Making a case for one more 3* (Drax)

[ErikPeter]

It’s pretty apparent that the devs aren’t going to release any more 3-star characters. However, we’ve been surprised in the past by late additions (like 1-star Spidey). I’m going to try to make the case for one more 3-star that would fill some holes in that meta.

• The “best” 3-stars are all AP accelerators. Charaters like Gamora, Daredevil, and especially Psylocke and Spider-Man are mid-tier useful but usually outclassed unless powered up. These characters could be improved, and find their way onto more teams if they had more passive synergy with a new character well-suited to pair with them. These characters would benefit from more strike tile synergy and stun options (especially good defensive stuns), as they thrive in longer matches with more turnover.
• In particular, Iron Fist is really strong. He’s incredibly fast and doesn’t really have any weaknesses beyond his low-medium Health. There’s value in characters that challenge the strongest strategies. Another cheap power that dampened IF’s Exquisite Technique would add a welcome consideration to team selection.
• Another good, cheap Purple power could help as well. Current 5-cost purple powers are AP generation only; how about one that promotes turnover? In addition, existing cheap Black powers (Jab, Jab, Cross and Idle Hands) are good but appear on self-reliant characters with less team synergy. Also there’s not really any cheap AoE.

Anyway, I thought for a while about what kind of character would be interesting at that tier but also find some longevity into the 4-star transition. As it happens this build has decent overlap and good synergy with Gamora and Grocket, and so finishing off the Guardians of the Galaxy was an easy choice.

[ErikPeter]

Drax (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Level 166 Max Health 9690 / Match Damage 70/13/12/79/11/61/3.5 npxo

Low Blow 6
AP
Drax strikes his enemy in the vitals, weakening them. Deals 500 damage and weakens the enemy’s strongest Strike, Protect, or Attack tile by 24 (to a minimum of 1).

• Level 2: 740 damage, and weaken 1 tile by up to 94.
  Level 3: Weakens the strongest enemy special tile by up to 178.
  Level 4: 990 damage, and weaken 1 tile by 260.
  Level 5: 1600 damage, and weaken 1 tile by 490. - Max Level: Deals 1600 damage, and weakens the strongest enemy Strike, Protect, or Attack tile by 490 (to a minimum of 1).

Dirty Fighting (Passive)
Drax never hesitates to gain the upper hand. Whenever an enemy becomes stunned, Drax gets in a cheap shot, dealing 350 damage.

• Level 2: 455 damage.
  Level 3: 591 damage.
  Level 4: 770 damage.
  Level 5: 1021 damage. - Max Level: Whenever a member of the enemy team becomes stunned, deal 1021 damage to that enemy.

** Whirlwind Brawl 6  AP** Drax charges recklessly into the enemy team, stunning them for 1 turn, but also stunning Drax for 1 turn.

• Level 2: Also deals 400 damage to the enemy team.
  Level 3: 600 damage.
  Level 4: 800 damage.
  Level 5: 1200 damage.
  • Max Level: Deals 1200 damage to the enemy team and stuns them for 1 turn. Then Drax is stunned for 1 turn.

Notes:
Low Blow is a cheap counter to IF and Luke Cage’s awesome passives, which normally can’t be destroyed without simply coming back next turn. This power would also help against other special tile users, and like Razor’s Edge, offers a cheap hit (especially combined with strike tiles) to down a wounded opponent.

Dirty Fighting is my favorite part of the spec as it would just change the dynamic of so many fights. Not only does it have strong built-in synergy with his Purple power, but also improves any stun power, which tend to appear on lackluster characters at the 3-star tier. In particular, Spider-Man becomes a lot more threatening.

Whirlwind Brawl is a lot of fun, and offers incredibly cheap AoE damage. The base damage isn’t insane, but improves dramatically when combined with Dirty Fighting and strike tiles. Plus a full team stun allows Drax’s teammates to set up a 4-match or small cascade. Obviously the design intent is that Dirty Fighting would trigger before Drax becomes stunned.

My original hope was to have one of Drax’s powers create 3 red Strike tiles in addition to its effects. These strike tiles would be incredibly weak at base, but strengthened considerably for each Downed enemy. Besides acting as a finisher/turnover accelerator, the Strikes would create synergy with other lackluster characters; e.g. reducing the cost of Psylocke’s Red, provide Strikes for Daken/Bullseye to deal damage with, give Falcon something cheap to boost, etc.

This effect could fit on any of the three powers, but perhaps fits best as a “If the enemy has no special tiles” clause on Low Blow, to strengthen it against basic heavy hitters like Cyc and Thor. I left it off for now to keep the power text simpler.