by Jay Solomon
On October 1st, Eternal Games in Michigan will be having a Super Qualifier that I and some of the Meta Lab crew will be attending. Some of you may be familiar with the double Loki team that Mike Payne had been using, and I’ve been making some of my own attempts with the con exclusive Loki. The point denial options that he can provide are very useful, and I’ve been trying to find the perfect partner to go with him. I think I’ve found the best possible option.
The Team:
Loki 115
-Brainiac 25
Resurrection Man 92
-Proteus 35
Pandora’s Box 28
-Envy Relic
-Sloth Relic
-Lust Relic
-Wrath Relic
S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7
Sideline: Peggy Carter, NFAOS024 Winter Soldier 95, NFAOS052 Hulk 100
While Resurrection Man had been a presence in the competitive scene with other point denial, since the most recent rotation, I haven’t seen much of him. During my team building with Loki, I was trying to find a character to go with him that avoids KO’ing in a different way than him, to maximise the coverage that my team’s defenses can have. I had previously tested out The Wizard, but he is too defensively soft and will end up KO’d, leaving Loki alive but with me at a loss.
Resurrection Man works incredibly well with Loki, as since Loki is so hard to deal with and KO, Resurrection Man will be able to play effectively and not worry about being KO’d in most matchups. Resurrection Man can do a lot of work, copying Mystics, getting stat bonuses from Proteus, and forcing opponents to have to deal with him if given the Lust relic. Resurrection Man can also have a reasonable damage output, even having a printed 4-damage on one of the sections of his dial, therefore a 5-damage with Proteus. Resurrection Man’s unpredictability can also leave opponents surprised, as he can theoretically revive, rolling a power set that can be effective while impossible for my opponent to plan around. His constant presence with Mystics will also be a source of damage output all its own.
Loki is also a versatile piece, with his own Mind Control and Probability Control to control an opposing character if I wish, or the possibility of Running Shot from Pandora’s Box to go with Penetrating/Psychic Blast from Brainiac for up to 4 damage.
As far as resource choice goes, Loki tends to go with Pandora’s Box for Combat Reflexes, as he will be attacked in close combat a lot of the time, and the Running Shot is very helpful for him. Resurrection Man also benefits from the Running Shot if his power set is range focused, as well as Combat Reflexes to tie opposing characters up. Willpower from Wrath will also help his damage output.
I have good match-ups against Quinjet builds, as most of the ID characters used with it are under 150 points, so they will be unable to effectively deal with Loki. Resurrection Man’s Mystics will also force characters brought in via “I Have Some Time To Help” to only be able to make one attack before disappearing. Devil Dinosaur also doesn’t have the best time against Loki, as none of his pogs can effectively harm him, with the Homicide Crabs and MODOKS being nearly useless. The Drop Bears will also have a difficult time hitting Loki’s high defenses.
This sort of team idea may look familiar, as Joshua Earnest has a not dissimilar team that he wrote about here. I feel that great minds think alike, as I had built this team this week, before his article went up. While the two teams share Resurrection Man wildcarding Mystics, I feel that the focuses of the teams are different. Since I only have the 2 characters, my Pandora’s Box will be on click 2, most of the time using the Path of the Hunter to give my characters Running Shot or Probability Control, as opposed to his characters all getting +1 to their combat values once he empties the Box. I also do not have a “normal” character who can be KO’d easily, so I do not give away points without my opponent having to KO Loki. I feel that Loki will be able to carry a lot of weight with his possible 4-damage Penetrating/Psychic Blast, as opposed to Joshua’s Resurrection Man having to do most of the damage output.
That is not to say that my team does not have weaknesses. Krang and TW Lex Luthor are two particularly worrying match-ups, as they can both use Pulse Wave and are high enough points to draw line of fire to Loki. And for the most part, Resurrection Man doesn’t have high damage output, so Loki will have to do most of the work himself. This can be an issue as although Loki could get Willpower from the Wrath relic, when he has two action tokens lines of fire will be able to be drawn to him, so I avoid having to push Loki as much as possible. Also, due to how Resurrection Man’s trait is worded, Proteus can’t be placed on click 10 once Resurrection Man is KO’d. That isn’t a big deal to me, though, as that would mean that Loki is already dead and I will most likely have already lost. The +1 stats on Resurrection Man will be worth the 35 point investment, as he will then be able to do a lot of the work that I need.
While this team may not necessarily be the one to win the event, it certainly looks like a fun and effective one. The randomness of Resurrection Man will make every game different and exciting, as I anticipate seeing what he’ll roll for next.
