Hi there and welcome to the Tactical Decision segment. This segment will focus on talking about powers, combat abilities and how to use them. For this first installment, I decided to focus on one of my favorite powers: Stealth.

So what does it do?

Here’s what our friendly neighborhood PAC card has to say about stealth:

Let’s just clarify that statement for a sec since this can get a bit confusing for new players. What is a hindered line of fire? A hindered line of fire is a line of fire that crosses INTO or THROUGH a square of hindering terrain. What does this mean for your stealthy character? It means that your character doesn’t actually have to occupy a square of hindering terrain. As long as the line of fire being drawn crosses a square of hindering terrain, the line of fire can’t be drawn. Below, for example, no matter how badly Tanarus wants to smite Batgirl, a ranged attack’s line of fire would cross the hindering terrain, making the attack illegal.

Using Stealth Defensively:

What a lot of newer players don’t realize is how stealthy character can benefit the non-stealthy characters in a team. One odd rule about stealth is that while lines of fire can’t be drawn TO you, they can’t be drawn THROUGH you either. It’s like nobody can see you, but for some reason, they can’t shoot past you either. This makes a stealthy character a pseudo-barrier that you can use to protect your non-stealthy figures.

Tanarus would hit Supergirl pretty hard thanks to Penetrating/Psychic Blast. At least he WOULD if he could draw a clear line of fire to her. Batgirl, however is right there, messing up what would normally be a 9-to-hit. This means that next turn, Kara will be able to smack Tanarus with top-click stats thanks to Steph.

Another thing to remember is that stealth is always active throughout you opponents turn, preventing all lines of fire from being drawn. That means if an ability says that a line of fire has to be drawn to you, unless the one taking the action ignores hindering for like of fire purposes, it won’t be a legal move. Yes, even if they’re adjacent to the stealthy figure. You can punch them, but you can’t outwit them. This comes in really handy if you have a stealthy figure with Super Senses, impervious or shape change. Normally, you’d be vulnerable to getting your defensive powers outwitted, making you that much easier to hurt. With stealth, though, they can’t draw lines of fire to outwit your powers. They can punch you, but they can’t “see” you. That’s right. Stealth laughs in the face of logic.

Positioning

One reason a lot of new players may get confused about how stealth works (assuming that it only works when you’re in hindering terrain) probably lies in the fact that most players who are familiar with it’s use always, as much as possible, keep the figure in a square of hindering terrain. This has more to do with maximizing the power than it does with just activating it.

Here, Steph, while protected against Tanarus, is open to ranged attacks from the Joker. Had she been occupying the hindering terrain, Joker’s only viable target would have been Supergirl. Thanks to her top-click impervious and relatively deep dial, she could easily shrug off the attack. Batgirl, however, only has toughness to keep her safe. Joker’s attack would significantly cut into her dial.

Where do I get this wonderful, logic-defying power?

Stealth is usually found on… well… stealthy characters. The undisputed lords of sneaking around, pissing off Fantomex players are members of the Batman Family (and, by extension, Batman Inc.). The Batman Ally Team Ability grants the un-outwittable use of stealth. This leaves the ability movement slot available for other powers like leap/climb, charge and flurry.

On the Marvel side, the black and grey incarnations of X-Force all start out stealthy. A severe lack of characters that can fly or use improved movement, however, makes it hard to effectively move around aggressively, making ambush tactics a more effective plan for the X-Force.

Also look for it on things that go bump in the night. Characters notable for being able to sneak around like Daredevil, Catwoman, Hand ninjas and characters with the spy keyword more likely than not have in on their dial somewhere.

What’s the catch?

Given that entering hindering terrain is the most effective way to use stealth, not having a form of improved movement can make life difficult for you thanks to the halved movement penalty you get for moving out of hindering terrain. Some teams have a way to work around this. The X-Force, for example, has the X-Force ATA which gives improved movement: hindering. Arkham Asylum inmates can hope for a lucky roll with their ATA. Other than that, however, you better not plan on going anywhere soon.

Countering Stealth

Is actually not as hard as it seems, with the right team and positioning. Stealth doesn’t protect against close combat attacks. It also doesn’t prevent a character from being in an area of effect. Stealth won’t save you when an adjacent teammate is blasted by energy explosion. The Superman and Avengers Initiative TAs both give the character who has either one improved targeting: hindering terrain. Deadshot has a solid 8 range AND ignores hindering terrain for line of fire purposes (and has top-click stealth, himself). Pulsewave, of course, renders stealth useless as well. There are other methods, but we’ll talk about those at another time.

Sounds really cool. How badly do I need this on my team?

Well, that depends entirely on you. If the meta is ranged-attacker heavy, stealth can make it very hard for your opponent to take you down while you get your team into position (talkin’ bout YOU, Fantomex). Having a character with the Batman Ally TA on your team can be helpful if you’re running a lot of wildcards. Since the loss of the Alfred pog, however, Batman Allies are harder to splash, especially if you want the thematic bonus. The DC10 Nightwing can bring the TA to any team but he costs a somewhat heavy 98 points.

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Given that this is the first installment of this segment, I know there’s a lot of polishing to do. Feedback is very much welcome. What parts weren’t discussed enough? Does it need more pictures? Should I get rid of the pictures entirely? Did I get any of the rules wrong? Which combat ability or power do you want to read about next?