Greetings everyone! It’s been a long time since my last content-driven article, so I thought I would surprise everyone with something, and it’s a little different. Captain America & The Avengers is right around the corner, and now that we know the entire set list, I figured I would talk about my favorite figures from the set.

I’m not sure if you all read my last update over on Clix Fix two weeks ago, so let me give you a summary; things are still very crazy for me and the idea of pumping out weekly articles is just not realistic. However, I’m going to try my best to write something every once in a while as I really do enjoy it.

I mentioned in my update that set reviews are just out of the question these days as they take an incredibly amount of time and energy, both of which are rarities these days. While that does make me sad, I thought of a new way to talk about new sets – my top 3 picks for each Rarity! This is a great way to get an idea of what I like from the set and gives you a chance to cherry pick through the set if you can’t afford a lot of figures, you lack storage, or if you’re just curious which figures I think are great without the gigantic bog-down of 10,000+ words.

I’m gonna jump right into these and then I’ll talk about the set some afterwards.

THE COMMONS

001b Josiah X

It was a really tough pick between Isaiah and Josiah with the Prime winning out. Both of these dials are incredible for their cost and I do agree that the Living Legend trait does give Isaiah a slightly better value for the points. However, Josiah has a massive 6-click dial for only 50 points, three clicks with 11-attack, and brings Empower for four clicks rather than three. The biggest reason Josiah gets the vote is that ability to reduce penetrating damage for anyone next to him or anyone that shares a Keyword with him. How many times have you had a big tank get hit with a wimpy Pen/Psy shot reducing them to an overcosted paperweight? 50 points is a cheap price to stop that and keep your big guys safe.

006 Sharon Carter

Support characters are usually the best commons in the set and do tend to see a lot of play, and this set does a fantastic job of boosting S.H.I.E.L.D. as a valuable theme team. Sharon is an excellent addition as she can make better Leadership rolls with Captain America and assisting ranged attacks while in Stealth. Sharon earns a top 3 spot for her damage power though as she can Perplex up a friendly attacker and then give them Outwit. For S.H.I.E.L.D. teams, this is some great support.

010 Quake

Daisy has some serious potential to be a game-changer against characters that lack Combat Reflexes or Charge. She can attack as though she was 5-squares away (allowing her to actually hit someone in a 6th square) giving her an almost better version of Running Shot that can get around ES/D, and then knock people back as though she was in that square. This can lead to some very creative encounters as she can knock an enemy closer towards your team, throw them off elevation, or into walls much easier than normal. The best part is her power doesn’t require her to see the square she’s quaking; it’s within her range. Not to mention she has a pretty decent dial, too.

THE UNCOMMONS

018b The Captain

Another close finish between Captain America and The Captain, but I just had to give it to the b dial. 6-clicks of life, all with 11-attack, and a resurrection mechanic for 45 points. This dial is the final straw to show that there is no such thing as a point formula, completely shattering what we think of when it comes to 50 points or less. More than any other figure, this guy shoves power creep right in your face whether you want it or not. And I didn’t even cover that he can take any Marvel team ability that’s copyable.

025 Spymaster

Spymaster doesn’t have the strongest dial in the world and compared to The Captain, you might say he’s a rip-off. But Spymaster’s utility earns him a Top 3 slot for his ability to form a new named theme team with Spy. Unlike Captain Venom’s ability to boost his team, Spymaster doesn’t require any attacks or interaction to help his newly-formed theme team; he just makes them better at what they already do. Hiding.

028 Trickshot

Not the most devastating damage-dealer in the set, but that’s fine because Trick Shot is almost always going to deal damage. 12-attack with Precision Strike and 3-damage means he can deal damage to virtually any character in the game, and a 7-movement Running Shot with 8-range means he’s going to stay pretty safe. My favorite part of Trickshot is how insanely good he is at making your team virtually untouchable from range, as long as they stay fairly close together. Chances are your opponent isn’t attacking with someone higher than a 12-attack, so your odds are most likely going to be better than theirs to evade the attack. And if they’re using a tentpole to do so, you’re holding them off pretty well for just 50-points.

THE RARES

038 Steve Rogers

We already knew Avengers was one of the best named theme teams these days, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting a massive boost this set, so why would I not highlight a figure that can cheat a low-cost figure onto that theme team? Heard of Vulture Prime? Yeah, that dude’s on the Avengers now, or S.H.I.E.L.D. to gain access to all those cheap support figures and help him win map roll. Steve comes with his own Perplex with Outwit later on and the wonderful Living Legend trait to make him that much harder to kill. Pound-for-pound, Steve is so disgustingly cheap for the value he brings.

043 Hawkeye

Trickshot might be great at saving your allies from hits, but Clint is much better at dealing a ton of damage. Precision Strike with 3-targets that breaks the rules, or Ranged Combat Expert that does the same? Sign me up! Leadership helps offset his action cost, and his trait means he can potentially keep attacking every single turn. My only complaint is that Clint can’t see through hindering terrain. For shame.

049 Taskmaster

I’m seriously loving these call-backs to original dials, and Taskmaster kicks things off with not only a nearly identical opening click to his first appearance but ups the ante with the return of his Udon outfit, one of my favorite outfits in comics. Thankfully this is a fantastic dial as well. Huge attack values with Perplex and the safety of Stealth make him a terror for so few points. The layered defenses or speed powers really helps him adapt to whatever he needs and keeps him relatively safe with that unassuming 17-defense. Thanks to his own Perplex, he can always sit at a 20-defense depending on the fight, which is pretty damn good for 60 points. Team Player and the Power Elite trait are just gravy.

THE SUPER RARES

053b Punisher War Machine

I didn’t want to add the Super Rare Prime, but I cannot deny how much better he is than War Machine. While Rhodey can make two attacks a turn, Frank has a better dial and can attack every single turn, and sometimes twice a turn, and never has to stop. He’s also cheaper and can add in a replacement KO effect to prevent scoring him. What sets him over the edge though is that impressive attack power that gives him Energy Explosion and Knockback. With two targets, Frank and completely scatter the enemy team repeatedly. On the right map, Frank will be throwing people off elevation like crazy. If you don’t want to spend the money (read: me), War Machine is a fantastic alternative.

058 Immortal Hulk

There’s a reason why there’s a whole thread on the Realms dedicated to this guy. He’s dumb; plain and simple. While some may argue the activation click hurts his overall playability quite hard, reality is that it takes a staggering amount of hits and damage to finally KO this guy. If he doesn’t activate, he’s an amazing ID card battery that’s nearly impossible to KO and has Outwit. WHEN he does though, he’s going to run train over everyone. Since he sticks around so long and is only 100 points, he should be stacking up a lot of Vengeance tokens, meaning if you happen to land on click 5, you can make four attacks a turn. Hulk will see play.

061 Mandarin

I think it’s a safe bet to say Mandarin will also see major play. Easily breakable and able to bypass the cumbersome and time-consuming act of equipping items, Mandarin can very easily make up for any shortcoming thanks to the insane amount of powers/abilities he can gain from said his rings. While I do think it’s kind of cheesy that you need convention LE’s/ROC prizing to make him good, there’s no denying that this is one hell of a value. Even if you want to pay 30 points and give him all 10 rings, he’s still a deal. Then there’s his damage power that gives him access to the holy trinity of support powers, or potentially all 3 whenever he needs.

THE CHASES

070 Thor

This is a pretty meaty dial for the god of thunder, but nothing too crazy from what we’ve seen befo- wait. He’s 125 points with 9 clicks, a STOP click, 12-attack, 5-damage with Prob, and can make two attacks a turn?! Good gods, this dude is crazy-good! Not only is Thor incredibly potent and highly damaging for his incredibly low cost, but he’s also a terribly challenging sniper to take down. Thanks to the Lightning marker, he’s rocking a 20-defense up top from range, and has Poison and Mystics for melee attacks if you want to try and get through an 18. Pen/Psy is another new trick for Thor as he’s usually given Energy Explosion or something else in the attack slot, so giving him the ability to punch through most figures for 5-damage is pretty brutal for how cheap he is. This guy and the next are perfect examples of just how bad power creep is in this set.

074 Ultron

Did you really think this guy wouldn’t be here? I’m not gonna list stuff like I did with Thor – Ultron is just dumb. 14-attack. 14 freaking attack. I get that he’s a throwback to the old Veteran Ultron, but c’mon. This guy is just dumb, and not fun to play against. Three STOP clicks, free Mind Control, 8 range with three targets, always reduces damage by 2, every big support power, 5 clicks of 12-or-higher attack… the list goes on and on. Sure, he can only heal 2 clicks on his STOP clicks from his Regen, but oh wait, WizKids gave him exactly that many clicks to push him back into his top-dial on his first two starting lines. Even at 50 points, this idiot is broken as hell. Probability Control, Stealth, Free Mind Control, Invincible, and still a STOP click with Impervious and Regeneration. There’s no stopping this guy. If you don’t have some way to silver bullet him before he reaches you, you’re done. There’s no coming back. There’s no counterplay. If Ultron hits your team before you can hit his, that’s pretty much lights out. (Of course, this is not the case, but it’s what you’ll experience at most non-professional games)

075 Peggy Carter

Some people think Peggy really isn’t that good, and those people aren’t realizing how solid this figure really is. For no cost, you’re instantly making any Captain America of 50 points or more exceedingly better. Even if Peggy comes out and takes almost-lethal damage, she still has the Living Legend trait to bring her back, plus she drops the Becky Barnes bystander and give you a semi-permanent advantage. If you decide to play Peggy, she’s still incredible for 75 points. 7 clicks with a staggering 19-defense, 12-attack, and 4-damage is nothing to laugh at, and while some might question the Defend, I will gladly take a 19-defense for my entire team. Slap the Asgardian Shield on her (for the next 5 months it’s legal) and make her basically unhittable, at least against anyone but Ultron.

I have to agree with what the general consensus is with this set; not that exciting when announced but amazingly redeemable. No other set has shown power creep like this one, and while the vast amount of 17-defense values do undercut that some making most figures glass cannon’s, the dial lengths and staggeringly high attack values sure does age pieces as new as a year old. This is a good thing and a bad thing as it makes things much easier for newer players, but makes previous figures much worse.

Amazingly, there aren’t a lot of Captain America’s in this set and most of them weren’t revealed until the last days of spoilers. There are, however, a metric ton of Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Thunderbolts/Masters of Evil. That’s another great aspect of this set – a great helping of villains, something the Marvel sets had been lacking for quite a few years.

What are your thoughts on the figures I picked? Who do you think the best figures are by rarity? Should I have picked others? How stupid is Ultron? Let me know in the comments section!

Thanks for joining me, everyone! Hopefully I’ll see you again soon with another article, and Aaron and I have been talking about me joining in on the Podcast fun, so we’ll see how that goes. Until then, remember that the real fun begins when you’re Two Clicks From KO!