This is a repost of what I wrote on Parasite a ways back. I thought it was interesting with the recent review of Lex Luthor and how the Superman Enemy ability got shafted.

I love talking about Parasite because he is so hard to play.

BUT HE IS PLAYABLE!

Memorize his dial and do everything you can to keep him off that 4th click. This means going after pushed figures and figs that can only do 2 damage. Anyone who can do 3 damage is going to finish you off too quickly unless you are already on the Impervious click.

The best click to attack on is the 3rd click where you have 3 damage, a good AV and the Steal Energy will put you on the Impervious click after a successful attack for any retaliation.

NEVER, EVER try to poison a 3 damage figure. Only poison 2 damage figs or less. This is where I made my mistakes in the past.

I have tested him considerably. Trust me, the LexCorp Battle suits make him more playable, because of mobility and Outwit, but you still have to know what you are doing.

Try him if you pulled him. I...uhm...<cough!>...actually bought him off Ebay. Sigh.

Actually, I find good partners for Parasite are (if you're doing high point games)Darkseid and rookie Deathstroke (if you're only doing 300 pts.) From there I acquire my fliers. I guess 500 pts. is the prime set for this team, but I do believe (because I haven't really lost with the Parasite/Darkseid combo) this works even on the 300 pt. level.

Sure, this team might go down in flames in professional play, but I have more fun with this team (Darkseid/r. Deathstroke/Parasite) than with most others!

Parasite and Clayface 3 are great. Use Clay to tie up people where they have to roll a six to get away and then move para up so that the guy gets 2 clicks of poison from both clay and para. Then they have to roll a six to get away haha.

Hmmm.....Yeah, that works too!

I'll have to give that a shot.....

i push parasite early to get him on the impervious click. then i push him every chance i get. remember steal energy is optional.....dont use it the first attck..use it on the ones you push on.....

Steal Energy is not optional. It does not say optional in the powers description. In fact, it is the only attack power that is not optional. Therefore you must always use it.

The fact that Steal Energy is not optional is what makes Parasite completely unplayable...just when I thought I had a strategy someone comes along and tells me that :disappoin . That's a rule I would've liked to have seen revised for Indy.

I don't think that makes Parasite unplayable, he just needs to get in, push and do damage (if possible), and he should be on his second click, and then just taxi him out if possible. I use Man-Bat for this purpose in higher point games (along with Parasite's drinkin' buddy, Darkseid!). Parasite goes in, does his damage, and then leaves the scene of the crime.

I am glad some people stick up for parasite around here. I wrote an article on him awhile back around here. He only gets a bad wrap because he's a thinking man's piece.

I agree, schicantek! Parasite has won a few games for me, and for that I'm a bit...loyal

Hey, no doubt it takes some effort to win with Parasite and he's one of my favorite villains and I've tried...I actually built a good team with him, V-Mandarin, a R-Doombot and a conartist or two and won big time...he's tough to win with but like any piece in the game you can win with some support and good thinking. He's still among the worst dials in the entire game though.

Unfortunately Clayface III never has Plasticity and Poison at the same time. That would make him an awesome piece though.


(Comics-wise of course CFIII shouldn't have Plasticity or Shape-Change at all, just pure poison and toughness all the way down.)

I like Parasite.
I was hoping that they ~would~ make Energy Steal an optional power under the new rules, if only for Parasite's sake - he's much better if you can force him to stay on that Impervious click.
But if you can keep him "pebbled" and always push
to attack, you can get the same effect; Parasite staying on the same click. (a click of push damage and an Energy Steal click of healing.)
I like the suggestion of ClayFace and Parasite working as a tandem. In big point games, I've had fun w/ Doomsday and Parasite as a team.

Well, it seems like they're more people that like Parasite than I thought, which is good!

The biggest problem facing Parasite now is that he will no longer damage Impervious figures with his Poison. Still, I did see a great use for him in Chicago: somebody was perching him on the shoulder of his friend (who was in the middle of a battle royale) and saying "I love you!" in a really queer voice...