Ever face a figure or team you can't seem to take down? Then this is the series for you. We take a deeper look into those problematic pieces and Exploit their Weaknesses! In this edition, we examine two characters that have worked well together in the past and why they can still be good together in the future!

Click "Full Story" below as we analyze these awesome figures and Exploit their Weaknesses.

Thanks for joining me in another installment of Exploiting Weaknesses! As with the other articles' precursors, Pulse Wave will not be discussed as it is almost always effective. If it isn't effective, I will point out why.

Here are the dials for reference.




Things that tell me I need to use good detective skills:

- 2 Outwit
- Running Shot + Precision Strike combo
- High combat values
- Bat Ally TA
- We Will Make Things Right Again
- A Man Reborn

Exploiting Nigma and Batman's Weaknesses

Here we have a nice 210 points of Detective/Gotham City Keyworded figures. The make up a pretty solid base for any team with those keywords, especially in higher point games. In the comics, Bruce and Eddie have worked with and against each other off and on. When we look at these two specifically, there is some synergy that shines through but there are also some hindrances that we can exploit.

First they both have outwit and that can be tough to deal with. 1 outwit can be hard enough but two can be devastating. If you are counting on that cool shape change and invincible to keep you safe, think again! The nice thing here is there are multiple ways around it. They have 6 range so we can stay away from them so they can't get to us as easily. Neither can ignore characters or terrain for line of fire so that means blocking or barrier can work, elevated can be a nice work around, hiding in stealth and play the same game Batman is, or using a meat shield can also slow them down.

The next thing we can see is the great combat values on Batman. 13 attack is really high for a 150 pt piece and is accompanied by a nice 4 damage. His 18 def with Invulnerability and Range Super Senses (KC TA) is nice as well seeing as he can't be countered by non-KC TA figures thanks to "We Will Make Things Right Again". Since we can't lower his stats or counter his powers (in most cases), we will need ways around what he can do. His high attack will be a problem so we need stat buffs to our defense. Hindering terrain bonus will give us +1, a Perplex can gives us a +1 or +2 if you have a fancy perplex, Energy Shield Deflection or Combat Reflexes can give us +2 as well. Even Defend can beef up the small guys into harder to hit shields! To get past his defenses, we will need to boost our stats again and have a way around those reducers/avoiders. Range Combat Expert and Close Combat Expert gives us the +2 or +1 as needed, Precision Strike gets around the KC TA (as will punching him instead of shooting), Psychic blast and Exploit weakness can get past the reducers with ease, and again Perplex can give us the stat boost to attack as needed. Just like defend, we can fudge the numbers a bit using Batman Enemy TA and share some attack values (Sinister Syndicate works too but Bat Enemy is thematic ). There isn't much to talk about on Nigma here as he isn't much of an attacking or defending threat.

Looking at the threat range, we see a 6 Range with 5 movement Running Shot Precision Strike. This is an 11 range threat and will be easy to stay out of harms way. This will become a 9 when he carries Nigma which I will address shortly. Stealth is a no brainer as he can't see you but blocking/barrier or elevated can do the same for you and has a benefit of blocking line of fire to other figures he may have with him. Because this combo of characters relies on being adjacent, we most likely don't need to stress about possible TK bombs.

Now the fun part: A Man Reborn! It says: Edward Nigma can use Enhancement and Mastermind. When an action token would be given to a character adjacent to Edward Nigma, you can instead give it to Edward Nigma and roll a d6; on a result of 1, deal 1 unavoidable damage to the adjacent character. Emphasis is mine and are the important parts of this power. The Enhancement wouldn't affect Batman due to his own trait but is useful when Eddie is paired with someone else. The mastermind also isn't super useful here but can be depending on the rest of the force. The main part we are examining is the action token shuffle.

Example time! Turn 1 Batman moves and carries Eddie with him on his jet pack. Turn 2, Batman sees a dirty, 2 bit criminal and Running Shots in and gives him a good wallop, carrying Eddie in tow. Batman sees a squad of goons rushing in and tells Eddie to take an action token for him. So now Batman hasn't been given an action token this turn but has taken an non-free action so he can't take another one of those. We roll for Man Reborn and get a 4 so we are good to go, no damage. End of turn comes around and we see this entry from the rule book on what clearing action tokens is defined as: "remove all action tokens from each of the characters on your force that did not receive an action token this turn." Again emphasis is mine. Batman did not receive an action token this turn, Eddie took it for him. So now Batman clears and Eddie finishes with 1 token. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. So now every other turn, Nigma can take a token for Batman so he is able to act every single turn without ever being pushed! Pretty powerful stuff and was a mainstay in the competitive environment when Edward was legal.

There are a few ways to combat this tactic. We can go all out on hitting Nigma. He has to take 5 damage to be KOed and only has Mastermind to help him. If there are no mooks hanging around or you have Precision strike, you should have no issues. Another way you can help yourself is my personal favorite of Incapacitate! You can make the next turn really awkward for action token assignment, force the opponent to just clear, or force the opponent to just push anyway. In any case, you are coming out ahead. Time it right and you can push Eddie off Man Reborn or push Batman so he can't act at all! Lastly, the easiest way and most difficult way, use outwit. Just get rid of "Man Reborn" and be done with it. It is difficult to do this sometimes because I know from experience that Eddie can be positioned in a way where you may not be able to see him for a range attack or outwit so either of these options will be more difficult to pull off.

So, what are we doing to Bruce-Nigma?

- Stay out of threat range of 6 for outwit, 11 for running shot, 9 for running shot and carrying. This can also be accomplished by using elevated or blocking terrain to block lines of fire. Stealth can also be useful.

- Stat buffs on your side of the battle since you can't do anything to Batman's stats. On the defensive side, these stats buffs will help negate Batman's monster 13 attack.

- Outwit is most likely useless against batman as well but can be great for "Man Reborn" on Nigma.

- Penetrating Damage or Precision Strike are quite common and need to be used here as both figures rely on their defensive powers to stay alive. Packing these makes those powers useless.


How do these tactics help or hinder us against the rest of his team or other teams during the same tournament?

- Positioning is always key, so just evaluate what the other team's threat range is and position accordingly.

- Stat buffs will almost always be useful on yourself, but don't get caught off-guard if someone uses Outsiders TA to nullify those boosts. Perplex will be the best stat buffer because it can be used on both you and opponents as needed.

- Outwit is almost always useful but sometimes can't be used due to TAs or traits or special wording. Make sure to look closely at each and every opposing figure so you don't waste actions trying to position for an outwit and realize it is all for naught.

- I've said time and again penetrating damage is key, so, use it! It is the easiest way to get extra damage through an opponent.

That's all I have this time! Until next time, always look for the chinks in the armor and Exploit your opponent's Weaknesses!

People still play Nigma?

Great dial, no argument, but I haven't seen him on a map in like 5 years.

Interestingly enough my abuse of this figure led to a rulebook clarification back in the day about not being able to give more than 2 action tokens to a figure. It was implied but never explicitly stated. I started a thread about it back when orange meant something. After getting ruled it was technically legit the next rulebook halted my shenanigans. The forced inclusion of a rule in the rulebook: that's my contribution to the game.

"The Enhancement would affect Batman due to his own trait but is useful when Eddie is paired with someone else."

The Enhancement wouldn't affect Batman due to his own trait but, is useful when Eddie is paired with someone else.

Still, great article. Forgot about my Nigma. Preferably, like to pair him with colossals. DDM cut that idea down a bit. Resurrected once again, with Nightwing

Ha ha, typo! I will fix. Whatever do you mean about Nightwing?

The WF Nightwing can do a lot of free things when he doesn't have a token:

This looks pretty strong, but the only draw here for KC Batman is the theme. I would take a lot of figures over him.