Batman: Team Arrow Versus The Suicide Squad

Mission Brief

Colonel Rick Flag Jr stalked across the runway. " Task Force X, ARGUS has been granted an opportunity, a rare duty." There's a pop of gum, and a giggle, " wot? He said doody. That's funny." Eyes narrow at her, but Flag continues. "We have managed to lure the most dangerous metahuman on the planet out of its lair. It is away from its home, its support network. It is lurking in Star City. Intelligence suggests that this metahuman has been responsible for the near destruction of the planet on at least 2 occasions, once mere weeks ago... We will not grant it a third." Flag, showing an uncommon degree of nervousness for the veteran special forces officer, swallows. "Given the unique... environment of operating in Star City, ARGUS has nominated a specialist to lead this mission." He swallows and a hulking brute of a man steps forward, his mask, with a single eye looking over the group. The voice speaks with an Australian accent, "do not mistake yourselves, he will be here. He..." The masked figure glances back at Flag, fighting his pride, his neverending rage. "Is not the mission. The metahuman is. But you kill 'im before I do, I'll kill you. The kid and I have history."

The engines of the ARGUS transport begin to burn flame hot. "Boarding in 5." As the group turns, a Japanese woman's shoulder is tapped. "I have an additional task for you," whispers Flag. "You will arrive via the sewers, arriving from beneath the engagement zone. Once you arrive, no matter what you see, Task Force X's mission must be accomplished." She nods, silently. He then turns, to bark at a woman, holding a comically oversized revolver. "You will be outflanking as well. Cut off their escape." Bells jingle as the masked figure nods, " Gotcha, yes sireee boss." She salutes, gun in her hand, it hits her head and... fires. Revealing a flag from the barrel, 'pop.' She picks it out, "oh geez, howdi that get there, I was looking all over for ya, little guy." The white painted face grins unsettling at Flag.



22:00 Star City

"Oi mate, it's good to be on a mission with another Aussie, we're show the yank 'ows its done, roit?" A single eye glares at the man, who has downed the third beer of his flight. The transport touches down and the 3 crew members step up to exit, the drunk leading the way... Not of his own volition.

An arrow fires, piercing through the can, pinning it to the armoured hull of the transport. "One warning. Turn around. This is my city and you are not welcome."

Unphased, the masked figure steps out of the transport, that single eye turning, turning to stare at the Emerald Archer. "How ya doing, kid? Missed me?"





A red blur flashed next to the archer, "Hey, sorry I'm late. What's up...?" He turns round, "oh... Wait... is that the guy?" The Fastest Man alive doesn't even get to finish the thought, as he is confronted by a wall of smoke and a bang ringing in his ears.





"It's the target! The metahuman. Get to your positions!"





"Agent O'Connell, I'm afraid it's not going to be a quiet night. Just follow Spartan's lead and we'll all get out of this in one piece."



Rick Flag ducked down beside the hull of the transport. They were already here! How did they know? There's a hiss, a flare of pain in his shoulder. Rick Flag drops to his knees, stunned by the attack so early - Hadn't it been mere moments? No blood... Vest caught it... Lucky. But it ruined his shot.





George 'Digger' Harkness looked around, back and forth... It's here somewhere... yes. A Metahuman power dampener. They had been seeded in the area before the battle, it's why they chose here. He just needs to keep it active long enough... Well, the science doesn't matter, it's just loot to him. As he dashes for it, bolts of fire arc through his back. "Fancy meeting you here. Feel like getting beat up in a new town?"


Rick Flag was pinned. - Police? Law Enforcement? Here? That's not supposed to be here... ARGUS was supposed to have paid them to look the other way. The officer, O'Connell, judging by his badge, races towards him, then trips, stumbling into the crates in front of him as a boomerang sails backwards, having impacted his head. "Hey, bucko, remember to tell your boss that."

Flag doesn't even get the opportunity to respond as 50,000 volts course through his body. "Rick. Flag. I suppose Waller's holding your leash now. You never could think for yourself, Lieutenant."




"It's Colonel." He turns, bringing his rifle up, targetting the officer. "We are agents of the Federal Government, you are aiding and abetting vigilantes and fugitives from justice." He fires, O'Connell drops, the irony completely lost on Flag as Harkness gives a thumbs up. Then Harkness' expression changes, eyes wide as energy slams into him, blasting him against a wall and knocking him down. Then, the red and yellow streak turns, heading towards him... There's a person in the streak. As he's looking, a blow hits him in the stomach, then the back, then the stomach. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm The Flash."



Racing round the corner, the Master Assassin fires a clip at the police officer, his shots going wide. It looks like the police had found another power dampener, alongside an ARGUS ammo cache. They were protecting it. Were... One, the female, makes a break for it. The other, a male, heavyset turns to look at him. Lip quivering... "S....s....slade Wilson.... You... you... you're under arrest." The poor fool... Yet, the police officer raises his flashlight, pointing it right at him, switching it on. "You think a little light is going to stop me?"
The Assassin stumbles backwards, looking down, two arrows protruding from his chest, their tips slick with red blood. A voice echoes from the darkness, "No, Slade, but I will."

And then, insult to injury, a voice pipes up from behind a wall. "So, like, uh, hey guys? What'd I miss? We winning?"





Flag looks around, hunting through the storm of lightning surrounding to him. The lightning has injured him more than the metahuman's punches. The Flash... it's certainly descriptive. He can't even get a clear shot at him... Then, the lightning fades and once again, Harkness is the focus of the metahuman's ire. That same energy that gives Flag his own wounds, hurtles into the Australian, slamming the thief into the wall once again, this time... unconscious.




The distraction is costly. "Pretty lightshow. Forgot about me, Lieutenant?." As Flag turns, he looks up into a face, hidden behind a metal helmet, the taser once again pointing at him. "Stay out of our city. And leave our friends alone." Once again, 50,000 arcs surge into this body. Unlike last time, the armor doesn't help. Colonel Rick Flag falls to the ground, unconscious. "Overwatch, this is Spartan. One target down." The police officer, O'Connell wakens up, wounds bleeding from Flag's machine gun fire. And yet... He crawls forward, bloodied and broken to the injured form of George 'Digger' Harkness. Captain Boomerang. "You're nicked... 'bucko'." From his view on top of the ARGUS Transport, Spartan speaks just 3 words. Correction. 2 down. He then adds, "Zero casualties."

Sergeant John Diggle... spoke too soon. Slade Wilson. Deathstroke. The Terminator, disgusted that his quarry, the male officer, had escaped into the sewers, had turned his attention to the fleeing policewoman. "She'll have to do..." The preternaturally skilled assassin raced after her. Extending his staff, he slams it into the back of her legs as he reaches her, scooping her off of her feet, the staff spins in a wide arc. Before she even reaches the ground, the staff hits her once again in the solar plexus, knocking her unconscious in milliseconds after the initial strike. "Not even worth the effort to kill..."





He hears a strange sound from behind hmm... A raspberry blowing, "Hah, ya didn't like that, didya?" The screeching laughter echoes as Deathstroke spies his next target... The metahuman.





The Armoured Giant barrels towards Barry, moving far faster than someone in that much armour really should... But... Not as fast as The Flash. Blow after blow from the reinforced staff hammers down on the Scarlet Speedster, only through his sheer speed and reaction times can Barry survive the sheer fury of the assault, barely, just barely managing to block every strike. Barry was under no delusions though... He got lucky. Eventually Deathstroke would find a pattern, do something different... "4'O'Clock, clear some room."




The metahuman ran... he actually ran! Retreated, from him Like a coward! Deathstroke glares round. The officer, the woman, the one he let live. She was back on her feet... Impressive, she had spirit after all. Flag, was still unconscious. He looks over to The Flash, he had ran to the Ammo cache. "Nice moves, but you can't stop me."




The voice, distorted an blurred, echoes. "No, you're right. I can't As he says that, he races forward once again, stopping short as arcs of lighting blast from his hands, arching through Deathstroke's body. He feels his armor plates charring, burning... "Not alone." Slade's side is rocked by the impact of bullets. He falls to his knees. "None of us can. But, we're not alone." He stands, glaring around, calculating his options... The 2 police officers, he could kill them, before they could even react but... What would that gain him? Two heavy impacts hit him. His chestpiece falls, crumpled, ruined. "We stand together."

Deathstroke drops his staff... His sword... He surrenders. "Next time, kid. Next time."





Epilogue


Katana trudged through the sewers. She could hear the fighting above her, the sounds of machine gun fire. Why wasn't she there, why wasn't she part of this fight? Upon reaching her mark, she somersaulted through the open manhole, to catch a glimpse of a green hood above. Oliver... why was he here? Was he here to help? She heard Flag shouting, abandoning her mission as she raced to aid him to see... She couldn't believe it... Machine Gun fire, from Flags weapon, hitting a police officer? "We are agents of the Federal Government, you are aiding and abetting vigilantes and fugitives from justice." The police officer drops, still breathing... Barely.




She sees a familiar red and yellow streak... The metahuman... Central City... It couldn't be? The Flash?! They were here for The Flash... She didn't sign up for this.

Harleen Quinzel stretches, yawning. The fighting had died down... Noone had come to check on her. That's fine... She could do with a nap and she was doing her job - "Guard the power dampener.". Well, she's guarding the power dampener and it's B.O.R.I.N.G.

She's awoken from her reverie by the sound of jet engines firing... As the ARGUS Transport rises to the air!




Cold Water splashes on Rick Flags face as he startles awake. He tries to stand but feels the cold touch of steel against his neck. "I wouldn't move if I were you... All the Soultaker needs is a drop of blood... Now you and I are going to have a little chat about trust..."

Unboxing Mantic Crazy Boxes 2014

Every year, Mantic Games launch their Christmas Crazy Boxes. These are boxes containing a load of random models from their ranges for £25 each. This year, Mantic decided to do things a little differently, launching not 1, but 2 crazy boxes. - A specific Sci Fi Crazy Box and their more classic general one.

Curious to see... I ordered one of each.

A typical foldover box arrived, that I'm now using to hold the various Kings of War models I have amassed.



However, what really did surprise me was Mantic had combined both the Sci and General boxes together into the one megabox. So, generally speaking, I'm not sure what would be in each box normally.



First off, I have some of the awesome new Deadzone ruined sprues, to go along with my already huge collection of terrain. Surprisingly, I received not one, not two but *4* of the Deadzone accessory sprues. Extra connectors don't go amiss too.





Next , I unpacked 10 Basilean Men-at-Arms. While, I do know they aren't exactly the greatest models in the world, I do find it quite entertaining that, between these and previous years crazy boxes I'm pretty sure I've got at least a starter armies worth of models now.



I'm guessing these guys would be found in the sci fi crazy box.

There's the metal Helfather special character. (My second)
Marauder Kommando Captain. - My second
Enforcer Peacekeeper Captain. - My um... 5th one
A bag of 2 Plague infantry, 1 Plague Machine Gunner. - Could always do with more infantry
A bag of 2 Mawbeasts - Doggies! With chainsaw mouths.
1 Marauder Trooper, 1 Goblin Sniper
1 Yindij Trooper, 1 Sorak Trooper





There were some Dreadball models in there as well.
A Z'zor Keeper - I've had loads of guards, so this is theoretically handy.
The Praetorian star player - I can use this guy in my Asterian deadzone force
Dozer, the Dreadball giant - I seem to keep on amassing these, I think she's my 5th




Next, I have some Forge Fathers.

Some Stormrage Veterans - I had some more of these last year, so probably my 3rd squad of these guys.
Jotunn Hailstorm Cannon - I have the urban combat variant for Deadzone, so this is pretty awesome.



Some Kings of War models now, some Basileans and Undead. It's odd I can't find either of the undead in the mantic store though.

A big bag of Basilean Sisters on panthers/cathorses. - I had a set of these from last year.
An Undead dog and its handler.
An undead standard bearer on horseback.





Mantic seems to have thrown in a few Mars Attacks minis too, which is pretty good, as it's a mantic game I haven't bought into and I was wanting to see them in the flesh. - I already know that dropping them in some hot water will help straighten them out though. Sad thing is, the martians have no helmets, they weren't included in the box..




Finally, there were the various additional bits and pieces, some posters, a couple of leaflets and a copy of the Kings of War rules. - Funnily enough, with my 2 bags of Panther riders and 30 basilean soldiers I own over the last few Crazy boxes, plus some Mantic elf models I've picked up over the years, I might have enough for a viable army to try out a game or two.

~ Roll Dice and Have Fun @ Pork Chop Gaming ~

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Unboxing Dreadball Xtreme

I haven't seen anyone do a proper unboxing of Dreadball Xtreme yet, so I figured that now that mine has arrived (after some drama with Royal Mail), I'll correct that.



First off, to add in a bit of context, I'll show off... The Shame.







These are the Deadzone Wave 2 models that I haven't got round to assembling yet. Fortunately, it's only a handful of actual models, with the rest being terrain.



However, Dreadball Xtreme! The box that arrived is surprisingly not that huge.







Opening it, it's very well packed.







After several minutes clearing out peanuts, I have:







So, there's some loose bits outside the box. - Including, 2 decal sheets, a set of tokens and a leaflet.







We've also got the box art photograph signed by a certain Ronnie.







And the rulebook itself. I was a little surprised to see it only included the rules for the first 2 sponsors, though. I'm going to wonder if there's enough variation with the free agents to keep people occupied for that.







Also loose in the box, were 2 accessory sets.







Also, the Free Agents set. This was unexpected, as I thought they would have come with the retail game. - Maybe it's just the individual Warden and Blaine models in the retail.







We then have, the box itself.







It's tightly packed, with the glorious mousemat mat and another leaflet. - Except, this time, the leaflet has the lovely lovely Mantic Points on the back of it!







The mat itself, is just awesome looking and is slightly smaller than the Deadzone one, at 22 inches. However, it's just glorious.





There's a second set of tokens in the box itself. I'm guessing the ones outside the box are incase any of the tokens there went missing. - As you can see, they fell out very easily.









The main box comes with an internal tray to help ensure that you're read to play. - It comes with 2 slots for your cards, plus a team tray and extra space at the back for the scenery.









Here are the 2 card types, Sabotage (I think this used to be called Dirty Tricks in the beta?) and Special Move cards. Unfortunately, Mantic have chosen a really very odd size for the cards that done fit the Fantasy Flight games 'mini american card game' sleeves. To be honest, this is really quite disappointing for me. Darn it, Mantic!









Shiny shiny new bases, 12 of each colour and some new dice as well. Helpfully, the base colours seem to match the colours on the mat. This is far better than me trying to use the GW glazes to colour my own bases.







We have the minis now. There's 2 identical bags, containing both Kalyishi and Convicts. - There's even 2 prone models for each team in each bag.







I'm guessing the retail set will just come with 8 models, plus the prones for each side. What is neat is the Grogan comes with alternative head/arms. 2 balls in the bag as well. - One thing I can't remember is if you might need 3 balls as well.







I suppose that's good for us in the Kickstarter, as we have 4 balls with the second bag. I've got to say, the Convicts really do look ace.







Here is a close up of the Kalyshi models. One thing I'm a little worried about when it comes to painting them, especially after undercoating them, is that the faces of the most lightly armoured type models may end up being very shallow. - I'll need to be very careful when undercoating these...







Unfortunately, Mantic didn't manage to make even this small dropoff be error free. - One of the Guard type models has had a missing arm. Yet another trip to the missing parts form for me, I'm afraid. It's good that the minis all come preassembled at least.









The 2 sets of scenery gives you plenty of crates and 4 scoring zones. - I'm guessing these will need to come in the retail box as well







They seem nicely detailed and I'm thinking these are proper 'hard' plastic as opposed to board game plastic. Though I don't think you need to glue any, and they just push fit together without glue. - Great for the boardgame-ey nature of the set.









Here are the closeup of the crate lids. - They even have the numbers sculpted on. If I remember right, that's the number of attack dice you roll.









And finally, here is the unboxed 'Free Agents' set. There's lots of weird, random aliens here, from Tree monsters to squid-spiders and the mighty Blaine. The detail on these really are great, even with the Zees and I can see people having a great time trying out all sorts of crazy colour schemes with the free agents.







And that's the Dreadball Xtreme Kickstarter Wave 1 unboxed!