rock810
05/27/2008, 22:18
(The main article with pictures is in Critical Hit Issue 8)
Who Needs Keywords?! (BWAH-HA-HA-HAH)
by: Juan Miguel Santos (hcrealms id: jmz4lyf)
Welcome back to Who Needs Keywords. Theme teams just endured a major hit with the release of Crisis. No more Bizarro ignore BFCs that really made some awfully powerful combos. Sure pogs can get into theme teams now. I'm guessing that means we'll see Detective Chimp in Shadowpact teams every time now.
(noise of crickets...)
BWAH-HA-HA-HAH.
Ah.. Speaking of bwahahahas, seen that awesome Blue Beetle SP from crisis? Man, we should build a team around that! See where I'm going with this? Uh.. Never mind.
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold
Roster:
Blue Beetle
Booster Gold
Fire
Ice
Elongated Man
Captain Marvel
Power Girl
Metamorpho
Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
The Flash (Wally West)
Captain Atom
Dr Light
Mister Miracle
The List of Allies Simply Goes On and On....
Teams like these are much easier to build with a 400 or more point cap. That being said, I think Blue Beetle and Booster Gold have a diverse enough pool of allies from both comics and clix in unrestricted, or even restricted, to build a decent 300 point restricted team around. Obviously we have our UC Blue Beetle from DC Crisis. But which Booster should we be looking at?
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
Subtotal = 113
We have 3 distinct versions of Booster Gold available for restricted from his REV set in DC Origin. The Vet is probably the best offensive version of Booster. That 10 range is very good although opening with charge as opposed to running shot makes him not that good. The Exp is a really bad piece. Damage tops out at 2 with 8 range, two targets and Incapacitate on the SECOND click. The Rookie actually makes the most sense for the tandem. You want that JLA TA since Booster is probably going to lug Blue Beetle around for the majority of the game. 7 clicks for 46 points is actually a pretty decent deal considering the piece gives you Outwit via BWAH-HA-HA-HAH and flight for all 7 clicks. The duo comes in at a very light 113 points, which is barely over a third of our build total. Plenty of room for some more muscle since those 2s and 1s on the damage slots probably won't win you too many games.
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
Subtotal = 113
REV Hawkman 59, 90, 135
C Crimson Fox 44
R Shazam! 105
REV Animal Man 46, 59, 75
REV Mister Miracle 64, 98, 145
Those are just a handful of the different close combat figs that are readily available and are all useful in their own right. Right now I am really digging that R Hawkman from Origin. Charging for 2 damage with the potential to do 4 damage with CCE on the next turn is a great way to force the issue on your opponent. It's also good for him to carry someone around to force your opponent to make a choice between Hawkman or the grounded attacker he just brought with him. C Crimson Fox from DC Justice League with her BCF seems like a perfect fit for a pretty potent 1-2 punch as opposed to the various Animal Men. R Mister Miracle is another great utility piece that can tie up the opposition and also function as a taxi and perplexer. We all know how great R Shazam is but maybe we can try to walk without it as a crutch.
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
R Hawkman 59
C Crimson Fox 44
R Mister Miracle 64
Subtotal = 280
REV Fire
REV Ice
C Dr Light
REV Martian Manhunter
REV Elongated Man
U Orion
Green Lantern
Flash
More options. You always want to draw out as much options as you can when you build teams. The best Flash you could get in a supporting role for 300 pts would probably be C Kid Flash from Crisis. E Elongated Man can also be a great asset in games with his Probability Control. It basically comes down to what we actually need for the team. We already have outwit, 2 perplex makes everybody better and 3 close combat hitters will provide the firepower. 3 fliers also provide much needed mobility. If you have LE Carter Hall though from Origin, definitely try to use him instead of the R Hawkman. Let's run with the close combat version of the team.
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
LE Carter Hall (Origin) 70
C Crimson Fox 44
R Mister Miracle 64
Subtotal = 291
9 points left for various cardboard. I'll just go with Streak of Luck for Carter Hall and Inside Information for Blue Beetle. Deep Shadows is actually a great BFC for this team despite the lack of stealth because of Energy Shield/Deflection. Your 2 ESD characters can potentially have 20 def anywhere in the map with Deep Shadows. Ordinary Day could potentially help out against Poor Teamwork or High Gravity. You may consider using Skyscrapers to negate high ground in certain maps but still provide ample cover as you creep slowly towards your opponent.
UC Blue Beetle 65 + Inside Information 4
R Booster Gold 48
LE Carter Hall (Origin) 70 + Streak of Luck 5
C Crimson Fox 44
R Mister Miracle 64
Total = 300
BFCs: Deep Shadows, Ordinary Day, and Skyscrapers
Strategy and Tactics: 5 characters in a 300-point squad is a pretty well balanced team. Try to base your opponent quickly with Carter Hall, which should be carrying around Crimson Fox for your 1-2 punch up close. Blue Beetle will naturally pair up with Booster to take advantage of BWAH-HA-HA-HAH and keep Blue Beetle in front. Carter Hall on the other hand, will want to stay in front of Crimson Fox when moving around the board to take advantage of that opening 17 DEFENSE + Energy Shield Deflection. Mister Miracle can be used to support from behind with perplex or to phase in and keep key opposing characters occupied with that crazy 18 defense +Super Senses click. Try to push carter off that starting click when you charge in to get toughness up and to move on to your flurry clicks. Flurry and Perplex are best friends. If you can set that up, you can potentially swing with Carter Hall for 8 clicks of damage in one round by perplexing his damage to 4 on those flurry clicks.
Pack Dark Cauldron and Tombstone if you have them. Have Booster carry Tombstone along with Blue Beetle. This will raise his pathetic 15 def to a respectable 17. Don't forget about his mid-dial enhancement which Blue Beetle and Carter could potentially take advantage of.
Positioning will be easy with your high movement fliers and 2 perplex. Don't be shy on using that perplex on movement if necessary. Don't worry about pushing Booster Gold if you need to. Mister Miracle is also great bait since he's got phasing so you can dangle him in front of opposing figs anywhere in the map and he's got a great dodge. Have your opponent choose between hitting Carter or Crimson Fox when you charge in. BCF always have great damage potential. I don't see you using the ranged knock back effect of BB-gun over incapacitate or even force blast itself, which doesn't require an attack roll.
Tricks of the Trade: Always check for compatible keywords to get the most out of Inside Information on Blue Beetle. Scientist is a fairly common keyword. When Booster lands in his barrier clicks, try to keep Blue Beetle in front and put barrier tokens up whenever Booster doesn't need to taxi. This can also serve to protect your outwit piece while allowing Blue Beetle to attack before you put up the barrier. Crimson Fox ends with BCF so don't think of running away when it gets hit and just keep on the offensive. Although more of a psychological trick, try to have your opponent see you are using Blue Beetle and Booster Gold before the game starts. You could have them think you built your team around those two while your main attacker is actually Carter Hall.
Epilogue: Did you get any ideas? Try to incorporate them into your own personal team building style. Now that keyword teams have been slightly depowered, there's even more reason to explore other team building options. Have fun with the metagames and observe what people frequently bring to your games. The element of surprise could win you games, if it doesn't then just have fun with your opponents' reactions. Playing unexpected teams keeps the game fresh.
Who Needs Keywords?! (BWAH-HA-HA-HAH)
by: Juan Miguel Santos (hcrealms id: jmz4lyf)
Welcome back to Who Needs Keywords. Theme teams just endured a major hit with the release of Crisis. No more Bizarro ignore BFCs that really made some awfully powerful combos. Sure pogs can get into theme teams now. I'm guessing that means we'll see Detective Chimp in Shadowpact teams every time now.
(noise of crickets...)
BWAH-HA-HA-HAH.
Ah.. Speaking of bwahahahas, seen that awesome Blue Beetle SP from crisis? Man, we should build a team around that! See where I'm going with this? Uh.. Never mind.
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold
Roster:
Blue Beetle
Booster Gold
Fire
Ice
Elongated Man
Captain Marvel
Power Girl
Metamorpho
Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
The Flash (Wally West)
Captain Atom
Dr Light
Mister Miracle
The List of Allies Simply Goes On and On....
Teams like these are much easier to build with a 400 or more point cap. That being said, I think Blue Beetle and Booster Gold have a diverse enough pool of allies from both comics and clix in unrestricted, or even restricted, to build a decent 300 point restricted team around. Obviously we have our UC Blue Beetle from DC Crisis. But which Booster should we be looking at?
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
Subtotal = 113
We have 3 distinct versions of Booster Gold available for restricted from his REV set in DC Origin. The Vet is probably the best offensive version of Booster. That 10 range is very good although opening with charge as opposed to running shot makes him not that good. The Exp is a really bad piece. Damage tops out at 2 with 8 range, two targets and Incapacitate on the SECOND click. The Rookie actually makes the most sense for the tandem. You want that JLA TA since Booster is probably going to lug Blue Beetle around for the majority of the game. 7 clicks for 46 points is actually a pretty decent deal considering the piece gives you Outwit via BWAH-HA-HA-HAH and flight for all 7 clicks. The duo comes in at a very light 113 points, which is barely over a third of our build total. Plenty of room for some more muscle since those 2s and 1s on the damage slots probably won't win you too many games.
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
Subtotal = 113
REV Hawkman 59, 90, 135
C Crimson Fox 44
R Shazam! 105
REV Animal Man 46, 59, 75
REV Mister Miracle 64, 98, 145
Those are just a handful of the different close combat figs that are readily available and are all useful in their own right. Right now I am really digging that R Hawkman from Origin. Charging for 2 damage with the potential to do 4 damage with CCE on the next turn is a great way to force the issue on your opponent. It's also good for him to carry someone around to force your opponent to make a choice between Hawkman or the grounded attacker he just brought with him. C Crimson Fox from DC Justice League with her BCF seems like a perfect fit for a pretty potent 1-2 punch as opposed to the various Animal Men. R Mister Miracle is another great utility piece that can tie up the opposition and also function as a taxi and perplexer. We all know how great R Shazam is but maybe we can try to walk without it as a crutch.
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
R Hawkman 59
C Crimson Fox 44
R Mister Miracle 64
Subtotal = 280
REV Fire
REV Ice
C Dr Light
REV Martian Manhunter
REV Elongated Man
U Orion
Green Lantern
Flash
More options. You always want to draw out as much options as you can when you build teams. The best Flash you could get in a supporting role for 300 pts would probably be C Kid Flash from Crisis. E Elongated Man can also be a great asset in games with his Probability Control. It basically comes down to what we actually need for the team. We already have outwit, 2 perplex makes everybody better and 3 close combat hitters will provide the firepower. 3 fliers also provide much needed mobility. If you have LE Carter Hall though from Origin, definitely try to use him instead of the R Hawkman. Let's run with the close combat version of the team.
UC Blue Beetle 65
R Booster Gold 48
LE Carter Hall (Origin) 70
C Crimson Fox 44
R Mister Miracle 64
Subtotal = 291
9 points left for various cardboard. I'll just go with Streak of Luck for Carter Hall and Inside Information for Blue Beetle. Deep Shadows is actually a great BFC for this team despite the lack of stealth because of Energy Shield/Deflection. Your 2 ESD characters can potentially have 20 def anywhere in the map with Deep Shadows. Ordinary Day could potentially help out against Poor Teamwork or High Gravity. You may consider using Skyscrapers to negate high ground in certain maps but still provide ample cover as you creep slowly towards your opponent.
UC Blue Beetle 65 + Inside Information 4
R Booster Gold 48
LE Carter Hall (Origin) 70 + Streak of Luck 5
C Crimson Fox 44
R Mister Miracle 64
Total = 300
BFCs: Deep Shadows, Ordinary Day, and Skyscrapers
Strategy and Tactics: 5 characters in a 300-point squad is a pretty well balanced team. Try to base your opponent quickly with Carter Hall, which should be carrying around Crimson Fox for your 1-2 punch up close. Blue Beetle will naturally pair up with Booster to take advantage of BWAH-HA-HA-HAH and keep Blue Beetle in front. Carter Hall on the other hand, will want to stay in front of Crimson Fox when moving around the board to take advantage of that opening 17 DEFENSE + Energy Shield Deflection. Mister Miracle can be used to support from behind with perplex or to phase in and keep key opposing characters occupied with that crazy 18 defense +Super Senses click. Try to push carter off that starting click when you charge in to get toughness up and to move on to your flurry clicks. Flurry and Perplex are best friends. If you can set that up, you can potentially swing with Carter Hall for 8 clicks of damage in one round by perplexing his damage to 4 on those flurry clicks.
Pack Dark Cauldron and Tombstone if you have them. Have Booster carry Tombstone along with Blue Beetle. This will raise his pathetic 15 def to a respectable 17. Don't forget about his mid-dial enhancement which Blue Beetle and Carter could potentially take advantage of.
Positioning will be easy with your high movement fliers and 2 perplex. Don't be shy on using that perplex on movement if necessary. Don't worry about pushing Booster Gold if you need to. Mister Miracle is also great bait since he's got phasing so you can dangle him in front of opposing figs anywhere in the map and he's got a great dodge. Have your opponent choose between hitting Carter or Crimson Fox when you charge in. BCF always have great damage potential. I don't see you using the ranged knock back effect of BB-gun over incapacitate or even force blast itself, which doesn't require an attack roll.
Tricks of the Trade: Always check for compatible keywords to get the most out of Inside Information on Blue Beetle. Scientist is a fairly common keyword. When Booster lands in his barrier clicks, try to keep Blue Beetle in front and put barrier tokens up whenever Booster doesn't need to taxi. This can also serve to protect your outwit piece while allowing Blue Beetle to attack before you put up the barrier. Crimson Fox ends with BCF so don't think of running away when it gets hit and just keep on the offensive. Although more of a psychological trick, try to have your opponent see you are using Blue Beetle and Booster Gold before the game starts. You could have them think you built your team around those two while your main attacker is actually Carter Hall.
Epilogue: Did you get any ideas? Try to incorporate them into your own personal team building style. Now that keyword teams have been slightly depowered, there's even more reason to explore other team building options. Have fun with the metagames and observe what people frequently bring to your games. The element of surprise could win you games, if it doesn't then just have fun with your opponents' reactions. Playing unexpected teams keeps the game fresh.