Imagine you need to pick four heroes to go up against an unknown villain in an unknown environment. Imagine that the villain and environment could be anything – decks you’ve never seen before.
Who would you choose?
I’d go with Legacy, Visionary, Tempest, and The Wraith (and in that order).
Random selection.
i) Because I prefer that method, choice breeds repetitive boredom,
ii) Because who knows what strange combo might come up that I never would have thought of for this villain/environment.
Legacy, Tempest, Ra, and Fanatic.
I would want to stay away from heroes that are too ongoing and equipment heavy, since it is unknown if the villian/environment would love to keep destroying them everytime you get something out. Legacy can still at least galvanize each round allow their innate powers to do some fairly decent damage, Tempest Squall will be able to do two damage to each target lowing their health to where Ra’s Pyre could do three damage or Fanatic will deal four to someone. So even their combination of Innate powers are already really successful. Plus they each have some really good one-shots that’ll come in handy in that situation.
Now if there isn’t a much of a need to worry about equipment/ongoing destruction, than this time will do even better, Ra could get out his super combination and even allow Fanatic to no longer damager herself since he can change all damage to fire along with making everyone immune to fire. And if there is a minion that is immune to fire, Tempest can always have is equipment card out that changes his damage type, thus will fix that situation. I could also just skip imbue fire all together if there are a lot of enemies immune to fire.
Young Legacy, Haka, Tempest, Fixer.
Lead From The Front and Next Generation is quite good for stopping large scale damage output.
Savage Mana can stall mechanics that manipulate the villain’s trash.
You have 3 cards that stop most/all damage, one that stops the villain playing cards, and Stratosphere to stall the villain out.
Finally you have 2 group heals, and Fixer is able to provide great utility.
It might be my play style, but these four are my staple favourites for tough fights.
Legacy, Tempest, Fixer, and Wraith.
Legacy and Tempest both have damage boosting/resisting capabilities. They can both also heal the entire group, which has been a huge lifesaver for me in the past.
With the Legacy Ring, Legacy can theoretically keep everyone buffed with a +2 to damage and heal everyone for 1 while dealing damage. Next evolution gives him options for immunity to damage types.
If Tempest gets his shackles on, he’s able to get +4 damage against the villain character card with Legacy’s help. His healing rain capabilities make him really useful as well. He can also potentially resist and deal any damage type, which is very good going into an unknown situation.
Fixer has many options available to him, including the only options I can think of that allow heroes to deal irreducible damage to villain/environment targets. Combined with Legacy’s damage increases, his versatility is able to get past most defenses. He also allows people to get equipment cards back, which would be helpful if the environment or villain targets those.
Wraith has her computer cards which can reduce environment damage, her stealth power is one of the few ways to avoid irreducible damage, smoke bombs can be used in conjunction with Legacy and Tempest’s damage resistance to greatly reduce overall damage done to heroes, and stun bolt/throat jab are extremely useful against targets who get multiple attacks or target all heroes.
Oh, I didn’t even think of Mr. Fixer. I may trade for him instead of Fanatic… Nah, I’ll go ahead and stick with Fanatic I guess since I said her originally. Plus her End of Days will certainly come in handy.
I find this discussion super exciting! If we ever get the necessary rules and staff together to run a formal tournament, I’m very curious what sort of “metagame” will develop.
This amuses me. I always dish out heroes before picking villain and environment. Most of the time, it’s all random draw (I used an old deck of cards to make randomizers).
This probably explains my streak of exciting losses.
I had one guy complain through the entire game because he was using Bunker against Citizen Dawn and got all his equipment wiped out… twice. That game also included Tempest (my wife’s favorite), Mister Fixer, Haka, and Absolute Zero. We really lost that game.
But in another game, Expatriette, the Wraith, Tempest, and Fanatic cleaned house against Omnitron, probably the definitive anti-technology villain.
One of the things I love about Sentinels: Luck and strategy in equal measure.
-CSR
Yeah, we too kind of choose a team and then choose a random villain and enviroment. That said if I went to a tournament or something I would want a tough, quickly accelerating brawler like Haka or a versatile crowd controller like Tempest. Hopefully my team would include some direct nuking damage (Ra), pure control (Visionary) and then another versatile character.
I’d probably play Wraith, Tachyon, Visionary, Legacy. Wraith has a lot of damage reduction and/or deck stacking, Tachyon has some substantial minion control, ongoing/environment destruction, and lots of power, Visionary has tons of control or stacking tricks, and Legacy has the survivability and general utility to keep them all alive and offset the mediocre damage output they’ll have to work with if they’re always stuck doing tricksy things.
Then again, this set of heroes could definitely crash and burn against some villains… Never bring Legacy to a plague fight, for instance.
You’d be surprised. If you use his power that heals instead of increasing everyone’s damage, he can actually help out a lot.
or if he’s the highest HP Hero and immune to Melee damage…
It’s also not that bad if Legacy goes first. Then you can see if it is safe to Galvanize everyone or not. Or just simply use his ongoings. As long as don’t buff the rest of the heroes while they’re Infected, he’s great against Plague Rat.
What we usually do is pick everything randomly. If we get crushed, we keep the villain and environment and see if we can pick (or to use appropriate Avengers parlance, “assemble”) the best team for the job given the number of players.
To be honest, I’ve never played a random game, but that’d be my choice for this sort of thing too. I’ll probably try a random game next time I play. It seems exciting. My group of friends pretty much pick mostly the same heroes nowadays (my roommate more or less only plays Ra and AZ), so it’ll be fun to mix it up for everyone. Even me.
Maybe those of us who have volunteered to help at Gen Con could get something going…? ???
I say those of us who have volunteered to help and will be at Gen Con for sure should pass around some PMs about any things you’d like us to set up. Like a campaign or something. I know >G already has this “points” thing planned out, but we can help in more ways…
We could have a table or two for people who are familiar with the game to play with special scenarios. Special games like the brilliant Spiff created (sincere respect, sir). We could use those scenarios, and some of us could come up with ones for Rook City. And, those of us who are playtesters could be making scenarios for Infernal Relics (Which will obviously be secret among us until Gen Con).
You know who we are and how to reach us. 8)
Pretty much all I ever do is random. I give new players the opportunity to choose, but our regulars go random. We did recently do a “Each pick 2 random and choose one from there” and that was successful as well.
evandan once you go random you may never go back. It makes for some great games!
Random is extremely fun, it’s getting a bit difficult to do with dice now since there isn’t a 15 sided die. Currently rolling a d20 and anything 16 or higher requires a re-roll. Now I wonder what i’ll do once it hits 21 and more? Guess percentile dice will start being used. Maybe i’ll even throw in the promo characters as their own seperate entity. Currently if someone rolls and gets Legacy, they can choose either Legacy.
Not counting the new heroes, we shuffle the HP cards 
Oh, I didn’t even think about that. It’s a shame the HP trackers aren’t going to be continued. Even though the numbers are so close together they still have some awesome art.
Maybe start drawing heroes from a hat when there becomes too many?
I’d love to see Randomizer cards (a la deckbuilding games like Dominion, Thunderstone, Nightfall, etc.) released.
I would be willing to purchase a randomizer deck for existing heroes/villains/environments from the store, assuming that future expansions would include randomizers for all of the new content.
Meanwhile a fan seems to have created a randomizer, which needs to be updated to include Rook City but still.
http://greaterthangames.info/forum/index.php/topic,356.0.html
Personally I use the same technique I used in Arkham Horror… I have those oversized health counter cards, so I give everyone 2 or 3 and have them choose one. That is random…ish, but with some choice.
Unless playing with new people (In which case they choose first and we fill in with what will be useful/ provide a fun game) or playtesting (when we’ll often want to see how certain characters interact) I choose by whose play style I feel like playing that game. Frequently Tachyon at this point for me, though I’m pretty partial to Expatriette, too, and The Argent Adept is probably going to be added to that list as well.
If I were to put together a team purely for thematic fun I’d probably go with Tachyon, Haka, The Argent Adept, and Young Legacy. They’re the Bounciest team around!
With all the new heroes and villains not being in that randomizer, I’ll probably just end up making some index cards with names on them and shuffling them around to pick. Then, of course, I’ll start getting those weird non-sensical combinations (Spite on Mars, etc.) Not sure how I’m gonna feel about that. But it’ll still be fun, I’m sure. Maybe I’ll just stick to randomizing heroes, actually. I wouldn’t feel right playing against villains who are clearly in an impossible environment. Call me boring, but Chairman will always be in Rook City. Spite and Matriarch can be in Megalopolis too. Spite and Plague Rat can be in Pike, obviously. Just things that make sense. I gotta do it! I gotta have some sense somewhere!
And recently, I think I’ve always been playing as the nemesis of whatever villain we’re facing. My friends think I’m crazy since I take so much damage and usually die first, but nemeses are fun.
Once my friends and I played against Plague Rat at Wagner Mars Base. Mars bases have sewers, too. ;D
Wouldn’t Chairman Pike also make sense in Pike Industries? Really, there is always some story you could make up to make any villain make sense at any location. Well, almost anyway.
Sounds like people like that randomizer and are bummed that it hasn’t been updated. I’ll see if I can find time to duplicate it this weekend with updated heroes/villains/environments. If I do, I’ll post a link to it on the forums.
I would have to say that, given no knowledge of what environment or villain I was facing, I would bring:
Ra, Mr. Fixer, Tempest, and Legacy.
Ra for direct damage when we need it. Fixer for irreducible damage and work-arounds, Tempest for AoE and healing, and Legacy for support and tanking.
I’ll join the throng that says random, since I always set up a random team when playing alone, and always pick a random hero when playing with others. You really find cool interactions and teams working that way. In fact, I have that randomizer bookmarked and I use it all the time. I was going to be sad to see it go, since I’m getting Rook City soon. I would love to see it updated.
Evandan, just embrace the random. Seriously, most teams work. All villain and environment combinations have something to offer gameplay. You can always come up with a explanation of how it happened because, comics. For instance, Spite on Mars? Sombody on these forums pointed out that that the Wagner Mars Base could simply be a space colony. So he’s infiltrated it and started killing the citizens. You must stop him!
And if you insist on fighting the Chairman only in Rook City… have you ever beaten him? Really, why can’t he decide to take on the world from his new base in Atlantis?
For something completely blind, I would take my favourites. If I’m going down, I want to be happy while doing it.
Visonary, Fanatic, Ra, and Tempest. I would love for Haka to join, but he’ll have to wait until next time.
I frequently run games for my local gaming organization, so I tend to pick heroes that fill holes in the team since a lot of players I play with are all beginners that have only played a few games.
In my two fairly consistent gaming groups though I’m a member of the teeming forumites and pick randomly.
We beat him once. Just the once, though. We’ve never tried him since, mainly because everyone (including me) is busy.
Fine. I’ll mix it up, just for you guys. Random villain on random environment, no matter how strange the combination is. This is gonna hurt my brain…
thats my dream-team. high five! Though I waffle between Fanatic and Tachyon. Both are incredibly good characters. But I think most permutations of those five make an exceptionally strong and versatile team.
Well, if we’re going in completely blind…
Well, am I considering this as if they are actual, existing heroes, or me and my friends playing the game? because that could change some things.
My friend Kris ALWAYS plays AZ or Tempest, for instance. Fanatic and Visionary were awesome before they nerfed Wrest the Mind and Chastise.
I’d probably pick Legacy (maybe Young Legacy, but I haven’t seen how she plays.) to go first.
Visionary is great for controlling the environment and helping draw cards.
For the last ones, I’d go with one of the following pairs:
AZ for crowd control and Ra for nuke damage, or
Tempest for crowd control and Fixer just because he’s awesome.
I would definitely take Haka and Tempest because they are always good. After that I'm not sure, likely Legacy and Ra I guess.
My group usually generates five or six random heros, then we roll to see what order we choose in and pick 4 of the six available.
Against an unknown foe? Difficult choice...
My first pick would have to be Wraith. She can alternate between dealing damage and controlling Environment/Villain decks with ease, based on whatever's needed at the time. Improvised Invention is simply unparalleled, and the utility of Infrared Eyepiece is well-documented.
My second pick would be Nightmist. Between her ability to redirect damage and lay down pure carnage with Oblivion and Heedless Lash, she can easily cover the damage-dealer role. Plus, Mistbound could easily keep the villain's deck locked down while the others get set up.
Next, I'd go with Visionary. Again, it's all about deck control. When dealing with an unknown force, the ability to find just the right card at just the right time is critical. Plus, she can tank with Decoys and TK Cocoon.
Finally, we need crowd-control. And, while I'm tempted to go with Tempest, he always seems to end up on the frail side for me, even when getting his -damage card out. And, between Nightmist and Visionary, I'm hesitant to have a third hero so heavily invested in Ongoing cards. As such, I'd give the crowd control role to Expatriette. Assault Rifle loaded with Hollow Points will keep minions at bay, to say nothing of her single-target output with Tactical Shotgun.
If I was allowed to toss in a 5th hero, it'd always be Legacy. He could easily tank for the other 4, while simultaneously providing his massive buffs. If I wanted to keep the all-female team, I could even potentially go with Young Legacy.
Legacy, Tempest, Fixer, Adept
Simply put, the versatility of this team has proven itself time and time again for me, Tempest can really fit into any role, healer, tank, damage or support. Fixers abaility to damage and restore equipment is amazing, Legacy is prety much a damage sponge, and Adept it quite capable of keeping the foe shut down or helping heros get just what they need, plus he can help heal where needed.
I like the combo of Legacy and Ra if you need a lot of damage dealt - those two kick arse, especially in Insula Primalis. In fact, our go-to game for "oh sod it, let's just have some easy fun" is that very set-up against Akash'Bhuta (with whoever as the third hero).
I usually shuffle the hero character cards to do random.
It's not clear if you are asking for a team that I'd have the most fun playing (random) or a team that would be most likely to win regardless of the villain.
For most likely to win I'd go with Legacy, Tempest, Visionary, and Tachyon. I think there's a lot of good combos there. Reclaim from the Deep and Light Speed Barrage comes to mind.
Legacy, Nightmist, Tempest and Argent Adept is the team that has the greatest chance of locking down the Villain so they never get to play a card.
Although I love going random on things, I still have some heroes that I love using, so here they are in turn order:
First is Argent Adept. Perhaps the most ubiquitus support hero, Argie does it all. Ya need card draw? He's got it. Ya need damage boosting? got it covered. Off turn card playing? Already there! ongoing/ environment destruction? Blammo! True, he's limited to what he can draw, but he can always make it work. A good first turner. Just don't ask him to be the primary damage dealer...
Secondly would be visionary. Like manipulating the Villian Deck? Like drawing lots of cards for the team? Like stealing damage dealers from the other side? Well, then Mrs. X will make it so!
Thirdly would be Mr. Fixer. Sure, he can be a bit swingy, and he's not usually the MVP of any battle, but if the enemy has any sort of damage reduction, lots of ? Well, then you'll be glad you brought the fixer. He's got a tool for every task, and like his namesake, will even any odds!
And last but not least would be Absolute Zero (Freedom Six edition). Whow else would be the recipient of all the buffs. I like the Freedom Six version because some enviorments completly nerf the regular version. The Dystopian future AbZero doesn't have as much HP can can't be quite as flashy, but he gets the job done!
Those are my choices. I really like supports, and if I knew I would not be facing any sort of massice damage, I would replace Visionary with Unity, but that's just me.
Im still new to the game only been playing three weeks in that time I've played around 20 games. At this point if I was against unknown villain/ enviro I would use visionary great deck manipulator, haka best tank IMO love savage mana and haka of battle, fanatic great damage dealer and doesnt require many ongoings also she is my fave character lastly legacy for all his buffs or maybe fixer tough call..... Ya I'd use legacy
Not too long ago I played advanced Enead with that group except for Fixer in the place of tempest. I think we prevented them from playing cards for 7 turns (total, not all at the start) and played grease gun twice. It was a nearly flawless victory.
My favorite combo started with Nightmist's deck locking card with a magic value of 4 in the trash. AA plays Sonata to put it on the top of her deck. NM plays headless lash to reveal it doing 5 (4 + legacy buff) redirected damage at a target, plus 5 normal damage to a target and putting the lock card into play locking their deck for a turn. Next round repeat. You might be thinking "Thats a lot of discard", but with Fixer I specifically discarded equipments and one salvage yard from Fixer netted NM 8 equipment cards back so I was in good shape.