by Jay Solomon
Hello, and welcome to another Iteration of Why Don’t I Play This Piece?. This week, I’ll be looking at an overlooked, classily dressed iteration of Moon Knight, from the Avengers Defenders War set.
This version of Moon Knight has Improved Movement: Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores Elevated Terrain. He also has the Spider-Man team ability, making him a wildcard. He also has a trait and two special powers:
(Trait) PROTECTOR OF NIGHT TRAVELERS: Once per turn, if another friendly character is damaged from an attack, after actions resolve, remove an action token from Moon Knight. Whenever a friendly character is KO’d from an attack, after actions resolve, you may place Moon Knight in a square that character occupied.
When played with the right team, this trait will allow Moon Knight to do stuff every turn. Play him with some bystander generators, or other characters who can easily heal, and you’ll be taking tokens off of Moon Knight consistently. The ability to teleport to the square of a KO’d character could be situation-ally useful as well.
(Special Movement) MOON DARTS AND BLOODIED FISTS: Moon Knight can use Charge and Running Shot.
This special power gives Moon Knight versatility. Options are always good to have, and being able to concentrate on close or ranged combat, depending on the individual game will be useful. If nothing else, having Charge to ignore knockback is very useful, for when he does not have Combat Reflexes. This is especially important with Thunderstrike being such a useful Equipment-Object.
(Special Defense) MY LIFE, COURTESY OF KHONSHU: STOP. Moon Knight can use Regeneration and Invulnerability.
With the Green Arrow ID card rotating out, having STOP clicks in the defense slot will matter more. Moon Knight’s getting onto a good reducer late-game can also be very useful, depending how long into the game it is. This STOP click also ensures that Moon Knight hits one of his more offensively potent clicks, and has the opportunity to use them, or possibly heal.
Overall, Moon Knight is a great package, with versatility, decent dial length, and the ability to potentially do something every turn, depending how you build with him. His wildcard team ability and having both Charge and Running Shot leave you with many options of what Moon Knight can do. His longevity is also decent, with the STOP and Toughness, as well as some late-dial low defenses to make healing easier.
I’ve made two very different teams with Moon Knight for this week, using different aspects of what he can do and using different keywords, one of which is surprisingly effective:
Detective Theme
110 ADW062 Moon Knight
-10 TMTS009 Mjolnir
75 DXF037A Deadpool
50 WKDP16-003 Ace the Bathound
35 HQ060 Sand
3 XXSXID-006 All-New Wolverine
3 XXSXID-010 Chamber
5 XXSXID-018 Cyclops
5 XXSXID-025 Wolverine
296
Sideline: XXS036 All-New Wolverine, XXS041 Chamber, FFXXS002 Cyclops, XXS019 Cyclops, XXS052 Cyclops, XXS063 Cyclops, XXS053 Wolverine, DXF034A Deadpool, DXF037B Deadpool
The point of this team is to survive, as well as to pump up ID call-ins, between Moon Knight’s Perplex, as well as Shifting Focus Deadpool’s. Shifting Focus Deadpool will be on the healing, prime version most of the time, to maximise how often Moon Knight will be able to take tokens off himself. Mjolnir will either help with Moon Knight’s swing, or increase his stats once your opponent bases him, which they will have to do thanks to his being able to copy Batman Ally off of Ace the Bathound. If your opponent ignores Stealth, being able to take Sand’s 18-Defense and Super Senses via the “A Simpler Time” trait will also be useful
Mystical Theme
110 ADW062 Moon Knight
75 AIG020R Ego-Prime
75 TMNT3023 Shredder Clone
-10 TMNT3023T+Ocean Resurrection
3 XXSXID-006 All-New Wolverine
5 XXSXID-019 Iceman
5 XXSXID-025 Wolverine
15 WKM17-B003 Serpent Moon Knight
298
Sideline: TMNT3 035 Shark Shredder, XXS036 All-New Wolverine, XXS018 Iceman, XXS064 Iceman, XXS053 Wolverine
This team also focuses on making sure Moon Knight is never pushed, but in a different way. Shredder Clone’s Leadership and all the Ego Anti-Body bystanders will see to that, while the pogs do a lot of work, and Ego’s ability to destroy blocking ensures that no map (like the ROC Underground) will give you any trouble. The selection of ID cards will also help with the numbers of bystanders on the map.
That’s all I have for this week. Thanks for reading, and always remember that whether you’re using an established competitive figure, or a Fringe figure, always remember that practice makes your team better.
