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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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WildWill |
Name: Punisher
Set: Ultimates
Numbers: 52-54 [218]
Rarities: 2-4, [LE6]
Cost: 50, 65, 80, [84]
Health: 6, 7, 7, [7]
SSADD: 6/9/14/2, 7/10/15/2, 7/11/15/2, [8/11/16/2]
Powers: Stealth, Running Shot, Smoke Cloud, Willpower, Toughness, RCE,
Outwit
Exp and Vet add no new powers
LE adds Energy Explosion, Incapacitate, and Flurry
Ranged Attacks: 1 Range 6, 1 Range 8, 2 Range 8, [2 Range 8]
Team: None
Frank Castle, husband and father of two, had his life shattered when his
entire family was slaughtered when they got caught in the crossfire of two
rival gangs. Vowing revenge, Castle became the Punisher, a costumed
vigilante with no ties to any organization. Punisher is unique among the
heroes of the Marvel Universe, since as long as his target is guilty, he has
no compunctions about killing them. This philosophy has gotten him into
trouble with the other denizens of the Marvel Universe who call themselves
heroes, most notably with Spider-man, in whose flagship title he first
appeared.
Punisher has a curious mix of powers, including Smoke Cloud, which WK
decided to include on almost every Ultimates we’ve reviewed thus far (seems
like anyway, I guess they couldn’t figure out how to give it to Thor). Some
of them are no-brainers, like RCE. If Frank didn’t have RCE, then I’d start
questing what the heck the power is good for in the first place. On the Exp
(and Vet) when you lose Stealth and RCE and gain Outwit and Running Shot,
your base damage jumps to 3, and that’s quite odd as well. The 80 point Vet
version is going to become a staple of many teams, 11 attack with Stealth
and 2 Range 8 targets cannot be passed up…and even when you’re out of RCE
and Stealth, you get Outwit and Running Shot!
And if you don’t like Smoke Cloud and want to add a bunch of pretty new
colors to your dial, then you’re going to want to pick up the LE version.
It’s only 4 points more than the Vet, but in addition to all the regular
powers, it adds Flurry, Energy Explosion and Incapacitate at Range! Plus you
get an extra point of Speed and Defense. NICE!
Thus far, Punisher REV sets have sold for as high as $16.00! For a 2-3-4
REV, that’s awfully high. I would imagine, despite the obvious playability
of the figures, that price will come down dramatically in the upcoming
weeks. The LE hasn’t been released quite yet, so there are no sales to
report. As for the sculpt, it’s nothing to write home about, though it does
capture the character. In fact, if he wasn’t in a “guns ablazing” pose, I’d
be disappointed.
My Ratings: Playability first then Collectability
Rookie 3,2
Experienced 3,3
Veteran 4,3
LE 4,5
Next time: You know him, you love him. His ORIGIN was the best selling
mini-series a few years ago…you can call him James…
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Monger |
Punisher
Veteran
Marvel Ultimates #054
Once I saw the stats on this figure, I fell in love. Punisher is a monster
offensive piece in every category. Every single click of this figures dial
is useful and he stands as a threat to anyone who opposes him. Excellent
speed, attack, defense, and damage – Punisher offers it all. The ONLY thing
holding Punisher back from being the best figure in the set is the Ultimates
team ability.
Speed / Range: As long as you aren’t facing any Ultimates, you’ll be in
control of the board! Punisher offers us stealth and 8 range, which can be a
deadly combo (let me remind you of veteran Nightwing, Green Arrow,
Deathstroke, etc.). If the Stealth gets knocked away, you’re still sitting
pretty as Punisher picks up running shot for the rest of the game. With his
base 6 movement and his 8 range, you’ll be able to stand 11 spaces away and
still hit a figure. Run three, shoot 8…win games.
Attack: An attack value range of 11 to start the game? I’m impressed! Not
only does it start high, but it only drops to a 7 on his last click.
Punisher offers a high enough attack that any figure within range better
watch out! The smoke cloud ability on clicks 2 thru 5 are suppose to be a
resemblance of smoke grenades….I guess. Either way, it’s a nice touch; it
helps Punisher hide on his early clicks and enables him to help out friendly
figures nearby.
Defense: Willpower, how I love thee… I am a firm believer that Willpower is
one of the top 5 powers in HeroClix. Punisher can now run up to any bush on
the first turn and then shoot the next turn without taking any push damage.
Now, the actual numbers are low, but this stat is overlooked, as they have
to base him in order to shoot him (if he is in hindering terrain, which he
should be 100% of the time on his first 2 clicks). After Punisher’s first
two clicks, he becomes more of an open terrain combatant and actually sees
his defense values rise. Not only this, but he gains a little bit of damage
reducing ability in the form of toughness. Keep an eye on Punisher when his
defense hits 13 though, as he’s either on his 2nd to last or on his last
click.
Damage: Ok, this area pushes Punisher over the top in my opinion. Not only
did they give him stealth, running shot, 8 range, 11 attack, willpower and
some other unbelievable abilities, they had to make him a HUGE damage
dealing piece as well. Wizkids provided him with Ranged combat expert on his
first three clicks with base 2 damage. That’s right – if you have a
perplexer, Punisher is capable of dealing 5 clicks of damage on his first
three clicks of life. If this isn’t enough for ya, maybe the next three
clicks are... The next three clicks of life provides Punisher with outwit
and a 3, 2 and 2 base damage. Holy cow, this guy is an absolute HOUSE!!
Overall: I cannot stress how strong of a figure this is. He is capable of
controlling the tempo is a game no matter how banged up and bruised he may
be. I am definitely going to pick up several of this figure and I am
definitely going to create constructed teams with him as well. If you pull
this figure from a booster, do NOT let anyone talk you into trading him
away… Like I said about Thor, if you don’t like this guy, give me a shout
and I’ll be more then happy to take him out of your hands!!!
Tips to play: I have to include this section for this guy – he is so strong
that I would hate to see anyone out there misplay him and be beat for no
reason. There are a limited amount of figures that you need to watch out for
when you’re playing Punisher. First would be any Ultimate team ability
figure. These guys don’t care about stealth and you need to stay out of
range of them. Use your running shot to get into position and try to hit
them first. Most of them are heavy hitters and can ruin Punishers day
without much trouble. The next figures you need to keep an eye on are
hypersonic speed figures. Now, in Marvel, you only need you only need to
worry about Nightcrawler, which is nice, but you will see him a lot in
constructed play. He’s going to a tough opponent with is high defense, but
try to combine Punisher with an outwitter like Black Panther. Gang up on
Nighty, outwit the Hypersonic and try to get a solid hit in with Punisher.
If possible, get Punisher to hit on two consecutive turns, this will almost
place Nightcrawler into a KO click. Keep the outwit going and don’t let him
run away. Next ability to keep an eye on is TK. Players with TK can be
sneaky and you’ll have to be careful. Don’t let Pusher get out to far, as
they can TK in an opposing figure base-to-base with you. All it takes is one
Blades/Claws/Fangs roll of 6 to KO Punisher. If you can, try to use
different pieces to coax the large damage dealing figures out. If the TK’er
is all alone, you have nothing to worry about. A different threat to
Punisher can be - big defensive characters like Absorbing Man or Hulk. Once
they get base to base with you, you’re in trouble. If the opposing player
wants to use these figures, it will require you to use your willpower the
best you can. Don’t go running into position on your push turn. Always allow
yourself the next turn to move away if needed.
Hope you enjoy this figure, I know I will…
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