Commons

001a Batman

This Batman isn’t really exiting, but he is really effective for 50 points. In a set with little to no stealth busting, a Batman with 5 range and a potential 18 defense with Perplex is almost a must play. With solid values, and Perplex, this Batman is a great secondary attacker and a useful team player if you pull someone more deserving of his Perplex. Even after he takes damage, Batman is never really out of play. His attack and damage lower, but with Perplex he always has enough damage to knock through reducers, and when he loses that he picks up Precision Strike and Flurry, making him a significant threat that’s hard to deal with from range. Let’s not forget that this common Batman ignores elevated and hindering for movement, making him an easy pick for any map.

In constructed, he’s not doing anything unique enough to be seen much. In casual play this is a great cheap batman for a Batman Family team, but in anything else, he’s surpassed by other Bruce Waynes.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

001b Clayface

Clayface is a weird figure, but, even though he’s not going to be the greatest in sealed, he his has his uses. To make the best use of Clayface, you’re going to want the SR Clayface as well, and it’s going to be very unlikely to pull both of those. Outwit and Perplex are the stand-out powers for him, especially with how difficult he is to kill with the combination of Stealth and an improved Shape Change. I’m definitely not sold on him for competitive play, as I don’t think possibly cheating in Clayface on click 6 is going to be worth the risk this figure brings with him. Play him in sealed for a semi-decent attacker with some useful support powers, and play him for fun in constructed.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

002 Robin

Robin doesn’t have the combat acumen of Batman, but he’s still got the Perplex and a very low 35 point value, making him another great addition to your team. He’s not packing the same punch that Batman is, but he’s easily able to deal damage to characters without reducers, and can use his Perplex to get through reducers. His two middle clicks of Running Shot also come with Incapacitate, giving him even more ways of getting through reducers and making his attacks matter. This is a filler figure for sure, but he’s definitely a great filler figure.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

003 Joker

30 point Probability Control in the common slot…wow. This Joker is a must play in sealed just because of his Probability Control, and no other reason. He also has a surprisingly long reach with his special Smoke Cloud attack letting him give tokens (but not deal the penetrating damage like Incapacitate) to characters who aren’t expecting to be within his range. He’s also got a solid 3 damage on his top-click. His last two clicks aren’t quite as good, but you’re getting 4 clicks of life for 30 points, they can’t all have prob on them. In constructed, this Joker could most definitely see play if there’s an Arkham Asylum or Gotham City Underworld theme team in the future. 30 point Probability Control is just insanely good, even in constructed.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

004 Poison Ivy

Look, it’s another Perplex figure in the common slot. Yeah it’s not the best one, but Poison Ivy just sits in Stealth and Perplex’s up your favourite character, and if she takes damage she becomes a Mind Control machine. She’s not as effective as Robin or Batman, but she’s cheaper, and she has basically a 19 defense when she sits in hindering. Not a bad figure, but another piece to the puzzle in sealed.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

005 Suited Henchman

I hope that all of you pull as many of these as you can because they’re pure gold. For 5 points a piece Suited Henchman provides a surprising amount of power on any of his random clicks, but the big prize here is being a mere 5 points while not counting against theme teams and doing literally anything at all. There are tons of figures that look for other figures to die to activate some special power or ability, and this is how you do that. In sealed, Suited Henchman will probably make it onto your team solely due to how cheap he is. You really couldn’t ask for more for such a small investment.

In constructed they’re most definitely going to see some amount of play just because of their point cost. Pick some up while you can because they might be one of the best generics ever made even if you can’t control what powers they have.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 5/5

006 Alfred

Alfred clings to Batman as he moves around the map, granting him Enhancement, Empower or Support, as he moves down his dial. If that’s worth it to you, play him, if it’s not, don’t. He’s cheap enough it doesn’t matter too much, and he’s good enough even if you don’t have a Batman, but if you can’t reliably use his powers, he’s just a sitting duck. He’s fine.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

007 Leslie Thompkins

Leslie Thompkins is another incredibly cheap support figure, this time bringing Support at 15 points. With an 11 attack, Leslie doesn’t need Defend to share defenses, and Sidestep keeps her moving with the rest of your force without needing to worry about spending actions. Her special support isn’t bad, it’s weirdly complicated for not a huge boost, but with the amount of Batman Family in this set, it’s almost certain to go off a couple times. In constructed Leslie Thompkins is competing directly with Night Nurse, who has an extra click of life, Stealth and Defend, but costs an extra 5 points, and has worse keywords, and Jane Foster who’s twice as expensive, but is hard to target, can Support even with adjacent opponents and can turn into a deadly Thor when you need her to. None of these figures have seen a lot of play, and so, I can’t imagine Leslie Thompkins getting a lot of mileage in constructed, but she’s a great filler piece for a Politician or Gotham City team. Support just isn’t a focus in constructed right now, but if it ever is, Leslie will have a place.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

008 Two-Face

The Gotham Crime Boss shared trait is absolutely awesome and makes what looks to be a very mediocre dial a little better. Two-Face’s big deal is that he increases the damage he deals by 1 for every 2 in his attack roll. Sadly, he’s got a 10 attack for most of his dial forcing you to roll 7’s or 8’s to deal 3 damage, and even with the chance to do 4 with a psuedo critical, there’s no point spending an action to attack if you don’t know it’s going to do something. With no defensive powers besides Mastermind and only an average offensive capability, there’s no reason to spend 75 points on this dial.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

009 Mr. Freeze

Fries here is a really tanky ranged attacker, and he works really well in this set, where damage values tend to be low. His biggest weakness is his reliance on range, and the immense amount of Stealth in this set. 6 Range and 8 Movement give him a 10 range swing, but what really makes him scary is his Outwit. Even though it requires a token (which he can give out with Incapacitate), the ability to Outwit two powers on double tokened characters is going to be a real threat, especially against rares and super-rares who might have two powerful reducers back to back. Even after he loses Outwit, Mr. Freeze is sitting cool with Sidestep, Ranged Combat Expert, and Barrier, making him constantly useful for blocking your opponents shots, or taking 10 attack 4 damage shots at your opponents.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

010 Ninja

I’m a huge fan of this generic ninja. It almost replaces the Ninja from Deadpool and the X-Force for me , a figure that I am absolutely in love with. For 25 points, Ninja is a straightforward Charge/Blades character that can choose at the beginning of the turn to pick up Sidestep, Exploit Weakness or Precision Strike. This figure is going to be such a pain in sealed, because if you’re not paying attention, his 4 range Charge becomes a 6 with Sidestep, or your Superman who’s sitting safe with Invulnerable gets a penetrating Blades/Claws/Fangs roll straight to the end of his dial. Having Stealth on top of that is just the cherry on-top of the sundae, even if he doesn’t have Improved Movement. Don’t pass up on a surprisingly awesome secondary attacker for a very affordable 25 points.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

011 Commissioner Gordon

So let’s see here, Barrier, Force Blast, Leadership and an Incapacitate that can give 2 tokens…oh and the Police team ability? Yes, this strangely powerful Commissioner Gordon is amazing for 35 points. Even if you just use him to Barrier, he can easily make his points back by sitting beside your favourite ranged character and lowering defenses with his Police team ability. He’s a little bit more of a finesse character than the other support figures in the common slot, but this guy is going to be a huge addition to my Police team team.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

012 Harvey Bullock

Harvey’s a boring dial, but he does have Perplex on click 2. The biggest threat he provides is his Energy Explosion which he can use on characters adjacent to characters in hindering to hit those Stealthy boys. He’s not awful for 30 points, but he’s not exciting. A huge meh from me.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

013 Catwoman

Catwoman has a very, very strong dial for 40 points. 4 clicks of life with Sidestep, Perplex, Stealth, Combat Reflexes and Improved Movement: Hindering and Elevated, followed up by Flurry/Blades with an 11 attack. The big issue is that, when Catwoman does die, your opponents score her, and then she becomes friendly to them on her starting click. Her dial isn’t so undercosted that it’s worth giving your opponents an extra figure, even if you do just immediately turn her again. A cool concept that’s ruined by a debilitating trait and point cost.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

014 Harley Quinn

I always like dials like these, especially on Taskmaster and Crazy Jane. Harley’s is a little different in that she doesn’t return to the click she started on at the end of the turn, and that’s a blessing and a curse. After taking damage, it lets Harley randomly heal back to her first click, but it also let’s her be put on her last click at the worst possible moment, and then die to poison. I can’t say that she’s bad, as there are a lot of really great clicks throughout her dial, especially her top-click which gives Outwit. I would keep her top-dial until she takes a hit, and then start rolling, until you hit top-dial again (or a dial that suits you for the moment, whether it be Perplex or Tie-Up). With the right rolls, Harley could be almost impossible to kill, but this figure is definitely a your mileage may vary kind of figure.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

015 Dee Dee

It’s unlikely you’re going to pull two Dee Dee in your boosters, but even if you do, I don’t really thin it’s worth playing them at 90 points. While they do have a decent dial length for their point cost, you’re basically paying 45 points for a tertiary attacker and 5 clicks of Empower. If your team needs that, go ahead and play her, but more likely than not, you’re going to want to pass her by. If Wizkids had changed her movement power to say “…If Dee Dee is carried by a character named Dee Dee she may take costed actions as normal” they would be way more fun to play, but still not very great.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

016 Batman Beyond

Here’s the common power piece in this set, and by-god it’s amazing. Terry Mcginnis here is an absolutely awesome figure regardless of his rarity. With Stealth, Running Shot and Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering and Shape Change, Terry has an absolutely fantastic top-dial. He’s also got a trait that gives him access to 4 useful powers. Flight makes him a taxi on-top of all this, and Perplex late in his dial allows him to boost his attack to more than reasonable levels. This is the figure you want to pull in sealed, he’s affordable and powerful. This guy gets through the other Batmen in this set while staying safe with his own Stealth. When you’re building your sealed team, this is the guy you’re going to have to build it to beat. There’s almost nothing better than being able to take Steal Energy whenever you want it, and the set is filthy with Stealth, making him the must play figure of the set.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

Uncommon

017a Riddler

The Riddler is an interesting support figure, because of his trait which allows you to guess if the result of attack rolls made against him will be even or odd, with the prize being Riddler evading the attack. This trait is kind of a riddle itself, as you’re going to have to weigh the importance of odd rolls versus even rolls, and there is definitely one of those that’s far superior to choose. Rolling an even or odd number is about 50/50, but we can’t count 2 or 12 for this, as one will miss Riddler regardless and the other will hit him regardless. That lowers the chance of rolling even by 5.54%, which is a small amount, but is still relevant. This, of course, only matters if the numbers rolled actually could hit Riddler, which changes up the calculation again. With a 17 defense and the average attack being 10, most characters are going to need a 7 to hit Riddler which happens around 58% of the time. If you choose odd, that 58% becomes a 25% because they can’t roll 7, 9 or 11. If you had chosen even it would be a 36% chance to hit instead. In the end, the way to get the most out of this trait is to choose whatever the minimum number needed to be rolled is. So if they’re attacking him with an 11 attack, and they need to roll a 6, choosing even is the best way to go, even if in that case the difference between even and odd hitting is minimal. If that’s too hard to remember, always go with odd.

Phew, well, Riddler isn’t a bad figure, he’s hard to hit, able to re-roll and Outwit and has Incapacitate to make sure he can hurt your opponent. He’s not particularly exciting, but with his support powers and how difficult he is to hit, he can be a pretty useful shield and tie-up figure as well.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

017b Clock King

I’ll admit, I find the fact he has a special power that gives him Improved Movement: Characters only when he Sidesteps is very, very odd. But Clock King is a desirable figure in every other way. He’s 40 points for 5 clicks of life, with Outwit on the first two of those. The rest of his dial isn’t very exciting, giving him limited offensive options, but his trait…oh his trait, it makes me drool with anticipation for the time I can hold him in my hands, and place him on the map. At the beginning of your turn, you get to place a Time Bomb, or detonate one and give every character within 2 squares of it an action token. In sealed this allows you to control your opponents momentum, forcing them to move away, or get stuck in the same place for a turn. It’s even better when your deciding where to fight, forcing your opponents to come to you, and hopefully detonating three time bombs in a row, insuring their loss.

In constructed, it’s hard to say how effective this will be, but there’s a very good chance it’s going to make a splash. Right now there’s a huge focus on objects placed 6 squares out and special terrain like the boxing ring. If, for 40 points, you can place a time bomb that forces them to skip a turn with that character, or move away, you’ve just earned yourself another turn to prepare. Figures without Willpower need to worry even more, they can’t move within the range of a Time Bomb or Clock King will deal them 1 unavoidable damage for free. He’s a finesse figure, but if you know where your opponent likes to place on a map, Clock King can heavily influence them to find another location.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

018 Renee Montoya

I love the combo of Police team ability and Enhancement, but Renee Montoya just doesn’t do enough for me. Her special power forces opposing characters within 3 squares to breakaway, but without Plasticity, Renee isn’t keeping them there for long. The best use for that power is tying up a Stealthy character, as Stealth isn’t activated during that characters turn, but since she doesn’t stop close combat figures from actually moving up to her, she’s going to be easy to charge and kill. For 30 points she fits on a ranged heavy team, and there are certainly times when she can move into a group of opponents, stopping them all from doing anything for a turn, but it’s too limited, because if you don’t stop all of your opponents figures, then Renee isn’t going to survive another turn.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

019 Alfred

Alfred is the Moira Mactaggert for Batman Family teams, but without Leadership and the free ID Card. His special Perplex is more and more useful as the game goes on, and being able to push to Support is a nice end dial treat. Just like in all the comics, movies and tv shows, Alfred’s place is always right beside Batman, helping protect him from the evils of Gotham…Or not, and his defense power is weird and doesn’t make a lot of sense. Either way, Alfred is a decent addition to any team in sealed, solely for his Perplex, and if you have a member of the Batman Family, he might be able to do even more.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

020 Commissioner Barbara Gordon

Barbara can give police Improved Targeting: Hindering, something that absolutely wrecks a lot of figures in this set. If you pull her you have a leg up on the competition…or you would have if the Police in this set weren’t all relegated to support. I don’t think a Police theme is really viable with limited range and no move and attack, and it’s sad because with a strong police character in the common or uncommon slot, this would have been a really great sealed archetype to build. Even with that though, Barbara is almost as good a commissioner as her father was. Leadership, Enhancement and Police team ability make her a really great addition to ranged teams, and she can fall back to Perplex when you need it. She also has almost all of the useful keywords, making her an easy addition. Even if you never use her special attack power, she does bring a lot to the table like her father. In constructed she’s going to be an immediate addition to my Police team, making it way harder to escape their shots.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

021 Harvey Dent

Harvey Dent was made to shut down Masterminding damage to bystanders and suited Henchmen, and re-roll some dice while he does it. 55 points is getting up there for support powers, but 6 range and 10 attack gives him some secondary use. I don’t think his trait is going to be very useful in sealed, as few people will pull more than 1 Suited Henchman in their boosters, but figures like Ra’s can also great bystanders that he can Mastermind to. Harvey’s a fairly decent dial if you’re looking for Probability Control, and he’s not a bad secondary attacker to fill your team with.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

022 Mr. Freeze

He’s back and better than ever. With a long dial filled with reducers and an Incapacitate that also deals damage to the two targets he can hit, he’s a big ranged threat. Now of course, Stealth is everywhere in this set, but Mr. Freeze knows. His trait is one of my favourite traits I’ve seen so far in this set. Force Blast and Barrier make him a great figure for blocking off Stealthy characters. If they don’t have Charge or Combat Reflexes he can Sidestep in and punch or Force Blast them into a wall, and then Barrier them in, and if they do, he can make a wall around them keeping them out of the fight for a turn. There are a lot of fun options built in to this tanky ranged character, and there’s very little doubt that If I pull him, I’m going to play him.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

023 Kyodai Ken

Kyodai Ken is the next logical step from the Ninja bystander. A close combat, Charge/Blades figure with Stealth who can deal with characters way beyond his point value with a lucky Blades roll. Depending on who you send him after, he’s almost always going to have a 12 attack, and he has a surprising amount of protection if he misses a character in close combat, being able to give out a token to every adjacent character once per game. With a 50 points character, don’t be afraid to use the trait the first chance you get, because you never know when a Perplexed up Batman Beyond will end his life for good. He’s a great, effective secondary attacker, who can deal with a surprisingly large amount of the commons and uncommons.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

024 Lock-Up

Lock-Up is the obligatory tie-up figure for this set, and he sucks at typing up characters. Just because he has Plasticity does not mean he can reliably keep characters next to him, as he has absolutely nothing to protect him. Close attackers might actually want to Charge into this guy so that they can knock him off of his actual good Barrier power, and his Exploit Weakness, while earning themselves 40 easy points. While Lock-Up might be the worst tie-up, he’s not worthless at all. His special Barrier can slow down your opponents an incredible amount, and Exploit Weakness can help if people get too close. I don’t think he’s worth playing over Gordon, but he’s good filler when you need some extra protection for your team.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

025 Maxie Zeus

I’m a big fan of bystander generators, and Maxie Zeus’s stone harpies are definitely no exception. With 4 clicks of life Maxie Zeus isn’t a slacker on his own, with Sidestep and Energy Explosion making him a pretty decent ranged attacker (not 40 points worth, but alas), his 6 range gives him a surprisingly long reach for this set as well. What makes him really impressive is the bystanders he generates. They might not be able to move, but 6 range with Invulnerability and 10 attack and 2 damage is fantastic, especially when they can be placed for free, and are boosted by Maxie’s Enhancement. 10 attack and 3 damage is nothing to scoff at, especially when it’s coming from a 0 point figure. If you pull Maxie you might as well play him, as he’s just too cheap to ignore.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

026 Scarecrow

I’m really interested to see how useful Scarecrow will be, as I feel every set they try to make a character who’s built around a special Smoke Cloud use, and every time it’s not powerful enough to be reliably used. This Scarecrow can create a lot of smoke, and he can keep himself hidden in Stealth the whole game, but the limitation of the characters he can give Battle Fury/Immobile to makes him far less useful than he would seem. It’s the big figures you’re going to want to slow down with Scarecrow, yet most of them are immune to his tricks. I think he’s just too expensive for what he can do, he’s not worth Masterminding hits off of, and even though his Smoke Cloud can be an amazing tool for teams full of Stealthy characters, Scarecrow himself isn’t worth anything more than his Smoke Cloud. Only play him if you’ve got a team full of Stealth, and you don’t have something better to fill 60 points with.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

027 Penguin

Penguin is a really interesting uncommon figure that’s a great build around for Gotham City Underworld figures. For 50 points you’re getting four clicks of pretty decent values and powers. Sidestep, 10 attack, 3 damage, Outwit and 5 range makes him a pretty threatening figure, without his amazing trait. Leadership, Mastermind and the ability to generate henchmen for free is basically worth the 50 points as it is. In sealed, the trait doesn’t do as much in sealed, especially if you don’t pull any henchmen, but he’s still a surprising attacker and an excellent source of Outwit. Outwit is a necessity in sealed, and this is the dude to use it with. In constructed, Penguin is still an excellent figure with the ability to pump out useful figures and Outwit with a 19 defense from range and Mastermind to keep him safe.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

028 Batman

Here’s another shifting-focus style Batman, who’s got a lot of weird things throughout his two seperate dials. His first dial revolves around his free Smoke Cloud, which he can either move into place to use, or cover himself with, and then move out of to make a free attack. Sadly the damage values on this dial are awful for 75 points, making him more of a reliable Smoke Cloud user than an attacker. On the other hand, his offensive dial has Charge, Precision Strike and Outwit, making him a pretty strong attacker. Combining them together gives you a Charge character who can, after hitting an Outwitted character, hide themselves away in their own Smoke Cloud. He’s also got a strange trait that lowers opposing characters attack values when he hits with attacks, making him really strong against swarm teams, and reliably able to shut down attackers trying to get through his Combat Reflexes. A strange dial that’s probably a little too expensive for everything it does, but with a global effect that could be very effective.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

029 Robin

Robin is an average close attacker, with a lot of mobility and Stealth for protection. Because of that he’s going to be way more effective than he has any right to be in this set, even though he’ll almost never get his special damage power off in any useful manner. He’s no Kyodai Ken, but he’s solid enough to be an absolute annoyance.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

030 J-Man

J-Man is straightforward like Robin, and is just as useful. Perplex and Leadership give him a great suit of support powers, and Running Shot and Energy Explosion give him some mobility, and let him play tricks on Stealthy characters who are adjacent to a friend. He gets more close combat orriented by the end of his dial, but he’s never not a threat. He’s just an excellent addition to any sealed team as a secondary attacker who can easily hit for 4 damage if he wants to.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

031 Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is a mismash of powers, but she’s pretty scary for 50 points, with Mind Control, and later Perplex. Her big trick is creating Pheromone Mushroom bystanders after using Smoke Cloud, and the Mushrooms are amazing with 10 attack and Mind Control. Ivy is going to want to sit in the back, pushing up mushrooms wherever she can, forcing your opponents to deal with fairly powerful Mind Control attacks. While Pheromone Mushroom’s have no movement, it doesn’t say they can’t be carried, allowing for a mobile force of tiny mushrooms making their way throughout the battlefield. I can’t help but like this Poison Ivy, even if all she’s going to do is create mushroom friends for all of your force to carry.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

032 Roland Daggett

The Gotham Crime Boss trait comes back into play on a 35 point character, making him another great addition to any team. Roland Daggett brings along Smoke Cloud, which is nice to have on most teams, and a strange damage power that lets you spend an action to give a character Shape Change, which is nice I guess. I think he’s a nice little toolbox of powers, with two clicks of Outwit at the end of his dial, and while I don’t think he’s going to do a lot, being able to protect your Batman Beyond with Shape Change isn’t nothing. He’s just just worth his points, but that means you’re not losing out by playing him. In constructed he’s just flat out better because you’ll have more Suited Henchman figures to bring in.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

Rare

033 Talia Al Ghul

I’m excited by Talia’s dial design, we haven’t seen anything really like it before. Both dials are more than useful for 45 points, and they perfectly balance themselves, having a 18 Defend with Probability Control at the beginning of the game, that replaces one of your secondary attackers after they die. Talia Al Ghul also has Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering, making her one of the three figures in the set who can do that, and when she does target someone in hindering, she gets Penetrating/Psychic Blast too. Outwit rounds out the party on her second half, followed by two less good clicks of Sidestep/Stealth and Energy Shield/Shape Change, making her hard to hit, but not particularly offensive, but what can you expect for 45 points? She would be worth it in sealed solely for her first dial. The biggest danger is her getting turned before you need another attacker, and losing access to that Probability Control and Defend. She’s built to do well in this sealed environment, with Stealth busting capabilities and an 18 Defend to boost up the squishier figures in this set, as well as both Outwit and Probability Control, making her a great addition to any sealed team.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

034 Ra’s Al Ghul

Before we look at the bystandesrs he can generate, let’s just take a look at Ra’s dial. He comes in at 75 points with Stealth down his entire dial, and 4 clicks of Combat Reflexes, Blades/Claws/Fangs and his special Leadership power, followed by two clicks of Regeneration and Smoke Cloud. He’s a fine offensive character only held back by limited mobility, but with the ability to generate bystanders, he becomes nearly impossible to kill without Poison or Pulse Wave. With Stealth, Combat Reflexes and Mastermind, Ra’s Al Ghul forces you to meet a lot of criteria in order to deal him damage: First, be adjacent or see through hindering, second, roll high against his Combat Reflexes, and third, insure there are no adjacent characters for him to Mastermind to. That last one is one of the hardest, as he generates a bystander as the game starts, with Sidestep and Close Combat Expert, and whenever he succeeds at Leadership he can generate a ninja bystander who, of course, synergies with the Ninja figure, and is able to be given Sidestep, Blades, Exploit Weakness or Charge from their trait. I think he can do a lot if you play a slower game with him, trying to overwhelm your opponent with bystanders who can do a serious amount of damage, especially with the common Ninja, but without some good Leadership rolls, I think Ra’s just sits there, waiting for enemies to come to him, and if you’re opponent is smart, they’ll leave him there while they take out the rest of your team. He has high potential, but he can be very low impact.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

035 Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a brick that’s easy to play, and has enough going on to be worth fielding. At first, Diana is a taxi for your team who’s Sidestep lets her move 10 squares while carrying, with the added bonus of Empower to boost her passenger’s damage. Top-dial Invincible gives her a lot of protection, and let’s her survive to use her awesome attack power. Lasso Snare is what makes Wonder Woman’s Sidestep a good power for her to have. With Sidestep, it gives her a potential 7 range with her power, and let’s her grab out of the way characters. Because of the chance of failure, the power is best used when she’s already adjacent to an opponent, so that her free attack doesn’t go to waste. After she loses this power, she becomes an average Charge character relying entirely on Combat Reflexes to survive, but you’re only paying 75 points for all of this. Her values are always solid, and she always has something to do, making her a great sealed figure. The Justice League Unlimited trait is decent if you pull other members, it’s rarely going to go off and can’t remove tokens from herself making it a nice, but mostly useless addition to her arsenal. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something I really enjoy about this dial. It’s power level is high for it’s point cost and her lasso is a really well realized power.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

036 Superman

Here is one of the last figures in this set that can see through hindering, and with almost no ranged mobility, and only a 5 range, he’s not the best man for the job. That being said, Superman is another easy to play brick with a surprising amount of power for his cost. Hypersonic Speed and 4 damage top-dial, even if it’s only a one use thing, can allow Superman to snipe a pesky Stealth unit before he becomes reliant on Charge, and Invincible keeps him safe from a lot of this set. His special damage power gives him another way besides the JLU trait to take off tokens from Justice League Members and it also grants them Mastermind, which protects your team from weeny attacks that can’t get through Superman’s defences. Even his last two clicks with no mobility give him some survivability with good values and Steal Energy. Keep him in the middle of your team, and let him take the hits, while the rest of your team stays healthy. The only thing going for Superman for constructed is granting Mastermind to adjacent characters. I don’t think it’s worth it in the end, as he’s 100 points and is easily removed with Outwit, but there are definitely some interesting synergies possible with it.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

037 Nightwing

I really, really, REALLY don’t like Nightwing. His movement power grants Leap/Climb and Sidestep, and the ability to make a free attack if he has two action tokens, but guess what, Nightwing doesn’t have Willpower, and pushing him makes him lose a damage. Compared to the common Batman, Nightwing is even lacking in mobility, having to rely on Leap/Climb instead of Improved Movement and Sidestep instead of Charge. I get that he has Precision Strike, and that if he has two tokens, he’s going to be able to Move/Attack, then make a free attack, and then make another free attack next turn, but I don’t see it being effective enough to be worth pushing him off of the 3 damage. His last two clicks are fine as he does bring the always useful Outwit. Looking over him again, I’m not as negative as when I started, as 5 damage in a single turn isn’t anything to scoff at, but with his average values, I just don’t see him being the threat he should be, especially when to use that free attack, Nightwing has to take a damage. If you can score more than 50 points with Nightwing by pushing him, you might as well try, just be warned that Nightwing becomes incredibly vulnerable if you push too far with him.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

038 The Flash

The Flash is the main Hypersonic figure you’re going to see in sealed, and luckily he’s not too powerful as to warp the format (that’s Batman Beyond’s job) but still feels strong enough to be worth playing. The Flash comes in at 75 points for 3 clicks of Hypersonic Speed and Probability Control, followed by three clicks of Sidestep, Flurry. He’s got good defense values down his dial, but his attack and damage suffer after his first two clicks, leaving him a little less exciting. My biggest issue with The Flash is the lack of Willpower and any Improved: Movement. To hit, Flash is going to have to take the 1/6 chance that he’ll get stuck beside his target, and he’ll be heavily slowed down if he can’t ignore hindering terrain. Probability Control keeps him useful whether he can attack that turn or not, but I kind of feel like it’s not enough. In a set with a lot of Combat Reflexes, Flash is going to have trouble actually making hits land, and when he takes a hit up close, he’s going down to 9 attack, 2 damage Flurry, with only an average 17 defense. If you can keep him safe until the end of the game, he can clean up your opponents team easily with little worry of retaliation, but if he gets hit, you’re left with a weak attacker with little mobility.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

039 Green Lantern

I like Green Lantern, but for godsake why doesn’t John get Willpower? That’s their whole deal, and it would make him way, way better. Either way, Green Lantern is a really great reactive figure that can find the perfect answer to any situation, atleast while he’s on his first 3 clicks. Surprisingly, all of the choices have a reasonable chance of being used in sealed, with Ranged Combat Expert and Close Combat Expert making his average values look a lot better, Barrier allowing him to protect your team, Improved Targeting: Destroys Blocking Terrain can threaten your enemies when they least expect it and Giant Reach: 3 let’s him punch Stealthy characters without getting adjacent. All of these choices are fun, but the real reason you’re playing John Stewart is for his team ability. Being able to carry 8 figures in this set is almost game breaking. This guy is an insane taxi with a lot of potential as a secondary attacker, even picking up Perplex after he’s knocked to his second half of his dial. He has some lower values like Flash, but since he can do more than attack on every click of his dial, it’s not nearly as important.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

040 Batman

This Batman comes with the Batarang object, which he can also use for free, allowing him to move his whole movement, and unleash a 2 damage ranged attack. Okay, it seems more exciting before you look at the actual numbers, but Batman’s got a pretty long dial, and he has a lot of useful powers strewn throughout both starting lines. 125 points is a lot, especially with Batman’s chronically low damage throughout his whole dial. It’s helped a bit by being able to make free ranged attacks every turn, especially attacks that can ignore hindering terrain. I’m going back and forth on this dial. I think it’s incredibly hard to get through his Stealth, Toughness and Combat Reflexes, but I don’t think the amount of damage he puts out matches the investment you’re making on him. My final feeling is that, he’s worth playing at either point value solely for access to his free batarang throws to get through Stealth. Either point value works, but 60 doesn’t lower his effectiveness by much, and the 125 point line is definitely a little overpriced.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

041 Robin

Tim Drake comes in with a surprisingly strong dial, and two point values. At 75 points, he’s got Probability Control, and Running Shot/Incapacitate with 2 targets, making him a decent Incap character, and a worthy play if you’re running low on points. He’s also lacking any big damage, making him suffer against the tanky rares and super-rares. I’m going to suggest you play him at 40 points, where he starts with Enhancement, Sidestep and Incapacitate, but when pushed, picks up Probability Control, Combat Reflexes and Super Senses, when combined with the Stealth granted by the Batman Team Ability, Robin is going to be a very difficult character to kill. 40 Points is more than worth it for an extra re-roll per turn, and even though his damage isn’t high enough for him to be making big hits, you’re not expecting that from a 40 point character. His last two clicks are also impressive with Perplex, the same defense powers and Plasticity, which makes him one of the best tie-up figures in the set. He’s a solid play, with a lot of value on every click, making Nightwing look even more like a chump.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

042 The Joker

I like the Joker’s dial, but I’m not sure I would want to pay 80 points for it. Poison is a surprisingly effective power in this set, and Joker has it in spades. With Super Senses, Shape Change and Mastermind on the top-dial, Joker’s hard to hit, especially if you pull any Suited Henchman figures to call in. Putting him adjacent to a figure in Stealth lets him keep pinging them with Poison while relying on his defensive suit to protect himself, and creating figure to punch them, all at the same time. That being said, he’s still 80 points, and if they get through his defensive powers, he becomes squishy as anything, finally falling back to Stealth and Regeneration to keep him alive. If you have enough Mastermind fodder, he can be an annoying figure, but if he runs out, there’s going to be little chance he survives the second hit.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

043 Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is built almost exactly like Sand from the most recent X-Men set, except that she’s got Exploit Weakness instead of Precision Strike, and she costs 15 points more. The general idea with her is that you’ll use her free Smoke Cloud to act as a pseudo Poison that activates at the end of your opponents turn, while simultaneously boosting her defense to a massive 20. Dust was a great figure in sealed (especially in battle royales where the Smoke Cloud damage activated 3 times between your turns), and I’m sure Poison Ivy will also be equally as powerful, especially in a set filled with characters looking for hindering terrain and with limited reducers, she can slowly wear down a lot of the set every single turn without ever having to spend an action.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

044 Lex Luthor

Lex is another great support figure, this time bringing Outwit, Perplex and Leadership for a mere 50 points. Instead of Mastermind, Lex has a different way of protecting himself with Stealth and an 18 defense, as well as taking 1 damage if he’s adjacent to another friendly character. Even if your opponent hits him twice, he’s going to Outwit, keeping up his useful nature. While you might want to keep him in the back to help everyone, I think Lex might actually be better on the front lines, using his Outwit in the most effective manner possible, while forcing your opponents to chip away at him. The need to choose whether they’d rather hit a 50 point character 4 times, or be Outwit for the rest of the game, and that’s a surprisingly hard decision.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

045 Jervis Tetch

He’s a 60 point figure with 7 range Mind Control and Outwit, what else could you ask for from him? Not only is he the best Mind Control figure in the set, Jervis is just a solid guy to be around. He takes a page from Iron Rocket from the Thor set, but being able to adjust the movement of opposing characters he has hit with Mind Control, which at minimum lowers it by 1, and at maximum forces them to move into Hindering adjacent to another character, and instantly stop their movement. If he’s not interested in that, then he can just Mind Control one of the characters he’s already hit, regardless of where they are, leading to some interesting combinations, like moving them into the back on the first Mind Control, and then forcing them to attack the support with the second. He’s definitely not the most efficient or effective figure in this set, but he’s going to be fun to play, and is strong enough to be worth playing.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

046 Zeta

Zeta’s a pretty tough boy with Shape Change and Invulnerability, making him a tough target for a lot of this set to get through (until they Outwit him). What I like about Zeta is the Giant Reach: 3 paired up with his damage power that lets him raise his attack and lower his damage, and stop hit characters from using attack powers. For the most part, attack powers aren’t the thing you want to stop, but the boost to attack lets him strike at the stealthy Combat Reflex users from 3 spaces away with an 11 attack. Later in the dial, he loses that power in favor of Close Combat Expert, making him a real threat to anyone hidden in stealth. Even his last two clicks are pretty decent with Toughness and Regeneration giving him some longevity, and Outwit giving him a leg up on the opponents. He’s just a really solid close attacker with a lot of variety in his dial and a lot of survivability with his defense powers. Even his trait makes him harder to hit, by lowering adjacent opponents attacks if he’s adjacent to two of them. It’s a little weird that this trait is paired with a dude who wants to punch people from three spaces away, but whatever, it doesn’t detract from his dial, which is absolutely solid for 85 points.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

047a Killer Croc

7 Clicks of life for 80 points is a fantastic point to life ratio, and Killer Croc is scary as anything on any click throughout his dial. His top-dial is actually the weakest he ever gets with only Charge and Super Strength, which is followed by a pretty incredible power that lets him take 3 attacks in a row, paired with Battle Fury to get through Shape Change, and finally Flurry and Blades/Claws/Fangs to end it off. All you really want to do with Killer Croc is get him adjacent to the biggest enemy, and smash them until their dead, and then repeat until the game ends. Killer Croc’s mobility gets a boost when he occupies water terrain, making it easy for him to get up close. If he’s able to get into water, his Charge range increases from 5 squares to 8 squares, which is insanely impressive. He’s also able to carry tiny characters within 3 squares and line of fire, which is pretty interesting, but also kind of confusing. Either way, if you get to your opponent, they’re going to have to deal with him right away, or lose whoever is adjacent to him.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

047b Batman

Batman has a vanilla dial, but three separate traits that make him a lot more interesting. 50/50 Shape Change that can’t be Outwit makes him a serious threat, even if you don’t play the costed trait, that lets him be replaced by the rare. The costed trait doesn’t matter very much, unless you pull the rare, in which case I’d just play him main-force. The best trait, I saved for last, Batman increases light object ranged attacks by +1, which is cool and gives him a 6 range, 3 damage attack that he can keep repeating by generating a light object for free. So Batman basically has +1 damage whenever he wants it, or a 6 range 3 damage attack. He’s a great pull in sealed, and while not the most exciting prime ever, definitely earns his green ring.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

048 Bruce Wayne

I’m a big fan of Bruce Wayne, he reminds me a lot of The Chief, but requires a little more keyword specificity, only working with Batman Family characters, which I take some issue with, but I’ll get to that later. For most of his dial, Bruce Wayne sits in the back, helping his apprentice by re-rolling their attacks and giving them Outwit, which together makes him worth his 40 points. The end of the his dial gives him a stop-click that summons his dog Ace to his side. He’s not helping his apprentice anymore, but he’s a nice little Outwit figure with a charging dog at his side. Now my problem with him. It’s nice that he’s able to work with a lot of this set, but limiting his apprentice solely to Batman Family completely torpedoes his value as a figure. If he was limited to characters he shared a keyword with, or any character he would be a must play figure on a lot of teams, as he’s hard to kill, and provides a lot of excellent support for your team. Limiting him to Batman Family insures that he’s not going to see play until they release some much stronger members of the family. Hopefully in sealed you pull another clan member to work with him.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 1/5

Super-Rare

049 Baby Doll

I don’t really get Baby Doll’s dial design. She’s a tiny sized Perplex or Outwit as long as the character she selected at the beginning of the game is still alive. She’s also got a special Energy Explosion that gets around Super Senses, but using it makes her Shape Change worse. I don’t understand why I, or anyone else would want to pull this figure besides attachment to the character itself. Here’s 40 points of Outwit, followed by Perplex that’s pretty hard to hit, but also someone that can be completely neutered by killing their much more threatening kindred spirit. This is some absolute trash. The only reason I’m giving her 2 instead of 1 is because of the value of Outwit and Perplex in sealed. What a waste of a Super-Rare slot.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 0/5

050 Bane

Bane is a beastly close combat figure that can run straight through walls with no trouble at all. He’s got the unique element of having Outwit, and Outwit protection, even if it is limited, making him more of an interesting take on a close attacker than many. His special attack power is less interesting, as it just lowers the attack and damage of hit characters, which is useful, but forces you to remember something that’s easily forgotten. The thing that makes Bane really great, and what will make him an expensive super-rare is the venom harness he comes with that boosts all of his stats and gives him Battle Fury (watch out Baby Doll), at the price of a 50/50 chance of taking an avoidable damage. It’s a price worth paying, and it turns Bane from a good close attacker into a truly scary one.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

051 The Phantasm

The Phantasm is a collection of semi-original elements that lead to her being a really interesting character. Her movement is totally unique, allowing her to place Smoke Clouds, and then move through them, removing them as she does. The biggest limitation of this is her low range with Smoke Cloud, allowing her to only move 4 spaces away at most, limiting her pretty significantly. Luckily she does have Stealth, making her free Smoke Cloud still useful. Offensively, she’s really strong at getting through characters of lower points with a 12 attack and Blades/Exploit Weakness on her top-click that turns to Perplex, but only to target opposing characters. The final piece of the puzzle is the Mystics team ability, which is a nice thing to have, but I don’t think makes The Phantasm much better. I like her on her first click, but after that she falls apart a lot, leaving a weirdly limited close attacker with a cool, but also limited movement effect.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

052 Batgirl, Shadow of the Bat

Like most title characters, Barbara’s got a long dial for her 70 point cost, and a vanilla dial with tons of different powers. Her continuity trait falls somewhere in the middle of negative effects, giving all your opponents +1 attack for the rest of the game. Luckily, she brings enough to the table to make up for that, with Perplex, free movement, Outwit and free Charge and an ultimate that lets her give tokens to huge swaths of characters. The ultimate is actually the weakest option available to her, as it isn’t Incapacitate, and therefore can’t really do damage to larger characters. The first time I saw her dial, I thought it looked a little barebones, but if you imagine her having Perplex or Outwit on every click, it starts looking a lot better. In sealed she can be a real mean customer, as her powers let her insure she can make the attacks she needs to not take damage, and keeps her mobile, so she can stay up close without needing as much protection. The 4 range is a little sad, but I’m overall pretty pleased with this Batgirl. Competitively I don’t think she has the power needed to see consistent play, but she’s a really fun figure that can do anything you need her to do for your team.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

053 Batman, Caped Crusader

Batman’s Continuity Trait is far worse than Batgirl’s making your opponents figures much, much harder to hit, to the point that the game might as well be over. My biggest issue with Batman is the lack of Outwit on the dial, with it only showing up on his last two clicks. His plot powers are pretty decent, giving him free Smoke Cloud, movement, healing and the same massive token giving spree that Batgirl has. For 100 points, 30 more than Batgirl, Batman seems much less useful, having only moderately high values, and the same length of dial, with far less useful powers. His three middle clicks have average values and Sidestep and Close Combat Expert, which works really well with his free movement power, but is still a very weak three clicks for 100 points. He’s worth the points you spend, but he’s nowhere near the best title character in the game.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

054 The Joker

The Christmas Joker is definitely a front loaded guy, with two fantastic clicks with Sidestep, Charge, Plasticity, Outwit, Perplex, Blades and Willpower all together. There’s two kind of strange elements here, the first being Plasticity paired with no real defensive power, and the second being, no defensive powers at all. I get this guy is 75 points, but it seems ridiculous he has no protection on his starting dial, and is somewhat relegated to standing in the back row using his Outwit and Perplex, and not his Charge/Blades. The rest of his dial is pretty standard, with no bad clicks, but no outstanding ones either. Joker also brings his christmas present to play, which can either kill itself, give him a free Incapacitate at 3 range (not something that helps him up close or far away) or potentially stops a character from doing anything but move. The last option is incredible, but also unlikely, but free Incapacitate is never bad either. Regardless of how he is in sealed, this Joker is headed straight for the competitive scene as soon as the Joker ID Card drops. I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty positive that he gets his present when he’s called in letting him Outwit someone’s defense, Perplex his attack up to a 12, make a free Incapacitate, and then Charge/Blades the Outwitted character before Sidestepping out of range of the person who called him in and disappearing. If that’s not worth 5 points, I’m not sure what is. Even for sealed, he’s squishy as anything, but he can make an impact if you keep him safe, and if you’re worried, leave him in the back, using his Outwit and Perplex until you need an attacker.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 5/5

055 Robot Minotaur

Before you say anything, I do get it. Creating a hugely undercosted character with a major drawback almost always leads to a fun, playable dial, like the uncommon Green Lantern from Elseworlds. In this case, it’s lead to the creation of a giant close attacker that’s cheap to play, but boring as anything. Robot Minotaur just doesn’t feel like a super-rare to me. He’s not complicated, except that Outwit hurts him even more than it should, and he can be played with the Riddler to make him even cheaper. Even at 50 points, I don’t think Robot Minotaur would see play. In sealed, he’s definitely workable, but anyone with Outwit makes him worthless, and his attack values don’t live up to the powers he comes with. In constructed, he’s a 50 point sitting duck that can barely get around with a 7 movement, and can be dealt with incredibly easily. I get it, I just don’t like it at all.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

056 Clayface

Clayface is the upgraded version of Zeta, with a longer dial, better values and a higher point cost, but still the up-in-your-face tanky design that he brought to the table. Clayface’s big trick is gaining tokens as he succeeds with Shape Change which let him increase his rolls for Blades, Impervious, Shape Change, Super Senses and Regeneration, making each successful roll increase his already immense durability. Because of this, you’re best bet with Clayface is to target bunches of lower point figures that can make more attacks, and give you more tokens. His damage power also depends on these tokens, giving him more reach for every token he has until he’s basically a sniper rifle, able to smash people from across the map. What I like about Clayface is that he plays into those kind of powers that are immensely powerful, but rarely can be pulled off, but he does so with a much more grounded level of power. He can become immensely powerful as he chains together his tokens with his Shape Change to create more, and then use them to punch people 5 spaces away, but more than likely, he’s going to find some mild use from it, and make a few rolls that he normally wouldn’t. In sealed I think he’s a great play, with a ton of durability in a set that lacks that. In constructed, I think he takes too long and he isn’t durable enough to compete with the best long lived figures. Even if there was eventually a Clayface ID Card, this guy just isn’t built for the immediacy of call-ins, and just costs too much.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

057 Man-Bat

Man-Bat looks like a lot of fun to play, and he definitely can be very effective, but I don’t think he’s the second coming of Nightcrawler, and I don’t think he’s going to make a huge impact on the competitive scene. That being said, who cares about the competitive scene when you pull this guy in sealed. He’s a Hypersonic character that’s not stopped by Hindering Terrain and who has Willpower to keep him going turn after turn. With good rolls, he’s even placing the character he hit, and potentially dropping them off of buildings for some incredible damage. Defensively he’s relying on a Stealth/Super Senses/Shape Change combo, but with an improved Super Senses that’s easier to pull off when they have an action token (or two if they can attack for free). The end of his dial is a bummer, but those three clicks of picking up characters and dropping them reminds me of how much fun Speed Demon from the first Deadpool set was. All of this is great, but it’s hard to pull off. Needing to roll 2 higher than their defense value, especially in a set with lots of Combat Reflexes isn’t an easy task, and it’s made even harder with his 10 attack. If you can set up a killbox, it’s worth dumping Perplex into him, but it’s still far from guaranteed. It’s this reason he’s never going to be part of the competitive scene, he’s just not reliable enough to be worth the points. I love him in more casual games, and I’m going to use him a ton if I pull him, but he’s not the powerhouse I’ve seen some people think he is.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

058 The Ventriloquist

This guy is as exciting as his dial is boring. Looking just at his dial, he’s got the worst values, with Sidestep and Willpower being the only powers throughout his short dial. Looking at his first trait though, he picks up Leadership, Mastermind, Energy Explosion, Ranged Combat Expert and 4 range, making him a pretty serious attacker, with the ability to pump out Suited Henchman just like the other crime bosses. The other trick up his sleeve is the ability to unequip Scarface to ignore all but 1 damage, making him surprisingly hard to kill for a 40 point figure. Even with Scarface, he’s far from being an offensive powerhouse, but he’s a nice enough addition to your team. In constructed, Scarface is a great object to have access to as it grants two useful ranged powers to anyone who needs them. It’s far from the best object, but what it does is unique.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

059 The Gray Ghost

The Gray Ghost is one of those figures that’s not really great in sealed, because of an effect that has huge ramifications in constructed. His first trait buffs his and a Batman’s critical hit chances, making them 4x more likely to happen, but if you don’t have a Batman on your force to choose, Gray Ghost doesn’t get the boost. It’s a fun bonus, but it’s not reliable enough to depend on. His second trait is where he gets really exciting, as it completely hoses strategies revolving around bystanders by stopping the generation of multiple bystanders with the same name. In this set it can help against Poison Ivy, Maxie Zeus and a few of the chases, but for the most part won’t limit most characters, but in constructed, it can slow down figures like Carnage and Groot who’s goal is to create value over time by generating more and more bystanders. That being said, if traits like this are put on characters that are too expensive their value is dramatically limited, luckily Grey Ghost is only 40 points, and has a fairly decent dial for those points. Most of his dial is a weird combination of Energy Shield and Plasticity, with Close Combat Expert, but his third click has both Perplex and Outwit, making him a really amazing figure to have around if you can somehow get him to that click. His higher point value at 70 makes him more of an average close attacker, but it does provide him with his special damage power top-dial, negating any need to push him to it. In sealed he’s great at his 75 point dial where he can use his special power and Charge to deal some damage.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

060 Hawkman & Hawkgirl

Hawkman & Hawkgirl look underwhelming at first glance, with two sets of 5 clicks, similar to the uncommon Batman and Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Unlike those previous characters, when these guys die, they switch to the half of the dial you weren’t using, giving them 10 clicks of life for 125 points, with one sort of stop-click. The two dials themselves aren’t particularly special, but they don’t lose any strength as they take damage, keeping them a threat through all of their life. On-top of a strongish dial, they also get a 3 movement Sidestep which gives them an incredible 8 movement Charge, or a 13 movement Hypersonic Speed. These guys are absolutely a must play in sealed where most teams will have a hell of a time getting through both their dials. On-top of their durability, they’re strong and mobile, and are possibly the best pull in this set that isn’t named Batman Beyond.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

061 Zatanna

Make way for the best 75 point and possibly 50 point support in the game! Zatanna at 50 is a clone of the fan favourite fast forces Scarlet Witch, with Probability Control and Perplex for one insanely cheap price. There’s absolutely nothing bad you can say about a figure with this much value. At 75 points, she’s a little different. Zatanna picks up a special attack power that combines Telekinesis, Penetrating/Psychic Blast and the ability to generate a bat bystander that can Enhance adjacent characters. It’s just three more awesome tools for her toolbox. With a Perplex and two Enhancement bats, Zatanna can boost any ranged characters damage by +3 easily. With the Mystics team ability keeping her safe, Zatanna is a perfect addition to any Justice League or Mystical team, and a great addition to your sealed team on either starting line.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

062 Inque

Inque is a finesse figure if I’ve ever seen one. She’s kind of an upgrade to the rare Flash by giving him a little more mobility, and a bevy of useful defense powers, making her tough to hit, but also able to hit back harder than he ever was. The thing that makes her stand out is her pick-a-power trait that let’s her be carried, gives her Giant Reach to strike farther away, or Stealth/Shape Change to boost her defense. She’s full of potential offensive and defensive potential, but you need to know what to pick and when to pick it to get the most benefit from it. I’m personally a big fan of her Giant Reach: 2 paired with Sidestep and Close Combat Expert, allowing her to strike at targets farther away. Inque can make a mess of most figures in this set, but she’s really mean as a clean-up figure. With her mobility, and strong defensive set, Inque can stay away from any lingering figures, while avoiding their ranged attacks easily. Her biggest flaw is not having Improved Movement: Hindering to pair with her Stealth, but it’s a minor thing in the long run.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

Chase

Instead of ratings, I’ll be ranking the chases from my favourite to least favourite, as they’re all really good, and worth playing.

The big thing these chases have going for them is their shared Troubalert traits, which allow them to be called in for free by a character who makes the third missed attack of the turn or critically missed. If they do get called in, then the rest of the game they have a 50/50 chance to take an unavoidable damage at the beginning of your turn. While you need to be careful not to call them in at the wrong time and give away points, a free character is a free character. There’s absolutely no reason not to fill up what space remains on your sideboard with these Chases, even if you only call them in 1/100 games, they’re free and the tiniest chance that calling in a Batman could win you a game, why wouldn’t you? These chases are boring because of this. What point is there in team building with them when there’s no reason not to put them on. While these are modern, every single team might as well include at least one of them, no matter how casual or competitive your team is.

069 Green Lantern (Rank 1)

Green Lantern is one of the most undercosted figures available in the game as of the release of Batman the Animated Series. For 30 points, you’re getting a taxi with Sidestep, Enhancement, Telekinesis and Barrier that pushes to Running Shot and Pulse Wave. It’s just hard to pass up something that undercosted. It’s also impressive that you can call all this in for 0 points too. Green Lantern’s 70 point dial isn’t quite as good, as he loses some of that support viability in favor of weak reducers, and a power that generates one of the best support figures in the game. I don’t see him being worth it at 70, atleast not in the same way he is at 30. His occasional weakness trait is a mixed bag, as yellow powers aren’t one of the more common powers, but you never know when a character with Phasing will ruin your day.

072 Firestorm (Rank 2)

Firestorm is similarly suited to support as Green Lantern is, but with Probability Control and Energy Explosion, instead of the huge array of powers that Hal sports. That being said, Firestorm’s second click brings a +2 Perplex to the table for a mere 40 points making him immensely powerful if you can safely get him to that click. I don’t think you’ll see Firestorm played as much as Green Lantern, but he definitely has what he needs to see some play. At his higher point cost, he suffers from a lack of Willpower, even if he starts with his double Perplex. 80 points is hard to spend on him when you could have the Chase Starfox from Avengers Infinity, but he’s got his own place, and he’s still fantastic on his own.

068 The Flash (Rank 3)

The Flash is another figure that comes in with Probability Control, but costs 10 points less than Firestorm. He takes more of an active role on your team with Flying and Hypersonic Speed keeping him offensive, and Precision Strike insuring his damage sticks. On his later clicks he picks up Pulse Wave and Telekinesis. A strange combination, but useful none the less. At 60 points, Flash has a lot of power for a Hypersonic Speed, easily comparing to his 75 point rare counterpart. For his weakness, Sidestep can be a bit of a problem as it’s on so many characters now, including bystanders like Walking Woods. Even then, Flash is still dramatically undercosted for what he brings with him.

063 Batman (Rank 4)

It might totally just be my nostalgia for the Trinity War super-rare, but this Batman reminds me of that fantastic pick-a-power Bruce. At either starting line Batman’s got Outwit and his special attack power that lets him use Smoke Cloud to give him tokens to choose an attack power on later turns. For 60 points, it lets Batman use Running Shot/Pulse Wave, and at his lower point cost it gives him all sorts of useful powers like Blades, Telekinesis or Penetrating/Psychic Blast, giing him a lot of useful options. When he takes damage or pushes, he changes to Probability Control, making him another useful support character to call in.

064 Robin (Rank 5)

Robin’s got the advantage against the other Superfriends, as he gets an extra trait to help him. The captured trait is interesting, as it’s just as helpful as it is potentially hurtful if your opponent is able to score Robin multiple times. Either way, 20 points for Perplex is a really, really good price to pay, especially when he can never be truly killed, when he’s just brought back after killing his killer. As long as you don’t let your opponent go crazy on Robin, he’s a useful figure to play at 20 or bring in for free.

066 Superman (Rank 6)

Superman and Wonder Woman are pretty similar in what they do. Both are close attackers and can give tokens to opposing characters for free. Superman is slightly better than Wonder Woman in my mind due to his ability to break walls when he uses his free power, and his Hypersonic Speed on his last click gives him just a little more utility. That being said, I’m probably never using this Superman on my main force, as I’d rather the chance to call in an outstanding close attacker for free to smash apart my enemies, and break all the walls I need. That’s the only reason Superman falls below Robin, because there’s just no reason to play him at 100 or 40.

067 Wonder Woman (Rank 7)

Just like Superman, Wonder Woman’s biggest use is giving out action tokens without needing to spend actions. Unlike Superman she can give actions to characters adjacent to the original target, making her power slightly better than his. Unlike Superman, she doesn’t have Super Strength and has one less movement for her Charge. They’re almost equally good, but I think Superman just takes it by a little.

070 Apache Chief (Rank 8)

Apache Chief seems like he’s not doing much, but at 30 points, he can become surprisingly strong if given the proper amount of time to collect tokens, and get big and strong. Because of his trait, he’s also able to act as a decent taxi, and a surprisingly strong close attacker at both his 50 and 30 point values. The biggest disappointment with him is his somewhat lackluster Troublalert power, which does let him Charge and Quake with Giant Reach: 2, before potentially taking damage and losing a lot of his value. As a character that gets better with time, he loses a little luster when he’s possibly taking a damage each turn. Even then, he’s a severely undercosted close attacker that can be a real threat if left unchecked. As far as I know, Giant Reach wouldn’t be affected by the Rule of 3, allowing him to grow his close attack range to ridiculous levels.

071 The Atom (Rank 9)

I don”t think Atom is a great Troubalert character, and I don’t think his 20 point dial is great either. What I do like is his 50 points dial where he has Pulse Wave, Outwit, Leadership and Probability Control. I’d definitely pay that much for those powers, and his Occasional Weakness being Giant and Colossal characters means that he’s fairly safe from your average offensive character. He’s a solid support figure with a lot of value on his top clicks. The fact his troubalert doesn’t have much value is the only reason he’s down this low.

073 Hawkgirl (Rank 10)

Choosing between Hawkgirl and Hawkman was hard, as both have fairly similar dials, and both have restrictive occasional weaknesses. The thing that pushed Hawkgirl over Hawkman was that her weakness is as restrictive for her as it is for her opponents. Needing to be the first attacker is not always as easy thing to accomplish, and it’s impossible for Hawkgirl if she’s called in. It’s still better than lowering attack against characters without Flight, but neither are fantastic options. Hawkgirl also brings another element to her game plan, her Average Bird bystanders. They might look pretty weak with only 1 damage, but their Flurry and someone with Empower next to them can get them to deal 4 damage without much worry. It also allows Hawkgirl to create some blockers to help her keep opposing characters off of her. Even if she dies to her TroubAlert trait, she has brought value to the field with this bystanders.

074 Hawkman (Rank 11)

Hawkman’s dial is the reverse of Hawkgirls, and that does mean he’s probably the better offensive TroubAlert call-in when opponents are up close, able to reach a 10 attack and 3 damage against grounded opponents, or an 11 attack 4 damage against flying ones. His occasional weakness is going to be a lot more than occasional, and his special power is nowhere near as good as Shayera’s. A power action to potentially give action tokens isn’t nearly as useful as Wonder Woman and Superman’s powers, leaving Carter out of luck. Even with his low placement, Hawkman is still worth playing for 0 points, and even at 30 points he’s undercosted.

065 Aquaman (Rank 12)

Aquaman is the weakest of the chases, but honestly he’s not terrible for his points either. The biggest issue with Aquaman is that his Average Fish bystanders can’t really do anything. Their Force Blast can’t be used against characters bigger than them and their low values don’t let them do much offensively, even if Aquaman can generate three of them. The only thing Aquaman can do with them is easily make three missed attacks to summon in another chase with little worry. If that’s worth something to you, Aquaman is your guy. Aquaman is also able to create water token to keep his fish alive, and create another fish inside of, which is useful I guess, even if the fish themselves don’t really do anything. Aquaman is actually a pretty solid dial for 50 or 30 points, it’s just a shame his occasional weakness is absolutely debilitating. Atleast he can create the water terrain he needs to protect himself, even if it’s impossible to really control where your opponents are going to stand. Without his weakness, Aquaman would be playable, with it, he’s just a little weak, but brings so many bystanders to bear that he might find some value as other sets come out.