HeroClix A to Z – Sinister Marquee Primer: Part 1 - Commons

[AZS]

Welcome to the Sinister Marquee/Prerelease Primer Review!!

Part 1: Commons

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/images/SinisterLogoLarge.jpg


Even though the ‘street date’ of this set isn’t for a few more weeks, the Pre-Release is coming up this weekend! With an expanded number of locations getting to run prerelease tournaments, many more of us will get a chance to play with this set before the official release!

Therefore, its time for another of my regular Marquee Primer Review series. Broken into 5 parts, to cover the whole week leeding up to this weekend.

Here’s the review schedule:

Part 1 – Commons (Today)
Part 2 – Uncommons (Tues)
Part 3 – Rares (Wed)
Part 4 – Uniques (Thurs)
Part 5 – Cards & Special Objects (Fri)

These reviews are intended for sealed, 300 point games with only this set.
Also, even though some may believe that Sinister is a somewhat ‘weaker’ set in the grand scheme, this review series is written with the intent and mindset of this being a Sinister-only tournament. So figures may be stronger or weaker in this specific format.

Click on ‘Replies’ below to read the review.

[AZS]

Welcome to yet another Primer Review!

We are getting another ‘theme’ set, this time focusing on the villains of the Marvel U (more specifically, Spider-man and NYC villains).

There aren’t many ‘power pieces’ in this set, so just about anything you pull should make for a relatively balanced team.
Many of the figures are also not too pricey, so you’ll probably end up with a fair sized army when all the dust clears.

Standard Intro:
This review and rating system is for a 300 point, 3 booster Sealed event only. Using a (new) Smiley :) rating system.

:confused: – Steer clear of this figure.
:disappoin:disappoin – Not so good. Should be considered with caution.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: – Fair. Based on how you need to fill out a team.
:cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: – Good. Definitely consider this figure.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: – Great! Should be a top choice for your team.

These figures are compared only against the Sinister set, so there will be only a few 1 or 5 smiley ratings here.
So please realize that even though your favorite character might not have gotten five smileys like you think it should, I’m just trying to be fair.

Everything written here is in the most general form possible.
Since the specific combination of figures pulled will work together to determine which are more playable than others.

Lastly, this review is just my opinion. And these are a lot of work to write, so I ask you very kindly, please don’t get angry at me for my ratings. I give reasonable explanations for each choice. If you disagree (and you are welcome to do so), please try to do the same.


Brief intro about Sinister and some things to look out for.

Sinister has a significant percentage of figures with the much discussed (and much maligned) 9 attack value and 17 defense value.
This means a few things for you when building your team; Any figures you pull with a 10 AV are going to be above average, and will be very important for hitting those many high defenses you’ll face. It’ll also be important not only to play those figures with higher AV, but to protect them as well.
Utility Powers like Probability Control and Perplex will be big gains for your team, so be willing to spend a few more points than you normally would to include figures with these powers.

With an abundance of Sinister Syndicate team members (who can share attack values), look for pairings of those figures that can strengthen your team. One seemingly weak SinSyn piece can take on a whole new light when paired with a strong teammate.

There are also many playable figures under 100 points in this set, so you may end up with armies of 5 or 6 figures. Plan accordingly to have enough mobility and actions to get your team around and into battle. Leadership and the Avengers team ability will be very helpful in this area.

That’s all on that, now (finally) on to the review!


Part 1 – Commons

Hydra Footsoldier / Tech / Officer
14 / 19 / 24 – All Hydra

Little more than point filler, these guys can round out a team if need be. However, with so many low to mid-range cost pieces, you might not have big point gaps to fill.
Besides that, the Hydra TA could be hugely helpful in this format. With the abundance of moderate attack values and high defenses, any help you can get for your attack value could be crucial.
The rookie isn’t half bad as a minor attacker in a pinch, and can act as a tie up piece or just to block Line of Sight.
The Exp is kind of a waste. ES/D up front is worthless, and Support will probably come too late to be of use (or they’ll just be easily killed before using it.)
The Vet is also a decent piece in this format thanks to Leadership. That extra action could definatley come in handy since teams may end up with upwards of 6 or 7 figs on a team.
R – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
E – :disappoin:disappoin
V – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


SHIELD Trooper / Sniper / Agent
17 / 22 / 29 – All SHIELD

Like his Hydra counterpart, the rookie shield agent is good for little more than a pinch hitter and blocker. Except you don’t get the advantage of a good TA here. SHIELD TA is notoriously hard to use since it costs an action to activate.
Even so, don’t forget you have it if you choose to play the fig.
The Sniper is a pretty solid piece for the points and will be helpful on nearly any team. A cheap fig hitting for 3 from the cover of stealth will be a big help.
The Vet is less useful, really just having some toughness and adding little to the team otherwise.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
V – :disappoin:disappoin


Swordsman
20 / 35 – Avengers / 49
Rookie Swordsman is a decent tie-up piece with some attack ability. For 20 points that’s not a bad value.
The Exp adds a lot more color to his dial, but still serves mostly the same role. ES/D and PsyBlast are of questionable use on a fig with only a 4 range and other powers that imply a close combat preference. The Avengers TA will help him get around, but doesn’t do much more for the overall playability.
The Vet steps it up considerably with the mobility of Charge and an almost unhittable defense from range of 17 + ES/D. His overall powers are all pretty good, although late dial PsyBlast is again questionable.
A fair piece for the points.
R – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
E – :disappoin:disappoin
V – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


Hydro-man
43 – SinSyn / 57 – SinSyn / 72
The first of many Sinister Syndicate pieces in this set. That bodes well for overall teamwork, although it also implies that there is at least one figure with a good attack value that the rest of the team will want to copy. :ermm:
The Rookie’s Plasticity could be a big boon to your team as a tie up piece. However, that’s his only real use, and not such a great one for 43 points. Late dial Charge and Incap are mostly wasted points.
The Exp is the gem of the bunch. His 17 with Defend will be huge for your team, and if you pull other SinSyn members there’s a synergy there for sharing offense and defense. His Charge + Exploit Weakness is pretty nice too. Followed by 5 clicks of Plasticity, he could be a real nuisance.
The Vet makes a significant jump in longevity, but his playability is just average. Plasticity up front is ok, as is his opening attack. Mid dial Charge is interesting, and definatley something to keep an eye out for. Although since this figure loses the TA, his AV suffers at this point without any recourse. 2 final clicks of Phasing will mostly allow you to run him to safety to deny your opponent his KO points.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
V – :disappoin:disappoin


Paste-Pot-Pete / Trapster
36 / 48 / 59
Well, there’s a lot to be said for Barrier, so at the least his figure could be good for that. However, too much Incapacitate really bogs him down.
The Exp benefits from Perplex on his second click, so you could push to keep up a Barrier and then use Perplex to help the team. But at nearly 50 points for only 4 clicks of life you’re giving up a quarter of his dial to get to that click. Expect him to be a juicy target.
The Vet gets a rather impressive starting defense of 17 plus extended range for his Incap and Barrier. Even so, he’s not much of an attacker and is still only 5 clicks deep. One good hit will conveniently put him onto Perplex, but anyone with any sense will follow that hit up with a kill shot for a relatively easy 59 points.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
V – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Mockingbird
19 – SHIELD / 27 – Avengers / 34 – Avengers
It is extremely odd that Rookie Mockingbird can look this good for 19 points while the rookie shield agent is bare bones and bland for 17 points. :ermm:
R Bird is a great tie up piece – L/C helps her get into position and Combat Reflexes gives her some added defense up close. CCE is a nice touch as well.
The Exp just expands on the Rookie’s base, with a touch more powers and the Avengers TA. But the Vet is the real bargain of the bunch. For just 34 points you get a mobile fig with fair offense and good defense.
R – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
E – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
V – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


Jewel / Jessica Jones
39 – Avengers / 45 – Spiderman / 51 – Avengers
A cheap flying fig with Charge and Super Strength is never going to go to waste. Her AV is weak, but if you pack the 3D objects, play the Computer or Book Case to get +1 to attack value.
The Exp changes gears significantly and instead offers up starting click perplex. In a set where AV’s are low and defenses high, Perplex is the holy grail. She’s a little steep at 45 points for little more than support, but you’ll need it, so you’ll play it. Her Spiderman wildcard TA could also come in handy.
The vet is more of the same but for 6 points more. She’s a little more durable and comes with the Avengers TA. Kinda six of one, half-dozen of the other. 6 points isn’t a major difference, and you’ll still need the Perplex help.
R – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
E – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
V – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


Beetle
35 – SinSyn / 64 – Masters of Evil / 78 – SinSyn
Major ‘blah’ in the rookie. Looks like a Firebrand/Killer Shrike redux. 4 range is pathetic. The best you can do with him is taxi around another SinSyn fig and hope it helps Beetle’s AV – making him a glorified taxi.
The Exp steps it up a bit with Running Shot and late dial PC. But he also takes a major leap in cost. And at only 5 clicks deep, you might not want to use the new MoE TA that lets you perpetually push – you’ll end up killing him off yourself pretty quickly. (On the other hand, you could get to PC pretty fast, and we know PC will come in handy in this set.)
The Vet is mostly similar to the Exp, but with the SinSyn TA again and a little more longevity. It’s a toss up as to whether he’s worth his cost, but if you need the mobility of a Running Shot flier, and have other SinSyn figs (what’re the chances of that?!), then he might be worthwhile.
R – :confused:
E – :disappoin:disappoin
V – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Wizard
51 / 74 / 93
Rookie Wizard is an interesting mix. On the one hand you’ll want to get to his TK pretty fast, but on the other hand even pushing him, you won’t get to use TK until the 4th turn – by which time it’ll probably be too late to use in a first strike.
Still, he’s not terrible. 2 target Incap is cool, but his chances of hitting anything are pretty low. Mid dial TK and late dial Perplex are also nice.
Whether or not that’s worth 50 points is a toss up.
The Exp will undoubtedly see a lot of use. He’s a killer utility piece. TK and Perplex make him the darling of the set. Push to TK and he gets Running Shot so he can join the fight. He’s pretty shallow for 74 points, but will undoubtedly see a lot of use.
V Wizard is a little more tricky. For 93 points he’s a big investment for a ‘support’ piece. Outwit may be nice, and his other powers are great, but don’t put him on the team at the cost of some better attacker. TK won’t help you if you have nobody worthwhile to toss into battle.
R – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
E – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
V – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Electro
30 – SinSyn / 49 – SinSyn / 81
Starting off as kind of a throw away piece, Electro isn’t bad for 30 points, but he doesn’t scream ‘play me!’ either.
He steps up a bit in the Exp with a better AV and damage. Two targets and 8 range are also nice. He has a variety of powers down his dial, so if you can take advantage of the SinSyn TA, definitely push him to get max value. On click 2 in particular he gets RCE and the extra defense of ES/D.
The Vet is easily the best of the bunch with massive starting damage, running shot, and even Pulse Wave! PLUS he has an uncommon 10 (!) AV. Don’t be too quick to push this one though, he loses ES/D on click 2, so he’ll be a bit more vulnerable.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
V – :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


Fixer / Techno
52 – MoE / 71 – Avengers / 105
‘Cheap’ Outwit is relative. For 52 points you really only get 1 useful click out of this guy. And even then the use is questionable with PsyBlast and a 4 range. The MoE TA isn’t very useful for him, but might be cool for a Wildcard if you pull one.
The Exp is a bit better. Outwit is still good, but he has a better AV, defense, and even range. Running Shot on click 2 is weird, but he has PsyBlast on that click so it might be worthwhile. Regen at the end is also a surprise, so be on the lookout for that.
The vet is a pretty sweet package, but is it worth 100+ points? Perplex goes a long way towards boosting his value, and starting Running Shot plus an increased range of 8 is pretty good. Between those things, he’ll probably see a lot of play.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
V – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


Jack O’ Lantern
32 – SinSyn / 51 / 62
Another cheap SinSyn flier. 4 range with RCE is counterproductive, but if you pull another good SinSyn for him to carry, he could be alright for just ~30 points. The Exp is quite a bit better with longer range and nice 2+RCE attack. Running Shot giving way to Stealth later is also kinda cool.
The Vet is a gem though, RS to start with 3 damage and fair 9 AV for 62 points. A good secondary attacker for any main piece you pull.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
V – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


Check back tomorrow for the 'Uncommons,' Shadowcat through Kraven.

[Whitemage]

Thanks for the awesome write-up on the figures. I agree with you whole-heartedly.Even though I won't be able to play. At least I will know what to look for.

[normalview]

Azs,

Pretty good reviews so far. Something to keep in mind (and maybe you already are) is that the Marquee will be played on the new Sinister map: all indoors (no soaring) and lots and lots of blocking terrain. Characters with Barrier (and to a lesser extent, Smoke Cloud) can be even more useful than usual on this map in the Marquee because only characters with Phasing will be able to easily get by the Barriers (no hoping over with L/C, no flying over, no Serpent Society to pass through). With that in mind, I personally would rate characters like Paste Pot Pete/Trapster a little higher in this particular format.

Keep up the good work!

[Parallax_LE9]

Az's, thank you!
Have my bebies!

[hair10]

During an envoy only game at WWE where we used our 3 Sinister boosters (from the pre-sale) I used 2 of the figs listed... E SHIELD and E Hydro-Man. Both were huge assests to the team.

The SHIELD fig for the Stealth more than anything. In a set without Ultimates, Stealth is a huge ranged deterent once again. The SHIELD TA and RCE makes the fig usable in several different situations.

E Hydroman is awesome for his points due to his 17 Defend. In fact, my team didn't start taking much damage until he was finally hit and knocked off that Defend. Even then he was still useful due to his Plasticity. A solid piece all the way around.

[AirDeRo]

Yeah. gotta agree on the barrier thing. i played a vet pyro a few games ago on the prison map and o my he was golden. Either deal wtih my barriers or spend turns/actions to blow through the big walls.

[RavenProject]

One small problem with your reviews in a pre-release discussion: Unless Judges employ House Rules, we're still playing under the "old" system.

That means we need to consider things like Combat Reflexes, Masters of Evil and Support as they are now, not as they will be in another month.

-J

[AZS]

Hmm, good point RavenProject.
I guess this might be more appropriate as a marquee primer, since it mostly takes into account the rules changes (shape change, Combat Reflexes, etc), that, as you point out, won't necessarily be in effect for the Primer this weekend.

[AbeSapien]

A great break down, very enjoyable azs. My only real disagreement is with the Hydra technician.

The ES/D grants him the base line of a 17 for a 19pt piece. Also a hit of 2 or 3 damage just makes him useful giving him support and barrier. I just think he exists in that nice point value where most players would ignore him rather than devote 4 damage or two lesser attcks in the same turn to KO him. That makes him very annoying.

[darkomr]

Also will the Marquee be using the new rules? I guess in an event like this it's not really up to the judge.

[Norym]

Also will the Marquee be using the new rules? I guess in an event like this it's not really up to the judge.

The Marquee is really supposed to be the first event where the new stuff, meaning rules and figs, are allowed.

Basically 2 weeks after initial release.

[mr-coffin]

Don't forget the flight on the V SHIELD Agent. That may be reason enough to play her. And since support still is 1D6 healing until Danger Room comes out I would rank the E Hydra technician better.

[HouseT75]

One small problem with your reviews in a pre-release discussion: Unless Judges employ House Rules, we're still playing under the "old" system.

That means we need to consider things like Combat Reflexes, Masters of Evil and Support as they are now, not as they will be in another month.

-J

Too true. Most stuff will still be a little vaild, but the MoE figures might be a little more useful when it comes to action conservation, especially considering the fact that 5-6 figure teams will be more likely.

[Wolverine_Hulk]

Great Review!

[nedleeds]

I am personally hoping to pull Baron Strucker and 11 other assorted HYDRA agents.

HAIL HYDRA !

[Wolverine_Hulk]

Isn't the Marquee going to be played on the Sinister Map? That would impact the usefullness of some figures.

[saturnflight]

Wizard
51 / 74 / 93
Rookie Wizard is an interesting mix. On the one hand you’ll want to get to his TK pretty fast, but on the other hand even pushing him, you won’t get to use TK until the 4th turn – by which time it’ll probably be too late to use in a first strike.
Still, he’s not terrible. 2 target Incap is cool, but his chances of hitting anything are pretty low. Mid dial TK and late dial Perplex are also nice.
Whether or not that’s worth 50 points is a toss up.
The Exp will undoubtedly see a lot of use. He’s a killer utility piece. TK and Perplex make him the darling of the set. Push to TK and he gets Running Shot so he can join the fight. He’s pretty shallow for 74 points, but will undoubtedly see a lot of use.
V Wizard is a little more tricky. For 93 points he’s a big investment for a ‘support’ piece. Outwit may be nice, and his other powers are great, but don’t put him on the team at the cost of some better attacker. TK won’t help you if you have nobody worthwhile to toss into battle.
R – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
E – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
V – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Jack O’ Lantern
32 – SinSyn / 51 / 62
Another cheap SinSyn flier. 4 range with RCE is counterproductive, but if you pull another good SinSyn for him to carry, he could be alright for just ~30 points. The Exp is quite a bit better with longer range and nice 2+RCE attack. Running Shot giving way to Stealth later is also kinda cool.
The Vet is a gem though, RS to start with 3 damage and fair 9 AV for 62 points. A good secondary attacker for any main piece you pull.
R – :disappoin:disappoin
E – :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
V – :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


It's great to see Wizard get the respect he deserves. He really is a good figure, just not what we all look for. And as for Jack O Lantern, I think he's one of the better figs of the bunch, and will be sticking Hobgoblin on the dial soon as I can. :grin:

[Carnage-E-Hall]

I can't wait to get a R- Jack O' Lantern for some reason. Great write up by the way!

PS- If anyone gets an extra Jack O' rookie PM me to trade :)

[Carnage-E-Hall]

PS- If anyone gets an extra Jack O' rookie PM me to trade :)

If anyone gets an extra at the prelease I meant, as I will be getting a case.

Sorry for the double post :nervous:

[Slayer_Xtreme]

I'm looking at these primers hoping that it is based on the new rules as my judge has told us before hand that we will be using the new rules. Even if the primer isn't based on that I can most likely be able to adjust the ratings for rule changes.

[Ultimate2099]

Gotta second or third the barrier comments about this map. It has me really worried. In a normal tourney where any map can be chosen by the winning roll a barrier team would be too risky to bring just because of the Sinister Map. But at the pre-release and Marquee where the Sinister Map is required, barrier is gonna be a cheesy way to take the fun out of the game for your opponent. (reminds me of the R2D2 trick in SWM for those that know that game, snipe one guy and then hide the rest of the game.)

Great reviews as always. Looking forward to the Shield Sniper, as I used to play the original a lot. And I really hope I pull E Wizard since not pulling any TK has been a long trend of mine in sealed games and I have gone from once winning regularly in sealed tournies to losing the last several I've been in. TK is huge in winning a sealed game (or any game really.)

[jbship628]

I would like to point out that overall, there is real lack of damage reducers in this set, which downgrades the usefullness of Psychic Blast and Exploit Weakness.

The only REVs that have more than Toughness are Radioactive Man and Rhino, and they are both in the Rares slot. I would take higher natural damage figures than figures with PB and EW.

[Cole Burns]

These primers are among the best parts of this site. Keep up the good work.

[Entropy]

i feel like 3 damage is going to be important. because like people are saying barrier will be huge, but it will be much easier to break down the barrier then it will be to break down the walls of the map, so again positioning and action use are going to be huge i this prerelease/marquee

good read azs, keep it coming

[Ed0825]

About the only problem I see with this is that many places will need to add boosters from other sets since more than 16 people will show up at a number of prereleases. That means only 2 boosters of Sinister plus some older booster to make your team. Picking lets say an Icons booster could be hugh, unless it is kept strickly Marvel. I think a number of people are going to discover the lack of product at the prereleases this weekend.

[malger]

As always, I enjoy the review, though you might re-evaluate some of the usefulness ratings in light of the map. Ranged attackers are going to have real problems and the 4 range may be no big deal on this map since range is easily limited by smart positioning.
Just my 2 cents.

[theBolt]

another little thing about the Vet Electro, he has a 8 range with 3 targets, and running shot for 3 dmg on his first 2 clicks. slap armor piercing on him and he can hit your opponents big guns hope fully he'll have 3 in range enough to be slapped bu electro. it might be wasteful, but give him trickshot too, and carry yourself a brick to shoot through and protect electro, also enabling him to shoot through opponents. swamp thing and solomon grundy come to mind. of course thier retired, ut it would be fun in unrestricted games.

[tyroclix]

As always, I enjoy the review, though you might re-evaluate some of the usefulness ratings in light of the map. Ranged attackers are going to have real problems and the 4 range may be no big deal on this map since range is easily limited by smart positioning.
Just my 2 cents.

My thoughts exactly.

There are a number of Plasticity figures to tie up targets allowing those 4 range guys unfettered access at blasting away.

And those guys will also be great for blowing holes in Barriers.

To be successful in a Sinister sealed I think you are going to have to play very aggressive. Letting your opponent set up what he wants to do is going to be very costly down the line.

[Ignatz_Mouse]

I just won my local prerelease, and E Trapster was key. Brrier rules the prison, and the push to perplex was a great help with all the high defenses. I'd rate him 4-star for this map.

[Glen Quagmire]

I agree about Paste-Pot Pete/Trapster. I had the rookie. His only downside is you can't push and keep Barrier. Otherwise, he just ruled this prison map.

[tidge]

Just checking in after the PR on a couple of commons:

The pair of R Jewels (Jessica Jones) I used were very effective, especially given their cost. Opponents treated them as nothing more than glorified taxies, yet it was one of them that was my sole survivor in two matches.

In the close confines of the Sinister map, having low cost, free-move fliers (that can yoink too!) providing blocking LoF as well as taxi duty should not be under-estimated.

I played against the SHIELD Sniper, he can keep his rating...a nasty piece if used in conjunction with another ranged attacker.

[Mr. Pilkington]

Just chiming in with support for R and V Swordsman. I have to say that they were definitely worthwhile pieces int he prerelease. The rookie was a great tie-up piece that was still a threat. His L/C got him in the mix and his CCE made people take him seriously. The vet was also a trooper, getting lots of attention thanks to the opening BCF. I don't think he did a lot of KOing for me, but he definitely occupied my opponents' time and actions, allowing pieces like R Bullseye and even E Jack O'Lantern put shots on target.