Thor is one of the more notable characters of late, starring in two movies as the headliner and a third as part of a certain super hero team - all smashing successes.
They also feature Natalie Portman, but that's a discussion for another day. Also, don't tell my wife about this.
Today's overview is a little bit unique in that we can also include Thor's organized play card in the mix. This is our first opportunity to do so.
Ok, all of that said, let's get down to business.
The Die
Thor has a TFC of six, putting him on the highest end of the spectrum in cost. His die features no bursts and offers up bolt energy for your purchasing needs.
Thor is a bruiser - just look at those stats:
It may be difficult to read this for some - that's 5/6, 6/8, and 8/8.
It may be difficult to read this for some - that's 5/6, 6/8, and 8/8.
From an aesthetic standpoint, my Thor dice are in great shape. However, the royal-blue-on-red color scheme that they've chosen makes it a bit difficult to see at times. A navy blue would have been much easier to look at.
The Card
It's no surprise that Thor carries the Avengers affiliation. All of his variants charge you six energy for a die purchase. His abilities are all very straightforward and require little additional explanation.
Though Thor's energy identity is bolt, all of his abilities have to do with the control or presence of fist characters. Thematically, I'm not certain what this represents, which is ironic because I know more about Thor than I do some of the other Marvel characters just from recent pop culture events. My theory is that, as a god, mere physical strength is not enough to oppose him. The more I think about, the more that makes sense - so I'll stick with that.
"Lord of Asgard" is very straightforward, but I feel that he has very limited utility.
"Legendary Warrior" has some potential, but we already have assassin characters that cost less and have greater flexibility. Plus, given his hefty stats, Thor is likely going to be getting a blocker anyway, unless you have some means of blocker control.
"Odinson" just feels too limited to be useful, unless you have him as the failsafe against an opponent's Hulk/Torch team. If he could capture more than fists, he'd have my attention. This doesn't clear the board for you and otherwise only offers a temporary respite.
"God of Thunder" could become a very scary heavy hitter depending on what's across the table from you.
"The Mighty" intrigues me due to the healing, but turns me off due to the purchase cost. You can only get a maximum of three health back from this. This could pull off a stay of execution for you if you're on the ropes, but that late in the game, there are too many variables that it requires to work. While there aren't a plethora of ways to heal in this game, there are nonetheless cheaper ways.
- "Lord of Asgard" - 6 cost - Can't be blocked by fist characters.
- " Legendary Warrior" - 6 cost - When Thor damages your opponent, knock out an opposing fist character.
- "Odinson" - 6 cost - When fielded, capture all opposing fist characters. Return them at the end of turn.
- "God of Thunder" - 6 cost - At the start of each attack step, Thor gets +4/+4 for each opposing fist character in the field.
- "The Mighty" - 7 cost - OP reward. When fielded, you may knock out an opposing fist character and gain life equal to its level.
"Lord of Asgard" is very straightforward, but I feel that he has very limited utility.
"Legendary Warrior" has some potential, but we already have assassin characters that cost less and have greater flexibility. Plus, given his hefty stats, Thor is likely going to be getting a blocker anyway, unless you have some means of blocker control.
"Odinson" just feels too limited to be useful, unless you have him as the failsafe against an opponent's Hulk/Torch team. If he could capture more than fists, he'd have my attention. This doesn't clear the board for you and otherwise only offers a temporary respite.
"God of Thunder" could become a very scary heavy hitter depending on what's across the table from you.
"The Mighty" intrigues me due to the healing, but turns me off due to the purchase cost. You can only get a maximum of three health back from this. This could pull off a stay of execution for you if you're on the ropes, but that late in the game, there are too many variables that it requires to work. While there aren't a plethora of ways to heal in this game, there are nonetheless cheaper ways.
My Favorite
I'm mixed. I don't know that I care for any of these that much, but I see possibilities - just very expensive possibilities.
I like "God of Thunder," but he needs a combo to be effective unless you're using Thrown Car, but actions are too expensive. If you have him, then you pretty much have to pair him with something with blocker control like Spider Man, or perhaps with Storm "Goddess" (of course declaring Thor as an attacker prior to Storm) though you'd need some lucky rolls with her. Thanks to Black Widow, your opponent is likely to have a couple of fist dice, pumping Thor's attack up. This could be a game changer, so long as it doesn't wipe you out of defenders for the next turn.
It's possible that there's an elaborate Tsarina-countering method that is possible with "Odinson," but at six cost, you've likely been dealing with her in some capacity if you've survived long enough to get him out. This could also be a counter to someone using a Hulk strategy, and one that you're likely to get out at the same time as Hulk.
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