With the digital game finally on its way to getting every variant, it seems like an opportune time to actually discuss all the variants.
Which ones do you like best, or like least? Which ones feel like upgrades, downgrades, or total game changers? What variants do you wish existed?
Villain variants are up for discussion, too.
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
Which ones do you like best, or like least?
I'm a fan of Young Legacy. It makes Legacy a more active participant in the game.
My least favorite is DW Setback. It takes a lot of fun out of playing the deck. When the variant became available on the video game my dislike was enhanced with the unlock conditions to get him.
Which ones feel like upgrades, downgrades, or total game changers?
F5 AZ is an upgrade to me since you can use it turn one for a benefit and it's only better if you have a Isothermic Transducer out.
DW Setback is a total downgrade since Setback needs his tokens to use a majority of his cards. I understand there is less "Risk" now but it slows down his game a lot. Turning him from a fun hero to one that just hopes to draw Looking Up.
I feel the XPW Argent Adept and Dark Conductor Argent Adept change his playstyle alot. You trade in an ability that allows you to use most of your Ongoings to one that isn't setup dependant. On the flip side you are now more setup dependant to actually use any of your Ongoings.
What variants do you wish existed?
I wish there another set of variants for the Dark Watch team that was more individual to each of the characters. Mr Fixer should have a Black Fist variant, Setback should have one from when he decided to come back to help the F5 against Miss information, Expat should have one post her time with the Scholar, and Nightmist should have one related to her power growth close to the Be the Gate story/being a mentor to Harpy.
Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31
Once upon a time, I was writing a guide to all of the Variants. Never ended up finishing it, unfortunately.
Favorites of mine are Team Leader Tachyon, Fugue State Parse, Xtreme Captain Cosmic, Dark Watch Expatriette, and both Termi-Nation and Freedom 6 Bunker.
Un-favorites include Dark Watch Setback, Eternal Haka, Horus of Two Horizons, and Prime Wardens Tempest.
For villains, I love Skinwalker Gloomweaver--he feels like the apocalyptic challenge that Gloomweaver should be. Not really a fan of Mad Bomber Blade, as so many of his card plays boil down to "Ignore this card and put it under Blade. Now he deals more damage.".
One of my favorite promo cards is G.I. Bunker. He's down a point in health, but if you're dealing with a villain/deck that has alot of single-target DR users, he nullify's that threat. And he still has all the normal Bunker stuff, making him plenty useful in my book. F6 Bunker has his specialized usages as well versus Ongoing heavy decks, and works well for those who don't really care for Bunker's mode cards and thus gives them another use.
As for one I dislike? I don't know if I have one like that. All of the promo cards have their uses, some are just easier/more fun to play than others I suppose. Example: DW Setback may not seem as fun compared to his regular form, but if you have him placed before a hero that's known to do self damage(Nightmist), or if you are partial to using one of his self-harm strategies but want a little bit of a buffer for that first hit...
I'm really eager to play with Visionary Unleashed since that version gives her some desperatly needed base damage, and I'm still incredibly curious on how the variants for all the OblivAeon heroes will effect their playstyles...
- Which ones do you like best?
- Captain Cosmic Requital: I am a fan of playing as many cards as possible. Tachyon, Chrono-Ranger, and so on. Tis make his power really fun. At first I thought he would deal himself too much damage, but it's not as dangerous as I thought.
- Which ones do you like the least?- Dark Watch Setback: As Powerhound said, it makes his deck less fun. His deck is no longer the same.
- Freedom Six Tempest: I think I only used his power ONCE. That was because I got a terrible opening hand. It's too slow.
- Which ones feel like upgrades?- Super Scientific Tachyon: Her base power is okay. It's ironically, too slow. Though it's more reliable than the variant, it doesn't have the same amount of oomph.
- Termination Bunker: He can actually do something now.
- Which ones feel like downgrades?- DW Nightmist. Something doesn't feel right; I always play her with the amulet as her main source of power. Removing the ability to fuel the redirect doesn't seem helpful. I won't avoid playing her if I get a random game, but I won't be happy.
- Which ones feel like a total game changers?- Team Leader Tachyon for sure. No explanation needed but I'll give one. More card draws every turn for everyone with no downside is pretty darn good.
- What variants do you wish existed?I THOUGHT I was the the last Scion but it's actually .....
DW Setback is going to get a TON of hate in this tread when talking about least favorite or worst variants. I've tried for a long long time to figure out ways it can be good, or ways it changes your decks playstyle. I havn't found it yet. It's really the only variant card in SotM that makes zero sense in any/all situations while having zero synergy with its own deck (the argument can be made its clear anti-synergy when talking about the cost of losing the base innate power).
But looking on the positive side, only having one objectivly bad variant card out of so many others is a pretty big win for >G.
My 3 favorite variants:
My 3 least favorite variants (excluding DW Setback)
@PlatinumWarlock: No time like the present; I've always loved your guides in general. :D
PW Tempest is a pretty team-dependent character, but works great in that context. You really want to use PW Tempest with the other Prime Wardens, since between the DR, card draw, and power uses everyone else can grant, Tempest can basically get a lot of free or low cost extra card plays, with a lot of those being powerful one-shots and ongoings.
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
I'm impressed! I'm happy this variant is getting love!
I THOUGHT I was the the last Scion but it's actually .....
I know where this is coming from but so far stats show it only does slightly better than the base version of the Naturalist. Though if this one could be redone I'd probably say it could stand to only allow card draw instead of the option of a play/draw.
Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31
That works.
I THOUGHT I was the the last Scion but it's actually .....
- Favorites
Extremist Sky-Scraper, Requital Captain Cosmic, Extreme Fanatic, Omniton-U and Eternal Haka.
- Not So Favorites
PW Captain Cosmic, F6 Tempest and Rook City Wraith. (although I still play each of these situationally)
- Upgrades
Cosmic Omnitron.
- Downgrades
Heroic Infinitor.
- Wish Existed
I agree with Powerhound on the additional variants for the darkwatch members.
if life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon. - the scholar, stranger in a strange world #9
I may come back to it after OblivAeon comes out, but it's really time dependent.
In addition to my "real" job, I'm also working on a supplement for my first rpg, the corebook for a second rpg, two active board game prototypes that I've been pitching to publishers, a third board game that I'm currently drafting, and freelance writing/editing work for a few other companies. It's been a busy few months...
I fully anticipate writing up some fan-material for the Sentinels RPG, considering that Chaosmancer and I are local to one another and will likely end up playing it at some point. And, y'know...I might have put a bug in certain ears regarding working on a Dark Watch sourcebook in the future. (Nothing even remotely confirmed by >G; it was totally wishful thinking on my part, as I'd love to write on such a project.)
Heh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was pressuring/swamping you. More saying nobody would really mind a "late" guide if you ever got around to it again.
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
Some of my favorites are:
Young Legacy
All Fanatic variants especially Xtreme
Hunted Naturalist (though I do wish the power destroyed form cards)
TermiNation Unity
Captain Cosmic Brotherhood
FS Parse
Least Favorites:
DW Setback
Freedom 5 Legacy (too strong imo)
Freedom 6 Bunker (there are games it does almost nothing)
Variants I like well enough that I wish could be tweaked:
-Visionary Unleashed's power can be fun, but it makes her Ongoings with powers on them all feel like the same card... I wish the power intereacted with her cards more.
-Freedom 6 Tempest: I think he's be a lot more interesting if he could let other heroes get the draw.
-DW NightMist: Really wish this power gave the option to discard 1 of the cards revealed or could affect other heroes. If you use this power 2 rounds in a row you're likely to already know 2 of the 3 cards it will reveal.
The ones I'd call major upgrades:
FS Parse
All Freedom 5 variants
All Tachyon variants
Prime Warden Fanatic
The ones I'd call major downgrades:
Freedom 6 Tempest
Dark Watch Setback
Dark Watch NightMist
Which variants do I wish existed:
-Cleverest Legacy
-Additional DW variants like Powerhound suggested
-Variants of alternate reality heroes that didn't make the cut for OblivAeon missions
-A variant of Young Vanessa (The Dreamer)
Thoughts on villain variants:
Skinwalker Gloomwraver and Cosmic Omnitron are both really fun.
-Heroic Infinitor and Trickster Kismet would be more fun if they were harder.
-Bomber Blade is fine but it renders a lot of his deck the same... I wish the flip side used targets.
-Gloom Spite is to me worse than the original. His flip back drug mechanic is so hard to trigger it feels clunky. Flipping Spite can result in so much damage that it intestivizes saving Victims even less than the base version in my view.
I like the NightMist variant. I wonder if that has to do with not prioritizing the Amulet with vanilla NightMiist.
Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.
-Robert E. Howard, "The Tower of the Elephant"
That's the biggest flaw with vanilla Nightmist, but her DW variant is simply too slow for me. It's not bad, just needs more synergy
I THOUGHT I was the the last Scion but it's actually .....
I will be honest. I prefer reading the forums more than posting my thoughts. But I really like this topic and think my views are different from the some.
Most Liked Variants:
PW Argent Adept: I really like the additional setup that this gives. Plus with the right Ongoings you can help your teammates too.
DW NightMist: I prefer this version of NightMist because I like playing spells with her. With this base power, I can draw the right card and know how strong my next spell will be.
Dark Visionary: I really like the control this offers. Being able to fully know what the Villian or Environment is going to do helps all.
Least Liked Variants:
EoW Bunker: The power is too situational which means sometimes you can have a dead power phase.
PW Capt Cosmic: I really prefer either base or Fused version better. Each allows a quicker set up and most times I only see 1 card return from PW power.
F6 Wraith: There are very few times I want to and can hit 2 targets for 1 damage. Especially since it is melee damage, not projectile.
Mal: "Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious."
No worries or pressure felt whatsoever. There just aren't enough hours in the day. :P
I feel guilty a lot in not getting the chance to do much stuff compared to everyone else. Better to be busy than not getting to be busy, trust me.
I kinda like F6 Wraith because she gets to be useful before you can get fully setup. Also Twist the Ether or any sort of team damage boost makes her pretty sweet.
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
It has everything to do with base Nightmist having a natural reliance on Amulet that is hard to give up with the DW promo. If you can wrap your head around not using Amulet and giving her other cards higher priority values, the promo can be fun for those who enjoy the meta game of planning out your magic values. Your mileage will surely vary on that.
Just going by the new variants, my faves are definitely XPW Captain Cosmic and Visionary Unleashed. They turn two heroes I would rather not play into heroes I absolutely want to play. I also adore Extremist Sky-Scraper.
I wouldn't say there are any overall I hate, though I tend to avoid playing DW Setback, PW Tempest and F6 Tempest. Also, I'm not a fan of how powerful Hunted Naturalist is. I've said before, you start playing him, and then regular Naturalist feels slow and clunky by comparions. :(
Xtreme Argent is also not a favorite of mine, save that I find I prefer him if I have to play Argent Adept in a team match. Being able to deal damage is far more useful than constantly having to set up, and you'll always have sacrificial ongoings! :D
I, too, have considered writing strategy guides for various incoming variants, but I haven't figured them all out. Specifically, Xtreme Haka -- Powerhound showed off that combo with Guise and the Scholar, that's the first way I've seen his power be particularly useful -- and Freedom Five Wraith. I mean, all the other Freedom Fives, with the possible exception of Tachyon, get excellent powers that are obvious upgrades or equally as awesome as their other power. Clandestine Funding I just cannot figure out how to turn into an asset. What's the upside to it? Guise can combo it to draw his whole deck, but otherwise, eh.
Speaking of Guise, Completionist Guise is stupidly powerful, and every time I figure out a good combo with him -- synergy with Captain Cosmic, the Fanatic Blender -- I feel really smart. :D
As for variants I wish existed, A) I wish everyone had at least three (including base), for better utility with Completionist Guise, and B) all the alternate versions of characters we've heard about in the Letters Page and seen in the ARG. Especially things like WWII Absolute Zero and Lazer Ryderz Captain Cosmic! (That's what we have customs designers for...)
I disagree. I dislike DW Nightmist but it's not because I can't redirect as easily, it's because I always forget what I've put on top!
(I also dislike it because she draws so much slower, and I'm not all that great with her in the first place)
Stop lurking, it makes you look like a villain target
When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all
One of my least played Variants is Horus: Ra. When I play Ra I want to burn things, not draw and discard cards. I get why it works, but not a favorite of mine since it makes it harder for him to deal damage.
I'll also throw PW Cosmic and DW Setback into the pile, but I also am not a huge fan of Golem Unity or PW Tempest, I don't like self-damage. Though, surprisingly, one of the new variants I got to try Setting Sun: Ra is amazing. Might have had something to do with playing him against the Ennead, but I felt soo powerful in that game.
I almost never use base Expat or Tachyon, prefering their variants in almost all circumstances.
One of my favorite Variants, and one of the most powerful, is Omni-U. I've had turns where I've easily pushed out more than 50 damage by playing Self-Destruct or Singularity with my base power use, so many instances of damage. Plus, if I get a bunch of stuff destroyed it's easier to get re-setup.
Characters that funny enough can be helped out by DW Setback. :)
Yeah for promo talk!
Favorites:
Resolute. PW Fanatic is the single most amazing variant in the game for me. Such fun, synergy and chaos. It is perfect.
Desperate Prey. Yeah it is too strong, making already crazy strong Naturalist even better, but sometimes you have to choose between awesome and balance, and awesome won that time. The best step to balance it in my opinion is remove the draw option. Removing the card play makes it bad, the draw option, with his deck? It is gratuitous.
Reconfigure. So good. So much fun, and it is amazing with Cryo Bot (my favorite bot). Love using Volatile Parts as a key card and trading that golem army for a reliable and repeatable threat.
Thunderstruck. Such a cool effect, and Tempest has such strong powers anyway, so it works.
Bonus: Form the Head. Y'all can swing that energy machete as much as you want. I'll form the head. Such a fantastic promo. You will see.
Least Favorite.
Team Leader. Just don't like how it changes Tachyon, and frankly, a 15+ card hand just annoys me.
Anything else overly card draw focused.
Too good:
F5 Legacy, Bunker and Absolute Zero. They are all really good, but too strong.
Team Leader. I mean, yeah. Her deck is so good almost any impactful power is too good, let alone one that strong.
Arc of Power: I get the cost is legit, but once you get that down to 1 damage or redirect it it is game over, The rest of the team exists solely to keep Tempest alive, because Tempest has the game won if you do.
Turmoil. If Dark Visionary shows up it takes a ton of bad luck to lose.
Too weak:
Modulize (Termination Bunker): I know a lot will disagree with me here, but you are destroying a card that was worth playing in the hope that your top card is better than it. If you had better cards, why didn't you play them?
Absorption and Mitigate The 2 most problematic promos, Setback's came out before his deck, and Captain's original was infinite loop fodder and fixing it put it behind Fabrication in almost any conceivable game.
Variants I wish existed.
My favorite question ever. Here are variant powers that someone has created that I wish I had cards for.
Absolute Zero: Transmutation: Once before your next turn, when Absolute Zero would be dealt damage you may change the damage to fire and increase or decrease it by 1.
Argent Adept: Ballroom Blitz: Argent Adept deals 1 target X Sonic damage, where X is 1 plus the number of powers that have been used this turn.
Expatriette (I love every one of these)
Trademark: Discard a card. Search your deck or trash for Pride or Prejudice, put it into play and use its power now. If you searched your deck shuffle it.
Stockpile: Put 3 ammo tokens on this card. When an ammo card would be destroyed you may remove an ammo token from this card instead.
Hit and Run: Draw a card. If you draw an ammo card this way you may use a power now.
Nightmist. Wild Magic: pick a number 1-4. Draw a card, if that card's spell number is the number you chose you may play it now.
I am interested by people's favorites, in large part because so many of them are different from mine. And one in particular...
My three favorite variants are:
1. Prime Wardens Captain Cosmic, because his variant really changes how he plays, encouraging lots of dropping disposable Constructs instead of rapid-playing and hoping for the best.
2. Termi-Nation Bunker, because it makes Bunker a playable deck.
3. Super-Scientific Tachyon, because her base form is kind of wobbly and this one creates some neat synergies with card-searching people.
(Honourable Mention: Santa Guise is just weird and I love that.)
My three least favorite variants are:
1. Dark Watch Setback for undermining his style in favor of a boring sort of reliability.
2. Freedom 6 Tempest, whose 'blow my own stuff up for extra card draw' power doesn't work that well with his deck, which tends to rely on keeping stuff out to be great (since he doesn't get multiple plays as a rule.)
3. Prime Wardens Fanatic. This is obviously just me, but SO MANY of Fanatic's cards are designed for situational use, and are useless or actively counter-productive in the wrong setup. And you don't get to not play the top card of her deck. So every time I actually use her power, it's "Is THIS the time I accidentally End of Days my entire board, or Final Dive a construct instead of the bad guy, or Consecrate Haka's tattoos, or discard half my hand to do 3 damage to someone, or have to redirect an area attack to myself when I wasn't ready for it, or accidentally Chastise the minion I wanted to kill, or double-play a Limited card..." There are just so many ways for it to go wrong, and I don't generally play Fanatic to be a gambler.
The variant I would most like to see: a Tachyon variant whose power is "play a Burst card from your trash, and then shuffle it into your deck". Suddenly, managing your Bursts becomes tactical!
*EDIT* I missed the "villain variants" bit. Most of the villain variants are pretty great!
Most favorite: I'm going to say Dark Watch NightMist. Purely because it is the only variant that I enjoy more than her original power. Not to say I dislike her base power nor do I think it is more powerful.
I don't really have a least favorite, nor one I feel is an upgrade or downgrade. Sure, I feel Hunted Naturalist's Draw or Play is too much and I think I tried getting the Draw dropped off*, but I do not think it is that much better than the original. I also have no issue with Dark Watch Setback. In both versions I am likely to switch to Looking Up when I get it, so I don't have an issue with what I do until then. Plus the -2 damage has helped quite a bit in several games.
Game Changers: I'm going to interpret this as "changing the way I play the hero". This mostly holds true to heroes that heaviliy use their base power. Legacy, NightMist, and Parse are three that immediately come to mind. The Argent Adept is someone that isn't someone that relies on his base power but I feel fit into this. As his variants are still powers I will occasionally throw in at the end of chain.
What I wish existed: I wish all heroes had a second variant. Ambuscade would have also been fun to have a variant. Each standard expansion has a villain that has a variant, so it would have been awesome to have Ambuscade to have one to represent the Mini-Expansion villains.
*This is something I have done frequently in playtesting. As I do not find the option between drawing and playing to be an interesting choice. I find a more interesting choice to be use an ability that will allow me to also play a card even if I do not have one I want to play or skippng my play and power phases to draw an additional card during my draw phase. The only hero I do not find this true with is Guise, due to how his deck works.
Freedom Five is kinda like that. I mean, you're basically always going to get "Nimble Strike without the draw", but at least the first hit's free.
I'd like to speak up in defense of PW Captain Cosmic. When I'm playing the base version, I'm constantly frustrated by losing Constructs to large damage I never saw coming, or having them activate a whole one time before they die.
With PW, I can turn a lost Construct into something useful. The first couple, I get myself set up with Destructive Response and whatnot. Then maybe I get lucky with a few in play, and I draw into a Construct Cataclysm or Conservation of Energy, and then suddenly everything is going to die. Because I get to keep playing Constructs as I destroy them, and draw more to replace them, and then I get to do a huge hit to something! It's amazing!
Absorption won't always work, since maybe you rolled him into a game where there's not a lot of area or lowest HP damage, but I find I prefer its promise to "Gee, there goes my third Dynamic Siphon, into the trash, what I wouldn't give for Sustained Influence right now..."
PW Cosmic is like TN Unity in that he's best when you anticipate mass carnage on a regular basis.
And I wish we had more villain variants.
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
In advance: Sorry for making this post too long.
I'm going to act cool and answe the question in regard to each team (I don't have F5 variants ;():
Prime Wardens:
Favorite 2: PW Tempest, followed by PW Fanatic
Least Fav. 2: PW Captain Cosmic ,then PW Haka (Nothing wrong, I just like the others better)
Most Improved: PW Captain Cosmic. He doesn't spam constructs, but he gets a bit more out of them so they arent just lowest target fodder.
Most Negatively Changed: PW Tempest. Instead of getting the AoD damage Vengeance-style villains despise, you can play extra cards, but at a considerable cost. This doesn't do much if Tempest has a bum hand,
Craziest Change: PW Fanatic. This is a very fun way to play her, and whatever she plays can completely mess you up, especially if you pull an EoD.
Dark Watch:
Favorite 2: DW Fixer, then DW Expatriette
Least Fav. 2: DW Nightmist (never understood her), DW Setback
Most Improved: DW Fixer. Hate the price, love the item. None of the three I remotely can play well are better, but this is the least saddening to play.
Most Negatively Changed: DW Setback. Idk if it's just me, but I need tokens to play well.
Craziest Change: DW Fixer. He has to destroy the things that were once important to him, but in severing that connection, he is more powerful than he was before. Vanilla Fixer was better, but this man uses Bloody Knuckles better than anything I've seen before.
Freedom Six:
Favorite 2: EoW Bunker, and afterwards is Price of Freedom Wraith (Not nesc. the power, but the story...)
Least Fav. 2: Sac Tempest, and Golem Unity (Don't hurt her!)
Most Improved: TLT. Nothing to say, other than the woman is a cheat code.
Most Negatively Changed: Sac Tempest. The draw is nice, but I already have a card that lets me do that without giving up my babies.
Craziest Change: AZ. Who knew you didn't have to do a lot of math (at least, in the beginning) to get this guy right?
Termi-Nation:
Favorite 2: Bunker and Unity
Least Fav. 2: AZ and Unity
Most Improved: Bunker. (He-man voice) I HAVE THE POWER!!!
Most Negatively Changed: AZ. I can't work with him like this. Maybe someone smarter, but I just can't.
Craziest Change: Unity. Flips the script on golems.
Finally, i have a parody to the first verse of Bad Day by Daniel Powter about a variant that I'm always sad to play. See if you can guess.
Where is the damage we needed the most/You kick up the myths and the magic is lost.
And maybe you're sunfire's gone, they say /They tell me your fun has gone away
It's much too hard to carry on...
" Ever had those days where you have amazing luck,
everything goes right, and you feel like the king of the world...
....And then you wake up?"
-Someone special, 2012
Favorite variants:
Least favorites:
Wish List:
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Fabrication vs. Absorption.
Fabrication gives you the equivalent of a card draw with the option of playing the drawn card. It does so at the same rate as playing cards. So for each card played, you get a second card play without depleting your hand.
Absorption delays return until constructs are destroyed, and then requires 2 triggers of its effect to get the equivalent of Fabrication.
But when you consider that you are both putting fewer cards into play and advancing your deck more slowly, and that while Fabrication gives you card play no matter if you have constructs in play or not, while Absorption does nothing unless you already have constructs, the impact over the course of the game is in favor of Fabrication.
The only way to get comparable cards in play is to use conservation of energy.
The only time that absorption shines is when your construct gets destroyed, and others will follow, and you use a one-shot to destroy the other doomed constructs and gain benefit from you destroying them instead.
There are few villains that will pull such a maneuver multiple times in a game, yet also let you acquire a decent number of constructs to cash in.
Ideally, PW Cosmic can predict when his constructs will be wiped and thus use other powers without losing the benefit of Absorption. If you can do this reliably, you can use fewer turns of your innate and use Crest or Weapon and actally come out ahead in overall impact. I'm not able to do that.
I'm not saying you shouldn't like it, or prefer it, just that he has 3 of his 4 innate powers based on card play, and one of them is demonstrably least efficient in cards played per turn, and that power is Absorption.
I also find it interesting how people differ in how they view promos. I really dislike playing Redeemer Fanatic, although it has value and is objectivsly a good promo for changing how you play the deck, and I actually enjoy the situational utility of EoW Bunker and DW Setback quite a bit, eventhough they aren't as efficient as other innate powers.
For me, I don't like base powers that are easily replaced by cards in the deck. For example, I prefer the variants of Haka, Ra, Tempest, etc. because each deck has a card that is simply better (and replaces) the power of the vanilla version.
Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.
-Robert E. Howard, "The Tower of the Elephant"
My favorite variants:
F5 Bunker - Bunker is generally my least favorite character to play. I actually have fun playing him with this variant and I think it makes him a really good team player
Extremist Sky Scraper- I love base SS, but boy does this card rock and complete change her playstyle. Each base power has a very powerful effect but it can be really hard to stay in teh desired stated.
PW Fanatic - exactly how Fanatic should play. Better to burn out than fade away...
XPW Tempest - biased pick, as it's the one card in teh game I actually was able to contribute some ideas to that made the final version. However, I do love how unique this effect is compared to anything else in the game
I'm a HUGE fan of Team Leader Tachyon, and i feel it's a gigantic change, to the point I often forget about her original form. I tend to lean to the idea that PW Haka changes his playstyle up fairly decently, making him a beatstick of doom into a support/damage. being able to play the Haka of cards on others has proven very juicy indeed!
as for downgrades? either the DW Setback or Mr. Fixer (not too many people are kosher with having their setup being torn down for a little extra damage, and results in Fixer having only a couple times of doing something)
OH! and Villain variant? Gloomweaver/Spite, especially with the Challenge mode. it's a nice little story set-up that just keeps kicking you down, and it's gloriously beatiful!
In the effort of doing stupid things, I'm a FLIPPIN' Genius!
-Me.
Whenever I play DW Fixer, I have him as either the first(free shot since no one has anything to lose yet) or last position, and I know there's going to be a few turns that will be dedicated to either set-up or one-shots with no power usages from ol' Slim. Normally I find that if you talk with your team-mates they can every-so-often play a card that they don't mind being eaten, like maybe Expat has a duplicate gun in hand and has nothing to play next turn, or maybe Omni-U has things it wants to blow up. Not all that different as to when Unity is playing with Equipment-heavy heroes and needs things to eat every so often.
I don't have strong impressions of most of the vairants. I choose based on how I feel like playing with the hero at the time. The only one I have a strong impression of is Team Leader Tachyon, which is too powerful for my taste.
Standouts for me:
My least favorites:
I guess the theme is that I like promos that combo up with their own deck in new and different (and potentially crazy) ways. I don't like the ones that just give a hero a slight extra ability to draw cards, or a reduced version of a power on a card that is easy for them to get already.
Some random specific comments:
As for a promo I wish was in the game:
Citizen Dawn. Hands-down. She's my favorite Villain deck to play against, and I so wish there was a promo version of her. One idea I had is to reflect that period of her story when she's hiding on Insula Primalis, sending her Citizens out into the world to wreak havok. It could be something like putting all her One-Shots and Ongoings in her trash to start, and she has no HP on her front side. When her deck is shuffled, flip her over, she has HP, and she plays a bunch of cards immediately to join the fight.
I wish we had promo/variant versions of both Citizen Dawn and Grand Warlord Voss. Since we already have Cosmic Omnitron and Mad Bomber Blade, I've always been a bit disappointed that the other two villains from the base set don't have alternate versions as well.
I envision a variant Voss being something like "Voss: On the Run" -- After the successful revolt by the Dok'Thorath rebels, the Voss is now a hunted war criminal and the fleet has been sent to catpure him and bring him back for trial. Instead of being shielded by his minions and his alternate win condition of trying to get out 10 minions, this version would highlight Voss as a warrior, dealing AoE damage to all targets (heroes, other villains, and environment) while trying to avoid the warships. He could be using experimental new tech that absorbs the powers of the minions that he takes out himself, making him stronger as the game progresses (although that mechanic could be a bit too similar to Mad Bomber Blade).
Time for some scientific action!
https://twitter.com/SeeSome
Favorite:
TLT
PWAA: He's always useful, but I have fewer "now, what do I do?" opening hands with him.
FVAZ: Get those ongoings ut quickly!
FS Parse
Least Favorite:
DW Nightmist: Nightmist herself has always been difficult for me to understand (though I'm getting there), this variant I'm still struggling to use.
Golem Unity: 4 damage is painful.
Sacrifice Tempest
Most desired variant?
I wish Setback had a variant. It's too bad they never made one, because he's definitely one of my favorite characters to play.
"I'm Setback and I'm helping!"
Heartbreaker & Equity Kill the Sentinels Universe
He does have a variant though it is based off the Dark Watch team.
Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31
I agree with Blackfang, it's such a shame they never made a variant for Setback. We all agree there's no variant, right? Just the normal awesome Setback. That's what he deserves.
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
great googly moogly
Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31
It's a shame he was left in the DARK, WATCH out, maybe one day we will get one!
I THOUGHT I was the the last Scion but it's actually .....
Thoughts on a few of them;
Termi-Nation bunker I find works best with Turret Mode, or rather, coming out of Turret Mode. Use the first power usage for bosted damage, then destroy Turret Mode and switch in something new. Bunker kind of has an 'ideal' in his other variants, but TN is all about swapping and I think it's cool getting what amounts to a whole second turn all at once.
I love XPW Argent Adept. One of the best things about the base version is him letting other heroes play or use powers out of turn, and he can do that first turn, no matter what. He is awesome at the front of the queue -- put him with TN AZ and get a boosted Cold Snap out first turn with no risk. Let Scholar play a form and heal himself back up to do damage in a heartbeat -- or Know When To Hold Fast and still get a power usage this turn. It makes AA a little less reliable where his songs are concerned, but his base power does two of the best functions his songs have, in an order that's normally harder to do.
Now, PW Captain Cosmic I rarely use. Most of his deck is constructs, so if they're getting wiped out often enough for his power to be used, chances are you're facing mass damage so any construct you play now is just going down, too. I'd rather pump out more with his regular power most of the time.
Edited to add: XPW Captain Cosmic is awesome with some power boosts. Just did a game where he all but soloed Gloomweaver thanks to Legacy. If you can keep his constructs out, it's a power that only gets stronger as the game goes on and is amazing for focusing down a target.
I don't think I've used base Expat except by accident or in a Weekly One-Shot since unlocking her DWD variant.
I too enjoy PW Fanatic, though I'm usually careful to put her out front so that an ill-timed End of Days doesn't wreck everything.
I love PW Tempest. He actually gives me a reason to use his Elemental Subwave Inducer, and my biggest problem is always running out of cards.
PW Haka is fun -- especially if your opening hand is Savage Mana and Rampage -- but I tend toward his base version for consistency.
I, too, avoid DW Setback like the plague (rat). DW Fixer, though, I like using, even if there are turns I have to hold back. He's great with some heroes, though -- Setback seems to accumulate Ongoings that aren't needed, and he's great to pair with PW Fanatic.
Yeah, Hunted Naturalist is too good. Especially if you can get a form out and keep it out.
I really like how Scholar of the Infinite changes his priorities. I always try to play him as a tank.
DW Nightmist... yeah, that's another tough one. I like her better when she has some outside card draw and/or can get out-of-turn power uses (I, too, constantly forget what's on top). I almost always default to regular Nightmist, though.
I don't think I've used base Tachyon on purpose since TLT came out. I mainly use SST when I'm playing a 'gimmicky' game (i.e., have Sentinels play all the things).
That's more or less off the top of my head. Unfortunately I don't get to play the physical game often, so some of the newer variants I haven't gotten to test out. I, too, don't really get F5 Wraith, but I have seen F5 Tachyon clean house.
BurningStickman7 on Steam.
My first novel: "Brothers of the Curled Isles"
The C-Team Podcast
How's that breeze feel, Powerhound 2K?
is your head nice and cool?
"I'm Setback and I'm helping!"
Heartbreaker & Equity Kill the Sentinels Universe
I'm sorry that sarcasm doesn't translate well in pure text.
Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31
I did try to help you out a bit (since I picked up on what Blackfang was going for)...
"If life gives you lemons, make a lemon cannon."
Not always the best at social skills; I apologize in advance. I don't apologize for any corny and morbid jokes, though.
Resident Argent Adept and Biomancer fangirl, be forewarned.
Hence my further reply. No need to pile on.
Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31
No need to pile anything on, wouldnt do any good anyway. It'll just land right behind him as it passes over his head
For Setback, I'd kind of like to see another 'the same but more' variant, like TN is to AZ. Maybe something that gives you 2 unlucky tokens and an extra draw/play or discard. Something that really ramps up the chaos of his deck.
BurningStickman7 on Steam.
My first novel: "Brothers of the Curled Isles"
The C-Team Podcast
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