Gorrack
03/03/2003, 18:46
Ok, I have looked over X Plosion alot lately. First off, it is neither a good nor bad set. It seems extremely balanced when played solely amongst itself, and if played with CT as well. The set itself is quite strong. It is Infinity Challenge that makes it hard to play alot of the stronger peices. The peices in that set are unusually strong ( Firelord and Ultron, etc etc etc ) and I do see that in order for the game to continue for a long time tournement wise, than something needs to be done, perhaps even cycling these peices out. Perhaps do something like Magic The Gathering and make a new " base set " where some figs are left out and only the balanced ones are let in. This may help balance the tournement scene. Of course in fun games and possibly some tournemnts all figs can be allowed. But in case for large scale competitions, I do see some change needing to be made. That is the ONLY issue I have with X Plosion in general, besides a few individual characters.
Onto the good things. Very nice character choices and most of them greatly represent the characters they do. The game seems INCREDIBLY good with just CT and XP sets, and if you throw in DC peices as well. Im thinking of using that as a format for alot of my games. I think those who play to win benefit off this set as well, as Perplex is VERY cheap. That can easily fit into alot of teams. It also helps the lower attack values that we are seeing. An 8 point medic with a still 7 attack value. BEAUTIFUL to see. 20 point Prob Control peice ( as well as a cool character :P ) MASTERFUL. Possibly the best peice in the set IMO. Mystique has the chance to see alot of play in my eyes, with the perfect combonation of powers to represent her. We see alot of solid taxis. Also, you have Psylocke to work with for EE teams and other nice cheesy stuff. SO those who want to play in tournements DO get their fix of beautiful little tricks to toy around with. Deathbird, Sauron, Green Goblin, Shadowcat, Doc Samson and a few others are also strong enough to see alot of play. I still claim Colossus can be used effectively as well ( Cheapest bruiser with Charge is a very nice thing, and hes X Men team so that opening click isnt as bad ) For those who play for fun games or to use your favorite character, just make sure your opponent is too, and you should be fine. I just dislike those who ##### about others using uber-cheese teams in tournements. I have no problem if someone wants to play the game for fun, or because they love comics. But when you play in a tournement, expect the best teams, and dont criticize those who play the game for competition. If you dont want to try and win by whatever means necissary, why arent you playing games with your friends or others who have the same goal? I dont mean that insultingly, I just mean that there are some of the players who view the game purely by numbers and play for the desire to see who can be strategically the best and I think they have a place in the game as well, so when players come into their aspect of the game ( Tournements ) and try and yell at them for trying to prove they are the best, thats about as low as busting out a Firelord Cheese team on someone in a friendly battle.
ANYWAYS, onto a few key figs t hat I see getting attention...
Iron Man- again, stats are getting lower and lower, and I bet if you play him in an only CT/XP game, youd see him quite effective. His powers seem EXTREMELY accurate as well. Very nice range too. A BIT pricy especially with most games at 300.
Colossus- I myself am a big fan of what they did with him. Lots of clicks is VERY good for the X Men. The starting off click could be worse as well. It also means if you Over Heal him with support you can get back to beefy quick. His attack and defense may be lower for a bruiser, but hes cheaper than most heavy ones and has Charge. I honestly say hes a solid match for Herc, despite the lower AV. solid 4 damage and charge and a few clix of Invuln for 79 points is nothing to laugh at. He is one of my favorite characters and I for one may not use him in tournements, but I do see him as a very viable peice to be used, and is close to being at that level.
Mystique- I LOVE YOU JON!!! IF YOU WERE A WOMAN ID MARRY YOU!!!! Mystique is one of my ALL TIME favorite characters and I was prematurely crying on a nightly basis over seeing her dial floating in front of me with a deep blue square centered perfectly on her damage slot while Perplex Outwit and Leadership all better fit her. The stats and playability of this peice are very accurate to her, and my Brotherhood team is going to be coming along quite nicely. Stealth and Perplex is very strong, but it would be much better if Perplex didnt come so cheaply now. But she also has a decent range and enough AV and Defense to put up a mild fight for her cost. Id prefer her EE clicks to be at the start of the dial, but its no big deal. She can deal a hefty 3 damage with a high enough attack as a supporter ( let the main guys hit for 3-4 clix and than that 8 or so AV looks a whole lot more menacing ) Free move is also nice. for either 34, 43, or 51 points, I see all three being heavily used by me, even in tournement teams.
Destiny- jeeze. Broken if ya ask me. I love the brotherhood, so this is all fine by me. Perfect for my teams. Best Prob Controller yet for 12 points less than Black Cat. For 200 points I can fit Mystique, Destiny, Blob, Avalanche, Pyro and Toad for 200 in what IMO is a pretty nice Classic Botherhood configuration.
Apocalypse- *sigh* This is the big complaint I have. Apocalypse is also one of my favorite characters and I will be struggling to use him effectively I can see already. Jon, if you are reading this, can you please explain your choices on his powers ( Phasing!? ) and his stats which seem fairly low to me. I would have liked to see his Defense up a few points, or some extra Invuln, or at least give him Phasing in the first few clix over Leadership as I do not like that ability weighing down a 100+ point peice. Lastly, if the stats were like this, id have prefered at least a strong range of 8 or more. I see myself pulling off some wicked Phasing tricks in Indoor arenas, and he is nice to tie up peices with, but unless im having him taxi I Girl all over the place, I just dont see him worth the 133 points he costs. Again, id really like an explaination here.
Storm- very solid peice, especially vet, with nothing weighing her down. She very well could have deserved alot of versitile powers, but the way she is done she is the most playable.
Gambit- decent enough stuff here, kept cheap enough, no complaints.
Iceman- same here, nice to see choices for cheap X Men
Shadowcat- very interesting indeed. Gotta throw her with my colossus at all times :P
Doc Samson- WHO IS HE!?! HES A FRIGGIN MAN-BEAST!!! JEEZE!!!
Green Goblin- VERY nice. Always liked the goblin, and it looks to me that he will see a decent share of play. Nice point value and not overpowered, just very effecient.
Deathbird- Always liked her as well, and is possibly the fig I want to use most for an army, just like Moon Dragon from CT for me. Nice range abilities, with a high defense, and BCFs. Perfect set of abilities for only 70 points. WHy are the girls always getting the nice stats in the sets? :P
Sauron- also very nice if ya ask me. Another desirably Unique.
Hulk- best one yet, but does anyone expect to see him getting used much? Prolly not. I dont like figs that dont start out ready to fight much.
Elektra- seeing how this is one Jon pushed for alot himself, I am a BIT irritated by all the elektras, but this one is violently different and passes by me. She looks playable to me, and is something new. If they would have left her outta CT than it would be perfect. If i get her, ill give her a spin.
Overall, MAJOR props to Mystique for being so goddam perfect. Also props to Colossus and Destiny. MAJOR slops to Apocalypse.
Also...Jon, if you are reading this, can we get an explaination on Big A? And also...one person request for the next set. A new Magneto, preferably less Glass jawed and PLEASE ( this is just the tourney player inside of me that wants to see this happen btw :P ) let him have an 18 defense with Energy Shield Deflection as well :) I think if anyone deserves it naturally, a guy who can toss up magnetic forcefields with a flick is it. Hes the most powerful mutant for a reason,no? Basically, all im askin for is a suped up IC Mags for around 150+ points to truely represent his awesomeness. I know...not gonna happen. But wouldnt a helmetless Mags just be cool? :P
Onto the good things. Very nice character choices and most of them greatly represent the characters they do. The game seems INCREDIBLY good with just CT and XP sets, and if you throw in DC peices as well. Im thinking of using that as a format for alot of my games. I think those who play to win benefit off this set as well, as Perplex is VERY cheap. That can easily fit into alot of teams. It also helps the lower attack values that we are seeing. An 8 point medic with a still 7 attack value. BEAUTIFUL to see. 20 point Prob Control peice ( as well as a cool character :P ) MASTERFUL. Possibly the best peice in the set IMO. Mystique has the chance to see alot of play in my eyes, with the perfect combonation of powers to represent her. We see alot of solid taxis. Also, you have Psylocke to work with for EE teams and other nice cheesy stuff. SO those who want to play in tournements DO get their fix of beautiful little tricks to toy around with. Deathbird, Sauron, Green Goblin, Shadowcat, Doc Samson and a few others are also strong enough to see alot of play. I still claim Colossus can be used effectively as well ( Cheapest bruiser with Charge is a very nice thing, and hes X Men team so that opening click isnt as bad ) For those who play for fun games or to use your favorite character, just make sure your opponent is too, and you should be fine. I just dislike those who ##### about others using uber-cheese teams in tournements. I have no problem if someone wants to play the game for fun, or because they love comics. But when you play in a tournement, expect the best teams, and dont criticize those who play the game for competition. If you dont want to try and win by whatever means necissary, why arent you playing games with your friends or others who have the same goal? I dont mean that insultingly, I just mean that there are some of the players who view the game purely by numbers and play for the desire to see who can be strategically the best and I think they have a place in the game as well, so when players come into their aspect of the game ( Tournements ) and try and yell at them for trying to prove they are the best, thats about as low as busting out a Firelord Cheese team on someone in a friendly battle.
ANYWAYS, onto a few key figs t hat I see getting attention...
Iron Man- again, stats are getting lower and lower, and I bet if you play him in an only CT/XP game, youd see him quite effective. His powers seem EXTREMELY accurate as well. Very nice range too. A BIT pricy especially with most games at 300.
Colossus- I myself am a big fan of what they did with him. Lots of clicks is VERY good for the X Men. The starting off click could be worse as well. It also means if you Over Heal him with support you can get back to beefy quick. His attack and defense may be lower for a bruiser, but hes cheaper than most heavy ones and has Charge. I honestly say hes a solid match for Herc, despite the lower AV. solid 4 damage and charge and a few clix of Invuln for 79 points is nothing to laugh at. He is one of my favorite characters and I for one may not use him in tournements, but I do see him as a very viable peice to be used, and is close to being at that level.
Mystique- I LOVE YOU JON!!! IF YOU WERE A WOMAN ID MARRY YOU!!!! Mystique is one of my ALL TIME favorite characters and I was prematurely crying on a nightly basis over seeing her dial floating in front of me with a deep blue square centered perfectly on her damage slot while Perplex Outwit and Leadership all better fit her. The stats and playability of this peice are very accurate to her, and my Brotherhood team is going to be coming along quite nicely. Stealth and Perplex is very strong, but it would be much better if Perplex didnt come so cheaply now. But she also has a decent range and enough AV and Defense to put up a mild fight for her cost. Id prefer her EE clicks to be at the start of the dial, but its no big deal. She can deal a hefty 3 damage with a high enough attack as a supporter ( let the main guys hit for 3-4 clix and than that 8 or so AV looks a whole lot more menacing ) Free move is also nice. for either 34, 43, or 51 points, I see all three being heavily used by me, even in tournement teams.
Destiny- jeeze. Broken if ya ask me. I love the brotherhood, so this is all fine by me. Perfect for my teams. Best Prob Controller yet for 12 points less than Black Cat. For 200 points I can fit Mystique, Destiny, Blob, Avalanche, Pyro and Toad for 200 in what IMO is a pretty nice Classic Botherhood configuration.
Apocalypse- *sigh* This is the big complaint I have. Apocalypse is also one of my favorite characters and I will be struggling to use him effectively I can see already. Jon, if you are reading this, can you please explain your choices on his powers ( Phasing!? ) and his stats which seem fairly low to me. I would have liked to see his Defense up a few points, or some extra Invuln, or at least give him Phasing in the first few clix over Leadership as I do not like that ability weighing down a 100+ point peice. Lastly, if the stats were like this, id have prefered at least a strong range of 8 or more. I see myself pulling off some wicked Phasing tricks in Indoor arenas, and he is nice to tie up peices with, but unless im having him taxi I Girl all over the place, I just dont see him worth the 133 points he costs. Again, id really like an explaination here.
Storm- very solid peice, especially vet, with nothing weighing her down. She very well could have deserved alot of versitile powers, but the way she is done she is the most playable.
Gambit- decent enough stuff here, kept cheap enough, no complaints.
Iceman- same here, nice to see choices for cheap X Men
Shadowcat- very interesting indeed. Gotta throw her with my colossus at all times :P
Doc Samson- WHO IS HE!?! HES A FRIGGIN MAN-BEAST!!! JEEZE!!!
Green Goblin- VERY nice. Always liked the goblin, and it looks to me that he will see a decent share of play. Nice point value and not overpowered, just very effecient.
Deathbird- Always liked her as well, and is possibly the fig I want to use most for an army, just like Moon Dragon from CT for me. Nice range abilities, with a high defense, and BCFs. Perfect set of abilities for only 70 points. WHy are the girls always getting the nice stats in the sets? :P
Sauron- also very nice if ya ask me. Another desirably Unique.
Hulk- best one yet, but does anyone expect to see him getting used much? Prolly not. I dont like figs that dont start out ready to fight much.
Elektra- seeing how this is one Jon pushed for alot himself, I am a BIT irritated by all the elektras, but this one is violently different and passes by me. She looks playable to me, and is something new. If they would have left her outta CT than it would be perfect. If i get her, ill give her a spin.
Overall, MAJOR props to Mystique for being so goddam perfect. Also props to Colossus and Destiny. MAJOR slops to Apocalypse.
Also...Jon, if you are reading this, can we get an explaination on Big A? And also...one person request for the next set. A new Magneto, preferably less Glass jawed and PLEASE ( this is just the tourney player inside of me that wants to see this happen btw :P ) let him have an 18 defense with Energy Shield Deflection as well :) I think if anyone deserves it naturally, a guy who can toss up magnetic forcefields with a flick is it. Hes the most powerful mutant for a reason,no? Basically, all im askin for is a suped up IC Mags for around 150+ points to truely represent his awesomeness. I know...not gonna happen. But wouldnt a helmetless Mags just be cool? :P