No. 1
Toad [Wolverine and the X-Men 006]
MOBILITY: Finally, a TUF that has it together in this arena: All the needed Plasticity and the Leap/Climb to get wherever 9 Speed’ll take him. In fact, if you’re willing to give an action to a higher-point ally, you can effectively double it. Brotherhood of Mutants TA also won’t burn up actions needed for other stuff.
UTILITY: Late dial, Toad gets the ability to use a standard attack power 50% of the time. So while he’s tying up an opponent, he can:
- hit back and maybe heal [Steal Energy] or
- gut ’em [Blades/Claws/Fangs] or
- shove ’em off [Quake] or
- poison ’em [Poison] or
- aid his own DV and -1 opponents’ AV [Smoke Cloud] or
- pull a pal into — or out of — a fight [Telekinesis] or
- lock down his mark even more [Incapacitate] or
- kick ’em in the groin [Precision Strike] or
- blow him up in the FACE [Pulse Wave]
Just knowing all this is possible is enough to draw fire from higher-cost figs even if Toad ISN’T tying up anyone. Especially with 10 AV and 3 damage to wield at that point.
SURVIVABILITY: He starts with just 17 DV + Combat Reflexes. His SP clicks firm up some with 17 Toughness.
EXPENDABILITY: He’s only 40 points, and while his SP clicks are fine, they’re nothing to build a team around. So use him as the TUF he is the crowning example of.
MUSE MASTER: about 10
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Others great TUFs that don’t weigh well on the MUSE scale
Ultimate Clayface [No Man’s Land]: He’s slow [starts at 7 and immediately drops to eventual 4] and far too expensive [136], but there’s almost no character that can escape him — not even IM types — and if they try and fail, they get an extra token. Plus he’s got great armor and a Poison SP.
Tar Pit [The Flash]: He’s even slower and nearly as pricey. But he has some needed Improved Movement and multiple ways of mucking with enemies through his tar powers. He’s like an much better version of Golden Glider [see the end of Monday’s
intro to the series] — if she could hit with ultra-heavies.
Groot [Guardians of the Galaxy 009]: Whether run as his massive 198 cost or his more modest 90, he uses Plasticity to tie up 2 squares away. Too bad he’s the slowest of all these also-rans.
Anaconda [Deadpool]: Everything’s better with a woman’s touch. 9 speed, THREE-square Plasticity and Invulnerability and Super Strength AND deals penetrating damage when they fail to escape. At 90 points, she’s too much to be a pure TUF, but that’s the only thing wrong.
Grasshopper [Deadpool]: Bereft of good DV or Plasticity, he’s a top TUF for his ability to get anywhere on the board in a turn and to come back from the dead if he’s the only KO on the team. 33 points isn’t too much to pay for that.
