This week we turn our feat spotlight on Pounce: the little feat card that gave figures without move and attack powers some serious mobility.

How does it work?
How is it best used?
What are the drawbacks?
What does it have to do with Winnie the Pooh?

Step inside to see the answers to all these questions and more!

Welcome to another Friday Feat Spotlight. Today we'll cross examine the pros and cons of the 15 point feat known as Pounce.

The History: Originally introduced in Mutant Mayhem, Pounce became a quick competitive tournament sensation paired with the Universe Starter Spider-man (40 points). It looked as though the popular card was to be retired with Mutant Mayhem but it was reprinted in Origin, which should help drive the cost down on the secondary market.

The Nitty-Gritty: Pounce holds a distinction as one of the first feat cards to inflict damage upon its user, which means there's a trade off when using the card: a player must decide if dealing 3 damage to an opponent is worth the 1 damage they take in return. Similarly: woe is the figure that rolls a critical miss when Pouncing, suffering 2 clicks of damage (3 if they pushed to do it!). Which brings us to, Cardinal Rule # 1.

NEVER target a Mystic with Pounce.

I watched one match where Hellbaby targeted Ragman with a Pounce, and pushed to do it. Hellbaby took 3 damage - 1 for the Pounce, 1 for the Push, and 1 for the Mystics TA when he hit. Ragman only took 2 clicks after Toughness, and made quick work of Hellbaby the following round.

Please Note: Once upon a time Pounce + Super Strength was a great combo - a figure like starter Spider-man could Pounce with an object in his hands and dish out 5 to 6 damage while only taking 1 in return. Now that objects add to damage value, a figure with Super Strength can't Pounce with an object.

The days of attacking a secondary character with Pounce and KO'ng them with a 5-click hit are over. Post-Legion Starter rules, Pounce at best deals 3 damage (4 on a critical hit). Understanding these (and other) consequences of the feat will help us determine:

What makes a good Pouncer?


For one thing, it is no longer worth targeting figures with Impervious or Invulnerability - unless you can counter their defensive powers before making the Pounce attack. Pouncing to deal 1 damage to the enemy while weakening yourself the same amount may not be the wisest move - unless it knocks the enemy off a sweet spot that is critical to winning the game.

Another consequence of dealing less damage per Pounce is having to suffer a retaliatory attack from the target of the Pounce. Now, more than ever, a Pounce equipped character's follow-up click is just as important as its opening click. Figures that gain (or retain) damage avoidance powers & Abilities (Shape Change, Super Senses, Skrull TA) make better Pouncers than those without.

In case those Damage avoidance powers should fail (and you don't own a copy of protected), a good Pounce candidate should have a deep dial to take one on the chin after they attack.

As with any game piece, a figure with a high AV makes for a solid candidate. Pounce grants a +1 when attacking, so even a figure with a base 9 attack is decent. Anything above 9 is gravy.

Another good attribute to look for in a Pouncer is speed value. The card's emphasis, its very essence, is about getting the first hit in (at the expense of a click of life). The higher the speed of a figure means it can stay that much farther away from the enemy's strike zone. A speed value of 8 or better is recommended, as most figures with range values fall in the 6 to 8 category. When you add Telekinesis into the mix, a Pouncer can now move effectively 18+ squares and attack the enemy nearly anywhere on the board... provided Hindering Terrain doesn't slow them down.

One quirky drawback to be aware of when using Pounce is that while the feat has the requirement of Leap/Climb, it does not allow the use of Leap/Climb in the Pounce attack. Therefore, Hindering Terrain can stop a Pouncer in their tracks. Figures that can bypass hindering via flight, (while Leap/Climbing) make excellent Pouncers, but are few and far between. Consequently, it is good to have a figure who can circumvent Hindering Terrain by possessing (or copying) a Team Ability like Ultimates or Superman Ally, or a feat like Unstoppable.

Another drawback is the card's prerequisite that the figure equipped have a damage value of 1 or 2. Unfortunately this can't be circumvented by Perplexing (or using Oracle to lower) a figures damage value. It also means that secondary attack figures make the best Pounce candidates.

To summarize, the best candidates for Pounce often have these things: Move > 8, AV >9, Flight or a TA that allows freedom of movement through hindering terrain, damage avoidance powers, and a deep dial.


Examine R Trickster. He's a 31 point flier with Leap/Climb, which means he can Pounce without stopping in Hindering Terrain. Sounds good, right? Maybe. His 7 Speed, 8 AV, 14 DV, and short dial betray him. Sure, he picks up Running Shot on his follow-up click, but it's likely a waste, considering he'll be stuck in base contact with whomever he Pounced the previous round. The one thing Trickster has going for him is his ability to taxi someone with him when he Pounces. This leaves an opponent with a choice between two targets - Trickster, or the Hulk he carried with him.

Stay Tuned: Next week's Tuesday's Top Ten will feature the Top 10 Pounce figures in Constructed play today, all of them better than Trickster.

Feel free to comment on your greatest victories with Pounce below!

I will really miss the days of Pouncing when holding an object.

This was critical in dismanteling some of the toughest teams at the time - LE Sue Storm or Icons Superman. It was a sad state of affairs the day Wizkids made the crazy ruling on Meteorite's inability to be used with Pounce, and it looks like the card got further neutered with the latest rules changes re: Super Strength. It still has its uses though...

traded away all my pounces awhile ago...yaaaaaaaay

Pounce + Super Strength has gone the way of no reduced Support rolls and full range HSS....shame shame

It still has its uses though, it comes in handy against those pieces with huge defense from range (17def + ESD), and normally a shot for 3 is enough to make them relatively easy to hit

Still, Sinister rookie spidey is probably the best bet, even though he cant dish out the 5 damage anymore...sigh

I will miss the ability to use it with objects as well. But I still think its a good card.

One question will it still work with the two objects that still add to Damage Dealt? (Mail Box and Pop Machine) or do those objects only add the plus 1 to the Damage Dealt and the normal object damage to the Damage Value?

That is an important question. If the soda machine still adds all of its damage to 'dealt' instead of 'value' then we will be seeing almost as much pouncing as before. Maybe mostly on 10 attack value pieces instead of 9 since the computer/bookcase can no longer help you hit, but still almost as much as before.

Edit: Its funny to me the way some people say 'soda', some say 'coke', and some say 'pop.' There are colored maps online that breakdown the cultural paterns of how people refer to carbonated beverages.

The Dark Knight, Pounce, Doubletime. If executed right can be nasty.

Doubletime DK in pouncing distance of target, getting him on his second click, clear him, Pounce him in, third click will be a decent 18 defense for close combat. Push him next turn for 4 clix, putting him on his outwit and flurry clix. Granted a risky move all around, but when it all works its pure joy to see. Best done with a support team of some perplex and outwit. Then again I just love using the Dark Knight.

Possible Top 10 figures

Ragman - rookie is now better than the vet
Ultimate Spiderman
Vixen Exp- second click is a great follow-up.
Robin Hypertime - a cheap classic
Hellbaby - second click Shape change and Wildcard TA
Spoiler - see Robin
Wildcat Vet - maybe honorable mention
Longshot - full dial of L/C and many other useful powers
Antman E - a werid pick but that second click could be real useful. Defend for helping a figure in trouble. Perplex and stealth. The Incapacitate can even be used to prevent relatiliation.
Hellcat - BCF on second defenders click
Mantis - dangerous on later clicks as well
Daredevil - only way to make the cheaper versions playable
Venom - has ruined many a day
Ironfist - the rookie will click into his 3 damage/ exploit weakness click !!!

Like the man said, it's gonna be the top ten in constructed play.

My favorite pouncer is V Hellcat on my Defenders team. Her Super Senses sometimes lets her live through the intial retaliation so she can use her BCF on the next turn. Pounce makes her a great throw-away piece, even at the 53 pt.s total.

I've also had some good luck using pounce on V Lizard.

Does anyone else wonder, with the object damage rule change, why they reprinted Pounce?

...expect anything?

Cause it can still add some more pop to some really low level leap/climbers. Spoiler, rook Ragman, and putting Pounce on a lockheed pog is worth the laughs alone, "woohoo take 3 clicks" and the lil purple dragon pops like a balloon.

It isn't as good as it used to be but I still like the option of move and attack on figures that wouldn't be able to otherwise. The boost to damage/attack coupled with the +1 to move with swingline has changed the pace of many games. Especially when you base more than one figure and tie up your oppenents ranged attackers.

Since objects don't add damage anymore you can use nanobots and not have to worry about attacking with your food anymore.