Universe of Opportunity
A couple days out of step, but I thought I'd at least note that the complete Universe list, including stats, has been posted. This will be the set released sometime in May, so it's coming up soon.
As has been covered long ago, Universe is intended to replace Infinity Challenge as the base Marvel set, and so is almost entirely composed of figures from Infinity Challenge and Xplosion. The only differences are the 6 figures one will find in the Universe Starter pack, numbered 1 through 6. They're intended to form 2, 100 point teams, the first three being the heroic team and the latter the villainous one, despite Elektra's position as more of an antihero:
Spider-Man, 40 points. Spider-Man team ability, making him a wildcard, which, within the context of this starter set, help make Spider-Man's the star. His five-click dial has Leap/Climb, making him the only non-flier in the set who can ignore terrain. A Range of 4, two clicks of Super Strength (making him also the only one in the starter who is able to pick up objects), changing to two of Incapacitate. His first three clicks of a 15 Defense are augmented by Super Senses, which give him a one in three chance of having even successful attack rolls miss him. A straight damage of 2 down his dial makes him all the better.
Wolverine, 41 points. X-Men team ability, allowing him to give or receive a click of damage to/from a fellow X-Men or wildcard. This allows for a defacto click of healing. With Spider-man having a wildcard, this team may be able to make some use of it. No Range. His six-click dial is similar to Sabretooth's.
Wasp, 19 points. Avengers team ability allowing her to move without using up his team's action for that turn, which is doubly good as she's a flyer and so can carry one of her teammates, allowing them both to move that turn without using up the team's action, so the heroes have the ability of doing something with all three pieces in a single turn. This could be a huge advantage, though it could just as easily leave them terribly vulnerable. Her four-click dial is very simple, with the only power on it being a final click of Earthbound, to essentially let us know that on her final click she's only going to be good for blocking someone's shot at one of her teammates.
Hobgoblin, 39 pts. Sinister Syndicate team ability, so he can borrow a fellow SS (or wildcard) teammate's Attack Value -- which won't do him any good in this starter set. A flyer, so he can taxi one of his teammates around. A Range of 6. His dial includes three clicks of Incapacitate to start, and two of Ranged Combat Expert and one of Earthboud to finish.
Sabretooth, 40 pts. Brotherhood team ability, allowing him to move without using up his team's action for that turn. No Range, so he can only attack someone who's adjacent. Six clicks of life, he gets a starting click of Stealth, four of Blades/Claws/Fangs, three of Toughness, and has three clicks of Battle Fury and two of Regeneration at the end of his Dial.
Elektra, 21 pts. Range of 4, so she can potentially hit opponents from a few squares away. No team ability. A four click life which incorporates Combat Reflexes, along with some Stealth and Blades/Claws/Fangs. Here's her Dial.
Each of these variants is marked with a blue ring, as if it were the Experienced level, though with the exception of Elektra each of these has a separate Experienced level elsewhere in the set.
Boiling it down, were someone stuck with just using the contents of the starter, the heroes have a solid mobility advantage, but with two Blades/Claws/Fangs pieces (Elektra and Sabretooth) the potential for the villains to do more damage. They avoided any move and attack abilities (Charge, Running Shot, and, of course, Hypersonic Speed) so the the pace of the game is likely to be slower than most games - though with only three pieces on a team moves should be made more easily.
Those of us already into the game will likely just fold the 6 clix into our collections, try out the smaller map in the set, refer to the rule book for the most up to date rules (which should be good for at least a few days before they make another change...) and otherwise move on. However, it's important to recall that this set is designed to be a quick and easy introduction to the game. With that in mind, if there's someone one wants to introduce to the game, this starter appears to be an excellent gift. The map, as noted, is smaller, the pool of powers is limited, and it's a simple choice between heroes or villains.
Taking a neophyte from the opening of the box to the start of a game will be easier than ever, and a game shouldn't take long to play, especially if the player who knows what he's doing has the sense to play more recklessly than he would with a seasoned player. This might be the extra nudge I'll need to try launching lunchtime games at work.
While my excitement for new sets has been on the decline, I still very much enjoy the game and am interested in doing what I can to increase the chances of casual games.
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