Duo review

featuring...

BIG BARDA

& MISTER MIRACLE

Welcome to another Duo review!

Today we venture into the Fourth World:



R BIG BARDA


E MISTER MIRACLE


U BIG BARDA AND MISTER MIRACLE



Big Barda And Mister Miracle's gains over Barda/Miracle

Immediately, the Hypertime TA sticks out as a plus, and will protect the duo 1/3 of the time from getting based. Aside from a TA you'll likely forget to use, the Duo bump up their range to 6, outclassing Barda's 4, and Scott Free's 0. Range nerfing powers will never be an issue with the Duo as it is with solo-Barda, as the pair dump the former's Battle Fury in favor of a full dial of Support and attack powers like Outwit, Perplex and CCE.

Barda gets the better end of the duo-deal with an upgraded Defense. 18 Invulnerable replaces her figure's 15 Toughness. Whether or not 18/INVL is better than Mister Miracle's 18 Super Senses is subjective, but once that Invulnerability is gone, it's never coming back so it may be better to make an enemy push you off it rather than push off it yourself.

The Green Lantern of New Genesis also features a higher opening attack than Barda and Miracle combined, but quickly loses utility when pushed with AV's dropping steadily thereafter. Overall the Duo's attack values are better than their component parts.

Three clicks of combined TK/Super Strength outclass solo-Barda's 2 clicks of TK and make this the most damage efficient of all Duos. On their own (and pushed onto their second click) Barda and Mister Miracle could possibly dish out 9 clicks of damage. Perplexing up their damage value to a 4, and armed with a Heavy Object their first Duo attack would net 6 clicks, while the second would hit for 3.

Damage Values are solid, with 4 clicks of natural 3 damage. Super Strength and Perplex can help pad the numbers. The dial dips down to 1 damage in the middle, but is backed up by CCE to give it a little boost, still able to crack Invulnerability which is respectable.

Mid dial the Duo gets 4 clicks of Incapacitate, just one more than E Mr. Miracle. Also present here, but not found on the individual figure's dials is Barrier and Close Combat Expert, as well as the Miracle Construct SP. The SP may not be real useful with 1 damage, but it's there. Just think of it as a Barrier that grants a free attack. If the attack hits - bonus! If it misses, well, it was only 1 damage anyway.

Big Barda And Mister Miracle's losses over Barda/Miracle
Barda and Miracle have a better speed value than Barda by herself, but are outclassed by Mister Miracle, who has higher numbers across the dial, and a full spectrum of powers to use including Plasticity and Phasing/Teleport.

Also missing from the Duo's dial: Energy Explosion, Smoke Cloud, Force Blast, Support, Regenerate and Earthbound. Again, their presence and position make some of them of questionable use. Is it better for Miracle to use Support or Regenerate? Should Barda attack outright, or use Force Blast? Only the roll of the dice and course of the battle will dictate the answer.

The Duo's defense follows the trend set by Barda's solo figure, dropping out of view faster than. Individually, Mister Miracle is a pain to take down, with 3 clicks of 18 defense protecting his hide. Barda's defense may be low, but she picks up 5 clicks of toughness, which may be better than 1 click of Invulneriblity.

If I had to chose.
It's a tough call, and a lot like comparing a hammer with a Swiss Army Knife. Of the two, Mister Miracle is clearly the knife - a precision support piece, useful for harassing and tying up an opponent 2 damage won't get him far but should net a kill or two by the time the dust clears from the rest of the fight.

If Barda is the hammer... well let's face it, Barda's a messed up hammer. Her dial layout just doesn't gel. Front Loaded TK would have increased her utility 100%. Force Blast is a power better suited for when her AV is in the toilet. As it stands, she's graced with toploaded EE - at a 4 range! Barda's likely never going to use the EE. She'll just as soon get shot out of the sky at which point she'll pick up an object to increase her damage value (by very little) and try to hit anything with that miserable 6 AV. Barda is glorified Mastermind Fodder (note the capital F), and we all know it.

Neither Big Barda or Mister Miracle can hold their own in a fight the way the Duo can. Big Barda and Mister Miracle are not only a very big hammer, but a Swiss Army Knife as well and are comfortable directing the fight from the back row, using Outwit to foil the enemy and TK to direct traffic. Additionally the Green Lantern of Sector 796 is just as well suited to lead the charge against the opposition. The Duo gets my vote when I'm looking for a multi-functional attack piece.

In the meantime, when I want to use the characters individually, I'll stick with the E (or R!) Miracle, and will have to scrounge up an extra Kalibak U to transplant Big Barda's sculpt to. Kalibak's dial is what non-lantern Barda's should have looked like.



EDIT: Bonus Feat recommendations!!!!

I hesitate using feats on these guys because they're 151 points, and nothing really strikes me as a "ZOMG!!!!1!" Bert & Ernie/ PB & J kind of combo. 4 clicks of Incap are normally a signal to use Stunning Blow, but their damage value is so meager that it's not worth it. That said, here's some feat suggestions:

Aside from the obvious Protected, keep them on their top click and use OUTSMART or push them off the top click and they're a BRILLIANT TACTICIAN for the GLC or New Gods.

CONSTRUCT is always useful with Barrier.

In the "Strange but True" department, Maneuver works on this duo and extends to their Barrier SP. Put a Barrier up, make a close combat attack as a free action through the barrier, and then move the target adjacent to you. It defeats the purpose of the Hypertime TA, and you may not want an enemy adjacent when BB & MM are weakened at that point they get CCE - but it's an option.

Likewise LUNGE works on those CCE clicks too. I wouldn't recommend it.

Strategy:

While BB&MM excel at damage output up close, I'd play this figure strictly as a ranged piece. Stay in hindering to get a +1 DV bump at range and hold onto a Tombstone or 3D Desk and dare someone to base you. Even if they do get past the HT TA, they're looking at a mess of damage should they miss that mighty defense.

Here's a fun team 800 point build idea:

Alternate Universe Justice League!

Keyword: Warrior

223 CJ "Son of Darkseid" Superman
90 CR "Knightfall" Batman
94 JL "Artemis" Wonder Woman
151 JL "The nail" Big Barda & Mr. Miracle (Green Lantern)
90 AA White Martian (Martian Manhunter)
51 UN Hawkgirl
+
48 JL Shining Knight (filler)
25 UN006 HDC Trooper (Snapper Carr?)

Total = 772. Plenty of room for some feats!

Thanks for reading!

I have played this Duo numerous times and can attest to the fact they are better than two two individual pieces. Super Senses does nothing for me, yet this pieces Hypertime TA protects time more than it should.

I never thought Hypertime was useful, but it's proven me wrong time and again. I was lucky enough to pull this figure in a sealed Starro event, and it kept Slave Flash from attacking me more than once. At one point, Slave Flash ran into the bank vault, and I used the Barrier/free attack SP to make an attack when he was out of my LoF. I missed, but it was still nice to hit someone I didn't have direct LoF to.

The best use of the Hypeertime TA happened when an Enemy Icons Joker tried to reposition into hindering next to me and failed - and was stuck out in open terrain.

Not to mention that BB& MM are 1 of the coolest looking sculpts in the game.

It may be my all time favorite piece, and one of the reasons I liked the new 60 figure set distribution (I'd love it if they put 90 in a set though!).

This is one duo that I would love to get a hold of. I think you pay to much for what they do, but 'Miracle Construct' is a pretty cool power and the fact that they start with an 18def with Invuln. is a great way to start it. I agree with Doctor X on the sculpt, it just looks sweet. Nice review.

Great review. I was so glad to see this figure being made, never thought an "Another Nail" character would be clixed. Mr. Miracle's greatest escape FTW!

And man, that pic at the end of the review, of Lantern Barda calling out Darkseid, awesome.

These two characters are some of my favorite in DC. I am a big Mr.Miracle fan, i really enjoy this clix. Its not an auto win, but it does give you a lot of options and a lot of fun.

I've always loved the Mister Miracle figures, especially the R & E versions. But those Barda pieces are trash in the current environment, and that dog's gonna lose the comparison with the duo in spite of the utility provided by MM.

This is one of my fave figs. Definitely, a Doable Duo.

The barrier special power is remarkably useful aswell.

Great Review as always. You definitely have a touch when it comes to bringing out the best in pieces that I might not have noticed.

Awesome Review
Great Job

Won a couple of "Shock the Turtle" Battle Royals at Conventions with the Hypertime TA alone.

My opponent had Black Adam. I had Harbinger, Mammoth, Shimmer, and a ranged piece that I can't remember.

I ran in and squatted in the middle of the field with my HT pieces and he never had a chance to base me due to my numerous rolls negating adjacency. It was hilarious.

That HT and the old KC have always been a bane to me. Well worth it.