Why are you using the full gauntlet on Stranger? I think I missed that part of your team. I guess I assume a 25 point filler piece like a Hydra agent or something is a liability to get picked off and then they run rest of game?

I think he is running a 1 gem gauntlet.

the fact that stranger/aim renegade is also theme team is ultimately what makes it viable. Stranger gets some free PC!

the question remains:

is GF Tbolt Ross and Imperiex enough to thwart gauntlet barrier teams?

I strongly disagree with this idea. I think it is a bad concept that will infect the current age of heroclix. I think you can make solid teams without using the gauntlet. I think you can beat solid gauntlet teams. I think the big problem is that the gauntlet makes a lot of things a lot easier. The problem is that gauntlet moves us down a tent pole model of thinking. I think that is something very easy to exploit.

At this point yes, you can make a good team without the gauntlet. But a good gauntlet team will always have the advantage over a good team that doesn't have it IMO.

Yes I am using 40 pt IG on Stranger right now because there are no 10 point figures and I am playing him with Tarot which comes to 260 without the gauntlet. There's no good reason to play full gauntlet on Stranger unless you cant fit anything else, and since I want time/soul/reality/power on him, I might as well fill the final 10 pts with the other two gems.

The other Stranger team I want to try once Batman is out is:
Stranger + 30 pt IG (no space and mind) + Alfred (55) = 298

Just for the record I don't disagree with anyone that I SHOULD have been able to beat the hulk honestly. The dice just weren't with me that game, can't do anything about that!

You definitely don't NEED gauntlet to make a meta team.

As far as Stranger just "running around" - that team can actually chase him down, and out action him. Because of Thanos you are not going to push him constantly, because you can't heal him back until Thanos is dead. Earth Man can carry Thanos, so Stranger running around should be able to get locked down eventually if played correctly.

Should probably just agree to disagree here :-) I want to argue with you but it will just degenerate into theorycrafting about a game that will never happen, and i doubt either of us will convince the other of anything.

Hahaha yea. I'm not saying either is better then the other really. I think if you played 10 matches, and both players have equal skill, it would split or only be 1 team having 1 more win.

Or are you meaning that a team without a gauntlet isn't meta? I've personally seen an anti-gauntlet team that has consistantly beaten gauntlet teams in competitive play. Just hasn't been listed yet because the person who made it doesn't want it getting out. But you definitely don't need a gauntlet to compete at a high level.

I've been doing some testing but not enough, I played maelstorm with 25 point gauntlet and mole man i did pretty good but you have to be able to get some rolls.
first round i beat double superman with little issue round 2 i also did away with trip sentinel but lost round 3 to double sups do to not getting a save 3 times in a row as well as not landing an attack. the team seems good though although i'm not sure its as good as the stranger team, also i think lobo with full gauntlet has possibilities but maybe not in 300 although i'm not sure

In a competitive setting Maelstrom is just ignored for 45 minutes. he cant be pushed fast enough to be effective.

a really fun fig to play with agent coulson though. 25 pts left over for 3 piece gauntlet!

Just play tested the following

Stranger
Ig Reality gem
AIM Renegade x2.

Stronger then I thought in my head. I see the weakness my anti-gauntlet team needs to patch and am working on it. But man I wasn't expecting the one sidedness that happened. Reality Gem and just the + 1 WAS WAY MORE THEN ENOUGH for Stranger.

The main reason I disagree is that one thing that is common with the gauntlet is tent pole thinking. That gives you a strong basis for a counter meta. Most thinking on how to use the gauntlet is really not that diverse in apporach. It is hasn't gone past of "BIG GUY SMASH PUNY MORTALS!" Mainly because the demand to do more has not gotten that far to challenge the status quo.

At this stage I think polite theory crafting war is needed with real tests put on. Right now my bench mark team is the one I listed above because it does TNT the best, has theme team advantage, and you double power selection at points in Stranger's dial.

I think having a map to base our conversations on will be needed as well.

Right now I'm not looking to let something appear to be true because it is easy to believe it is true. I want to get down and find out what the facts are.

Mistress Death's map is going to be seen a lot I have a feeling, especially with that Stranger team. I used it every round I could. I heart that map.