It seems that GotG Vol. 2 came out of left field and Avengers/Defenders War is right around the corner. Thanks to Deadpool & X-Force being delayed, we’re kind of kitting the accelerator for sets, meaning now more than ever it’s important to analyze. So is this set worth it?

Yeah, to me it felt like GotG Vol. 2 snuck up on us (so did the freakin’ movie, I can’t believe it’s out in less than a month!), and before I knew it dials were being spoiled. Now the set is released and sans the mass-market rare dials (Yondu aside), we know everything that’s included.

This set is rather small, with only 16 different pieces and full countertop displays showing roughly two of every non-chase figure. That means the set is overall not rare and the secondary market is already reflecting that. Aside from the (at time of writing) elusive rare Star-Lord, every non-chase can be purchased for under $8 which is a nice change up from the gravity feeds that the Turtles were, where super rares can reach $40 and rares sit somewhere around $10. Heck, the chase we have so far, is sitting at around $17.

I love me some Guardians – the movies and comics are very good and have a feel-good vibe to them, so I always have a smile on my face when I play them. Thankfully, they have pretty decent dials in every incarnation in Heroclix, and WizKids did a good job of lowering their costs enough to fit all of them on a 400 point team pretty easily. Having a team that’s a tight-nit as these guys are means that almost everyone is going to want at least one version of each of the characters.

Remember that my reviews are based on constructed, not sealed so please keep that in mind. To save some time and not have this go on forever, I’ll cover each piece, but I’ll only go into detail into the really interesting or must-have pieces. I’m using the same score system as I do for all my reviews: No Thanks, Seems Good, and Yes Please! As usual, these pieces aren’t up in the units section of the Realms, so linking to the dials is out.

COMMONS

001 Rocket – I’m surprised Peter isn’t 001! Rocket is okay; he’s got some decent range with pretty good stats, some great improved movement, and Probability Control on 3 of his 5 clicks. His numbers do decay a little bit, but attack averages out pretty well. Perhaps the biggest thing to note about Rocket is that for the first time, he’s standard size. That opens up a whole new world as we can finally possess him, or my favorite, have him pilot vehicles. I bought this Rocket strictly to drive my Punisher Van. Overall, he’s a decent piece for his cost, but not outrageous. Seems Good.

002 Groot – This little guy is fantastic! For 30 points, you get a great team-share ability that friendly characters within 1 square of him ignore elevated for movement. He’s also got Shape Change and Enhancement on a special damage power meaning he’s the perfect little guy to troll around with Rocket. His Smoke Cloud and end-dial Plasticity/Poison makes him a wonderful support/harassment piece for a Guardians team. You couldn’t ask for a better dial for 30 points. Yes Please!

003 Mantis – I really want to like Mantis; the character is one of my favorite members of the team in the comics and her Guardians of the Galaxy version was so freaking good. This Mantis seems to ditch the idea of support and goes straight into combat mode. While her dial isn’t terrible, she just doesn’t feel like the pacifist that Mantis is (a pacifist that can kick some ass, but prefers to work things out peacefully). She can deal a decent amount of damage and the Indom is nice though. She’s an okay piece, just not my type of Mantis. Seems Good.

004 Star-Lord – Currently, this Star-Lord is very mixed with a somewhat wonky dial, only gaining power on his third click (which falls off horribly). Once the rules shift in June/July, his Leadership will be huge. However, the Outwit is really nice, but the rest of his power is so conditional that you might see it… 12% of the time you play clix. I feel like this dial is just completely outshined by the rare. No Thanks.

005 Drax – Drax seems like he’s a really great fighter with some solid potential to get some damage in. The problem with Drax is that if a single Outwit piece is brought to the game, he’s done. With a 16 defense, everyone and their mother is going to hit him. Hell, bystanders in today’s game have a better defense than this guy, or are tied with him. If you’re fighting against Nighthawk or the new Title Deadpool, Drax is going to be a 75 point paperweight. He’s slow, and has the potential to be a monster, but the work you have to go through to get to that potential is just not worth it. No Thanks.

006 Gamora – On the other hand, we have the other big bruiser of the team in Gamora. Talk about a sweet dial! Although 5 clicks for 65 points is a little expensive, we are getting Indom here. Gamora has incredibly solid numbers with attack never going under a 10, Charge to get into combat, and Flurry to deal more damage once she’s there. Perplex on top dial with Precision Strike makes her absolute gravy, able to damage anyone once the rules shift later this year. Gamora is a piece that wants to get into the fight as quick as she can and once she’s there, it’s going to be a pain to deal with her. I like having a 20 defense in close combat for 65 points and no help! Yes Please!

Rares

007 – Ravager – I freaking love this piece. He’s like a Morlock, but better in just about every way. Sure, you don’t get the Plasticity click that was my favorite of the Morlock, but these guys are great on literally every lick they have, meaning it’s much more reasonable to run them at their 10 point line rather than 20. My only complaint on these guys is that they’re rares, meaning it’s slightly harder to get them than the commons, and I want, like, 12 of these guys. I NEED AN ACCURATE PIRATE TEAM. Yes Please!

008 Sovereign – It seems like Sovereign can be really dangerous to play against at 80 points as he gets harder to hit the more actions he takes. The problem is that for 80 points, you only get 10 attack, and although he’s got 6 clicks, they aren’t very strong clicks. Police is a nice addition, but he’s just not worth his cost. At 25 points however, he’s pretty good. With Phasing, 10 attack, Support, and that Police team ability, he turns into quite the little support piece. Still, he’s nothing to write home about. If you pull him, play him at 25. If you don’t, pass. No Thanks.

009 Kraglin – 4 clicks for 50 points seems a bit expensive, and his dial isn’t anything that looks too exciting. 16 defense shows up again on top dial, meaning Kraglin is probably only living through one or two hits, if he’s lucky. The reason you’d play Kraglin is for his trait, which grants adjacent friendly characters that are equal or less points or have the Ravagers keyword Willpower. That’s pretty neat. Still, his dial is pretty weak, so I’d only use him if you’re playing for fun. No Thanks.

010 Rocket and Groot – These two are downright fantastic and they do a great job of mirroring the convention LE from last year that set down a Rocket pog. What’s cool is that the two of those pieces together is exactly 200 points! I digress; 5 clicks is a little shallow, but normal for rocket. Their improved movement to ignore characters combined with his Outwit and Willpower means that he’s going be a pain for a long time (with Stealth to keep him safe). Their stats aren’t great, but defense is high and the support powers is well worth their cost. The Twig Groot bystander is really neat with Plasticity, Poison, and Enhancement to help him boost Rocket’s damage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see folks sacrifice the Groot Twig to have a Rocket with 7 range, 10 Movement, 12 Precision Strike, 19 defense, and 3 damage. They’re a really nice package for their points. Yes Please!

011/012/014 Mass Market Exclusives – We still have yet to see these figures, so I’ll have to hold off on reviewing them yet.

013 Star-Lord – There is no denying that Peter is the best piece in the set. With Hypersonic Speed, stealth-busting, Leadership, auto-knockback, and the very high potential to have his attack not count against your action total, he’s going to be a big player once the rules shift later this year. Even now, his dial is very strong and although 90 points is a bit high, the amount of tools at his disposal are worth it. Indom keeps him going, and Energy Explosion means that if he absolutely needs to, he can clear waves. A+ Star-Lord, here. Yes Please!

Chases

015 Nebula – Once you hit triple digits for cost, even at an even 100, you tend to expect a lot from a figure. Nebula has some serious potential to deal damage, and he dial really isn’t too shabby. Sure, her attack values age like milk, but with Outwit on top, Prob for two clicks, and some trickling of RCE at the end combined with ignoring characters for movement and that sweet Blades trait, she can do a lot before she goes down. With Charge and Flurry up top, she has a very real chance to hit for 9-12 damage in a single turn, and burn through reducers before she does it thanks to that single Outwit. The lack of Indom is a little disappointing on a figure with her cost, but she’s still pretty good. I wouldn’t pay more than around $12 for her though as she most likely won’t see competitive play. Seems Good.

016 Yondu – The mass-market exclusive chase is costed at 100 points as well, and is pretty interesting. With 8 range and three targets, and the ability to shoot out of adjacency, Yondu is a scary ranged piece (although not as scary as his Uncommon from Guardians of the Galaxy). His dial is somewhat bland with a 10 attack up front, a lack of Indom, and only ES/D to protect him. The plus sides of Yondu is that his attacks can’t be reduced to less than 1 damage, and he has the potential to hit everyone on the enemy team for 2 damage in a single action. That’s really cool, but with no Running Shot, it’s going to be pretty easy to take him down before he gets that change. He’s simply too expensive for what he does, and for 50 points less, you can run Hammer. No Thanks.

With 5 pieces that are worth picking up, 3 okay pieces, and 5 passes, this set seems like a pass on picking up a countertop display. I would opt for singles as even the better chase isn’t worth much, so you can probably get everything you want for less than the display would cost you. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an alright set, but nothing to write home about. If you’re looking to skip something this year to save up for the insane amount of product we’re getting, I would just take a pass here. I don’t see anything being a big deal in competitive play.

Thanks for taking a peak at my review! I hope you liked getting a little bonus this week: I figured some of you probably don’t want just a solid month of nothing but Team Builds. I’ll be back tomorrow with another Deadpool chase. See ya!