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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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vizier_usa |
Daniel Ketch
Rank: LE
Point Value: 88
Team: None
Range: 6
Ranged Attacks: 1 Powers
Speed: 12/12/10/10/10/8/8 Charge, Leap/Climb
Attack: 11/11/11/10/9/9/8 Incap
Defense: 15/15/17/16/16/15/15 Inv, Toughness
Damage: 4/4/3/3/2/2/2
Background: About five years or so ago, Marvel
decided to go Goth and a bunch of titles with lots
of angst and mood were created. Titles like
Darkhold and Nightstalkers were born, and they
distinctly varied from the normal fare of good vs.
evil that Marvel was chucking out those days.
Unfortunately, readers either weren t sophisticated
enough or interested enough to read them, and most of
them got cancelled after a year or two. Why am I
mentioning this? Because the character Ghost Rider
was the central hero figure in the Sons of
Darkness storylines in this dark side of the Marvel
Universe. Not the old crappy Johnny Blaze Ghost
Rider, but the new Daniel Ketch re-launched badass
SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE Ghost Rider. For a while there,
old flamehead was actually the most hardcore superhero
in Marvel s stable, with more dead bodies in his first
few issues than in a year s run of the Punisher.
(Well, back then ) Of course, for one reason or
another, Marvel was forced to tone down the book,
resulting in GR making a really ridiculous vow not to
kill, and readers were left with a walking skeleton
with a gimmicky GAZE OF PAIN. It pretty much went
downhill from there.
Review:
First Thoughts: Imagine a figure that has a starting
click 11 AV, 12 MV with Charge, 15 DV with Invul, and
4!! Damage. Now imagine it s just 88 points. I
really don t need to go on, do I?
Strengths: Other than the monster starting click,
Daniel Ketch actually has a pretty consistent dial.
You ll notice that the SECOND click is the same as the
first, which means he s actually pushable. In fact,
you ll notice that the huge 11 AV lasts for three
clicks, and that the 4!! Damage lasts for two clicks.
On Defense, 15 is a bit low, but with the Invul, it
actually sort of balances out. Note that after the
first two clicks, the Defense goes UP to a 17 with
Toughness, sorta like Superman REV, but MUCH BETTER.
Oh, yeah at 12 Movement, Daniel Ketch equals the
farthest Charge range in the game, although he s the
second cheapest figure to do so. By the way, know why
this figure is so versatile? He s the only figure in
the game with 12 movement + Charge to have Ranged
Attacks, excluding three figures: Vet and KC Superman
(Good luck fitting those into your team ) and Vet
GHOST RIDER.
Weaknesses: Well, nobody s perfect. Traditional
beatsticks usually have long dials, and this is where
the missing points that weren t spent on Daniel Ketch
hurts. The Defense is also really low to start out,
and coupled with the semi-short dial, that s not a
good thing. One really nasty hit could put it into
its Incap clicks, Invul or no Invul. Generally
speaking, not a traditional beatstick, but one that
focuses on dealing damage fast and getting away. A
drive-by specialist, so to speak.
Opportunities: This guy is designed to deal damage,
period. Charge, Push, Charge, Run away, repeat. Oh,
don t forge the six range. Most people do, but
shooting from Range is the same as smacking someone up
close for the same 4 damage in most cases, so look at
the opportunities available first. The reason why
he s such a good piece is that he s so perfectly
costed for this versatility. For an 88 point figure
to have stats and abilities that equal or surpass many
of the far more expensive beatsticks in the game is
just unheard of. Usually, all the stuff you see in
Daniel Ketch s package will be in the 100 pt+ range,
so when you put him in your team, not only do you get
a really good secondary attacker or a passable primary
attacker, you will have created space for yourself to
put more stuff in.
Threats: Like I said, he s a beatstick. A really
good one, but still, there are vulnerabilities. Don t
let him stay out in the sun too long, because any good
player will probably try to take him out fast knowing
how dangerous he can be. Outdoor maps can be
particularly dangerous for Daniel Ketch, so if
possible, try to choose an Indoor map and run over
everyone in those hallways!
Conclusions: I think my first thoughts covered
everything. If you want a figure that sacrifices
longevity for speed and damage, he s your man.
Tournament-wise, a really good pick for 300 pt games
for straight damage. Casual-wise, the short dial may
be surprising, but other than that, a fun play.
Tournament: 4
Casual: 4
If you have any feedback, rants and/or disagreements,
feel free to contact me here: vizier_usa@yahoo.com
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Necro-M |
Daniel Ketch (a.k.a Ghost Rider)
LE 6 - 88 Points
This is one of my favorite LE's but it requires a proper team to be
successful.
First of all is the point value. 88 is just enough to be a mid-size asset to
the team without forcing the team to change. In Ketch's case he's very top
heavy but with solid defensive power (quite the change from the trend of
late). Unlike his Ghost Rider version, Ketch doesn't have Smoke Cloud and he
costs less points (an amazing difference). But the most significant change
is the lack of an activation click.
This means he's going to be an early-game contender.
Find your opponent's heavy-hitter and try to alpha-strike it before it can
hit back (of course this isn't always wise since you could miss or your
opponent could roll a defense power). With charge and twelve movement this
piece begs to be TK'd into action. The 11 attack and the natural 4 damage is
just an amazing combination. This allows him to be perplexed up to 7 damage
and still have a significant enough attack to land an attack on Superman or
Amazo.
The invunerability and toughness make sure he stays around (unless your
opponent gets a lucky BCF roll).
He also does the "Superman" trick where his defense powers go down but his
defense goes up (to 17). This means you shouldn't feel too guilty about
pushing him as long as he's in a good position. Just try to throw up a
barrier or taxi him out before someone lands a heavy hit on him. In case he
does take a beating, remember the Leap/Climb on the end of the dial and with
10/8 movement he should be able to get to the medic via a building alright.
It might also be prudent to leave him in a bush on the 17 defense click (to
raise it to 18) and use the 6 range to deal a surprise attack. This is the
same circumstance with Hawkgirl, as people often forget the figures have a
range (there's something psychological about charge and range).
Overall Ketch is an amazing figure. He keeps his stats well (something we've
learned that places the Marvel characters apart from their top-heavy Indy
counterparts). He's got charge and 4 damage up front and he's got a higher
defense in the middle of the dial followed by Leap/Climb to escape with if
all else fails. I like characters that aren't so hard to heal after they've
taken a lick or two. The problem with Ketch is that the middle of the dial
makes him hard to heal when you'd probably most want to. I think this
character goes nicely with Captain America as a TK bomb, but having two 88+
point characters would eat up most of your points. So if you're facing a lot
of stealth in your area you should try that combo out.
Basically you'd toss in Ketch with Jean Grey and then follow up with Captain
(who also has charge). This should easily take care of any Rookie Black
Panthers hiding in the bushes. To really make the optimal strategy you'd
need perplexers. But Ketch is a good secondary attacker on any team. So if
you have one, feel free to toss him on a team and try him out (though you'll
really want to use TK to justify using him).
Rating: 8/10
Reviewer: Necro-M
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