MR. FANTASTIC

boot speed

100 points

Team: Fantastic Four

Keywords:  Fantastic Four, Illuminati, Scientist

Range:  6 x 1

DIAL & CARD:

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=14102

STRENGTHS:

Mr. Fantastic's main strength is his "Inventive Genius." It gives him Perplex, which has now overtaken Outwit as the best supporting power because it now lasts as long as Outwit. Being able to boost your Defense against next turn's attacks or nerf an enemy's Damage is a huge boost. That literally goes double for Mr. F because he can modify folks with his keywords +/-2. So now, suddenly, Human Torch's range might be 10, not 8. Invisible Woman's damage might spike to 4 instead of 2. Or his own DV becomes a hard-to-tag 19 with Toughness. That can be pretty potent combined with his Speed Special, "Pliable," and the new no-range-when-based rules of Heroclix. This SP allows him to Leap/Climb into an enemy's face and make them stay there with Plasticity. Outside of "IG" he's quite capable of fighting with a 10 AV that holds for three clicks.

Middial, he loses those Specials but gains "Ductile" which gives him Super Senses or allows him to use 0-range Barrier (representing him stretching himself into a rubbery shield). He's also got Outwit by this time, so he could counter an enemy and then protect himself from retaliation with "Ductile." His effective full dial of Plasticity keeps him useful for tie-up and easy breakaway.

Finally, he has one of Heroclix's best keywords, Scientist, making him potent both for and against this themed team.

WEAKNESSES:

Low damage down his dial and mediocre range harm his effectiveness as an attacker for his cost, although "Inventive Genius" mostly offsets these shortcomings. The 1-in-6 chance of taking damage combined with only being able to use Barrier in clear terrain are blows against "Ductile".

CARDS?

Special Powers can now be used as feat prerequisites, so invest in the 20 points for BRILLIANT TACTICIAN now if you ever plan to play him on a Fantastic Four or Scientist keyword themed team. Being able to +2 your ENTIRE TEAM AT ONCE makes him so worth the 120 points it's not funny. If you're playing unrestricted and plan to use him as tie-up while he's Perplexing and Outwitting, ENTANGLE is highly potent under the new rules -- no range when based means enemies will always have to roll to try to attack him.

IN SUM:

Like the rest of the FF, at 100 points he's a bit costly as the support piece he is. But that Genius power not only makes his team MUCH better, it can also boost his solid natural stats to make him a similarly solid 2nd attacker on his own.

RATING: 4 of 5.