001 Spider-Man

Constructed: As with most character driven sets, the 001 slot is saved for that character. Sadly, unlike Invincible Iron man and Superman, this Spider-Man isn’t quite up to snuff. For 70 points he’s 6 clicks long, which is entirely respectable, and his values aren’t terrible either, especially looking at his first two clicks. What really drags him down is a lack of Indomitable and his need to get close to be effective. With 8 Movement Charge, he needs to get in really close to get a hit off, and the only defense he has to rely on is an 18 and his special Super Senses. He’s not outright bad, but his mobility is lacking, a troubling situation for a Spider-Man figure, and his lack of reducers means he’s going to be torn apart by figures with Precision Strike. Close combat figures need to either pump out huge amounts of damage, or be able to avoid damage while getting up close and Spider-Man doesn’t do either particularly well.

Constructed- 2/5

Sealed- 3/5

002 Black Mamba

Black Mamba is the first figure to feature Sssneak Attack, the shared trait for all of the Serpent Society. This grants both traited Phasing/Teleport and traited move and attack! Even though the move and attack is only 3 spaces worth, it’s still incredible to have, especially when you can ignore anything during the movement. Black Mamba sadly can’t use this to great affect with her 9 attack and 1 damage. It does become a little more appealing on her last two clicks where she gains Precision Strike. Aside from that Black Mamba offers another interesting way of dealing damage through her special Smoke Cloud. Dealing penetrating damage makes this power a lot more viable, as dealing damage without needing a roll is always incredibly valuable. This power pairs with her damage power, Essantic Trance, which allows her to make free attacks against characters occupying her Smoke Cloud, giving her a free attack, which locks down the hit character, and then dealing 1 penetrating damage on her next turn makes her a character to look at. She’s not game-breaking, but she provides enough interesting and unique abilities to allow her to be potentially competitive.

Constructed: 4/5

Sealed: 5/5- The amount of annoyance she can create for 60 points is unparalleled in this set. If you pull her use her.

003a NYPD Officer

NYPD Officer is basically just a walking Police Team Ability paired with Enhancement and Sidestep. If you’re running some ranged attackers, NYPD Officer is definitely an asset. His Trait also extends his use if you’re running him with other character with Police Team, sadly there really aren’t many options now that Banshee isn’t modern. When you’re looking at generics with the Police Team, NYPD has a lot of competition, especially from D.E.O Agent, and Genoshan Magistrate, but with Sidestep and Enhancement, he does create his own niche.

Constructed: 2/5

Sealed: 2/5- There just isn’t enough ranged power to make him necessary.

003b Captain Stacy

Somehow Captain Stacy costs less than NYPD Officer, but provides a better support as an Outwitter. You really aren’t paying for anything other than his special Outwit, and his Outwit isn’t a ton better than regular Outwit. Because it says opposing characters “can’t use”, he can shut off Perplex, Outwit and Probability Control granted by resources and equipment making him slightly better, but overall he’s not giving you much to work with, and feels a little plain for a prime.

Constructed- 2/5

Sealed- 4/5- It’s always good to have support powers in sealed.

004 Cape Killer

This generic comes in at a steeper 50 points, but he provides a lot more straight forward strength than most generics. His top click is providing 8 movement Running Shot, 10 attack Incapacitate and 3 Damage. For a cheap figure, he’s fine, but he’s not bringing nearly as much to the table as the 50 point figures from Uncanny X-Men. He has tricks to take away opposing characters Flying, but by giving them a token there’s not much chance that they’re going to be able to use that symbol in any effective way. Top dial, his values are solid with 10 attack and 3 damage, but after that he’s stuck as a Plasticity figure leaves him lacking as an offensive figure.

Constructed- 1/5

Sealed- 3/5- A cheap filler with enough offensive potential to be effective and a power that will help keep Ares and Morlun down.

005 Thug

4 clicks for 10 points! Yes, Thug isn’t going to be doing much besides tying characters up, but there’s a lot worse things you could get for that cheap. Thug’s only real role is to increase the roll for theme teams at the beginning of the game, or fill in gaps in your point value for theme teams. It’s best to play Thug with a team that provides bonuses to characters that share keywords, but Thug is just a finishing touch to a team, not a figure that’s going to be reliable for combat.

Constructed- 4/5

Sealed- 2/5- He’s cheap, but it’s so unlikely you’ll be playing a theme team for him to benefit from.

006 J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson is the Jimmy Olson/Apprentice for this set, but costs 5 points more and is only worthwhile on a team with the Spider-man Family keyword or Spider-man Ally team ability. This is a set full of Spider-Man’s so he’s going to be pretty effective. In constructed there’s a few figures that are going to love JJJ outside this set. Cwsop 025 Punisher is definitely going to like having him around to boost his attack or range and make him even deadlier.

Constructed- 3/5

Sealed- 5/5

007 Betty Brant

Oh Wizkids… what have you done?

Betty Brant has a couple of tricks that will keep her in rotation, but the most interesting of them is virtually worthless in this set. She gives -1 speed to all opposing characters with the wing symbol, and all values if that character is named Hobgoblin. Sadly this sets Hobgoblin doesn’t have the wing symbol making this special power questionable at best. Outside of that Betty has two other useful abilities: Perplex on her second click, and a trait that stops healing. Pushing Betty makes her very useful, as she’s only 15 points, and the ability to stop a character from healing probably won’t come into effect much (except in sealed against Morlun). Sadly, the -1 to speed is a unique modifier, and so you can’t run three of her to make flying Running Shot and Charge users absolutely useless.

Constructed- 3/5

Sealed- 4/5- Perplex is nice to have, and the ability to shut down Morlun is even better.

008 Spider-Girl

Spider-Girl is one of the few figures in the set with Probability Control, sadly she can only use it on herself and people targeting her. When paired with Energy Shield/ Deflection, she can be incredibly hard to hit, so she’ll want to keep people at range, this is going to be a little tricky though as she has 4 range total, forcing her to get close to hit with Penetrating/Psychic Blast, and likewise, putting her in danger of being based and getting hit up close. The second half of the dial makes her a little better at surviving up-close with Plasticity to hold them if you want them there, and Force Blast if you want them gone. May Parker here doesn’t have a lot going for her besides her ranged attacks and penetrating damage, and there’s better options for both in this set, but if you’re running another Spider-Man family character, she can easily pull them in for an attack.

Constructed- 1/5

Sealed- 3/5

009 Rattler

Rattler wants to quake and not much else, and with a 3 range quake, he’s going to have lots of chances to do it. Sadly Quake doesn’t work with his Sssneak Attack trait, so he’s going to have to do it over two actions, or get close enough with Sidestep. You’re going to want to get him close to ranged attacks to stop them from making attacks, and if you manage to do this, Rattler is more than worth his 60 points. With Energy Shield/Deflection and Shape Change, he’s got the defense he needs to get in close. I just don’t see it likely that he’s going to be able to get in close enough to make use of his Quake, even with its extended range. If there was more Telekinesis in this set, then maybe, but the best you can do is carrying him. If you do get him in the middle of your opponents, he’s going to unleash havoc, and cripple all ranged attackers around him.

Constructed- 2/5

Sealed- 3/5

010 Green Goblin

Green Goblin is a fantastic support figure for sealed, and still a decent one in constructed. With Perplex and Enhancement, and an improved Mastermind, Green Goblin isn’t just a useful supporting figure, but a useful all around attacker, even with his low 9 attack. With the Sinister Syndicate team ability he’s going to be copying any other members on your team giving him atleast a 10. At the end of his dial he’s getting close and personal with Charge and Super Strength making him a serious threat, and it’s onle on his last click that he loses that Perplex. For 65 points there’s a lot worse you could be playing.

Constructed- 2/5

Sealed- 4/5

011 Kingpin

I want to like Kingpin but I just can’t get behind him. You’re paying 75 points for Outwit from anywhere on the map, and while that definitely has it’s uses it doesn’t work well with his Leadership and Mastermind for which he needs to be adjacent to use. He’s just too expensive to be a viable Outwitter, even with the amount of utility his Outwit provides. Outside of his Outwit he has some close combat potential with Charge and Sidetep/Close Combat Expert, but not enough to be exceptional. He’s fine if you need Outwit, if not, look somewhere else.

Constructed- 2/5

Sealed-3/5

012 Dagger

Dagger is so good. If you pull her play her, no questions asked. For 35!! points you’re getting a a medic with the ability to dole out 1 penetrating damage to any character she attacks, and for that she has 3!! targets. Yeah she only has 3 clicks of life with no defense powers on any of the clicks, but you’re getting more than you’re paying for, and never overlook how powerful Support is on a team, especially in sealed.

Constructed- 3/5- She would be higher if Night Nurse didn’t exist

Sealed- 5/5

013 Stilt-Man

Stilt-Man’s effectiveness in sealed is completely reliant on the rules set by your venue. If they want you to have the physical leg pieces in order to run them, then Stilt-Man is going to be a lot less good. But if they let you just pay the points without the physical leg pieces Stilt-Man is a must play. For 65 points Stilt-Man can activate Colossal Retaliation, a powerful ability in any format, that makes attacking your pieces a dangerous affair for your opponent when Stilt-Man can jump up near them and punch them for 3 plus knock-back. Stilt-Man also has the fantastic power that allows him to ignore all but 1 damage if you remove a leg piece making him a dangerous offensive piece that can’t be taken down without a lot of focused attacks.

Constructed- 4/5

Sealed- 4/5 (5/5 if you’re able to pay for leg parts without physically having them)

014 Shocker

Shocker is the competition for Spider-Girl, as both offer ranged attacks and penetrating damage. Spider-Girl gets the benefit of a longer dial, but Shocker doubles down on the ranged side with knock-back and the ability to fire through blocking terrain. His vibro-gauntlet power is a lot of reading involved, and activates about three separate things every time he attacks, so he’s got to be good. With the relatively low attacks in this set, the -1 to attack values when he hits is going to be pretty effective, and on-top of that, being able to give adjacent Sinister Syndicate characters pseudo Force Blast will help in a set full of Sinister Syndicate members, making Shocker a figure you don’t want to pass on.

Constructed- 3/5

Sealed- 4/5

015 Tarantula

Tarantula might be one of the strongest figures in this set. For 45 points he can do between 1-3 damage to almost any figure in the game with a combination of Precision Strike and the penetrating damage he does for each action token on the hit character. On-top of that he has baked in 4 range “Charge” with Leap/Climb and a 10 attack. Later he gets Sidestep increasing his move and attack range to 6. He’s one of the best secondary attackers in the game, and he’s incredibly, incredibly cheap. You’re going to want to get 2 or 3 of him to fit on any team.

Constructed- 4/5

Sealed- 5/5- Having Precision Strike is a godsend in a set where a lot of characters have Super Senses.

016 Vermin

Vermin like Rat King and Pied Piper before him isn’t going to make much of a splash in constructed. He’s 80 points, putting him on the high end of the bystander spawning spectrum, and his rats just don’t compare with the ant swarms from Ant-Man. In sealed though, he’s a revelation. He can pump out his tiny rats and have them carried around by your bigger characters as tiny walls to tie up characters and force them to take down or face being poisoned. In a set with few reducers, having 2 free poisoners out at any time will always be useful. Vermin himself isn’t doing much but sitting back and pumping out rats. If he does get into the thick of it, he can start using his rats to deal 3 damage with poison, even getting through Impervious, making him a danger up close as well. He’s just too expensive to get close though, and his few clicks of life makes it too dangerous to be adventurous with him.

Constructed- 2/5

Sealed- 4/5