From Panel to Play: Toad

CP42 Toad

Not everyone is born to lead. Some people are born to follow. In this installment of From Panel to Play, we’re looking at Magneto’s personal crony and aide-de-camp with the wickedest tongue in the world, Toad!

Mortimer Toynbee is a rare strain of genetically flawed mutants. Abandoned by his parents at a young age due to his abnormality, he grew up in an orphanage where he was often tormented by the other children. His squat, toad-like posture, strange physique, and unusual skin were all expressions of his genetic instability, causing him to undergo severe physical and mental changes as he aged.

As an adult, Magneto discovered Toynbee. Seeing potential in his superhuman ability to leap great distances, enhanced strength and endurance, and his long prehensile tongue, Magneto gave him the alias Toad and brought him in as one of the Brotherhood of Mutants. As part of the Brotherhood, Toad has served as Magneto’s loyal lackey for many years.

Toad’s miniature captures the character’s bizarre appearance and posture. He’s dressed in a costume reminiscent of a jester’s outfit, fitting his role as Magneto’s amusing underling, but there is a grotesque element to his distorted features, the long prehensile tongue, and the bestial way he hangs off a bit of broken wall.

Toad is a slippery character. He’s not a frontline fighter and might have trouble going toe-to-toe with some characters, but he possesses several rules and abilities that make him perfect for maneuvering around the battlefield and taking control of critical assets.

The first way Toad helps you control a crisis is through the use of his oversized, super-strong tongue. He can whip it into an enemy and send them reeling, which is perfect for pushing them away from valuable assets. His Tongue Lash attack is Range 3, and a wild result in the attack roll allows him to push Size 2 characters a Short distance away.

Toad can use his tongue to aid his team as well. This prehensile appendage is strong enough to yank civilians or a vial of Wakandan herbs from the hands of a vulnerable ally, helping to keep an asset out of enemy hands. For 2 Power, the Finders Keepers active superpower lets Toad grab an asset or Civilian token from a friendly character within Range 3.

Of course, Toad needs to be in place to push an enemy back or snag a panicking civilian from his allies’ hands. His Medium movement distance might seem like a detriment at first, but this member of the Brotherhood knows a few moves. First of all, his mutation has granted him incredibly strong legs. He can spring into the air, landing quite a distance away. The Hop power costs 2 Power and lets you place Toad within Range 2 of his current position… when combined with his Medium advance, that’s farther than he could manage with a Long advance!

Second, Toad is slippery (metaphorically, at least. Hopefully not literally as well). He is difficult to pin down and quickly moves out of danger. Slippery is a reactive power that costs 2 Power to use and allows Toad to make a Medium advance if he is hit and damaged by an enemy attack. Combined with his other abilities, Toad is a deceptively mobile character with even more abilities to interact with crises than we have time to talk about today!

Keep your eyes on the Transmission for the next installment of From Panel to Play, as we examine how characters make the leap to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until then, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off.