more the 250 feet.

Psylocke is a fast flyer.

[The Fury]

added thought.

Nightcrawler while doesn't port to my team straigh away he does in the end and with tag, the idea behind my strat is for Nightcrawler to port, Windshear and Avalanche are waiting for his arrival. The Hard-air explosion should knock both Nightcrawler and Tag out.

[The Fury]

Wouldn't the flash attack imply that all of them are looking at Thunderbird?

And doesn't Windshear have face protection?

He does indeed, a visor.

[melodyrider]

You mean Psylocke taking her out first thing is not enough?....odd. Nighcrawler teleports KArma (this does harm ehr a bit), Psylocke is heading towards them, Nighcrawler then leave Karma on ehr own, defenseless. Mandrill pheromones are not like Purple Man's or Persuasions and take an instant or 2 to occur Psylocke is out for Karma end of.

But also, Psylocke drops Mandrill and leaves him near my opponents females then heads for Karma, if she is 100m away the Psylocke is 100m away which is more the 250 feet.

Psylocke is a fast flyer.



Keep in mind that all three of my women scatter in different directions.

[melodyrider]

added thought.

Nightcrawler while doesn't port to my team straigh away he does in the end and with tag, the idea behind my strat is for Nightcrawler to port, Windshear and Avalanche are waiting for his arrival. The Hard-air explosion should knock both Nightcrawler and Tag out.


Ah yes, but my contingency plan shows that Nightcrawler will be Tagged under repel before that port and those effects will probably go off before Windshear gets a chance to whack him.

[The Fury]

Keep in mind that all three of my women scatter in different directions.

So do mine, and from Mandrill.

[Mikl C]

I think Psylocke would be distracted by Thunderbird's pulse for a second..

[The Fury]

Ah yes, but my contingency plan shows that Nightcrawler will be Tagged under repel before that port and those effects will probably go off before Windshear gets a chance to whack him.

Nightcrawler will teleport himself and Tag right behind the other team. He will then take hold of Avalanche and teleport him over to where Rhapsody is.
No Tag touching him at all.

the only person that Nightcrawler ports near is Windshear and his hard-air explosions are not small.

[The Fury]

I think Psylocke would be distracted by Thunderbird's pulse for a second..

She's not facing him...

[melodyrider]

CONTINGENCY PLANS: (in case certain actions are defended against or prove ineffective)

If Windshear decides to run defense for the team and create a force bubble around them, Tag will start by tagging Nightcrawler under the 'repel' setting. When the two of them teleport behind his team this will cause most of The Fury's team to scatter like cockroaches and create the openings I need to proceed with the rest of my plan.

This part.

[melodyrider]

She's not facing him...

She's not? The first things she does is fly straight toward us.

[The Fury]

This part.
But he doesn't defend them, it's jsut him on his own, so that plan doesn't come into play.

She's not? The first things she does is fly straight toward us.

No, i said an arch...as in not a direct line.

[melodyrider]

But he doesn't defend them, it's jsut him on his own, so that plan doesn't come into play.

True, but Nightcrawler also doesn't move toward your team until his second bamf, and I'm pretty sure he'd teleport closer to Avalanche and Bishop, since those are his targets.

No, i said an arch...as in not a direct line.

Good point, but he might still get her on the peripheral side. Also, depending on which way she goes, that might take her even further away from her target: Karma.

[The Fury]

True, but Nightcrawler also doesn't move toward your team until his second bamf, and I'm pretty sure he'd teleport closer to Avalanche and Bishop, since those are his targets.
You say behind my team...presumign that they havn't moved , they do and where my team are, only Windshear now stands.



Good point, but he might still get her on the peripheral side. Also, depending on which way she goes, that might take her even further away from her target: Karma.

Or closer. ;)



And that's me done. Love to argue more but bed awaits.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

How close does mandril have to be for his pheromones to work? Id imagine pretty close. And since he is up flying around with psylocke, you factor in the speed and wind and such im not sure he would be that effective up there.

[melodyrider]

Or closer. ;)




Quiet, you :)

[Gene M.]

Tarnation! It's all tied up! I had to go with Two Week's Detention for this one.

[melodyrider]

How close does mandril have to be for his pheromones to work? Id imagine pretty close. And since he is up flying around with psylocke, you factor in the speed and wind and such im not sure he would be that effective up there.

His pheromones extend up to 250 feet.

[The Fury]

How close does mandril have to be for his pheromones to work? Id imagine pretty close. And since he is up flying around with psylocke, you factor in the speed and wind and such im not sure he would be that effective up there.

If he stands still for a good amount of time the Pheromoes will travel 250 feet before dispercing. but they take time to travel and he cannot control their direction or output.

[melodyrider]

And that's me done. Love to argue more but bed awaits.

Night, Fury. You're a strong opponent and it's been fun debating you. Looking forward to the final results tomorrow.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Did some quick googling. Firstly, he has to be the worst designed character ive never heard of.

Secondly, it seems if someone is strong willed enough, they can break it. And it takes seconds for it to work. Hmmmmm

[venuscameback]

I'm finding this really hard to figure out, because the strategies don't complement each other (which is no criticism of either of you).

MR, your strat is innovative and nicely written, making great use of Nightcrawler; unfortunately the opponents he's looking for are often not there to be found, with both teams scattering from the start, and that limits the usefulness of the Kurt/Tag and Kurt/Scrambler combos but even if only one character is affected by Scrambler it's still a handy move

Having Karma control Mandrill is a good move on paper, but his pheremones are going to have a hard time getting to her when she's speeding away towards the opposition.

Question, if Karma is knocked out, will Mandrill's right mind be restored?

Psylocke takes a flightplan prepared for thunderbird's bliding flash, but she drags Mandrill with her, making her more vulnerable to those pheremones.

It's a nice idea to have Avalanche and Windshear team up to take on Nightcrawler, with Debrii obscuring Kurt's view with dust, but can she do that in time to prevent Kurt seeing Kri's team scatter and thus teleport somewhere other than above the crevice and outside the dome?

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

The way im seeing it Psylocke takes Colossus and Mandril into the air with her and flies toward the cluster of melodyrider's team, which scatters. Psylocke seems to be going for karma, karma gets ported.

Now both Karma and Psylocke will be disoriented here. Psylocke will have to get a track on Karma, and Karma will have to keep her cookies.

I believe Karma will be able to get Mandrill, but the same time i see no reason why Psylocke would keep towing his ass after she sees the team scatter, and loses track of Karma. Bit of a cut your loses situation.

Even if she doesnt, i bet she could break his hold on her. And unless Karma moves the seconds it would take for the pheromones to work would be all Psylocke would need. Hell she could just throw Mandrill at her

[melodyrider]

Question, if Karma is knocked out, will Mandrill's right mind be restored?

Psylocke takes a flightplan prepared for thunderbird's bliding flash, but she drags Mandrill with her, making her more vulnerable to those pheremones.



If Karma is knocked out she loses possession of any targets. A note about Mandrill, though, is that he does not choose to release his pheromones. They are constantly being dispersed.

[venuscameback]

The way im seeing it Psylocke takes Colossus and Mandril into the air with her and flies toward the cluster of melodyrider's team, which scatters. Psylocke seems to be going for karma, karma gets ported.

Now both Karma and Psylocke will be disoriented here. Psylocke will have to get a track on Karma, and Karma will have to keep her cookies.

I believe Karma will be able to get Mandrill, but the same time i see no reason why Psylocke would keep towing his ass after she sees the team scatter, and loses track of Karma. Bit of a cut your loses situation.

Psylocke plans on dropping Mandrill anyway, I don't see why she'd change her mind on that.

The question is, then, following your analysis (which makes sense to me), does Psylocke fly and beat on Karma faster than Mandrill's pheremones can affect her?

[venuscameback]

If Karma is knocked out she loses possession of any targets. A note about Mandrill, though, is that he does not choose to release his pheromones. They are constantly being dispersed.

Interesting point, I did not know that; so the seconds it takes for them to work are happening while Psylocke's carrying him, making it much quicker for Mandrill to influence her once Karma gets control of him.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Not really sure how fast she can fly. Id assume as soon as she sees Karma ports she drops Madrill and starts to bail on him. Its going to take a second for Karma to reorientate, and it takes a few seconds from exposure to Mandrill for that to "work", although someone with a strong will can break it.

Can Psylocke cover 250 feet in about 3 1/2 seconds? Not sure.


I think Karma will get a hold of Mandrill no doubt. That brings up an interesting idea to me. As they are pheromones, and one cant really recall them as far as i know (although i suppose he could somehow overwrite them?) they might still be in play even after karma loses control making mandrill a no fly zone.

[venuscameback]

I only just caught the action on your avatar, Brian - it's brilliant!

[sephirothskiller]

Melodyrider wins. I simply loved the entire thing, and the contingency plans were well thought out. Good fight on both sides, but Melodyrider also gets major style points for the make out scene.

[Tre Styles]

Hmmm, I didn't get to vote in the last battles, but I will be able to for this one..Great strategies on both hands.First, even though Psylocke flies in an "arc", doesn't a blinding flash from Thunderbird cover more than that? Sure, she's flying a certain way to avoid a plasma blast, not a flash of light. She's also carrying a very heavy Colossus as well as Mandrill, trying to speed towards the opposing team. I'd think it would slow her down a bit. But on the other hand, has Thunderbird ever made a "blinding flash of light" in the comics? Although I'm willing to give that the benefit of the doubt, it's questionable if he's ever demonstrated that ability. As has been stated in many other battles, if it's not done in the comics, then can it be allowed? It seems that Melodyrider also counts on the rest of Fury's team to stand there, because I'm sure Bishop would be doing something other than waiting for Tag to "tag" him. But then again, none of Fury's team closed their eyes from that inital blinding flash......lots to ponder....I'm going to study the strategies a little more...

Edit: After further review, I am under the impression, that while Melody's strategy contains some holes, it covers a lot more than Fury's, especially the opening salvo....which I'm still not sure Thunderbird has been shown to do. ;)

[The Fury]

Hmmm, I didn't get to vote in the last battles, but I will be able to for this one..Great strategies on both hands.First, even though Psylocke flies in an "arc", doesn't a blinding flash from Thunderbird cover more than that? Sure, she's flying a certain way to avoid a plasma blast, not a flash of light.
Dude, it's a flash of light, Lets out it another way. It's bad for you to stare at the sun, because it hurts your eyes. Now if you do not look directly at the sun but just liik at the sky? Gues what? You're fine.

Just because there is a flash of light does not mean my team are staring at the source.

She's also carrying a very heavy Colossus as well as Mandrill, trying to speed towards the opposing team. I'd think it would slow her down a bit.
Her TK is on strength wise, is stronger then Rachel. Won't slow her down at all. If it was someone like Windshear carrying him, then maybe.


But on the other hand, has Thunderbird ever made a "blinding flash of light" in the comics? Although I'm willing to give that the benefit of the doubt, it's questionable if he's ever demonstrated that ability.
I used it last year in the tournement hoping no one would argue against it, I have only seen him make flashes of plasma energy and not on a large scale.

I didn't argue agaisnt this as it seems plausable.

It seems that Melodyrider also counts on the rest of Fury's team to stand there, because I'm sure Bishop would be doing something other than waiting for Tag to "tag" him. But then again, none of Fury's team closed their eyes from that inital blinding flash......lots to ponder....I'm going to study the strategies a little more...
We didn't stay in the same place. But what does it matter if we don't close our eyes? half my team aren't even concentrating on the other team so the flash would not affect them, it might affect a few.

I of course don't really think a flash of light can really disrupt them that much, I've stood infront of a camera light close up and lcikced the flash, yes it was bright but I wasn't disorientated at all...but then this is superhuman....so...

Edit: After further review, I am under the impression, that while Melody's strategy contains some holes, it covers a lot more than Fury's, especially the opening salvo....which I'm still not sure Thunderbird has been shown to do. ;)

Cheers.

:(

Not like I know why I'm argueing anymore, I've lost, well done Melody. No point me even trying in the tournement any more.,

[The Fury]

but Melodyrider also gets major style points for the make out scene.

Why? it's not good strategy. I could ahve added that with Husk and Rhapsody, but I chose not too because being in love with Mandrill does not mean they want to get it on with each other.

[Atom_basher]

ya know something fury? this is the first time I've ever REALLY looked at your icon and it made me laugh

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

I think im going to have to give it to Fury. Karma will get Mandrill, but wont have any time to do anything with him before she is laid out. With Psylocke in play most of Melodyrider's team is ass out of luck. Best bet would be Nightcrawler to take her out, but as soon as he is committed to that task de-powered Bishop and Colossus would probably still kick the holy hell out of Tag and Husk. Husk might hit hard, but Bishop is a cop, and knows moves and such. Also, he has an adamantium puck he could hit her in the head with. Doubt its the first time he tangled with a powerhouse type. And if Mandrill is back in play husk would fall under his monkey magic at least long enough for that to happen before someone torches his ass. And without nightcrawler Avalanche is still in play during that fight and could make short work of Scrambler.

Ends up being basically Nightcrawler vs the lion share of Fury's team. Although some depowered. Odds are stacked to far against him

[venuscameback]

I'm struggling to call this one, partly because I'm trying to be scrupulously fair and make sure I'm not showing acting on a bias to my one-time room-mate Fury

There are problems with both strategies working. On Nightcrawler's second 'port, when he goes to pick up Colossus, he probably ends up on the receiving end of Windshear's hard air explosion. With Nightcrawler out, it's a lot harder for MR's strategy to work because it relies on Kurt 'porting folk all over the place.

Scrambler can lay down on the ground all he likes, but it's not protection from Avalanche & makes it harder for him to dodge the wall of earth that's coming.

In return, Fury more or less ignores Thunderbird until the end, and some of his team are going to be initially blinded

I'm still undecided on the Psylocke/Mandrill/Nightcrawler/Karma thing and that could be decisive

[venuscameback]

okay, I think I have this now - Psylocke flies at Karma, carrying Mandrill, who's releasing his pheremones. Nightcrawler teleports Karma away. Karma tries to avoid tossing her cookies after the teleport whilst simultaneously taking mental control of Mandrill. Psylocke takesa moment to check where Karma went to and starts after her

The mind-controlled Mandrill takes control of Psylocke before she beats down on Karma. However, this is where MR falls down - all he has Psylocke do is try to make out with Debrii, rather than turn on her former allies.

In the meantime, Avalanche has opened up a chasm to set a trap for Nightcrawler & then ridden a tidal wave of earth to crush his opponents with; as Fury's strat says he's going for whoever's left on the other side & Nightcrawler is busy teleporting Karma's allies here, there and everywhere, that pretty much means Karma. Avalanche drops the tidal wave on top of Karma a few seconds after she took contorl of Psylocke via Mandrill. With Karma down, Psylocke reverts to The Fury's side and promptly beats on Mandrill for messing with her head.

Except ... what plans does MR have for dealing with Avalanche? After 'porting Karma away he 'ports back, picks up Avalanche and 'ports him underneath Rhapsody so she can mentally take him to la la land.

All well and good except that this means Nightcrawler falls into the trap Fury has set for Nightcrawler. Windshear explodes the hard air and, concusses Nightcrawler - so Kurt is taking Avalanche nowhere & he's free to swamp Karma, as above.

So my thinking is this all comes down to the trap Windshear & Avalanche set for Nightcrawler. If that succeeds, Karma is down and Psylocke is back in Fury's hands, and Mr has no other strategised way of dealing with her. but the trap is a risky move. I'm not 100% sure it would work. Any thoughts on that, MR?

[Mitsaso]

I thought very hard on this and came to the conclusion that melodyrider's team would win... so I vote for him...

...although he stole the lesbian make-out idea I had for me and Zombie's battles!!!! :evilangry

[The Fury]

Can I ask why, Mitsy?

While the 2 posters have pointed out many problems with both teams, I think like Venus said it comes down to not Karma/Mandrill/Psylocke thing but the Nightcrawler/Avalanche thing.

Let say Karma possesses Mandrill, Mandrill controls Psylocke, then what? they make out?....so how does this harm my team?

Meanwhile, Nightcrawler jumps into a trap set up by Windshear and Avalanche (hard-air explosion followed by ground slamming), taking himself and Tag out of the game.

Once Nightcrawler's out, Avalanche just goes to knock out Karma. Karma get's knocked out because she is busy staring at Psylocke and Debrii apparently.

So then Mandrill is freed from mind control, he gets slapped by Psylocke for making her do things a 'lady' shouldn't. But then what? she's back in the fight and ready to kick arse.

And Scrambler's not going to survive on the ground.

EDIT: Wait....Mandrill's possession can be resisted by those who's will is strong enough. Psylocke has the strongest will out of nearly all women in this tournement (except maybe Storm). She'd resist the effect easy.

[The Lucky One]

melody's strategy is extremely creative and definitely had me laughing... but strategy-wise, I have to give it to The Fury. I think it was a mistake not to defend Karma better than having her lay down flat on the ground, and once Psylocke takes her out, half of melody's strategy is moot. Plus, as pointed out, Nightcrawler teleporting Karma and Tag is likely to take both of them out and hurt Kurt as well... neither of them has been shown as having 'ported with him before to my knowledge. With that in mind, while both strategies are good, I have to believe the fight is more likely to swing in The Fury's direction.

Good match!

-D

[Mitsaso]

Can I ask why, Mitsy?
Βecause to me it seems like melodyrider's plans with Karma, Mandrill, PSylocke and Debrii would come to fruition before Psylocke reached Karma... therefore mooting most of your well-planned strategy. It mostly depends on luck, though, and has to do with where exactly Nightcrawler will leave Karma. Also, melodyrider's contignency plans really cover for most cases where some parts of his strategy won't work. :)


Let say Karma possesses Mandrill, Mandrill controls Psylocke, then what? they make out?....so how does this harm my team?

Because this would keep Psylocke and Debrii out of the battle long enough to make it matter.

[Brian M.]

We're gonna vote for Melo and it's for several reasons:

- We believe the opening move by melo w/ Thunderbird III would work and would atleast daze Psylocke.

- Karma's possesion is a very smart one and we believe it would take out Psylocke and the other female.

Without Psylocke I think everything else falls into place w/ the end result being melo's team would win.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

I dont think the pheromone stuff is as strong as people seem to think. If She-ra or Sheena (whichever one is marvels) could break out it seems to me psylocke could. And i dont think they could reach psylocke in time to really be effective before psylocke gets to karma.

[The Fury]

Βecause to me it seems like melodyrider's plans with Karma, Mandrill, PSylocke and Debrii would come to fruition before Psylocke reached Karma... therefore mooting most of your well-planned strategy. It mostly depends on luck, though, and has to do with where exactly Nightcrawler will leave Karma. Also, melodyrider's contignency plans really cover for most cases where some parts of his strategy won't work. :)
Okay, I've accepted that Psylocke/Mandrill/Karma thing works, it's a good move.

Now, why are you ignoring Avalanche? Is Nightcrawler being taken out something to ignore as well.

I'm lost reall on how you and UTV below think that Psylocke being mind controlled by pheromones means she out of the game, especially when Melody wastes time with Debrii and Psylocke making out...when Debrii si no where near Psylocke.

Because this would keep Psylocke and Debrii out of the battle long enough to make it matter.
Keep them out? yes, the 2 most dangerous people on Melody's team are Nightcrawler and Karma. Karma spends her time mind controlling Mandrill and Nightcrawler gets taken out after his 2nd jump.


We're gonna vote for Melo and it's for several reasons:

- We believe the opening move by melo w/ Thunderbird III would work and would atleast daze Psylocke.
Again, she's not looking at him or the flash, why dopes this matter?

You know light travels in a straight line right?

- Karma's possesion is a very smart one and we believe it would take out Psylocke and the other female.

Without Psylocke I think everything else falls into place w/ the end result being melo's team would win.
First, how is she taken out by making out with Debrii, that makes no sense.

And Psylocke only takes out Karma at the start, yet I have 4 just as powerful people taking the rest of Melody's team out. Nightcrawler goes down. He is the most important in Melody's strat and I take him out. Screw the Psylocke debate. With Nightcrawler out, Avalanche attack Karma.


you're all voting jsut because he had them make out aren't you? and here I was thinking of doing that but didn't out of the fact I thought it was crude. (I did it in the exhibition match last year as it was an exhibition match and weird as it was 2 Rogues.)

[Brian M.]

The making out is not in play in my decision. What that does is just take the two out of the battle. I guess he could command them to just lay down but this occupies them and keeps them out of a big part of the battle. I think it's a great move.

[Mitsaso]

you're all voting jsut because he had them make out aren't you? and here I was thinking of doing that but didn't out of the fact I thought it was crude. (I did it in the exhibition match last year as it was an exhibition match and weird as it was 2 Rogues.)

Dude, I'm gay!!!! I don't care about two broads making out!!!!:p
Not to mention that I wanted to use that move and Melo got me to it, so if the lesbian kiss was a factor in this, I would have voted against him!!!!:evilangry

Also, I'm not sure that Nightcrawler would risk teleporting in an area clouded by dust, since he's adamant about knowing where he teleports every time. Therefore, there's chance that he'd avoid your (very smart, I admit) trap.
Bresty and Debrii making out would also weird out your other team members and slow them down on executing their other plans.

[blinkinrogue]

y not just let karma possess all the other members of the opposite team except for psylocke and then all gang up on her? i dunno seemed like a simple strategy for me, though it is debatable... anyway ill vote for the team karma is in, with her powers, she is indeed an asset

[melodyrider]

y not just let karma possess all the other members of the opposite team except for psylocke and then all gang up on her? i dunno seemed like a simple strategy for me, though it is debatable... anyway ill vote for the team karma is in, with her powers, she is indeed an asset

Sadly, Karma's powers really start to weaken (and tax her) when she possesses more than one person at a time. Going for one person carries the least risk.

[mattbib]

Sadly, Karma's powers really start to weaken (and tax her) when she possesses more than one person at a time. Going for one person carries the least risk.
Not THAT much, especially if they don't have any psi-resistance. As seen in Mekanix.

[melodyrider]

Since some question has been raised about Nightcrawler's teleporting with passengers, I wanted to add a few more thoughts on the matter. In the "24 Seconds" story from Grey's End, Nightcrawler teleports Kitty and Betsy 2.0 into Rachel's Granparent's home. Betsy's new body is not accustomed to his teleports, and she is clearly caught off guard when he teleports her, yet she suffers no ill effects. Pointing back to my previous example of Kurt and Storm in Phoenix: Endsong, they teleport multiple times. Even if she has grown used to the strain, that many 'ports would still be hard on her system, and arguably his as well, yet again, there are no ill effects. I'm of the belief that he has simply become better at teleporting, and can ease the effect it has on passengers.

I'd also like to point out that while Fury states Psylocke flies toward my team, he clearly states that Karma is her target. Since Karma has moved, it has been generally accepted that Psylocke changes direction to pursue her, and I have no problem with that. Some have even suggested that she would drop Mandrill the moment she sees the women scatter in different directions. At the same time, however, I state that Nightcrawler teleports behind Fury's team, but it's equally clear that Bishop is his first target, and he's in a much better position to adjust his landing because of his new position at the start of that bamf. Windshear's force bubble is in the wrong spot to catch Nightcrawler at that point, and Bishop would have to be visible despite whatever Debrii is doing, else Bishop could not effectively target my team. Because of this, I believe that Nightcrawler would be able to drop Tag behind Bishop rather safely. This also means that because Windshear stuck around, he will instantly be affected by Tag's "attract" affect when he touches Bishop's shoulder pads. With Windshear grounded, Thunderbird is also free to move about as needed. Avalanche may be a bigger problem for Nightcrawler, but that does not prevent Rhapsody from being able to complete her mission. It would just take a little bit longer for her to get in range to sedate him.

I also think The Fury makes a major error in assuming that Tag is not a major threat because his power is activated by touch. That much is true, but once activated, the repel or attract operates at a range, and he does not account for that at all. Both of us responded in ways the other did not expect, but I believe my team is better prepared to adjust accordingly than his team.

[melodyrider]

Not THAT much, especially if they don't have any psi-resistance. As seen in Mekanix.

Good point. I'll have to re-read those issues.

[blinkinrogue]

i read in wikpedia that karma has a secondary power, namely psychic defenses... if so will psylocke's katana, though supposedly telekinetic, has been shown to be exactly like her psychic knife, which disrupts enemies' nervous systems (i dont know if this will help though) work against karma? i read this in the strategy that she will use her katana against her.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

well if its like her knife then it will cut through psychic defenses. Psylocke had no trouble dropping Jean Grey, and she has tons of psychic defesnes

Of course, i feel its much more likely that Psylocke will simply throw Monkey boy at Karma and take her out that way

[blinkinrogue]

well the article did mention all manner of psychic assault...:D , but then again this is wikipedia, not exactly known to be edit-proof...

[The Fury]

Dude, I'm gay!!!! I don't care about two broads making out!!!!:p
I knpw you are, talkinh about UTV mainly.


Also, I'm not sure that Nightcrawler would risk teleporting in an area clouded by dust, since he's adamant about knowing where he teleports every time. Therefore, there's chance that he'd avoid your (very smart, I admit) trap.
Bresty and Debrii making out would also weird out your other team members and slow them down on executing their other plans.
Whether or not he might not, he does.

And Psylocke making out with Debrii?...that won't turn them on because they are more concerned with the fight.

Since some question has been raised about Nightcrawler's teleporting with passengers, I wanted to add a few more thoughts on the matter. In the "24 Seconds" story from Grey's End, Nightcrawler teleports Kitty and Betsy 2.0 into Rachel's Granparent's home. Betsy's new body is not accustomed to his teleports, and she is clearly caught off guard when he teleports her, yet she suffers no ill effects. Pointing back to my previous example of Kurt and Storm in Phoenix: Endsong, they teleport multiple times. Even if she has grown used to the strain, that many 'ports would still be hard on her system, and arguably his as well, yet again, there are no ill effects. I'm of the belief that he has simply become better at teleporting, and can ease the effect it has on passengers.
All these people you listed are used to his teleportation, even Psylocke, she's been in her 'new' body' for 4 Marvel years, she's use to it.

I'd also like to point out that while Fury states Psylocke flies toward my team, he clearly states that Karma is her target. Since Karma has moved, it has been generally accepted that Psylocke changes direction to pursue her, and I have no problem with that. Some have even suggested that she would drop Mandrill the moment she sees the women scatter in different directions. At the same time, however, I state that Nightcrawler teleports behind Fury's team, but it's equally clear that Bishop is his first target, and he's in a much better position to adjust his landing because of his new position at the start of that bamf. Windshear's force bubble is in the wrong spot to catch Nightcrawler at that point, and Bishop would have to be visible despite whatever Debrii is doing, else Bishop could not effectively target my team. Because of this, I believe that Nightcrawler would be able to drop Tag behind Bishop rather safely. This also means that because Windshear stuck around, he will instantly be affected by Tag's "attract" affect when he touches Bishop's shoulder pads. With Windshear grounded, Thunderbird is also free to move about as needed. Avalanche may be a bigger problem for Nightcrawler, but that does not prevent Rhapsody from being able to complete her mission. It would just take a little bit longer for her to get in range to sedate him.
Depending, on how his powers wortk, he hasn't touched Windshear and Windshear lets rip when Nightcrawler arrives...end of, I guess a wall of earth after that isn't enough?

but I believe my team is better prepared to adjust accordingly than his team.
You're change of plans to accoutn for this do not work as they suaually account for something that never happened.

i read in wikpedia that karma has a secondary power, namely psychic defenses... if so will psylocke's katana, though supposedly telekinetic, has been shown to be exactly like her psychic knife, which disrupts enemies' nervous systems (i dont know if this will help though) work against karma? i read this in the strategy that she will use her katana against her.
Yes it would

well if its like her knife then it will cut through psychic defenses. Psylocke had no trouble dropping Jean Grey, and she has tons of psychic defesnes

Of course, i feel its much more likely that Psylocke will simply throw Monkey boy at Karma and take her out that way
At least 1 person is on my side.


But then what does it matter, I've argued the entire dya and people are seemingly not even reading my replies and explanations.

[mattbib]

Final score is 17:9.

Congratulations, melodoyrider! You'll be facing off against TShark82 in next Wednesday's AM game, while The Fury moves to the lower bracket and will face newcomer Mariah in the afternoon match.

[melodyrider]

Wow, that was an incredibly fun and interesting battle! The Fury, as I expected, is a skilled and tough opppnent, and he made a lot of good points during the debate that followed. I'm definately going to have to be more careful with how I word my strategies in the future. He also has a great team and made fantastic use of them (Colossus as wrecking ball was inspired). If I make it to the Finals and find him facing me on the other side of the field, well, I won't be surprised.

Good game!