Diamonds in the Rough is an exploration of characters that otherwise have fallen through the cracks into obscurity. These characters aren’t “meta” worthy, but they have some redeeming features, that I would like to bring some focus to.

Ok, before anyone says it, yes, Red Tornado might not be “in the rough” so to speak, she has had some presence in serious tournament play, and maybe she’s wrecked house in your local scene as well, BUT, i’ve been asked a couple times just why this piece is so effective, and so I’ve decided to cover her. Red Tornado is a Rare in an Uncommon slot, she brings unparalleled power to your team, unlike any other character in the game. Now, before you think I’m exaggerating, understand that, while other characters might do more damage than Red Tornado, and have better values, there is no character who can as reliably deal damage. She doesn’t need to roll dice to deal 2 damage a turn with her trait, and it’s a fact in Heroclix that not having to roll dice is infinitely better than having to.

RIDE THE CYCLONE: Red Tornado can use Force Blast normally or as a free action. When she activates Force Blast, after actions resolve, if the target is still adjacent to her, deal that character 1 penetrating damage.

This is the reason Red Tornado is good. Unlike the other articles, where I first look at the building blocks of the figure (the powers, values and abilities), and then look at what makes them special, Red Tornado completely relies on that trait to be incredible. For a free action, Red Tornado can choose an adjacent character who has Combat Reflexes or Charge, or who has their back to something, and Force Blast them for one free Penetrating Damage. Then she can choose to attack, or she can take a power action, to Force Blast that character again, dealing another damage. She picks away at even the biggest characters with this Trait. Remember, if the opposing character’s back is to the wall, you’ll deal the penetrating damage and the knock-back damage. This is what makes her a terror.

Outside the Trait, she doesn’t exactly struggle. Her defense is an average 17 for most of her dial, which is supported by Super Senses, making Red Tornado a little lacking on the defensive side. Offensively, she has a solid 3 damage throughout her dial, and average to high attack values. Her top clicks sport Outwit, Telekinesis and Sidestep, giving her some real mobility and supporting ability to assist her team. After 2 clicks, she loses the Outwit and Telekinesis for Incapacitate and Shape-Change, losing a lot of her variety, but still allowing her a lot of options for taking it to your opponent. On her last 2 clicks she gets Exploit Weakness, giving her a chance to finish strong, and take down one of their bigger units.

The best part of Red Tornado is the variety she brings to a team. Opening she can Taxi your other units, Telekinesis them into the battle, and Outwit important powers on the opposing team, later in the dial, she can tie up bigger pieces, picking away at them with Force Blast. The reason she’s so powerful is because she can threaten almost every piece in the game. By overextending her you can insure one penetrating damage to any character, not that, it’s a solid strategy in putting her into danger, but being able to threaten any character up to 11 spaces away with at least 1 damage is the greatest tool in your toolbox. On top of all that, she has Willpower, which is always great. Outside the penetrating damage, Force Blast is just a great power to have, especially as a free action. Being able to force tie-up pieces out of adjacency, or push people off of buildings to their death, can be insanely effective, especially when you can do it for free. Red Tornado’s other huge upside is the amount of thing she can do for free. By spending no actions she can Sidestep up, Force Blast for 1 damage, and Outwit for another character to come flying in. In that way she’s very much a team player.

Flaws: Red Tornado’s biggest issues are her lack of reducers, and her fairly average stats. For 95 points, she’s not the cheapest piece that you’re bringing to the table, and she can quickly be picked off by a figure with Precision Strike, or one with high damage, because the only defense you’re relying on is Super Senses. Her values aren’t bad, they’re just very average. Her attack is never higher than a 10, and her defense never higher than 17. On the bright-side, they don’t fall much, and only right at the end of her dial, so she’s consistent. As an attacker, her lack of move and attack can be problematic, but this is lessened by her ability to move and use the free Force Blast to deal damage.

Fixes: Red Tornado can be insanely effective by herself, but she really needs other characters to succeed. Her ability to pick away at strong characters only makes your big pieces stronger. In terms of resources, The Blue Lantern Power Battery gives her a chance to re-roll her Super Senses, and gives her more supporting powers by granting her Perplex. Giving her the Wall construct allows her to create blocking terrain to knock people into, as well as giving her cover to move up the field with. The most important thing to realize when playing her, is that she can’t handle enemies by herself. Use her with someone who can make the big hits, use her as a way to weaken them before those hits.

Keywords: Red Tornado has three keywords. Reporter, Robot and Wonders of the World. Reporter offers a lot of interesting team options. Blazing Skull from Nick Fury, is an especially good option, offering a cheap beat-down piece that heavily benefits from TK and a Taxi. Another good option is the Wizkids OP Kit Spider-Man, who’s heavy defense, but lack of damage can really be improved with Red Tornado weakening his target. Of course, Superman always is a solid choice for a teammate. In terms of other support, Jimmy Olson offers Perplex at a cheap 25 points, enabling Red Tornado to do a little more on the map.

For Robot, there is just endless amounts of supporting pieces, and big beaters. The Ultron swarm from Age of Ultron offers some offensive potential with Red Tornado. Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy can cut down on opposing characters movement, by stealing their carry ability, increasing the mobility of your force, and in terms of support, Toymaster from the new Worlds Finest can heal and boost up Red Tornado. Of course, Justin Seyfert, even though he doesn’t have the robot keyword, can be insanely effective with any robot, and can really make Red Tornado a terror.

Wonders of the World is her only named keyword, and it’s not the greatest. A lot of the big pieces are a little weaker, like both versions of Superman 2. Batman from the main set offers a lot of reliability, being able to become super powerful with Super Strength and Perplex, and can really take it to unaware opponents, especially with Red Tornado’s telekinesis. Green Lantern is a very strong piece, but only benefits from Red Tornado’s ability to weaken the opposing characters. Power Girl and Huntress offer a lot of offensive power. With Red Tornado able to carry Huntress and TK Power Girl, they might be a good way to go.

Closing Thoughts: Red Tornado’s main use is pushing opposing character’s off of their strong defense abilities with her Force Blast, but she’s not a one trick pony. With a strong showing of powers, she can support and carry your team up, before she gets in, and starts weakening all the opposing characters. You know how a really strong strategy is to move up, and Outwit/Perplex the character your big beater is coming in on? Red Tornado offers an improved version of that. Instead of making it more likely your piece is going to hit that character, you might push them off of a strong defensive power like Impervious, onto Toughness, or Invulnerability, while still offering the option to Outwit. When you play her, you don’t have to think, “will my figure KO his target in one hit?” instead, “will my figure KO his target in one hit, after Red Tornado tears into?”. Instead of focusing on one target, weaken the entire group, leaving them open to a big piece like Superman to take them down in one fell swoop.

If you have any suggestions for another Diamond in the Rough, comment on the bottom, and i’ll add them to my list.