Here is Pluto's true dial.

#026 U Pluto
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 8
Points: 125
Keywords: Deity, Ruler

7 12 17 4

7 11 17 4

7 11 16 4

7 11 16 3

7 10 16 3

6 10 16 3

6 10 16 3

6 9 15 3

9 9 15 3

6 9 14 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Speed - Soul Syphon: When a friendly character with 30 or higher point value is KOd, Pluto may move to the square they occupied after any current actions are resolved. If Pluto does, he can use Regeneration as a free action.

Fandral
Lack of move & attack doesn't quite get balanced by Leap/Climb, Flurry with only 3 damage means chewing through damage reducers is a slow, hard slog (don't count on one click of Outwit lasting long for this, especially on a figure that will probably not get the first attack). IMO the comparison made to Balder IMO doesn't show Fandral in the good light portrayed, even at 29 points cheaper I'd rather have a figure that can charge in for 3 damage and then follow up for 5 than one that has to jump in for 0 and then Flurry for 3+3. The inferior damage reducers doesn't help matters much.

I'd consider Fandral mostly for a team backed by cheap ranged attackers that can benefit from Fandral wading into the fray to mix it up (and likely die for his efforts) while they pick apart the occupied opposition. If faced with making a close combat team, I'd rather have a figure with better damage / damage reducers / move and attack.

In a nutshell, I just don't see Fandral being the first choice for team construction - but instead a fill in for a team focussed on other figures being the heavy lifters. Leap/Climb is nice on the water divided map, but you're essentially paying 101 points for an uber-tie up piece. Four stars at best in my book.

Karnilla
A whopping 8 always useful clicks for 64 points is a bargain. Yes, this is a "fill your team out" figure, but its almost a no brainer filler. The praise given for Fandral might actually be valid if he had one or two of these as groupies, picking at the damage reducer opposition Fandral has such a hard time dealing with. This is easily four stars IMO.

Starlord
Only 6 clicks for 90 points is a very tough sell. The seemingly low attack and damage values at first seem compensated by the special ability. But at 90 points you're going to be faced with putting this guy up against figures with damage reducers - leaving you in the unenviable position of either having a decent enough attack number to hit *or* enough damage to penetrate, but *not* both. His low defense against ranged attacks means you probably can't afford to trade shots at range, meaning getting up close and personal in a set with *lots* of figures that do that job better. And while 18 close defense seems great, one good wack and its basically over. I saw a few of these played in recent sealed events, the ones I saw didn't tend to do all that well for the above reasons. Three stars at best IMO.

Gorilla-Man
Low damage and no move and attack seems a problem in this set. But this figure has a very long dial for the cost and is well suited for getting into position for tying up other more dangerous figures, especially ranged attackers. The tail half of the dial can actually be somewhat dangerous. I'm not convinced this figure deserves better than three stars overall, but if your pull in sealed consists of mostly ranged attackers then IMO this figure jumps to four, because few figures for the cost are as well suited for buying time holding off the close combat opposition.

Ronan the Accuser
Granted the dial tapers off to dust. And lack of run & gun hurts. But in a set full of 100-140 point *close combat* monsters with damage reducers, a figure in that range that has similar damage reducers, damage, and attack numbers along with *8* range is nothing to sneeze at. Properly played this figure can often get the first hit in on other figures in the set in the same point range that lack range, and trade blows favorably with the few that do. The force blast option is also notable against the close combat crew - if Charge is abscent or neutralized (Outwit, Ronan first strike, etc) this can frustrate further those figures. And do not under any circumstances discount the double arrow incap - I found this option to be critical in one sealed event this past week. Granted the team I was playing had a medic (making pushing Ronan almost a no-brainer, when normally its a very tough decision), but I'd rate this figure four stars in sealed.

Daredevil
Another expensive figure for the dial length, but a better buy than Starlord for what you get in most cases (situational based on figure pull IMO, for a few cases Starlord would be the better choice). The range is just too low to take advantage of half his special power, and if you get up close and personal you're just one missed Super Sense roll away (and having not made a single Super Sense, Shape Shift, or Impervious roll yet out of *many many* attempts in two sealed events this past week, I can attest to how easy this is) from getting his attack value ground to dust. On a figure eating up a quarter of your build total. Tail end Outwit doesn't help too much when his only other use is hoping someone with a low defense is close enough to be Incapped but not so close as to pound him to end dial past "too late to help much" Toughness. Too expensive and short dialed for a tie up piece, too limited in range or damage to be a secondary attacker. Three stars in my book.

I played KArnilla today she was awesome! I had a Thor off (Me and an oppents Thor missed each other four differnt times) and she turned the tide by rolling a crit hit with psy blast!

Another great article!
Disagree on:

Karnilla: 4 - Really, really cheap for what she delivers.

Ulik: 2 - Way too low defense and short dial. The SP will never make him last enough, and he's not even indomitable, so no pushing for him...

And a brief comment about Star-lord, one of the best things of his dial is the ability to Running Shot into melee, because of .
This makes his CR work even better for him! Great piece!

On click three he has 3 damage - boy was Ultron suprised

Gorilla man is a great tie up piece. You actually don't mind him taking damage, and when the going gets tough, he just regens. Used him to tie up the afformentioned Ultron and let Star-Lord do his thing (I was always aiming for two for the added damage).

ULIK: DAMAGE DEALT is reduced to 1.

The damage from penetrating attacks cannot be reduced.

How this works is: Psychic Blast hits for 3 damage. He is dealt 3 damage. All damage dealt is reduced to 1. One damage dealt translates to 1 click.

I'm sure we'll have arguments over Ulik, but as worded, penetrating damage will hurt him.

I used Gorilla Man to base Thor, what a wondrous thing. Meanwhile, my own Thor was out there shooting.

I played Karnilla and Daredevil this weekend (along with M-11 and SR Valkyrie).

Karnill was fantastic... even when she got hit, she ended up on something useful. From Enhancement (Daredevil ranged attacking for 4!) to PC, she's useful all the way down the dial. And her last two clicks, she's sporting an 8 attack... with 3 damage. Do not think this is insignificant at the end-game... she finished off a Thor with a timely 3-damage blast (and she's got PC to help make that hit).

Daredevil was very good, too. When I picked him, I thought "Oh, Matt's going to get killed, meddling in the affairs of gods..." But he did better than I thought he would, and once figures ended up based by the middle of the game, he was good at L/Cing into the fray to use his EW. I didn't want to push him much, to keep him on that 18 Defense, but he stayed pretty consistent. I only lost him one game, and that was because I moved him out of the way so he could use his Outwit after a hard shot from Thor -- KOing him myself (I thought he had another click of life, oops).

Thanks again for the great reviews! Keep up the good work!

Does that mean you've also been playing Superboy Prime, Iron Man, and SS:I that way?

"INVINCIBLE: Damage Dealt to Superman Prime is reduced to 1."

Likewise, does it mean you use the standard PAC powers that way?

"IMPERVIOUS (NON-OPTIONAL) When this character is dealt damage, roll a d6. On a result of 5 or 6, the damage dealt is reduced to 0. On a result of 1–4, the damage dealt is reduced by 2."

I used Chase Stein and Karoline Dean and being able to have them take turns carrying each other was really potent.
Chase also wrecked Captain America's day. The Cap is a ranged beast, but he does not appreciate being based by someone with Combat Reflexes and his own ES/D did nothing against Chase's CCE.
Once Chase KOed Cap he then helped finish off Balder.

Karnilla is a great ranged team addition, because she can hold her own as a ranged attacker while adding to the rest of the team too. Karnilla brings great supporting abilities, while also bringing the kind of attack formula that made the old CT White Queen so popular (the loss of Mind Control doesn't hurt my feelings). Karnilla will be underrated, Anonym0use is right about that.

Ulik costs only 118. Even in 300, that leaves enough room for a competent backup force. Ulik is your insurance policy against a big centerpiece: Thor's not used to wasting 6 attacks on one figure, and certainly not ready to take as much damage back in return as Ulik will give. Both times I saw this guy hit the field, he made a big impression. He WILL be worth playing, and moreso in constructed; in sealed, you should strongly consider him if you plan on running a lot of little folks. 4 regardless.

I wanted to like Moonstone more, but she's pretty much always one strong hit away from KO. You're going to push her to click 2 with the attack values this set brings; and once there, you've got 5 clicks until she's dead, so you NEED Shape Change to go your way. At the same time, you'd love to get her Outwit, but she becomes so vulnerable once Shape Change leaves. Moonstone is fun, and a good piece, but she's just too fragile for a HoT sealed environment. 3

I too thought this guy was a must play. But, surprisingly for a 125 point figure, Pluto depends a lot on what you pull. Range is a precious commodity in this set, and unless you get a lot of it, and on low-cost figures, there's not much use for Pluto's first 2 clicks. His next 4 are bizarre close-combat oriented affairs, and Pluto just can't stand up to the close combat professionals in HoT. And the last 4... well, they're a gimmick. Think carefully before you toss him in; 10 clicks for 125 is oftentimes worth it, but Pluto needs synergy to payoff. 3

Had Daredevil been in any other set, he would have been golden in sealed. High defense, Stealth, and that cool end-dial Outwit trick. But Daredevil is in a set with very few stealth figures; he's likely going to end up Outwitting other Daredevils. His 18 defense isn't so impressive in a set with so many godly attack values. Daredevil will find himself moving a lot, because he won't be in position for an ideal attack. At 81, you can do better. 2

I think of Daredevil I'm going to keep thinking of my friend's game in our sealed tournament. He picked up Mjolnir with him. Of course if you're lucky enough to roll that 6 and pick it up, any character will do better with +2 to attack and damage with the ability to use Quake, EE, and Flight.

Of course I felt sorry for Daredevil during one game I played... I know Daredevil is the man without fear, but having to fight Thor and Beta Ray Bill when they are at full health is quite frightening.

Man, whoever posted this nonsense couldn't "rules" lawyer his way out of property taxes on a lemonade stand!


Freakin' tool!

Nice
How this works is Iron Man, Superman Prime, and all other charactors with powers like Invincible which states damage delt IS REDUCED TO ONE still count as a DAMAGE REDUCING POWERS. So EXPLOIT, PSYCHIC BLAST, and other attacks that deal penetrating damage get to well penetrate the Invincible power (which neither counters or ignores the power). Yup Iron Man, Superman Prime, and Ulik can EAT A BRICK AND DIE unless they have Repulsar Shield