Second Avatar Game, with successful Avatar Goodness

So after our first Zoraida and Seamus game, we reset our crews and started again. I decided to do something different than Collodi this time.

GAME ONE - 30 STONES - aZORAIDA vs. aSEAMUS
Zoraida w/ Avatar, 5 Stones
Doppelganger
Baby Kade
Lelu
Lilitu


Seamus w/ Avatar, 8 Stones
Rotten Belle x2
Crooked Man x2
Necropunk x2

Strategy: Turf War (Zoraida) vs. Reconnoiter (Seamus)
NB Schemes: Stake a Claim & Kill Protege (Crooked Man)
R Schemes: Kill Protege (Lelu) & Breakthrough

The terrain was the same, set up with a bunch of large buildings scattered throughout the board and there was almost nowhere where you could see from one side of the board to the other. Dan won deployment and had me deploy first. We were playing standard deployment, so he was able to make sure his crew was hidden after seeing where I deployed.

TURN ONE - SEAMUS INITIATIVE
Even with the Doppelganger helping out, Dan won initiative with a 9-low while I flipped a 7. He had a Necropunk fail leap and then double-move along the right flank, hiding behind buildings, trying to grab some corners while staying alive. I double-moved Baby Kade up behind the central building, keeping hidden.

He had his second Necropunk do the same thing along the left flank. Lelu double-moved forward near Kade, hidden behind the building.

The first Crooked Man moved up behind the central building on the other side. Lelu moved forward twice and then Lured Zoraida up a little.

The second Crooked Man moved out along the left side of the building, far out of range but keeping an eye on things. My Doppelganger copied Obey and Obeyed Lilitu forward a little more, then moved herself up. All these random spells I was casting really had only one point: try to dig to a 10 or better of masks. My high card in hand was a 7 and I didn't have any masks, and I wanted to get Crystal Ball to work at least once.

The first Belle moved up and lured Seamus forward to get more speed out of him. Zoraida went and used the high mask on top to cast Crystal Ball, then moved forward and Obeyed the Doppelganger up a bit more.

The second Belle moved up twice to the edge of the building, and then Seamus followed suit, casting Face of Fear.

Zoraida - 10 wounds, 5 soulstones, 1x Crystal Ball
Seamus - 12 wounds, 8 soulstones, 1x Face of Fear


TURN TWO - SEAMUS INITIATIVE
The Doppelganger's negative initiative failed again as Seamus flipped the Red Joker as one of the two cards and went first. Zoraida was in position to see the left Necropunk, so that one activated and leaped behind a building further down the table. I activated Lilitu (alone, no Bond) who moved out and then targeted the Kill Protege Crooked Man with Lure. Double take got him to clear the house and Lilitu hit him for some damage.

The Crooked Man activated and attacked Lilitu, figuring he was not long for the world, but missed. Lelu charged and killed the Crooked Man who in turn dropped a Shafted Marker next to Lelu. Lelu had no action to get out of the way so he took a flip, taking 3 damage. Ouch! But two points for Kill Protege, so a fair trade.

One of the Belles moved out and Lured Lelu forward, out into the open. I didn't like him there so I had my Doppelganger copy Lure and Dangerous Beauty to get the suits she needed and Lure Lelu back into cover behind the central building.

The second Crooked Man moved up but had no targets yet with his evil blast templates. I double-moved Baby Kade out to the right, trying to block off at least one of the Necropunks. He could also swing around the central building the back way if I needed to bring him back into the fight.

Seamus activated and moved around to put up Face of Fear and No Escape on Lilitu. I started to panic. I activated Zoraida and cast Crystal Ball again, using a 9 of masks and a stone to succeed in the spell. She then put up a Voodoo Doll on the exposed Belle but I couldn't Obey Lilitu to move away or Seamus would charge her.

The second Belle activated and Lured Lilitu, succeeding, and then Seamus charged her, pulling out all the stops to make sure Slit Jugular went off. I ditched my two cards to prevent myself from dying, but the damage had been done: Seamus had reached both of his Manifest requirements. My Voodoo Doll tried to cast Obey but failed. His last Necropunk stayed hidden from Baby Kade.

Zoraida - 10 wounds, 4 Soulstones, 2x Crystal Ball (COMPLETED)
Seamus - 12 wounds, 8 Soulstones, 2x Face of Fear (COMPLETED), No Escape / Slit Jugular (COMPLETED)


TURN THREE - SEAMUS INITIATIVE
Damn you, Doppelganger, what the hell am I taking you for?! Can't win an initiative to save my life! Seamus activated first and manifested for a one action. Dan grinned as he lifted the tiny Seamus model and replaced him with the gargantuan beast of a model. Lilitu, who was in base-to-base due to No Escape, did not look happy. aSeamus pounded his chest and then swung a meaty fist at Lilitu. He passed the Irresistible but I cheated high to make the damage a (-) flip. He hit her for 3 wounds. Second attack and he had to cheat to make the Irresistible, but hit her again. Again I tossed a high cheat to keep it at a (-) flip and again she took 3 wounds. aSeamus had triggered SQUEEEEEEZE! and I cheated to make sure she was slow, not paralyzed. She was alive with 1 wound left. Black Blood had damaged Seamus twice.

I activated both twins, starting with Lilitu. She passed Anathema and then moved around Seamus with one action and Lured Lelu in with her second. Lelu activated, regenerated two (healing himself and Lilitu) and charged aSeamus. I cheated to pass Anathema (I was running out of cards here) and he swung. aSeamus burned a soulstone and I missed. I swung with Melee Expert. Again, a Soulstone and I missed.

One of the Belles backed away from Lelu (staying within 2") and then lured him, pulling him further than 1" from aSeamus so his black blood wouldn't spill on the hulk. She missed the attack, though. I activated my Doppelganger, copying Zoraida's Obey and her Cast, and cast Obey on Lelu. It succeeded and Lelu attacked aSeamus. A soulstone wasn't enough to prevent the hit and Lelu connected for 1 damage (aSeamus has Armor 2) and two poison.

The Crooked Man charged Lelu and did some wounds to him, but not enough to make much of a difference yet. My Voodoo Doll activated and cast Obey on Lelu, making him hit aSeamus again. I was flipping trying to flip as many cards per damage flip as I could and had already seen the Black Joker this turn, so it was only a matter of time before the Red Joker showed up. It did here, followed by a weak. Seamus flipped to prevent two of it. I had hit the halfway mark with wounds and soulstones!

The second Belle activated but did not do much. Zoraida activated and Manifested as a (2) action, losing my Voodoo Doll in the process. She had two actions left and cast Obey on Lelu. It worked and triggered a second Obey. The first one, Lelu attacked and hit despite aSeamus' use of a soulstone, dropping him by another wound. My second Obey went off and Lelu swung again, hitting once more and flipped Severe damage. aSeamus prevented 1 of it, so he took 2 more. With her last action, aZoraida tried to cast Pins and Needles, but I didn't have the card to cheat and Lelu had already used my Bayou Two-Card on his attack so I just failed.

The Necropunks and Baby Kade continued their positioning game. At the end of the turn, Lilitu healed two which healed Lelu two, and Lelu dealt two wounds to aSeamus who used a soulstone to prevent them.

Zoraida - 10 wounds, 4 Soulstones, MANIFESTED
Seamus - 3 wounds, 1 Soulstone, 2 Poison, MANIFESTED


TURN THREE - ZORAIDA INITIATIVE
Don't think it wasn't touch-and-go here. Even with him at a (-) flip and me at a (+) flip, it took two tied initiative flips before we finally saw me win the third.

I started with the twins (naturally) and aSeamus was able to weather Lelu's hits taking only two wounds in total, though it burned his last soulstone. aSeamus' regeneration would be enough to counteract the poison he had, so if I didn't kill him here, he'd be able to respond in kind. Lilitu activated and missed aSeamus with her first attack, and then hit with her second, dealing the final wound to the beast. He howled and collapsed, leaving a crew of a few undead to face the onslaught of aZoraida and her horde of minions.

The football game was about to start so we called it there.


Two games, only saw the Avatars briefly in both. Lesson to all those out there: Avatars are not the be-all-end-all. They are another tool in your box. Don't overextend to bring them up.