It is ironic that we are reviewing Wrecker today because I have been unable to do a review for the past week as Hurricane Ivan wrecked his own path of destruction through my area and I had to flee like a rat.  Isn’t it ironic how we can find the irony in anything?

Ok on with the review. Wrecker was the founding member of the Wrecking Crew and his most famous battle in the comics was where he stood against Thor and survived an attack against Thor’s mighty hammer. Wrecker carries an enchanted crow bar that allows him to deflect bullets and what not.  Only in the comics.

His Rookie comes in at 84 points. He is an amazingly slow bugger with a starting Speed of only 6. His starting Attack of 9 is ok for a figure of his point cost, and his Damage of 3 is good.  Add Super Strength and he can lay some smack down with a Heavy Object.   He gets Quake in the middle of his dial so if he is being surrounded you can try to shake your opponents off.  His Defense of 15 is mundane, but with 4 clicks of Invulnerability followed by 5 of Toughness he can hang around for a while assuming he avoids Outwit.

The Experienced jumps up to 119 points and is the only version of Wrecker I currently have. He joins the Masters of Evil, which is not one of the better team abilities in the game.  For an additional 34 points you would expect a big difference, but only his starting Speed and Damage go up 1.  Granted a 4 Damage is a must have for a big bruisers and is a welcome change, but the Attack of 9 really hurts him at this point value. He does gain a click of Impervious to start, but still has that Defense of 15 so really avoid Outwitters.  Now he also has 5 click of Invulnerability, so he can take a pounding and stay on his feet (which he will with that low Defense).

The Veteran becomes unaffiliated again and goes up to 131 points. His starting Attack goes to 10 which is helpful and his starting Defense goes to 16, now with 2 clicks of Impervious, 6 of Invulnerability, and 2 of Toughness (10 clicks of life).  Veteran Wrecker can really take a pounding and still stick it out in a fight.  You’ll be lucky to land a hit deeper on his dial, but hey you never know.  Play him like Rocky and try to get your opponent to pull an Apollo Creed and get frustrated that he can’t take you down. Maybe he will roll a few double 1s.   The downside to the Veteran Wrecker is that his starting Damage of 4 is replaced with a 2 and Close Combat Expert (CCE).  What were they thinking?  With the Experienced I can do 6 clicks of Damage with a Heavy Object, but with the Veteran you cannot use CCE and Super Strength together. This really limits his effectiveness and makes him a very weak character for the point cost.

Overall they all fall a little short.  The Rookie might be appealing, but if you have her use Titania instead for 1 point more.  Starting Speed of 8, Attack of 10 (w/ Super Strength), Defense of 15, and Damage of 4 makes her a much more playable figure.  The Experienced falls short with his attack and he is not balanced enough for the additional 31 points. Still Impervious is always handy and can really influence the outcome of the game. The Veteran could have been fun to play if they didn’t ruin him by giving him CCE over a natural 4 Damage. What a shame!  Play him in friendly games, but avoid tournaments. There are better for cheaper.

Overall Score: (Out of 10.  Score of: 4 = horrible, 5 = below average, 6 = slightly above average, 7 = great, 8 = outstanding)

Rookie Wrecker – 5.5

Experienced Wrecker – 6.0

Veteran Wrecker – 5.5