by Craig Landers
Welcome back to Breaking the Meta: Tag Team edition. This week, I’m not only looking at one piece that is deserving of some love, but TWO pieces that have been discounted. But with their powers combined, they don’t summon Captain Planet, but an opponent that’s confused as to why they can’t KO a tree and a guy with COPD.
First up, let’s look at GOTG051 Groot. When this baby boy hit, there was a lot of buzz about him. Sadly, most of it was quickly dismissed for various reasons. People said that he was over costed. People said that we were only excited because we hadn’t had a comic version of him in year. People forgot that big Groot saved the freaking galaxy by giving up his life because of the baby version. But this tree has a trait that’s amazing.
“REGROW FROM A RESCUED SPRIG: Each time Groot would be KO’d, if he’s adjacent to a friendly character that shares a keyword with him, instead turn him to click #9.”
A big thing is that it’s a trait, so it can’t be Outwitted, and Green Arrow can’t just shoot through that power. No matter how much damage, or how many attacks they spit into him, he keeps coming back. You don’t need those M’Kraan Slivers or White Lantern Rings. He just keeps popping right back. This makes him a perfect Mastermind piece. Now if only there was a good Mastermind piece that shares a keyword with him. Hmmm.
Thanks to PJ Bolin, DKR204 Bane is finally getting some of the attention he deserves. But he becomes the Bret Hart to Groot’s Anvil Neidhart not because of the Brute keyword, but because of the Monster Keyword. This allows Groot to keep popping up if Bane is adjacent. What really starts to get this combo humming is his defensive power.
IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN THAT: Bane possesses Mastermind and Toughness. This power cannot be countered.
You aren’t going to be Outwitting that, or Arrowing straight through him. Since Precision Strike doesn’t counter Mastermind anymore, Bane is bouncing almost all attacks to Groot, who dies, and then pops right back up. Also, with Toughness, he isn’t taking non-penetrating poison. One of the biggest difficulties that he always had was that he didn’t have much mobility. If only there was an amazing piece of Mastermind fodder that could carry him around….
Now, there is always going to be ways against any team, this team up is no different, but let’s look at ways of mitigating the two easiest ways around it. Separating the two, and Pulse Wave.
How to stop the separation:
A big way to separate pieces is about to go away. Now that you can’t TK an opponent’s piece, Bane and Groot will find themselves locked around each other. However, the second easiest way to separate them is knockback. Sadly, Bane nor Groot have Charge or Reflexes on Bane’s top click, and you can’t push Bane down the dial to get there once Wonder Woman come along. So what are some things that can help this out?
The Sins – 3 of the 7 Sins from Trinity War grant Combat Reflexes. If you’re in standard bronze, bring out Pandora’s Box, but in Limited, you might need to bring in Splitlip to make equipping a bit easier.
Hammers – 5 of the Hammers grant Charge, but again, might need the old dwarf to help you pick them up without an action and easier.
WOL066 Butcher – Again, only a real help in non-limited, and only for Bane as he can’t be equipped to Groot’s big butt.
With Valeria and Venom Groot getting the nerf hammer recently, the occurrence of the Spin Ring has greatly gone down. But if you are afraid of it popping up, don’t hesitate to reach for your TREKBG012 Ferengi Salvage Crew. He is 5 points less than Mr. Nobody, helps to get rid of equipment as well, is a better attacker on his own, and has those cool ears. Fight me.
Pulse Wave:
Pulse Wave is going to be a problem for most teams. While you can often mitigate this with clever placement, a seasoned player is going to find ways to target who/what they want with the Pulse Wave. Sadly, there aren’t many ways around it. I do want to give some credit to a piece that really helps on those teams that you’re saying “this is perfect, except for Pulse Wave”:
RED ENERGY ABSORPTION AND RELEASE: Superman Blue can use Force Blast. Superman Blue and adjacent friendly characters ignore damage dealt by Pulse Wave. This ability can’t be ignored.
Now there are plenty of ways to Min/Max this team based on your style/who you think you’ll be facing. Know there’s going to be a Red Battery on the other end? Throw in DKR205 Rachel Dawes. Think there’s going to be a lot of can’t die teams? Throw on a few Marvella’s the Barrier in your support squad. Want to be cool? Play Rogue and Gambit. You won’t have room for Bane and Groot, but you’ll be my hero.
That’s it for this week. Tune in next time as we look at another forgotten or misunderstood piece, and discuss how they belong in the new meta of Bronze.
