So, an article I planned on writing eventually just got bumped up due to reader request. (Just so you know, if there are any specific combos or strategy you would like me to look at in-depth, leave a comment below. While I’m no dice master myself, I will do what I can to look at practical ways to put ideas in to practice.) I am a man of the people, and give the people what they want. So, this week, I will take my AvX constructed team, and integrate new UXM characters and actions into it, to make it as competitive as possible.
First, I need to reestablish my goal. My team’s “mission statement”, if you will: Hulk Smash! Elaborate? Well, alright. The meta for competitive AvX teams centered around cheap and fast characters. Black Widow Tsarina, Green Goblin Gobby, Beast Mutate #666, and Human Torch Johnny Storm were very popular, as I’m sure you know. All of those characters have a low defense. Gobby and Johnny Storm’s level 3 sides are the only character sides out of those 4 characters (2 out of 12 possible character sides) that have a defense of 4 or higher. My goal is to get Hulk Green Goliath on to the field as fast as possible then, through Green Goblin and Siler Surfer’s global abilities as well as my own Force Beam, damage my Hulk to trigger his sweeping damage eliminating my opponent’s cheap and fast army. Once I get Hulk out, I buy my own Black Widow Tsarinas and Nick Fury Patches to support Hulk. With Nick Fury doubling my unblocked Avengers’ attack power, I will wipe out all potential blockers and rush with Hulk and Widow for the win. If I start to lose too much life, I can purchase Iron Man Philanthropist for life gain (which also can deal increased damage thanks to Nick Fury). Magneto’s global ability is there to protect me from Green Goblin Gobby and Loki Gem Keeper. The only real expendable position on my team is Spider-Man The Amazing. I love Spidey, but when I get 6 energy, one of which is a fist I will pass him by to purchase another Hulk Green Goliath. Every. Single. Time. And Invulnerability is there to pay 1 bolt to gain an extra point of attack power. If that extra point of attack happens to be on an unblocked Avenger, it becomes 2 damage.
So, Spider-Man is expendable. Everything has a role to play, but I am open to replacing every character on this team, except Hulk Green Goliath. If I’m updating my current team, I’m going to keep my mission statement the same. Everything on this team will revolve around “Hulk Smash!” and using that to its fullest potential.
Next, let's figure out if there are any hiccups in my strategy. Is there any part of my gameplan that could be executed more smoothly, and if so, is there now a card that lets me do that. If I'm being honest, I'd say the biggest question mark when I play is whether or not I get my ideal first turn to use globals to get 6 dice on my second turn to purchase Hulk.
Let’s tackle the elephant in the room (the character I was asked specifically about integrating in to this team). Does Professor X (Recruiting Young Mutants or Trainer) have a place on this team with his obvious ramp potential? I know lots of people LOVE this new Professor X, and I like him too, but this team needs more than just early ramp to function. You need the ability to damage Hulk with globals on your opponent’s turn, so you can trigger his sweeping damage ability right before your opponent’s attack step. (This totally eliminates the effectiveness of opposing Tsarinas, or Punisher McRooks, or any other annoying character that has "when attacks" abilities.) Right now we have Green Goblin Norman Osborn for his global which fills both of those roles. Get dice to my prep area on turn 1, and damage Hulk during my opponent's turn. Both of those use Green Goblin’s global. So, here’s the conundrum: I can replace Green Goblin Norman Osborn and Silver Surfer Silverado with Professor X (which is a more reliable way of getting the 6 needed dice on my second turn. Fact.) IF we find another option for a global where we can damage Hulk on our opponent’s turn. So, whether or not Professor X has a place on this team hinges upon if we can find a global that lets us damage Hulk easily before our opponent’s attack step. Let’s look at globals that deal damage to a character, one at a time.
Cable (all versions): “Pay 2 bolts. Deal 1 damage to target opposing character. That character must block (if able).” Ugh, “opposing” character. This one would be nice, because not only does it trigger Hulk’s sweeping damage, but it forces him to block, where he would take damage for a second time during the turn. Upon further review, Cable may be a great anti-Hulk character. Imagine if you have a couple of super rare Emma Frosts in play that let you benefit from them taking fist damage. With Cable’s global, forcing Hulk to block, it could set him up for a character with enough attack power to knock him out. Yes, his ability would trigger again, but a small price to pay to get Hulk off the board. Especially if your Emma Frosts are still alive to let their ability trigger again from taking more fist damage. Note to self: Don’t tell people about the potential Cable/Emma Frost team up.
Mister Sinister, Nasty Boy and Nathaniel Essex: “Pay 2 bolts. Each player chooses one of his characters to take 3 damage.” 3 damage is a lot. Hulk’s level 1 side only has 5D, putting him right on the verge of being knocked out himself. Plus, your opponent will probably just choose a character that would be knocked out anyways after Hulk's ability triggers.
Molnjir (all versions): “Pay 2 bolt to deal 1 damage to a target character.” 1 damage? Any character? No catch? Well, well… This card that has been a castoff through most of AvX’s constructed teams may have just found new life. I’m fielding mostly fist and shield characters, and all of these options require bolts. If only there was a way I could guarantee getting multiple bolts.
Great article, really looking forward to the conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI toyed around with iceman to cool to get bolts for mjolnir, but the cost is just to much.
1 bolt to make sidekicks to bols, then 2 bolts per hulk trigger.
One of the very cheapest bolts is Ghost Rider - Johnny Blaze. 2-coster. Problem is, the die itself stinks and there is no ability.
DeleteI was thinking along the lines of Hawkeye - He's a 3-cost bolt with a decently useful ability and a cheap TFC die. I dunno - if you're just milling bolts, at least you've got a couple of options.
Your Hulk strategy may work against Tsarina, but it plays right into the hands of a Gobby team, and Magneto's global isn't a good strategy, either (A. it only works half the time, and B. when it does work, it is sending Gobby to the used pile to be rolled again.). So right now you would get a beatdown by anyone playing Gobby (and most people playing on a competitive level bring both Gobby and Tsarina at this point).
ReplyDeleteI don't really have an answer on how to counter Gobby (save for Imprisoned), but I know that this Hulk strategy is not the way to go.
Not going to disagree with you, about not having an answer for Gobby. Like you said, Gobby is a tough nut to crack. But if Magneto is a viable defense for all Villains not named Gobby, then he's worth bringing along. They people at my OP events that use Gobby are reluctant to bring him out against my Hulk. Since I will control the board and constantly sweep for damage, they cannot amass a large army of Sidekicks prior to fielding Gobby. So, I'm still vulnerable to him, but you better be fielding a Gobby on the same turn you fielded those 4 Sidekicks, because they won't be there next turn.
DeleteAlso, I'd rather reroll Gobby with Magneto's global, potentially sending him to the used pile instead of knocking him out, sending him to the prep.
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