I'm Singing my Blues

[BlackBoltRocks]

Alrighty. As some of you might know, I recently did simple analyses for Yellow powers in 4* land (https://forums.505go.com/discussion/41306). Continuing from that, I’ll be looking at blue powers this round (plus blue is my favourite colour, despite my username).

So, blue powers. In MPQ, blue is best known as being a defensive/support/utility ability. A lot of blue powers can stun (Windstorm, Widow’s Sting), heal (Anti-Gravity Device) or generate AP and/or create special tiles. I can’t think of any outliers right now. Maybe CMags? Anyway, I’ll be looking at all the blue powers in 4* land both in a vacuum (that is, if that character only had blue covers) and in the context of a fully-covered character (if that character has all 13 covers). I’ll also be looking at them in the context of 1-v-1 as well. Just think 4* DDQ. Abilities are listed according to character alphabetical order. Opinions are all mine; feel free to add constructive comments. Here we go!

Small Time Crooks / Grow. Cost: 9 AP
A good utility ability, especially if you’re going up against special tile producers. It’s proven its worth in DDQ against Jean Grey: steal all her special tiles! Plus it has the secondary effect of Grow, so it’s not totally useless in terms of dealing fixed damage (I mean, stealing 15 protect tiles will only make you lose slower). At 3 covers it’s already quite decent, stealing a special tile for 5 turns; at 5 covers it’s a beast, stealing potentially up to 15 tiles. Combined with someone with Captain Marvel, Elektra, or Carnage, this ability proves itself, reducing risk and maximising benefits for your team. My verdict: 0/10 if the no one makes enemy special tiles, 7/10 if there is, 8/10 if you can accumulate 18 Blue for Grow

Called Shot. Cost: 8 AP
Great damaging and support ability. You’ll usually want this at 5 covers, because the jump in damage from 4 to 5 covers is significant, as is the increased radius of Red AP generation, although a 5/5/3 Cylops is definitely very feasible. The secondary effect is of course useless if your Cyclops is 0/0/5 in DDQ, but the damage alone makes up for that (although I’m not sure if such a Cyclops could bring down Hulkbuster). If you have both of his other skills, this ability really adds to Cyclops’ self-sufficiency, making him a very dangerous character with two nukes (provided he’s at 5/3/5) and plenty of AP generation. My verdict: 7/10 by itself, 9/10 with his Red and Yellow

See the Math of It. Cost: 7 AP
Erm. Well. Where the heck do I start with this? Let’s say you have this in 5 covers. It generates a grand total of 3 Blue Charged tiles and 4 Green AP. No. Just no. If you have a 0/5/0 Amadeus, don’t even bother with his DDQ (admittedly it’s still better than a 0/0/5 Amadeus. Barely). I came up with my own fix for Amadeus in his character thread; go check it out. My verdict: 0/10 by itself, 3/10 with his Green

Uncanny Snowman. Cost: 6 AP
From the godforsaken turd of Amadeus, we come to the gamebreaker of Iceman. You’ll always want this at 5 covers: 4-turn stun (for the ridiculously low cost of 6 AP) plus insane damage. At lv270 he does 7964 for 12 AP. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Plus a 0/5/0 Iceman – heck, a 0/3/0 one – can outlast Jean Grey in DDQ. Oh wait he also has his Green and Purple… My verdict: 6/10 at one cover, 7/10 with two, 8/10 with three, 10/10 with five

Force Bubbles. Cost: 7 AP
A decent defensive ability. You’ll want this at at least 3 covers to lock down Strike, Protect and Attack tiles, which can be crucial in some circumstances. It can also be used to prevent your opponent from making beneficial matches, though that is a bit more situational. By itself it won’t do much, especially in DDQ: a 0/5/0 IW is gonna be worn down by Quicksilver regardless of the protect tile strength. Combined with her other two abilities though, it becomes much better, stacking on Yellow’s protect and invisibility and feeding her Green. Oh, and at 5 covers it’s quite useful against Galactus. My verdict: 4/10 by itself, 7/10 with her Yellow and Green (assuming at least 3 covers)

Hulk-Proof. Cost: 9 AP
A very solid ability that is overshadowed by Hulkbuster’s Red and Blue. Nevertheless, I’ll look at it for what it is: converts Green tiles to Red, which is very welcome given the number of Green users in 4* land, and also helps to fuel Repulsor Punch, plus creating up to three (rather average) protect tiles. However, I don’t think a 0/0/5 Hulkbuster will get anywhere far against Hulk. And as mentioned, his Red and Black are just too good to pass up, unless you decide to go 3/5/5 to fuel another Red user, such as Thing. My verdict: 3/10 by itself, 7/10 with his Red and Black

Psychic Feedback Cost: Passive
A sleeper ability if there ever was one. Having this ability means that you have to be extremely careful with the board when facing Jean: this is the only time you’ll be praying NOT to get a match-5 cascade. Such an anti-metagame move deserves respect. Despite this, however, you’ll usually be content with leaving this at 3 covers because 1) her Pink and Green damage and utilities are too good to pass up and 2) the stun turn doesn’t increase beyond 3 covers. Plus its use is somewhat situational: a 0/5/0 Jean Grey will have to wait and hope for Moonstone to make a match-5, and by then she’ll probably have killed you with her Purple and Red. Still, it’s definitely an awesome ability to have. My verdict: 8/10 overall, mostly for its deterrence

[BlackBoltRocks]

Fantastic Elastic. Cost: 8 AP
First off, I will NEVER refer to this move as “Flexibility”. Even his character page here in the forums lists it as “Fantastic Elastic”! As for the ability itself, it’s a great utility move. At 5 covers, it stuns for 3 turns and creates 2 protect tiles. That might be enough for a 5/0/0 Reed to outlast Dr Doom, and in general being able to stun is always welcome. Not as cost-effective as Iceman’s stun (4 turns for 6 AP) but oh well. At least this version of Mr F is still better than Ioan Gruffud or Miles Teller. My verdict: 7/10 overall

Demolition. Cost: 10 AP
Very good stealth ability. Of course, it’s useless if your opponent doesn’t trigger it, but that’s mostly at a lower number of covers. At 5 covers, Nicky sets 7 traps, increasing the likelihood of your opponent stumbling into it. And you can always match it yourself if you really need to deal a bit of damage. A 0/5/0 Nick has a realistic chance of beating Magneto; hey, my 1/2/2 Nick managed it! Like all traps though, it runs the risk of being overwritten by opponent traps, countdowns or special tiles, so you have to be careful of that. Still not as crappy as Elektra’s Red, thankfully. My verdict: 6/10 at 1 or 2 covers, 7/10 at 3 or 4, 8/10 at 5

Master Plan. Cost: Passive
The sole reason for Charlie’s Angels. Ordinarily, making a match-5 gives you a good advantage in the battle. Well, this ability multiplies that advantage tenfold. Extra damage and AP generation? Yes please! I’m having so much fun with my 1/2/2 Prof; imagine a 5/x/y Prof? At 5 covers and lv270, he deals an extra 4408 damage and generates 4 AP. If you’re lucky with cascades (and you will be with Grey Widow’s Purple), the match will be over quite quickly. And of course Prof doesn’t just work with Charlie’s Angels; go experiment with other characters to make full use of his Blue. Quicksilver and Magneto are just two names that come to mind; I’m sure there are many others. Although, in his DDQ against Elektra you’d still rather have a 0/5/0 Prof than a 5/0/0 one. My verdict: 8/10 overall

Weapons Expertise. Cost: 8 AP
In keeping up with the utility theme, this is the non-direct damage ability of PunNECKsher. Looking at the raw stats, I think most people would prefer 5/5/3 for him, which is perfectly fine. If you really want mileage on his blue though, 5 covers produces an extra Strike tile and really amps up all friendly Strike tiles. Couple with, say, Old Man Logan, or any other Strike tile generator, you’re going to a dealing a whole bunch of damage quickly. Although I’m not sure how a 0/0/5 PunNECK would fare in DDQ; it also depends on his opponent. For all you know they’d give him Jean Grey (yet again) to get rid of all his Strike tiles… My verdict: 6/10 by itself, 7/10 with his Black and Green, 8.5/10 at 5 covers and with Strike tile generators

Reasonance Frequency. Cost: 7 AP
An attack with potential to cause cascades, especially if you have 5 covers. Plus it can work as a pseudo-AP denier, if you really need to stop your opponent from getting a particular AP or making a particular match. Like Punmax, though, I’m not sure how a 0/0/5 Quake would fare in her DDQ. Plus all of the 5/5/3 builds are viable for Quake, so you’ll be using 3 or 5 Blue based on your and your opponent’s teams. Still, a good boardshake ability, especially since it can get rid of special tiles. My verdict: 7/10 overall

Aerial Avenger. Cost: Passive
Alright let’s get this out of the way: in a 1v1, a 0/5/0 Falcap is useless. Go try this out against Captain Marvel. Now that that’s done, let’s look at it in relation to his Red and Yellow, and teammates. To be honest, I can’t the point of leaving it at 3 covers; you might as well give him all 5, since he strengthens an extra friendly tile at that stage. It also reduces friendly countdowns by 1, which is useful for many abilities (such as Starlord, Grocket, Beast, Scarlet) but equally hindering for many other abilities (Luke Cage, Mystique, Mr Fantastic, Starlord again). Plus, a lv270 5 Blue Falcap boosts tiles by a total of 270. In comparison, a lv166 5 Yellow Falcon boosts tiles by a total of 282. Yeah…not good when a 3* outshines a 4*. My verdict: 0/10 by itself, 6/10 otherwise, mainly because Inspiration does a better job

Power Surge. Cost: 9 AP
Oh, for the days of 12 Charged tiles. Still, a 3-turn stun and 6 Charged tiles is nothing to laugh at. A 0/0/5 Thorrina will still labour against Ragnarok; I mean, Iceman stuns for one more turn with 3 less AP! That’s why you want to combine this with her Red: Blue is an excellent fuel for Smite, and a 5/x/5 Thorrina will be making short work of enemies, especially if paired with a battery like IM40. Although this ability loses points somewhat for not being untouchable, because a 5/5/3 Thorrina can be used to take out countdowns. Still, a very good ability, as all multi-turn stuns are. My verdict: 7/10 by itself, 9/10 with her Red