Ultron (Hammer of Thor) 174
+ Automatic Regeneration 12
+ Nova Blast 10
+ Protected 8

= 297 points.

>BEGIN TRANSMISSION<

PLAN: Surrounded by my Phalanx Soldiers, I, Ultron, shall advance within Pulse Wave range and destroy any flesh that dares draw near. Or my minions shall surround a target and decimate it attack by attack. Thus shall the Phalanx transmode all flesh into efficient, unfeeling circuitry and order shall be brought to the cosmos. So says Ultron.

Targets:

LOCUS: A human junkyard, where the fleshlings discard our machine brethren.

ULTRON’S LOG: My minions advanced with care (and ease, due to the use of a Stepladder) but the sight of my hated father caused a curious dysfunction in my processing. Instead of adhering to the battle plan, I used a Kinetic Accelerator to Charge in almost blind with rage, only turning away from my “father” when I scanned him more closely and learned he was but a Skrull impostor of Henry Pym.

Striking at Mr. Fantastic instead, that nearly proved my undoing. Now somehow able to nullify my adamantium shell, Richards opened the way for the brutish Thing to damage some delicate circuits, forcing me to flee. My Soldiers stalled as well as they could, and had I been able to either self-repair or energy-blast Richards even once more, the Phalanx would have been triumphant.

RESULT: Loss of all Phalanx units and no flesh eliminated. DEFEAT.

—

Targets:

LOCUS: none

ULTRON’S LOG: Utter defeat required a full round of rebuilding.

RESULT: Forces repaired for next stage of conquest.

—

Targets:

LOCUS: Earthen Crash Site previously used by invading Skrull army (see “Secret Invasion”).

ULTRON’S LOG: On this sortie the original battle strategy was adhered to, forcing the enemy forces to advance closer. My first target was the human-built robot M-11. Unable to reprogram it to battle for us, I immediately eliminated it.

I had a golden opportunity to Nova Blast the remaining flesh into oblivion and so ordered as many minions out of range as possible. Unfortunately, my damage yield malfunctioned and was only successful in rendering inoperative the one Phalanx unit that could not escape the blast. It was not a total loss; the remaining units began to successfully engage the corpulent Volstagg.

I charged the human called Moondragon and was startled to see her transform before my eyes into a decidedly NON-human form. Nevertheless, flesh is still flesh and such suet must be eliminated completely. As my minions completed their destruction of the supposed god Volstagg, I used my perfectly logical intelligence to keep Moondragon a non-threat until I could finally destroy her.

RESULT: Loss of 2 Phalanx units and elimination of all targets. SUCCESS.

This venue proved a difficult battle, especially due to an unforseen glitch preventing use of protocols that might have shifted the Battlefield Conditions in our favor. The Phalanx therefore warped to another locale to seek greater success.

—

Targets:

LOCUS: Castle walls in ruins (like all other human achievements, with the singular exception of Ultron).

ULTRON’S LOG: Faced with more so-called “gods” — THERE IS NO GOD BUT THE GOD OF THE PHALANX — ULTRON!!!!! — I apparently flew into a jealous-god fit by selecting this locus for the battle. The cursed water moat prevented my minions from advancing with ease and, separated as they were, they no match for these “Warriors Three.” Rare failures on my own part also proved deleterious to the cause of the Phalanx.

Although I was able to forestall defeat for longer than expected, eventually 01001010110 1010101000…

RESULT: Loss of all units and the elimination of the Fandral fleshbag. FAIL.

—

Targets:

LOCUS: Bifrost Bridge in the realm of the “gods.”

ULTRON’S LOG: A quick scan of this clever-for-fleshlings setup required some immediate battlefield shifting; a phased-array band of my Encephalo Ray prevented the enemy from using any of its disgustingly fleshy “team abilities.”

Thus hindered, the targets were easy to whittle down until the enemy made its boldest move by using Telekinesis (via power ring) to place the Batman in close quarters. But despite his strange gadget making my adamantium shell of no effect, the Batman failed both attacks and my 2 remaining minions eliminated him. From there, it was a simple matter to eradicate the rest.

RESULT: Loss of 2 Phalanx units and the elimination of all flesh. SUCCESS.

—

Targets:

LOCUS: A human junkyard, where the fleshlings discard our machine brethren.

ULTRON’S LOG: We attempted to assault these humans that so resembled, yet were not the hated Avengers with an Alpha Strike, but both sides nullified each other’s attempt to reframe the battle.

It would be the last stalemate of the contest. I and the Phalanx engaged the Scarlet Witch and survived Iron Man and Barton’s ultimately* futile attempts to save her. Breaking through Stark’s pathetic A.I. firewalls with contemptuous ease, I took command of his armor to fire on Barton with a Full Power blast. So weakened, the two of them easily fell to the Phalanx.

RESULT: Loss of 1 Phalanx unit and the elimination of all flesh. VICTORY!

* That appears to be a pun, or irony. I must run a full diagnostic purge of such human nonsense.

>end transmission<

Well, Ultron and the Phalanx Soldiers are a difficult team to run in 300 points (and its chances are not helped when one forgets to pull Battlefield Conditions like I did in the first tourney! Disbanded or Alpha Strike would have helped a bit against the Skrull TA in the first game). Does one use the movement-challenged Phalanx to tie up enemies for Ultron to shoot? Or is it better to use them as meat shields for the big bad robot, despite their woefully short lives?The balance was difficult to find, and with only three of them on the team, all too soon Ultron may well be swarmed to death.

I also made a choice between the reliable Fortitude feat and the more situational trio of Protected, Nova Blast and Automatic Regeneration. Although I don’t regret my choices, Protected would have cost me the first game even if I HAD landed that last-minute KO blow on Mr. Fantastic; the one Nova Blast I tried whiffed all but the friendly target; Automatic Regeneration failed every single roll.

I’d like to try Ultron + Phalanx in a larger-scaled game; I currently have enough to field a 400 point force.

So, what to blog about next? Infintiy Watch? Or Ragnarok (not the event dial)? Comment and place your vote by 12/12/09!