It doesn’t feel that long ago when I was still in 1*-2* land and I got my first 4* cover. Man, even if that one ability was useless you better believe I used that 4* almost every fight just due to how much it dwarfed what else I had to work with… much like I imagine how people feel with 5*s now!
I was wondering though, if you had to use characters with a single ability at just one cover , which would you want to use. Not counting 5*s, for obvious reasons.
Red Hulk (4*) Purple
At one cover it’s a 2-turn stun for 9ap… Not so great IMO. Iceman’s blue costs only 6ap for the same effect.
I’d say Professor X purple or Invisible Woman yellow can be very useful even at one cover.
I’d add the new kid on the block to that too, Howard’s purple costs a bit more at 12 
but makes 3 invis. tiles instead of 1 AND treats them like weak attack tiles so they’ll be chipping a bit of damage away the whole time too.
Kingpin’s Purple isn’t bad, either. And Loki’s Purple is somewhat nice as well.
Especially during the Gauntlet, a single purple 3* Deadpool is a game-changer. I would imagine that a single red cover of X-23 would be a godsend for a 1* or low 1–>2* roster the same way a single yellow Logan is for 2* & 3* rosters. Otherwise, the best single cover ability would be very dependent on where in the progression you are, I would think.
even at 1 cover, there is no damage cap.
I forget about Ghost Rider because I don’t have him.
I wonder how a single-cover team of yellow OML, black Ghost Rider and red X-23 would fare, assuming all scaling/matchmaking was based on those being the top three characters. Low burst damage until after it’s dragged on a bit, but hard to kill quickly.
I think OML yellow, GR black, gg black, and rulk purple are definitely at the top. I think I might start a roster with OML yellow though - it has to be the single best to me. would be an interesting poll once you get a good t10 list.
This morning I took 12K damage from a Ghost Rider teamup during lightning rounds. It was. . . unexpected. The best ability that team had was its two-cover teamup.
On my steam account I have Iron Fists Black at 1*. Best ability to have from the 3* stable at one cover. Blade’s Nightstalker and Deadpool’s whales would also be useful.
Any of Ant Man’s abilities are usable at 1 star depending on opponent. Uncanny Strategist is always useful unless your strongest colour is passive. Hulkbuster Overdrive is you have a red user waiting to back him up. Wolverine’s SS is still one of the best board shakes even on 1 cover.Co-ordinated Tactics is also pretty useful against some enemies at 1.
I’m not sure what the most useful ability is, but I’m confident that Hot Dog Stand is the most useless.
A Chulk with 1 black cover could make for some pretty delicious cupcakes.
KK single yellow would still be really useful. Still heals everyone.
Or Ghostrider single black. Would still do a big chunk of damage.
You’d eat a hot dog flavored cupcake??
I’m a big fan of grey suit pink, if there’s a good board for green its just devastating esp with her green powers to follow
I think the best single cover ability will probably to be something that provides an ability that doesn’t scale with levels. examples might include the “jump in front” type powers of 3* deadpool or Thing. While the effect gets better with more covers, the ability to deflect damage intended for weaker characters arrives with the first cover and doesn’t change.
A couple of 5* covers spring to mind:
SS 
?
immune to stun plus decent self healing.
OML 
?
awesome match damage and strong self-healing.
In 4* land maybe something like the two invis powers: IW yellow and X purple?
Fools.
It’s Snarky Remark.
As a new player, Kingpin’s black was my first 4* cover, and I’ve used it a ton because it only takes two black matches to get off and it deals nearly 3x damage with a friendly countdown tile on the board.
Invisibility is great when there’s only one of your characters left. Stuns are great when there’s only one enemy character left. Group stuns are even better.
It’s nice to give your weaker characters a chance to gather some AP without needing to hide behind the tank.