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HeroClix "Click of the Day"

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Swordsman
Sinister

Reviewed 05.25.2006

Average Rating: 3

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating

Cram-company

REVIEWED BY CRAMCOMPANY

Today we'll be reviewing Swordsman from Sinister

I really wanted to review Swordsman, because he is the most ridiculous looking figure since Stiltman, which we reviewed last time. I can not even imagine that Swordsman is a real character; he’s like a French Breakfast Cereal Character, minus the cool.

Rookie: 20 points, No Team

Experienced: 35 points, Avengers Team

Veteran: 49 points, Avengers Team

Who is the Best: Clearly the Veteran with the Charge and Blades Claws is the best, since the others might as well be POGS. Winner: Veteran

MOVEMENT: Charge is good, but he can only move 4. Flurry is great and works well with Close Combat Expert. Force Blast is still pointless.

ATTACK: 9 attack is standard and horrible for the set. Blades Claws makes him roughly playable. Incapacitate will never be used since Close Combat Expert would make him able to hit anybody. Having Psychic Blast at the end of the dial is just frustrating.

DEFENSE: 17 with Energy Shield is amazing, but he’s a close combat character so it is not nearly as good. I really wish he had Combat Reflexes in the clicks that has Energy Shield. Willpower is always nice to help him run away.

DAMAGE: His damage actually stays pretty high for the points. As long as he is next to somebody he is going to be useful.

SCULPT: I truly believe that the sculptor went out of his way to make him look even dumber then he should have.

OVERALL:

Blades Claws with Charge is always a good Combo

Nanobots works really well on him

His dial is pretty short

Nice Defense

Bad Attack

Low Charge

Alright here is the deal, why use him and not LE Cheetah or a number of different Wolverines or Tigera? Swordsman is very plain pointless. He’s not terrible, he’s just doing the same thing a lot of people can do, but not doing it as well. In this case you can judge a book buy it’s cover. Nuff said.

HE RECEIVES 3 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5 THUMBS UP! (Blades Claws and Charge Combo to open always warrants a 3)

The Sets getting much better, but still STILTMAN BETTER BE A GOD!

Good, Bad, I’m the Guy with the Clix

Cramcompany

Questions, comments, sexually confused? Email me at cramcompany@hotmail.com.

Please no hate mail

Rurouni KJS

Since Cramcompany didn't reveiw the Rookie or Experienced Swordsman, I'll tackle them.

Rookie Swordsman
20 points
Team: none
Range: 0

Originally, the Swordsman was a villain with some skill with a blade. His costumed criminal career started in the circus, then in Europe, both of which explain that ridiculous moustache.

1 2 3 4 5
--------------
08 07 07 07 06
08 08 07 07 06
16 15 15 14 14
01 01 02 01 01

Powers analysis:

He starts with Leap/Climb and Close Combat Expert for
2 clicks, then switches to 2 Flurry clicks. Final click has no powers. Swordsman is best used as pure tie-up sacrifice piece to keep enemy shooters from targeting more important figures. L/C helps him gets there, and CCE makes him dangerous enough to draw attention

Feats:
POUNCE is the best choice; for just 35 points, R Swordsman can threaten even Impervious/Invulnerable targets. DOUBLE-TIME is a solid choice to enable him advance to the rear lines and threaten medics and PC figures. DAMAGE SHIELD makes his close-range tie-up potential even better.

Themes:
He was killed in action, so add him to the "legion of dead" clix as well as the "not dead anymore" set. He was an Avengers enemy and fought Captain America.

In sum:
Rookie Swordsman is a disposable tie-up piece at best, but with the right feats he can be quite annoying -- and even a little dangerous -- for only 25-35 points.

Rating: 2/5. Cheap enough to not mind losing, but useful in the meantime.

Experienced Swordsman
35 points
Team: Avengers
Range: 4 x 1

This Swordsman is the secret plant on the Avengers of the Mandarin, bearing the special energy-blasting sword the Iron Man archvillain gave him. But he comes to respect the heroes and works with them frequently while half-heartedly continuing a life of crime.
Eventually, he's pardoned and joins the team.

1 2 3 4 5
--------------
08 08 07 07 07
09 08 08 07 07
16 16 15 15 14
02 01 01 02 02

Powers analysis:
Two clicks of L/C start things, so initial mobility isn't a problem, and ESD will help against shooters until he can base a target -- preferably a flier.
That's because he gets Psychic Blast on his second click. It switches to Incap for the 3rd and 4th, giving him some ability to slow the enemy down.
Defensively, clicks 2-4 boast Combat Reflexes to boost his close-combat survivability. And in the damage slot, he a Close Combat Expert for the first three, then lapses into Battle Fury for the final two.

Like the Rookie, this is a good cheap tie-up piece that's a little dangerous with all that CCE. Loss of Flurry hurts a bit, though, and the BF at the end means no yanking him out to be healed. (Like you'd bother with that.)

You're almost never going to use that 4 range except on that 2nd click.

Feats:
VAULT is a no-brainer. POUNCE works, but loss of Flurry + higher cost make it less attractive.
HEIGHTENED REFLEXES is a good bet to help him survive the move-attackers. DOUBLE-TIME helps him threaten the pit crew figures. THUNDERBOLTS is a great choice, of course. DAMAGE SHIELD works just as well on him as on the R -- coupled with TB'd Mystics/Crossgen TA, and his use as a tie-up piece is magnified.

Themes:
Fits on both Avengers teams and villain teams. Team up with Mandarin for a good and effective theme.

In sum:
Exp. Swordsman, while less disposable than the R, may be a bit more useful thanks to T-Bolts. But that makes him more valuable, which is counter to his best use as a sacrifice piece.

Rating: 2/5. Better than the R, but less disposable, which is a problem.