Thinking Psylocke

[richks]

Dunno if this has come up much before, but I can't help worrying that the new "cheap Enhancement" Psylocke is going to be a cheap players wet dream. I'm thinking of how nasty this might be in the right (Wrong?) hands.

My local venue tends to play 200 and 300 point games. Consider a 199pt team like this using current figs:

Dr. Strange Rookie 64
Pyro Veteran 42
Invisible Girl Rookie 37
Boomerang Veteran 44
Hydra or Sheild Medic Rookie 12

This team basically sits in a square formation so that everyone is adjacent, with Pyro and Boomerang at the front:

SI
PB

Everyone has a def of 18, Boomerang is effectively 20 vs ranged attacks. Anyone stupid enough to put a bunched group near this team gets hit with the whole "double enhanced multi EE" thing. Only problem is that you can't really move :) and as I state, only an idiot would actually move inte a position where they could get hit by this. But if this was part of a bigger team you'd have maybe 100 or 200 points of other characters running around too. And don't forget that once X-Plosion appears, you have a 29 pt Psylocke who can replace Strange here.

Alternatively

Dr. Strange Rookie 64
Pyro Veteran 42
Boomerang Veteran 44
Black Panther Experienced 36
A.I.M. Medic Rookie 14

Basically what you have is Dr strange carrying Boomerang (or Pyro) while Panther and Pyro protect the medic. Strange has Phasing, so if you play indoors, you're basically able to drop onto range of your opponent, get the tripple Enhanced EE hit in, hopefully survive a turn and then push to phase back to your medic. Panther could still be used for his neato stealth/outwit trick. This is most likely to work in multiplayer (ie 3 - 4 teams) free-for-alls.

Now I'm not saying that this is going to be a really hard thing to beat (not very manuverable, no really great characters if Strange gets based etc etc) but I'm a bit worried that we might see a lot of this kind of thing once XPLOSION appears.

Still, I guess it's a change from having to lay the smackdown on firelord teams...

Thoughts?

[Taibak]

The big problem is, as you mentioned, you can't move. Combine that with the fact that you don't really have anyone that can hold their own in hand-to-hand combat. A highly mobile team will cause you problems.

To use an Avengers example, if I have U Wasp carry V She-Hulk, I can cover 16 squares in one turn. I don't care about Charge, just about shutting down your shooting. Shulkie can pound on them later. High defense and Invulnerability will help them absorb fire. That leaves you with two alternatives. Either you try to move before I get in close, which will cause you to break formation and will let me divide and conquer. Or, you get based and tied up while Shulkie starts pounding. That 18 Defense will only help so long against her 11 attack, particularly if it's backed up by Probability Control or Outwit. Or, I could use the Vision and an indoor map, relying on blocking terrain and phasing to keep him and a brawler safe enough until I can get in close.

Taibak

[richks]

Hey, I'm not suggesting that this is a "good" team, and as both you and I point out, it really is a one trick horse. It's not one I'd want to play with really, and I'd even go so far as to say that in it's own right, it doesn't really even count as a whole team, just part of one. What we have here is a combo that's nasty, in the same way that U Wasp and Vet She-Hulk are a nasty combo but not a team.

But that's why the second variant (with Black Panther) is nearer to a real team. Outwit + BCF: yes, I still need an 8 to hit she-hulk, but I can hit her for the full damage. And don't forget that strange can still make ranged attacks even if based by a grounded figure etc etc.

But again I don't suggest that it's really a good team, just a trick to look out for. And if you know what your opponent is going to play you can always beat him by creating a team that's designed to beat him. If you know your opponent is going to be using a Firelord, you can always beat him.

[Perrin]

the "biggest" problem with those teams is EE being used against them. With a cheap enhancer everyone will probably include some sort of EE into part of their team, the way that you see the taxi range cannon now. It will be neat, I think to be able to use pulse wave on all the early cluster teams :) just to see it work.

P~

[richks]

Yes, I can see it now:

2 mighty teams, each with exactly the same gimmick, first one to taxi/TK Boomerang and Psylocke into position obliterates the opponent's squad. A bit like a well placed Thermal Detonator in Epic Duels.

The next week, everyone goes back to playing proper teams :)

I've often thought that TKing Avalance into an opponent's cluster formation and letting off his PW might be a fun way to take down his medics a peg or 2. If he's relying on rookie medics, that'd be super effective.

[Invis-slayer]

Boomy and Pyro are nice cheap thoughts on how to use the psylocke but they dont hit reliably enuf, methinks there are a couple more brutal ways to do so.
The first:
E- Ultron-- He has a massive AV, so he IS gonna hit, and if you can that hit is gonna be an EE. Add 2 psylockes and your shield medic to that and you have quite a blast. And i might add that it will be an easy enuf 300 pt team to make...[sure your team will be weak to fighting itself...but you are the better player..right? what you gotta worry about...;p]

The second:
I really like this one...but its not so much for tourneys[altho if a store near you is having a marvel/DC combined tourney in the 500 pt range bring this team!!].
Seeing as #'s haven't actually been released for the key fig here i can't really build the whole team...but it will look roughly like this
~500pts
v-Annihilus
R-Pyslocke x4[or 5 or 3 maybe]
A 120 pt Green lantern character
V-Shield Medic[gotta be able to heal that anni]
E-Black cat
R-Steel
R-Invis girl

U can fill out the team as you like..but the basic idea is that the Annihilus will running shot in carrying the pyslockes+medic+invis+cat [maybe not the medic tho..depending on where your targets are], and he will shoot at 3 diff guys for 5-6 damage per hit, with a reroll if you roll bad. Stealth wont bother you cuz of the steel. And if you somehow manage to lose the anni too soon you still have a green lantern guy who i am sure wont be a wuss either. If there is no GL guy under 120 pts this army would be much better reserved for a 600 pt game. A larger version could be made using V-Doom as well...

In the end i think this psylocke is gonna be a BIG mistake...just like Invis...