The Tease of Things I Don't Need

Wasps!

Today's sneak peeks from next week's Avengers set are the Wasps of two worlds.

Starting with the lower numbered one, we have the Ultimates Wasp -- and so technically her first appearance in clix form. For my purposes it'll be just another 616 (mainstream universe) Wasp variant despite the killer bee shirt.

An aggressive piece (as seems to be the Ultimates' trendy trend) with a stealth-busting TA, she could definitely be of use to a team- especially one with any wildcards - though her low Speeds and short range (4) combined with being a flier with no move and attack ability will mean she's going to be taking a while getting where the action is. She could end up being a good harassing piece, and someone to help tie up an ranged-hitting threat, but at 49 points - a hair under one sixth of a 300 pt team - she's enough of a target to warrant going after in her own right.

The late-dial Stealth and ES/D could help her be an effective blocking element.

As noted on the card below, this version is technically a mutant (the kids apparently go nuts for these mutant types...), a scientist, connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. and a member of the Ultimates, all keywords to make her useful to a variety of theme teams.


Next, up at the penultimate spot in the set at #59, and therefore one of the super rares, is the original Wasp from the dawn of her career. We're all hoping the actual sculpt's face doesn't look as frighteningly horrid as the one they're showing us is.

The 5 range is unusual -- generally ranges are even numbers. It's an odd bit that is either going to turn out to be an online error or something that might end up surprising an enemy. Not a primary attacker by any sense, she could be an excellent blocking and tie-up piece, along with being a secondary (tertiary?) attacker. Her late-dial Incapacitate and the Defense boost from range that the ES/D gives her could keep her useful to the very end.

The single keyword this original version has is "Avengers," which is probably all that's appropriate at that stage of her career.
Not that I'm going to do it for most of the remakes, but here's a comparison between the Wasp we had in Infinity Challenge back in 2002, When Clix Began, and the new rookie. They're each 37 points.

Technically the older version is a touch tougher to tag when it comes to a straight roll of the dice, but Super Senses is not only a 33.3% change of evading an attack's damage but is also a possible prerequisite for a Feat. Likewise the later clicks of Energy Shield/Deflection. The older version of the Wasp simply has to take the damage if someone makes the roll. The old version starts with Incapacitate, which was handy, but the new one does have better Attack Values while the 2002 model drops quickly to the level of hardly has a prayer. The old version's a bit faster and has 1 more square of range, but it also was supposed to represent Jan from much farther in her career, whereas the new version finds her still at the dawn of it.