by Jeff Bullard
Hello all, I am excited to share with you that we are taking something off the Bronze Age LIMITED Ban List. I feel like this has been a long time coming and much needed addition to the format. Equipment at force construction is being taken off the Ban List. We are going to look at the figures that are being brought into the format and how they will interact with the current competitive scene. Now let’s get into it!
With equipment at force construction coming off the Ban List, we are adding 13 pieces of equipment to the format. Nine of them are the Entities from the War of Light set. From day one of their release, they have been highly sought after. The other 4 are from various sets and work very similarly.
Ten of the equipment (WOL060 Black Hand, WOL061 Entity, WOL063 Ophidian, WOL064 Proselyte, WOL065 Parallax, WOL065 Butcher, WOL067 Adara, WOL068 Predator, SMWW063 Brainiac, and SMWW 055 Eclipso) work the same and the other 3 work very similarly with small changes. How these ten work,
“…you pay 25 points when building your force, equip this character to a friendly character and link it to that character’s dial. (To equip, place this on the standard character’s card. The character can use its effects. If the character is KO’d or equipped again, KO the previously equipped game element. A linked dial is always on the same click number as the dial it’s linked to.)”
each of the ten has an effect that reads
“At the beginning of your turn or after this character is clicked, you may choose 1 power on the equipped dial and 1 combat value on the equipped dial higher than this character’s same printed combat value. This character can use that power and modifies that combat value by +1 until your next turn or clicked. (A character is clicked whenever it is damaged or healed.).”
To elaborate on the other three, WOL062 Ion also costs 25 points but has a different effect where you can pick two powers and two combat values. Next, AOU039 Jocasta also costs 25 points but can only be equipped to a character with Armor or Robot keyword and has the same effect as the others. Lastly, there is UXM057 Proteus the trait reads,
“When building your force, you may pay 35 points to equip Proteus to a character of 100 points or less. When the equipped character is KO’d, equip this to another friendly character of 100 points or less. If you can’t, place him on click #10 into the square of the last character he was equipped, and he can’t be healed.”
Proteus’s effect reads
“Modify the combat values of the equipped character by +1. At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 that can’t be rerolled 1-2: Deal the equipped character 1 unavoidable damage.”
So now that we know how much they cost and how they work, we can look at some of the more popular equipment coming into the format. WOL062 Ion is by far one of the most utilized equipment to play. I mentioned earlier how you can pick two powers and two combat values. Ion starts out with a 9/10/18/3 and 8 range. His top dial powers are Phasing/Teleport, Telekinesis, Impervious & Outwit. These powers give you a few combinations to stay ahead of the game. Next, we will look at WOL063 Ophidian. He opens with a 12/11/18/4 and 8 range. His starting powers are Sidestep, Pulse Wave, Invulnerability & a special white box damage power. His damage power is:
“DESIRE OF GREED: Ophidian can use Outwit. When it does it can use the countered power or ability for as long as it’s countered.”
Ophidian’s damage power is a pseudo-pick-a-power. This can be a great Swiss Army knife. Lastly, I will introduce you to WOL065 Parallax. His combat values on his starting click are 10/12/17/4 with an 8 range. Parallax has Stealth, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Impervious and a special white box damage power. Parallax’s damage power is:
“COSMIC FEAR: Parallax can use Perplex, but only to decrease combat values. Parallax can use the Quintessence team ability.”
Parallax’s damage power is especially good. Not only because of the Perplex but the Quintessence TA. Having the SAFEGUARD: Outwit can be a game-changer. I am excited to see how the other equipment is going to be utilized. With Armor and Robot keywords gaining more figures with each set hopefully, AOU039 Jocasta can make an impact.
The question at hand is how they will fit into the current competitive scene. These equipment’s cost 25-35 points. Compared to the other equipment that are available, they are double if not triple the cost. The upside is that you don’t have to take a power action to equip, nor do you have to worry about it being stolen if you go second. Being able to pick a power that is not available from some of the other equipment can be very useful in your team building. These also give you a chance to increase your damage value. With the change to Perplex, this is something that you need to keep an eye out for. From the opponent’s view, they are big points if they go down. Things like EAXs002 Mini-Slayer will eat these equipment’s very easily. XDPSG016 Onslaught sees a good amount of play, when he hits with a close attack “…a hit character unequips all equipment…”. Some other figures to keep an eye for if they hit your possessed character and unequip your equipment are BWM13 Black Widow and SVC064 Leonardo Da Venom. As with all equipment, there are risks and rewards. Make sure to do your homework to see what works best for your team and what the current competitive scene looks like.
Bronze Age is a team builder’s paradise. With equipment at force construction coming off the LIMITED Ban List this should usher in a few new arch types. I look forward to seeing what new teams people try and most importantly win with! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to practice rolling your dice!
