Well, this can’t be called the “Marquee Primer” seeing as how there is no Marquee tournament this time around. But with the sealed booster tournaments for the Herald of Galactus events, you’ll actually get to play more sealed events than you might have with just a Marquee.

There are some changes to the format to keep in mind: This is a 2 booster, 300 point game. But the boosters now have 5 figures each. This means you’ll get 10 figures to choose from instead of 12. You’ll also only get 2 cards instead of 3.
With slightly fewer figures to choose from, you might have to give more consideration to figs you might not have otherwise wanted to play.

On the plus side, the cost range of the figures in this set is lower than the last 2 sets, so you’ll probably have more leeway to play the figs you want. And there aren’t really any ‘pull this figure = win the game’ pieces this time either.


The dials for this review are based on the Avengers dial thread. Please let me know of any discrepancies and I will correct them.
I apologize in advance for any possible errors.

Here’s the review schedule:

Part 1 – Commons
Part 2 – Uncommons
Part 3 – Rares (Wed)
Part 4 – Super Rares (Thurs)
Part 5 – Cards (Fri)

These reviews are intended strictly for sealed, 300 point games with only this set.

Click ‘Read More…’ below for the full review.

Welcome to another Primer Review!

First off, thanks to AndrewTarius for the awesome banner. He’s been doing all the great new avatars for the realms, and was nice enough to whip me up a fine looking header too. Andrew also added the Special Power to the dial code, and an easy retrieval of dial code so I can try to make sure the dials are correct here.
Thanks a ton AT!


As for the set and the review…
Marvel Avengers changes the paradigm for how clicks are distributed, and how we’re playing tournaments, at least for the immediate future.
This set has a good balance of strong higher cost figs and mid to low range support. Even though you’ll get 2 less figures to choose from, you should be able to fit more figures on your team overall.
Good luck with your pulls and your game.
And remember, for the Herald of Galactus tournaments, everyone should get the ‘prize’ anyway, so have fun!

This review is for a 300 point, 2 booster Sealed event only.
Using a Smiley rating system.

– Steer clear of this figure.
:disappoin:disappoin – Not too good. Should be considered with caution.
– Fair. Based on how you need to fill out a team and what else you pull.
– Good. Definitely consider this figure.
– Great! Should be a top choice for your team.

These figures are compared only within the Avengers set, so there will be only a few 1 or 5 smiley ratings here.
So please realize that even though your favorite character might not have gotten five smileys like you think it should, I’m just trying to be fair.

Everything written here is in the most general form possible.
Since the specific combination of figures pulled will work together to determine which are more playable than others.

Lastly, this review is just my opinion. And these are a lot of work to write, so I ask you very kindly, please don’t get angry at me for my ratings. I give reasonable explanations for each choice. If you disagree (and you are welcome to do so), please try to do the same. x

Part 2: Uncommons

av018 V Blazing Skull
Team: Defenders
Range: 6 /
Points: 68
Keywords: Invaders, Mystical, Reporter

8 9 17 3

8 9 16 2

7 8 16 2

7 8 16 2

7 10 16 3

8 9 15 2

6 8 15 2

6 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Yet another Super Strength fig, and no ‘Debris’ battlefield to be found.
Blazing Skull has an interesting dial lay out that should make some players happy and confuse others.
As a Defender, his starting 17 Def might be good to share with Defender or Wildcard Teammates. Though his 9 AV is a little on the low side. Damage is also just average at 3, but can be helped with an object. The drawback to that though is he can’t be carried while holding an object, and doesn’t have any move/attack powers of his own.
A click of Regen shortly into his dial is close enough to the top that he should be able to heal back to full if he lands on it. But if you push past it, you have a chance to get to his nice click with 10 AV, 3 damage and Flurry! Sweet. Plus another click of Regen at the end give him hope of getting back to that 10 AV Flurry click later on too.
These variations make the Blazing Skull a fairly interesting figure with potential to be very good, but it won’t be easy to land on his specific good clicks. Still, worth the effort for only 68 points.
V –

av019 R Darkhawk
Team: Spider-Man
Range: 6 /
Points: 56
Keywords: Excelsior, Loners, New Warriors, Teen, West Coast Avengers

8 9 17 3

8 8 16 2

7 8 15 2

6 8 13 1

8 8 15 3

8 8 14 2

7 7 13 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

This is a fine representation of Rookie Darkhawk, which is all well and good, but that accuracy doesn’t really help your team.
At best, Darkhawk is a good cheap third-string attacker with the mobility of Leap / Climb and whatever combos you can pull off with his Wildcard TA. In and of himself, his AV and Damage are too low and drop off too quick to be of much use. But for only a smidge over 50 points, he can certainly round out a team and come in handy in the right situations.
R –

av020 E Dragon Man
Team: None
Range: 5 /
Points: 130
Keywords: Enforcers, Robot

8 9 16 4

7 9 17 4

7 8 16 4

6 8 16 3

6 8 16 3

6 8 15 2

5 8 15 2

4 7 14 2

4 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

More Flying, Charging Super Strength figs!
This one at least breaks the mold slightly and has a few tricks under his wing. PsyBlast is neat mid dial, though it’s hindered by a short 5 (odd!) range. Plasticity at the end is a nice twist, but his movement is low! So it’ll only really come into play if he’s already there, since moving around will take forever. Plus, you’ll have to want to tie up your opponent at that point in the game, and with 130 points on the line here, you might be using Plasticity to easily break away rather than tie someone down. (Run! Run 4 squares!)
Dragon Man has the potential to be fun in some home games, and maybe do something interesting with him in a tournament, but at 130 points with limited range, AV and mobility, he’s not going to be supporting a team very well in this sealed format.
E - :disappoin:disappoin

av021 R Toro
Team: Defenders
Range: 8 /
Points: 64
Keywords: All-Winners Squad, Invaders, Kid Commandos, Mutant, Teen

8 9 16 3

8 9 17 3

8 8 16 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 14 2

7 7 14 2

7 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Attack) Firewall: Toro can use Smoke Cloud. If all four hindering terrain markers placed by Toro using Smoke Cloud are placed adjacent to an opposing character, deal that character 1 damage.

There’s not much to say about the strategic elements of Toro, you can pretty much get those just by looking at his dial.
As a Defender he’ll hopefully get help from one of the many other figs with 17 Defense that he can share. There are several grounded Defenders & WC’s, so being a flier makes for an easy pairing.
Offensively he’s hurt like so many others with a plain 9 AV and 3 damage. But for only 64 points he’s not a huge investment and could well be worth the cost. His Special Power could also be interesting as psudo-poison, but with a range potential. This gives you some nifty possibilities later in the dial after he gets smacked, particularly since this power doesn’t rely on his AV. This alone could be worth the price of admission.
Also keep in mind, the way the card is worded says that the click of damage from Firewall should happen right away – and not at the beginning of your next turn like Poison would. So you could put up a firewall, hurt the target, and then make a follow up attack with someone else now that the target is weakened . Slick.
R –

av022 E Iron Widow
Team: Ultimates
Range: 8 /
Points: 118
Keywords: Armor, S.H.I.E.L.D., Spy, Ultimates

10 10 17 3

8 9 16 3

8 9 16 3

8 9 17 3

7 10 16 2

8 10 15 2

9 11 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

We’ve seen a ton of armored mercs in HeroClix so far, so to be able to come up with some new variations is always nice.
IW starts off like a regular ‘person in suit’ with RS and fair damage. This alone is good for this game because she’s an Ultimate. But later on she gets some interesting powers: Mastermind for one is a neat twist that will undoubtedly allow her to survive much longer than she would otherwise. Outwit is also nice so that her 2 or 3 damage can have a little more sting. And there’s not much outwit in the set all around, so this alone could be a great turn for your team.
Then PsyBlast and Stealth are a final deadly combo. Stealth will help protect her a bit, and Mastermind may keep her from getting KOd. All the while she can ping away at enemies with Psyblast and a higher AV. Its only for 2 damage, but its penetrating damage.
And of course you can’t miss the fact that she’s only 118 points for the all around nice package.
E –

av023 R Lionheart
Team: Avengers
Range: 4 /
Points: 85
Keywords: Avengers, Captain Britain Corps.

8 9 17 3

9 9 17 3

9 9 17 3

8 9 16 3

7 8 16 2

6 8 16 2

6 7 15 2

8 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

More of the same, at least to start. 8 move w/ Charge, standard 9 AV with Super Strength, 17 D, 3 damage. ~yawn~.
But she at least mixes things up a bit following the first click; some Exploit Weakness is good for all the Inv/Imprv in the set. Her 9 AV is average sure, but she holds it for half her dial. Barrier and EE accentuate her (minimal) range for some slight variations, and lots more Charge/SS/EW at the end so she can go out swinging. If she were over 100 points like most of the other figs in her weight class, she’d be a bomb, but for only 85 points she’s fairly useful, although not necessarily ‘great.’
R –

av024 V Black Panther
Team: Spider-Man
Range: 0 /
Points: 92
Keywords: Avengers, Fantastic Four, Ruler

9 11 17 2

8 10 17 2

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

7 9 15 2

7 9 15 2

7 9 17 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

There is not much perplex to go around in this set. And there’s an odd shortage of Outwit at well. Those support powers are great. His high AV is also a standout in a set full of 9’s. The WC TA is good depending on what you pull to go with him. His drawback though is that he only deals 2 damage on his starting click, and with only 2 clicks of Blades mid dial (plus one at the very end), he doesn’t have a whole lot of damage dealing potential, and that’s his major drawback for such a high cost.
I have no doubt that he’s going to rock in constructed games where you can min/max his TA, but in this set there aren’t many TA’s that will automatically make him great.
Now, let me explain his rating a bit:
A 4 smiley rating means – Put [this figure] on your team, and build around it.
A 3 smiley rating means – Consider [this figure], depending on if you pull complimentary figs that work well with him.
I don’t feel that you could play Black Panther successfully no matter what else you pull. His ability will be determined by whether or not you pull decently strong figures that fit with him and can hold their own. Thus the 3 smiley rating.
V –

av025 R Quicksilver
Team: Ultimates
Range: 0 /
Points: 63
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Mutant, Ultimates

10 9 16 2

10 9 15 2

9 9 16 2

10 8 16 2

10 8 15 2

8 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Standard Hypersonic Speedster. The bonus here is that he has built in Ultimates TA so he can ignore hindering terrain. His stats all around are also very steady, so he can push or take a small hit and remain useful. Still, he only deals 2 damage and has a 9 AV, so he’ll have a limited number of viable targets on the field. But for only 63 points, he could be good for rounding out a team.
R –

av026 R Scarlet Witch
Team: Ultimates
Range: 4 /
Points: 72
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Mutant, Ultimates

9 9 16 2

9 9 16 2

8 9 15 2

8 8 15 1

8 8 14 1

7 7 14 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Scarlet Witch is for the most part – glorified support. PC will undoubtedly be very useful in a set mired with 9 AV’s and 17 defenses. Starting Willpower and Phasing on a Flier are also cool. She can be a super Taxi, carrying around teammates to get them into battle, or just repositioning herself for the best angle for PC.
Unfortunately, she also has the standard 9 AV, but with a short 4 range.
As a PC fig, you’ll want to keep her back and out of the battle to do her thing. But if you need her as an attacker, you have to get close. And with only an unprotected 16 defense, she’ll be easy pickins. So the catch is; do you keep her back and only use her for PC, or bring her in and get the most for the points?
Seems that you’re in trouble either way.
Undoubtedly people will play her because they feel they need PC, but she’s an expensive piece for what little she brings to the team. If you do play her, good luck, that’s her shtick.
R – :disappoin:disappoin

av027 R Vision
Team: None
Range: 6 /
Points: 98
Keywords: Herald, Robot

10 9 16 2

8 9 16 2

9 8 16 2

8 8 15 1

7 8 15 2

7 7 14 2

7 7 14 1

6 6 13 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Damage) Self-Programming: The Vision can use Perplex, but can target only itself.

Hmm, funky dial. It would be somewhat bad if not for her special power that gives her self contained Perplex. So she can tweak her otherwise mediocre stats to be slightly better. A myriad of powers down the dial makes her somewhat unpredictable too. However, the powers and stats don’t ‘gel’ in a way that really makes her playable for nearly 100 points. The self lovin’ special power is like duct tape holding together something that should be falling apart. If she had regular Perplex her stock in trade would go way up, since she could help her entire team. But as is, even with the special power, she doesn’t rise up enough to be worth the cost.
R – :disappoin:disappoin

av028 E Wasp
Team: Ultimates
Range: 4 /
Points: 49
Keywords: Mutant, Scientist, S.H.I.E.L.D., Ultimates

6 9 17 1

5 8 16 1

5 8 16 1

4 8 15 2

4 7 15 2

4 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

As a harassment piece, Wasp is pretty decent thanks to her 17 def w/ Super Senses. RCE with the Ult TA isn’t bad either. It helps her otherwise suffering AV by not having to worry about the hindering terrain modifier. Back dial Stealth will help her hide (maybe, there are a lot of other Ultimates out there too.) So maybe the ES/D isn’t redundant in that case.
For only 50 points, she should be somewhat hard to KO, and any figure that frustrates your opponent and makes them waste attacks to put down a cheap fig is useful. The major drawback though is Wasp’s desperately low movement. She’s not even useful as a Taxi since she moves so slow. And getting her into battle to be a tie up piece or ping away with her RCE (at only 4 range) – well by the time she gets to the fight, it’ll be too little, too late. And you’ll be wasting your actions all the while trying to get her there.
Wasp looks pretty good on paper, but the logistics of her movement seriously bog her down.
E – :disappoin:disappoin

av029 U Taskmaster
Team: Minions of Doom
Range: 6 /
Points: 140
Keywords: Agency X

8 10 16 3

8 10 16 2

7 9 16 2

7 9 15 1

7 8 15 1

6 8 14 1

6 8 13 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Damage) Punch Like Cap, Shoot Like Hawkeye: Taskmaster can use Close Combat Expert and Ranged Combat Expert.
(Attack) Photographic Reflexes: Before any attack roll, Taskmaster can replace his attack value or defense value with the unmodified value of the same type from any target character within 6 squares to which he has a clear line of fire. After the resolution of an action in which Taskmaster uses this power, roll one d6; if the result is less than or equal to the difference between Taskmaster's printed combat value and the replaced value, Taskmaster is dealt 1 unavoidable damage for each 100 points (or fraction thereof) of the target's point value.

(Attack) Photographic Reflexes: Before any attack roll, Taskmaster can replace his attack value or defense value with the unmodified value of the same type from any target character within 6 squares to which he has a clear line of fire. After the resolution of an action in which Taskmaster uses this power, roll one d6; if the result is less than or equal to the difference between Taskmaster's printed combat value and the replaced value, Taskmaster is dealt 1 unavoidable damage for each 100 points (or fraction thereof) of the target's point value.

Uhhh, yeah. So, 140 points for this huh?
Probably not.
Not really sure what to say here. His special powers are supposed to make the character, but they come late in the dial and are either moderately useful or confusing and dangerous.
RCE / CCE is fine. And the RCE aspect would probably be useful since you’re likely to pull an Ultimate for him to copy. But the Photographic Reflexes power is weak, difficult to understand and use, and potentially harmful. This is not a good combination.
Looking at the rest of his dial, he’s still not all that great. His starting click is just ‘Ok.’ Stealth would be nice if not for the glut of Ultimates in the set, and 16 def w/ Super Senses only offers a little protection.
Taskmaster’s one saving grace is Mastermind at the end of his dial so he can shirk damage off to a lower cost teammate in the hopes of protecting his otherwise bloated cost.
Even his Wildcard TA isn’t enough to help his cost, since there aren’t any TA’s in this set that are so great they’ll elevate his usefulness.
All around, just not worth the high cost.
U –

av030 R Iron Lad
Team: Avengers
Range: 8 /
Points: 75
Keywords: Armored, Future, Teen, Young Avengers

9 9 16 3

8 8 16 2

8 7 16 2

8 9 15 2

7 9 15 3

7 8 15 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Ok, we get that all the Young Avengers have a few things in common. They’re all rookies. They’re all 6 clicks deep. They’re all minimally useful, and they all have terribly lame names.
Iron Lad is no exception. C’mon, “Iron Lad”? That’s only slightly better than “Hulkling.” (Makes me shudder every time.)
Anyway, IL has some useful elements on his dial. Super Strength (of course) can help improve his damage, and 8 range is pretty good. Invulnerability will help protect him, and Shape Change isn’t bad either. Of course there’s the same-old 9 AV and 3 base damage. And his 16 defense isn’t going to protect him, even from all the other 9 AV’s in the set. In fact, that’ll probably make him a juicy target. (ooh, I have an average chance of actually hitting him!)
Push once and he gets some Running Shot, but damage is down and you’re giving up a click of Invulnerability. Later in the dial his AV and Damage come back up, but he’s easy pickins then, and for 75 points you don’t necessarily want to give that up easy.
Not a great figure for the cost, and not necessarily good for a team in a sealed booster format where you really have to rely on every figure to pull their weight (or at least make up for other weaker figs you were forced to play.) Hopefully you won’t be forced to play Iron Lad (even if only so you don’t have to say that name out loud.)
R – :disappoin:disappoin

av031 R Ronin
Team: Avengers
Range: 4 /
Points: 55
Keywords: Avengers, Martial Artist

8 10 16 3

7 10 16 3

7 10 15 2

6 9 15 2

6 9 14 2

6 8 14 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Now we’re getting somewhere! Sure Ronin looks mostly similar to a lot of other figs in this set, but it’s the balance of playability and cost that makes him/her (?) stand out.
A 10 AV is (unfortunately) a stand out in this set. Between the higher AV, 3 damage and Incap, Ronin rocks for 55 points. Incap in particular is a nice option for dealing with Inv/Impervious figs. Impervious in particular, since a straight 3 damage attack has the chance of being reduced to 0, but if you can Incap for a push, it’s guaranteed damage.
Flurry on click 2 allows Ronin to deal real damage twice, or just get two tries at a higher defense target. Just keep in mind that you still can’t use Incap with Flurry. But, Ronin could be good for taking out groupings of figs with Flurry.
Later in the dial s/he gets B/C/F to keep up the damage dealing potential, and Combat Reflexes goes hand in hand with the close combat aspect of Blades. Just protect Ronin from getting picked off at Range.
Finally s/he finishes with more Flurry and 3 damage again to go out swinging.
Useful for the whole dial, able to deal significant damage, and cheap enough to sacrifice, Ronin is the real deal.
R –

av032 U Red Skull
Team: Hydra
Range: 6 /
Points: 123
Keywords: A.I.M., Hydra

7 11 16 2

7 10 15 2

7 10 14 2

6 9 14 2

6 9 15 1

5 8 16 1

5 8 17 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Damage) Cosmic Cube: The Red Skull can use Outwit, Perplex, or Probability Control. When this power is used, roll one d6 (after the action resolves, when applicable). On a result of 1-3, deal 1 penetrating damage to Red Skull.
(Damage) Cosmic Cube: The Red Skull can use Outwit, Perplex, or Probability Control. When this power is used, roll one d6 (after the action resolves, when applicable). On a result of 1-3, deal 1 penetrating damage to Red Skull.

Red Skull is a hard figure to describe. In some aspects he’s great; AV, PsyBlast, Inv, Hydra TA (good for this format), and some other elements. But in other regards he’s mediocre at best; Harmful Special Power, low damage, short life for the cost, and more.
It’s the Skull’s Special Power that really does him in. It’s a great power with a kind of Monkey Paw backlash potential. Sure you get 3 powers, but with a 50/50 chance of taking a click of life for using them. At the top of the Skull’s dial, giving up a click is particularly bad because he loses Inv and PsyBlast. He’ll end up on a Poison click, but has to be in close combat to use that, and there are a lot of Tough/Inv/Imp figs in the set. Better to have PsyBlast to deal with them than Poison to pick away at unprotected figs. And therein lies the big problem, for Skull’s cost, he’s only really worthwhile on his first click due to the PsyBlast. But a simple push, or using the Special Power and you may give that up. Stealth is also of minimal protection due to the number of Ultimates in the set.
Still, there is some merit to the variety of powers he can have, and he gets regular Outwit at the end of his dial. He’s not completely useless, but you will absolutely have to rely on pulling another figure to carry your team, and Skull will be support / secondary attacker.
U – :disappoin:disappoin


That’s it for today. Check back tomorrow for the Rares; Abomination through Yondu.

Interesting.

One added advantage to Ronin in sealed is that you do have a decent chance of pulling a Stunning Blow. For only 10 points more, that turns him positively nasty with the front loaded incap.

Great review! Don't forget with Toro that if 4 enemies are packed into a square formation he can poision them all in 1 move. I've played with most of these pieces in sealed and I think you're right on about most of them. Even having an Ultimates theme team didn't save me with that Scarlet Witch dragging me down.

Thanks. I really appreciate this series.

Sweet article on Iron Widow, I purposely push her to the stealth and phy. blast phase to throw off my opponents. I was lucky enough to pull Black Panther for the tournament and I totally agree on the three stars, but with the right people such as Iron Widow, Grim Reaper and Spiderman...my team rocked. Thanks for another great review.

I must agree that there's a whole bunch of mediocre pieces in this department. On the other hand, pulling an Iron Widow might well lead to winning. Quicksilver seems like a great secondary attacker/mop-up piece, and Ultimates TA suit any grounded HSS speedster really well.

Great job, AZS!

Do not underestimate the Red Skull!!!! He has been a killer piece for me. Most people assume that you have to rol before you use either Outwit, PC or Perplex. That's not true, you use it THEN ROLL. He's much better than I previously thought...

Great review, per the norm. Curious on what you think of Molecule Man.

I thought just like Barrier, that Smoke Cloud cannot be placed on hindering or blocking terrain (which would include figures).

its looking like finding Iron Widow will be the diamond in the rough

good reviews

Quoted for truth...

Also want to add that while Ronin = ,
Ronin + Stunning Blow = :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou

Great as usual...Thanks!

I said it once, and I 'll say it again...Iron Widow ROCKS!

She is my Vet Steel of this set!

Thanks. So useful. I always like this thread.
eli

Black Panther teamed with an Ultimate’s could be potentially deadly due to the lack of outwitters in the set but a staggering number of people that only do two damage. I agree with the three smiley rating.

Did anyone else notice that Iron Lad has the key work "Armored" and everyone else has "Armor". Is this a mistake?

I may be jumping the gun but why not–Also noticed two Gun kid special power is worded strange too, you give him a ranged combat action that allows him to make two close combat attacks?

Good reviews all around though I would place Ult Wasp and Red Skull up one .