Honorary Legion Member? Who is the best?

[tidge]

Let's face it...every once in a while you get the urge to pop open the LSH tackle box and build a new team...but you don't really trust the Legionnaires ATA, and you HATE to pass up the chance to use that scrumptious Wild Card TA. So who do you reach for to give the Future Teens a little something extra?

Disclaimer: I've used the ATA, and done well with it...but it only was activated one time in three games.

For the purposes of this discussion, let's stick with restricted pieces that can make a theme team. Be careful, not all Legion Members have both Future and Teen

I've used the following:

(Origins) Experienced Supergirl, but only when paired with Lightning Lad. There are few LSH members that benefit from the Superman Ally TA as much as Lightning Lad.

Bucky is a 30-point teen, Defenders TA with starting Stealth/Willpower plus a 6 range! Considering the budget friendly 18 DVs of the LSH (Young Superman, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl) what's not to love! Plus he is a non-flier so he can be carried!

R Kang...his future on LSH teams was assured with his strong dial, his MoE team abilitiy and some extremely push-friendly members of the LSH: Ultra Boy, Young Superman, Mon-El...even Phantom Girl, Triplicate Girl and Shrinking Violet qualify IMO.

I have a feeling that the new Batgirl will be gracing a few LSH teams. She can also be carried, and will be just what you need to keep your charging/HSS/Running Shot pieces from getting outwitted.

[fecundity]

Let's face it...every once in a while you get the urge to pop open the LSH tackle box and build a new team...but you don't really trust the Legionnaires ATA, and you HATE to pass up the chance to use that scrumptious Wild Card TA. So who do you reach for to give the Future Teens a little something extra?

I tend to run Science Police as filler, passengers, and meat shields for my Legion teams. It totally fits comic-wise, but it means that I'm looking for Future as the keyword.

This week I ran a Future team with Rip Hunter, Legionnaires, and some Science Police. On my turn, the Legion copied Police Department; on my opponent's turn, Hypertime. The Hypertime TA actually won me one game, when Vixen charged in only to be forced to stop with only a square of move left. She didn't keep Charge long enough to get a second chance!

[tidge]

Can you believe it? I don't have a Rip Hunter. :disappoin

[raypalmer]

(Origins) Experienced Supergirl, but only when paired with Lightning Lad. There are few LSH members that benefit from the Superman Ally TA as much as Lightning Lad.


The is an awesome choice considering this version of Supergirl just finished a stint in the Legion. Fun team, mediocre time of the series..........

[tidge]

The is an awesome choice considering this version of Supergirl just finished a stint in the Legion. Fun team, mediocre time of the series..........

That Supergirl (Experience, Origin) plus Lightning Lad is a strong team, even if a range-reducing BFC is in play, or the opposing team is bringing Outwit....since both LL and Supergirl have 10-range, running shot and 3+ damage.

Ironically, the time I played that team I was stymied by a GYPSY who had pushed herself onto the insane Defense...luckily Supergirl gets Force Blast!

[Rurouni KJS]

E OR Supergirl is great choice, and the new SR Supergirl was also a member of the LSH. Good for if you need to squeeze extra points of LSH on there somehow.

But where are the Teen Titans, who have actually fought alongside the LSH in the future?

Emo Robin will boost the whole team with Bat-stealth. He REALLY should be on there before Batgirl, higher cost notwithstanding.
Cyborg, V Beast Boy, Raven all offer the TT TA.

Conner Kent was also a member for a time, and the LE does have the Super TA.

[Obsidian3d]

Invincible and the Cuckoos fit in quite nicely.

[doctor_x]

Another good future keyword fig would be Catgirl.

She has the Batman Ally TA.

[anonym0use]

Invincicble is a TEEN with a costume strikingly similar to the Legion.

[magerunner]

Emerald Empress is a good buddy (Future) I'll admit that she would rather pulse wave them though. Heck, every evil villian has teamed up or thanked their enemies.

Maybe a Sentinal, say it is one of Brainiac 5's new inventions.

Then there is Bishop, very solid attacker....

More than I can think, future is a very powerful Key Word.

[tidge]

Here is a little bit of thread necromancy. Here are some recent inspirations using the "Teen" keyword.

I've decided that I like the Fantastic Forces Experienced Human Torch as a substitute for Sun Boy.

The powers are a very good fit, and I think the (natural) F4 Team Ability represents those times in the comics when Sun Boy was KOed (went crazy, blew up, lost his powers, whatever...there are a million of 'em) and that rallied the rest of the team. It somewhat makes up for the lack of Leadership, but that dial is already pretty pricey, but reasonably priced at around the LSH Starter figures. (81 points)

I've also decided I like the Arkham Asylum Anarky dial as a Brainiac 5 substitute.

He has the indomitable ability, which fits...and his other powers are very force-belt-ish. He doesn't have flight, but (for LSH teams, which are mostly fliers) the Leap/Climb is even better.

His prob control very much reminds me of the many times B5 has gotten his team into trouble with one of his schemes.

I can rationalize his Batman Ally as "Espionage Squad"-related. At 70 points this is a near-perfect upgrade of the REV/LE that we have for Brainiac 5.1, since this stands a chance of doing damage (and doesn't have ranged attack). Again, it fits right in the LSH starter territory.

The only improvement on the dial would be a damage reducer, so feel free to attach Life Model Decoy to him for an extra 12 points.

Feel free to visit my HCR gallery to see some character cards I mocked up for these two guys.

[Feral2k]

Bucky is a 30-point teen, Defenders TA with starting Stealth/Willpower plus a 6 range! Considering the budget friendly 18 DVs of the LSH (Young Superman, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl) what's not to love! Plus he is a non-flier so he can be carried!

You can't give Bucky the 18 Defense from any Legion characters anymore. It's a shame, but that keeps Phantom Girl from being wickedly undercosted.

[blackprince]

Don't forget AA Batman (Beyond) is a Future, Teen keyword character. He adds some Outwit (with restrictions) as well as the Bat Ally TA. He and Catgirl are the only Future charactors with the Bat Ally TA and he is restricted.

I think the SR Supergirl from Crisis may be the only Supes Ally character with the Legion keyword.

[darius_dax1]

I would usually like to use the Science Police on a Legion team...I know that isn't exactly what you asked for but it's what I can offer.

[starr226]

Pieces that I've used with Legion for TA purposes who I could see in the future (either because they are there, came from there or are in that sort mystic universe where I could easily see them time travelling)
Batman Beyond (Future, Teen) - perfect fit, perfect cost, great TA to share, outwit that the Legion lacks in the post starter pieces.
Rip Hunter (Future) - Hypertime is surprisingly useful, and the Legion needs Outwit, and that Fortitude lite, and PC, and Perplex...well, there aren't much better support pieces.
Bishop (Future) - nice TA to share, good fig for 100 pts. Which is a nice even, divisible-by-ten cost like most of the post-starter LoSH stick (Karate Kid excluded - thanks for making it harder to build a team, Val...without you)
Klarion (Teen) - though I always feel terrible about it.
Jakeem Thunder (Teen) - 19 DV for everyone? Thanks Jakeem! (One of my all time favorite pieces, still)

[tidge]

Looking through my extras for a buddy, I see an extra Thor Girl amidst the Tombstones and Krystoff. I didn't buy that much of SI (but I did buy boosters for the sealed events on top of a brick) so you can see I didn't have great luck in diversity, anywho...

I've used the Thor Girl several times and never been disappointed, and her dial has a "budget-priced Daxamite" feel to it. I was thinking she'd be a decent Rookie Andromeda (http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/3733.htm/)/Supergirl (follow the link to the MajorSpoilers commentary!)

si046 R Thor Girl
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 8 :bolt:
Points: 81
Keywords: Asgardian, Teen, Warrior
m-winga-fistd-starburstg-starburst89174891736916378163781536715267152KOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKO

Pros:

The dial has what I consider the "classic" Kryptonian/Daxamite power set, including the starting Super Strength, and 8-range, Invulnerability and a move+attack.

The damage reducers slowly erode, but Willpower is a fine finisher. Regen could be an "under a yellow sun" effect.

The attack powers are all ones that have appeared on other Kryptonian dials, and I think they are placed very smartly.

She has the "Teen" keyword that seems to be the lifeline that reliably connects the Legionnaires.

She flies! (Flight is practically the signature of the LSH!)

Semi-Cons:

No team ability, so she won't 'play nice' with wild cards. That doesn't bother me so much since the lack of a TA makes her resistant to any calls of cheese. Not having stealth-busting does hurt her as a Daxamite...but very few LSH/teen keyword pieces have it anyway.

Her point cost is sooo low....it seems almost a crime to compare her to figures like the Legacy Superboy Rookie (97 points) or Unleashed R Supergirl (108 points)...but to my eye, her 81 points fits nicely in the spectrum of the 100 point Young Superman, 118 R Mon-El and 140 point R (Origin) Supergirl

What do you think? Have I found a budget-friendly LSH stand-in, or am I just seeing what I want to see?

[anonym0use]

I'd mod the sculpt before using her on a team, but... yeah - she works.

[tidge]

I decided to go ahead an make a character card (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/album.php?albumid=430&pictureid=5305) for her.

I prefer the "blonde bombshell" costume I used for her photo, mainly because it is much more distinctive than her faux-retro Valor w/ skirt costume. I'll have to find some pieces to use as mods and try to bribe flatmatt into doing some more work!

[Badger]

To build a competitive team you need non-fliers with usable TAs

1) The New 45 point Kid Flash is a good stand in for XS (made a mod for this fig using Jesse Quick)
2) I like to use the new Cassandra Cain for Shadow Lass (Tasmina is a pretty kick ### HTH fighter and the bestowing stealth to teamates mimics her darkness abilities) (easy Mod using Nocturne)
3) Of Course Klarion (I use him for Chameleon Boy -- the powers actually fit ok esp. if you think of Teekal as Protey) (made a mod using the old head on an Ant-man body)
4) Agree with Human torch as Sun boy (but said that he's a flier)
4) High point games yell for a supergirl (always include a lightening Lad and some Science police if you do this)

[tidge]

Oh, I agree completely about non-fliers complimenting the flying Legionnaires. The XS suggestion is a good one, especially since Kid Flash is probably the most competitively-priced most-effective of all the super-speedsters.

I'm torn on Tasmia, since we have an actual Shadow Lass REV...but I concede your point. I got in the habit using BST Alfred with Shadow Lass teams for similar reasons...but that Batman Ally evolved into a full-fledged crutch for my Legion teams (since I so often face Outwit/Sniping)

Klarion as Cham seems to be a stretch, but I won't begrudge you from using him.

I'm on the lookout for a Princess Projectra/Sensor Girl fill-in...and nothing has really jumped out, except for the following quasi-ideas:

There are many decent grounded figures that would represent her well as a kick-butt Queen of Orando (as seen when she avenges the death of Karate Kid), but that wasn't her typical combat role.

I've been eyeballing the SI Dr. Strange pieces, since he flies, his dials go all over the place in terms of powers that Jeckie would have (unfortunately the other versions of Strange all have TK)...but that seems abusive (even for a full-powered, vengeful Sensor Girl)

LE Ali Blair (as a "teen") offers potential (Perplex and Ultimate X-Men TA!) , except that her dial is somewhat bland. There are worse ways to represent a Silver Age Princess Projectra than 8-range Incap and late-dial Pulse Wave I suppose.

[Contingency Plan]

Jakeem is a great piece to run with the Legion. That defense sharing is completely off the chart. But the cost effective Bucky does that too.

[Contingency Plan]

To build a competitive team you need non-fliers with usable TAs

1) The New 45 point Kid Flash is a good stand in for XS (made a mod for this fig using Jesse Quick)
2) I like to use the new Cassandra Cain for Shadow Lass (Tasmina is a pretty kick ### HTH fighter and the bestowing stealth to teamates mimics her darkness abilities) (easy Mod using Nocturne)
3) Of Course Klarion (I use him for Chameleon Boy -- the powers actually fit ok esp. if you think of Teekal as Protey) (made a mod using the old head on an Ant-man body)
4) Agree with Human torch as Sun boy (but said that he's a flier)
4) High point games yell for a supergirl (always include a lightening Lad and some Science police if you do this)

Kid Flash is a pretty good stand in for XS, especially nice when you have manuever on him.

As much as I like the new Batgirl, I really like the REV(EV especially) of Shadow Lass. She can be a real pain to deal with when played right.

Klarion isn't a bad idea for Chameleon, and one I didn't think of. Mystics helps, but I am sure there might be a better idea. Gotta think...

Human Torch is definitely a winner for Sun Boy. Fantastic Four team ability on short dial figures works great.

[DarkKnight2008]

I wish that we had a figure that hd the Superman Ally TA with the Future Keyword.

[Feral2k]

V Superboy, any Tim Drake Robin, V or LE Wonder Girl, Icons Beast Boy, any Starfire, any Raven, any Cyborg and V Legacy Kid Flash. Titans/Legion crossover. Now, all you need is an opponent who wants to play a Fatal Five Hundred team, and you're all set.

[tidge]

To build a competitive team you need non-fliers with usable TAs

1) The New 45 point Kid Flash is a good stand in for XS (made a mod for this fig using Jesse Quick)


This seemed like such a natural fit, I decided to make a custom character card to turn Kid Flash into XS (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/album.php?albumid=430&pictureid=5713). Follow the link to my gallery.

I opted to "upgrade" the character from "Rookie" to "Experienced" mostly because the blue background made her "lightning sparks" stand out better.


edit: I forgot to add a "trait" to rationalize the Titans Team Ability. I've added it to the card and corrected the link.