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Do not change the channel, do not adjust your laptop… it is not April 1st, and you have not accidentally clicked on a past Primer for DC Legacy.
Anonym0use and AZS have teamed up to give you a Giant Sized review for Giant Sized X-Men!
Click "full story" below to find out how the Rares rate!
Welcome to a Sealed Primer review of [Giant Sized X-Men.]
As many long time HCRealms members know AZS has had a long history of providing Primer Reviews. I was asked to take over the Primers with Hammer of Thor, and like a clown's understudy, I know I have some pretty big shoes to fill. I can only hope I continue to do the series some justice.
I'm continuing with AZS's format, specifically:
Quote : Originally Posted by AZS
Please Read:
* These figures are compared only within the [GSX] set, only for sealed play at 300 points.
* There are only a few 1 or 5 ratings, based on their sealed play strength.
So even though your favorite character didn’t get five like you think it should, the ratings are only my recommendation. If you really like a fig, by all means play it.
* Everything written here is intended to be very broad in order to give a general idea of what may or may not work - These are not specific suggestions “you must play this!”
These are just my recommendations, and the combination of figures on a team can drastically affect a specific fig’s overall effectiveness.
*!!* Lastly, this review is just my opinion, and these are a lot of work to write - so I ask you very kindly, please don’t get angry at me for my ratings. I give reasonable explanations for each choice.
If you disagree (and you are welcome to do so), please try to do the same.
I'll be using shields to rate the figures.
- Unplayable in a 300 point format.
- Think twice before committing to this figure.
- There might be a better choice.
- an all around average figure
- a good figure to build a team around
- a winning figure!
Finally, the review is based on the initial dials spoiled here on HCR and posted in the Units section. Please let us know of any discrepancies and I will correct them.
It's mentioned above, but it bears repeating - these reviews are based on the Wizkids standard 300 point build. I recognize some of you play 400, or even 500 point sealed games - adding 100+ points to a build total drastically changes the balance of some figures, like tentpoles who could otherwise be out-actioned or overrun by a smaller force.
Any figure can be great backed up with enough support. It's fine if you want to disagree with the rating, I encourage talking about how good a figure did for you - just be sure to clarify the circumstances behind your victory. What was your build total? How many people showed up at your venue? It's not saying much if you pop on and tell us you went undefeated with [Phoenix], leaving out that you only faced one opponent.
gx034 E Pyro
Team: The Brotherhood
Range: 5
Points: 74
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Freedom Force, Reporter
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(Damage) Pyromantic: All damage dealt by Pyro is penetrating damage.
AZS - This is a tricky figure to assess. On the one side, his SP and double target Energy Explosion seem like a recipe for awesome. But his odd 5 range is just so limited. ES/D for defense might help a little, but since he has to get so close to use his power, he’ll just get based and pounded pretty easily. Barrier for his back-end defense isn’t really much of a defense at all. Perhaps if you have some TK to get him out for a surprise attack, he might be useful. But otherwise he’s going to be a bright orange target that’ll get off a couple fancy attacks and then go down in flames.
Anonym0use - On the one hand, Pyro deals penetrating damage. On the other hand, his short range and soft defense insure an opponent will exploit his glass jaw. With lots of Stealth in the set and hindering/blocking terrain on the maps Pyro won't be as useful here as on say, the WoS Bridge map. Barrier is a defensive power and means forgoing attacks while using up actions. Pyro wants to go out in a blaze of glory, but lacks the competitiveness of other dials in his weight class (see Elsa Bloodstone, Psylocke, Domino) and is likely to be snuffed out with ease.
============================================
gx035 E Mystique
Team: The Brotherhood
Range: 6
Points: 86
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Dark X-Men, Freedom Force, Marauders, Spy, X-Factor
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16
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(Special) She Walks Among Us: Mystique can use Shape Change. When it's not your turn, lines of fire drawn to Mystique are blocked if she's adjacent to an opposing character.
AZS - This is a figure that I want to love, but am torn by some aspects of her dial. Mainly the Mastermind for defense up front. Sure, Stealth is good for cover, but there are enough figs with Charge that it won’t help for long. Shape Change is also kinda fun, and works well with her Trait. An enemy charges her and maybe misses due to Shape Change. Now your opponent can’t target her with ranged attacks! There’s a bit of synergy to that. This synergy is helped with Combat Reflexes a few clicks in, encouraging you to get close and take advantage of the Trait. Though it conflicts with her running shot.
The real benefit you’ll see out of Mystique is from the Perplex and Outwit.
All around, Mystique has a lot of appealing qualities that look fun and playable. But for 86 points she doesn’t seem like she does any one thing overly well. Kind of a swiss army knife type of figure that has a little of this and a little of that. If you have a team with a few focused figures (like a brick and a shooter), Mystique could help tie the whole room together, like a nice rug – which she could copy, if she was standing next to it.
Anonym0use - Talk about an annoyance piece. Shape Change on top of Mastermind with a trait that makes you want to base opponents - Mystique, like the blob, will cause opponents to waste actions on her. Unlike the Blob, Mystique is a bigger offensive threat, with a perplexed up to 11 Blades attack. But wait, there's more! This Shapeshifter picks up some ranged prowess with Running shot and EE. These powers don't really gel with her trait or Combat Reflexes, so all that I can say is it's good to have options.
============================================
gx036 U Professor X
Team: X-Men
Range: 8
Points: 123
Keywords: Illuminati, New Mutants, Scientist, X-Men
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16
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(Damage) I've Learned Your Secrets: Professor X can use Outwit. Once per turn, when he uses Outwit to counter a standard power, he may immediately use Outwit again, but only to counter a power of the same color.
(Special) In Contact with Cerebro: If Professor X is in your starting area, he can draw lines of fire and count Range for his Speed, Attack, and Damage powers from the square of any friendly character with whom he shares a keyword.
AZSSecond maybe only to Larfleeze’s Trait for confusing wording and interaction, the good Professor is almost completely defined by his awesome (and awesomely complex) Trait: In Contact With Cerebro.
There is a good discussion about Prof X’s Trait going on in this thread.. But to boil it down, Prof can channel attacks and use powers (Outwit & Perplex), through a teammate.
Considering the number of X-Men in the set, it shouldn’t be too tough to build a team with X-Men and New Mutants keywords to be able to take advantage of this extremely powerful ability. Imagine using Outwit from one square, then attack (with Range!) from Wolverine’s square, or Elixir, or any X-Man. The potential and unpredictability of it is wild. Heck, you can use Prof’s double target to mind control 2 enemies and really wreak havoc! Not only does this give Prof an almost infinitely expanded potential, imagine how it will allow injured characters to remain viable even late in the game, where they would otherwise be cowering in a corner trying to get over being useless.
This is really just a sick, sick power, and seeing it used in the sealed game will only pale in comparison to how it will be exploited in coming constructed games.
Now, considering the use of this figure is almost completely dependent on who else you pull to pair him with, it’s hard to give him a rating on his own. So I have to go middle of the road here:
Anonym0use - To me my hoveround! Professor X gets the Oracle treatment with an amazing SP that lets him use his powers (Mind Control, Outwit, Psychic Blast) with friendly figures as the point of origin. The flip side, is that in a 300 point game, that means leaving over a third of your build total in the start zone, and thus it could be easy to overrun the X-minions. Still, Chuck makes every figure he's teamed with useful - even Leech or Lockheed can potentially waste opponents with a dual target Mind Control. Powerful, but not too powerful, and comic accurate. Charlie will do well as a tentpole for a swarm team, and fall hard if he's paired with - say, our next figure in the review.
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gx037 V Gatecrasher
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 6
Points: 111
Keywords: Cosmic, Technet, Warrior
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17
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(Special) Bounty: Double or Nothing: Once during the game on your turn as a free action, choose an undefeated opposing character of 50 or more points. At the end of the turn, if the chosen character was KO'd this turn, you may remove an action token from each friendly character that received one this turn. Otherwise, give an additional action token to each of those characters and your characters don't clear this turn.
AZS - This Excalibur villainess is an odd mix of powers and stats that look good at first glance, but don’t seem to coalesce as well as they should. For a figure with no move & attack powers or Indomitable, 6 range and Phasing is a difficult power to start off with. Invulnerable 17 defense seems ok, but isn’t insurmountable in this set. Normally I might suggest pushing to the 18 imperv defense on click 2, except that her offensive stats drop on that click. Things waver up and down like this for most of her dial, and only really synch up on click #4.
As an attacker, she’s just so-so, and as a support piece (with Perplex), she’s too expensive. Considering how great so many figures in this set are, several in the common and uncommon slots, chances are you’ll have better options.
Anonym0use - If you're wondering who invited this obscure figure to the party, Gatecrasher's name alone is the answer to your question. Amanda Waller's bigger, smurfier cousin is a bit of a Monet. She looks good at a glance - Super Strength, Perplex, and lots of damage reducers - but up close she's a big old mess. Her best defense overlaps with her lowest damage values. To use Super Strength you'll want to get up close, but push once and you're on Psychic Blast and you'll want to be farther back. Powers that should be good on a dial are laid out in checkerboard fashion, and require some work to use, and her trait can easily backfire thanks to sloppy dice rolling. With a somewhat modest cost she might do well as the centerpiece of a team, Perplexing teammates and plunking away with 6 range, but there's better party crashers in the set, so don't be afraid to bounce this one out the door.
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gx038 E Iceman
Team: Spider-Man and X-Men
Range: 6
Points: 104
Keywords: Champions, Defenders, X-Factor, X-Men
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(Speed) Ice Slide: Iceman can use Leap/Climb. After his move action resolves, you may place up to two hindering terrain markers in clear terrian in squares he moved through or occupied this turn. Remove them at the beginning of your next turn.
(Attack) Ice Cage: Iceman can use Incapacitate. When he uses it and hits, until your next turn, the hit character's speed powers are countered, it gains "boot symbol", and that character must break away for movement purposes.
AZS - Iceman as a Transporter is a neat interpretation, and his Speed SP has some fun potential. If you see an enemy that is sure to Charge next turn, simply move past him and leave 2 hindering terrain markers for him to get hung up on. (Assuming it’s not the Juggernaut.) Bobby’s Incap has some interesting effects, and I’ve always been a fan of Incap in general. However, Iceman – much to his namesake – is a fragile figure. His defense is weak and doesn’t offer him any actual defense. Moderate movement and range also means he’ll have to get fairly close to the action to act, leaving him vulnerable. This would all be fine if he were in the ~70 point range, but for > 100 and a third of your team, Iceman doesn’t have enough offensive flair to offset his weak defense.
Anonym0use - I'm going to guess that fans of Iceman that were disappointed with the MuMo uncommon, are equally upset with this Bobby of all trades. He's too expensive to be a great taxi, his AV suffers when transporting to make it worth trying to move and attack, his range is shamefully low to be considered good range support with RCE, and there's just too many better Defend and Barrier pieces in the game for less points. Nothing quite fits with this dial, and so this member of Professor Xavier's school of gifted youngsters looks like a fifth year senior with 12 majors.
Some nice things stick out - as a walking Transporter with Leap/Climb, he makes for a great hit and run piece, leaving chunks of ice in his path as hindering terrain to slow opponents or give Stealthy teammates some mobile hiding spots. Ice Cage is a formidable power, grounding flyers and shutting down movement powers (it's odd that attack powers like Mind Control would be effected though). His opening 17 Defend leaves me cold - a few will make use of it I suppose, but given the defense escalation in recent years, it feels off somehow, and would be more welcome (to me) rear dial. Iceman's soft defenses, softer AVs and high point cost will give many players cold feet when it comes to team building.
Last edited by anonym0use; 03/18/2011 at 19:41..
coming soon : nu52 Hercules
Anonymouse, the former Editor "in cheese" of HCRealms.com, is an author of "Marquee Primer" reviews and keeper of the MOUSETRAP blog.
Read my Heroclix articles
gx039 V Lockheed
Team: X-Men
Range: 4
Points: 47
Keywords: Animal, Excalibur, Pet Avengers, S.W.O.R.D., X-Men
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(Special) Empathic Dragon: Lockheed can't use the Carry ability. When you reveal your force, choose a friendly character. Lockheed modifies his attack and damage values by +1 while adjacent to that character.
AZS - I can see Lockheed as a fun character to play, particularly on a theme team. In sealed for this set, he’s neither great nor terrible, but somewhere indefinably between the two. Limited range is a big drawback, as is a short dial. But his defense is better than one might expect for the price. Paired with the right companion, he could be an asset, although his short movement is a hindrance. I can’t say not to play him, and if you have a 50 point hole to fill you could do worse. Personally, I think it’d be cool having a dragon on your team, but that’s got nothing to do with strategy.
Anonym0use - Pet Avengers Assemble! With 4 clicks, Lockheed is obviously vulnerable to a one shot, but for 47 points and the X-Men TA it may be worth fielding the little harasser as a click swapper for a bigger gun. This little dragon has a big bite with B/C/F, bad breath with EE & RCE and a near guaranteed +1 AV his whole dial. If only Lockheed's pet human Kitty were in the set.
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gx040 E Sabretooth
Team: The Brotherhood
Range: 0
Points: 93
Keywords: Animal, Brotherhood of Mutants, Marauders, Weapon X
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(Attack) Mortal Wound: When a character takes 3 or more damage from Sabretooth's attack, that character can't heal for the rest of the game even if this power is countered or lost.
(Defense) Animalistic: Sabretooth can use Combat Reflexes and Super Senses.
AZS - Sabretooth has a whole lot of pluses and minuses. Things that make him exceptional, and then other things that hold him back. His AV is spectacular, and both SP’s are great. But the Battle Fury that keeps him from being carried into battle will be restrictive. And while his AV is great, his opening damage potential is just ok. It isn’t until click 3 and beyond, where he gets Exploit weakness and then B/C/F that his damage dealing potential is truly unleashed. Super Senses & Combat Reflexes are good defenses, but not insurmountable, particularly when his defense drops to a very hittable 15 just a couple clicks in. If I were facing Sabretooth on the map, I might initially be intimidated by the ferocity of high AV and overall damage potential, but would then relax and realize he’ll be mostly easy to stay away from until I can snipe him from range.
Anonym0use - What's not to like with Sabretooth - he's an indomitable predator with outstanding combat values and a power set that demands respect from opponents. The Animalistic SP summons shades of Wolfsbane, and though his defense tanks real quick, Victor could prove to be a bane for the likes of powerhouse defense pieces like Magneto. Creed is a bit pricey for what he brings (compare to some of the other Bladesy-clawsie X-Force members) but when he hits it hurts - either with a Mortal Wound or a BCF/EW combo.
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gx041 V Stryfe
Team: The Brotherhood
Range: 6
Points: 116
Keywords: Armor, Future, Mutant Liberation Front
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(Defense) Armored Commander: Stryfe can use Mastermind and Toughness.
(Special) Leader of the Dispossessed: Stryfe can use Leadership. At the beginning of the game, choose up to 5 friendly characters. Those characters posses the Brotherhood of Mutants team ability as long as Stryfe has not been KO'd and they can't use another team ability.
AZS - Stryfe is another figure that seems better bred for constructed games, and may not live up to his potential in sealed. In particular, his SP grants him Mastermind, which is always a double edged power – he doesn’t take damage, but the damage still has to go somewhere. Even so, if he were more of a heavy hitter it would be annoying to deal with. As is though, he’s more so just an annoyance. Middling damage and attack aren’t good or bad for a 100+ point fig. And between his Mastermind, Toughness and Stealth, he should be fairly difficult to KO unless you have Outwit (not an abundance of that in this set though.) If you pull some other very strong melee figures – there are several <100 point ones in this set – Stryfe’s TK is a huge asset, and that could increase his playability significantly. Also don’t forget you can TK objects farther than his default 6 range, so use that to catch someone off guard.
The second half of his dial is interesting with the Charge and EW for getting close and personal, but that also invites a faster demise. In all, even though Stryfe’s combat values are just ok, his powers are decent and his defense (at least for the top of his dial) is nuts; He’s mostly worth his 116 points.
Anonym0use - This dial is 5 points more than Gatecrasher, and looks a whole lot better mechanically. One of the few figures to start with Stealth, Stryfe can use hindering terrain to protect his power set from Outwit, and with Mastermind fodder nearby it will take a while before Cable 2.0 gets knocked from his top clicks. Rear dial EW is a welcome addition, though his 1 damage clicks make me chuckle. I outwit your BCF - now what do you do? Stryfe is meant to be the centerpiece of a swarm team, providing free movement with his trait to a number of bullet shields, and with his combat value consistency and damage slot powers should do better than most in his weight class.
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gx042 R Predator X
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 133
Keywords: Animal, Monster, Purifier
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(Special) Forced Evolution: Modify Predator X's attack and defense values by +1 for each other character named Predator X that has been KO'd this game.
(Special) Track: At the begining of the game, choose an opposing character. When Predator X is given a move action and ends his move adjacent to that character, that is a free action instead. That character receives -1 to break away rolls when adjacent to Predator X. If that character is KO'd, choose another opposing character.
AZS - Predator X lives up to his origin by being an unrelenting offense piece. I’m a little put off by the average AV, but it is somewhat balanced by the unwavering six clicks of 9 av for the rest of his dial.
The ‘Track’ trait is very cool, and has potential. As long as your target is well chosen. The second Trait likely won’t come into play, and even if you pull 2 of them, nobody would recommend playing both.
This is a good attack piece that should play pretty well and straightforward, but isn’t quite powerful enough to be considered a tentpole. As such, he’ll work best if you have a few other mid-cost (75-110) attack pieces to share some of the load.
Anonym0use - To my great disappointment this figure lacks fear factor, considering opponents should be very afraid of a comic accurate Predator X. A little more Blades Claws overlapping with Exploit Weakness would have gone a long way in reaching that goal. As laid out the dial doesn't feel strong enough for the points. Charge and deal a guaranteed three damage, or risk a bad BCF roll? One Outwit takes away all this beast's fangs, leaving it stuck dealing 2 damage down 60% of its dial. Indomitable will only force opponents to push to get rid of this menace quicker. There's better bang for your buck elsewhere.
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gx043 V Trevor Fitzroy
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 6
Points: 65
Keywords: Future, Hellfire Club
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(Special) Life Force Portals: When an opposing character takes damage from Trevor Fitzroy's close combat attack, after actions resolve you may place Trevor Fitzroy and up to one adjacent friendly character anywhere on the map as long as they remain adjacent.
AZS - It’s a statement to how well balanced and designed this set is that I’m constantly looking at these figures and wanting to rate them high and low to have a better overall bell curve, but keep falling back to rate them as 3 shields. Trevor has just enough use for a low enough cost that he’s not a 2, but not nearly good enough to be a 4. His PC will come in handy, and his Trait is neat, but I’ll be surprised if anyone pulls it off more than once or twice in a game.
Anonym0use - His attack values aren't that great, so it's a good thing Fitzy has Probability Control. For the cost, Trevor makes for a great mobile harassment piece, with range and damage reducers to keep him an annoyance. I don't expect this 90's mutant craze cast off to KO much more than a few Hellions (yay for comic accuracy!) but rather the real sauce comes from creating life force portals which could be used very strategically to reposition a non mobile attacker (let's say you need to move someone away from the Blob) or buy a round or two for another character to regenerate by transporting to an abandoned corner of the map.
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gx044 V Bonebreaker
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 6
Points: 96
Keywords: Reavers, Robot
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(Speed) Tank Treads: Bonebreaker can use Running Shot. If he uses Running Shot to move along a straight horizontal or vertical path, he doesn't halve his speed value.
(Special) Tank Chassis: Bonebreaker ignores hindering terrain for movement purposes and automatically breaks away.
AZS - Like his Reaver brothers, Bonebreaker is 6 clicks deep and has Indomitable. Also like his fellow Reavers, he’s a solid offensive piece. What sets him apart though is that he’s a bit pricier than the rest.
The Trait and SP go hand in hand, making him, well, mobile infantry. His stats are solid without being spectacular. For playability, he’s somewhat straightforward. There’s just enough Outwit, PsyBlast and Exploit Weakness in the set that you can’t count on his damage reducers to keep him alive, and at only 6 clicks deep he is a bit short lived. Combined with his modest range, Bonebreaker might get off a few opening salvos and then be an early casualty. Weigh that against his cost, and unlike the other Reavers, he gets a rating of
Anonym0use - Another Indomitable cyborg with a trait easily granting him first strike ability, Bonebreaker better hope he hits with that opening 9 attack. This Reaver treads lightly with a defense that quickly tanks and will want to remain at range taking advantage of hindering terrain for a defense bump. For his cost, and compared to the other Reavers GSX offers, this robot may not end up breaking as many bones as he himself gets broken.
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gx045 E Vulcan
Team: Power Cosmic
Range: 10
Points: 275
Keywords: Cosmic, Ruler, Shi'ar
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(Attack) Omega-Level Energy Absorbtion: Modifiy Vulcan's attack and damage by +1 for each time he was targeted by a ranged combat attack since your last turn.
(Damage) Sway, Darwin, Petra: Vulcan can be used Incapacitate, Perplex and Quake.
AZS - And now we reach the first of 2 possible one-man armies (ok, maybe two-man if you pull a Purifier.) This figure is loaded with potential, but deeper consideration makes me feel that he won’t play as well as he looks. The Attack SP is cool, and doesn’t require an attack to hit to gain the bonus. But with Invulnerability instead of Impervious, he’ll likely get whittled down none-the-less. The Damage SP essentially grants him Perplex, because you’re not going to bother with Incap or Quake when you can deal big damage instead. The problem, as with all one-figure teams, is that Vulcan must deal huge and penetrating damage in order to be able to take down an entire opposing team by himself. And his dial doesn’t have that much potential. Then mid-dial he has ES/D instead of any damage reducer – just asking to get slapped around. This isn’t to say that he won’t be difficult to beat, or that he won’t win a game or two here and there. But it’ll be few and far between that Vulcan outright wins tournaments.
Perhaps in larger constructed games Vulcan can bring something unique and useful to the table, but in sealed, he’s just not up to snuff.
Anonym0use - Like Wolverine, Vulcan is either going to be a hit or miss with players. The third Summer's brother is certainly capable of holding his own as a one man army in 300 points (400? not so much as an opponent will have more resources to deal with him) on the GSX maps where hindering and elevated terrain are plentiful. Dare I say this figure is better than the white Phoenix? Aside from Omega Level Energy Absorption boosting his stats, he starts with Perplex, and both powers will help this HSS hit and run piece one shot the opposition to the point where they can't retaliate. Don't feel comfortable running a one man army centered on HSS hit and run tactics? Look elsewhere for your team, otherwise put everything back in the booster (except that Purifier) and prepare to win.
coming soon : nu52 Hercules
Anonymouse, the former Editor "in cheese" of HCRealms.com, is an author of "Marquee Primer" reviews and keeper of the MOUSETRAP blog.
Read my Heroclix articles
Sabretooth is a BEAST! His SPs are a lot better than folks give them credit for. It's like pulling Deadshot during a 75th sealed.
The two I most want to try? Professor X & Mystique. I may just have to rebirth my Spy team. And the inanity of breaking O'le Charlie is crazy. I expect him to fair pretty decently at Worlds.
Though Pyro should be higher. Now your EE can target opposing groups while severely hurting support figs AND the Imp bricks they're protecting.
WizKids GamePlay, "You can only play our game if you buy the new stuff. Those old figures are dirty and obsolete."
Record vs VGA d1sc1pL3: W-3 L-0
Going to completely disagree with your stance on Pyro. Building a team around him isn't the best idea, but as a second attacker, he is often overlooked because of how pathetic his dial looks. Used him myself in a sealed and people swarm Skullbuster while foolishly leaving Pyro to his own devices. I personally wish he at least had running shot, but hey, it's a flamethrower. Plus penetrating poison is fantastic.
Going to completely disagree with your stance on Pyro. Building a team around him isn't the best idea, but as a second attacker, he is often overlooked because of how pathetic his dial looks. Used him myself in a sealed and people swarm Skullbuster while foolishly leaving Pyro to his own devices. I personally wish he at least had running shot, but hey, it's a flamethrower. Plus penetrating poison is fantastic.
While I agree he can't be dominate he's at least - An all around average figure.
But one can build a team around him with a couple of cheaper figures like you did with Skullbuster. Just saying he's shouldn't be getting a
Or were you disagreeing with the reviews on Pyro?
WizKids GamePlay, "You can only play our game if you buy the new stuff. Those old figures are dirty and obsolete."
Record vs VGA d1sc1pL3: W-3 L-0
I've really enjoyed these articles with both AZS and 'Mouse writing them together. I particularly love the figures they disagree on, like Vulcan. It has created a different experience when reading! Props to both.
The conflicting views on Vulcan are interesting. I'm so confused now lol! Professor X and Sabertooth would be my rares of choice. Prof X is extremely powerful with his trait. You almost always have outwit and you will ALWAYS been in a position to attack. He can even push to perplex if it is necessary and never gets that bad. It seems unlikely that your opponent will ever head behind your lines to deal with him. Don't forget he is almost immune to PC from your opponent since they can't draw line of fire to him through his relay figure. Sabertooth is just a beast and dangerous his whole dial. Lots of love to both of those rares.
Vulcan seems pretty crap to me, but I suppose I should wait until I see him played. He just doesn't seem to have any chops other than on Clicks 1 and 3, and will likely have a tough time outlasting any decent team played by a savvy player.
AMouse you're right on fans being disappointed with Iceman. With already a recent 100 points iceman I personally was expecting something different that represents today Iceman, specially after they made an overpower beast for the real comic book character. Something like stunning blow as white power, invulnerability and then regeneration at the end of the dial (he has reformed from vapor a lot of times since unleashing his omega mutant potential) and stats to go for a around 125 points Iceman would have been much apreciated. Now I feel like I woul still use the M&M version, who at least has double incap, 5 clicks of 3 damage, better defense and reducers, and just a perplex gives him 10 attack for that double incap.
Come on, this one can't even attack while moving (I said attack, not trying to make a hit with 8 attack at top dial :P).
I have seen Vulcan go 2-1. He took out a Mark V Sentinel with support, and Angel, Gideon, Domino, Caliban with little trouble then he got owned by Fastball Special and Krakoa.
As for Iceman yea ether they should have made him a Colossal as he can do that with enough water to absorb, or something other than 100ish as even with his special attack power just about every Iceman fan will play the 100pt double Incapper!
Nice thoughts, always good to hear some good thoughts on figures.
Some thoughts on specific figs
Sabertooth........I agree with the 3 4 rating as he is very dangerous and will need some help to really shine. An outwiter or a perplex in my pulls would probably be enough for me to have him as the first part of my team build.........a TKer and I might have to stifle a BWHAHAHAHAHAHAH. But his mobility might be a big issue. I'm not turned off very much bu his low starting damage output as a click of two of damage in the right places can help the rest of my team have a better chance of hitting. That's not always the case anymore but it is still out there.
Vulcan..............I can see him being exactly like M0use said. One man aren't my cup of team but I can see it. If he's hoverine in hindering he can have a 20 defence(thanks to his perplex) and heven forbid your opponent keeps missing having a 12/6 or 13/7 HSSer flying around taking out threats and making your attacks go down. :shudder: Having said that I don't like 'if you get tagged once ' types. A 1 or a 4/5 play at your own risk.
Looking forward to the SRs.
It is almost upon us! Are you prepared for the Quarmageddon?
Wish this review had been out yesterday. I would have likely played much better last night with my 400 pt sealed team of:
Prof X
Lockheed
Angel
The Captain
Tarot (I think I had either PC or Perplex during every game backing up her Support...)
Totally did not realize Charlie had two arrows. Stupid chair!!
On a side note: The Captain's Special Power - extremely frustraiting to opponents!! The first time they tried to outwit his defense, I had to explain the power. Man, they were using the name in his Charge power quite often...