017 Red Hood

Red Hood is a jumble of disconnected powers but manages to stay dangerous on ever single click. With no reducers down his dial, and only a single click of Running Shot, he’s severely lacking as a primary attacker, especially in this set where Telekinesis is so rare. He’s a solid figure, just hope you manage to get useful powers when you get hit. In constructed his only use is potentially extending the life of 027 Robin, and even that isn’t fantastic. Red Hood isn’t bringing enough to the table to make him a threat anywhere outside of sealed, just try to keep him top-dial.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

018 Harley Quinn

For 35 points, Harley Quinn seems to be a mixed bag. Her main purpose is activating the “This is How I Deal With the Bat” trait, giving a +1 attack for other adjacent attackers, while simultaneously doing an okay job tying up opposing ranged characters. Her purpose doesn’t extend beyond harassment, and she does that well enough with Shape Change and Super Senses keeping her kicking when she draws your opponents attention. I don’t think she’ll be anything more than a point filler on Gotham City Underworld teams. She does have a surprise 2 targets, making her a work Incapacitate user.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

019 Hourman

Hourman is an extremely interesting prospect at 25 points. With Super Strength down his dial and the ability to create objects to smash people with, he has a lot of value as an attacker, even without any sort of move and attack. The one thing that keeps Hourman from falling into the pit of a useless close attack er without move and attack is Indomitable. Even though it’ll take you two actions and two turns to make a close attack with him, he won’t have to push to do it, keeping him, potentially, top-dial longer. Even when he is hit, he has 5 clicks of life making it unlikely that anyone will ohko him. For 25 points, you could do a lot worse than this surprisingly offensive close attacker that can create his own objects to smash with.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

020 Tattooed Man

Remember how I mentioned that Hourman is only decent as a close attacker without move and attack because he had Willpower? This is exactly why I said that. Tattooed Man is very, very weak, verging on unplayable. He has no range, no move and attack, and relies entirely on Stealth to keep him alive. Stealth with a close attacker with no move and attack is utterly useless. Yes it keeps them alive, but it doesn’t help in any other conceivable way. You can’t surprise someone by bursting out of Hindering Terrain (which he doesn’t ignore) and hitting them because you CAN’T MOVE AND ATTACK.

On-top of that, Tattooed Man has a base 2 damage, meaning you don’t even want to move and attack with him if you could because he’s not doing any damage. Before you mention him as a tie-up figure, I know that’s his purpose, it’s just sad he’s not very good at it. Plasticity on his first two clicks keeps him tying characters up for the one turn he moves there, and maybe one extra turn if he rolls his Shape Change, but even if he does, his only option for reliable damage is, Poison, or his movement power that boosts his damage when he has a token on him. That’s right, for 60 points he’s only doing 3 damage when he pushes to do it.

He has two clicks of value in the middle of his dial, with Blades/Claws/Fangs and Exploit Weakness, but with no Plasticity on those clicks, there’s very little chance of getting any use out of them unless you’ve hidden yourself in hindering and are hit to them. When you’re only possible strategy is waiting until your opponent chooses to deal with you, or sacrificing yourself as a tie-up figure, you’re a waste of points. Somehow I didn’t mention that this monstrosity is a whole 60 points. What were they thinking when they made this? How does 60 points make this waste of plastic, yet Robin costs 40? Unbelievably bad, if you pull him throw him straight in the trash. He also has the Suicide Squad team ability, but unless you’re on your last click, there’s no reason to ever heal him, as his first two clicks are complete trash.

Sealed: 0/5

Constructed: 0/5

021 Ra’s Al-Ghul

140 points for 6 clicks of life is already starting me on a bad foot, but his high values and varied powers make Ra’s a threatening force on the battlefield. The Lazarus Pit is the most interesting part of his kit for two reasons. The first is just the ability to give anyone on your team free healing, basic but useful, while the other reason is far more creative. Being able to give one character Battle Fury allows for a much easier counter for Shape Change. Throwing a strong melee piece into the Lazarus Pit really can make a difference in a game where you’re dealing with a lot of Shape Change.

Ra’s dial is decent, with high values, and a lot of move and attack. The biggest issue he faces is the lack of reducers on his dial, especially in a set filled with the Outsiders team ability, which absolutely devastates him when it robs him of his defense powers. Outwit is pretty rare in this set, and is always welcome, as well as the ability to cancel the Batman Ally team ability, which is especially helpful in this set where Stealth runs rampant and there’s little counter to it. Finally, Blades/Claws/Fangs always feels like such a waste on a high point character like this, leaving him as a threatening attacker with an over costed dial. Great in sealed, overpriced for competitive.

Sealed: 4/5

Competitive: 2/5

022 The Atom

Well, there’s now evidence that Wizkids point formula doesn’t exist. For 25 points you’re getting a 10 attack, 5 damage attack on your top dial. This is some unbelievable value, especially when you realize that he’s also rocking Sidestep, keeping his threat up to 3 spaces away. This is a guy you’re going to want to drop adjacent to opposing characters, potentially paired up with another one of him, boosting each of their defenses to 20 up close. None of this matters though, because he’s a 25 point character with 10 attack and 3 damage and Close Combat Expert. He’s a simple character, but incredibly effective. There is no other 25 point character as good as The Atom (not including entities).

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

023 Manhunter

Damn, someone messed up on Manhunter. What’s the point of a Incapacitate focused character when they only have a single target. Either Manhunter needs a 3 damage on his top click, or he needs a second target. For godsake the 35 point Harley Quinn has two targets, and she has a bunch of other useful powers. Manhunter is just such a let-down for a potentially useful generic. He makes up a little room with his ability to carry, the Police team abiltiy and 7 range.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

023b Manhunter

The Prime Manhunter is pretty great for this sealed environment, with his trait that grants him 18 defense to all adjacent characters. 99% of the time, you’re going to choose the pseudo defend part of his trait instead of the +1 attack boost. Strangely, opponents adjacent to Manhunter can take that 18 defense too, so just be aware before you throw Manhunter into the fray. Manhunter also has an interesting movement power that lets him switch spaces with an opposing character, disrupting placement and potentially creating a kill-box situation. It’s better than Alpha One’s, just because it’s a free action instead of a power action, but outside of that, Manhunter just isn’t a very effective attacker. In sealed, play him to break through Stealth with Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering, as one of the few characters who can do that, he has a place.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed:2/5

Technocrat

This has been a wild ride from fantastic characters to utter crap, and it looks like we’re back on the upswing with Technocrat. Technocrat’s value comes solely in his attack power. With that power, he can potentially boost his damage to 6, and it’s not in some weird fringe scenario either, all you need to do is be 6 spaces away from your target. Of course,Technocrat also has the Outsiders team ability to insure he can hit whoever he wants, because he’s relying on a 10 attack, which isn’t ideal, but is fair when you’re dealing with 6 damage. At the end of his dial he becomes more of a support figure, being able to choose between Outwit and Perplex, until he chooses again or is hit. The last great thing is his Improved Targeting: Ignores Elevated, which to anyone who has played or played against Nick Fury knows, is devestating. Technocrat is going to be a threat in every possible venue, there’s just no other figure that offers such a huge hit for so few points.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

025 Hawkman

Hawkman is a pretty boring figure, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad. He’s a pretty strong close attacker with 11 attack and 3 damage, and he has surprisingly great reach with a 5 movement Charge. You’re going to be happy pulling one in sealed solely for his ability to carry. Hawkman does suffer from having only 3 clicks of life, and really suffers from pushing, but for 30 points he’s surprisingly mobile, and has a really great first click. If the Atom didn’t exist, Hawkman would be a little bit better, but even with the existence of a cheaper, more offensive figure, Hawkman lives up to his point value.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

026 Bronze Tiger

Bronze Tiger packs a enormous punch with Sidestep, Charge and Flurry paired with Precision Strike means that Bronze Tiger is threatening 6 damage up to 6 spaces away. Defensively he’s not anything special, with average values are some lackluster defensive powers. It’s hard to be critical when a 60 point figure has enormous Charge range and Flurry. Bronze Tiger is enormously threatening, and insanely cheap, if you pull him play him. Competitively he brings the pain with the League of Assassins keyword and through that, the League of Assassins team ability (which is basically a slightly worse version of Midnight Sons), and the Martial Artist’s keyword to share with wild card martial artists .

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

027 Robin

Jason Todd’s Robin is a little weak compared to Dick Grayson’s excellent dial. There’s nothing wrong with him, but there’s also nothing outstanding about him. In sealed he brings along Outwit, which is a life saver, but outside of that he’s just a little lacking. His values are good enough for his points, and he does ignore Elevated for movement, but not Hindering, making his Stealth slightly less valuable. His claim to fame is potentially coming back as the Red Hood on click 4. Red Hood’s click four is a high powered Flurry click, giving Robin an interesting twist to his design. If you use Robin to tie up opposing characters, and pick away at them with his Close Combat Expert, your opponent will have to take into account that killing Robin has a 50/50 chance of bringing out a new, deadlier close combat figure. This threat might be enough to push Robin out of mediocrity, but it’s unreliable as it relies on you rolling higher than your opponent. Overall he’s a pretty basic dial, with solid values, useful Outwit and the potential for a very surprising burst of damage on the turn after he’s K.O’d. Play him for the Outwit if you need it, and really think about using him if you pull a Red Hood.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

028 Vicki Vale

Vicki Vale is this sets version of Betty Brant. Both need to be pushed to get to their good click, and both offer a fairly useful The World Needs to Know trait. Vicki Vale is a indispensable in sealed, as she’s one of the few figures that gets Probability Control. She doesn’t offer a lot more value than that, but to be a good figure she doesn’t really need to. 25 points for Probability Control is basically unheard of outside of Atomica, and when Atomica rotates, Vicki Vale will be there to take her place. That being said, she’s nowhere near as good as Atomica, even if Atomica’s Probability Control needs action tokens to be used. The delay in getting to it and her own frailty will keep her from being as effective as Atomica, along with the fact that she isn’t tiny. Her The World Needs to Know trait is basically the Outsiders team ability, with the bonus that you can still reduce the targets values, and that they can’t make use of powers like Defend or the Batman Enemy/Justice Society team abilities.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

029 Calculator

Calculator is the glue that binds Batman Enemy teams together, and helps initiate the This Is How I Deal With The Bat trait more reliably. That’s the real reason to play him, but like FF Kingpin before him, he also brings some other tricks to the table. His special Probability Control gives you a little more protection against tent-pole teams but it has limited effectiveness in sealed, especially in a set with so few high point characters., and his Penetrating/Psychic Blast, while not doing a lot of damage, will have a semi-reliable attack value when you borrow someone elses with the Batman Enemy team ability.

Clearly, Calculator also needs the Calculator team ability, which will be of use in sealed, mostly to copy the Outsiders or JLA team ability to be either a further hindrance or give him a more reliable defense value. That being said, if you don’t pull any of the high attack Batman Enemy figures, then Calculator is a lot of points to spend to not do very much. In constructed he’ll shine if there’s enough Batman Enemy figures to borrow attacks from. Unlike Kingpin, Calculator doesn’t have an 11 attack top dial, and so relies on other figures to boost everyone’s attack.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

030 Two-Face

This is definitely my favourite Two-Face ever made, he’s either a support with an 18 Defend and Perplex, that eventually becomes Support, or he’s a dangerous Running Shot, Energy Explosion figure that cripples any figure hit by his attack. Both sides of Two-Face have value, especially in sealed where Perplex and Running Shot often times reign supreme, but what really makes Two-Face threatening is his traits. The first allows him to heal for 1 on every turn, yes it potentially puts you on a dial that’s not appealing at the time, but that healing is incredible for a 65 point figure. The second trait’s Probability Control is going to be incredibly hard to remember to use, but be very helpful. If a 2 shows up on one of the dice, the range of attack rolls is between 3 and 8. 2/3 of those outcomes are under 7, meaning that if you often roll really badly, Two-Face will be helping you more often than not. Two-Face is really excellent just because of all the options he brings with him, especially his Probability Control. There’s no other figure in the uncommon slot that really compares to Two-Faces variability. This is a fantastically designed figure.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

031 Kobra

There’s one thing I absolutely love about Kobra, and that’s his ability to move himself and two Kobra Fanatics for a power action, and while doing that carry two more fanatics with the Underwold team ability. That’s the limit of Kobra, a taxi for Kobra Fanatics, and not a very good one at that. Powers wise he can Mastermind, but why would you want to hurt your fanatics to keep this guy alive? 4 Range Mind Control is something interesting int his set, and he has the benefit of getting through Super Senses, but its 4 range. It’s not that Kobra can’t be useful, as he does bring Leadership, and at a point value high enough to potentially take tokens off of figures in this set. It’s that, at his point value, you could be getting so much more in almost any of the figures in this set. If you have the right Mastermind fodder, and enough Kobra Fantatics then maybe, maybe think about playing Kobra, but the rest of the time, you’ll just be disappointed by this lackluster figure.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

032 Merlyn

Merlyn is the closest thing to a straight forward ranged attacker in this set but he brings some interesting tricks of his own to keep himself out of trouble. For 80 points, Merlyn has an ideal top-dial for this set. With an 11 attack, and Precision Strike, his ranged attacks are going to be able to hit almost anything (Stealth not included) with the bonus of getting through the mass of Super Senses in this set. He’s packing a 7 range and 2 targets, giving him a lot of flexibility at range, and letting him pick off multiple weakened characters, or robo-penguins in one turn. After making that Running Shot, Merlyn will have Stealth from his trait, which is super useful for extending Merlyn into dangerous areas, but also leaves him vulnerable when he clears tokens.

Later in his dial he gets a ton of close combat powers, making him a strange mix of close and ranged combat, but with his defensive power on top of the Stealth, there’s very little chance of Merlyn actually being hit from ranged attacks, forcing your opponents to knock him to his Blades/Claws/Fangs and Flurry click with close attacks. In competitive, he’ll be another figure that might help the League of Assassins keyword and ata appear, the only flaw with Merlyn in a League of Assassins team is that his top-dial defense, even with combat reflexes, leaves him vulnerable to close attacks.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5