by Tom Shanabarger
I must have started typing and deleted this paragraph six times. This set has a lot nostalgia for me as the first booster I ever bought was from this set and it happened to have the chase Thanos inside. I had no idea at the time how lucky I was. In fact I was disappointed that I didn’t get the Silver Surfer. There are a few truly outstanding figures in this set and several really nice additions to the collection also. So let’s dive right in.
(Click to Buy!)
- 001 Nova Prime – There are 2 main set, 2 gravity feed, and an LE figure in this set that all have the Nova Corps keyword. They are all a little on the pricey side points wise, but they all have the share through the World Mind trait. That trait was continued in the Avengers Infinity set. If you like the Nova Corps there may be something cool there but their point cost likely will keep them out of competitive.
- 010 Adam Warlock – This guy has a weird shifting mechanic that lets you swap between him and it is a fun addition for the casual games.
- 014 Astral Dr. Strange – This guy here is absolutely a competitive must own figure for 13 points with the Mystical keyword and can be given a MOVE as a FREE once per turn. Since it is a MOVE action you can activate his Phasing/Teleport.
- 020 Magus – This is the other half of the swapping Adam Warlock mentioned above.
- 021 Red Shift – This guy is still really cool. 106 points Power Cosmic, Cosmic keyword, Hypersonic. Normally all of that while nice isn’t enough to make up for having a 10-Attack / 3-Damage. The thing that really makes him is that nifty Special Power he has. If he damages a character he can place them up to 3 squares from where they currently are. When you realize that you can do that trick to put people into the Bi-Frost it gets really cool. Then when you realize it can be triggered off of things like Poison from the Phoenix Force and be triggered more than once per turn… well you get the gist.
- 022 Xavin – His gimmick is dial manipulation which when combined with a link dial possessor could make things spicy. Still is stats aren’t kind to him.
- 026 Mole Man – This guy is the most important character for you to acquire for competitive play. 47 points and he can Mind Control friendly Monsters. If you can add extra bolts to him things get even more stupid. The Outwit is nice too.
- 028 Dr. Strange – This guy generates the Astral Strange that we covered earlier. If you liked them at 13 points you’ll really love generating one from him off of the ID card for 5.
- 031 Captain Marvel – Remember the Hulk set Rick Jones? He can alter ego into this guy and that give him access to 8-Range Prob and Energy Explosion with 2 targets. He is also an option off of the ID card as his Running Shot 8-Range, 2-Bolt 11 for 4 isn’t too shabby.
- 032 Adam Warlock – This guy can Outwit team abilities while the rules change makes a ruling necessary on him the original intent is there in the power for it to be able to Outwit Power Cosmic. Clocking in at 149 he would be a super niche choice but any time a figure does something unique I try to grab at least one for that random crazy combo that emerges.
- 036 Silver Surfer – While the point cost of 236 and a middling 10-Attack value has always held this guy back he does two things that I feel make him worth mentioning. First he can carry 2 single based figures regardless of combat symbols and Battle Fury. If they are both Defenders he gets a +2 to offset that carry modifier. The other is he has a full movement Running Shot. When you realize he has 12-Movement and 8-Range that is a built in 20 swing. Pending he started on square 2 the can hit the opponent anywhere outside of their starting area without any assistance.
- 037 Mr. Fantastic – This guy is the less pricey (money wise) of the two versions of him in the set for the Fantastic Four fans. But he does have an interesting ability in his Stretch power. He can close attack an opposing character within 10 squares as long as they are within line of fire of a friendly. The double power action part hurts but on a pog abusing defensive build it could find a niche.
- 038 The Thing – This version of the thing at 140 points is costly and the 10-Attack hurts. But his trait is cool. Each time a character takes damage from one of his close attacks they have to choose to either take one unavoidable or let him make another free attack on them. Should they choose the latter the power can trigger again. If you can help that attack it can really get interesting when paired with something like the octopus arms that grant Flurry to hit twice and that’s 8-damage and they have to decided if they want the 2 unavoidable or if they would prefer another hit. Also super strength means knock back can happen too.
- 039 Cosmo – This is a Swiss army knife figure. Clocking in at 52 points with the Police team ability and top dial TK and Enhancement are nice if you push him he switches to Mind Control and Incap which are nice when you factor in the 6-Range three targets he comes with. He also picks up Barrier on click 2.
- 041 Lord Mar-Vell – He is too many points to see normal play. That said he may be viable as a real boy option. His trait adds one Attack at the cost of one Defense to other friendlies. Leadership, TK, combined with that 8 -Range, 12-Attack and 5-Dmage gives him plenty of options in that role.
- 045 Thanos – The first of two versions in this set this guy is the one that does have potential competitively in 300. While 11-Attack, Pen/Psy with 9-Range and 4-Damage is nothing the scoff at, the real selling point is his trait that prevents other characters from healing. That global effect combined with say the Grim Reapers from the Undead set gravity feed we had and a few other Monsters could be very strong.
The Chases
There are four chases in this set I would not accuse any of them of being currently viable in a competitive 300 format. That said I own all but one and will likely finish the set. The Doom chase is him on the Silver Surfer’s board. He is probably the closest chase to being competitive in 300 and by far the best stand alone Oreo Doom. The Mr. Fantastic is holding the Ultimate Nullifier and is less points than the Super Rare. The Keeper is The Silver Surfer with a red scarf though I forgot what it was. His 10-Range, 11-Movement, Hypersonic are good but otherwise he is not that great. The Final one is the one I would say every single clix player should get to play at least once in a high point game. Chase Thanos holding the Cosmic cube. His teleport my greatest enemies power to this day triggers P.T.S.D. In all the kill box victims he created. Don’t pass him up
The Gravity Feed
- Silver Surfer – Clocking in at 149 with top dial Hypersonic, 8-Range and 2 targets he is the most playable version of the character. He also is the only one with a low enough point cost to be used as the Herald of Galactus.
- 206 Dr. Strange – The only Gravity Feed figure here that I feel could find a use in competitive. He is 75 points with 8-Range, 10-Attack, Energy Explosion and Perplex top dial. The selling point is that he gives adjacent friendlies Energy Shield/ Deflection. Have him carry around a Bizarro Green Arrow and watch people shoot you dirty looks.
The Objects
Both of the Objects are Relics which is nice because they can stack with Resources and Equipment which really gives them new life. The Nova Helmet gives Charge and Flight. It also gives the Nova Corps keyword which Given the share through the world mind traits they have could prove fruitful. The Cosmic Cube grants Perplex and Prob but you risk dropping it 33 percent of the time.
The Colossal Figures
I need to preface this section by saying that 6×9 figures are a huge liability in tournament play because if you lose map they automatically die the only way I know of to prevent that aside from winning map is to use the Teleporter or the Round Table and use better suited to swap them out since it happens after reveal but before you place. Even then That is a major change being made to a build.
- G003 Master Mold – In high point games he is fun to generate sentinels with but his low point dial is the only 6×9 I consider to have a chance in competitive. At 200 points there are enough Robot keyword figs to help him out add in his Multi-Attack, decent stats and Retribution Virus and he could find a niche. Phasing 10 then calling out a 200pt ID character definitely doesn’t suck.
- G004 Uatu the Watcher – his 50pt dial is still top tier competitively viable if equipment becomes dominate. The fact that you can win map with Cosmic theme place him right on top of the opponent’s equipment and then phase 10 squares away with it never gets old. He also isn’t plagued by the map limitations of the bigger guys being that he is a 2×2.
