Commons

001 Captain America

I’m really enjoying their design for the shifting focus Captain America with a limited pick-a-power on every option. Here he’s sporting a 12 attack and 3 damage with 6 range and Running Shot or Close Combat Expert, and an 18 defense on-top of that. That’s an incredibly desirable top-dial, the only weakness coming from only having Combat Reflexes for protection. Captain America is a squishy attacker with high values especially on the first three clicks. It takes a turn for the worst at the last 3 clicks of his dial, with lower values and Flurry + Precision Strike. Captain America is a really solid pull for sealed with a lot of mobility and incredible values, but is vulnerable with no reducers or evasive powers.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

002 Spider-Man

The common Spider-Man is a mix of good and bad, leading to a really solid common pull that can’t quite compete without a little help from a taxi or Telekinesis. Defensively Spider-Man is absolutely stunning. Stealth, Super Senses, Shape Change and an 18 Defense makes him a really hard to deal with character, even with an Outwit. Keeping Spider-Man in Stealth is easy with his Improved Movement, and his 4 range with 2 targets makes his Incapacitate useful as well. The biggest letdown with Spider-man is his reliance on Sidestep for movement giving him a measly swing of 6. With some clever placement that limited mobility isn’t a deal breaker, but in general, this Spider-Man isn’t going to be on the frontlines, unless there’s a ranged attacker you really want to tie-up. If you have any other spider-friends on your team, he can hand out a massive 18 defense to them, and keep up with them with his Sidestep. Of course, we’re only talking about the first 3 clicks of his arguably short dial. The second half doesn’t quite live up to the first, with Flurry, Super-Strength, Combat Reflexes and Perplex. Perplex is always nice to have and keeps him useful if he does get hit, but the rest forces him to play really aggressively. 2 damage doesn’t pair well with his Flurry, especially when it doesn’t synergize with his Super Strength. He has options if he has an object, but none of those options are really desirable. Those first three clicks make him a workhorse. He can get in anywhere and mix it up with a lot of the more dangerous figures in the set. When he does take damage, he’s losing that every-man quality, for a lackluster close attacker with a saving grace in Perplex.

Sealed 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

003 Iron Man

It might be the 100th time we’ve seen a common Iron Man, but this one is a little more special than the rest, especially in sealed. For 65 points, you’re getting 5 clicks of ranged goodness, with Sidestep and Ranged Combat Expert giving his top-dial a 10 attack with 4 damage, or a 12 attack with 2 damage. On-top of that, he’s a flier with Sidestep, giving him a lot of mobility as a taxi, and he’s got Telekinesis as well. That top-dial is almost a must play in sealed, especially with the addition of his special defense power that gives him Energy Shield/Deflection, Toughness and Barrier, giving him even more board control than he already had. The only thing letting him down is a lack of Willpower, but he’s got these powers for 2 clicks, allowing you to freely push. After he pushes off of this insane goodness, he’s getting Running Shot and Invulnerability with Perplex backing it up. Now he’s picking it up with some more aggressive options, or using his Perplex to help your team. There’s nothing to complain about with this Iron Man, he’s an amazing swiss army knife and is totally worth picking up as a single, even if he’s the millionth Iron Man in your collection.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

004 Crossbones

Crossbones is a 40 point harasser, who can scare enemies away with his Energy Explosion or help your team with his Enhancement. Besides that he’s just not doing enough to warrant much discussion. Like the rest of the Battleworld: The Valley his trait lets him potentially take tokens off of himself when he hits, but with the minimal damage he can do, it’s not a reliable option for your team. You’re going to want to play him if you’re building a ranged focused team. He’s a bulky addition for 40 points, and his Enhancement can make him more than useful enough to add, but as it stands, he’s just not making the impact you need to place him on every team.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

005 Gunslinger

Gunslinger is the point filler generic for this set. He’s a lot like Crossbones, but doesn’t provide the support from Enhancement. What he loses in that he picks up in being able to deal 3 damage and break reducers with his Ranged Combat Expert. He’s more than worth the 20 points if your looking to fill it, but don’t make room for him, he’s just not worth it.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

006 Sheriff Steve Rogers

Sheriff Steve Rodgers is an absolutely incredible 50 point figure, especially in the common slot. He’s coming in with Running Shot and 10 attack, 3 damage giving him enough range to scare away a lot of the set. He’s also sitting on an incredible 18 defense with Energy Shield/Deflection and an absolute stunner of a special power. His damage power gives him Leadership, a must have in sealed as an extra action is an immeasurable advantage when you can use it. It also makes him, and any adjacent character safe from attacks that modify attack. That means anyone with Ranged Combat Expert is forced to dump it into damage, and attack against his massive 20 defense from range. Even after he takes damage, Steve’s keeping his 18 defense, but picks up Defend and Enhancement making him a great guy to keep around your weaker figures.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

007a Thanos Duplicate

You might not be getting a Thanos in the common slot, but this duplicate is an immensely powerful 25 or 50 point figure with amazing values and a short dial, a choice I absolutely love. Taking a break from the figure for a second, I think it’s fair to say that Batman Beyond from the last set absolutely broke the sealed gameplay for the set by dominating any team that didn’t feature a Batman Beyond on it. Yet, sets with no power figures in the common slot also suffer from a weak sealed experience as every game but turns into a straight up battle between your and your opponents rare/super-rare/chase figures, with absolutely nothing useful in the common and uncommon slots beyond support figures. Thanos Duplicate is an absolutely fantastic power figure for this set as it’s powerful enough to face off against any of the super-rares or chases, but it’s vulnerable enough to be easily taken down. Against the best pulls this figure will need to be played really carefully, as any figure with greater mobility or range can tear them apart without too much of an issue, but with their high values, good powers and low cost, you can play a figure that can assist you against any of the most powerful figures in the set.

I’d almost always play the 50 point version over the 25, as your opponents will be forced to set up a single 5 damage attack against them, or suffer the far superior half of their dial, or try to double-tap them, and push them to the far superior 18 defense, Invulnerability and Probability Control click, making it a difficult endeavor. The values you get for this price are even reasonable for a constructed team. The Cosmic keyword makes him very useful for theme teams and even though his special Probability Control power is incredibly restrictive it lets you run the duplicate up, tying up an opponent and forcing them to break-away twice or deal with the generic.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

007b Thanos

This is probably going to me the most desired prime in the set, but it’s certainly deserved. First, Thanos is getting Stealth and any generic or Battleworld keyword, making it very easy to build a theme team around him, something that’s been harder and harder in sealed. Second, Thanos is bringing the ability to deal damage to friendly characters for free, and when he kills a figure, friendly or opposing he’s picking up Infinity Tokens that let him modify a value of his by +2 for every token he has. As a 175 point tent-pole with Power Cosmic and a lot of strong powers, there’s very little chance Thanos won’t be able to gather a few Infinity tokens during his time on the map. Each time he picks off a unit he becomes more and more unstoppable, so if Thanos appears on your opponents team, take him down IMMEDIATELY. This is one of the strongest figures in sealed for this reason. Finally Thanos also has Probability Control that can generate Thanos Duplicates. He’s just so strong. If you can knock him to his Charge clicks, you can feel safe, but otherwise this is an absolutely insane threat that will win the game single-handedly if given the chance.

Sealed: 5/5

Cosntructed: 4/5

008 Thorus

I’m a big fan of this awesome 30 point dial. Thorus might not have the Flight symbol that the rest of the Thor Corp have, but the Police team ability and Enhancement together is an absolutely fantastic combination. Sidestep lets Thorus get into position to boost your other ranged attackers, and his great 10 attack 3 damage on his first two clicks means he’s always able to deal some damage through reducers. On-top of all of that, he’s got the Thor Corp shared trait allowing him to benefit from being around your stronger ranged attackers. Finally, he’s got a fantastic damage power that gives him Probability Control if you’ve lost a 50 point or more figure. Regardless if it’s activated or not, Thorus is worth far more than 30 points. This is so tremendously undercosted, and is going directly onto my Police team, probably in multiples.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

009 Thor

I’ve been waiting for a generic Thor cop since I read the Battleworld comic, and while they don’t compare to some of the stuff in the common slot, they’re certainly fun. The big deal with these cops is choosing what power(s) they’re going to get at the beginning of the game. Do you give them Running Shot to benefit off of their 5 range? Do you choose Charge to synergize with the Quake further down the dial? Or do you choose Empower and Willpower to create scary taxi’s with a lot of power? Let’s be honest, 90% of the time you’re choosing Running Shot and the last 10% you’re choosing Willpower and Empower. Honestly, these guys are a little overpriced for what they bring, but that first click of 11 attack, 3 damage with Running Shot (probably) is really too good to pass up when you’ve pulled no powerful figures. Let’s talk about the Crack the Case trait, for all of the figures that have it in the set. Whenever a character with it is within 4 squares of an opposing character that makes, but not necessarily hits with an attack, the character picks up an Evidence token. With two of those tokens, they can make a free attack. If you can pull enough of these characters, your opponents are forced into a position where they have to deal you damage and give you tokens. It doesn’t take many free attacks to win a game, and if you can pull a team of Thor’s you’ve got one of the strongest teams you can build in sealed.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

010 Crystal Warrior

Crystal Warriors are strong close attackers with a few tricks up their sleeves. Charge and Blades/Claws/Fangs are a pretty normal combination for figures like this, but Flurry and Empower are nice powers to have, even if they show up at the end of the dial. What makes these Crystal Warriors really interesting is their trait that stops them from being attacked by characters with modified combat values. This gives them a surprising amount of protection in this set as its filled with Perplex and Ranged/Close Combat Expert. Their special defense power is also interesting, as it reduces damage based on the amount the attack roll succeeded by. The big issue with it is that, if they succeed exactly, they don’t reduce it at all. It’s a crap-shoot of a power that might be really useful, but more often than not won’t do much. These generics are fine but they don’t really do much that any other close attacker generic doesn’t. They’re interesting, but they don’t quite add up.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

011 Magma Man

Magma Man is another close attack based generic with the same Untamed Weirdness trait. He’s 10 points cheaper than Crystal Warrior, but doesn’t have the same mobility or potential defensive acumen that the crystal man does. Sidestep, Poison and Quake are what make up most of its power set, and that’s a decent combination, especially when he can deal some penetrating damage on-top of that, but once again it’s too little for Magma Man to make much of an impact in this sealed environment. Not a bad figure, but another average close attacker in a set with a lot of great ranged attackers. Once again, anyone with Ranged Combat Expert is really going to struggle.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

012 Man-Thing Soldier

The cheapest of the Weird World generics follows in the footsteps of the other two. Man-Thing soldier comes in at 33 points for 4 clicks of life. In sealed, he might as well cost 35 points, but I enjoy the weirdness of the point value. Man-Thing’s only trick is Exploit Weakness with +1 damage if the target has an action token, making him a fine close attacker when dealing with figures with reducers. The only thing I really like about this guy is the last click of Regeneration. If he gets hit to it, you’ve gotten a lot of value out of this 33 point figure, otherwise he’s a small threat that’s nothing more than a point filler.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

013 Woldbreaker

Okay, now this is a truly ridiculous generic. At either point value you’re paying a price of 50 points for 3 clicks, which sounds really high and it is, except that he’s also packing full dial Invincible and a stop-click (or 2). His mobility might not be great, and his attack and damage is average at best, but this is a hard to put down figure, perfect for the common slot. Super Strength makes them hit harder and allows you to disrupt any survivors with the knock-back. Quake on the higher point dial also allows him to generate objects to use with his Super Strength. This is a straight-forward tank that you’re going to want to consider on any of your teams. Play him at 100 if you don’t have any other big figure to depend on, and play him at 50 if you’re looking to fill your team with a secondary attacker able to take a chunk out of anyone.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

014 Outrider

Outrider is a really strange figure. He’s a tie-up figure with the ability to control your opponents usage of support powers, but no way to keep opponents tied up. He’s also able to ignore characters and blocking for movement, giving him full reign of the map. If they take damage they’re going to a Flurry/Blades/Perplex click that could scare anyone in this set. I don’t think this figure is as bad as I first did, he’s supposed to get in there and force your opponents to deal with him. When they do, but don’t finish the job, they’ve left an incredibly strong close attacker next to their squishiest support figure. This is a sneaky generic that requires a little more thought than the others, but can make a mess when he gets into the right position.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

015 Molly Hayes

This is insane. 10 attack, 4 damage and 18 defense for 25 points. She’s also able to pick up objects with Super Strength and run through buildings. This all comes at the price of not being able to give her actions when she has action tokens. It’s a small price to pay for combat values like these. Put her next to opponents and force them to deal with her. She’s not an easy figure to deal with, and is such a small investment it doesn’t matter. She’s also a great bomb to carry in with another figure, or to TK out, especially when doing so activates her Sidestep. In constructed her values are going to be useful for piloting vehicles. Usually paying for the vehicle and the pilot makes them far too costly to be effective, but in this case, Molly is handing out some fantastic values to things like the Dune Buggy, and she’ll survive the explosion when it dies. I’m sure there are other great things to do with this dial, but we’ll have to wait and see when the set comes out.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 4/5

016 Klara Prast

Klara is the primary tie-up figure in this set, she’s got Shape Change, Poison and Plasticity, the usually suspects when it comes to tie-up figures. As a bonus, Klara’s also bringing Barrier and a trait that generates a single square of Hindering or Blocking for free. This is going to be a lot better than it sounds. One square of either can stop characters from coming up ladders to elevated terrain, or hindering can activate Stealth for her, or any of the other runaways. At the end of her dial she even picks up a click of Pulse Wave, making her a small threat when she’s tying up a figure. Honestly, I came into this dial wanting to hate it, but there’s so many fun tricks on it that make Klara Pratt a must play in sealed for me. She’s a Barrier maker and a tie-up figure, and she can always do something on your turn even if she’s pushed making her a great addition to the usual action starved economy of sealed.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

Uncommons

017 Captain America

For the next shifting focus Captain America we’ve got a close combat and defensive focus. Traited Energy Shield/Deflection gives him an insane 20 defense from range on his top-dial, and on-top of that he’s able to either bolster adjacent characters defense from range by 1 or block a side of his square from lines of fire. I suggest keeping him back, and using him to bolster your team, and protect against anyone who might want to attack them up close, but he’s also a decent one man army even without any range, or Charge on his top-dial. With a 20 from range, and being able to block off a side of his square he can keep himself safe as he moves up, and reasonably rely on his 18 defense and Shape Change to keep him safe. I’d play him no matter how many of his shifting focus buddies you play, but without range or mobility, he wouldn’t be my first go to for a team. He’s an absolutely excellent addition as a support/tank figure, with the values to be a decent close combat figure as well.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

018 Spider-Man

This Spider-Man is the Spider-Island leader, giving him access to Perplex and Leadership. Even if you don’t pull another Spider-Island figure, his Perplex won’t go to waste, whether you using it to modifiy a defense value by -2 or a damage value by +1. Spider-Man’s downside comes as a slow start, forcing him to not participate in the game for two turns. In sealed with few alpha strikers it’s not going to matter, as anyone playing Spider-Man will just wait until their third turn when Spider-Man is ready to go. As a dial, he’s a pretty straight-forward Spider-Man with Charge and Quake, but with the added bonus of some decent range and Outwit. I like this figure as a cheap primary attacker or a decent secondary one, with Outwit and Perplex making him a must play in sealed if you’re missing those. You’re just going to have to wait a few turns to get it.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

019 Iron Man

Here’s the discount primary attacker that you’re going to see on more than one team at every event. Spider Iron Man really isn’t particularly broken (looking at you again Batman Beyond) but he’s strong enough to be a must play if your rare slot is weak. Running Shot gives him an immense 13 range swing and Penetrating/Psychic Blast keeps him dangerous to anyone. His whole dial is mean with Outwit and Ranged Combat Expert spread throughout, and his Improved Targeting makes him the best Stealth buster in the set, or at least the most accessible one. What makes him truly dangerous is his second trait that gives him +1 defense from ranged attacks for every action token on him. There’s no reason not to give him a second action token when he’s just getting harder to hit. His Homo Arachnus trait is a little bit of a let down, as Plasticity and Poison aren’t things you’re dying to get on a ranged attacker, but both stop opponents from wanting to base him, making him a stronger ranged figure than he initially appears.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 2/5

020 Tony Stark, Inventor

The second Iron Man is a simple support figure with Perplex, Outwit, and a great defense power that makes high point figures unable to draw lines of fire to him allowing him to be a great meat shield for your more important figures. If you manage to pull the other version of him, you can pay 50 points, and get a possible full point steam powered Iron Man for cheap. I’m not sure if its better than playing the rare by itself, but i’d do it if I pulled any other high point figures, otherwise, this Tony will more than make up his 30 points most of the time.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

021 Black Widow

Black Widow is a pretty generic close attacker with Blades and Exploit Weakness, and depends on Stealth and Shape Change for protection. Like other version of this mobility challenged Black Widow, get her up close and swing away and hopefully you’ll get through your opponent before they get through you. I’m not a big fan of her, and because of that, I’m not going to dwell. She’s not bad, but there are better options.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

022 Ultimate Thor

Ultimate Thor comes in two varieties, one a little more expensive with absolutely no mobility, but with Outwit, and one that’s a little cheaper with excellent mobility. Either way, you’re paying a lot for a figure that doesn’t have a very long dial. What makes Ultimate Thor dangerous is his first click on his lower point value. Being able to teleport to another Thor from this set for free and then Charge is amazing, and being able to do the reverse is even better. That being said, Ultimate Thor is taking up a third of your point total for 5 clicks of life, which is a huge investment in a figure that’s nothing more than a mobile close attacker. I think he can be worth playing, especially with his Police team ability and Crack the Case trait, but I don’t think he’s good enough to be a first pick for your team. Look over all your options, and if you really need an amazingly aggressive close attacker, there’s almost no one better.

In constructed, Ultimate Thor’s second trait has a little more value, allowing him to pick of equipment and pass it off when he dies. With his mobility, he can be a big threat, but the same problems he has in sealed are twice as bad in constructed. He’s just too squishy, even if he can pass out objects and teleport around.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

023 She-Hulk

This Thor She-Hulk looks a lot better than she actually seems when you realize that her only range comes when she uses Energy Explosion. Now those first three clicks of Running Shot don’t mean nearly as much when she’s only doing 2 damage with it. That being said, She’s a tough figure with lots of reducers and Probability Control, making her a good figure to throw into battle. She’s almost happier being up close than far away, but when she needs to her Energy Explosion has the benefit of Force Blast behind it potentially making it a slightly bigger deal. Her dial is pretty straight-forward beyond the strangeness in the first two clicks, but I’m still stuck on them. I don’t want to pay 80 points for a close attacker that’s stuck with Running Shot and Energy Explosion.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

023b She-Hulk

The She-Hulk prime is an expensive close combat figure with a lot of support powers, making her an interesting addition to any team. Leadership, Perplex, Empower and Enhancement is a heck of a combo for any figure, but for a close combat figure with 5 clicks of life for 90 points, I’m not sure it’s enough for me to play her. 90 gives you some average values with an absolutely mediocre 8 speed Charge, and 18 Invulnerability is good but not great. That being said, I don’t think i’d suggest the 130 point dial either. 19 Impervious is amazing, but 130 points for Charge and Super-Strength is not something I can get behind, especially in a set with 25 point figures that can easily cost her the 40 point upgrade with a single attack. The other thing she has going for her is her Hunting the Traitor in A-Force trait, which gives her Plasticity and removes Mastermind, Shape Change and Stealth from adjacent characters. I understand why she’s 90 points, she just has so many things on the dial, but the dial itself is just so hard to swallow for that investment. Play her for the support she brings to your team, but be warned that she can easily be taken out by a few shots by even the commons in this set.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

024 Boar Thor

The next Thor Corp member is a little less exciting, as he’s just a Charge/Blades close attacker, but he’s pretty solid for the points. He’s got a few clicks of reducers, and Battle Fury to get through any pesky Shape Change, as well as some Exploit Weakness at the end of his dial. His shared trait isn’t going to do much for him, as he’s unable to make ranged attacks and wants to make close actions rather than attacks, but if he sticks around for a while, he’ll get the chance to make atleast one free attack. He’s not exciting, and he’s nowhere near the best close attacker in this set, but there’s nothing wrong with him either. Just a plain, boring guy with the Police team ability and Flight.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

025 Crystar

If you liked the Crystal Soldiers but wanted them to be a little more expensive, Crystar is your guy. He’s got the same defensive power, but with a great attack power that lets him re-roll his own attacks, and way better mobility with a 5 movement Charge. Leadership is always useful and his Untamed Weirdness Trait is still excellent. The only thing that lets Crystar down is his unreliable defense power. If your lucky he’s going to be a terror that rampages through your opponents team with his re-rolled Blades, and if your not, they’re going to hit you exactly and knock him off his best stuff the first time he’s targeted.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

026 Moltar

Moltar’s another strong close attacker, but with a little less mobility than Crystar, and a lack of Willpower. Moltar can tear through opponents with his extra penetrating damage, and he has the benefit of disrupting Probability Controut l within 5 squares, which puts a huge damper on Themed Team Probability Control, but Moltar just is a little lackluster. He’s got enough bulk with his reducers, but his mobility is severely limited with only Sidestep. I just don’t see myself playing him on almost any team, there are better close attackers, and he doesn’t do enough to stop Probability Control to make him a necessity either.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

027 Man-Thing Commander

Here’s the last of the Weird World Uncommons, and Man-Thing Commander might be the best of them too. He’s another close attacker, but he’s also able to put out damage when people miss him with attacks, making him a pretty strong tie-up figure, especially against figures that rely on Close Combat Expert. This is a good mixture of Crystar and Moltar, with the mobility of Crystar mixed with the toughness of Moltar. That being said, they’re still close attackers in a set with a lot of strong ranged options making them slightly sub-par.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

028 Maestro

Maestro is a tank of a figure, and he’s one of the best uncommon figures to pull in this set. At 175 or 100 points, he’s starting with Charge and moving through walls, and he’s always going to be able to move through hindering and elevated as well. As a Baron of Battleworld he’s got Perplex and Leadership, and he’s got traited Steal Energy on-top of that giving him longevity as he tears apart your opponents. His values aren’t bad either with no clicks going below 10 attack, and no damage below 3. At the end of his dial he’s picking up a special power that lets him make a free close attack. Paired with Flurry on those clicks, he’s going to be able to output up to 3 attacks per turn, which means he can heal 3 clicks per turn. Alternatively his special power could just be used as a full move Charge. There’s not one click on this figure that’s not scary to be close to. Even without Outwit Protection he’s going to be able to get to a figure and smash them into the ground. The support powers he’s got give him some options for finesse plays, but his dial is just straight-forward goodness.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

029 Erik Killmonger

While he might not fit the set particularly well, this Erik Killmonger could easily be a rare in another set. As a close attacker he’s fantastic, with the double combination of Charge and Sidestep giving him a 6 movement for that Charge. He’s also got a high 11 attack with Blades/Claws/Fangs and he pushes to Outwit. Defensively he’s relying on Toughness and Stealth, but with Improved Movement: Hindering, he’s not getting caught up in any of that terrain anyways. What makes him really interesting is his trait that functions like a bizarro Leadership that takes actions away from your opponents. While it’s not reliable to pull off, it’s going to end up frustrating your opponent, especially in sealed. Honestly this guy is the whole package for a mere 50 points. He’ll fit on any team you want to play (unless you’re looking for a Battleworld Theme Team) and is consistently useful down his dial. There’s almost no team I wouldn’t run him on, just make sure you push him to click 2 as fast as possible to turn him into the force of nature he wants to be.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

030 Stick

Like Killmonger before him, Stick is another figure that would definitely be a rare in another set (just look at all the crap in the rare slot in Avengers/Defenders War. Yes Gladiator, I’m talking about you and your buddy Machete.) Once again like his predecessor in this set, Stick has a crazy good dial for his points. 5 clicks of life with consistently high values and excellent close combat powers make Stick a real force to reckon with, especially if someone can carry him in to get around his medicore mobility. Outside of his dial, Stick has an incredibly wordy trait that lets adjacent characters who miss close attacks make free attacks. There’s the chance they might take an unavoidable damage for it, but it’s a small price to pay for another chance to attack. Even if they do take damage from missing their humbled attack, they’re getting another humbled token to use the next turn, making Stick an incredible support figure. Get him up close and personal and watch as he and his friend take turns beating up anyone dumb enough to be adjacent.

I think Stick’s trait is so unique that there’s a good chance someone will find a way to break it in constructed. With bystander tokens, Stick is going to be mean, giving them two chances to hit and boosting their damage by 1. With the right stuff, this guy is going to be absolutely mean.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

031 Alex Wilder

I won’t say it again, but Alex Wilder looks too good to be an uncommon. He’s a 25 point figure that can have any of the trinity of support powers, and has Mastermind, Shape Change and Stealth to protect him. Even if your opponent is choosing which powers you’re going to get, you’re always going to have access to either Probability Control or Perplex, making him a must play on a lot of teams. Now I’m sure someone’s thinking “but you hated Catwoman who had the same trait!” and that’s definitely true. Catwoman was a slightly undercosted secondary attacker who little more than a Perplex to her name. Alex Wilder is different. Ideally he’s going to be in the rear, making him a hard target to remove without over extending. If someone does manage to get through your team to him and kill him, they’ve just left their new support figure in the middle of the enemy, ready for him to be killed a second time and reintroduced to his original team. Because it says “once per force” killing the new unfriendly Alex will revert him back to your team for another 4 clicks of amazing support.

When we’ve seen cheap support like Alex before, it’s usually been 25 point Perplex like Mary Jane or Jimmy Olson. Weak figures with nothing much going for them beyond their Perplex. Alex Wilder is bringing atleast two powers for the same price, way, way more protection and he’s not gone for good when he is ko’d. I see this figure being a pain to play against for the next two years, he’s just that good. Even if you want to Outwit something and your opponent doesn’t let you use it, you’re getting two fantastic powers that would cost way, way more than 25 point to field. Play, this, figure.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

032 Karolina Dean

Karolina Dean is an interesting ranged attacker with mobility only on the first click, but decent values throughout her 5 click dial. What makes her worth that 55 points is her trait that lets her heal 1 click and remove an action token from her at the beginning of your turn if you’re on an outdoor map, and she occupies the high elevation. Basically, if you get the right map, Karolina Dean is an incredible perpetual motion machine who never has to worry about clearing and heals every turn. On-top of that, Karolina’s got the Stealth and situational Sidestep from the Runaway shared trait giving her a little more protection. She might be a little bit low impact, especially if you don’t get the map you need, but she’s a solid ranged attacker, especially with all the Police Team ability in this set for her to benefit with.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

Rares

033 Captain America

The final Shifting Focus Captain America is one focused all on Leadership. Like the others, he’s got solid values with a high 18 defense and consistent attack and damage, allowing him to be a threat to characters with reducers. Besides being a fairly solid figure, his big trick is his special Leadership. The first aspect of his special Leadership gives him a 2/3 chance of success by giving him an action token. When he succeeds he’s giving all of your friendly characters within 5 squares of him that share a keyword with any of your Shifting Focus Caps +1 to a value. In sealed, the keyword limitation is huge. If you don’t pull another Cap, then this one is barely going to affect anyone, as he’s limited to Howling Commandos, Invaders, Past and Soldier keywords. Honestly, if you don’t pull any other Shifting Focus figures, I really wouldn’t even play him, unless you’ve somehow gotten enough The Valley members, for the Past keyword to matter. Without that damage power, there are just so many better figures for the same point value or less. He’s fantastic if you have the synergy, but don’t worry about not playing this rare if you don’t.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 3/5

034 Iron Goblin

Iron Goblin or Ugly Tony as I think of him, is a weirdly built dial. You’d think playing him at 150 points is far better than the lower 100 as you’re getting an extra three clicks of great reducers for that 50 points, but I think it’s a trap. Iron Goblin’s best aspect is his trait that grants him powers and combat value modifications depending on what you roll. This trait gives him access to all three of the big support powers, and most of the time modifies his values by a lot. The biggest issue with playing him at 150 points is that 1/3rd of the time he’s picking up Battle Fury and making his Running Shot absolutely useful. At his 100 point starting line, he’s starting with Hypersonic Speed, making the potential pick up of Battle Fury not a complete loss, and the +2 attack a nice compromise for losing ranged attacks. Of course, paying 100 points only gives you 5 clicks of life with a 17 defense and Invulnerability. It’s not awful, but there’s a non-zero chance that Iron Goblin can be wiped out with a single shot. If you pull him, take a look at all you’ve pulled and decide whether you want to play a ranged attacker who doesn’t quite synergize with the best part of his dial, or a Hypersonic figure that’s squishy as anything.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

035 Bullseye

While this is by far my least favourite Bullseye in the game, he’s a solid enough 50 point ranged attacker with both Running Shot and Sidestep for mobility, but he just doesn’t do much beyond making ranged attacks with Precision Strike. His boost to attack when he has a hindered line of fire is certainly interesting, but he just a ranged attacker with above average values. He’s going to do a lot with the Police in this set, but he’s just not that exciting.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

036 Elektra

Elektra’s a nice close attacker that depends on the age old combination of Stealth and Combat Reflexes for protection. Electra doesn’t have a lot of mobility, relying entirely on her Sidestep and Improved Movement: Hindering, but she’s not a terrible figure to drop adjacent to your opponent to force them to deal with. Offensively she’s killer with Flurry and Blades, followed by Precision Strike and Exploit Weakness, allowing her to get through any combination of defensive powers. Like Bullseye, she’s a little boring for a rare, but she can be deadly enough to be worth playing.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

037a Captain Marvel

Wizkids just doesn’t know what to do with Captain Marvel. Just like the version of her from The Mighty Thor it’s just not sure what it wants to do with her. A lack of Willpower reduces her usefulness, and starting with Charge and Super Strength is certainly a shame. Luckily when she takes damage she’s moving to Hypersonic Speed or Running Shot and Penetrating/Psychic Blast, admittedly with only average values. What makes me the most excited about her is her special defense power that gives her Super Senses and Energy Shield/Deflection, and heals her whenever she evades a ranged attack or hit by a ranged attack. Few opponents are going to make ranged attacks against her when they know it’s going to heal her, making her a surprisingly decent figure for sweeping up weakened figures. That being said, you’re paying 125 points for a figure that can’t hold up after taking a hit, and requires more than a third of your teams points. If you changed the powers from her first two clicks and her 3rd and 4th she would be an absolute beast that would run rampant in sealed, but as she is, she’s a weak close attacker that wants to Charge in, and then after taking a hit, regrets being up close.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

037b Captain Marvel

Vampire dials are just never as good as they look, but luckily, this vampire Captain Marvel isn’t a bad figure even if you never get to her first two clicks. Without taking into account her vampire clicks, Captain Marvel is a decent 100 point close attacker with Charge/Blades/Exploit for offensive powers and Impervious and Plasticity for defensive powers. She doesn’t get much weaker down the dial either, she loses the Impervious and picks up Toughness and Combat Reflexes and Flurry. Having Steal Energy traited gives her significantly more longevity than you would initially think, and makes the 6 clicks of life a lot more palatable for 100 points. If you do get to the top two clicks, it’s likely you’re going to win the game. The mobility and pure power she has with Hypersonic Speed and 4 damage, lets her stay away from her opponents while she rains blasts down on them. Tbhis is probably the best vampire dial of all time. That being said, while she’s strong, she’s nowhere near an instant win. She’s still a 100 point close attacker that needs to get up close and hit to take advantage of everything she’s got. Just think of her as an above average close attacker with the potential for more.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

038 Iron Man

The steam powered Iron Man is here, and he’s a pretty excting close attacker with a lot of bulk, and little mobility. 80 points might seem a little high for 6 clicks of life, with a majority of those clicks being 17 defense, and one going down to 16, but the top-dial 18 makes up for that. For his entire dial, Iron Man has a special Quake that lets him make a ranged attack after if no other characters remain adjacent, and he can’t shoot anyone he Quaked. The power sounds look a doozy at first, but ends up being incredibly lackluster. Yes Iron Man can potentially Charge in, Quake, and then shoot another figure, but with his lacking mobility (2 clicks of Charge) and his lack of Willpower, it’s more likely he’ll be based by someone with Charge or Combat Reflexes, making his Quake useless. Thankfully, he picks up Outwit and then Perplex, giving him slightly more viability on a team. If you do push him, he loses Charge, reducing his effectiveness even further as an attacker. He’s a mixed bag, he’s got Charge and Impervious on his first click, along with a massive 4 damage, but without Willpower. If he pushes he picks up Outwit, but loses both the protection and offensive fortitude afforded to him and the mobility from Charge. It’s a messy dial that never runs at full steam.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

039 Red Wolf

This Red Wolf is a interesting little present of a 50 point dial. His first two clicks are all about protection, with Probability Control and a special power that lowers damage dealt to adjacent characters, and hurts him instead. He can make characters with reducers almost impossible to hurt. After taking that damage, Red Wolf becomes a pretty straight-forward close attacker with Charge/Blades/Exploit and an 11 attack. He’s even gets Regeneration at the end of his dial, letting him heal back up to his defensive clicks. I like this dial because it’s doing different, but equally useful things at every point on it. Keep him around your bigger pieces for the Prob and the damage reduction, and then Red Wolf brings the pain himself. Top-dial Probability Control is going to be the biggest thing he provides, but it’s always nice having a figure that won’t lose it’s usefulness after being hit.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

040 Spiderling

Spiderling might not be the highest impact rare to pull, but she’s surprisingly good at tying up opposing characters with her two chances at Super Senses. Offensively she’s fine for her low 30 point cost, with Charge and Precision Strike, allowing her to get through any reducers, even if it’s just for a single damage. As long as you keep your opponents Outwit away from her, there’s a big chance she’ll be able to survive far longer than you would expect for a 30 point figure. Because her trait won’t matter in sealed, she’s not really specialized for anything beyond punching and dodging, so if you do pull her, use her to hold up your enemies bigger pieces while your ranged attackers go to work.

Clearly Spiderling is made for constructed, as a way to combat the Colossal Retaliation. I personally don’t think Spiderling is doing enough to combat it. Whenever I colossal retaliate, I assume that the retaliator will be removed the turn after I use it. Spiderling just insures it is, but doesn’t solve the problem, as the retaliator will still get its chance to attack, dealing the damage it was meant to. It’s just too little to be worth paying 30 points for.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

041 Spinneret

Spinneret is a like a more expensive Spiderling with the ability to steal powers from any Spider-Man characters on your force. Assuming you don’t pull a Spider-Man to go along with her, Spinneret has a pretty average dial for her price. Charge and Precision Strike are nice, but pushing to Incapacitate and Perplex doesn’t quite hit the same mark. At the end she picks up Flurry and Plasticity, making her a mean close attacker. The best thing about Spinneret is that she never becomes useless, always being able to interact with the game, and six clicks of life with Super Senses (and eventually Shape Change) make her last a lot longer than it would initially seem. That being said, she’s not doing anything particularly special. Even if you pull a Spider-Man to go along with her, she’s not picking up too much beyond Shape Change, Stealth or Sidestep from the common, or Outwit from the uncommon (if he’s not already using it). She’s a fine addition to a team, but I wouldn’t prioritize her over any of the powerful commons or uncommons.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

042 Jennifer Kale

Jennifer Kale is the obligatory support figure in this set, and she’s not a bad one either, as she brings Leadership with her support. She comes in at either 40 or 33 points, but I’d almost always prefer her at 33, where she’s only a push away from Support with a 14 Defend, requiring a minuscule 4 roll to heal. On her first 1 or 2 clicks, she’s got Mind Control and Precision Strike, insuring she’ll be able to do something offensive, but there’s really no need, as this set is full of characters with long dials and stop clicks begging for a healer to keep them healthy. Finally, her trait gives Support to all of the Man-Things in your life, insuring that they’ll always stay healthy too. They don’t have the longest dials, but it’ll be nice to be able to keep them top dial after a nasty engagement. I’m rating her a little higher than I normally would because of her fairly unique role in this sealed environment, and the absolutely fantastic Supprt/Defend combination she picks up on her last two clicks.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

043 Arkon

Before we get into all of the fantastic things about Arkon, let’s handle the elephant in the room. Every turn he’s going to be placed in an adjacent space. That means at the beginning of the game, he’s never going to be adjacent to anyone who wants to carry him, and for the rest of the game he’s always going to be moving into adjacency or into hindering, severely restricting his mobility. It sucks. It’s a huge annoyance, but luckily, you’re getting a 80-100 point dial for 60 points because of it. Arkon’s got a decent swing of 9 range (8 if your opponent is smart about moving) and an amazing special Penetrating/Psychic Blast that splashes penetrating damage to adjacent enemies. On-top of that, he benefits incredibly from his Untamed Weirdness trait, ignoring Energy Shield/Deflection and Combat Reflexes when he attacks, as well as protecting his 18 defense from opposing Perplex. He’s got a really strong dial, and an incredibly low point cost, making him a must play on any team that pulls him, just be careful about your placement, as even ending a turn adjacent to Hindering Terrain can completely ruin your next turn.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

044 Witch Hunter Angela

Witch Hunter Angela is the second figure in this set who’s purpose is to weaken Colossal Retaliation, but stops the initial attack, making her far better. On-top of that, Witch Hunter Angela does the same thing to Monsters, and Colossals who aren’t retaliating, letting her affect way more characters with her ability, especially someone like Goblin King. In sealed, there’s 11 figures with the monster keyword for this to trigger off of, making it surprisingly useful. As a close attacker Angela’s very well costed with strong values starting off her dial, and a great Charge/Blades and Giant Reach: 2. She’s got a great 50-60 point dial for a measly 45 points, which, when paired with her useful trait, makes her stupidly under-costed.

In constructed, she might, but probably won’t see much play. She ends up looking like a budget version of Unseen, but instead of a global effect, only assists characters within 4 of her. She’s also lacking the Outwit and Perplex, and incredible Super Senses that Unseen brings, forcing your team to lose out on a support figure for a close combat one. All of that being said, if Monster teams become a big part of the meta, keeping a 45 point figure around that both assists in hitting and defending from monsters is far less of a liability. Of course, the most commonly played monsters don’t need to roll dice to deal damage.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

045 Nico Minoru

While this Nico is really disappointing to me, she’s certainly not a bad figure to pull in sealed, or to throw onto a team in constructed. In my mind Nico should always have some sort of pick-a-power, or a vast selection of different powers. This Nico is solely a support figure with little else going for her. Telekinesis and Probability Control are awesome in sealed, and being able to re-roll the die again AND stop opponents from re-rolling makes her indispensable. 4 clicks of Probability Control is definitely worth the 40 points, but Nico isn’t doing anything else with her time. With only Stealth to protect her, I just really can’t find anything overly positive about her. She’s a solid, if boring figure that will certainly be a decent addition to your sealed team. I think my negative feelings mostly stem from a distaste for the design. Why make a Nico Minoru if you didn’t want to accurately portray the Staff of One?

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

046 Chase Stein

Chase Stein is the best 35 point taxi in this set. He’s able to carry 2 characters up to 5 squares, or if he’s working with his Runaway pals, up to 6 characters for 4 spaces. Chase has some of the worst mobility a taxi has ever been given, making him nearly worthless at that job. As an attacker he’s able to Stealth bust, but with 3 range, it’s unlikely to ever matter. The only thing Chase can do right is give other characters Improved Targeting: Hindering. If you really need to deal with someone in Stealth, hopefully there’s someone next to Chase who can do that. There’s no point in running Chase in anything other than the most dire of circumstances in sealed, and only if you need something to make your Runaway theme team work in constructed. This figure should not have been made, and is a waste of the plastic and paper used to make it.

Sealed: 1/5

Constructed: 1/5

047 Viv Vision

Viv Vision is expensive, has very, very few clicks of life for her points, and on-top of that, has absolutely average combat values. Even then, I really like what she brings to the table. With Invincible and traited Super Senses, Viv’s got a lot of protection, even if she’s got a short dial. What makes Viv worth playing in sealed is her defensive trait. Being able to choose when to give her a +2 defense and when to attack gives her some flexibility, and makes her a really great tie-up figure. Rolling attacks against a 19 defense with Probability Control, Invincible and Super Senses is a big waste of time for most figures. If you’re using her as tie-up, she’s also able to pass out her Probability Control to any character with a shared keyword (Robot being the only useful keyword), giving her a long reach for her re-roll. Offensively, Viv’s really not winning any awards. She’s got average to low values, and really depends on her re-roll to hit. Luckily, she does have one trick up her sleeve, Improved Movement: Blocking, letting her surprise your opponents by running through walls, or carry a friend to an unreachable spot. It’s hard to recommend her, with her low values and short dial, but I can see her being a huge annoyance in the right hands. Get her close to your opponents and force them to waste attack after attack on her, while the rest of your team moves in for the kill.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

048 Bushmaster

Here comes another strong addition to the Serpent Society in Bushmaster. Like his friends all the way back in Superior Foes of Spider-man, he’s got the fantastic trait that gives him limited move and attack all the way through his dial, as well as traited Phasing/Teleport. In sealed Bushmaster gives you access to cheap Hypersonic Speed, with the bonus of giving action tokens on good rolls. From a point perspective, you’re getting 5 clicks of life for 50 points, a steal when it comes with a click of Hypersonic Speed. Just remember that Blades/Claws/Fangs won’t work when he using his sneak attack trait, and he’ll be a solid secondary attacker. I don’t find him strong enough to be wowed, but he’s got a lot going for him in this showing.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

Super-Rare

049 Hulk

Here’s a figure that’s going to make you swear when you critically hit! Jokes aside, Hulk’s special attack power isn’t something i’m very excited about. It’s going to very rarely trigger, especially multiple times in a row, and is completely counter-intuitive. Rolling low isn’t something you usually want to do in Heroclix, and in this case, it really limits the kind of character Hulk can hit with his power. Characters with high defense values are usually the figures that require more than one hit to bring down, but this power rewards you for targeting characters with lower defensive values making it much easier to take down two weak figures than a single powerful figure. Aside from that special power, Hulk’s got a pretty decent dial for 150 points. He’s got some decent mobility, and decent values outside of damage, which is surprisingly low at the beginning of his dial. There’s nothing exceptional about his dial, but he does bring some interesting powers through his Spider-Island trait. Poison and Plasticity make him a mean tie-up figure for scooping up expensive ranged figures and keeping them stuck to him. His giant size gives him even more reach with his Charge and lets him punch people two spaces away while tying up others, and the Spider-Man Team Ability can offer a lot of value if you have the right team abilities to build around. He’s just a lot of points to dump into a figure with a fairly low damage value, and a vulnerability to Outwit. Even then, there’s something about that combination of Giant Size, Plasticity and Poison on a huge beat-stick that I’m interested in. I think he’s certainly playable in sealed, but he’s just going to be the ideal tent-pole.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

050 Iron Fist

Iron Fist is a mean close combat figure with a huge collection of powers spread throughout his decently long dial. He’s a mean tie-up figure with Poison, Plasticity, Combat Reflexes and Super Senses giving him a lot of potential damage and survivability while keeping whoever’s next to you tied down. Whoever ends up next to Iron Fist is going to suffer. On his first two clicks, Iron Fist is lacking mobility, but Sidestep pairs nicely with his Close Combat Expert, which is then followed by Charge/Flurry with Precision Strike. There’s not a single weak click down his dial and with Poison and Plasticity traited, he’s always a danger to soft targets. 75 points is a steal for a dangerous cross between a tie-up monster and a mean close combat figure that can tear through anything in the set no matter how much damage he’s taken.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

051 Spider-Queen

Just like all of her spider followers, Spider-Queen has a plethora of traited powers. In her case, she always has access to Mastermind, Plasticity, Poison, Perplex, Leadership and is able to heal herself 2 clicks every time she kills something. That’s all well and good, but you’re still playing 200 points for a figure with a absolutely terrible combination of powers on her top-click. Running Shot and Pulse Wave is amazing, but when you’re relying on Combat Reflexes and Mastermind for protection, suddenly that combination doesn’t seem so great. You’re going to need to move characters up adjacent to her after she runs to best use her Mastermind, because you can’t leave someone adjacent to her if you want to use Pulse Wave to the best of its abilities. Her Combat Reflexes pairs wonderfully with her Plasticity and Poison, but not so well with her ranged Mind Control and Running Shot, aside from breaking away. After taking some damage she becomes a mean colossal close attacker, with very little mobility, but as soon as she does, she’s unable to heal back to her Running Shot/Pulse Wave clicks leaving her with 4 clicks of life as a colossal target. Her powers and traits just don’t mesh together in any satisfying way, leaving you with an expensive figure that just doesn’t do as much as you would want. In sealed, she’s got high enough values and a long enough dial to do some work, but it lacks the synergy to make her a must play. If you don’t pull a strong uncommon or rare, you should definitely play her, you’ll just need to rely on clever placement and good back up for her to Mastermind to, to get the most value out of her.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

052 Regent

Regent is my kind of super-rare. He’s a huge expensive attacker with an ability that just makes you want to play him. Regent comes in at either a massive 240 points, or a much more reasonable 100. For those extra 140 points you’re really only getting 4 clicks of life, but with those 4 clicks, you’re getting a lot more mobility and extra clicks of his excellent damage power. This power is going to make or break Regent. It gives him protection from Outwit…and Pulse Wave…and Penetrating/Psychic Blast, something no other figure can match. It also lets him choose any Improved Targeting that he desires. Since he’s a giant, it’s pretty unlikely you’re going to need to choose anything outside of hindering to shoot characters in Stealth or blocking to get through walls. Either way you’ve got 8 range to out maneuver your opponents with. Regent’s also got the Baron Trait, giving him access to the wonderful +2 or -2 Perplex, or just a normal Perplex for himself. Finally, his last trait is the real kicker. Whenever he kills a 50 point or higher figure, he’s going to be picking up one of their powers for the rest of the game. This is what makes Regent a real threat. If left unchecked Regent’s collection of powers can make him nearly unstoppable, especially when they can’t be Outwit or Pulse Waved. Regent’s dial isn’t the most exciting, with some ranged power up front, and some close combat at the end. The biggest issue is the Blades/Claws/Fangs he gets at the end of his dial. You do not want to rely on a dice roll for damage when you’re paying 240 points. For sealed, and general play, I’m going to suggest playing him at 100. He’s not doing anything spectacular at his 100 point starting line, but he has some serious potential if he can get a kill. With his ability to shoot through walls, it’s not at all unlikely that he’ll be able to get a kill or two while being staying safely away from any opponents. He might not have the single most exciting dial on the planet, but the combination of traits and special powers gives him the edge, and makes him more than worth his 100 point price.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

053 Doc Ock

The Doc is the ranged equivalent of Spider Hulk, with a similar special power, but with the benefit of being way, way cheaper. For 50 points, Doc Ock comes in as a low mobility ranged attacker that depends on Ranged Combat Expert to do damage. Paired with Precision Strike and Ranged Combat Expert, his special power has a lot more potential than Hulk’s as he can get up to a 13 attack, and it insures he’s always dealing 1 damage through any reducers. With a 13 attack he’s going to be able to chain attacks off of 19 defense, yet, I still don’t find the power very good. Atleast Doc Ock has enough going for him at his low point value that he doesn’t need to rely on getting off a chain of attacks. If I pull him, I’m really not going to aim for repeating attacks, and instead just enjoy the few times I actually roll a 6 or lower and hit, and instead put my Ranged Combat Expert into the places it needs to be for the situation. You cannot rely on rolling a 6 or less.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

054 Big Boss Hill

Big Boss Hill looks like a bit of a push-over compared to the other Barons/Baronesses of Battleworld, since she only has access to the trait as a special power on her first three clicks. But Big Boss Hill is absolutely incredible for a 65 points. She’s a beefy taxi with high damage and attack values, and Leadership and Perplex, and who picks up Hypersonic Speed when another friendly character gets hurt. With an 18 defense and Invincible on her top-dial, it’s not an easy task for an enemy to hit her first, so expect to get atleast one Hypersonic Speed attack off with her. As a member of the Thor Corp, Big Boss Hill also has the Police Team ability, giving her some assistance to your ranged attackers. Her dial is 6 clicks full of reducers and close combat goodness with lots of Charge/Super Strength and Sidestep/Close Combat Expert keeping her dangerous throughout. There’s no reason not to play her, as she’s the most cost effective Baroness in the set, and she never stops putting out a fight.

In constructed she’s definitely not a shoe-in, but her low point cost and high potential from the Baroness power makes her one of the more likely figures to see play if the Thor Corp hit the field.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

055 Dino-Thor

Dino-Thor is definitely in my top 5 wants for this set, and although it’s mostly because he’s a dinosaur, he’s not a slouch on the map either. Dino-Thor is an awesome first click of Hypersonic Speed followed by 6 clicks that try to help him get back to that first click with Steal Energy and Regeneration. Dino-Thor seems to have everything going for him, but he has one drawback. Whenever he’s hit with an attack, he loses his Flight and Willpower. Alas, no one can keep a good Dino down, as it doesn’t slow him down that much. He’s still got great mobility and values throughout his dial, and the excellent Crack the Case shared trait that he will be making tons of free attacks with due to his long dial and the healing all throughout it. Dino-Thor is just a solid close attacker with a long life ahead of him. Dino-Thor’s last trick is certainly his most confusing, but potentially his best. With his special damage power he can reduce an adjacent opposing characters combat values by 1, and increase an adjacent friends by the same amount, giving a huge +2 swing to hit. It’s certainly finicky to pull off, but it’s going to make opponents think twice before basing this dinosaur.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

056 Witch Queen Le Fay

The next Baroness is one of those dials that you just have to play after you see it. Who doesn’t want access to every movement power in the game except for Earthbound and Stealth on the same figure at the same time? That gives her Sidestep into Running Shot/Mind Control, or Sidestep into Charge/Flurry, or just Hypersonic Speed! It’s an incredibly fun power, but the way it’s balanced, with the rest of the clicks with that power being plain as anything with only Pulse Wave and Mastermind, and losing all of the powers when she misses an attack feels a little harsh when you’re paying 150 points for her. That being said, With Queen Le Fay is a surprisingly mean figure with the Baroness trait giving her some very high values that are protected from opponents modified values with her trait from weird world. She’s a strong offensive attacker after she loses that mobility, but slightly falls behind in terms of overall swing, relying on a short 6 range with Sidestep to get around. For sealed I’d play her at 150, unless you’ve pulled another figure like Maestro. She’s strong at 100, but it’s not the high impact figure you’re looking for in the super rare slot.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

057 Nick the Fury

Nick the Fury is an expensive figure coming it at either a massive 185 or 150 points, but as an offensive figure in this set, he’s got an immensely high damage value, never dropping below 4. For Mobility, Nick’s only got Sidestep to depend on, but that Sidestep does come with his improved movement to get through blocking. As a baron he’s got the usual Perplex/Leadership, giving him even more reliable values, and a second trait that lets a friendly robot character attack a character hit by Nick the Fury for free. Sadly all the Robot characters are rare or super-rare and there’s only 4 characters, including Nick the Fury, so it’s unlikely to really be useful. It doesn’t really matter though, with high damage, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Pulse Wave and Ranged Combat Expert, he’s just so dangerous on every single click of his dial. This figure is going to easily pick off the cheaper second attackers in this set and earn you some points. His only let down is his below average attack value, and his large cost. He’s a big investment, but he’s hard to pass up when he can single-handedly tear apart a team of lower point figures.

In constructed he’s a little too expensive for what he provides, but his robot trait will have lots of characters to activate. Too bad Nick the Fury has limited mobility, making it a struggle to actually hit with him, and another character in the same turn. It’s pretty limited in effectiveness, especially when it’s attached to a 150 point character, but who knows what strong robot figures will be coming out in the near future. Keep an eye out, but don’t be surprised if he never lives up to his expensive potential.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

058 Thanos

Thanos is the next step up from Nick the Fury, he’s got huge values, a high point cost, and he absolutely decimates in sealed. Most of the set has some Battleworld keyword giving Thanos a 13 attack with 6 damage against anyone within his impressive 8 range. If you want to pay the 200 points for his higher points (which you definitely should in sealed) Thanos has Probability Control and a great special power that lets him move with Phasing/Teleport and then make an attack if he can roll higher than the spaces he moved. Since the average roll is 7 or higher, moving 6 or less is the safest way for Thanos to make an attack, that is…unless you have a taxi. Thanos’s power gives him FREE: Make an Attack, not make an attack at no cost, letting him make that attack at any time after he moves. With a taxi, Thanos can move 1 space (or even 0) and then get a carried up, and then make an attack. It does cost two actions, but it gives you a 13 attack with 6 damage against a majority of the set. The biggest issue with Thanos is the last few clicks of his dial where he reaches a 16 defense with Toughness. He’s just a little easy to put down for a 200 point figure. He’s still got some crazy high values though, and Steal Energy can keep him healthy if you can keep him hitting up close. This is the must play of the set, 13 attack and 6 damage cannot be overlooked.

His trait doesn’t matter as much in constructed, where he ends up being just a standard tent-pole figure with nothing exciting going for him outside of Colossal Stamina. He’s not bad, but he’s just not an exciting Thanos, or an exciting tentpole.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

059a Destroyer Thor

At 125 or 75 points, Destroyer Thor is the best member of the Thor Corp. Not only is he giant, making him a taxi for any of the other members, he’s got a 5 damage at 125 and a 4 damage with Super Strength and Exploit Weakness at 75 points. There’s just one problem at both point values, once per game, one of his attacks will deal no damage, and you know it’s going to be the most important attack of the game too. It’s a surprisingly big downside to a fantastic dial, that won’t be able to kill or maim any important characters until the second attack, or whenever your opponent lets you. Destroyer Thor has insane mobility with the choice between a double Sidestep (4 squares of movement a turn!) or a Sidestep and Flurry. Flurry is amazing, because it nullifies the negative trait, and benefits from his giant size. Of course, Destroyer Thor also has Enhancement and the Police team ability, giving him even more usefulness. Now the choice between 125 and 75 points is a big one. You might not be getting much for the 50 points, but the extra mobility and Flurry helps get around his trait and makes him a fantastic taxi, where as 75 points gives him 5 clicks of great powers and combat values, but it also makes it much harder not to waste a turn making an attack with him. The Charge really isn’t doing it for me, but a giant size character with the Police team ability is absolutely incredible. It’s easy to be adjacent and draw line of fire when you can see over anyone.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

059b Destroyer Thor

The other Destroyer Thor is as equally exciting as his non-prime counterpart, and is definitely worthy of the prime slot. Destroyer Thor is so expensive, but when you’re always dealing penetrating damage and potentially healing after you get hit, its hard not to see the value. Destroyer Thor doesn’t have a huge dial, but with Invincible down the dial paired with his Power Cosmic, he’s just hard to put down. I like that they’ve given him all the best powers to pair with his penetrating damage. Energy Explosion works wonders when it’s dealing 2 through all the reducers, same with Quake, and Poison is incredible when it tears apart your opponents slowly regardless of what protects them. If your opponent does get through your dial, Destroyer Thor holds on, and turns into any Thor you pull, or in constructed, any Thor in your collection, and is healed on-top of that. In sealed, regardless if you pull a Thor or not, you should be spending your Soul tokens to heal up, keeping him up at his Running Shot and Charge clicks.

In constructed I can see Destroyer Thor being played competitively in a point denial team. He’s absolutely hard to put down, and as he takes damage it makes the Thor he turns into healthier and healthier. It’s too bad he’s unable to equip objects, as Thunderstrike would make him unstoppable. I do tend to think he misses the bar just by a little bit. It’s not that hard to hit him twice for 5 damage and knock him to the stop-click before he can get around, and if that happens, you’re down 220 points. That’s why I find him so hard to suggest, for both constructed and sealed. Clearly he’s a tank that can potentially live forever, but I don’t know if he can hold out to the strength of figures like Maestro, who can knock him down, and keep him there.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

060 Gertrude Yorkes & Old Lace

I really don’t like this figure. It’s 30 points and 5 clicks of life who’s entire purpose is to call in a single dinosaur, and then stand around with Leadership for the rest of the game, OR act as a fairly weak close attacker that relies on Blades/Claws/Fangs to deal any damage. Like the rest of the Runaways, she’s good for her points, but she’s so low impact that I find her hard to rate. Old Lace is almost worth the 30 points by himself, but why want the 5 clicks of nothing with it? Gertrude isn’t nearly as good as she was in her last outing, but she’s cheap as anything, and the surprise of Old Lace can potentially turn the tides of the battle.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

Chase

This is one of those sets where all of the chases are fantastic for the points are worth playing. Instead of rating them, I’m going to rank them from best to worth for sealed.

061 Black Panther

When you’re playing Black Panther remember two things: 1, he has traited Super Senses, and 2, PROTECTED: Pulse Wave, when it’s written in all caps like that, Black Panther’s entire dial is protected from Pulse Wave, no matter what. Beyond those two abilities, Black Panther is relying on his trait to choose what powers he wants to use every turn. In sealed you’re going to want to rely on his Hypersonic Speed click and his Running Shot/Pulse Wave click. Look at his dial, and imagine your favourite click was copied for every single click of the dial. That’s what you’re getting when you’re playing Black Panther. If you want to pay the extra 100 points, you’re only getting 3 clicks for that price. Each of the last three clicks are a stop-click that generates two Incapacitate bystanders to tie-up your opponents while Black Panther uses his Charge, Flurry and Blades to wear down his foes. I really don’t think it’s worth the 100 points, unless you really didn’t pull anyone else in your sealed packs. Even though the three clicks bring a lot of interesting things to the table, I don’t find it worth the 100 points it costs at all, and I really don’t suggest playing it.

Ranking: 3/6

062 Namor

Namor looks a little disappointing for a chase, but I actually really like his dial and all of the interesting things he can do with it. At his core, Namor is a taxi who can carry four characters, and heals himself and one of those characters when he carries. Of course, Namor is also a leader, and his Leadership insures that he’s able to take tokens off of himself and the friends he’s carrying into the fray, making him a perpetual motion taxi, atleast ideally. When Namor is pushed off of his carrying movement power, he picks up Charge and Super Strength, with high attack and damage values, making him a real threat to the characters that knocked him to this click. Finally, he picks up his healing/carry ability and Regeneration at the end of his dial, letting him heal back to his dangerous clicks, making him surprisingly hard to put down without a lot of effort. I get that he’s not the most exciting chase, and he’s certainly not going to be making a splash in the constructed scene, but I think he’s a big dumb fun brawler with a really interesting taxi ability. He’s by far the worst of the chases, but I don’t think he’s necessarily a bad figure.

Ranking 6/6

063 Sheriff Strange

The last of the barons of battleworld is a mean constructed monster, that will be seeing play until it rotates. ID cards have been a huge part of the game, and are one of the most powerful elements you can have on your team. Sheriff Strange will immediately cut the power of ID Cards in half by forcing your opponents to use double power actions to call in characters. Now characters can’t have action tokens if they want to call in ID characters, slowing down a lot of strategies revolving around ID cards, especially things like the Blackbird and the Quinjet. In sealed he’s not as exceptional an addition, but he’s able to do a lot of damage for 100 points, and has Mystics and a stop-click to stop opponents from taking him out too quickly. He’s not the game altering figure he is in constructed, but I’m pretty sure you can find the space to include him at either 100 or 50. There’s not much more to say about him other than, expect to see him at all the upcoming ROC tournaments and constructed Wizkids opens.

Ranking 1/6

064 Iron Fist

For the first of the Avengers 10,000 BC, Iron Fist is a true chase figure. 75 points is a really great price for a above average close attacker that can’t be targeted from range when she’s adjacent to an opposing character. Not being able to be targeted like this protects her from a lot of the things that close attackers suffer from. If you can get her adjacent to even the weakest of your opponents figures, suddenly she’s safe from their strongest. If you’re worried about characters with close combat abilities picking her off, she’s safe from all of the strongest close combat powers in the game, as well as removing Combat Reflexes from adjacent characters. She might be the best finesse close attacker in the game, with ways around almost all characters, and ways to tear them apart as well.

Ranking 4/6

065 Agamotto

The past Dr. Strange is a solid ranged attacker with all the offensive, defensive and support powers you could ever want. 170 points seems a little high for what you’re getting at full, but 90 doesn’t exactly seem worth the 4 clicks you’re getting either. Agamotto’s strength comes from his various traits, the first of which lets him target almost any opposing character with his damage powers regardless of range or line of sight. At 170 that’s awesome, because he can re-roll attacks without needing to see them, but at 90 being able to Perplex a single value isn’t going to win him any awards. His next trait stops characters within 3 from using Perplex and Probability Control. There’s a lot of strength in that trait, but I think it’s just tied to something too expensive to rely on that power. He’s a strong enough figure for sealed, especially with all of the Perplex from the baron traits, but I don’t see him doing much more than that. He’s just too expensive.

Ranking 5/6

066 Odin

Odin is my personal favourite of the chases, with a long expensive dial filled with good values and strong close combat powers. He doesn’t have the tricks to protect himself that Iron Fist has, instead he’s able to make a single ranged attack as a free action once per game. With a 9 movement, 12 attack and 5 damage, he’s not going to be easy to stop from sniping a character off of your force. After he’s done that, Odin wants to get up close and personal and stop adjacent characters from healing and gets rid of their stop-clicks and their protection from Outwit. With Outwit on his first click at his 120 point starting line, he’s able to tear apart characters who would normally rely on their Power Cosmic to protect themselves. I think Odin has a place in the constructed competitive scene to deal with characters like Uni-mind and Goblin King that depend on their protection from Outwit to stay alive. With him adjacent, and another character coming in to hit, characters like Uni-Mind and Starfox can easily be killed in a single turn when they lose their defensive powers, and Odin can do that, and make a free ranged attack in the same turn. He’s really, really good.

Ranking 2/6