Well, the new set is more-or-less out and sneak peek-denied individual that I am I figured I'd at least give some musings on the teams, starting with the original teen super-heroes, the Legionnaires.

*Andromeda: Most likely a 13/13 6-drop so that's not too bad, though I would have expected Range on her (I'm going off of Docx's wonderful search engine here - everyone should tell him "Thank You" for the work he did for us today...seriously). Nothing terribly exciting but she's a Common so I guess that's fair.

*Apparition: I like her. Concealed, decent stats for a 2-drop, Flight and the ability to absolutely wreck chaos on opposing hidden characters (at least as long as you can keep Cosmic counters in play which seems likely with the Legion though time will tell). Depending on your local meta, may be your 2-drop of choice if you're seeing a lot of Concealed problems.

*Bouncing Boy: Beyond the fact that it's just nice to see him make it onto a card, I'd have to say he's "flavour" appropriate. Strong defense for a 2-drop is nice but his Boost ability is kind-of handy for a swarm deck (for those wondering how it's appropriate, Chuck was the Legion's "Morale Officer" - basically he reinvigorates people's spirits...or Cosmic counters as the case may be). Plus he appropriately bounces back to your hand. :) Maybe not your first choice as a 2-drop in all Legion decks, I think he'll work fine in the swarm attack.

*Brainiac 5.1: He's been discussed quite a bit but I'm still one of the folks that like the card. Digging three cards deeper into your deck and thinning the chaff is usually a good thing, I feel. He's also going to make your opponent's 5-drops work just a smidgen harder to stun him (though he likely won't be returning the favour).

*Chameleon: I know he'd be broken if the effects he fizzled targeted characters but just stopping cards that target you - eh, not so great. Sure, there are a few really nasty cards he can stop but I'm not sure as a 3-drop he'll be around when those cards get played. On the other hand, making it "target character" might've verged on broken especially if you put Sensor down on turn 2. Plus they really should have just called him "Chameleon Boy" if only to stop the ability of Sinister Syndicate to power him up. ;)

*Micro Lad: Er, sorry - Colossal Boy. Quick favour to ask: can someone describe the art to me? The names are a mish-mash of era's while the quote is a running gag from the most recent version of the Legion so I'm curious which image they used. Great ability to let your drops swing up the curve, decent stats and flight...now if only he came into play sooner than turn 7 that "up the curve" ability of his may see a bit more play. Reserving judgement until we see how the Legion is used best.

*Cosmic Boy: Well, he's the first Legionnaire and their heart and soul so the ability to replenish everyone's power (inspire them on to greatness) is appropriate. It's just a shame after using it he's a tad vanilla. Decent stats, flight and range are all nice but I admit I wish he had maybe one extra "magnetic related" ability in addition to his Inspire power. Then again, he should be able to use it more than once based on the way Legion's built and there are a few effects in the Legionnaires that could get nasty if they fire off multiple times in a turn using a "Cosmic Boy"-engine.

*Dream Girl: Another previously discussed card. She'll be difficult to keep around but while she's out if you play smart - and appropriately enough are good at "predicting the future" - she can be a boon. Definitely not a card for a novice player to try using though and even an expert should probably know the meta pretty well before trying her out.

*Element Lad: Another character I'm a bit surprised doesn't have range. I'm uncertain if Jan or Chuck is better for a Legion swarm deck; Chuck recharges everyone but Jan lets one of those character swing up the curve a bit easier and that's always nice.

*Ferro Lad: Well, he's got suicidal tendencies so I guess 0 DEF fits and he does hit hard (swarm him with Jan and Andrew has a decent chance of taking out a 4-drop come to think of it). As long as you don't mind reinforcing him and knowing that even Aunt May can take him out with a rolling pin, he may be worth a try but I'm not fond of him.

*Kid Quantum: It's repetitive but again, surprised there's no range here. It seems a bit weak of a card for a character also known as "Kid Deux Ex Machina" but I guess the flavour represents her being a replacement for her brother (thus an alternate cost for payment). Definitely used only in a swarm deck I'm thinking (and thinking that Chdb's right about the heavy swarm feeling for Legion).

*Kara Zor-El: Decent stats, Flight, Range and I like her ability as it'll greatly help cut down on stun loss during your initiative. I would say she's for the Legion curve while Gim is for Legion swarm.

*Karate Kid: I admit it - I was hoping a guy that can use his martial arts ability to wade into a crowd of genocidal Daxamites and take them down would have had a more Karnak-style ability, so I'm trying hard to look at this card fairly. Well, he doesn't stun while attacking so he does help your board advantage...I guess that's good. Now if only his stats were a tad better so you had more certainty that he's the only one not stunning during his attack.

*Kinetix: Broken record time: no range? Other than that I like her power - oddly, I like it a lot more if you team her with the Future Foes (though she won't get her counters replaced as easily) :). I imagine her and the Green Goblin might get along well too. Not too bad for a 3-drop; actually I hate to say it but she's better than Val.

*Lightning Lad: Yes, I called him that but if you prefer - Live Wire. :) Considering most any attacker in a Legion deck is going to have a cosmic counter handy if you're playing right, that's an extra 2 EL each time an opponent's character gets stunned by an attack. That could start to add up fast, especially since by turn 5 there isn't a lot of extra swing room for endurance.

*Matter-Eater Lad: Oh. That's right. He's not in the set. Guess someone got hungry and ate the card. ;)

*Mon-el: Not surprised he's the 8-drop. I'm just not sure how much of an 8-drop ability he has going for him. If you have three characters in play - say your 6, 7 and 8 drop - that's an extra +3/+3 to them for his first turn on the table. After that, he's not overly impressive but then again with Legion if you haven't won by Turn 8 (and really I think you should try to win prior to that turn based on what I'm seeing), then you're already in trouble. Appropriately he's a Hail Mary card to come save the day if you're in serious need.

*R.J. Brande: I love that flavour text. :) Early card advantage isn't bad at all. I could see using him as the 1-drop in a Legion curve deck if you don't feel like risking Nura.

*Saturn Girl: Costly to bring into play though she at least helps the characters replenish their counters. Not the most flavourful of abilities - though fun flavour text - and I definitely feel she's meant more for swarm and team-attack decks; thing is do you want to be using your turn 4 for one character in a Legion deck (especially when you also have the option of Wildfire)? This may be the founding member that gets left behind when the team hits the table.

*Sensor: I've raved about her before and I'll rave again. Maybe not the 2-drop for a swarm deck, she's great in most others. Stops so many abilities as long as you're willing to pay a cosmic counter. Seems like a fair trade. Just don't expect her to survive for long.

*Shrinking Violet: Well, if you don't mind using up a cosmic counter she becomes the equivalent of MOR Wolverine for a turn (am I the only one thinking he wouldn't be made quite so well if they knew then what they do now?). Actually she's not bad for a 3-drop but she's not my 3-drop of choice compared to, say, Kinetix.

*Spark: I admit, I'd rather have seen Light Lass/Gossamyr but Spark is the version we get so we'll go with that. Potentially really nasty in the right deck because if we've learned anything watching Electric Eve and Co. - that little extra burn starts to add up quickly (especially if Ayla is on the field with her brother, Garth).

*Star Boy: Nice pun in the flavour text. Maybe not the most appropriate abiliity but I can definitely see packing four in your deck not to put on the field but to replenish Cosmic counters.

*Sun Boy: Great for swinging up the curve but he's going to get taken down by a 5-drop, so be ready. If you boost him the bad news is you're definitely losing six extra points from him being stunned (and make darn sure it's your initiative) but the good news is if you play him right on turn 7 he may be your finisher (especially if you have Ayla and Garth on the field too).

*Timber Wolf: Swarm tactics! Basically he's a 4/1 3-drop with a power that says "recruit a 2-drop character or 2 1-drops for free". I don't see a reason to drop him without the boost.

*Triad: I'm mixed on this card. I know Chdb adores her. I have to agree with him that she's great for the right deck - put her in a deck with Ayla and Garth and, I dunno, Terra Incognito and she could be pretty handy. She combos nicely with Timber Wolf as well, I must admit.

*Ultra Boy: Okay, I know it's repetitive but "no range"? C'mon, the reason he got into the Legion was because his vision powers were superior to Superboy's similar powers (i.e. - his flash vision was more brutal than heat vision). Other than that, his power is appropriate but he's pretty darn easy to stun for being one of the mightiest Legionnaires. I have trouble seeing him used over Garth or a few others as well. Sorry Jo.

*Umbra: I still prefer Shadow Lass. :) She may be crucial for keeping a few characters like Brainy alive and kicking for multiple uses of their powers. Outside of a few select decks where you're taking her into account though I'm not sure I'd use her over Drake or even Imra.

*Wildfire: I've mentioned him a few times now and there's good reason for it - he's got a great ability for the Legion. Mind you, there are plenty of other ways it seems to replenish cosmic for them so maybe he'll be redundant but I imagine he'll come in handy more than once. Also, despite his weak DEF, an 8-ATK ranged flier is fairly handy.

*XS: This is one of the 3-drops I might very well use over Kinetix. XS is fairly easy to re-ready. The only thing to watch is she doesn't have the strongest stats but unlike a lot of re-readying characters, she can at least cause breakthrough after re-readying. She might team nicely with a certain other teen based team as well.

Okay, this is probably long enough just from talking about the characters so I'll save the plot twists, equipment and locations for the next post. :)

Here's the rest of the Legion-stamped cards.

*Celebrity Status: Hmm...well, it does replenish a cosmic counter. If your opponent felt you were going to be unable to have a cosmic counter handy to throw off combat math it might be handy but are most people expecting the Legion to have trouble keeping cosmic counters in play? I've a feeling this card is going to be a bit redundant (though it could be fun with Jeka - they target her, you flip this to replenish her counter and then remove it to negate the effect :) ).

*Flight Ring: Well, if you slap this on a Legionnaire, two of the abilities are wasted and redundant but they're likely going to have +2 ATK. If you slap it on another character it comes in a bit handier, especially if they have cosmic - so basically it's a nice recruiting device for having Mr. Miracle join the Legionnaires. :)

*Foiled Assassination: Origin of the card - as I haven't seen the art, I'm making an educated guess here - is based on the Legionnaires Three saving R.J. Brande's life. That bit out of the way, it's a nice recovery card especially for a swarm attack deck where you may be faced with KO'ing more than one character anyway. Actually, more I think about it, the more uses I see for this card. I like it.

*Legion HQ: Cosmic Bank! This should be especially fun with Cosmic surge characters and goes a long way to making sure your Legionnaires can keep using their powers.

*Legion of Super-Pets: First off, I have to admit that I love seeing a card for the LSP. :) More importantly, it's absolutely brutal for a swarm attack deck to use. Just get Triad and one of her sisters to swing and you're taking down a 4-drop. If you use it on a solo attacker, you don't get the huge ATK boost but at least you're not losing endurance if your attacker gets stunned...I'd save this card for those team attacks though and watch some tiny drops tear into big ones.

*Legion World: Okay, so you have out Garth and Ayla - maybe even Sun Boy depending on the turn of the game - and just for extra fun you have Legion World to make "Burn" into the word of the turn.

*Let's Go Legionnaires!: Use it on a defender that exhausts him/herself for an extra +4 ATK isn't too bad. Letting one of your extra Triad's - I admit, she's growing on me - exhaust to give an attacker +4 ATK on turn 3 isn't half bad either. Definitely worth consideration.

*Long Live the Legion: Play with Legion of Super-Pets for extra fun on the team attack. :) Actually, it's not a half bad card if there's a certain character you want to assure stays face-up for that recovery phase - say Drake who can then replenish the counter the stunned team attacker used to save Wildfire.

*Many Worlds: It costs you a cosmic counter to start but that should be easy to replenish. It then sits there and waits until you find the effect you most need and while none of the three are super-spectacular in a void, all of them have their uses and are appropriate for the different decks the Legion can build. It also keeps "card parity" which is nice. Maybe not a 4-of card but it's certainly worth a second look.

*New Recruits: Tutor! Do I really need to explain why that's a good thing?

*Past, Present and Future: Fairly standard team-up. Handy in the right places, chaff in others. Your mileage may vary.

*Science Police Central: I love this card. It's great in curve. It's great in swarm attack.

*Terror Incognita: Well, besides a few janky but broken tricks with it, I actually think there's some potential for this card in the right Legion build. You definitely have to plan the deck around the card though which can be tricky- be sure to put in four "Many Worlds" and maybe try to get a Brainy on the table to get through to it ASAP - but combined with the Ayla, Garth, Cos, Dirk and Legion World engine it can end the game for you.

*We are Legion: Fine for replenishing cosmic counters if you make sure the first attackers of your turn are those who need the counters back. It may be a bit redundant in the deck - have to see how it plays - and you may overextend yourself to use it, but I'm not automatically tossing this card yet.

*Youth of Tomorrow: It's a team-up that folks may find especially handy in Limited. Other than that, I'm not too excited by it but most team-ups aren't built to be exciting, I admit.

Overall, at first it seems like the Legion is just about getting those cosmic counters out and you may be too busy playing "cosmic shuffle" to get much down. Taking a look at the team as a whole though I see some exciting possibilities. There're some great swarm attack builds possible with it. There's also the "Burn Engine" - Ayla, Garth, Cos (to replenish all those counters you have Ayla remove), Dirk and Legion World (plus Terror Incognita for the "finish") - that I think has some brutal possibilities. One big thing about the Legion is that you don't want to go too long with them. They will falter against stall decks it seems and that's not necessarily good considering the current environment. Still, I think there should be some fun builds to try and really am anxious to try the Electro-Magnetic Burn Engine (TM). :)

If you've read this far, thanks for humouring me. ;)

I haven't actually read what you've posted yet but rep point just for going to the effort. ;)

Remember that it comboes very nicely indeed with Kid Quantum, who essentially turns it into a free recovery card. Unfortunately, this is probably the Legion's best defensive trick, which is... not great for the team.

This one actually impresses me quite a lot considering that it replaces itself and gives you card advantage. That'll often be two cards for one Cosmic counter. That's very solid indeed.

I think it's going to depend on the deck you're running. There are a few decks where I could see maybe two of these at most as you may be wanting to use the space for more important cards (e.g. - in swarm you might want more Legion of Super-Pets) - though that could be my horrific luck when it comes to replacement (I usually end up with a "dead spot" from the new card being a character) speaking up here :) - but if you're running a Terror Incognita deck (like the EM-Burn I'm trying), then I could definitely see running four of these to fast filter the deck.

Doc,
Can you elaborate on how you see the "Electro-Magnetic Burn" happening? I am looking through the cards mentioned but I am having trouble visualising the combo in action.

Returned your PM on it (or I also have a separate thread going on it on "Strategy/Tactics" forum as I didn't know which thread you had been reading when you sent the PM - sorry if it ends up seeming redundant).