Subversion in the UK (2122 spoilers)

[dbfnq]

Okay, thoughts as I go through the booklet...

New Monolith art...very Jack Kirby cosmic villain. Havoc's already got himself a new team in my fed, but a singles upgrade would be welcome.

Wolf is back! Meh. I'm sure this is a big deal to the old-school players, though, and he could work out for me. Monolith feud wouldn't make much sense in my fed, unless Monolith starts winning some matches.

Endgame versus Massif. Interesting.

Mother Superior...nothing really surprising here, but quite well-written. Internal troubles brewing already.

Wolf and the Gladiators. Huh.

The Outlaws...wow, a team made up entirely of people I booted down to the GWFZ. I think I feel an invasion coming along.

Betrayer art...again, very superhero comic. Looks like an unhinged DC villain.

Vidtek and the Shooters...hmm. I've already got the Shooters in a stable with Sultana, but Vidtek would fit right in.

So far, two teams I didn't particularly care about have broken up.

Retribution...good stuff. Wonder where I can fit him in.

Daimyo...yeah, pretty much a given now that all these targeted-feud masked wrestlers are the same guy. Getting a kind of strength-through-adversity vibe here, like the guy in the mask is testing and strengthening people by opposing them. Not sure what to do with him...haven't got around to introducing Ringer yet, for that matter.

I like Epoch getting taken down, but not a fan of the Menace doing it. And Drury's a big nothing in my fed. We'll have to see how this one goes.

Wolf...from the character description stuff, he kind of reminds me of Bigby Wolf form Fables. Growing on me.

US Male...another crossface? Known as the STD? Oh dear.

Drury's Back Stabber sounds a lot like, well, Carlito's Back Stabber.

Sultans of Swagger...I'm sticking with my own name, I think.

Malkuth...another upgrade to a character I droppped to the Z. Oh well.

Amazing Mann retires? Hah, not in my fed. He was the only one I kept when I dumped the Show.

Looking at the cards...yeah, Havoc and Strafe mean that superhero vibe is definitely there with this set.

Overall:

Booklet is a good read, no doubt, but not much use to me since I've veered so far from canon. On to the cards.

Monolith: Yeah, I'll use him. Believe it or not, he needs the upgrade.

Sly, US Male, Betrayer, Malkuth: We'll see how they do in the Z. Some of them may make it back onto the big show. I'm liking the idea of Drury leading a Zone uprising.

Daimyo: Still not sure what to do with him. Ringer's probably going to the Z somewhere down the line. Daimyo may join him. Don't think they'll be the same guy in my fed.

Havoc: Nice upgrade. This'll slot in nicely with his role in the Thrillkillers.

Vidtek: Like the art. Probably a Thrillkillers candidate, maybe replacing Switchblade.

Strafe: Straightforward replacement of Thrash. Should be fun.

Retribution: Hmm. Not sure what to do with him, either. FDF or GWFZ, probably.

Wolf: Actually, could make a great opponent for Endgame...

[gatekeeper]

This is a very surprising review.

Couple of things that stuck out to me.

You said you're not sure where to put Retribution. How about in the GWF feuding with Nosfera? Kinda like how Tom writes it.

Not everyone has to be on a team.

And you shouldn't (IMO) put Dead Ringer and Daimyo together because they are the same person.

Don't over think it.

This is why it's best not to stray too far from what Tom writes. You can always tinker with whatever you want but sometimes you put yourself in a bind because of it.

And, Wolf has been on the Gladiator team before. See the Civil War years circa 2099.

[wildcat]

Also , Monolith can't win ?! Hmmmmmmmmm, what card are you using and who's he been facing ? For me and what I can tell most people on here , it's very hard for the Genetically enhanced Ani-Men behemoth to lose.

[gatekeeper]

wildcat said:

Also , Monolith can't win ?! Hmmmmmmmmm, what card are you using and who's he been facing ? For me and what I can tell most people on here , it's very hard for the Genetically enhanced Ani-Men behemoth to lose.

Unless it's to Dr. Death.

[dbfnq]

gatekeeper said:

This is a very surprising review.

Yeah, I run an unusual fed - it started out pretty conventionally and then drifted away - so I'm looking at the set from that point of view.

gatekeeper said:

You said you're not sure where to put Retribution. How about in the GWF feuding with Nosfera? Kinda like how Tom writes it. Not everyone has to be on a team.

They do in my fed. Big angle where Massif is cracking down on all the loners. That's why Valour's in the GWFZ, and Swarm's teaming up with Kill Prey and Iron Mann.

gatekeeper said:

And you shouldn't (IMO) put Dead Ringer and Daimyo together because they are the same person.

In canon they are. In my fed they may or may not be. Haven't decided yet, but probably not. Gatekeeper's doing well for me, and I'm not going to retire him just in order to use the others.

gatekeeper said:

This is why it's best not to stray too far from what Tom writes. You can always tinker with whatever you want but sometimes you put yourself in a bind because of it.

Oh, I don't mind when stuff doesn't match up. I'd rather do my own thing, even if it does involve some extra work to make stuff fit.

gatekeeper said:

And, Wolf has been on the Gladiator team before. See the Civil War years circa 2099.

Yeah, I vaguely remember hearing about this, but I started with New Beginnings so the pre-2119 history isn't as big a deal to me.

wildcat said:

Also , Monolith can't win ?! Hmmmmmmmmm, what card are you using and who's he been facing ? For me and what I can tell most people on here , it's very hard for the Genetically enhanced Ani-Men behemoth to lose.

Not counting the Rumble where he debuted and was eliminated by Kill Prey, his original card is zero for three. Against some very respectable competition, mind. He lost singles matches to Kill Prey and Bloodline, and lost to Encubus in a handicap match with Epoch.

I don't run many cards per game year, so this sort of fluke run is more likely. Endgame and the Gladiators had terrible starts in my fed as well.

[wildcat]

And please don't put Malkuth in your Z. He's one of the coolest guys in the set . It's up to you promoter ! ;D

[dbfnq]

Slave Beast is definitely heading Z-wards. We'll see if he can work his way back up to the GWF before he upgrades to Malkuth.

[gamemaster]

Monolith is awesome but up against all the top crowd anything can happen. Hell he and Payback are in a deadlock in my fed match for match. Your fed do what you want but Tom's story is pretty entertaining.

[the_faction]

It's a shame you're not concerned about any characters pre 2119. There's nothing saying you have to stick to the straight timelines. You could always start buying up the earlier sets and any characters you liked could be introduced into your fed now.

Of course you could always stack your fed heavy with guys like Star Warrior, Omega, Pegasus, & Alpha Force debuting as a new stable to feud against Thantos, Morpheus, Chaos, & Vengeance.

Of course you cut out your lower and mid card action.

[swo]

The best thing of all...
you can do what ever you want !!

I used to follow the story line....but change things once in a while. Tom's stories are so cool that when a new edition comes out, I work it so some if not most, of his ideas are used.

But in the end it's your fed....just have fun with it.

[uwamandate]

I am new to this board, but not new to the GWF. I've been with the GWF from the start...I will have to say, even though Tom's stories are great...I often enjoy reading the stories but only follow the one's that fit into my fed's. I follow the stories though of the CPC and aCe. Example: Massacre is part of the aWo. Vengence is a part of the GWF. Havoc is a part of the XCW. Vengence is hated by the Gladiators due to killing a great general and not Massacre. Vengence was having a banishment match from the GWF due to Mayhem, Disaster, Rush, Thunder and Rage and Paralyze didn't want him there anymore. Havoc said he would return to the GWF for just one match to help out the Gladiators (Four Corners Match)get rid of Vengence. The Gladiators agreed, even though they had doubts about him...they figured this was the way to find out if he had a hand in the building of Monolith. Of course they wouldn't tag Havoc in...but when the time arrived, Havoc hit Disaster with a chair causing Vengence to pin and eliminate him. Havoc was eliminated due to the interference but Thunder pinned Vengence and he now resides in the aWo. Havoc is now in the GWF to fued with Disaster and Monolith beat Mayhem for the Heavyweight title. The XCW Heavyweight champion Wolf though showed up after the match and attacked Monolith. Setting up my first ever interpromotional fued! Tom says it best..."It's up to you Promoter"!

[dbfnq]

You know, I think this is the most interest I've ever had in one of my posts.

I started out pretty close to the books, but drifted with the demands of the dice. For example, Encubus won't be teaming up with Bloodline as long as he's got the GWF title, and Kill Prey left the Evil Empire (Central Command) after eliminating Epoch and Monolith from the Rumble. Some of the changes were also personal preference - renaming teams, forming new ones, and booting characters I don't care about down to the Z to make the writeups quicker.

I don't want to come across as overly negative about 2122 - it's definitely going to be used, if not exactly as written - but I was disappointed in the lack of new characters. I know Tom's trying to keep the roster small, but it seems over-the-top to me. Out of eleven cards we have:

Five straight updates of current characters;
Two gimmick changes for current characters;
Two returning characters who existed but weren't in NB;
And only two genuinely new characters.

[Knapik]

Well there may be only two new characters, but it's good that the fed doesn't get bloated and unwieldly. Also Promoter Madness gave us a ton of new characters you can use in your fed!

[jefft]

The fed has to stay under 40 guys. Period. We have to adjust to the fact that we will see less and less new characters. Also, guys will have shorter careers and every once and awhile some favs (Amazing Mann) HAVE to leave before their time.

[dbfnq]

knapik said:

Well there may be only two new characters, but it's good that the fed doesn't get bloated and unwieldly. Also Promoter Madness gave us a ton of new characters you can use in your fed!

Yeah, I've adopted a couple of the PM characters into my main fed and more will probably make the move later.

jefft said:

The fed has to stay under 40 guys. Period. We have to adjust to the fact that we will see less and less new characters. Also, guys will have shorter careers and every once and awhile some favs (Amazing Mann) HAVE to leave before their time.

That's the rub, of course. To keep the roster low, either you get lots of updates or lots of retirements-and-replacements. I'd prefer the balance a little further towards the latter, because that way you've got the option of hanging on to more of the old guys to bulk the fed out.