Phew. Between DragonCon and the Realms Open Championship and battling the dreaded “con crud” illness, I’ve been a bit too preoccupied to continue this F.U.N. Focus series… until now!
Replica [Galactic Guardians 035] 47
A member of the 1990s team, Replica is a tie-up/taxi hybrid. Like the best taxis, she has a high Speed value (10). Like the best tie-ups, she combines attack/damage avoidance (Skrulls TA, Toughness) with being a legitimate threat (Flurry with Super Strength). She pushes to Plasticity on her 2nd click to maximize her tie-up potential. And she’s under 50 points, the sweet spot for these roles. Sticking to the comic themes is the only reason to leave her off the team. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: Squeeze her on
Cosmo [Galactic Guardians 039] 52
Bearing Telekinesis, Enhancement and PD TA seem like great reasons to never push off his first click. But the next couple of clicks trade off to Barrier and triple-arrow Incap and Mind Control, making this piece truly man’s best friend. He’s a fixture among the DnA squad. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: Da, is being good!
Nikki [Galactic Guardians 024] 72
Nikki is tricky. She’s a Running Shot piece with low damage and 16 DV. She’s also a Sharpshooter with Poison and Combat Reflexes. So if you’re using her, she needs to be basing lightly or unarmored targets. And maybe you want to push her to click 2 bearing Ranged Combat Expert and a DV boost. But she needs to have fellow Defenders TA friends to get higher DV help from, almost always. Armor Piercing is a good feat for her. She’s from the 1990s series. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: For thematic play only. She also needs to eat a sandwich
Drax [Galactic Guardians 204] 75
The lightest of all versions of the Destroyer, this piece is hindered a bit by his trait only working against Thanos. Aside from that, he’s otherwise a solid Invulnerable melee piece that doesn’t take up a lot of points room. The Exploit Weakness on both ends is what makes him scary. He belongs on any 21st-century build. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: Use this Drax for points shaving.
Martinex [Galactic Guardians 82
One of the founding members of the 1969 and 1990 teams, Martinex is another unusual piece what with his conditional Impervious and Energy Explosion + Incap rider. Like others in this set and era, his 16 DV is mediocre and he needs better Defenders on his side to make use of the TA. He’s all range, so keep him out of the fray. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: For thematic play only.
Charlie-27 [Galactic Guardians 012] 92
The last of the founding quartet to be made, Charlie shares the low 16 DV of his teammates, so he’s gonna need the Defenders TA aid like the others. He’s Impervious, though, so there’s that. 9 AV is counterbalanced by RCE. His back half has CCE. Though a little bit too expensive to need so much help, he’s a fun fella. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: For thematic play only.
Drax [Galactic Guardians 011] 121
This Drax is less constrained than the Gravity Feed primer version, thanks to a trait allowing him to pick any higher-point foe to gain actual Willpower and Charge along with his natural Running Shot as long as the foe is on the board. ‘Course, he’s also way more expensive, and not hugely more effective on the board as a melee piece due to his bonuses only working against his quarry. Still, the GotG needs close fighters like him and the flexibility he offers being a shooter as well (pre-Battle Fury on his back half, anyway) means he is a Destroyer, indeed. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: Could do worse, could do better.
Hollywood [Galactic Guardians 013] 138
The far-future Wonder Man is on the team for his defense SP, “Almost Immortal,” which ignores all but 1 damage dealt to him and can’t be countered. He’s a good combo of meat shield for softer teammates and a decent Super Strength bruiser. He falters, though, in that he loses Charge frequently, which might strand him at a time when he needs to take the fight to the enemy. He also lacks the Defenders TA that most of the Guardians of these sets bear, so he’s a tougher fit for teams. Still, he’s got a very long and well-armored dial. You could do worse. Best fits the 1990s team but has worked with the 2008 series team for an issue or two. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: Leave him off unless you can make him a team player somehow
Adam Warlock [Galactic Guardians 010] 165
With no top-dial Outwit on the team, the GotG also lacked a way of dealing with enemy armor from range. Adam addresses this weakness by being the team’s first Running Shooting Penetrating/Psychic Blast figure. At 165 points, he’s very expensive for this. Fortunately, he’s also a Perplexer and bears mid-life Hypersonic Speed, but with Invulnerability as his armor, a clear upgrade from the similar-but-soft-skinned Phyla-Vell. Also, when hurt, he can swap to Magus [Galactic Guardians 020] for a totally different power set — one that offers some more late dial healing abilities and that Outwit the team sometimes needs. This fig was a central character in the 2008 series. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: Not quite essential but not at all superfluous.
Keeper [Galactic Guardians 048] 237
The most expensive of the whole keyword, this Silver Surfer variant is at home on the 1990s team. And it’s not hard to see why he’s pricey, as he’s Hypersonic and bears a trait that can get him across the board in a single power action. Unfortunately, his AV is too low for his price. If he started with his Outwit SP, he’d be much stronger. HEROCLIXIN’S TAKE: He’s a chase piece, too, and barely fits the theme. Only for those vast “every member ever” builds of 2000 points or higher
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Next installment looks at the clix’d stars of the recent hit movie. Which are Groot great, and which are “paper people?”