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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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Gemini77 |
In the last Marvel set, Critical Mass, we got one of Spider
Man's worst enemies, Venom. In Ultimates we get another Spidey nemesis,
Carnage. Being as the two came from the same symbiote, they have similar
abilities and this is also reflected in their clix. Carnage Has
Leap/Climb, Blades/Claws/Fangs, Toughness and Perplex to start with. He
gains Incapacitate mid-dial and end with BCF and Outwit. For 87 points you
get a very mobile attacker with 10 movement, 10 attack, and the potential
for 6 damage. His defense is an excellent 17.
Carnage can make be very good secondary attacker. Perplex is always a
good power to have. I like BCF, but it does have its drawbacks. You are just
as likely to do 1 damage, as you are 6. Carnage, while mobile, has to get
next to someone to use his Claws, which requires a move action and a
separate attack action. If I'm building a tournament team and I want
Carnage's power set, I'd rather have Venom. The Vet is 84 points and the
Experienced is only 62. Venom's can use his Super Strength, plus a heavy
object, for a guaranteed 4 damage, 5 if you add his Perplex.
I do like the sculpt and plan to add Carnage to my collection, I just
won't be playing him a lot.
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WildWill |
Name: Carnage
Set: Ultimates
Numbers: 87
Rarities: 6 - Unique
Cost: 87
Health: 9
SSADD: 10/10/17/2
Powers: Leap/Climb, BCF,
Incapacitate, Toughness, Perplex & Outwit
Ranged Attacks: 1 Range 4
Team: None
Cletus Kassidy was a
criminal who shared a prison cell with the infamous Eddie Brock, also known
as Venom. When Brock escaped prison, a little bit of the symbiote that was
attached to Brock attached itself to Kassidy, and feeding off the
malevolence inside, they became the creature known as Carnage. Or some such
nonsense. Honestly, I never liked Venom all that much (and I own most of
HIS first appearances), but I don’t think I actually own a comic featuring
Carnage. I think he first appeared on the scene during one of my many
hiatuses from buying comics. In any case, he’s got a ton of fans who have
been clamoring for a Heroclix version of him since the get-go. Well, it
only took four expansions. Hey Venom took three…
Perplex and Outwit on the
same dial never sucks, but I’ve never been all that fond of Leap/Climb or
Incapacitate, though I know there’s lots of players who love Incapacitate at
range, which I admit doesn’t suck. The problem is that at 87 points, you’re
looking at secondary attacker territory, and this guy just isn’t worth it.
No TA doesn’t help either, though what TA would be appropriate? Anti-Spidey
comes to mind, but that would make him over 100 points, and really
unplayable.
His stats don’t stink
though, and that’s a nice change. Sure he doesn’t have an 11 or 12 attack,
but 10 isn’t the end of the work, and that 10 speed will come in handy when
you don’t have to break away, which also works well with BCF. Tag your
opponent and then when they try to smack you back, jump out of the way.
Nice against snipers too.
Carnage is going to be one
of the more sought-after Uniques in Ultimates, and early sales are
projecting this out. Right now he’s selling for between $20 and $46 with an
average of $29.71. You can expect those prices to drop about $5 to $10 once
the main release hits.
My Ratings
Playability 4
Collectability 4
Next time We’re BURNING
RUBBER (heh heh) through these Ultimates. That was your hint. Marvel
Versus players get it.
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Monger |
Carnage
Marvel Ultimates #087
I really expected to see Venom and Carnage released in the same set. I was
somewhat disappointed in Venom’s stats, but Carnage was given a fine mixture
of abilities and should get plenty of casual play time from coast to coast.
His stats are high, he was given a solid defense and hefty movement. There’s
got to be something wrong with this guy, right…? Well, actually there’s not
- and I can’t believe I just said that about a Spiderman enemy!!!!
Speed / Range: An entire dial of leap/climb combined with fairly high
numbers, I’m definitely impressed! The range is exactly what I expected and
it works well with Carnage’s freedom of movement. He can move in, deal some
quick damage, and then run away if needed. I love to play figures that allow
movement practically anywhere on a board, and this is one of them.
Attack: 10 attack combined with Blades/Claws/Fangs… gotta love it. The first
three clicks of Carnage’s dial offer hefty attack values and BCF. The next
four shows us a little bit of incapacitate (which I’m not very fond of) but
it works, since carnage is no longer able to deal 3+ damage and cannot get
past Impervious or Invulnerability. On Carnages last click he gains his BCF
back, but his attack value is so low (a 6) that it’s not really a threat,
although it will allow you to finish off those stragglers when needed.
Defense: Not many defensive characters left in the game now days, other then
Invisible Girl and a few 100+ pt. Uniques (and not to forget crawler).
Carnage offers us a nice attack combined with a plump 17 defense. Nothing
fancy, but as long as you keep Carnage in some sort of hindering terrain,
he’s able to shrug off attackers with only a 9 or 10 attack value, as they
would need a 8 or 9 to even hit (which we all know can be extremely
difficult on any given day). Keep him away from heavy hitters and you’ll be
hopping Carnage around the board for awhile. His defensive numbers do drop
to a 13 before he is KO’ed, but the medics don’t seem to be bothered by this
fact…
Damage: First three clicks read “2”, but who pays attention to this when the
figure has BCF too? All you need to worry about is that pretty bronze color
that offers us perplex. This ability increases Carnages chances of hitting
anything he aims at. Pumping his attack value to an 11 can be nice when
trying to smack around a 17 or 18 defense. Every click of Carnages life
offers two damage except for his last, which only offers one. Nice thing
about this is however, once his dial begins to drop, he is given outwit,
which can enable your team to break out of the late game slumps.
Overall: Decent abilities throughout the entire dial. There’s nothing bad I
can say about this figure. I will be happy to see him in any booster drafts
I compete in, although there are a few figs’ I might choose ahead of him
(cough, cough…Ultimates TA). Actually, this guy is strong and you need to
keep a close eye on him if your opponent fields him. He may not look like a
wrecking ball, but he does offer the right mixture of abilities to a serious
pain to anyone he plays against.
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