BE WARNED I HAVE THE TENDENCY TO BE LONG WINDED

Here’s a link to the dial and evidence thread on HCRealms where jaysol put a ton of work into collecting all the dials. If you’re interested in a character, check out their dial on there.

http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=563576

Deadpool and the X-Force

001a Deadpool- This lead Deadpool makes a break in the lackluster leads that have shown up in recent sets. Even without his Shifting Focus comrades, this Deadpool is hard to put down, and is incredibly deadly up close. With a downgraded Flurry, and Blades down his dial, hes sure to deal some damage, especially if you’re smart and use the first attack of the Flurry to target a weaker character to insure the 3 damage gets through, before swinging at a bigger target with the second. Overall he’s not an incredibly exciting figure, but his close combat prowess makes him a worthwhile addition to your force, especially if you can find some way of getting him into adjacency. Interestingly enough, he also follows the double Precision Strike of Lady Shiva with double blades on click 5. Competitively this Deadpool makes a good case for the variety in the shifting focus trait, he’s not one you’ll be calling on much, but he does bring a useful tool set to those figures.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

001b Dreadpool- Dreadpool is a rainbow of powers held together by a really useful trait. Because his powers are all over the place, it’s hard to discuss them, as the powers he has really depend on how much damage he’s taken. The weakest part about him is his less than stellar values at the second half of his dial, where he does gain Pulse Wave, but loses the 10 attack and any move and attack with it. His 8 range is higher than average giving him a lot of value, especially in sealed, but when you’re playing him, you’re going to do so with his trait in mind. First, it gives him Steal Energy, which, while not being a life saving power, will often trigger with his Charge and Flurry, and second it gives him free attacks. In sealed, the keyword you’re going to be choosing will directly relate to your opponents second most powerful figure, so that you can use his big attacks against the biggest boy, and save your free attacks for the weaker figure. Competitively, he has a chance to see play because of that free attack, and his ability to move across the map and take a shot without the need for Running Shot or Charge. The downside is his high 130 point cost, but it’s not so terrible as to remove his usefulness. After Nick Fury is cycled out (which we could honestly be a year away from) Dreadpool will have a lot more breathing room, his only downsides being his high point cost and the unreliable nature of his dial. This is definitely another really great common prime.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

002 Wolverine- 9 clicks of life for 70 points is a very agreeable dial length, and especially when the last three clicks give him some free action Regeneration. This Wolverine isn’t going to be the best for controlling space, as he doesn’t have any range or move and attack, instead, his plan is to base opponents and rely on his incredible dial length to survive to the next turn where he can make his attack. There’s something valuable in sealed about a figure that needs an incredible amount of damage to remove from the board, and Wolverine is going to be a threat to any team that doesn’t have a reliable source of major damage, as with Blades/Claws/Fangs, he can reliably deal damage to any figure. Playing him is pretty simple, place him wherever would be the most annoying for your opponent to deal with, insuring that he’s far enough away from any figure that can deal massive damage to him. If you’re playing against a Wolverine (which you will be because he’s awesome and a common), you’re best bet is to run away from him whenever you get the chance. With a lack of improved movement, an average speed value, and no real way to keep opponents adjacent, Wolverine can’t do much if you manage to break away from him, and without Willpower, he’s going to struggle to keep up without taking pushing damage. For him to see play in constructed, we’re going to have to go through a massive change in the metagame. It’s definitely possible with the smaller dials and lower damage values in more recent sets that this Wolverine will become a figure played solely on how difficult it is to kill, but more than likely he’s not going to escape more casual games. Either way, he’s a fun and fantastic figure.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

003a/b Foolkiller

Foolkiller is a nice little ranged figure that’s main purpose is going to be picking off characters who’ve missed attacks. With an attack boost of +2, he’s easily getting to 11 or 12 attack on a majority of his clicks, and paired with a 3 damage and Penetrating/Psychic Blast, he’s going to be hard to avoid. Foolkiller is a little expensive for what he brings, but if you pull a tie-up figure that can force your opponents to risk attacking a character with Combat Reflexes, he’s going to be getting the attack boost almost every turn, and, on-top of that, if he manages to k.o a character, he’ll heal a click. Foolkiller is going to be a discount version of Cable, for if you don’t manage to pull Cable. He’s going to be a strong figure in sealed, but only if you don’t pull another strong ranged attacker.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

004a/b Madcap

Madcap is an experiment on Wizkids part. Either Madcap will be the most powerful, broken figure in this set, or he’ll be a failed experiment where 5 clicks of life just cannot possible work for 100 points, let’s take a look. Madcap has two majorly impressive traits going for him, the first forces adjacent characters to target him with attacks instead of any other figure, and the second heals him whenever he takes damage. Together they make a potentially broken figure who can absolutely live for ever while tying up any figure dealing less than 4 damage to him. The issue come from figures that do more. If a character hits him with an object, and deals more than 6 damage, he’s dead, and you’re 100 points down. Now it’s true that, that object is gone, but they’re up 100 points, which is an enormous amount in a set with a lot of figures with lower point values. I think Madcap is a figure with potential, especially in sealed, and if you want to take the risk, you’ll either end up in a game where Madcap has based your opponents entire team, who can’t break away from him, and can’t deal him any damage, allowing you to completely sweep them, or you’ll end up in a game where Grizzly saunters up beside your Madcap and one shots him with a heavy. He may entirely be worth the risk, but for 100 points I can’t easily recommend him. Competitively he has a lot of potential as a reverse Bizarro Green Arrow, and maybe with support from Red Son Wonder Woman, and an entity, he’ll never have to worry about dying, but I still think he’s just too fragile and too expensive to be a huge hit. All this being said, I love the design of this figure, and hope that Wizkids makes more like him.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

005 Massacre

If you had 50 points left on your team, would you want a piece with Charge, Flurry, or Support?

How about all three? And Precision Strike on top of that? Yes, Massacre is a huge bundle of close combat goodness, with the added bonus of Support top-dial. His third click is even better than his first two with Charge, Flurry, Blades, giving him a potential 12 damage (or 2 if you’re a pessimist). He’s a very solid close combat figure, that you’re going to be happy you pulled in sealed. Competitively, he’s a close combat figure, making him less useful than his ranged brethren, but the Support might allow him to see some play. Maybe.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

006 Mercenary

Everything I said about Madcap’s design is reversed here. Instead of an interesting experiment, Mercenary comes off as a failed idea. For 35 points you’re getting Harvey Bullock with an extra click of life, Energy Explosion, some close combat potential and no Enhancement, Police TA, or a Sidestep granting trait. Oh yeah, and on-top of that if your opponent kills him there’s a 50% chance they score him AND he gets added to their team. The only potential Mercenary has is someone far more creative than me finding a way to abuse your opponent having an easily scoreable 35 point figure on their force. There’s just no upside in Mercenary that makes up for the enormous downside. If, the opposing figure didn’t score the points when it switched sides, then Mercenary would be a little more interesting, with the chance to score an extra 35 points on your opponent, but still would be relying on a mediocre dial.

Sealed: 0/5

Constructed: 0/5

007 Ninja

God, Ninja might actually be really good. For 15 points you’re not getting much on the dial, unless you place her in hindering. With Stealth, and a boost to her range and damage, she’s throwing some powerful shurikens that can pierce through any reducer. Without Hindering, she’s not very useful, but I’m certainly not turning down a cheap and powerful generic Martial Artist. In sealed, you’re going to be getting an enormous value for a very small investment, and in constructed it’s decent range and damage might actually make it usable as a point filler at the very least. I think you’ll be seeing Ninja’s around competitively, both for their strangely powerful Shurikens, and their cheap access to the Hydra team ability. This figure will see play on almost every sealed team as a use for some remaining points, and 10/10 times Ninja will make up its point value.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

008 Rogue Scientist

Rogue Scientist is a simple figure, you pull him, you pay 35 points for him, you play him. Outwit is unbelievably helpful in sealed, and for a 35 point figure to have Outwit and Sidestep, and be able to give Outwit to other characters makes him an instant play. Just play him, there’s no point in fighting against it.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

009 Chipmunk Hunk

The only problem with Chipmunk Hunk is the difficulty you’ll have in finding extra actions for him to attack with. Being able to move 8 squares and Quake for free makes Chipmunk Hunk a prime disruptor for your team. If there’s a lot of elevated terrain on the maps from this set, he’s value increases exponentially as he moves around, knocking around scientist and ninja alike. He will be invaluable against teams with lots of smaller point figures, and against bigger figures, he can still force them into bad positions, leaving them vulnerable to attack. He also gets Perplex at the end of his dial, giving him lots of value on each of his 4 clicks.

Sealed 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

010 Tippy-Toe

Tippy-Toe is interesting, but she’s a little limited in her effect, and especially in a set with a lot of low point characters that are really effective, Tippy-Toe ends up a little short. Free damage is always nice, but in this set, requiring line of fire to a character in Hindering Terrain is almost useless due to the amount of Stealth in the set. If Tippy-Toe can’t draw a line of fire because of Stealth, then she doesn’t bring much else to the table, and because her power says “printed” Hindering Terrain, Smoke Cloud wouldn’t help either. Defensively, Tippy-Toe is pretty great with an 18 while being Tiny with Super Senses. Her last two clicks give her Exploit Weakness, which is pretty exciting for a tiny figure that can be carried up by your main attacker. Half of me really likes Tippy-Toe, and thinks of her like some equipment that a standard character can carry around to deal 1 free damage to a character in Hindering. The other half of me see’s her as just too expensive for what she does, especially when she can’t reliably draw a line of fire to a lot of figures in this set.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

011 Asp

Asp is going to be the signature tie-up figure from this set unless Madcap takes off. Asp is especially dangerous when she’s tying up characters without reducers, slowly wearing them away by breaking away, or using her Incapacitate to hit a group. Her Sidestep gives her a little more room for movement, even though it doesn’t trigger her trait, and her 3 damage top dial makes the Incapacitate more useful as a pseudo Energy Explosion than as her attacking action. Asp has a lot of potential damage worked into her dial, be it her good base damage, her trait or her special Incapacitate, they just don’t work together particularly well. As a tie-up figure she’s got all she needs with Combat Reflexes and Plasticity, but 4 clicks of life means that there’s a good chance that if an attack hits, it’ll kill her. Keep that in mind when you base a bigger opponent, because eventually the dice will go in their favour and she’ll suffer for it. For 50 points she’s a useful piece, just not as useful as she may seem at first. She’ll be a solid low point tie-up, with the added benefit of some offensive powers. If you’re facing her, dispatch her at range, and she’ll go down very easily.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

012 Grizzly

Grizzly is going to be a powerful Super Strength figure in sealed, especially if he’s paired with a taxi. Of course, not being able to carry him while he’s carrying an object sets him back a bit, but if he can get one a single 5 penetrating damage hit off, he’s made his point investment worthwhile. He’ll be a great secondary attacker, even with his lack of mobility, as opponents will want to stay out of the way of his objects. He’s also surprisingly bulky, with 5 clicks of life and Toughness down his dial. He’s just a really strong figure for sealed that can reliably threaten any figure in the set. If you pull him, concider playing him.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

013 U-Go Girl

Well, it’s about time that Wizkids went back to their keyword based taxis. We’ve had it good with Vanisher, Overdrive and Renet Tilley and now it’s time to go back to the more lackluster options.. That being said, U-Go Girl isn’t bad, with a 10 movement carry, carrying 4 X-Statix or X-Force members for 40 points, she has a lot of value to her. Her Headlines trait is virtually worthless, as it’s rare she’ll ever get to attack, but if you do use her to base your opponents when you’re dropping your attack squad, maybe she’ll be able to attack and move for free. If you pull her and plan to play an X-Force/X-Statix team, she’ll be a good addition to your team, otherwise, the keyword locking on her carry makes her worthless. In constructed her power is directly relative to the power of the other X-Force and X-Statix members.

Sealed: 2/5 (3/5 with theme team)

Constructed: 1/5

014 Cable

This is the common Batman of this set. A huge powerhouse in the common slot that can run and gun with the best of them. With an enormous collection of powers, Cable is one of the best ranged attackers in this set. His movement power gives him an alternate Running Shot that doesn’t work with his Penetrating/Psychic Blast but allows him to move through terrain, and his trait gives him Stealth, keeping him safe from ranged attacks. Speaking of which, his defense power gives him Invulnerability and Energy/Shield, further increasing his defensive prowess. Cable is going to be a threat on the map, especially to Asp who he can kill in a single shot from his top dial, and only needs to roll a 6 to do so AND he can re-roll that roll. Cable is going to show up a lot, so be prepared to deal with him. Knock him to clicks 2 or 3, and tie him up, because on 1 or 4, his Phasing/Teleport, Running Shot will allow him to slip past anyone threatening to keep him in one space. If you can get him to the later half of his dial he’s damage falls to 2, and he becomes less of a Ranged Attacker, making him easier to leave alone while you deal with the rest of your opponents force. You can’t underestimate this guy, as he can easily wipe out your strongest figures if you’re not careful. Get him off of that top click, and he’ll be a little easier to deal with.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

015 Attending

Attending is a weird little figure that will probably see the least amount of play of any figure from this set aside from the steaming pile that is Mercenary. For 20 points Attending has surprisingly decent values, and a single power, Exploit Weakness. This power ties directly into his trait that activates after he deals damage, giving all opposing characters within 6 and line of sight of the target an action token. This is a pretty cool power, but with a 9 attack and no way to reliably make it into adjacency, he’s more likely to be picked off before he’s able to get a chance to torture your opponent. Regardless, you can definitely do worse for his point cost, and if he does manage to get a perfectly laid out attack off, it can be really debilitating for your opponents team. If you have some points left over, having an extra body (with 4 clicks of life) is never a bad thing to have. Even if you just use him as cannon fodder, he has some potential payout during a game, making him less than useless, if not useful. In constructed his 9 attack is still restrictive, but his trait is still a scary thing to unleash on an unprepared team. I doubt he will ever see competitive play, but his unique ability to do a mass Incapacitate is worth an extra point.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

016 Dark Deadpool

Damn, I really, really like Dark Deadpool. Understanding that his special movement power is a randomly determined 1-3 square Sidestep, but as it places him instead of moving him, it allows him to escape adjacency, move through terrain and jump through walls. This, paired with strong values and great offensive powers, makes Dark Deadpool a real threat. With 7 range, he’s going to be a serious threat, and as a common, he’s going to see a lot of play in sealed. The lack of Willpower keeps him from being too offensive, and although I love his movement power, it doesn’t give him nearly as long a swing as Running Shot would. Dark Deadpool is going to be your principle attacker if you don’t pull another strong offensive figure, and luckily, he’s really good at what he does. Regardless if it’s close or ranged combat you need, he can excel at it, making him very similar to Cable, but cheaper.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

017 Deadpool

Deadpool might not be the strongest of the ranged attackers in this set, especially with 2 damage down his dial, but he does have one thing that most of them don’t have, Improved Targeting: Ignore Hindering Terrain. This one tool makes him immensely useful in a set where some of the strongest figures have Stealth (yes I’m talking about Cable). Deadpool also has the Shifting Focus trait, giving him access to the Rare with the ability to Teleport, or the common with Blades and Flurry, giving him a little more variability than the other ranged attackers in this set. He also gains a re-roll on his attacks when after he hits opposing characters. As a Shifting Focus option, he brings a lot of versatility to the mechanic. As a singular ranged attacker, he’s a little lacking compared to Dark Deadpool and Cable. Definitely play him if you have the other Deadpool’s, and still consider him if you don’t for stealth busting.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

018 Domino

Domino is another fairly solid ranged attacker, this time with traited Probability Control. That basically means if you pull her in sealed, you’re going to play her solely for the re-roll, but Domino has a few other things that make her valuable. The combination of Combat Reflexes and Stealth make Domino incredibly difficult to hit as soon as she’s in hindering unless you have someone with Improved Targeting. Up close, she’s rocking a 19 defense, with a re-roll that reduces their attack and damage by -1 on-top of that. This makes Domino almost impossible to remove from Hindering, and makes her seemingly high 90 point cost very cost effective. Domino is going to cause a ton of headaches for you and your opponents, and in a lot of ways, you’re better avoiding her swing range, and forcing her out of Hindering than wasting your time and resources in ferreting her out. In constructed, I don’t see Domino getting a lot of play. Her Probability Control, paired with an entity, might allow her to survive way more powerful hits than she would normally allow (I.E. If a character with 3 damage attempts to hit her, and she has Impervious, her Probability Control would lower that damage to 2, completely negating it). In this way, Domino has a chance to see some play, but, for the most part, is limited by her average values. Note, because of the wording of the power, (When an opposing character re-rolls an attack targeting Domino, IMMEDIATELY modify the attacker’s values), this can activate multiple times a turn, really limiting your opponents uses of Probability Control.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

019 Dr. Killebrew

Dr. Killebrew is just a better version of Rogue Scientist, with the slight failing in not having top-dial Sidestep. Dr. Killebrew’s big addition to the kit of the Rogue Scientist is his special attack ability that increases the damage dealt by adjacent characters with modified attack values. The most important piece of this is that it modifies the damage dealt instead of the damage value, meaning that it can ignore the rule of 3, and, it works with Blades/Claws/Fangs. If you’re playing Dr.Killebrew, you’re going to want a character with Perplex, or a character with Ranged/Close Combat Expert to boost their attack to activate his power. Yes, Dr. Killebrew does get Perplex and Support on his last two clicks, but there’s a very real chance that he’s never going to see those clicks, and therefore you just can’t rely on his Perplex to activate his own power. Regardless, Dr.Killebrew brings so much support value for 35 points, making him a must play in sealed. In constructed, he may be a reasonable support piece, able to boost a figure like Krang to even higher damage than he’s already capable of. He’s a really interesting support, and definitely feels a lot like Weasel from the last Deadpool set.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

020 Hit-Monkey

I really adore Hit-Monkey. He’s a cheap secondary attacker with great values and powers, (Who can complain about Running Shot, Sidestep and Stealth in one power?) He also benefits from being Tiny, and being able to be carried by any standard character in the game. His trait won’t activate too often, but when it does it makes him an even stronger attacker. With Precison Strike on his first two clicks and Ranged Combat Expert on his last two, Hit-Monkey can reliably insure damage gets through on almost any figure in this set. In constructed, he might have a place due to his strong offensive values, low point cost and his tiny size. He’s just a really fun figure, that’s also really effective.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

021a/b Slapstick

Slapstick has a strange collection of powers down his dial paired with a vast variety of numbers for his values too. With defense values as low as 15 and as high as 18, and attack values that vary from 9 to 11, it’s clear that Slapstick has an…unconventional dial, that may be more unreliable than effective. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a few pro’s going his way as he gets Giant Reach: 2 from his trait, and gives any character he hits with an attack an action token…if they take damage, and surprisingly that is a big IF. On his first 3 clicks where he has that power, his damage values is either 1,2 or 3, and his attack value follows a similar trend. The only offensive power he has is on that 1 damage click, where he sports Exploit Weakness and a 9 attack. With no movement aside from Sidestep and no reliable way to insure he’s dealing damage, Slapstick just can’t hold his own as an offensive figure. The random clicks of Invulnerable and Impervious on his dial don’t make him any more desirable to play, as they’re randomly placed throughout his dial. Some of his clicks are definitely worth 75 points, but as an entire package, Slapstick just cannot be relied on to do anything effectively. He can’t tie-up figures with his low values and lack of Plasticity, in fact, the only thing Slapstick does well is having 7 clicks of life, which isn’t exceptional for 75 points. I don’t see a reason to play him on your team unless you need a tanky figure to soak up damage, or really want the Giant Reach Quake combo.

Since he’s never going to K.O a character, his B version is probably better so you can sacrifice him to save a better figure if need be.

Sealed: 1/5

Constructed: 1/5

022a/b Solo

He’s another member of the Mercs for Money, and is far better than Slapstick. Solo is the next ranged attacker in this set, and is another one that can potentially teleport through walls to hit someone. Solo’s movement power is a little restrictive, because it relies on you being within 4 spaces of a space in which you can see an opposing character. With 7 range, it’s not going to be too hard, but it relegates his movement to being completely offensive, unlike Dark Deadpool, who’s pseudo Sidestep can be used defensively as well. It’s still a worthwhile power to have, and the rest of Solo isn’t too much of a let down either. He goes from his special power to Running Shot and Precision Strike, and finally to Phasing/Teleport and Ranged Combat Expert. With solid, if not average values down his dial, his biggest failing is a lack of offensive powers to go along with his move and attack powers. Precision Strike helps mid-dial, but that top-dial is a little blank for my taste. Invulnerability gives him a little more suitability and, honestly, writing about him makes me like him a little more. His movement power is better than Running Shot, can be used to escape tie-up characters, and can get him around hard to hit characters to expose their support. He’s definitely an interesting figure, I just don’t think he quite matches Cable or Dark Deadpool as offensive ranged attackers. Keep him in mind if you don’t get one of them though.

For Solo, i’d prefer his A version, to potentially reverse the pushing damage he would take, and keep him healthy while he keeps his offense up.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

023a/b Stingray

If you don’t pull a Rogue Scientist or Dr. Killebrew, you’re definitely going to want to play Stingray. With Outwit, Running Shot, Energy Explosion and the wing symbol, Stingray brings a lot of value to your team. He’ll be your secondary attacker, and your Outwitter and your taxi, to make sure you aren’t wasting actions on moving. Honestly, his dial isn’t that impressive, especially with the single click of 3 damage, but when a figure embodies two of the main things you need on a sealed team (carry and Outwit), there’s little chance he wont see play. If there’s water on either of the maps, he’ll see even more play, but understand that he’s not the best option for a taxi or for Outwit, he just happens to have enough utility to be very playable in sealed.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

024 Koi Boy

Koi Boy has one thing going for him that Tippy-Toe doesn’t, his power doesn’t require printed hindering terrain. That means you can use him with Smoke Cloud to keep a character from moving. Otherwise, all the same issues with Tippy-Toe are duplicated here. The majority of figures in Hindering are going to be those with Stealth, and you aren’t going to be able to draw line of fire to them. For 10 points, you might keep your opponents bigger figures out of Hindering, and that’s certainly helpful, but when your opponent see’s Koi Boy on your team, they’re going to know not to go into hindering. On-top of that, unlike Tippy-Toe, Koi Boy isn’t tiny and can’t be carried by just anyone. He can block line of fire through, and does have an 18 defense from range. I’ll admit, Koi Boy definitely has some potential, but it all comes down to an opponent placing a character without Stealth into Hindering Terrain. Will that happen? Well, it’s far less likely when they see Koi Boy on your team.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

025 Diamondback

I love Diamondback. For 50 points, she has 6 clicks of life! Beyond that, she has awesome powers on every click, paired with traited Plasticity with self-healing and damage when she breaks away. Paired with her Charge at the end of her dial, she could be tying up a character, break away from them, healing herself one, and then finish the charge, making an attack on that character and tying them up again. With 10 attack and 3 damage top dial with 4 range and Energy Shield/Deflection, she’s a tough character to deal with, and brings a lot of value as both a tie-up figure and a close and ranged attacker. With the ability to easily break any reducer on every click, she’s a tough contender, and one of the best 50 point attackers in the game. She won’t ever see competitive play, but her high values and useful powers mean that if she did, she wouldn’t be immediately outclassed either.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

026 Bedlam

Bedlam’s purpose is to remove the effect of equipment within 5 spaces of him. This means next to nothing for sealed, and honestly means that Bedlam will never see play. With 5 clicks of life and no defense powers on the top of his dial, any effect he’ll have on a character with equipment will be stopped by his quick demise. In sealed, he’s an okay figure for Incapacitate, even though I never would recommend playing an Incap figure with 1 target. For 40 points he can be somewhat offensive, keeping him in the running in a bad sealed pull, but other times you’ll almost always have a better option. If removing the effect of equipment becomes more necessary in the future, Bedlam might get some time in the sun, but for right now, there isn’t enough to worry about, especially when the SR Leonardo from the third Turtles set already puts pressure on equipment users, and brings a stunning dial to boot.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

027 Fantomex

Not as good as the last Fantomex, or some of the other ranged attackers in this set, but Fantomex here makes himself a pretty difficult figure to pin down. With Stealth, Super Senses and Shape Change he’s already very evasive, and with solid damage and attack values in his dial and traited Probability Control for his own attacks, he’s a strong solo attacker. I personally think he’s not as good as Domino, Cable or Dark Deadpool, mostly due to the switch to close combat in the middle of his dial, but there’s no doubt that he’ll be effective and see play. In constructed he’s going to be too expensive for what he does, and even with all his evasion, with no reducers he’ll fall quickly to multiple attacks. A fun figure, but not an overly effective one.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

028 Psylocke

I really wanted to like Psylocke, and I still kind of do, but I don’t think she’s nearly as strong as any of the other offensive X-Force members. Psylocke’s damage falls entirely to her trait. Dealing between 1-3 more damage when targeting a character with Outwit or Penetrating/Psychic Blast is useful, especially because of how often those powers are seen, but as a close attacker, she’s already struggling to get in on anyone, before worrying about specifically who to get. Her Stealth and Shape Change will help her with evading ranged attacks, but a lack of Improved Movement: Hindering Terrain keeps her from using hindering to it’s fullest effect. Her powers don’t quite meld together well either, Incapacitate on her top dial isn’t effective when she already has a 3 damage, and trading 1 action token for 1 action token is rarely effective. On her middle dial, 2 damage Flurry paired with Close Combat Expert gives you options, but doesn’t meld well together. Her last two clicks are possibly her best with Outwit and Blades allowing her to be more reliable on the map, but since her Blades will not work with her trait (sorry, no 9 damage attacks) it’s a little disappointing. Psylocke is just a disappointing figure with a knack for hitting characters who, more often than not, you don’t need to do more damage to. Outwit and Mind Control characters tend to be very vulnerable already, and Incapacitate rarely shows up.

In sealed, she has a little more purpose as her bonus damage helps take out some of the more powerful ranged attackers in the set like Cable, Dreadpool and Dark Deadpool. It also insures a ohko against the best Outwit in this set Rogue Scientist and Dr. Killebrew. Aside from those figures, her power isn’t going to see a lot of use, and it is stuck on a Willpower-lacking close attacker. It saves her from being unplayable, but it doesn’t make her fantastic.

Just to show you, the characters she gets bonuses in this set are. Dreadpool, Foolkiller, Rogue Scientist, Asp, U-Go Girl, Cable, Dark Deadpool, 017 Deadpool, Dr. Killebrew, Bedlam, herself, Anarchist, Howard the Duck, Squirrel Girl, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Boom-Boom, Living Brain, Mistress Death, Strife, and Hammer.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

029a Feral

Feral is the closest of close combat figures. She relies on getting in on your opponents and staying there until they’re dead, and for 60 points she’s really good at doing that. She suffers from all the same issues that every close combat figure has, a lack of protection from range. Paired with a short 5 click dial, Feral can easily be taken down, but she does have Super Senses to give her a little bit of a safety net. Her damage and attack is high, and she can reliable get through almost any defense power. She’s a good little close combat figure that doesn’t do anything too special, and doesn’t do much to negate the inherent disadvantage of close combat. She’s inherently playable, and she comes at an agreeable price, I just can’t find anything about her to get really excited about.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

029b Thornn

Damn…it’s one of these Primes. It’s not that Thornn is bad, she has an interesting movement power and traited Shape Change that succeeds on a 3-6, but only on clicks 3 and 4. With no reducers, and no real protection from range outside of Shape Change, Thornn is more likely to be hit past those clicks and just outright killed rather than be put on them, atleast if your opponent knows how to deal with her. It’s hard to pass her up at 50 points, but her dial isn’t so impressive as to necessitate being a Prime. If you get her to click 3 or 4, then you have a pretty dangerous figure on your hands, but Pulse Wave or Battle Fury put her down in a heartbeat. I honestly think Feral is a better, more playable figure than Thornn, but since she’s cheaper, and brings a similar level of power as a close combat figure, they’re virtually interchangable. The only interesting thing I can see is using Thornn’s movement power to place her in such a way that she jumps past the character she can draw a line of fire to, and ends up adjacent to a support figure in the backline.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

030 Anarchist

Anarchist is a replacement for Foolkiller, with some different powers, Improved Targeting and better protection from range. Anarchist also doesn’t really mesh as a character, with Penetrating Poison on a figure that doesn’t have any protection up close. If you start the turn adjacent to a character, than Anarchist is already too close, even if he can shoot out of adjacency. The only way this works is Anarchist using Running Shot to end up adjacent to a character who has pushed or is otherwise unthreatening and using the poison at the beginning of his next turn. It doesn’t really matter though, as Anarchist has a lot of powerful ranged powers, and doesn’t ever need to rely on his poison. Later in his dial he loses Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Poison for Energy Explosion, limiting his offense and making Foolkiller look a little more interesting.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

031 Tombstone

Tombstone is the big close combat beater of the uncommon section. He’s got a long dial with decent values and reducers and he comes in a little bit too high for me at 100 points. On top of his very straightforward dial, Tombstone has a neat trait that reduces hit characters attack and speed until they clear. It’s an undeniably useful trait, but it, like Tombstone himself, is just a little ineffectual. To be a great close combat figure, you need to have enough evasiveness to get close, and you need to be able to exploit that close attack for all its worth. While Tombstone isn’t bad at the evasiveness with his highish defense value and tons of reducers, even that is kneecapped by a lack of Willpower, and in terms of effectively utilizing his close combat potential, he’s a disappointment. He has a fine damage value boosted by Super Strength at the beginning of his dial, that takes a dip in the middle to get Close Combat Expert. Even when he’s hitting and giving out his broken bone tokens, he’s not doing enough to reliably make back his big cost, and that’s what’s so disappointing. There’s just nothing to be excited about with Tombstone, nothing that makes him shine as a close attacker, and nothing that will make you want to play him. It feels harsh giving him a 1, but I feel that there’s almost always better options in this set than Tombstone, who feels a little overpriced for what he does.

Sealed: 1/5

Constructed: 1/5

032 Angel Dust

I think Angel Dust perfectly summarizes the disappointment of Tombstone. For 60 points she has all the damage potential of Tombstone with higher base attack, similar reducers down her dial, but with a lack of mobility. She’s clearly not a perfect close attacker, but for 40 points less than Tombstone she is much more likely to make back her value. Her biggest weakness is her two clicks of Charge, which make her easy to ping with a weak attack to completely reduce her effectiveness, but she’s still dealing and reducing a lot of damage for 60 points. She’s nothing groundbreaking, but she’s got enough offense to put a dent in anything in this set, and has a higher than average attack to do it.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

Rare

033 DEADPOOL

This shifting focus character might be the best, and weirdest, of the bunch. His first and last click giving him Running Shot and Hypersonic respectively, and some great values making him a pretty dangerous Ranged Attacker. In the middle of his dial he becomes Tiny and tries to replicate Despotellis’s ability to move when adjacent opponents move. This at first is less than impressive, as it’s paired with Energy Shield/Deflection, which suggests that you might not want to stand that close to your opponent, but when Combat Reflexes shows up, he’s looking a lot better. The really exciting thing he has is his tiny power though, as it allows him to make free attacks whenever he is carried. Since Deadpool carries Precision Strike he can get through most characters defenses to deal extra damage on a turn. With 1 printed damage, it’s not a lot, but any amount of damage for free is impressive. I can’t find any faults with this figure, it’s a ton of fun, and it’s either a solid ranged attacker or an annoying free damage dealer, and on-top of that, it can become any of the other shifting focus Deadpool’s too.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

034a/b/c Deadpool

I really, really hate these figures. I hate that I’m going to pull them, and I hate how they work. Without caring about the financial aspect of Heroclix, these figures are fine. They’re the “only works on a theme team” figures for this set. It just sucks that they’re rares and that there’s three of them. It also makes a mockery of the Shifting Focus trait, it doesn’t really give Deadpool any extra utility as a shifting focus figure, except as a mediocre support piece. Why would this unoffensive figure want to be able to Perplex himself anyways? It’s a poor design choice on every single level. In previous sets I thought we were moving away from keyword based powers, and moving towards “shares a keyword” wording. If this was a single version of Deadpool and replaced his keyword based powers with “shares a keyword with Deadpool” I wouldn’t love this figure, but I wouldn’t be so unhappy about it. There’s no reason for three of these mediocre figure to exist, and I feel bad for anyone that pulls more than one in a brick.

Sealed: 0/5

Constructed: 0/5

035 Howard the Duck

If you’ve been waiting for a new version of Howard the Duck (like I have) then I have good news…he’s really interesting and fun to play. His effectiveness is yet to be seen, but I have a really good feeling about him. Howard the Duck’s role on the battlefield really comes down to two powers. His special attack power gives him Incapaciquake, giving tokens to all adjacent opposing characters when he hits. Without the ability to ignore characters for movement, you’re not going to ever hit a ton of characters, but being Tiny and having traited Sidestep will give him the mobility he needs to give some tokens. More important than that is his damage power. He chooses a power an adjacent friendly character can use, and then every character within 6 spaces and line of fire can’t use it. That means regardless of Power Cosmic or “can’t be ignored” the power is gone. This is like the infamous Nick Fury’s power, except that it can affect multiple targets (and it affects your own figures). The other important wording in the power is the “can use” part. Compared to “possesses” which means the figure must have that power on the dial, can use powers can come from anywhere. This means if Howard the Duck is paired up with a figure with an entity or resource equipped/attached, then he can choose powers gained from that, or, if a figure like Jakeem Thunder chooses a power, then Howard the Duck can choose a power that he’s chosen. I think this will be exceptionally useful against teams that rely on similar defensive powers, like an Ultron Swarm. If Howard chooses Invulnerability, and moves into the middle of the swarm, all the Ultron’s he can see just became defenseless, and as someone kills them, and more become revealed, they also lose that power. Finally, this can be used defensively to stop a character from utilizing a power to attack. Close combat characters are shut down when they can’t use charge, and more interestingly, placing Howard at the front of your figures and choosing a power like Pulse Wave or Penetrating/Psychic Blast, means that any figure using Running Shot to get a line of sight will either have to lose the power they wanted in order to make an attack, or might be forced to position themselves less than ideally. Howard is a ton of fun for 50 points, and I think in the right hands, he’s going to be a scary character.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

036 Shiklah

I tend to dislike a majority of vampire dials and Shiklah isn’t set to break that trend. As a primarily ranged attacker, Steal Energy isn’t set up to be very useful for Shiklah (unless a Steal Energy changes in the new rules), the only reliable way for her to get up close to steal that sweet sweet energy is to play her with Deadpool and have him take a hit to activate her trait. Since this can only happen once a game and is unreliable at best, we’re going to pretend that Shiklah doesn’t have any clicks above her starting one. Her top dial is a decent Running Shot click, with Precision Strike leading it off, and if she pushes or takes any damage then…she loses all of that in favour of Probability Control and Mind Control. While at first this may not seem particularly advantageous, in sealed, Probability Control is a godsend, and it really helps make up her points. She’s a very one trick pony, and she won’t bring much to your team, but Probability Control makes her playable in sealed. She offers nothing in constructed, even summoning her monster form (which is also disappointing) will rarely happen. It just takes too much work to make her wild dial useful, and, as it is, she’s just not a very good vampire.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 1/5

037a Deadpool

This version of Deadpool is the most reliant on the other Shifting Focus Deadpool’s to be effective. His big trick is using Phasing/Teleport for free, and then shifting into a more offensive Deadpool, like 001, and using his Flurry to unleash a burst of damage on any unwitting character. Without other Deadpool’s to shift to, he’s not going to be as threatening, especially with his lack of Willpower and attack powers. Even so, Deadpool has enough tools to be a worthwhile part of your team without any back-up, with an impressive 7 range, and strong attack values for a majority of his dial, Deadpool can easily pick off weaker characters from range, and use his free Phasing to get into position to do so. His Phasing is incredibly situational, as it’s range is entirely dependent on a die roll, but it’s giving him some interesting mobility. He’s not going to be an exceptional figure by himself, but the mobility he brings to the other shifting focus Deadpool’s will make them incredibly more deadly.

Sealed 3/5 (5/5 with other Deadpool’s)

Constructed 3/5

037b Deadpool

So this is a prime…? Well…It doesn’t hurt to have him with the other Shifting Focus figures, but his only real value is healing when he takes damage. This might seem exceptional at first, but his low damage values and lack of protection make him nothing more than a sit in on defensive turns, and unlike the defensive shifting focus Superman, that defense won’t pass to friendly characters. As a figure solely designed to help Shifting Focus Deadpool survive a potentially harmful turn, he’s kind of cool, especially when you can shift to him, force him to push, and then heal from the pushing in a sort of mediocre Regeneration. Writing about him has given me a slight change in heart in that I can see a use for him, but as his only purpose is to be run on the sideboard for other Shifting Focus Deadpool’s, I can’t recommend him for use on his own, and I don’t think he’s a very good use of a prime slot.

Sealed: 1/5 (4/5 with others)

Constructed: 4/5

038a/b Terror

While Terror might not be the fanciest rare in the set, he does have Outwit. That’s really all I can say about this strange dial that doesn’t seem particularly terrible for 75 points, but inspires abosolutely no awe either. There’s a good chance that if I pull Terror i’d play him (depending on what else i’ve pulled) just because of his low point cost, long dial, and fairly reliable values. Outwit always helps, especially in sealed, and a figure I can leave off to the side with little worry about their well-being while they shoot and Outwit stuff always sounds good to me. Later he becomes a little more close combat oriented, but with Regeneration and the heroes for hire trait (on his A version) he can stay fairly healthy, and potentially get those great +1 boosts for a turn. Is he great? No, but he gets stuff done.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

039 Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl has a ton of options in one very nice 85 point dial. She can generate tie-up squirrels for free, and then consume those squirrels in two very cool ways. The first is a one time +1 boost to all her values at the low, low cost of only 3 squirrels. The second, and my personal favourite, is the ability to turn your squirrels into a giant 11 attack 3 damage Super Strength beast whos actions don’t count towards your action total. Imagine this scenario, Squirrel Girl has created her 6 squirrels and has them surrounding her, and a nice ally decides to carry one of them up. Suddenly, these squirrels disappear, and in the place of the carried squirrel, a colossus rises, and, picking up a nearby badger, smashes it into the face of the nearest Superman. It’s a very slow strategy, and probably not effective, but the amount of threat one single squirrel can provide if it has enough back-up is both funny and potentially useful. Overall, Squirrel Girl is a straightforward, but really well rounded close combat figure and bystander generator.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

040 Princess Python

I love bystander generators, and I really love the Python that Princess Python makes. For 30! points, Princess Python is making some of the best tie-up figures in the game. Now there are a few hiccups in actually getting this to work, the first being actually getting the Python into adjacency. If you can keep Princess Python within 7 spaces of your opponent, you can keep one of those Pythons always on your opponent, forcing them to waste actions or risk taking penetrating snake damage. Yes, she has no protection, but, she’s just so much fun! How can you be against a snake generator!

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

041 Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Be happy if you pull Negasonic in sealed, as she brings Probability Control and worse Outwit for 50 points. That’s a lot of value for a figure that isn’t very offensive. Because Negasonic needs to hit with Mind Control to use her Outwit, she needs to get closer than you would normally want your support. Regardless, if you’re playing sealed, you want Probability Control, and this is entirely what she is. She has Improved Movement to get into position, and can freely re-roll for you team, and pick characters off with Mind Control if she needs to.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

042 Boom Boom

Boom Boom is another ranged attacker with the twist that she’s better when she has no tokens. For 60 points you can do worse, but she’s outclassed by some ranged attackers in previous rarities. In a lot of ways she’s similar to Electro from Superior Foes of Spiderman, with Penetrating Energy Explosion, so use that to the best of your ability. Pair her with someone with Leadership and she’s keep those boosts more often, but there’s not a lot of complexity here. Point her at something and make it go boom.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

043 Marrow

Well she might not be a very exciting rare but she can tie up figures I guess. Her first click being a measly 16 defense means that even up close, her Combat Reflexes aren’t keeping her alive for long. Her stealth helps get her into adjacency, but honestly, the only quality she has is her low point cost. Try to tie up some lesser pieces with her, and Blades them until they’re gone. She’s too simple with too low values to be particularly efficent at this, not to mention her being a fairly disappointing rare. I love Marrow as a comic character, and I wish she just a little better represented, because I just don’t see a reason to play this figure.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

044 Shatterstar

Shatterstar is a mean close combat figure with a lot of powers including traited Sidestep and Toughness. There are already a lot of mean close combat figures in this set, but with re-rollable Blades/Claws/Fangs and Flurry later in his dial he can reliable cripple basically anything. On the end of his dial he gets Probability Control and Regeneration, which is a fantastic combination. He has more mobility than most close combat figures, with strong offensive and defensive powers and values. There’s not much to complain about with Shatterstar except that he might not be the most exciting rare ever created, I still like him though.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

045 Orphan

Orphan’s role is as a leader/support for an X-Statix team, but…besides Leadership he’s really just a Charge figure with Precision Strike, and an inflated point cost. With other X-Statix members, he can give them headlines tokens, which can be useful for someone like Deadgirl, who relies so heavily on her tokens, and that’s it. That’s what Orphan does. Moving on.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

046 Doop

Doop looks pretty fun at either point value, but there’s no way that the 35 point value is not seeing competitive play; say hello to Atomica 2.0. Doop might as well only have Probability Control to be worth his points, but being tiny as well means anyone can utilize that re-roll by just carrying him up. Now, there is one last part to Doop’s arsenal…the Unimaginable Power of Doop. While being completely unreliable and roll dependant, 2/3 times it’s going to allow Doop to move nearby allies a short distance. Even with its unpredictability, I think more often than not, it will offer a little bit of mobility for your team, and potentially act as a killbox generator with his second power. Lastly, his Hailstorm of Mjolnirs can do some potentially devestating damage, but it’s rare that he’ll be in a place that all of these possibilities can be used, so just insure that the worst case scenerio isn’t too bad before you use it.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

047 Jackhammer

Jackhammer is another close attacker with another unique trick up his sleeve. Jackhammer is all about Quake and Super Strength and not much else. For 35 points, he definitely doesn’t need anything else to be valuable, and when he can deal up to 4 damage with Quake, he can reliably remove huge groups of smaller figures or deal enough damage to break the reducers on a few bigger figures close to each other. He’s pretty inexpensive, making him a dangerous pull in sealed, but there’s a lot of value here for such a low cost, making him a worthwhile figure to play.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

048 Living Brain

Living Brain is super expensive for what he does, but he’s exceptional in sealed. 10 range Outwit, Probability Control and Perplex makes for a decent sink of 70 points, just don’t expect him to do anything else. He has no range and medicore attack and damage, forcing him to get up close if you want him to be offensive. He’s a good addition to almost any team, and you may actually want to push him in order to get powers more suited to the current suitation.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

Super-Rare

049 Fenris

Holy crap, 11 attack, 4 damage Penetrating attacks with 7 range for 60 points. If that’s not a reason to play these two characters then I don’t know what is. They don’t have reducers or Willpower, but the pure power they bring to the table is utterly impressive. It’s also nice to be able to choose between knock-back and Penetrating to blow through reducers or throw figures off buildings or into walls. I want to keep talking about Fenris, but there’s not a lot more to say. They’re pretty simple, but utterly awesome.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

050 Hellcow

Now, I said I mostly didn’t like vampire figures, and I know a lot of people have issues with Hellcow, but I absolutely adore this figure. For a cheap 50 points, Hellcow is both a taxi and a healer, and with extra stop clicks, Bessie might actually have a chance to heal back past her starting dial. Regardless, she’s such a small investment that the chance for healing above your starting line is entirely worthwhile. Even if she never reaches it, there’s enough she can do on her first click to be valuable on a team. You may need a Perplex to get there, but Hellcow even getting a single heal off gives her another stop click. Hellcow might be my favourite vampire dial ever released.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

051 Deadgirl

I like characters that are hard to kill, and Deadgirl is definitely that, with the ability to heal every turn and survive killing blows. Deadgirl can also claw her way through stop clicks, which may be a little niche of an ability for a 75 point close attacker, as it isn’t quite special enough to make her playable competitively. In sealed, as long as she gets the first hit off, she’s going to be difficult to put down, so make sure she gets as many Headline tokens as possible. In sealed, she’ll be a hard to kill close attacker as long as you play her with a level of cation at the beginning. In constructed, she’s going to be a new way to cut through stop clicks, whether or not this will end up being useful, or too specialized to be played is yet to be seen.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

052 Mistress Death

The main problem with Mistress Death is that an undying character like Deadman or Resurrection Man requires you giving your opponent no points while taking as many as you possibly can to win. Games with figures like this tend to end up with the winning team taking less than 100 points, and if one were to include Mistress Death on this team, suddenly, you’d need to get far more than 100 points if anyone kills her. Now, if Mistress Death was a super powerful figure, or was difficult to kill, this might not be a huge problem, as it doesn’t matter how many points your opponent has if you wipe their team in its entirety, it doesn’t matter though, cause Mistress Death is not either of those things. She’s running with 6 clicks of life with average defense values, and only Toughness, Shape Change and Super Senses for protection. Offensively she has some great powers like Pulse Wave and Penetrating/Psychic Blast, but her damage is bottom of the barrel with nothing higher than a 2 and she doesn’t have Running Shot to get around. Mistress Death does have one final trick up her sleeve, and it’s her Touch of Death trait. When she makes a close attack against an opponent, for the rest of the game that character takes double damage from attacks. This seems more useful than it actually ends up being just because Mistress Death isn’t built to make close attacks. If you manage to get one off, obviously that character won’t have long to live, but it’s just so unreliable on a figure that has medicore defenses and no move and attack up close. In fact, her best value is her range, making her trait work against her.

Mistress Death is a lot of interesting ideas on a figure that’s weighed down by them. Someone might find a way to make her broken on the level of Deadman or Resurrection Man, but I doubt it due to her low damage values, and lack of defense.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

053 Shiklah

Shiklah is a big, big bruiser, and with a trait that acts like an improved Mystics, that’s not a bad thing. The lack of Willlpower isn’t ideal, and the high cost will make her less useful in constructed, but in sealed, she’s going to be causing people a lot of problems. I think her top dial Invulnerability special power is a little strange for a design. It’s not incredibly overpowered to necessitate it being limited to her top-dial, and it seems like a lot of writing for a power that will only ever need to be read once or twice a game. Shiklah isn’t complicated, you throw her into the middle of things and let her clean your opponents up. Pushing isn’t too helpful, as you want as many clicks as possible for your opponents to activate pseudo-mystics on. She’s definitely a great pull in sealed, and if she had Willpower, or Power Cosmic, she would be fantastic.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

054 Swarm- Swarm is a fantastic super-rare that’s going to see a lot of play competitively and in sealed. For 120 points, Swarm might not be the most powerful attacker, and he definitely doesn’t have the best defensive values, but with Super Senses and Shape Change and his trait, he’s not going to be hit much, and when he is, he’s not going to be taking much damage. Swarm’s value is as an aggressive annoyance who’s more interested in hitting for small amount of damage and dropping bees all over the map than killing a character in one hit. With an exceptional amount of defense and a great token generating ability, Swam is going to be a target for your opponents, and if they manage to roll doubles, you’re going to want a Probability Control user around to change that. Furthermore, it’s easy for an opponent to swarm him with smaller units, and wear him down, as his defense values are low enough to easily allow them to hit. Swarm is best when he’s hovering around the fight tying up vulnerable figures with bees or picking fights with bigger tentpoles that can barely hurt him, while he slowly wears away at them.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

055 Ajax

Ajax is an expensive Hypersonic figure, but I think he’s really effective. With the choice between Hypersonic Speed and Flurry with +1 Attack, Ajax has a lot of really great offensive options, and with Precision Strike and Probability Control, there’s a good chance he’s always hitting for something. At the end of his dial he loses his special movement power for an insanely good damage power. He can’t make ranged attacks anymore, but he’s dealing penetrating damage and ignoring Super Senses instead, and he still keeps Hypersonic Speed on those clicks. His trait will be great in sealed with tons of Deadpools running around. I gotta say, I really like this Ajax, it’s just too bad he doesn’t actually fly and ignore terrain.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

056 Colossus

Colossus comes down at two different point values, and I think both have their pros and cons. For 150 points, 8 clicks of strong reducers isn’t too bad, Colossus’s defense might not be fantastically high, but he makes up for it by being a close combat monster. With Charge that breaks through blocking and 3 and 4 damage down his dial with traited Super Strength, there’s no-one who’s going to be able to take a hit from Colossus and shrug it off. The problem with Colossus is just how vulnerable he is to Outwit, especially at his 80 point starting line. For 4 clicks of life, even with fantastic reducers and values, Outwit makes you vulnerable to nearly anyone. Thankfully, his 80 point starting line is full of big numbers. 4 Damage for 80 points? With Close Combat Expert and Super Strength? Yes please. With a TK’er or a taxi, Colossus will consistently break your opponents in sealed. In constructed, the 80 point dial looks pretty great for pure power, but it still suffers from all the issues with close attackers. He definitely has potential, especially if you can put him on the right map full of blocking terrain.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

057 Cannonball

Cannonball is a cheap close attacker with a lot going for him. If he moves in a direct line he’s smashing for 4 damage, while knocking them back and blowing up blocking terrain while he does. With Invulnerability and Energy Shield/Deflection, he’s going to be difficult to get down to his lower dial which isn’t nearly as powerful as his early dial, but still packs a punch as long as he stays in close. To top this figure up, he has a stop click that works once and has Regeneration that can be used normally, or to make it extra powerful. He’s got everything you need to make a great close combat figure, except for Willpower. If you can get him that, then he might be the best 75 point close attacker in the game with a long dial, great power, and enough protection to get him into adjacency and utilize his full power.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

057 Stryfe

Stryfe is a difficult figure to to rate because a lot of his value comes from his death. The Legacy Virus trait can potentially wreck an entire theme team if you’ve done enough damage to them. If you’ve dealt 2 damage to the entire team, then the death of Stryfe will inflict 2 more penetrating damage to each member of your opponents team. Even if your opponent isn’t running a theme team, their main figure is going to be taking some extra damage. The bad part of Stryfe is that, it’s not too hard to kill him. He doesn’t have a ton of reduction for 135 points, and only has 6 click of life, 5 of which sport 17 defense. Offensively, he’s kind of lackluster at the beginning, acting as more of a supporting figure with a special double Telekinesis, Outwit and Leadership. Later he gets Ranged Combat Expert and after that Running Shot and Pulse Wave. Stryfe has a lot going on, and it may be too much to make him valuable for his point cost, but there’s a real chance that with all the tools at his disposal he’ll fit a role on your team, even managing to do something useful after he dies.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

059a Hammer

Like Fenris before him, Hammer is a cheap ranged attacker who hits way harder than he has any right to. He’s going to rely on his Sidestep to get him into range and then, hopefully there’s a few characters around your target so Hammer can get his boost. Even if he doesn’t, with Ranged Combat Expert he’s dealing 4 damage, and he’s enhancing your other ranged attackers and giving them more range with his team ability. He’s not taking too many hits, but as a support for your other ranged attackers and the power he has, it will be hard to not find a way for him to be useful.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

059b Wiz Kid

While once again not being the most exciting prime, Wiz Kid is a very, very strong supporting figure. His triple boost is going to be fantastic to have around regardless of what team he’s on. If you can find a way to make him tiny he can be carried around by anyone and becomes a super supporter. Why do you need Perplex when you’re getting +1 to everything important. He has a good chance to see competitive play due to his low point cost and the impressive boosts he grants. Kraang can boost himself up to +3 on all of those stats by just carrying Wiz Kid into battle with him. He’s a pretty deadly guy to have around, and definitely will see play.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

060 Deadpool, Merc with a Mouth

Is that 8 clicks of life for 70 points? On-top of the ability to heal for a click every turn? And he can reliable use Nighthawk Primes best ability on every third turn. The first (and maybe last if Title Characters end up just being a ridiculous Deadpool parody of MTG Planeswalkers) title character has so much value for such a low point cost that there’s not a single negative I can say about him. I imagine he’ll see play in every single format that he can. Solid values, decent powers, and the ability to heal, stop combat values from being increased or explode an entire army of opponents, basically at command. I cannot recommend this figure enough, especially in the current meta where almost everyone runs atleast one ultron drone. Deadpool, with 6 tokens on him (this of course, does take 4 turns to get to which is a little (a lot) slow), can completely decimate all Ultron Drones within 7 spaces of him as a free action. Of course, he does come with the downside of giving your entire team two action tokens when he dies, but it’s worth it with the huge array of powers he has. If you get Brainiac or Eclipso on him you get some much needed reducers that pair wonderfully with his free healing, and make him an even more dangerous figure. If you don’t get him, you’re going to want to buy him, that’s all there is to it.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

Chases

Since the chases are all powerful, I’ve decided to rate them in comparison to each other, with the best chase being 8/8 and the worst being 1/8. All of them are great in sealed so if you pull them play them.

061 D.E.A.D.P.O.O.L

I love the idea of a Deadpool M.O.D.O.K combination, but the resulting figure is a little less exciting than I expected. First lets go over the good: The comic panel trait is exceptional as long as you get the other comic panels from the other chases. This makes all the chases immensely better at surviving both close and ranged attacks and offers some fantastic choices. Secondly, being able to make two attacks a turn is never bad especially when one is a ranged attack. Lastly, Charge and Sidestep with free Smoke Cloud is a lot of movement with some good protection as well. His powers are a mix of good and bad, with just a little less power than I would want for 150 points. Now the bad: D.E.A.D.P.O.O.L definitely needs Willpower to continue his flurry of attacks each turn. His values are also just a little lacking for his point cost. 3 Damage is good, but when he’s built around making follow up attacks, the second attack dealing 2 isn’t going to cut it, atleast not at half your force in a 300 point game. Of course, in sealed he’s going to crush everything.

Rating: 4/8

062 Championpool

I usually hate big bricks like this, and Championpool’s super low movement doesn’t give me a lot of faith in him, but with values that can’t be modified and the potential for a 21 defense with Combat Reflexes or Energy Shield/Deflection from a comic panel, there might just be enough power here to make him playable. Without a way to get through his 19 defense, your opponent might never get him down to his later dial, which is a ways down cause it’s a long dial. Honestly, I think a lot of people are going to underestimate just how powerful this guy is. Competitively a figure like this rarely ever ends up playable, but if Nick Fury rotates out, there might not be a lot that can reliable deal with his 21 defense. I’m not saying he’ll be fantastic, but I really, really like Championpool for his points.

Rating 7/8

063 Golden Age Deadpool

Golden Age Deadpool is the least exciting of the chase for me, but that’s not because he’s not good. With Defend and Carry he’s got a lot of options for supporting your team, while still devestating characters with attacks. He has really, really solid offensive dials aside from range, even going as far as having a printed 4 damage on his top dial. He also has one of the worst comic panels associated with him, giving out Smoke Cloud, which isn’t a super useful power on most of these high point cost chases, but it does give another option I guess. He’s a useful character no matter how you look at it, and there’s nothing bad you can say about him.

Rating 6/8

064 Hulkpool

I don’t think Hulkpool has enough going on. His Probability Control does help him get off his special trait more reliably, but needing 4 greater than your opponents defense total means rolling a 9 to hit a character with 17 defense. Aside from his trait, Hulkpool can also revert back to Deadpool, a power i’ve never felt super useful. He doesn’t offer you much choice though, as his dial becomes really weak when he can revert. Overall, I find Hulkpool to be a mediocre brick at his best moments, and a better version of Deadpool at his worst. I can’t find much to say about him besides that. He doesn’t inspire much else. I wish his Quake panel worked with his trait, but it doesn’t.

Rating 1/8

065 Pirate Deadpool

Pirate Deadpool not only makes your entire team Pirates, but he creates a free Perplexer as well, along with being a pretty good ranged attacker. Being able to take a higher attack value from any character on the map insures Pirate Deadpool isn’t going to be outclassed. He’s surprisingly simple beyond that honestly, not much more than a ranged attacker. He may be a little overcosted for what he actually does, but who can complain when you’re playing a theme team of pirates. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with him, but there’s nothing to make him stand out beyond that.

Rating 5/8

066 Poolcaptain

Here’s where the figures end up on the low end, without being a bad figure. Poolcaptain is one of those classic cosmic powered powerhouse figures. With high values, tons of useful powers and a long dial, he’s going to crush anyone he wants, the only letdown is his point value. At 275, he’s just too expensive to play on a 300 point team (outside of sealed). Even with all his power, you’ll be outactioned by your opponent and brought down easily. While he’s an awesomely fun figure, you won’t be able to play him much unless you’re playing in a larger point game. When you do end up playing him though, he’s going to destroy anything you put in-front of him.

Rating 2/8

067 Pulp Deadpool

Here’s a straightforward mean dial, with tons of powers and high values. Yeah, he does rely on Super Senses for defense, but getting Stealth or another defensive power from a comic panel will help that. With Charge and Plasticity, he can reliably keep moving from figure to figure either making ranged or close attacks with ease. He’s got Ranged and Close Combat Expert with 3 damage, and Precision Strike to keep that damage sticking. Is he a bad character? Definitely not, but there’s nothing here to make him as great as the other figures ahead of him. 100 points opens up a lot of options for figures, and putting all your eggs into a basket that only has Super Senses and 6 clicks of life, can lead to a few mishaps.

Rating 3/8

068 Venompool

Did you enjoy using Probability Control once? Well good, cause that’s all your getting with this guy on the field. This is an absolutely insane level of power, and more than justifies his chase status. He might not be the most mobile attacker, but his values are high enough to fend off opponents if you want to mix it up with him. He also comes in at a very reasonable 80 points making him the best chase in this set. His point value keeps him incredibly viable in the competitive scene, bringing a game changing power and enough muscle to make him viable without it. An unbelivable figure all around, and unquestionable the best chase in this set.

Rating 8/8

069 Deadpool

A mystical character that can ignore damage, make free attacks with blades, deals penetrating damage from close and range, and forces a character he hits to not attack him. There’s a reason this figure is an ultra chase. That being said, like White Rabbit before him, Deadpool isn’t incredibly broken, just a cheesy figure whose dial is good enough to let you play Deadpool riding a unicorn. I think this is the perfect choice for the ultra chase, as no one who gets it will be disappointed in getting it, but it’s also not so meta-worthy, that it becomes a needed figure to play competitively. What a fun, and annoying figure. Love it.

Rating 9/8