One of the pieces I really like from Joker’s Wild is the common prime, Anarky. I want to take a look at what we can do with this guy as I know he can be a total pain the ass and seems like he’s super fun to play. Plus, he’s a cheap prime!

I think it’s really neat when we get a Prime version of a generic (Anarky for the Joker Thug, Captain Stacey for NYPD Officer, etc.) as they tend to be fairly cheap in terms of dollars and bring a lot of neat effects to the table. I feel like WizKids experiments more with these kinds of Primes and that gives us some wonderful dials. Heck, Peggy Carter is still a top-tier piece due to her incredible power countering. Anarky is a bit more of a fun piece, but that doesn’t mean you should take him lightly.

As I always do, I want to break Anarky down and look at his dial and what he brings to the table. Unlike my other Team Builds that focus on one piece, I’m just going to talk about his powers as if you’ve already seen him and knows what he does.

For 75 points, Anarky has 6 clicks of life which is pretty great. He’s got 4 range with a single target and standard combat symbols, as well as the Batman Enemy team ability. As usual with Primes, his numbers are on-point and his powers aren’t lacking either. Starting off with 8 Leap/Climb, 11 Special Attack, 17 Toughness, and 2 Probability Control, he’s a little slow to outright attack but we know that’s not what he’s going to be doing. After his first click, he picks up three clicks of Charge then two clicks of Sidestep. His attack stays at that wonderful 11 but changes to Quake for three clicks, and his last two clicks bring that Special Attack back. Defense is pretty standard; 17 Toughness for four clicks and 16 with Combat Reflexes for his last two clicks. Damage is always at 2 and he flips what he does a bit; Prob for 2 clicks, Perplex for 2 Clicks, and Close Combat Expert for his last 2 clicks. Overall a pretty great dial. Keep in mind he’s taking your Prime slot.

Now, the reason we’re playing Anarky is for his two traits, which I’m going to list together as they link. i’m sure you’ve probably seen this before.

I’VE RIGGED THE PLACE TO BLOW… OR HAVE I?: At the beginning of the game, you may place up to 6 Bomb special markers as described on this card on the map, at lease 4 squares from any starting area and each other. BOMB MARKER: At the beginning of your turn, if an opposing character is within 3 squares, you may roll a d6 that can’t be rerolled.

1-3: Decoy. Remove the marker.

4-6: BOOM. All characters within 3 squares of this marker are dealt 3 damage. Destroy all adjacent blocking terrain, then remove the marker.

This is why Anarky is fun (and good!). He’s exceptional at forcing your opponent to move how and where you want them to. What I really like about this trait combo is that it’s not guaranteed to affect your opponent which gives WizKids a bit more wiggle room since there’s a chance you’ll get little to no damage out of this. If you’re strategic on how you place your bombs, you can effectively create a line on the map that has only one ‘safe’ space to move through. Sure, it’s not quite as good as blocking terrain that forces an action to destroy and just blocks everything, but that’s still a nice package for just 75 points. Of course, you can always place these sporadically to really get the theme across that the whole map is booby trapped if you want to go for a more ‘themed’ game.

The last bit of Anarky is his special attack:

LEAVING THEM A LITTLE SURPRISE: Give Anarky a power action. Place adjacent a Bomb special marker as described on this card.

I like this because you can counter play what your opponent decides to do. If he had Sidestep on his first click, I can see this being a really nasty power.

There’s a few routes we can take with Anarky in terms of building. Anything with further map control is really going to make his trait hurt even more, so that’s an option. Of course, since the bombs aren’t guaranteed damage we absolutely need something to dish some damage. The plus side is that since Anarky isn’t really someone we want to attack with, we don’t really need to worry about possession or defensive abilities. His Toughness should keep him alive long enough to do what he needs. I can see cheap Plasticity pieces like Morlocks or S.H.I.E.L.D. Recruits potentially working well as you can dock them so that your opponent has no choice but to go near your bombs.

I did something a little different though.

300 Point Modern Anarky Build – No Resources

CWSOP 025 Punisher | 80 Points

JW 003b Anarky | 75 Points

JW 051 The Riddler | 50 Points

FL 031 Turtle | 50 Points

FL 007 S.T.A.R. Labs Technician | 33 Points

NFAOS A001 Torso (Hulkbuster) | 10 Points

Build Total: 298 Points

Who in modern, or even the whole game, has better map control than Turtle? This guy is going to make life an absolute pain for everyone and potentially completely halt alpha strikes. With his trait, anyone that moves 5 squares or more gets an action token (meaning that someone given a move or power action will push), and if they can’t, they get dealt 1 penetrating damage. With the combination of the bombs, your opponent is going to have to be very careful about where they go and how far they move since every turn and square will count in the grand scheme of things. Plus, Turtle has Outwit and Plasticity, so he isn’t just a 50 point waste on the board. What I like most about using Turtle is that he gives you time to position and prepare.

The Riddler is an okay piece, but when he’s combined with map control, he just shines. Able to put his Clue marker out and “can’t use” any power on an opposing character within 6 squares, he’s a wonderful counter for pretty much anything your opponent brings. Shut down Hypersonic on a tentpole that isn’t going to care about getting that second token. Turn off a special defense power that negates whatever damage you’re throwing at them this turn. He brings Outwit to the game as well, so now we’re up to three different things that can counter powers. If someone wants to gamble (good thing we have prob), a piece can share his attack and pick up Outwit giving us a fourth power counter.

The Punisher is a really awesome ranged attacker and since we’re limiting how much movement can take place, his 6 range is actually quite good. What I really like about Frank is that he has Sidestep to get around Turtle’s trait, he’s a wild card so he can pick up the Batman Enemy team ability to share his 11 attack, and he can make multiple attacks which fills the damage dealing hole that our team possesses. Willpower is awesome as well since this will prevent Frank from pushing if he absolutely has to get out of dodge.

Star Labs Tech serves as our TK’er to get Frank to where he needs to be, get Anarky out to place more bombs, or get Riddler to a position to drop his Clue. TK is a wonderful ‘counter’ to Turtle since you’re not moving, and she’s so cheap. Plus, she can push into Defend with Support to heal Frank back up if he gets low. The Hulkbuster Torso is here for Frank since he’s our primary attacker and he’s got no damage mitigation.

I think this team is pretty nasty. It takes some risks in terms of dealing damage and doesn’t really have a way to get out there and dish damage if your opponent decides to just sit and wait for you to come to them, but I like how much power countering it has and just how painful it makes life for your opponent. For my second build, I’m going to up the cost and take things into some crazy territory for our crazy Prime.

400 Point Modern Anarky Build – No Resources

WKM-G004R Supreme Intelligence | 250 Points

JW 003b Anarky | 75 Points

FL 031 Turtle | 50 Points

SFSM 007 Betty Brant | 15 Points

SFSM 005 Thug | 10 Points

Build Total: 400 Points

Woah, Supreme Intelligence? Yep, that big 250 point floating head is making his first Clix Fix appearance, and I can’t think of a better team comp for him. Anarky and Turtle stick around because of how amazing their board control is and Supreme Intelligence is pretty much the best attacker you could ask for.

With his 15 range, triple targets, and Colossal size, SI can hit pretty much anyone he wants as long as he’s outdoors. Except he actually can hit anyone he wants thanks to his trait that lets him attack literally anyone he wants on the map with a locked damage value of 3. He also has Empower and Enhancement so if anyone does manage to get close enough to take a shot, Anarky can deal some nice damage after Turtle Outwit’s their defense. Oh, and SI can also use Outwit three times per turn. Now we have that same four power counters a turn, but there’s less setup as they just happen as along as our characters can see the enemy. Pulse Wave on top click makes sure that anyone that gets remotely close the SI will just be obliterated; just make sure to place him in a corner and keep Anarky, Turtle, and Betty away from him if that’s your strategy.

Betty serves as a Perplexer for SI, but not for his damage. Since we’re most likely going to be sniping characters outside his range, we have to deal with that locked damage value, so a Perplex to attack will ensure that we hit (especially with Anarky’s Prob). Since SI is Colossal, he can just keep attack and push himself into his own Prob clicks, as well as Mind Control. If SI does manage to take some damage, Betty can do what Star Labs Tech did and push into Defend/Support.

For the last 10 points, I decided Thug was the way to go. He doesn’t have Plasticity, but he does still stop movement and can plug up that single ‘safe spot’ if you line up your bombs correctly. You really can’t give up 4 clicks of life for 10 points. I mean, he does have 5 range and 2 damage which SI can bump to a 3, so he can technically be an attacker? Sure, we’ll go with that.

There you have it; a practical build and a kind-of nuts but super powerful build. What have you thought of with Anarky? Did I miss a piece that could be really great with him? How about some kind of bystander build? I’d love to hear what you folks are planning or have used with him!

See you all Thursday!