Since Blackest Night has a different set icon from The Brave and the Bold, I'm starting a separate thread to review the contents of that set. We've all seen the sculpts and they all look amazing, but I'm personally going to hold off on reviewing any figures until I see dials/cards for them.

For those of you, not in the know, this is a thread where myself and others rank the figures in the upcoming set on a number of variables. We rank the figures on a scale of 1 to 10.

Here are the variables that I rank on:
1) Character Selection
2) Sculpt
3) Playability
4) Comic Accuracy
5) (in the case of a remake) How do they stack up to what came before

If you'd like to see past rankings, please see the following threads:
Avengers: Ranking the Figures
Justice League: Ranking the Figures
Mutations and Monsters: Ranking the Figures
Crisis: Ranking the Figures
Secret Invasion: Ranking the Figures
Arkham Asylums: Ranking the Figures
Hammer of Thor: Ranking the Figures
The Brave and the Bold: Ranking the Figures

Enjoy!

The New Rules - 9
The New PAC - 8
001 Mera - 9
002 Lex Luthor - 8
003 Scarecrow - 9
004 Green Lantern - 9
005 The Flash - 9
006 The Atom - 10
007 Wonder Woman - 10
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Running Excitement Meter: 9

The New Rules - This game really needed simplifying, and it seems like WizKids is making the changes in all the right places (in my opinion). I've been saying since their inception that ATA's should be different from Feats. I'm glad to see that it's finally happening. It'll also be interesting to see how they tweak the old ATAs to make them balanced. Although I'm wondering if they'll now change the Injustice League team ability to be something playable, so that those figures aren't stuck wasting points again. Of course now they also really need to go back and fix the keywords on older figures so that they can benefit in Golden Age (and some in Modern) games.

The New PAC - Again, I must commend the game designers on the attempt to streamline and simplify the rules. And kudos for getting all the symbol definitions on the sheet with the powers. It's nice not to have to reference the book to figure out how the Abilities work. Really the only place where I see the new PAC taking a hit is the Injustice League Team Ability, and I'm not saying it's not better. It just hard for it to compete with team abilities of presumably equitable point cost. That said, I haven't had much success using the new Masters of Evil team ability either, so I'm not sure what would be better.

001 Mera - Mera has come to bring the pain! Between her Red Rage, and her ability to use the Red Lantern object on EVERY click, Mera can easily boost her damage value to pummel her opponents into submission. Mind Control armies with a high-point MC should be wary if Mera's on the other side of the table. Her main job is going to be to cross the board and squash you, and any support you might be bringing with you.

002 Lex Luthor - Lex's usefulness will be slightly effected by his 6 range. It would have been nice to see him with an 8 like his Justice League counterpart. That said, I don't know how you can't love his Orange Greed ability! Granted, it's got 3 important limitations {1) the opponent must be adjacent 2) you must be outwitting a power you don't already have 3) it doesn't work on defensive powers} but think about outwitting B/C/F on an adjacent opponent only to turn around and slice them with their own blade. That visual is pretty cool. Luthor also has the ability to leverage the Orange Lantern on 4 of his 7 clicks (or 6 if you're outwitting that on an adjacent opponent). That brings up an interesting Rules Forum Question. If Lex on clicks 1 or 4 steals Poison from an opponent at the beginning of his turn, can he use Poison both at the beginning of that turn, and the beginning of the next turn (since the effect lasts until the beginning of the next turn)?

003 Scarecrow - The Scarecrow is really in his element with the yellow ring. So much so that to compare him to a previous iteration is fairly laughable. As with Lex, he can leverage the power of the yellow lantern on 4 clix that could all hugely benefit from the attack boost. Scarecrow's mid-dial is where he's the scariest, and he's going to be hard to pin-down if he hits his sweet-spot. His special power causes his Poison to result in knockback, and he's got Psychic Blast (with a range of 6) and Exploit Weakness that also cause knockback, if the Poison doesn't scare you off. He'll be a welcome addition to any Sinestro Corps team. I can't wait to team him up with Sinestro Corps Batman (yeah, yeah, I'm the guy that hates chases, but I do have that one), just because I can!

004 Green Lantern - Did we really need another Hal Jordan? Could this have been a new Kilowog or John Stewart? Sure it could have been. But this is one cool Hal Jordan (and I'm saying that as someone that really didn't want another one). Comparing him mainly to the one in Crisis, they did an awesome job of making him Hal, but completely different from that version. Unfortunately he's the only one from this set that really doesn't gel with his corresponding lantern at all (that's for his other version I guess). However, the reason that he doesn't is BECAUSE of his awesome Green Willpower power, that allows him to heal when he pushes on most clicks, instead of taking damage. That's a pretty awesome ability. That said, timing is going to be everything with that ability, and if I'm up against him, you know I'm going to be dealing damage when he's pushed, and can't go anywhere, so it's a double-edged sword. That said, he is able to benefit from the BLUE Lantern (which is also appropriate) for 4 clicks. I still can't wait to try him out, and the sculpt is awesome!

005 The Flash - Sculpt: AWESOME! Dial: AWESOME! The only thing keeping this figure from a perfect 10 for me (which will effect the whole set) is that these figures will not have a common keyword to allow them to be teamed together. I'm not sure why they don't. Chalk it up as an "Oh well." He only benefits from the Blue Lantern on 2 clicks, but Hal can use it for 4, so there's a balance there.

006 The Atom - I don't give out 10s lightly, but The Atom in my opinion is the one in this set that deserves it! 4 clicks of a 12 attack for Support AND Willpower with a 19 Defense on the first one! Add in the Indigo Lantern (if I can ever get my hands on one), and I only have to subtract 1 from my Support roll once it hits! Try and tell me that you aren't going to be nervous if you see this guy on the other team. I know I will be.

007 Wonder Woman - Apparently Wonder Woman believes in tough love because she is bringing some serious pain. I like that she more or less starts out like your standard brick with a twist, and then changes it up more as her dial evolves. I also think she's the one figure that can benefit from the most Lantern objects. She can utilize Green (for her dial), Violet (for 5), Blue (for 2), and Yellow (for 2). And it's nice to see a solid figure that doesn't need a Special Power to be terrifying.

As a Team - As a team the 7 figures come out to an even 900 points. That's pretty awesome in my book. Now I just need to find the time, and an opponent that'll let me bring the team to the table. It'd be one heck of a match!

At 300 Points - At 300 Points, you can actually make 3 separate teams that might be fun to pit against one another. You'd have to team up Lex & Flash for 1 of the 3. The other two would consist of either Wonder Woman with Mera or Scarecrow. And the other would team with Green Lantern & The Atom. there might be fun 3-Way match to be had there.

How ever you cut it, this looks like an awesome starter, and I personally can't wait to get my hands on it, even if I am still a bit cheesed about the Black Lantern Chase figures.

Added a quick review of the New Rules to post 2. Hopefully we'll see new dials soon.

Completed my Rankings/Reviews for the Blackest Night Starter. NECA/WizKids has really outdone themselves with this product! Can't wait to start seeing more info on the Watchmen.

001 Mera - 9
002 Lex Luthor - 8
003 Scarecrow - 9
004 Green Lantern - 9
005 The Flash - 10
006 The Atom - 10
007 Wonder Woman - 10

001 Mera: Mera is a damage dealer, plain and simple. On a team with Hal, she can do the standard get thrown and Charge for massive damage thing. Otherwise, she will need to be covered to get the best use out of her Battle Fury filled dial. Hiding behind Wonder Woman as they inch their way up the field seems like the perfect move. In that scenario, she's like a clean up piece, with a really high batting average. Because of her limited ability to 'team up' 9 is as high as I can go with her.

002 Lex Luthor: Aimed at snatreaper: Luthor is just as ubiquitous as Hal, so that's part of his penalty for me. I'd rather keep getting Hal's than Lex's, but that's just me. Not saying I won't take them either way, but if it came down to a choice...

Lex Luthor is good, but he definitely seems to be the 'eh..meh' member of the Rainbow Coalition. His limited range definitely hurts him. His Special Power is definitely cool, but I don't feel he's a must play. He LOOKS really cool, though I must say.

003 Scarecrow: With the backing of the Sinestro Corps, ol' Johnny Crane has the makings of greatness. He can be used outside of the contents of the starter easier than anyone save Hal Jordan, and that's arguable (as Hal is only Green Lantern Corps, and they aren't quite as attractive a team for my money synergistically speaking). He's statted in a mediocre fashion, but he can be boosted easily with the Sinestro Corps many stat-pumping options.

004 Green Lantern: Hal Jordan is the new Superman of the DCU right now. As much as I'd like to see another John Stewart, it would be inappropriate to include anyone other than Hal here. That said, I agree with the 9 rating, as we do have a great number of legal Jordans to choose from. However, this one is interesting and distinct from the others. I really have to get cracking on picking up those lanterns.

005 The Flash: An old school Barry Allen mark from way back, he has to get a 10. He has so much going for him that most speedsters don't. Most of these guys aren't rolling in the keyword gravy, so I can't penalize him for it and not them. Plus, keyword teams aren't quite what they used to be anyways, officially, and we pretty much don't play BFCs at home.

006 The Atom: The instant hit of the set....I expect to see compassionate Ray Palmer showing up with the denizens of the multiverse for years to come.

007 Wonder Woman: Giving Diana a ring seemed like piling in the story to me, and Wizkids has managed to replicate that feeling here as well...lol. A beast, pure and simple.

NOTE: I haven't thoroughly read the new rules and the PAC, so I won't comment on them until I do.

I think The Great Blue Hope Flash is going to be quite a played figure for me. What a team player!

I can tell you right now, you WILL see me playing Green Lantern and Flash together A LOT!!

Great Thread, I agree with your initial rankings.


My only beef with ANYTHING is actually the fact that Green Lantern (Hal) is the ONLY character from this set that does not benefit from the Lantern object prizes from BatB. It's not a big deal due to the Crisis Lantern having that benefit, but something that should have been considered due to newer players not having access to the older figures.

That was really well done, and I agree with pretty much everything you've listed. Thanks for this.

Glad that people are liking this Ranking thread. I'm hoping that they start previewing Watchmen soon.

Mera - 7
Lex Luthor - 7
Scarecrow - 8
Green Lantern - 8
The Flash - 9
Atom - 10
Wonder Woman - 9

I love the fact that the Lantern Battery Special Objects were all designed to work with the deputies. Well, except the Green one...it's not very useful.

Mera
Kinda weary about the short dial and low defense values, but run her with the Red Lantern Battery and she's pretty tough. Just make sure you get in the first hit, cause she's gone after one good hit or a couple normal hits.
Lex Luthor
I'm dissappointed with the 6 since his last two versions had 8, but he's still pretty tough, and his Special Power will make you want to keep him adjacent most of the time anyway. I'm disspointed that he has no move and attack powers, and that his defense is so low, but I can't wait to run him.
Scarecrow
Great piece. I wish his damage values were higher considering he's a lantern, but he's good for his points.
Green Lantern
FINALLY they make a Hal Jordon that has Invulnerability. I love the Green Willpower SP, and it's so appropriate! . I'm dissapointed that the Green Lantern Battery doesn't work in conjunction with him like the other 6 power batteries do, but it doesn't affect Hal much. Kinda wish his attack values were higher.
The Flash
I can't wait to run this piece. Just like The Flashes, I think the couple of clicks with Phasing/Teleport and TK were a waste, I'd rather him have had HSS instead of Phasing, or a Special Power that gave Phasing HSS like Kid Flash. The high defense and attack values are awesome! I love the Enhancement and Defend. I plan on running him with Hal.
The Atom
BY FAR the BEST medic in Heroclix, and EXTREMELY useful for what he does. By himself, he's awesome! Run him with Ultimates: Seth Voelker LE and The Atom only has to roll an attack roll of 3 to heal. Awesome defense values!
Wonder Woman
While not as powerful as her Arkham Asylum counterpart, this Wonder Woman rocks! I can't wait to run her. I might even add 2 or 3 Amazons.

Altogether, I am VERY happy with the starter, especially since all the power batteries were practically made to help them. I think it would've been cool if they made it so a character with a (example) Blue Lantern keyword can carry the Blue Lantern object, but cannot use it in an attack (and the same for each Corps.)

Seeing as Hal was a prominent member of the storyline the set is named after, way more so than Kilowog or John, I'd say that his selection to represent Green was the best choice.

The New Rules - 8
The New PAC - 8
001 Mera - 6
002 Lex Luthor - 8
003 Scarecrow - 4
004 Green Lantern - 10000000
005 The Flash - 9
006 The Atom - 9
007 Wonder Woman - 10

GL definitely makes that set good... Scarecrow is balls and Mera is pointless... GIMME AQUAMAN PLEASE!!!

From a story perspective, I don't disagree, but we had an excellent Hal in Crisis, plus 2 more in Justice League (Starro Slaves), and at least 2 in Brave an the Bold (duos). That said, we NEED remakes of Kilowog and John.

Wait for Brightest Day.

Scarecrow-8
Lex Luther-8
Mera-9
Wonder Woman-9
Atom-9
Flash-10
Green Lantern-10

this is awesome reaper
You mentioned the team with Hal and atom. With the points you would also put either Mera or Scarecrow.