dolemite199
03/25/2003, 23:50
Hello everyone,
I started this thread to get some discussion and strategy going for the upcoming Xplosion Marquee in April. For those of you who know, the Marquee will be on Easter weekend:( This could be a boon to some of you as a majority of people will be traveling or attending Easter dinner that weekend which will lower the amount of players who attend. However, because we are plasctic crack addicts some silly holiday may not be enough of a deterant to keep us from getting our hero clix "FIX"! If you do attend the Xplosion marquee you should definately know what the figure selection is going to be. YOu can find this information right here on HCRealms "units" search engine. The link is below! (http://www.hcrealms.com/cgi-bin/advancedsearch.cgi)
I am going to provide some information on some of the figures that could be a steal of deal if you manage to pull one from your boosters. These will be organized in a top ten list. Some of the figures in the Xplosion set will be no brainers to add to your force if you pull them, but I am going to focus on the "BOMBS" of the set that can greatly increase your chances of walking home with the Dimitri Bukharin LE figure (Crimson Dynamo for those of you who don't know).
I would also like to point out that this is not a ranking. These are just the ten best choices in the Xplosion set for use in a booster draft tournament.
Here goes,
#10.) Veteran Iceman.
For 47pts you get a 10 movement flier with RCE. His 9 AV is not the best, but the lack of high defensive scores in this set helps balance that out. The only people he will have a hard time attacking our figures with ESD. Still, his high movement, 3 damage at range and B2B, and his barrier ability should definately not be overlooked. Plus, once he is injured he can use the infamous two target incapacitate to help slow down your opponets. The draw back to that is his attack value is a measely 7. Nevertheless, he is a solid choice if you need a strong attacking taxi.
#9.) Veteran Mystique.
A 51pt figure who can attack while stealthed. This is something that should not be overlooked. She also has perplex for four clicks. So you can comfortably beef up either her or other member of your army without the risk of being attacked at range. She also has a healthy 16 defense. She also has the Brotherhood team ability which helps conserve your actions. Actually, she is only one of three figures in this set that has free movement.
#8.) Veteran Psylocke.
Another stealthed ranged attacker. Unlike Mystique, she keeps stealth longer and has an increased range of eight versus Mystique's six. She also has BCF with a ten attack. Your opponent would be wise not to go B2B with her for that reason alone unless he/she has a figure with charge. Throw in her enhancement and she is a great support figure for your other ranged attackers if you have them. All around solid figure for 45 points. You would be foolish not play her if you pull one.
#7.) Veteran Storm.
52pts and you get a 10 movement flier with RCE, ESD, and EE.
Plus, she has a ten range. With RCE she can deal four clicks of damage at that ten range or in B2B because she is a flier. Great figure for the cost and this type of tournament enviornment. However, her low defense in B2B can be her undoing. Just play defensively with her and you should enjoy the rewards of this figure.
#6.) Experienced Abomonation.
You cannot ask for much more in an 86pt package. LC and SS for the whole dial. Two clicks of INV. followed by six clicks of toughness is a deal. His first two clicks are excellent for his cost. With his natural four damage on those two clicks with SS, he can deal out six clicks. The greatest advantage is that Abomonation can be taxied. He does not suffer form the "Battle Fury" syndrome as previous close comabt bruisers do. All in all he is definately a top choice for the Marquee. I did not select the vet because the extra 14pt cost gives you slightly marginal gains over the experienced Abomonation.
#5.)Veteran Beast.
For 80pts you get a sloid close combat figure. Beast has four clicks of charge. He also has two clicks of perplex at the start with three damage. Perplex his damage up and charge a figure five spaces away for four clicks. Not a bad combo. He also has a 17 DV to start with toughness. And his defense stays steady for his whole dial. After the charge is gone he can just LC away and get some healing via a paramedic or fellow X-men. Remeber to not overlook his support ability at the end of his dial. It can be a nice suprise when your opponets think they got you on the ropes. Simply heal a fellow X-men up, then have him/her swap some damage with beast to heal him back up. This can pretty annoying to say the least.
#4.) Experienced and Veteran Mandarin.
I included both versions because their point costs are very close. The veteran version starts off with a higher attack and defense, keeps RCE one click longer in the mid dial, and has an extra click of 3 damage at the beginning. The major differnace is the 12 range on the vet version. However, this is somewaht negated by the fact that if you want to use his outwit you need to be at least ten squares away from you target. So if you want to sit back an MC people at twelve range, then you will most likely not be outwitting anything because of distance. I would recommend the expereinced version over the vet because he is still a powerhouse and you save eight points. You get the ten range instead of twelve, but now it is much easier to use MC and Outwit togehter. He still has an 18 DV at range via ESD. Word to wise though, when he gets damaged he will be taking it all. No damage reducing super powers on a figure over a hundred points is a big risk to take. Once he is rendered useless you will pretty much lose the game because he will make up over half of your force. Play very caustiously with him and you can dominate a game. If you play a little too recklessly your defeat is almost garaunted.
#3.) Exp and Vet Crimson Dynamo.
His hefty point costs are a drawback, but he is a friggin tank! This guy can deal and take some serious damage. SS and RCE on the same clicks seems redundant, but if ofers you some options that other figures do not have. He can blast away at range, or smash you up close with his SS. This super power combo is also great if you have one of those powers outwitted. RCE is gone, then just bash away with an object. SS gets outwitted, then blast away with RCE. If people pull a vet Dynamo they will most likely play him. He is one of only three figures that can deal five clicks at range. The others being veteran Iron Man and Firelord. If you get a cheap taxi then you have got a strong chance of winning. He will definately stick around for awhile with multiple clicks of INV. and toughness. Solid choice.
#2.) Veteran Doc Samson.
102 points and you get the best non-unique bruiser of the set. His first click of CH, SS, INV, and perplex is absolutely golden. He can easily deal seven clicks of damage to a figure if he perplexs his own damage up, and grabs an object during his charge. He can be taxied around, which is a huge advantage because of his ability to charge. There are not many figures who will be able to do anything except "BLEED" after suffering a monster hit from Doc Samson. Be carful not to push him off of his first clix because he loses his charge and his damage falls by one. You still deal four with his own damage getting perplexed, but you can't get that all important seven damage hit in with his charge gone. If you pull this guy you should definately play him. He leaves you with 92 points to spend on the rest of you force. A cheap taxi and some other low end figures will compliment him very well.
#1.) Experienced and Veteran Taskmaster
If you pull this guy you are in good shape. His 11 AV with BCF is awesome. He also has stealth with a six range, so he comfortablly plink away at people. He brings a click of leadership to help with your action allotment. His mastermind is going to keep him around for awhile. And can provide other ranged attackers with a boost via enhancement. The incapacitate later in the dial will help slow down your opponent. All of this goodness for only 58 points. That is one hell of deal. Another thing that seperates him from other Xplosion figures is that he is the only figure with the MOD team ability. This only helps to increase his value and effeiciency. If you have one of the swat officer or specialist on your force he can copy the shield team ability to add some damage to another one of your figures ranged attacks if he is adjacent. This can also be increased by one more if he is on one of his enhancement clicks. Adding +2 to damage for a ranged attack for only one action is a #### fine deal. This is the guy you want to pull because he can do so much for such a little point investment. If you manage to pull the veteran Taskmaster then consider yourself blessed. An extra lightning bolt and some super power changes are what you get for the extra seveteen points. With willpower and incapacitate on the same click he can target two figures and slow your opponent down and not take a push damage to do so. Plus he has outwit near the end which can turn the tide of battle. If only he could have kept MM at this level he would be so much beter. If you want a figure that can stick around for awhile use the experienced Taskmaster. If you want an excellent board control figure then use the veteran Taskmaster. It really comes down to personal preferance and whether or not you can cram the points into your two hundred point force.
Honerable mention:
- Any paramedic. There cheap cost lets you squeeze them into to your team. Plus they have good attack values for being, well, medics!
- Any Con Artist. Cheap perplex is nice. These little tramps can help you push your forces damage dealing ability over the edge is these booster draft tournaments. Be careful playing the, because they don't last long.
You might also wonder why I have not listed any uniques. Well, the likely hood of you pulling one is slim. Plus you have no idea which unique you might get. however, I will say that if you pull a Sauron, Deathbird, Spiderman, or Green Goblin you are in good shape. Those four figures are excellent choices to field. Sauron is a beat stick and half with his flying/charge/BCF combo. Deathbird is a nice figure with her multitude of offensive options. Spiderman is definately useful because of his defend. And Green Goblin is pretty much the best transportation you could ask for with his flying/willpower setup. Plus, he can grab an object during flight and perplex up some else on your team to bring the hurtin!
Again, this is just my opinion the current Xplosion set for booster drafting. If you feel like I have missed something then please post and help us all out. I hope this helps everyone as they prepare for the Marquee.
Best wishes, and Good Luck!!
P.S. Azs, if you read this, I would definately like some feedback from you!
I started this thread to get some discussion and strategy going for the upcoming Xplosion Marquee in April. For those of you who know, the Marquee will be on Easter weekend:( This could be a boon to some of you as a majority of people will be traveling or attending Easter dinner that weekend which will lower the amount of players who attend. However, because we are plasctic crack addicts some silly holiday may not be enough of a deterant to keep us from getting our hero clix "FIX"! If you do attend the Xplosion marquee you should definately know what the figure selection is going to be. YOu can find this information right here on HCRealms "units" search engine. The link is below! (http://www.hcrealms.com/cgi-bin/advancedsearch.cgi)
I am going to provide some information on some of the figures that could be a steal of deal if you manage to pull one from your boosters. These will be organized in a top ten list. Some of the figures in the Xplosion set will be no brainers to add to your force if you pull them, but I am going to focus on the "BOMBS" of the set that can greatly increase your chances of walking home with the Dimitri Bukharin LE figure (Crimson Dynamo for those of you who don't know).
I would also like to point out that this is not a ranking. These are just the ten best choices in the Xplosion set for use in a booster draft tournament.
Here goes,
#10.) Veteran Iceman.
For 47pts you get a 10 movement flier with RCE. His 9 AV is not the best, but the lack of high defensive scores in this set helps balance that out. The only people he will have a hard time attacking our figures with ESD. Still, his high movement, 3 damage at range and B2B, and his barrier ability should definately not be overlooked. Plus, once he is injured he can use the infamous two target incapacitate to help slow down your opponets. The draw back to that is his attack value is a measely 7. Nevertheless, he is a solid choice if you need a strong attacking taxi.
#9.) Veteran Mystique.
A 51pt figure who can attack while stealthed. This is something that should not be overlooked. She also has perplex for four clicks. So you can comfortably beef up either her or other member of your army without the risk of being attacked at range. She also has a healthy 16 defense. She also has the Brotherhood team ability which helps conserve your actions. Actually, she is only one of three figures in this set that has free movement.
#8.) Veteran Psylocke.
Another stealthed ranged attacker. Unlike Mystique, she keeps stealth longer and has an increased range of eight versus Mystique's six. She also has BCF with a ten attack. Your opponent would be wise not to go B2B with her for that reason alone unless he/she has a figure with charge. Throw in her enhancement and she is a great support figure for your other ranged attackers if you have them. All around solid figure for 45 points. You would be foolish not play her if you pull one.
#7.) Veteran Storm.
52pts and you get a 10 movement flier with RCE, ESD, and EE.
Plus, she has a ten range. With RCE she can deal four clicks of damage at that ten range or in B2B because she is a flier. Great figure for the cost and this type of tournament enviornment. However, her low defense in B2B can be her undoing. Just play defensively with her and you should enjoy the rewards of this figure.
#6.) Experienced Abomonation.
You cannot ask for much more in an 86pt package. LC and SS for the whole dial. Two clicks of INV. followed by six clicks of toughness is a deal. His first two clicks are excellent for his cost. With his natural four damage on those two clicks with SS, he can deal out six clicks. The greatest advantage is that Abomonation can be taxied. He does not suffer form the "Battle Fury" syndrome as previous close comabt bruisers do. All in all he is definately a top choice for the Marquee. I did not select the vet because the extra 14pt cost gives you slightly marginal gains over the experienced Abomonation.
#5.)Veteran Beast.
For 80pts you get a sloid close combat figure. Beast has four clicks of charge. He also has two clicks of perplex at the start with three damage. Perplex his damage up and charge a figure five spaces away for four clicks. Not a bad combo. He also has a 17 DV to start with toughness. And his defense stays steady for his whole dial. After the charge is gone he can just LC away and get some healing via a paramedic or fellow X-men. Remeber to not overlook his support ability at the end of his dial. It can be a nice suprise when your opponets think they got you on the ropes. Simply heal a fellow X-men up, then have him/her swap some damage with beast to heal him back up. This can pretty annoying to say the least.
#4.) Experienced and Veteran Mandarin.
I included both versions because their point costs are very close. The veteran version starts off with a higher attack and defense, keeps RCE one click longer in the mid dial, and has an extra click of 3 damage at the beginning. The major differnace is the 12 range on the vet version. However, this is somewaht negated by the fact that if you want to use his outwit you need to be at least ten squares away from you target. So if you want to sit back an MC people at twelve range, then you will most likely not be outwitting anything because of distance. I would recommend the expereinced version over the vet because he is still a powerhouse and you save eight points. You get the ten range instead of twelve, but now it is much easier to use MC and Outwit togehter. He still has an 18 DV at range via ESD. Word to wise though, when he gets damaged he will be taking it all. No damage reducing super powers on a figure over a hundred points is a big risk to take. Once he is rendered useless you will pretty much lose the game because he will make up over half of your force. Play very caustiously with him and you can dominate a game. If you play a little too recklessly your defeat is almost garaunted.
#3.) Exp and Vet Crimson Dynamo.
His hefty point costs are a drawback, but he is a friggin tank! This guy can deal and take some serious damage. SS and RCE on the same clicks seems redundant, but if ofers you some options that other figures do not have. He can blast away at range, or smash you up close with his SS. This super power combo is also great if you have one of those powers outwitted. RCE is gone, then just bash away with an object. SS gets outwitted, then blast away with RCE. If people pull a vet Dynamo they will most likely play him. He is one of only three figures that can deal five clicks at range. The others being veteran Iron Man and Firelord. If you get a cheap taxi then you have got a strong chance of winning. He will definately stick around for awhile with multiple clicks of INV. and toughness. Solid choice.
#2.) Veteran Doc Samson.
102 points and you get the best non-unique bruiser of the set. His first click of CH, SS, INV, and perplex is absolutely golden. He can easily deal seven clicks of damage to a figure if he perplexs his own damage up, and grabs an object during his charge. He can be taxied around, which is a huge advantage because of his ability to charge. There are not many figures who will be able to do anything except "BLEED" after suffering a monster hit from Doc Samson. Be carful not to push him off of his first clix because he loses his charge and his damage falls by one. You still deal four with his own damage getting perplexed, but you can't get that all important seven damage hit in with his charge gone. If you pull this guy you should definately play him. He leaves you with 92 points to spend on the rest of you force. A cheap taxi and some other low end figures will compliment him very well.
#1.) Experienced and Veteran Taskmaster
If you pull this guy you are in good shape. His 11 AV with BCF is awesome. He also has stealth with a six range, so he comfortablly plink away at people. He brings a click of leadership to help with your action allotment. His mastermind is going to keep him around for awhile. And can provide other ranged attackers with a boost via enhancement. The incapacitate later in the dial will help slow down your opponent. All of this goodness for only 58 points. That is one hell of deal. Another thing that seperates him from other Xplosion figures is that he is the only figure with the MOD team ability. This only helps to increase his value and effeiciency. If you have one of the swat officer or specialist on your force he can copy the shield team ability to add some damage to another one of your figures ranged attacks if he is adjacent. This can also be increased by one more if he is on one of his enhancement clicks. Adding +2 to damage for a ranged attack for only one action is a #### fine deal. This is the guy you want to pull because he can do so much for such a little point investment. If you manage to pull the veteran Taskmaster then consider yourself blessed. An extra lightning bolt and some super power changes are what you get for the extra seveteen points. With willpower and incapacitate on the same click he can target two figures and slow your opponent down and not take a push damage to do so. Plus he has outwit near the end which can turn the tide of battle. If only he could have kept MM at this level he would be so much beter. If you want a figure that can stick around for awhile use the experienced Taskmaster. If you want an excellent board control figure then use the veteran Taskmaster. It really comes down to personal preferance and whether or not you can cram the points into your two hundred point force.
Honerable mention:
- Any paramedic. There cheap cost lets you squeeze them into to your team. Plus they have good attack values for being, well, medics!
- Any Con Artist. Cheap perplex is nice. These little tramps can help you push your forces damage dealing ability over the edge is these booster draft tournaments. Be careful playing the, because they don't last long.
You might also wonder why I have not listed any uniques. Well, the likely hood of you pulling one is slim. Plus you have no idea which unique you might get. however, I will say that if you pull a Sauron, Deathbird, Spiderman, or Green Goblin you are in good shape. Those four figures are excellent choices to field. Sauron is a beat stick and half with his flying/charge/BCF combo. Deathbird is a nice figure with her multitude of offensive options. Spiderman is definately useful because of his defend. And Green Goblin is pretty much the best transportation you could ask for with his flying/willpower setup. Plus, he can grab an object during flight and perplex up some else on your team to bring the hurtin!
Again, this is just my opinion the current Xplosion set for booster drafting. If you feel like I have missed something then please post and help us all out. I hope this helps everyone as they prepare for the Marquee.
Best wishes, and Good Luck!!
P.S. Azs, if you read this, I would definately like some feedback from you!