Very interesting topic, though I'm very surprised to see cosmic boy so far down.

I'm not hatin' on Cosmic Boy! But there are some very good figures in starter sets, and sometimes it's difficult to rank them - there is not much seperating the positions.

I think I would have moved Invisible Woman up, but without playing her who really knows yet. I think alot of where people would rank the figures would have to do with personal play style.

I agree with many on this thread: Cosmic Boy should be a little higher on the list just for being a near-PERFECT fig for Contingency Plan. But as much as I like him and use him, there are now better and cheaper figs for the feat, and Zero's review of Wasp and other retired figs show how changes in the game and feats can affect a character's bottom line effectiveness. With that in mind, Cos is probably right were he should be.

Re: Saturn Girl...she's in the right general area on the list. She should just be higher than Violet.

As there are 33 figures from the starter and you started at #32, I assume there is a tie in your top five?

The Thing, Batman, Mr Fantastic, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Spiderman

Spiderman has got weaker since you can not use Super Str with Pounce, and Wildcards are getting a make over so they are not quite so useful. It seems to me that each starter gets better than the previous one.

Icons & Universe suffered from having 100 point teams, the last two sets have had single figures with that value or higher! X-men was proplaby my favoirte overall starter simply for having a 300 point team playable out of the box, FF is nice but not sure how well a 3 figure team with perform...

Knowing Zero, I don't think you will see Thing at the top

Rats! I was hoping that would be a surprise!

Coming up now we have three Legionnaires, followed by a couple of well-known Marvel heroes...


Number Fifteen: Phantom Girl

Rookie Phantom Girl (Legion of Super-Heroes)
Keywords: Future, Legion of Super Heroes, Teen
Team Ability: Legion of Super Heroes
Point Cost: 40
Range: 0

9 9 18 2

9 9 18 2

8 8 17 2

8 8 16 1

7 7 16 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Disruption If Phantom Girl moves through or occupies the same square as an object, or at the end of a move action is adjacent to an object or an opposing character carrying an object, you may remove that object from the game.

Up until the changes to team abilities in the Fantastic Four rulebook and Powers and Abilities card, Phantom Girl was probably top ten material. A wildcard with 18 defence for just 40 points was a huge boon to Defenders teams (such as the similarly Future-themed Guardians of the Galaxy), the JSA, and as a backup for Fantastic Four ATA teams. Her special power was never game breaking but occasionally quite handy - she could base an opponent's brick and remove the heavy object from his hands, or eliminate Nanobots-fodder before it could be used, or take out unusualy annoying special objects (such as the Structural Integrity Field or Aerial Baffler).

As of July, Phantom Girl can no longer lend her 18 defence to Defenders (many assume that a JSA limitation will follow), nor can she copy alternate team abilities. This makes Phantom Girl much less attractive on a wildcard-focused force. She still has her ability to eliminate objects from the battlefield, but now you have to decide whether that's worth 40 points for your force.

Phantom Girl does have a few advantages as a tie-up piece too. She has a full dial of Phasing/Teleport to help her base enemies, and even these days an 18 is not trivial to hit. Phantom Girl is surprisingly pushable, losing nothing from her first click to her second, and subsequently gaining Super Senses as her defence drops.

Is Phantom Girl right for your force? Hard to say. But if you do decide to give her a try, Phantom Girl does give you decent value for your points.


Number Fourteen: Ultra Boy

Rookie Ultra Boy (Legion of Super Heroes)
Keywords: Future, Legion of Super Heroes, Teen
Team Ability: Legion of Super Heroes
Point Cost: 130
Range: 6

10 10 18 4

8 11 17 3

8 10 17 3

11 9 16 3

9 8 16 2

8 9 16 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Ultra Boy is a bit of an odd brick. He's a bit expensive, but three clicks of Impervious, an 18 defence, and the Legion wildcard team ability should enable you to hold on to your investment; and Ultra Boy can certainly deal out a lot of damage himself. His second click is definitely appealing, with an increase to 11 attack and switching Charge for Flurry. Ultra Boy only lacks the ability to damage Invulnerable/Impervious opponents on clicks five and eight.

Ultra Boy is even more interesting if you consider him as a learner piece. Ultra Boy has quite a few powers, including Hypersonic Speed and Flurry, that often don't work with other powers... fortunately, Ultra Boy doesn't have any of those incompatible powers! No Close Combat Expert, Quake, or Exploit Weakness to be found! That means that Ultra Boy doesn't waste any points on "options" that an experienced player might never want to use and a new player might find confusing. That Ultra Boy is also a capable brick and a wildcard gives him a relatively high position on this list.


Number Thirteen: Timberwolf

Experienced Timberwolf (Legion of Super-Heroes)
Keywords: Future, Legion of Super Heroes, Martial Artist, Teen
Team Ability: Legion of Super Heroes
Point Cost: 60
Range: 0

8 11 16 2

8 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

7 9 15 2

8 9 15 2

9 8 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

At under half the cost of Ultra Boy I doubt that many people wouldn't agree that Timberwolf is better. Justin, as he is ocasionally called around here, is a dangerous close combat brawler at the fantastic 60-point mark at which so many Martial Artists perform well. Considering multiple threads of "Who is better, Timberwolf or [Ravage/Ghost Rider/Union Jack/Shadow Demon]?", it's "Justified" to say that Timberwolf has earned a reputation for being an economical and deadly package for his points.

Timberwolf has good attack values and practically begs you to push him - start with a Charge and then follow up with Close Combat Expert, like his cousin Bronze Tiger. A 300-point Martial Artist team of Timberwolves, Bronze Tigers, and an animal-themed Martial Artist of your choice (60-point The Batman from AlphaClix, perhaps!) would be simple to play and quite dangerous. I don't know about you, but "I'm Lovin' it".

Justin's last two clicks are a bit lacklustre - Charge with 9 attack and 2 damage doesn't scare many opponents (although Super Senses at least gives him some chance), and his final click of nothing is almost Hypertime-esque. It's a sign that Timberwolf will still be "Falling Down" and probably won't last another "4 Minutes".


Number Twelve: Cyclops

Veteran Cyclops (Danger Room)
Keywords: Mutant, X-Factor
Team Ability: X-Men
Point Cost: 40
Range: 10

8 10 15 3

8 9 15 2

8 9 14 1

7 8 14 1

7 8 14 1

7 7 13 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Characters who can move and attack usually rate much moe highly than those who have to move and then push to attack, but Cyclops is an exception. His range of 10 is exceptional for a mere 40 points, and an attack value of 10 makes those ranged attacks worth attempting. His damage values are a little soft - never going above a modified three - but he can damage Invulnerable/Impervious figures on all but his second click. I've had some success using his Energy Explosion to gradually weaken a cluster of enemies too.

Cyclops doesn't have a complicated dial, but he's pretty good at being a "tie up from range" figure - threatening any enemies who move within ten squares of him. On X-Factor or Mutant thematic teams, he's an economical option for ranged harassment.


Number Eleven: Human Torch

Veteran Human Torch (Fantastic Four)
Keywords: Celebrity, Fantastic Four
Team Ability: Fantastic Four
Point Cost: 100
Range: 8

10 10 17 3

10 10 16 3

8 9 16 2

8 9 16 2

8 8 15 2

6 8 15 1

6 7 14 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Fiery Streak Human Torch can use Running Shot. When he does not use the Carry ability while moving, Human Torch does not have to end his movement if he enters a square adjacent to an opposing character.
Flame On! Human Torch can use Energy Shield/Deflection and Poison. When Human Torch is given a move action or power action, immediately after resolving the action, he can use Smoke Cloud as a free action, but can place hindering terrain only in squares he moved through or occupied this turn.

The Human Torch is a straightforward ranged combatant, with enough Running Shot and Energy Explosion on his dial that you can be fairly confident that he'll be busting up clustered enemies or hitting a single opponent for up to 3 reliably. He's very pushable with two clicks of 10 move, 10 attac, and 3 damage. Johnny is a very well known hero after two movies and four and a half decades of comics, so new players should recognise him quickly - avoiding the "Who is this guy?" and "I didn't know he could fly!" problems that some characters have in the post-flight stands era.

The Human Torch has two special powers, both of which are decent and fairly sraightforward. Flame On! is great for giving him excellent ranged defence and some close-combat deterrance. If Torch places a square of hindering terrain in the quare he occupies he'll boast an impressive 20 defence from range - and likely higher if you're using the (retired) Fantastic Four ATA. Opposing characters may try to simply base Torch so that their attack rolls are easier, but will have to face Poison if they do so. Does Human Torch have Armour Piercing attached? As a ranged combatant with two targets and Energy Explosion, he certainly should!
Fiery Streak is of limited use to the Torch - it's like his dial with four clicks of ordinary Running Shot came to 99 points, so he needed something minimal to bump him up to an even 100. Still, an effective four clicks of Running Shot is pretty handy to have!


That's it for today! Next time we count down from #10 to #6...

I played Timberwolf last night and his last click HAS Combat Reflexes, at least.

WK and HCR units sections have it wrong.

I'd have to double-check though, but I clearly recall him having a final click of CR because I sent Colossal Boy off to assist Timberwolf with CB's 17D Defend.

Hmm...yeah, I'll check on that.

Lawl at the Justin Timberlake references in Timberwolf's review.

Interesting review. I think this shows us how good starter figures really are.

Excellent point about Ultra Boy as a good high powered learner piece. Kinda just what you need/expect in a Starter pack.

CONFIRMED:

Timberwolf DOES have a click of Combat Reflexes on his FINAL click.

Good to know! I haven't actually seen Timberwolf's last click show up in a game - he tends to remain fairly healthy or get blasted straight through it - so i was going by the Units section.

Doesn't change his rankin though!

Thanks for the comments, folks! I have been away in the country over the Australian long weekend. Next post should be up tomorrow.

Is the holiday the queen's birthday?