Generic Generic Review --
Cardinals of the UCT

Let's pretend I just wrote an eloquent and non-threatening bit here about religion in comics, okay? We all on board? Great. With that out of the way it's time to take a look at the guys who apparently watch over the archdioceses of the galaxy...Cardinals of the UCT!

To read all about those cosmic preachers... just keep reading!

License Plate: BELIEVR

The Face of the Faithful!


We've been bombarded with generics lately and surely there are more to come, so I wanted to pull one that handed me a personal defeat at my venue's sealed event for Galactic Guardians. How was this little guy the right zealot for the job? Let's take a look at the numbers:

gg003 R Cardinal of the UCT
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 4
Points: 66
Keywords: Universal Church of Truth, Warrior

10 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

7 9 16 2

7 9 16 2

6 9 15 1

6 9 15 1

5 8 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Attack) Minion: Belief Battery: If a friendly character named Cardinal Raker or Magus is within 8 squares, Cardinal of the UCT can use the Flight ability.


Union Strong! (playing only these pieces)

At 300pts, you'll need to choose one to randomly get the Gauntlet or in Golden Age, spread some feats around. You can fit 4 into 300pts which leaves 36pts to fill. If you bump up to 400pts, then you easily fit 6 total and only have 4pts to even things out. At 300, a big help is the Universal Church of Truth ATA for 4pts each (leaving 20 for that Gauntlet).

The ATA, in case you missed it:

ata054 Universal Church of Truth
Points: 4
Keywords: Universal Church of Truth

First thing, these guys need to get in close. They may have that short range, but getting much use from it is going to prove unlikely unless you're just picking off someone's underlings. But their strengths are where they get in close and can swing for high damage with CCE or cut through defenses with EW.

What's really excellent about them is the synergy of powers that give them Charge overlapping with their Exploit, rather than having it wasted on the CCE clicks. Six clicks of damage reduction with ending Regeneration can really keep these guys in the game well past what you might think.

I strongly suggest (based on average opposition) Phasing in next to opposing pieces (ideally a loner) and then unleashing that CCE on the next turn that pushes the Cardinal to Invulnerability while potentially dealing some crippling damage. Even if you don't wind up hitting (or worse crit-missing), you aren't left especially vulnerable. And depending on how your opponent retaliates, the ATA could factor into things and offer even more protection.

These are not finesse pieces by any means, but you definitely want to watch your approach and make certain when you do make your move that you're not walking right up to a Hulk ready to smash for big damage. But what's crazy is that even if that Hulk smashes you for 6 clicks of damage, you're still going to be able to attempt to hit him back with CCE. It might be a long shot as 9AV doesn't go as far as it used to, but these guys remain dangerous the whole dial down.



Wave After Wave (playing them with a leader/support)

Cardinal Raker should be considered strongly in higher point games where Magus can lead them all... but if things don't add up, then let Magus be your Big Cheese.

While Stealth isn't what it used to be after a Superman set and now an Avengers Initiative set, you can't overlook Magus providing something to hide your Cardinals behind while also carrying one around as Mastermind fodder.

In effect, they make great bodyguards given their close combat strengths and Magus typically requiring someone to get in close to deal with him (which also plays to his strengths as well). So just keep building the team larger as needed to fill up points and get Raker on there if you can fit him. While the minion power on the Cardinals won't hurt anything, while not helping much, just keep it in mind if you're stuck in hindering with the "boss" and the power is showing.

Firsthand, I know these guys can deal way more damage that their own points worth, so just get the most out of them you can and don't hold back if a push will net another good hit.

Hired Goons

You've got a lot of choices these days when it comes to filling your army's ranks. What can make the Cardinals of the UCT right for you? A desire to get right up in someone's face and smash them with a hammer of righteous belief!

When's the right time to bring them out? When you need Mastermind fodder that's going to absorb big hits AND either heal up via Regeneration, or hit back with CCE or EW. No fuss. No muss. These guys are the devoted followers you want for your Masterminding powerhouse.

Thanks for reading and check back next time to see which generic steps into the spotlight!

These guys and Magus are second in line to teams I want to play. The only ones ahead of them are the Negative Zone crew.

At first glance they don't seem like much. However on closer inspection they are worth their points, lb for lb one of the best generics out there for bringing some pain. Shun the non believers!!

Since that ATA can be used by wildcard, the Church can also be a very good support to Doom's claim toward world domination !

Yeah I really like these guys. I can't wait to try and run a bigger team with them.

I've played the UTC times- These guys backed by a Cardinal Raker or two, in addition to a Magus are kind of silly.

Any generic with a hammer is cool. These guys are fun.

WoW!!! Has the question come up as to whether that ATA bonus stacks?!? (to the +3 game limit)



ata054 Universal Church of Truth
Points: 4
Keywords: Universal Church of Truth

When an opposing character targets a character using this team ability with an attack and misses, modify the defense value of all characters using this team ability by +1 until the end of the turn.

I believe it would stack, yes. It's pretty situational where your opponent is going to effectively buff your pieces up that high, but it could happen.

These guys are so fun. I had to trade a bunch of Nova Corps Troops for these ones.

I just played an UCT team this weekend consisiting of Cardinal UCT, Cardinal Raker, and Magus and I have to say they are one of my favorite teams right now. The opponent's Avengers took out my Cardinal UCT pretty quickly but Magus' ability to +1 Raker's values was a lifesaver. Kept Magus on the first click the entire game using MasterMind.

Separately, I also had a question for anyone with the answer - is MasterMind subject to the target's defensive powers? i.e. if I used MasterMind on a lower point char who had Impervious, can I roll for Impervious on that "attack" and then apply the resulting damage on that lower point char?

They can make a good team.

When I heard Raker and the UtoC Cardinals were going to be part of Galactic Guardians, I think I shed a tear. As a huge Guardians of the Galaxy fan, it was great to finally be able to have some of their enemies on the table with them.

Fast forward to today, and I cannot say enough about them. Their synergy, dial wise, is fantastic. Then add it to that, the minion ability, and they synergy grows significantly. Get them in close, tie people up and let Magus and Cardinal Raker have their way with them.

Right now I only have 3 of the generics, and I want enough to fill a starting zone.

I played a 700pt with
Magus
2x Raker
7-9x of utc. Can't remember.

I DECIMATED a team with Dr. Doom, Nova, Red Shift, and a bunch of other stuff.