Shadow Thief(Here's one I started to put together on the 24th, then it sat unfinished until today. Now I'll send it off before heading out to the second doctor's appointment of the day...)
Friday brought designer's notes for Shadow Thief and, eventually, the dials.
I'll leave it to Seth (at the above link) to fill you in on the character and what was in mind at each stage. I enjoy the sculpts, though with those arch enemy bases that experienced, in particular, is going to be difficult to turn the dial on without damage. I will note that the bright orange bases mark him as an archenemy of Hawkman, also in this set.
Here's a side-by-side look at the three dials. (As always, click on it to see it at a larger size.)
Mostly we're looking at a character whose primary angle is in evading attack. Stealth, Super Senses and, in the case of the experienced version, Shape Change all help to accomplish this. His most untouchable click is the first click of his experienced dial with a 17 Defense, Super Senses and Shape Change; an opponent has to face a 33.3% chance of not even being able to make the attack (Shape Change), then has to roll high enough to hit the 17, then if he's made it that far Super Senses call for another 33.3% chance of missing.As we proceed into the experienced and veteran versions we have him being able to slip in and out of places through means beyond the norm, as seen by Phasing/Teleport.
Some Exploit Weakness (the dirty yellow in the Damage slots) gives him a shot at passing harm onto any opponent at least a couple times on each of his dials. The vet has three clicks of Exploit Weakness, another of a natural 3 Damage, where he could potentially damage anyone, along with two clicks of late-dial Blades/Claws/Fangs -- presumably part of his soul-selling deal with Neron that made him more dangerous.
The rookie has the Injustice League TA, which was made useful with the addition of The Society Feat card. However, something that cuts Outwit used against him from a sure thing to a 50:50 proposition is least useful on a character with wall to wall Stealth. The experienced has no TA. The veteran has the potentially highly useful Calculator TA, which is a wildcard.
Finally, on a peripheral note, upon seeing the sculpt the first thing that struck me was how little modification - mostly repainting and some fine addition to the mustache and the mask - separates Shadow Thief from a sculpt for Batroc, the Leaper.
Sure, Batroc's more heavily-muscled, but the essence of the character, poise and pose, appears intact. He'd need a very different dial, of course, but that's another matter.
Am I excited at the thought of picking up this character? Well, honestly, no. However, it's an interesting addition and could be fun to play.
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