ANALYSIS:
Welcome to the toughest 1st click since Vet Superman
from Icons. 13 Attack. 18 Defense, with Impervious.
Running Shot. 5 Damage with Super Strength. Ares
will frequently get an opening shot on the other
team, one that will stick and sting, and have a good
chance of shrugging off the counterattack.
The downside is that his cost is so staggeringly
high that he'll easily be swarmed and eventually
take damage or at least be stalled by cheap tie-up
pieces (due, in part, to his lack of flight). And
cheap tie-up is the key, since whomever he bases
will not last long against his special Tactics
power, which enables him to Perplex his own values
up +2. Does he need to land that attack on a basing
pog? Boost his AV to 12. Is an enemy brick on him?
Boost his Damage to 5. Does he need to snipe an out
of range target?
Voila; his 8 range just became 10! Really, his
Blades/Claws/Fangs power is largely superfluous on
those clicks.
Mid-dial, Marvel's god of war gets Flurry and Super
Strength. But his AV and DV finally slide to average
levels, so this is the weak point of his dial. At
the end, both values spike back up and he gets
Tactics again to make Ares a real late-game wrecker.
FEATS?
With you sinking so many points into this figure,
the last thing you want is for him to be eviscerated
by some lowly Outwitter or Weakness-Exploiter.
FORTITUDE him, especially with the card becoming
obtainable thanks its reprinting in the Avengers
set. On the retired end of things, DAMAGE SHIELD is
useable through most of his dial, too. Finally,
there's the ubiquitous THUNDERBOLTS, which might be
key in keeping his points alive.
IN SUM:
Pretty mighty, indeed, as he should be for all those
points. For best effect, he needs Fortitude and a
cheap taxi to help him get around or take cover from
the swarms he may face. Besides that, he's equal to
most any fig in his weight class.
