by Kevin Afrooz
Hey fellow Clixers. This is an article written to help players gauge whether it is worth buying a brick, case, or singles of that set. I know others do a similar type of review, however this article will look only at a set number of pieces for competitive play. In this instance 300pts Modern. I will attempt to help you strategize on whether it is worth purchasing a Brick, Case, or just some singles of this set in order to compete at the Competitive Level.
If you’re a collector then you’ll always buy the new hotness, however for those that have the umpteenth version of Iron Man or Captain America you may be wondering if the set is worth purchasing and what figures will keep their value.
This set has a lot riding on it to shake up the current format. It’s been too long having Jakeem Thunder, Krang, and Felix Faust controlling the format. The game has become somewhat stale in its design for creativity and hopefully something here will spice things up a bit knocking the top dogs down a peg. A brief overview of the set shows that Wizkids likes the shifting focus mechanic, and new title character mechanic. Hopefully these pieces hold up against current Meta teams.
THE COMMONS
When looking at the common figures I found two new traits that stood out: Marvel Knights and Defenders together. Marvel Knights allows figures with the trait to either start the game with a 10-Attack and keep that minimum value throughout their whole dial or gain the Wildcard team ability. Seeing how ATAs are rotating out soon (and before Worlds) I don’t see the latter of the trait becoming a huge advantage. The Defenders Together trait works exactly like the JSA trait that came out of Joker’s Wild and allows for figures when using the Defenders Team Ability to gain special bonuses for doing so like +1 Defense, -1 Damage, Probability Control, etc. Ignoring the Shifting Focus pieces because they will have their own section after the Chases at the end of this article there are three playable Common pieces. The rest that I deem playable fall into the Shifting Focus category and will be discussed about later.
Hawkeye
Pros:
- 30 points
- Potential 10/4, 11/3, or 12/2
- Defenders Team Ability w/ +1 to Defense against range attacks
Cons:
- No “real” move & attack power
Hawkeye is like the JSA figures from Jokers Wild. His counterpart in Jokers Wild was Green Arrow who has the exact same dial, stats, and team ability, however Green Arrow is 40 points whereas Hawkeye is 30 points. This 10 point difference is huge and I believe it comes from the fact that Green Arrow has 5 keywords while Hawkeye only has 1 – Defenders. Whatever the basis of why Hawkeye is 10 points less for the exact same dial it makes him playable over Green Arrow.
Captain America
Pros:
- 50 points
- Leadership 4-6 w/ ability to pull off tokens
- 19-Defense against Range
- Indomitable
Cons:
- Move and Attack power is on back end
- No Past keyword
Captain America is a strange piece. For 50 points you get a figure that has Indomitable, the ability to pull off tokens from any friendly Avenger character within 5 squares of him if you roll a 6 on Leadership, and a high enough defense from Range attacks that he could actually be used as a proper shield while you move your pieces across the map. Caps downfall lies in the only reason why you would play him, his Leadership. Having to rely on rolling a 6 in order to pull off tokens from potentially everyone on a team is too random and unpredictable. Where he may shine is with a token generator team that needs to pump out things every turn like with Penguin. Being able to pull off a token from Penguin 50% of the time could be a viable strategy.
Atlantean Warrior
Pros:
- 25 points
- Charge and Close Combat Expert
- 18-Defense against close attacks
- Increase attack +1 when Namor or Aquaman is within 8
Cons:
- Only gets bonus if a character has both Atlantis and Ruler keywords
- No range value
The Atlantean Warriors are a great generic piece. LE Namor from Civil War created these things originally as 1 click pog pieces but now you can get them in a 3 click form for 25 points. What’s even better is the fact that LE Namor’s trait stacks with the Atlantean Warriors trait making them have an 11-Attack with 2-Damage and Close Combat Expert to use on either attack or damage. Should you play an Atlantis team with these pieces you’re going to have to figure out how exactly to safeguard your ruler because as soon as either Namor or Aquaman dies these pieces turn into 25 point fodder.
Commons Conclusion
Out of the 3 pieces mentioned I only really find Hawkeye to be playable. Sure Captain America and the Atlantean Warriors have potential, but I can’t see them synergizing with their respective force builds as well as Hawkeye. A low cost piece should not be the MVP of a team and that’s what Captain America and Atlantean Warriors attempt.
THE UNCOMMONS
With the Uncommons we find pieces that are better suited to be played at their low cost point values. It seems to be that Avengers Defenders is copying Jokers Wild in creating a bunch of low cost support pieces.
Hulk
Pros:
- Amazing Defense Powers throughout his dial
- Consistently high Attack and Damage
- Battle Fury
Cons:
- No Move and Attack on top dial
- Can die if just attacked 5 turns in a row
I don’t think Wizkids has made a bad Hulk since Avengers Assemble. Every iteration of the jolly green giant has been spot on and this version is no different. Where this Hulk shines is in Sealed play. Worlds will have a 3v3 sealed tournament and Hulk is the Juggernaut of this year. For 75 points you can play multiples of this guy on one team and watch your opponent cry trying to get through Invincible first and then Impervious with an 18-Defense after. The trait looks like it could be a bit of a problem but if you think rationally about it. Nobody is going to be able to attack Hulk for 5 turns straight without needing to clear at one point. Hulk will also be attacking back and hopefully one-shotting most of the Common and Uncommon pieces in this hit with one hit.
Karen Page
Pros:
- 20 points
- Can modify all friendlies Attack +1
- Super Senses
Cons:
- Has to be within 3 squares of an opposing character in order to modify everyone’s Attack +1
Karen Page has got to be one of the worst recurring characters in Marvel’s history. She is a horrible copy/iteration of Mary Jane who constantly got thrown into trouble and had zero ability to handle the situation or cope with it. Wizkids has done an incredible job at turning her embarrassment around in their iteration of her. At 20 points Karen can easily be carried into the fray of battle where she will Perplex up all friendlies attack +1 and then immediately Sidestep out of harm’s way. Should you have apprehension towards placing her in harm’s way you can click her onto her 2nd click where she gives up the special power to Perplex all friendly characters and instead gains regular Perplex. However if you’re just playing her for regular Perplex you’d be better off playing Betty Brant who is 5 points cheaper and a far superior figure when needing just Perplex.
Ben Urich
Pros:
- 10 points
- Opposing character can’t use Mastermind or Shape Change
Cons:
- Has to be within 4 of the opposing character that he’s effected and must shut off their power at the beginning of your turn
- Does nothing else
The first time we saw the trait that Ben uses was in Superman/Wonder Woman with Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, and Newsboy Legion. Each of them did something different with the trait and Ben does something new. He shuts off Mastermind. Jimmy could always shut off Shape Change and even comes with Perplex but he’s 30 points whereas Ben is only 10. Do I think Ben is playable? NO! But it’s good to always own these type of pieces just in case they become necessary.
Uncommons Conclusion
The 3 Uncommon figures seem to have more play-ability potential then the Common figures but they still seem to lack the ability to change the meta on its face.
THE RARES
With the Rares we still don’t find anything that is out of the gate amazing, but we do start seeing potential for team ideas.
Swordsman
Pros:
- 50 points
- 11-Attack w/penetrating Blades or hit target can’t be move or placed
- 5 clicks of health
- Has Charge
- 18-Defense against close attacks
Cons:
- None
With a lot of staple Marvel ID cards rotating out it’s good to know what figures are left and playable. I think Swordsman is the first figure I have reviewed minus Jakeem Thunder who I find zero faults with. He is a cheap call in at 50 points that is perfect for any team with a Blades figure like Teekle because his inspiration lets them use Flurry. He has the potential of dealing 6-penetrating damage in one swing, or can lock down an opposing figure for 1 full turn. I really like this guy and with losing low cost Charge Call-Ins like Triathlon, Hellcat, and She-Hulk when the rotation hits I can definitely see this Swordsman being played.
Jessica Jones
Pros:
- 15 points
- Marvel Knights Team Ability
- Opposing characters within 6 can’t use Stealth
- 4 clicks of life
Cons:
- Not a flyer
Jessica is the only Marvel Knights piece in this set that benefits immediately from the effect of having a base 10 attack through the trait. Everyone else has 10 or higher until mid-dial. Like with Karen Page and Ben Urich Jessica is a low cost piece that is specifically designed to deal with 1 specific type of team. She would have been necessary if it weren’t for Green Lantern and the fact that ATAs are rotating out so Midnight Sons is soon to be no more.
Foggy Nelson
Pros:
- 15 points
- Makes an adjacent friendly characters powers non-counter-able and allows them to not have their combat values decreased by opposing game effects
Cons:
- Has to stay adjacent to the friendly character that he’s affecting at all times
- No damage reducer
- No bonus like Perplex, Enhancement, or Empower
Foggy is the best friend that everyone needs. He’s a perfect wing man who keeps a figure safe and secure. For 15 points he stops Nick Fury and shuts down Betty Brant’s amazing trait. The only problem is that he has to stay adjacent to the friendly character that he’s affecting in order for that character to keep the effect active, and the figure needs to have started the turn adjacent to Foggy. For this reason alone I will probably shy away from playing him because it’s tough to carry figures like him around when you could instead carry an enhancement or Empower piece. It will likely be that Foggy is going to be carried by a Colossal Retaliator and will move himself to wherever is necessary for when a Running Shot occurs or a figure needs to Charge.
Nighthawk
Pros:
- Charge + Flurry
- Defenders Together trait
- 19-Defense against close attacks
- Outwit
Cons:
- Range is only 4
- No Indomitable
Nighthawk is the first real piece in this set that I can see myself building a team around the basis is his trait. His trait states when someone uses Defenders to replace their defense with his you can make the opponent re-roll one of the die rolls in the attack. This is huge because it’s essentially a minor form of Ancient Ones power on an actually playable piece. The fact that you can make someone re-roll a single die in an attack is huge because should they roll a 5 and 2 to hit and you make them re-roll the 5 they have a marginally low chance to re-roll that 5 or 6 necessary to hit. The higher the defense goes the worse it will be for the opponent. Couple that with the fact that Nighthawk has Charge, Flurry, Outwit, Stealth, 10-Attack, 3-Damage, and the Flight ability for 70 points you can see why he’s playable.
Rares Conclusion
The Rares showcase more low cost pieces that can potentially be useful in weekly tournaments but nothing game breaking. Nighthawk does a good job of showcasing potential for a Defenders theme team but seeing as how I haven’t named any of the other Defender pieces as being playable it seems far-fetched that his trait alone will outperform against a JSA theme with Jakeem on the team.
THE SUPER RARES
Being at the Super Rares now I expected that I would find something to combo with Nighthawk or some new hotness it seems however that all I found was new iterations of old tricks that were recreated poorly.
Dr. Strange, Earth’s Guardian
Pros:
- 20-Defense from range attacks
- Title Character
- Has Probability Control
Cons:
- No move and attack on top dial
- No Willpower
- Title Character powers are tough to activate
Dr. Strange is the 2nd Title Character that we’ve seen. Where Deadpool was easy to pull off for his adding until you hit the ultimate Dr. Strange is a lot harder. His +1 modifies a characters damage +1 instead of healing him 1 click. For this reason in order to get to his ultimate and activate it as soon as possible you would likely take 2 unavoidable damage and drop onto click 3. His starting plot points is 2 and his ultimate is a -4. The Ultimate is amazing with him being able to re-roll an attack roll each turn for the rest of the game, but at what cost? With the figure being only 6 clicks of life you are essentially dealing half of the necessary damage to kill you to yourself. His -1 ability also hurts because it gives Mystics to every adjacent friendly character but doesn’t give it to Strange. If there was an Entity or Sloth to free heal him I would play the guy but without a free heal he’s too much of a risk.
Captain America
Pros:
- 50 points
- Ability to remove action tokens off of healed figures
- Has Outwit and Perplex
- Has Leadership for figures 200 points or less
Cons:
- No Move and Attack
Speaking of free heals. If someone figures out a way to do it after rotation this 50 point Captain America is a perfect addition to that team. With a 50% chance ability to remove an action token once per turn from one friendly character that has been healed, while also carrying Outwit, Perplex, and Leadership for figures 200 points or less this is a staple on any healing teams like Krang + Baxter.
Dormammu and Loki
Pros:
- Mystics Team Ability
- Free pog generator
- Probability Control
Cons:
- Will gain an additional action token when they miss an attack
- Conditional pog generator
Dormammu and Loki are new pog generators. With the Ant-Mans rotating it’s best to know what other pog generators are out there. Dormammu and Loki at 150 points can be decent generators but the question is whether they outperform Penguin. I don’t think they do because for only 40 points he can create them every other turn, and Devil Dino is still around. Devil creates 3 in 1 turn.
Super Rares Conclusion
I think you’re starting to see a trend of me finding this set lackluster. With two of the Super Rares only being good if there is a way to free heal which there isn’t once the rotation hits and the pog generator being extremely expensive I hope that the Shifting Focus pieces and Chases can save this set.
THE CHASES
We finally get to the Chases. I always wonder how Wizkids comes up with the idea for which figures should be declared chases in a set or what the theme should be. In this set the Chases are the Defenders, go figure. The issue however is that Wizkids seems to have just pulled random characters from the Defenders run and not an actual team iteration for the Chases. I would have liked to see 1 more Dr. Strange as a Chase figure but I guess that was asking for to much strange in one set. There are however umpteenth more iterations of these figures so let’s look at which ones are the best that you should try to get your hands on.
Captain America
Pros:
- Charge + Super Strength
- 11-Attack
- Perplex
- When carried she modifies the carriers speed +3
- If has no tokens she can be given a non-free action after being carried
Cons:
- Has 2-Damage
- Has 4-Range
- No Past keyword
- No Exploit Weakness
What is it with not wanting to give the Past keyword in this set? This iteration of Captain America is Samantha Wilson from earth-65 where she became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers during WWII. Increasing a carrier speed by someone who is being carried hasn’t been used as a power since Green Lantern: The Movie where Hal Jordan did it. Factor in the ability to attack immediately after being carried and you have a solid piece. My only gripe with her dial is that she has 2-damage instead of 3 and no way to deal penetrating damage. We’ve seen figures in this set that where less points and could do this. Maybe Wizkids thought that her being carried along with a follow up attack would be more broken then the Pym Tank (DOUBTFUL!).
Rachel Cole-Alves
Pros:
- Considered to be named Punisher for all game effects
- Amazing trait
- Can come back to life once per game
Cons:
- 90 points
- No Move and Attack
- The come back power can be ignored
The female Punisher has an amazing trait where she can share either Blades, Energy Explosion, Psychic Blast, Precision Strike, or Ranged Combat Expert with an adjacent friendly character at the beginning of your turn. That character can then go and do whatever like Running Shot away. She is also considered Punisher which means she can use the Punisher Van as a resource. Her only problem is that she’s 90 points with no move and attack power anywhere on her dial. Her + the Punisher Van is over half of the team build which means she will likely be played without it as a support piece for whatever figure you think could use a power set upgrade from Rachel Cole-Alves.
Iron Heart
Pros:
- 25 points
- Has potential to almost never die
- Can use Outwit, or Probability Control, or Perplex dependent on what she rolls
Cons:
- Can die in one shot
- Flies
- Has only 4-Range
- No move and attack
Iron Heart is one of those low cost pieces that is annoying enough where an opponent wants to attack and kill it but they don’t think they can kill and wasting resources on KO’ing a 25pt piece when the Big Kahuna is still on the board seems like a waste. Like HaHaHa Joker Iron Heart is a nuisance that the opponent is going to want to get rid of but likely won’t be able to. I just wish she started with her 2nd click instead of her 1st. The 2nd click is Earthbound and Probability Control whereas the 1st is Outwit and Sidestep. She flies so carrying her is quite difficult. She also has a problem in that her trait backfires on her when she pushes making her gain a token and have to roll to see if she KO’s herself.
Captain America
Pros:
- 75 points
- 12-Attack
- Charge + Precision Strike
- 20-Defense against range attacks
- 7 clicks
- Gives Hydra Keyword and Team Ability to characters with the Avengers keyword
Cons:
- Still no Past keyword
- 5-Range
- No damage trait is only Once Per Game and has to be activated each time Cap is hit by a specific character
Hail Hydra Cap is an interesting piece. We’ve seen before what kind of synergy comes out of pieces that give new keywords and Team Abilities to other pieces like with Hydra Wolverine, but the question is if it’s enough to want to play him. I think what makes him truly playable is the fact that he can ignore damage from any 1 character once per game. This ability is what specifically made DC10 Blue Beetle playable and although Caps trait works off a 50% die roll instead of just automatically it is still enough of a deterrent to potentially keep an opponent from attempting to hit him. That coupled with the fact that he’s 7 clicks with every click being a 10-Attack or above makes him a formidable piece.
Chases Conclusion
This whole set seemed lackluster until we hit the Chases. There are definitely some competitive pieces and team focuses. You can choose to make an almost alpha striker into one with Captain America, give any of the great range powers to a figure with Girl Punisher, and play a good Theme Team so you have playable pieces while also gaining one of the best traits on some incredible figures like Sunfire, Dr. Strange, etc.
SHIFTING FOCUS PIECES
This set is littered with Shifting Focus pieces. There are 6 different Shifting Focus characters. Not all of them are necessary to own, and a quick analysis will show why.
Dr. Strange
Starting with Dr. Strange we find the Shifting Focus God of the set in a tiny package of 50 points. Dr. Strange is to this set what Shifting Focus Superman was to World’s Finest. The Common Dr. Strange has the Defenders Together trait with the same ability as Nighthawk. He flies, and can use Phasing to carry two friendlies or four if they share the Defenders keyword.
You will likely be carrying up with him and then switching into the Uncommon Dr. Strange who switches his Defenders Together trait to reduce the damage taken by an additional 1 if they have the Defenders keyword. This Dr. Strange can share his defense value of 18 either through the Defenders trait or through regular Defend. If an adjacent friendly takes damage from an attack after actions resolve you can heal the damaged character 1-damage. This is not a unique ability so you can stack it with two Dr. Stranges on a single friendly and heal them +2 when they take damage.
And of course when you’re set up for the carried character to take a shot Rare Dr. Strange has Improved Targeting ignore characters with Psychic Blast + 6-Range, Empower + Enhancement, and when either Empower or Enhancement is used he modifies the attackers attack +1.
For 50 points he is perfect to pair with a Klarion, or pieces that have stop clicks such as Mephisto and any of the Bizarro Chases.
Wasp
Wasp is a 40 point nuisance piece with one special power. She can use Leadership as if she were 100 points. She is a nuisance in that she does no damage but also has such a high defense that she’ll be hard to hit when you base someone with her. She can only shift into one other figure and is either a 21-Defense against range attacks or a base 19-Defense with Super Senses. Although her attack values are good she’s attempting to Incapacitate anyone that she hits because she only does one damage. I frankly wouldn’t play her and would instead play a 25pt piece like Domino for Probability Control plus Betty Brant for Perplex.
Vision
If Dr. Strange is the Shifting Focus God of this set for competitive playability then Vision is the Sealed Shifting Focus God of this set. Like Dr. Strange he is 50 points and like Wasp he only has one piece to shift into. Both of his forms are playable on their own with one being centered around Close Combat and the other around Range.
His Common form is the Close Combat mode with 18-Defense, and Invincible. His attack value is 10-Attack, 3- Damage, and Exploit Weakness. He drops from Invincible into Impervious on click 3 and changes from Exploit Weakness to Close Combat Expert on the same click but keeps the same offensive numbers throughout the dial.
His Range form has him sitting at a comfy 19-Defense with Super Senses, Psychic Blast and 6-Range. He keeps Super Senses throughout his whole dial and gains Ranged Combat Expert on the back end of the dial.
Black Panther
Black Panther is one of the Shifting Focus pieces that just sucks. It could be because he’s only 30 points. Whatever the reason is his Common form only has Outwit, and the Uncommon form is Charge + Blades. Normally I would like this power set, especially on a 30 point piece, however with his Outwit form being so ridiculously horrible I would stay away from playing this piece period.
Punisher
Punisher has one of the coolest powers Wizkids has created. His Common form is strapped with a rocket launcher and although he normally deals 1-damage should you do a range attack his damage becomes 4 and each character adjacent to the hit character take 3-damage accordingly. Rocket Launcher Punisher has an 11-Attack and 8-Range making him have the biggest range in this set. He also has the Marvel Knights trait which I would choose Wildcard for if you can because his stats are decent throughout his dial.
His other form isn’t bad either. It has Indomitable and a base 3-Damage with Blades should you feel lucky enough to use it. I just wishes the Rocket Launcher Punisher had Running Shot. Had that been the case he would have become MVP of the set. Sadly he’s not only playable in Sealed or potentially with the Punisher Van.
Elektra
One of those pieces that looks good on paper but has awful implementations. She has the ability to attack each character adjacent to her independently on the same turn however has no move and attack in order to get to the opponent. When she hits she’s relying on a Blades roll because her own base damage value is to low. And her transformed form is just another Close Combat form with the ability to ignore Elevated and Hindering for movement purposes.
Shifting Focus Conclusion
Other than Dr. Strange and possibly Punisher I can’t see any of the other Shifting Focus pieces being played. This set has some interesting powers and combo interactions but nothing off the chains good like the last set Deadpool had with Planeswalker Deadpool and Venompool, or Jokers Wild had with Green Lantern and Jakeem Thunder.
IN CONCLUSION
The figures in this set are figures that do old things in different ways and it doesn’t astound. Only a few pieces seem useable and none are astonishingly game breaking like Nick Fury or Jakeem Thunder where when they were previewed. Looking back at the Commons we actually found some fairly good pieces of the set in the form of Hawkeye who was a better iteration of Green Arrow from Jokers Wild for a cheaper cost, Captain America who has a 50% chance of pulling tokens off of Penguin each turn, and the Atlantean Warriors who might work with Aquaman or Namor.
At a reasonable rate of $0.50-$1 per common figure the necessary good commons would cost $1.50-$3. The Uncommon section had combo pieces that matter for specific circumstances like Ben Ulrich. Uncommon figures generally run for the same amount as a common and can be anywhere around $0.50 – $1. Let’s be generous and say you need all three Uncommons that I discussed. You are then looking at a combination of $3-$6 for all of the Commons and Uncommons that matter.
The Rare section seemed to have more playable pieces with the best figure being Swordsman as an ID call in and Foggy as a support piece if believed to be necessary. Nighthawk although good can be replaced on a Defenders team with Shifting Focus Dr. Strange because they have the same traits.
Rares are generally worth anywhere between $2-$5 unless they are played more. With the 4 figures talked about Swordsman will likely be the only playable piece. If you were to get the 4 Rares mentioned it would come to $8-$20.
The total value for a CUR set is generally $30-$50. At the highest end estimated here the figures deemed necessary to be in your inventory would only come to $25. That’s half of the price that it would be for a high end CUR set. Normally it could be argued that some of the other pieces have potential in the future but this set lacks powerful characters and focuses more on the select few mentioned in this article.
Looking at the Super Rares we have two pieces that are going to be amazing in the month of May and then drop exponentially in value once the rotation hits. These pieces are the Title Character Dr. Strange and Captain America. Most Super Rares go for $10-$15. Both Captain America and Dormammu with Loki will probably go for $15. Title Character Dr. Strange will probably go for $18-$20 like his counterpart Deadpool did. If we add them together we have a total of $48-$50. With the necessary CUR figures included you’ve come to the less than the price of a brick. The total of a CUR and the SR’s high end is only $45. That’s less than half of what it costs for a brick. Buying them as singles or in a bundle also save you from pulling the wrong Super Rare or Rares.
It’s almost not worth it to buy a case except for the fact that this set relies solely on its Chases. 4 out of the 8 Chases are playable. Generally each Chase goes for around $40-$50 with little exceptions here and there. This set has 1 Chase per Case and no Primes in the set. Should I pull one of the good Chases in a Brick I’ll have just evened out. That of course would be if I pulled the Rares and Super Rares that I wanted as well. Gambling on pulling the figures that I exactly need in a brick is too risky. I need to look at the Shifting Focus to see if I can garner any additional value from this set.
With the Shifting Focus pieces the two that stood out as “must buys” were Dr. Strange and Punisher. Dr. Strange has a CUR, and Punisher is just U/R. Adding in the value for these would still not be enough to skyrocket past the amount of a brick. Risking the chance of pulling crap instead of figures that matter and are necessary is pretty high. Especially when there are no Primes and the value is completely stacked in the Chases and not in the Rare slots.
As it stands this set is probably best to buy in singles and not as a brick or case. This recommendation only works so long as you purchase figures during the first week or two that the set releases because chances are some of the figures I mentioned will be skyrocketing in price because they can be played before rotation in ROC tournaments and by the time they stabilize at their actual value it will be too late to buy them for Worlds.
