The newest Marvel set, Secret Wars: Battleworld, releases tomorrow and while I already covered the full set review last week on Two Clicks From KO, today is all about reviewing the Fast Forces and release day figure.

Fast Forces and Starter Kits have been pretty outstanding as of late. While we no longer get a special item like we used to that would incentive veterans a bit more, it’s much more typical for 1-3 figures to stand out and possibly warrant the price tag making these sets worth their MSRP. I’ll review each of the figures individually and then give my take on whether or not you should pick one of these up or purchase the few singles that I think are good.

Regarding the release day figure, it seems to be a toss up on whether these are any good. I for one didn’t like the Penguin figure from Batman: The Animated Series at all, but I loved the Rocket Raccoon from Avengers: Infinity. Since there’s really no way of purchasing this figure sans the secondary market, all I can do is rate the figure like a normal release.

Without further adieu, let’s get into it!

Battleworld Fast Forces Review

FF001 Princess Powerful – Molly had a dynamite figure in the regular set with unreal stats and click length for just 25 points. This version is double the cost and loses out on her Stealth/Sidestep trait and eeks in another click of health and some more resistance to damage with Invulnerability mixed in. Unlike the common in the set, Molly can be pushed and has Charge/Sidestep on her entire dial meaning you don’t have to add in another figure to make her work. However, her attack values are fairly mediocre since they dip so hard, and her tired clicks are painful. I would much rather play the What If… common Molly Hayes for the same points, just over a year old. Score: 3/5

FF002 Rose Red – If you like Smoke Cloud this is absolutely a must-buy for you. Generating 12 hindering markers is pretty stupid for just 40 points, and the amount of free damage she can pump out with Poison really ups her value. Unfortunately for Rose, she doesn’t really do anything else. With very low attack values, she’s unlikely to land her Exploit Weakness or Support later in the dial (even with Defend), and her naked 16 defense (that pushes into 15) means that the cheapest bystander or generic can take her down in one hit. On the right team, she’ll be a monster. Score: 3/5

FF003 Alex Wilder – If it weren’t for the amazing uncommon in the main set, this would actually be a pretty decent dial; Leadership, Outwit that cancels Outwit/Leadership on top of other powers, and Incap is a nice control piece. I especially like the entire dial of Outwit. Notice I said decent though. His values aren’t very good and without Stealth to protect him in the earlier phases of the game, he’s a very easy source of 50 points to pick up. Unfortunately for him, the uncommon just blows him out of the water. Score: 2/5

FF004 Lucy in the Sky – Move over, Sam Alexander! We’ve got a new multi-target pulse wave piece and she doesn’t hurt herself for hitting everyone for 2. This is a fantastic dial. Good values, Running Shot + Pulse Wave on two clicks while Pulse Wave is present on every single click makes Lucy a bargain at just 60 points. She’s very squishy with just 17 ES/D bumping down to a 16 with Barrier (and eventually a 15), but that’s okay because any heat she draws means your primary attacker isn’t getting hit. If they leave her be, she’s going to either single target Pulse someone for 3 or she’s going to absolutely destroy swarm/mastermind teams. Score: 5/5

FF005 Sister Grimm – So basically this is a piece with Prob on her entire dial with a very situational better Prob. Stealth is nice with her 6 range, but 10 attack and 2 damage is sub-par for 50 points now. 17 Super Senses isn’t going to keep her all that safe either, and her only real offensive capability anywhere on the dial is Quake, which she doesn’t want to use since melee pieces won’t care about her Stealth. I guess it’s good when they finally close the gap on her? Unless they have Charge or Combat Reflexes of course. Score: 1/5

FF006 Talkback – 6 clicks for 50 points is very good, but not when your first two clicks are 16 defense with literally no powers in the slot or anywhere else to help, meaning no Shape Change, Stealth, etc. While the lower portion of his dial has some decent aggression, his attack dips way too much to warrant spending 50 points on him. Not to mention that his special movement that provides healing can only get him so far since you really don’t want to put him back onto his 1st or 2nd clicks. Score: 1/5

Compared to the main set versions of the Runaways, this is a rough outing for the kids. Aside from Lucy in the Sky/Karolina Dean, none of them are worth picking up in my opinion. Rose Red/Klara Prast is decent and some people might squee with joy with that Smoke Cloud power, but I don’t see it useful when I look at the dial I’m getting for those points and how easy she is to simply take out. I like that they form a 300 point team when all of them are played together, but Fast Forces sets like The Defenders from Avengers/Defenders War was much better and stronger.

My advice on this set is to pass on it and pick up Lucy in the Sky on the secondary market. Same with Klara if she’s your thing.

Release Day OP Figure Review

100 She-Hulk – This is a very meaty dial for Jennifer and I really like it. Jen has had some good results in the last year and there are two good versions of her in the main set, but I think this one takes the cake. Fantastic values with really strong defenses and nothing but elevated terrain standing in her way makes up an all-around good piece. Tack on Perplex for herself with already good stats in literally every slot means you aren’t forced in pumping a low value to offset her cost; you can freely use it how you want either to hit harder, hit easier, Charge further, or shell-up with 19 Invincible. Indom is yet another fantastic aspect of her. I love that her last two clicks are massive hulk outs; even if she never gets to use them, swinging for 6 or 7 damage on a piece that didn’t quite get KO’d is awesome. Score: 5/5

I’m a bit surprised that this Fast Forces set wasn’t all that great. WizKids seems to love putting a lot of love into the Runaways dials, yet figures like Chase Stein got hosed in both versions. Also, I’m a bit confused why in a Battleworld set we got two versions of the Runaways when they weren’t all that big of a portion of the overall storyline. I would have loved to see a Weirdworld Fast Forces to make people go “Whoa, what’s that! Who are those characters!?”. As for the release figure, if you weren’t already attending a release day event, I strongly recommend going and trying to get your hands on Jennifer. I honestly think she’s the strongest of her 3 versions in the set, even without a Baron of Battleworld trait.

What are your thoughts on this Fast Forces and Release Day Figure? Think I was brutally honest or did I go over the line (that’s a foul, Smokey)? Let me know in the comments section below!

This weekend is the big event; The ROC World Cup! I’ll be watching all day on Saturday and I plan on posting my annual ROC results and musings article next week here on Clix Fix (which means a possible double article Tuesday?!), but it might end up on Two Clicks From KO. Who knows, it’s a week away! To anyone that’s attending the big event, I wish you much luck!

See you guys next week!