by George Flatt
Since the mid year rotation happened, we have been left with very few resources to draw upon for that little extra kick to the game.
This article stems from two different thing that I see and hear all the time.
- All I seem to see being played all over the place are ART, JLT and Rock/Box
- People saying things like, oh if only he had Willpower or if only it had PC and so on.
And here we find ourselves, at the crux of the matter, can you in fact have it all and more? Will using the SI Resource assist you in getting that extra kick? Or will it give you a kick in the pants? Let’s have a look at this resource now and see what it can offer you.
Name: Supreme Intelligence M-R001
Point Value: 12
Assign: When building your force, assign this resource to a character on your force of 50 points or more. If the character has the Kree keyword it can be of any point cost. At the end of your turn, you may turn the dial once clockwise. If the assigned character hit an opposing character with an attack this turn, you may turn it up to two additional times. The assigned character can use the displayed powers.
Special: Movement: Manifesting through you Stop turning the dial when this click is revealed. Give the assigned character a power action and place it on its character card. Replace the assigned character with #M-G004 Supreme Intelligence on the same click number as the assigned character. When Supreme Intelligence takes damage, the assigned character takes the same amount of damage. If either the assigned character or Supreme Intelligence is KO’d, so is the other character, but no points are scored for Supreme Intelligence.
The first thing that should catch your eye is the fact that it is only 12 POINTS!! For a complete resource. That is insanely good. Secondly, it can only be assigned to a character of 50 points or more unless they have the Kree keyword. So generally this resource is going to go onto either your primary/secondary attacker or main support piece. Let’s look at the powers that the assigned character can get as the game progresses.
That makes a total of 12 Standard powers that your assigned character can tap into. But does that make it worth it? 
What we really need to ask is the following set of questions:
WILL THIS RESOURCE CHANGE MY GAME?
WILL THIS RESOURCE BE ABLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
CAN I GET SOMETHING FOR THAT 12 POINTS THAT I REALLY NEEDED?
IS IT WORTH IT TO USE THIS RESOURCE OVER ANOTHER ONE?
HOW CAN I REALLY USE THIS RESOURCE IN A POSSITIVE AND EFFECTIVE WAY?
Well, the good news is that we can answer most of those for you today. At any given time in a game of set pieces, it is always great to have more options than your opponent. The SI resource allows for just that. Coming in at a mere 12 points, allows for it to be played quite effectively in a large number of teams. How many times have you sat back during team building or even during the game and though, damn I really need that extra prob, or I would love me some Regeneration right about now? If you have ever done that then this resource could be just the thing for you.
This resource however, like most other resources requires a bit of finesse to get right and to get to the point of really making a game change. I do also think that this particular resource however requires more work that the current others due to the fact that it is all about the timing! Most resources these days seem to be rather point and click. There is nothing wrong with that but it makes them predictable and as such makes it easier to beat to a very large extent. With the SI resource on the other hand, you opponent needs to either know off hand a 19-click dial with changing powers or must know what you plan to do next. This element alone might just give you a little more edge in your games. The biggest thing regarding this dial and its powers is the fact that there are so many ways that this can help you in your teams. Before I give you some examples, let’s take a look at the actual dial.
As you can see, there are many options and many power combinations available for you to use however, in reality, unless you are gunning for that click 19 Supreme Intelligence swop out you are most likely only going to use the first few clicks of the dial. For that reason we will look deeper into clicks 1-6. Before we do though, I want to remind you of how this dial clicks.
At the end of your turn, you may turn the dial once clockwise. If the assigned character hit an opposing character with an attack this turn, you may turn it up to two additional times.
The keyword here is the word ‘MAY’. What this means is that you can get yourself to the click you really want, and not have to click it again, or you can click it further as the need arises. So, let’s look at it.
Click 1:
Sidestep + TK.
Starting off a game with Sidestep on your character is actually a really great thing. Being able to keep sidestep is also really good. There are a lot of characters that can benefit from having Sidestep available to them. As an example. You might have a character that has an amazing range potential but just doesn’t have any form of move and attack, with this sidestep available they now do. Take for example the SR 120 point Nick Fury, that figure has one of the best range attack capabilities of the game and a 9-Rrange on top of that, however, he has no move and attack. Suddenly, giving Nick Sidestep makes it a lot easier to get those attacks off. Effectively making his range of attack 11 instead of 9 makes a big difference. Also, the ability to pop out from behind blocking terrain and then shoot the target is a big bonus also. This sidestep is also great for close combat experts who might not have any move and attack ability.
Having TK might not be the greatest thing unless the SI Resource is on one of your support pieces. Again, the ability to TK at the beginning of the game is a huge asset. Here is an example. You have built a theme team, and really don’t want to break them up however, in order to get that alpha strike you need to have TK. Now you can for just 12 points. Yes, that’s right, for 22 points, you can have a theme team with a thug that has TK!!
Click 2:
Stealth + Willpower.
Part of playing this resource is knowing when to turn the dial and when not to. For example, on the first turn you have got Sidestep, at the end of the turn you may click the dial once if you want and that will put you onto Stealth and Willpower. If you play it wisely you could be in the position now of protecting the attacker that just went last turn. What that means is the following, you could have gone and done something like this:
Move and attack – Sidestep into bushes – End of turn click SI resource dial once – Have Stealth in said bushes protecting your main attacker at least a little more if not completely. On this click there is also Willpower showing, allowing your character who might have to push or rest, have that extra action. This can make a big difference also.
Here is an example of how this click as a whole could help out:
You have the 75 Point Quicksilver from the UXM set. Turn one he Hypersonics out, leaving his shadow marker adjacent to the opposing force’s figures, moving back to the staring area as close as he can. Sidestepping into some bushes. End of turn you click your dial giving him Stealth. Your turn 2 comes around and all of a sudden he can do it all again without worry of taking pushing damage or having to rest. That has allowed you to make 4 attacks against your opponent, for a minimum of 12 potential damage. If you support him with enhancement somewhere along the lines that all of a sudden becomes a potential 16 damage or more.
Another good use is the SR Iceman from the same set! I will let you think about that one a little.
Click 3:
Phasing Teleport + Perplex
Perplex is self-explanatory and really should not need explaining however the Phasing has another level of help you might not have thought of.
Remembering that you could theoretically get to this click at the end of your first turn, by damaging on opposing figure and clicking it only once, you will have phasing teleport. This is a very fun power to have but can also devastate. Ever really want to have Krang running with 2 Juston Seyferts and have it that he can be activated twice in one turn, well now you can. A character may be given two move actions as free actions in the same turn as long as each action activated a different effect (such as a “standard” move, Phasing/Teleport, Leap/Climb, etc.) Beyond that though, there are a host of figures that would do well with Phasing Teleport, you just need to look a little. Again, Perplex needs no explaining here I don’t think.
Click 4:
Incapacitate + Super Senses
This is probably the click that for me personally is the least pleasing and useful. That doesn’t mean that I think these powers are useless, just not my top pick for this draft.
Incapacitate really comes in handy on the support pieces who have an opportunity before them to tie up the opponent or to force one unavoidable damage to them. As I said, this could be very handy. By forcing your opponent to spend his turn clearing his main attacker or damaging them and they have to clear anyway really does put them on a back footing. Used on a support figure in conjunction with a figure like the SR Iceman or Kitty Pride Prime can lock down an opponent very well and for long enough to do some real damage.
The problem with this click is that it is not the easiest to land on. You will probably skip right past it unless you are wanting these powers specifically. If you have a figure with Shape change and Impervious, you can get them to this dial and give them Super Senses, making it a triple chance to roll out of the attack and making them last longer, so yes, it really does have its uses.
Click 5:
Precision Strike + Probability Control
My personal Favorite from the bunch. Neither of these powers really need explaining as we all know just how well they work and how strong they can be however just for those who might need some direction read on.
Precision Strike has the ability to make your opponent not be able to evade the attack, going through powers like Super Senses and preventing Impervious and invulnerable from completely ignoring the damage. This is really good. I once used Krang against KC Spectre, choosing Precision Strike as my power and attacking, KC Shazam had no way of avoiding the damage anymore because he could no longer use his Super Senses, so he was knocked out.
As for the Probability Control, well let’s see, the ability to make your opponent re roll their rolls in their own turn is just plain great, but to be able to do it in your turn also is just bonkers great! The biggest downside to this click is that it takes a few turns to get to it, however if you play wisely, it can be obtained quite easily. Most games I am able to get to this click and the next quite easily.
Click 6:
Regeneration + Outwit
Hello there, glad you’re still with me. By the time you get to this click in the game, you probably do need it. Regeneration and Outwit is one of my favorite combos to use, simply because of the following:
If you are going to use Regen, that means that 99% of the time, your character will be useless for anything else for the rest of the turn. By having Outwit also, you can choose to outwit a defensive power first, then let your secondary attacker go to town afterwards you can then use the Regen to get back health you sorely need at this point in time. This makes your figure not completely useless for the turn. If you in fact don’t need to heal up and are still on your top clicks, then just using the Outwit on its own becomes useful. Outwit then attack or attack and then outwit their ability to retaliate effectively by taking away Pulse wave or running shot/charge etc. Again though, unless you play cleverly it will be very difficult to get to this click at the right time or when you need it the most.
If you made it this far great and thank you, just a little farther now, home stretch baby!!
Conclusion:
For 12 points, I really don’t think you will be getting a better resource. With the ability this day and age to have both a resource and ID cards, that makes this even more viable. For 22 points, you can have The SI Resource and 2 ID cards on your force!
As for answering this question:
IS IT WORTH IT TO USE THIS RESOURCE OVER ANOTHER ONE?
Well, I did say that we can answer most of these today, this question will rely on you and your play style to decide for yourselves.
Well, what do you think? I would like to hear from you about your opinions or if this article has given some sort of insight that you never saw before. Also remember, that just like with any other Resource or figure in the game, make sure you know how it works and know your dial!!
I recommend that everyone try this resource out for themselves and see if it fits them. Me personally, this is a go to resource for most of my games.
The dice of Zeus always falls luckily – Sophocles (You are not Zeus, Plan ahead)
