Click "full story" below to find out how the rares will rate for sealed play!

Welcome back to another sealed primer review.

For the Commons of Chaos War and the rating guide click here.
For the Uncommons of Chaos War click here.

Also, keep in mind some figures have Alter Egos. Some have a Minion/Master or Morph Ability. Some get a combat value modifier when near another figure. For figures like this, consider rating them one higher if you pull the corresponding piece that grants a bonus.

Now, on to the reviews!!

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cw030 E Wasp
Team: Avengers
Range: 6
Points: 77
Keywords: Avengers, Lady Liberators

9 10 17 3

9 10 16 2

8 9 16 1

8 9 16 1

7 9 15 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

KO KO KO KO

(Attack) Bio Electric Blasts: Wasp can use Incapacitate. If she uses it and hits, deal the target 1 penetrating damage after actions resolve.

Admire the fact that Jan can boss Hank around with Leadership, pulling tokens off her ex-husband. Point for point, the Van Dyne Wasp stacks up so much better than the Henry Pym namesake. Opening with twin target Running Shot and built in Stunning Blow/Armor Piercing, Jan has a lot of utility. Defensively she can get up to a 19 in hindering, and Super Senses/Shape Change will let her avoid some attacks.

Tinkerbell won't lose much if she's pushed a click in, and picks up Enhancement for her fellow ranged combatants. With a shallower dial than her former spouse she won't want to push too much though. Good combat values at a decent price, you'd be hard pressed to find another attacker that can cause so much trouble for figures two, three or even four times her cost.



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#031 Experienced Rare Black Knight
Team: Avengers
Range: 0
Points: 90
Keywords: Avengers, Defenders, Excalibur, Heroes for Hire, Mystical, Scientist

8 9 17 2

8 9 17 2

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

6 11 15 2

6 11 15 2

6 10 15 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Indestructible Ebony Blade: Black Knight can use Blades/Claws/Fangs and Steal Energy. This power can’t be countered.

Opening with Earthbound is an interesting choice for Dane Whitman, and he provides yet another source of Outwit in Chaos War. With a dial reminiscent of Uncommon Wolverine, Dane is another close combat figure with self healing capabilities. Unlike Logan, the Black Knight doesn't have the front loaded attack values to back up his bite (call him Sir Miss-a-lot!). B/C/F and Steal Energy make him a bit of a wild card in the damage dealing department, and he'll roll 1's as often as he rolls 6's. The upswing is the power can't be countered, so you never know just how much damage he can do.

For 90 points you're asking a lot from a figure with a base 2 damage, which won't mean squat until he gets to his fourth and fifth Exploit clicks... when he'll heal right off it. This is an example of a character that needs to take damage to be the most effective, which is never a great strategy to rely on, especially as his defense dips down to the 15's.



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#032 Veteran Rare Quicksilver
Team: Avengers,X-Men
Range: 0
Points: 111
Keywords: Avengers, Brotherhood of Mutants, Inhumans, X-Factor

13 10 17 2

13 9 17 3

12 9 17 2

12 9 17 2

11 9 17 1

11 8 16 2

10 8 16 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Sibling Duo: When a friendly character named Scarlet Witch is adjacent to Quicksilver, modify both their attack values by +1 if not already modified by this effect.
Arrogant Assault: Quicksilver can use Flurry. He may use it normally, or as a free action instead of a close combat attack while using Hypersonic Speed. If he uses it in this way, modify his defense value by -1 until your next turn for each hit.

Let's do some "quick" math. Hypersonic + Flurry = Good. Minus 2 to defense for two successful hits = bad. A bloated HSS harassment piece, Pietro will be great for theme players in constructed who love his rich history and keywords, but this mutant otherwise trips up on his point cost in sealed events. Two TAs to choose from seem great on the surface but with one other X-man TA in the set (at a Super Rare spot no less) and at his cost both his TAs are likely to go unused.

Paying over 100 points for a figure with soft damage reducers, a single top loaded 10 attack and 2 damage leaves the rest of the team working harder to KO opponents. A higher attack value, a lower point cost, maybe some Indomitable... any of these factors would make Wanda's brother a little easier to play, but otherwise he's just taking a long run off a short pier.



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#033 Unique Rare Victoria Hand
Team: S.H.I.E.L.D.
Range: 6
Points: 40
Keywords: Avengers, H.A.M.M.E.R., S.H.I.E.L.D.

7 9 17 1

6 9 16 1

6 8 16 1

7 10 15 2

6 9 15 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

KO KO KO KO

New Avengers Coordinator: Victoria Hand and adjacent friendly characters with the Avengers keyword modify their attack values by +1 if they are on their first click.
Traitor, or Not?: Give Victoria Hand a power action if she began the game on your force. She becomes friendly to an opponent's force. At the beginning of each of that opponent's turns, that player deals 1 unavoidable damage to another character friendly to Victoria Hand.

Here's how to play Victoria Hand - put her in a hindering/snipe position dealing out 3 damage per attack. Wait for an opponent to get irritated with taking damage from Vicky and hit her. Then have her switch sides and watch as your opponent makes a "Sophie's Choice" of who to deal penetrating damage to. Watch out though, Hand will deal penetrating damage right back to your team via Psychic Blast.

Victoria will only ever deal out about 4 clicks of penetrating as when she jumps ship she'll have a token on her, and opponent will want to push her to KO her right away (click 1). She'll clear (click 2) then push again (click 3 & 4). The backstabbing power is especially brutal against many of the one man army figures in the set.

Clever opponents will find quicker ways getting rid of the nuisance, and while many will laud the saboteur damage aspect of this HAMMER agent, I think her real value lies in action denial. Every action an opponent gives to Victoria is one they're not giving to someone else on their force. NOTE, you CANNOT earn an extra 40 points for defeating her after she left your team and switching sides. For clarification see this rules thread.



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cw034 E Ares
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 7
Points: 199
Keywords: Avengers, Dark Avengers, Deity, Soldier, Warrior

10 12 17 4

9 11 18 3

9 11 17 3

9 11 18 2

8 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

7 10 16 2

7 9 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Special) Presence of the God of War: Adjacent friendly characters modify their attack values by +1. Adjacent opposing characters modify their attack values by -1.

(Damage) Master of All Weapons: Ares can use Close Combat Expert and Ranged Combat Expert. Whenever he uses one of these powers, opposing characters can't use that same power until your next turn. This power can't be countered by characters of 100 points or less.

The god of war packs a mean punch opening with a 12 attack, 4 damage Running Shot, and dishes out a generous amount of damage every click of his dial. Printed two damage may give pause, but Charge, Blades and Exploit force an opponent with 1 Outwit to make a touch choice on what to counter. Steal Energy puts the warmonger back onto Invulnerability, and 9 clicks of damage reducers somewhat lengthen his already robust dial.

Indomitable lets him press the attack, and his cost isn't so much that he'll be immediately outnumbered. Ares will do better in 400 with more support (but then who won't?), and he should work well if he prioritizes targets, using the other 101 points for some strong tie-up pieces.



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cw035 V Sentry
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 299
Keywords: Avengers, Dark Avengers

12 12 17 4

12 12 17 4

11 11 17 4

11 11 17 4

10 11 16 3

10 10 16 3

9 10 16 3

9 10 16 3

8 10 15 3

8 9 15 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Special) The Consuming Void Inside: After an action resolves during which Sentry took damage from an opposing character, you may replace him with CW#045 Void on the same click number.

Sporting another checkerboard dial the Sentry is a force to be reckoned with. With outstanding opening attack and damage values (topped with Perplex no less) Bob only gets better a click into his dial where he can Charge/Exploit with a heavy object and deal enough damage in two turns to rip a god in half.

Because he has no range, a little Outwit wrecks him, and Sentry players might be wise to prioritize eliminating Outwit or keeping close to the battle rather than just using HSS hit and run tactics. While he's powerful, Bob lacks the one component necessary to make him a sure fire contender in sealed and that key ingredient is Outwit immunity. With so much common Outwit available, the Sentry could get picked to shreds before he even enters combat.



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#036 Experienced Rare Tigra
Team: Avengers
Range: 0
Points: 57
Keywords: Animal, Avengers, Lady Liberators, Mystical, New Warriors, Police

8 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

7 9 16 2

7 9 15 2

6 9 15 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

You're Just Another Pretty Little Bird to Me: Tigra can use Charge and Flurry.
Kitten has Claws: Tigra can use Blades/Claws/Fangs, but the minimum result of her d6 roll is 2 and her maximum result is 5.

Tigra is a great figure for those that hem and haw over using Blades - as she'll always break with her printed damage on the D6 roll for kitty's claws. With Super Senses, Charge & Flurry and decent attack values at less than 10 points per click Tigra makes for a great tie-up piece that an opponent can't afford to ignore. Unfortunately her defense isn't a little higher, and with so much Outwit in the set she'll want to position away from the power counters because a 16 defense makes it pretty easy to skin this cat.



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#037 Veteran Rare Spider-Woman
Team: Avengers
Range: 5
Points: 82
Keywords: Avengers, Detective, Hydra, Lady Liberators, S.H.I.E.L.D., Spy, S.W.O.R.D.

8 10 17 3

8 9 16 3

7 10 17 2

7 9 17 2

7 9 16 3

6 9 16 2

6 8 15 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Pheromones: Give Spider-Woman a free action. She may modify the attack value of an adjacent friendly character by +1 and she may modify the defense value of an adjacent opposing character by -1 until your next turn.

A mid ranged attack piece, Spider-Woman doesn't provide quite the number of options her CTD counterpart does. The Hydra/Shield TA is gone, in place of an Avengers "free" move action, and front loaded Toughness replaces her ability to dodge attacks with Super Senses. A better set up would have been Combat Reflexes, letting her tie-up, and then take knockback, setting her up for Psychic Blast.

Decent, but not great, Jessica lacks the combat values to set her apart in her point bracket. She provides some great utility with Pheromones, though she has to position in harms way to modify an opponent's D, and Ms. Drew is better served in Stealth and at range. Overall, a dial that doesn't gel well and will rely on the luck of the dice and synergy of her teammates to perform up to expectations.



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cw038 Thor
Team: Avengers
Range: 8
Points: 200
Keywords: Asgardian, Avengers, Deity, Warrior

11 11 18 4

10 10 17 4

9 10 17 5

9 10 16 5

8 10 16 4

8 9 16 3

8 10 17 3

7 11 18 4

9 10 17 3

10 9 16 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Damage) Summon Asgardian Blizzard: Characters with the "standard damage" or "tiny size" symbol can't target characters 7 or more squares away. Modify all other characters' speed values by -2 if they begin an action within 6 squares of Thor.

Blizzard flavored Thor comes with a built in BFC, but has to push to get to it, right off his best AV/Defense. Damage values pick up mid dial, and while he can Charge like a Kardashian on Rodeo Drive, keep in mind he has an 8 range (nerfed to 6 by his own power) and make them come to you. Thor remains a solid attacker, even as his defense dips, but borders on being too costly to front a team. Still, he has the whole deal - range, close combat, six-pack abs, you name it - he does it well.



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cw039 E Hawkeye
Team: Spider-Man
Range: 9
Points: 98
Keywords: Avengers, Great Lakes Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Thunderbolts

8 12 17 3

7 11 17 2

7 11 16 2

7 10 15 2

7 10 16 1

6 9 16 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

(Speed) My Criminal Past: Hawkeye can use Running Shot and Stealth.

(Attack) Knockout Gas Arrow: Hawkeye can use Energy Explosion. When he does, after actions resolve give one action token to each character hit by the attack.

Stealth is the only thing keeping Hawkeye from being hawk meat, so keep him back, and use sharpshooter and 3 targets to the best of his advantage keeping in mind he ignores opposing characters for Line of Fire. With stellar combat values and a wildly useful TA this Hawkeye should more than earn his points every game.

While Stealth is Clint's friend, it is also his bane and will greatly curb the damage he can deal to an opponent. Because he'll want to be in hindering terrain, he may also be adjacent to hindering terrain so use a figure like Spider Woman, or Shadow Council Soldier to tie up the archer until the heavy hitters can Charge in.



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#040 Experienced Rare Nick Fury
Team: S.H.I.E.L.D.
Range: 6
Points: 45
Keywords: S.H.I.E.L.D.

7 9 17 3

7 9 16 2

7 10 16 2

6 9 15 2

6 8 15 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

KO KO KO KO

Older Than I Look: Nick Fury can use Leadership and Willpower.
The Man With the Plan: When a friendly character misses with one or more attacks, you may roll a d6 after actions resolve. On a result of a 6, you may remove an action token from that character. Nick Fury can only remove one action token per turn this way.

As much as I don't want to like the latest version of Nick Fury, I can't help but see how useful he is on the field. Leadership and Willpower are a good combination on a Shield figure of his cost, even if he's just using the extra action to give himself a token to use the SHIELD TA.

The Man with the Plan is the real juice, letting him pull tokens from friendly figures that whiffed on an attack roll. While he can only pull one token off per turn, and even then only when a 6 is rolled, Nick can roll as many times as attacks are made AND he doesn't need to use his one good eye for Line of Fire to get the power to work. For 4 points more than Tony Stark, Nick provides many more support options on a team.



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cw041 V Baron Zemo
Team: Master of Evil
Range: 6
Points: 100
Keywords: Masters of Evil, Scientist, Thunderbolts

7 10 17 3

7 10 17 2

7 9 16 2

6 10 16 3

6 9 16 3

6 10 16 2

5 10 15 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Special) The Thunderbolts Gambit: When you build your force, characters that possess the Masters of Evil keyword or team ability also possess the Thunderbolts keyword. If your force also includes the Thunderbolts Additional Team Ability you must assign it to them.

(Damage) Megalomaniacal Genius: Baron Zemo can use Leadership, Mastermind and Outwit. He is considered 150 points when using Leadership or Mastermind if he's adjacent to a character with the Thunderbolts keyword.

Don't be mistaken like me and think that this is the first figure to provide an ATA in a modern age sealed environment as the trait specifically reads "If your Force Also Includes..." Still, Zemo begs to be played with other MoE figures to get the most from his GENIUS sp, and will be a beast in constructed where he can control who he's teamed with.

In sealed with Mastermind and Stealth top dial, he should be hard to take down right away, and semi-strong combat values keep him a threat. He really needs someone else to help fight his battle (and take his punches) but provides a versatile attack/support role that can clean house late game.

Figures I played against:

Quicksilver - couldn't deal worthwhile damage and the ES/D proved too soft a defense top dial. I would imagine a team build that suited him would include Perplex, Outwit, and PC - which is asking for a perfect storm of factors to be found in a random booster.

Victoria Hand - never switched to my force, and I made sure to KO her every game while I still had some minions on the board. In case she did turn, I wanted to have someone there to soak damage. I watched other games where she just wrecked house - like when a two man team was whittled down to just Genis Vell and then she switched sides - Genis had to take all the damage. She pretty much won that game. She's also lead to some great conversations:

"Here, you can have her."

"But I don't want her..."

"You don't have a choice. She's yours!"

Spider-Woman - readers may be interested to know that I changed my rating from a 2 to a 3 after seeing her played, and playing against her. The effective +2 she provides her teammates to hit makes her nasty, and as a Stealthed flier she made for a great taxi (she was paired with Victoria Hand). But she's only as good as who she partners up with...

Finally, for those who dismiss the Commons-Rares in this set, the Anony-miss built the following team at a 20+ person venue and went 2-1 with over 600 points:

Captain America (Common)
Wonder Man (Uncommon)
Victoria Hand (Rare)
Spider-Woman (Rare)
300 points, Avengers Keyword theme.

Some brutal synergy there with Victoria Hand and Spider-Woman granting attack bonuses to an already strong Steve & Simon.

I suspect she may have gone 3-0, but she lost the first round while she was still figuring out how best to use the team (against Wolverine, Vision, and Hawkeye) and didn't realize how to deal with Wolverine.

I agree with pretty much everything except for Black Knight. He deserves a three or even four stars. I played him last night on my team, and went up against him several times. He's not the easiest piece to use, but he's hard as heck to put down once he gets in close. There is a good chance he'll get knocked onto his B/C/F, steal energy, exploit combo and just start tearing things up. Will he make it to the end of the game? Probably not, but he's bound to do some damage on his way out.

Fair enough. I haven't played against him, but he feels like he shouldn't be difficult to deal with considering his defenses.

This is incorrect. Characters are returned to their owners before victory point are scored. If Victoria Hand is defeated, then the opponent will score the victory points for her.

I played a team of The Unspoken and rare Nick Fury last night in our IG7. Won map roll all 3 games, and chose the Garden map. That Nick Fury is a really nice support piece. I kept on the top click against pieces w/ Power Cosmic, and pushed to click 2 against figs w/o it.

Unspoken neutered a pulled Avengers Prime on that map, and I only lost the championship match due to not being able to roll a 6 to hit Genis-Vell with a Heavy object on Charge.


Overall, I'm LOVING this set for sealed. I also pulled JanWasp, but my Avengers team with her would have been 50 pts under built.

Another way to possibly deal with a traitorous Victoria Hand is to use Support and heal her off those evil Clicks.

I wish Tigra had a higher defense,

Let me look into this. FYI It's easier for me to amend a post if you can cite (and link to) a ruling or page in the rule book.

Ask and ye shall receive:

http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showpo...05&postcount=3

Seems Chris was right. My first search took me to a thread that asked the same question but had no orange answer and I misread/misinterpreted the answer. I edited the OP to reflect the ruling.

Just don't like seeing all these low point figures with leadership.

I want to like Thor, but the fact that he's also nerfing your own team (in both range and movement) makes it harder to use him.

Can I have a sandwich and kadoom?