Countdown (MPQ EXCLUSIVE Hero!)

ErikPeter

I decided it'd be fun to create an all-new Marvel superhero, on spec, to debut here in Puzzle Quest! Of course, she could always make her way to the page some day down the line.

Overview:
The mutant powers of Gemma Matcher, a.k.a. Countdown, provide pinpoint control over gravity. Countdown effortlessly creates microscopic wormholes in time, giving her a limited ability to foresee future events and know exactly when they will happen, or as she puts it, how events will "fall into place, sometimes cascading from one to the next".

With some effort, she can focus her powers, unleashing devastating gravity waves; however, these outbursts are incredibly draining and leave her weak and incapable of manifesting more powers for a short period of time.

Personality:
Gemma often foresees situations she is powerless to prevent or change. She always does what she can to warn others and do the right thing, no matter how grim the future looks. The pressure to succeed despite preordained failure has been emotionally hard on her; she is reclusive and finds it difficult to open up to people. Those in her small circle of friends--other mutants, mostly--see her as stoic and wise beyond her years.

Appearance:
Gemma is a first-generation American; her parents, both professors at Caltech, are of British and Indian descent. She is slender, of average height, with tan skin, straight, dark hair and grey eyes. She usually wears slim-fit black cargo jeans and a loose collared blouse. As a child, Gemma survived a house fire, leaving serious scars which cover her left upper arm, torso, and left leg, but are mostly covered by her clothes.

In the Game:
Mechanically, Countdown is a decent damage dealer with two cheap, strong nova abilities; a single target Gravity Well, that stuns your opponent and deals high damage, and the Gravity Waves which deal damage to the enemy team and destroy basic tiles. Her strong offense is paired with a drawback, however: both of her heavy hitters place countdown tiles which prevent her from firing another power. You'll have to wait a few turns or destroy the countdown tile if you want to attack again. Her third ability, a single-tile destruction power that can generate some extra AP when used smartly, also passively reduces the countdowns of her other powers at higher ranks.

Of course, naming her Countdown has played hell with my power text (since her powers interact with Countdown tiles.)

Countdown (Original)
At Max Level: HP:10960 Tile damage: 10/09/82/11/73/64/3.5

Gravity Well - Cost: 9
Countdown creates an inescapable gravity field around the target opponent, dealing 400 damage and stunning them for 2 turns. Countdown is physically drained by the effort, creating a 5-turn Countdown tile which prevents her from firing any powers.

Level 2. Deals 700 damage. Level 3. Deals 1400 damage. Level 4. Stuns for 3 turns. Level 5. Deals 2750 damage.

Max Level: Deals (3/4 - 2673) 5250 damage and stuns for 3 turns.

Temporal Cascade - Cost: 8
Countdown manipulates future events to give her team the advantage. Destroys a targeted basic tile. For each subsequent match caused by this action, generates 1 AP in a random color.

Level 2. Generates 2 AP. Level 3. (PASSIVE): Countdown timers on Countdown's other powers are reduced by 1. Level 4. Generates 3 AP. Level 5. Reduces timers on Countdown's other powers by 3.

Max Level: Destroys a targeted basic tile. For each subsequent match caused by this action, generates 3 AP in a random color. (PASSIVE) Countdown timers on Countdown's other powers are reduced by 3.

Gravity Waves - Cost: 10
Countdown channels her abilities to create devastating gravity waves, distorting nearby space-time. Deals 400 damage to the enemy team and destroys 2 basic tiles (does not generate AP.) This exhausting outburst creates a 5-turn Countdown tile. While this tile is on the board, Countdown cannot fire any powers.

Level 2. Deals 889 damage. Level 3. Deals 1111 damage and destroys 3 basic tiles. Level 4. Deals 1334 damage. Level 5. Deals 2389 damage.

Max Level: Deals 4727 damage to the enemy team and destroys 3 random basic tiles. Destroyed tiles do not deal damage or generate AP.