The results are in! Thank you everyone for participating and giving me suggestions/feedback along the way. We had over 100 players participate in the survey. I thought this would be a more interesting approach instead of the normal “What character is better” by looking at each character’s abilities.
Categories include:
Best Single-Target Damager
Best AOE Damager
Best Board Shaker
Best AP Stealer/Drainer
Best AP Generator (Non-Steal)
Best Strike Tile Character
Best Attack Tile Character
Best Defense Tile Character
Best Countdown Tile Character
Best Healer
Please keep in mind that I did not include 4* or 1* characters (with the exception of Juggernaut). There were some obvious winners but there were a few surprises.
I am only showing the Top 5 from each category. I also included some commentary as I was constantly clicking on the survey results with excitement!
1. Best Single-Target Damager:
13%: Cyclops – Full Blast
12%: Captain America (Steve Rogers & Classic) – Star Spangled Avenger
12%: Luke Cage – Righteous Uppercut
9%: Magneto – Magnetized Projectiles
7%: Ares – Onslaught
Interestingly, Luke Cage was the front-runner until the last minute. Cyclops came out of nowhere to gain the victory! With the new XF nerf, Cyclops looks to be his replacement for Black. However, it is possible that Captain America may have won this if he was on it from the beginning. I had only added him to survey yesterday from someone’s recommendation.
2. Best AOE Damager:
28%: Thor (Marvel Now & Modern) – Call the Storm
26%: Black Panther – Rage of the Panther
18%: Deadpool – Whales! Whales! Whales!
10%: Black Widow (Grey Suit) – Sniper Rifle
9%: Storm (Classic) – Windstorm
This is another one where Black Panther was the front-runner until the very end. Thor slowly caught-up and they were tied most of last night. It might be because more 2* players have access to Thor as opposed to the vaulted BP. There’s no denying that it’s very frustrating to make the 4th wave in DDQ only to get slashed in the face from RotP and lose!
3. Best Board Shaker:
43.30%: Loki – Illusions
20.62%: Juggernaut – Unstoppable Crush
15.46%: Storm (Classic & Mohawk) – Lightning Strike/Storm
10.31%: Magneto – Magnetized Projectiles
6.19%: Hulk – Thunderous Clap
Loki dominated this category. His cheap cost was likely the reason, you can easily unleashes 4 of these in a turn! Juggernaut also has a cheap cost but it’s a shame he is only a 1*. Storm’s has AP gain and Magneto does brutal damage with their board shakes.
4. Best AP Stealer/Drainer:
51.58%: Hood – Dormammu’s Aid
28.87%: Black Widow (Original) – Aggressive Recon
13.40%: Loki – Mischief
5.15%: Blade – Nightstalker
1.00%: She Hulk – Reprieve
This category and the next one are unique as originally I had this lumped into one question for “Best AP Generator” but I felt the mechanics are much different to have everyone together so I split it into two. No surprise that Hood won, I didn’t think he’d win by more than 50%! I remember when I first started playing I thought Hood was a waste of a character, yet I couldn’t understand why I always lost to him and it’s because of this skill. Loki was leading in the beginning but then fell off. Every type of player utilizes OBW at some point of the day. We may see She Hulk’s new Reprieve become popular with its cheap cost.
5. Best AP Generator (Non-Steal):
35.05%: Ironfist – Iron Fist of K’un Lun
20.62%: Black Widow (Grey Suit) – Deceptive Tactics
15.46%: Thor (Marvel Now & Modern) – Thunder Strike
14.43%: Storm (Classic & Mohawk) – Lightning Strike/Storm
3.09% Tied: Kamala Khan, Magneto (Marvel Now) and Cyclops
This was a surprise for me but that might be because this is the only skill I do not have on my Ironfist! Even with his recent nerf, players still feel it’s powerful, creating black or doing high damage. I was also surprised to see MNMagneto place so low even with his nerf, I find the extra red to be more useful, but I hope they don’t do a similar change to GSBW’s ability.
6. Best Strike Tile Character:
37.11%: Daken (Dark Avengers & Classic) – Pheromone Rage
25.77%: Blade – The Thirst
17.53%: Patch – Berserker Rage
11.34%: Black Panther – Battleplan
3.09%: Punisher – Judgement
For awhile I thought Blade was going to win at the last minute but who doesn’t love a free strike tile just for matching the green you need or the opponent matching! Daken has been my personal favorite in the 2-3* transition. Blade is definitely awesome with the right board, his strike tiles just keep coming and they’re deadly! Patch’s strikes are game over win or loss. I’ve made some mistakes when his strikes killed me! Make sure to have Loki or Daredevil on your team. Surprised that only 2.06% picked Sentry.. just kidding.
7. Best Attack Tile Character:
36.08%: Ironfist – Exquisite Technique
30.93%: Blade – Keep Your Enemies Closer
17.53%: Dr. Doom – Summon Demons
13.40%: Storm (Mohawk) – Hailstorm
1.03% tied: Psylocke & Doctor Octopus (must be a joke)
Another category that I thought Blade would win last minute but who doesn’t love a free attack tile! Ironfist is someone you want to kill first. I love pairing him with Falcon and Luke Cage then match yellow for instant boost on turn 2. Blade’s is powerful when the board is filled with strikes. Dr. Doom the originator of the attack tile is still a favorite. I am curious to know who voted for Doc Oct! Funny.
8. Best Shield Tile Character:
59.79%: Luke Cage – Unbreakable
13.40%: Spider-man – Spider Sense
12.37%: Falcon – Bird Strike
6.19%: Magneto – Coercive Field
4.03% tie: Bullseye & Captain America
I’m sure we all knew Luke Cage would win this and we all love free stuff! He has both the defensive and the power, and with his increased health I am sure we’ll see a lot of him. Spiderman is no surprise since that’s his only useful ability, I just wished it worked more like Bullseye’s. It doesn’t make sense how Spider Sense only works when you make the offensive move (match 3) than defensive (when the opponent matches). Falcon’s slows the game down dramatically; especially when the CPU unleashes it when feed purple from goons every turn! I am surprised players voted for Cap’s yellow, if I ever reach 19 AP, I usually use it to make a match 5.
9. Best Countdown Tile Character:
45.83%: Captain America (Steve Rogers & Classic) – Star Spangled Avenger & Peacemaker
14.58%: Hulk – Anger
9.38%: Loki – Mischief
9.38%: Falcon – Redwing
4.17%: Hawkeye – Speed Shot & Blast Arrow
There is no question that Cap’s double countdown of high damage (Steve Rogers anyway) and stun that you can throw at almost anywhere and returns AP is amazing. He is my #1 hero against Goons. I do want to point out that based on a player’s suggestion, I added Loki late yesterday to the survey so it’s likely he would have placed second place. With so many characters and abilities, it’s easy to miss these small details. For those wondering how many people voted for Sentry’s World Rupture.. 0.
10. Best Healer:
43.75%: Patch – Healing Factor
22.92%: Kamala Khan – Bring Out The Best
15.63%: Black Widow (Original) – Anti Gravity Device
9.38%: Rocket & Groot – I Am Groot
4.17%: Daken (Dark Avenger & Classic) – Healing & Heat
Last but not least, everyone’s favorite ability.. healing! I originally thought about excluding Patch, Wolv, and Daken from the poll. True healing is so important in this game. 90% of the time I have Daken shoved into my PVE party for that reason alone. It will be interesting to see if their use will reduce after the increased health of 95% of characters. We may see more Kamala Khan use with faster characters such as Pyslocke with her new increased health. The game may now be played much different than what we’re use to.
Thank you everyone for participating and viewing this post. I am willing to do additional surveys/polls with your suggested categories/questions. I look forward to your feedback. Enjoy the game!
