If you could change just one thing...

So, some characters are notoriously under-played.  And some are maybe over-played?  Anyway, all this leads me to the question:

If you could just change one thing about a character, what would it be?

As I am the initial poster, I'll start.

Absolute Zero - So many options.  I feel like he is just below his potential.  If his Area increase power, Sub-zero Atmosphere, increased his impaling structures hazard radius, that would be amazing and do a lot to push him into mainstream play, I think.

Proletriat should be immune to his own attacks   

Absolute Zero should have a defense power or a base 4 dice defense   

Visionary might be used more if she could use three powers.  This would allow her to keep a decoy out and some good support out at the same time.  

I like your suggestions!  I figured Visionary just needed an effective attack, so she didn't feel like she was augmenting everyone else and sitting on her laurels during her turn.

I'd like to view this in a slightly different way.

Maybe, for example, AbZero isn't used a lot because his kit is subpar or lacking, but because there isn't another character in the game yet that his kit counters very well. Maybe once Akash is introduced with her environment/hazard generating abilities, AbZero's kit becomes much more valuable due to the counterplay avaliable.

Maybe Dawn is overused/overbanned not because her kit is extra strong and OP (although it's certainly a debatable point), but because there is no real solid counter play to her Citizens and the action economy they provide (just because you pick Omnitron to counterplay against Truth doesn't mean Truth needs to be played). If there was a character that interacted with "summoned" units like Citizens or Bots (maybe like a really fat Spite that can "eat" those kinds of units perhaps), that counterplay could drop her pick/ban rate.

Tactics still has a very small roster. Since nerfing/buffing characters post release is widely regarded as not an option due to the nature of the physical board game, the introduction of other characters that provide unique kits designed with specific counterplays in mind can and will have a strong impact on the viability of different characters through the tournament meta shifts.

Excellent points as usual, Foote!  And we have a few expansions on the way soon (tm).  They could shuffle this all around.  

I created this thread because the forums were so quiet and I wanted to generate discussion.  I figured this would be an entertaining way to do it.

And it's greatly appreciated - as is all the material you've shared with the community, Donner. You are awesome!

Keeping my thoughts that we are looking only at what is currently released:

Dawn and her Citizens should work like Unity's bots in which Dawn needs to use her own action to allow Cizitens to take an action.  

Omnitron's base attack should be unlimited  

Thematically I feel Tachyon should have mobility by default.   Though doing so would make her even more ridiculous.   

Thanks, Rabit! 

Proletariat - Maybe some sort of human pyramid effect.  "Proletariat targets have mobility if there is another Proletariat adjacent to them."  Think Splinter Cell co-op. :D

Tachyon - Out for Pizza.  Take her out of the game for a round and heals her to full.

Omnitron-V - What if his Remote Tranquelizer forced opponents to discard power cards instead of -1 Attack Token and -1 Defense Token?

Visionary - Maybe an area defense power that boosts the defense of her and her nearby allies? >:D  Or give her 3 actions so she can use her attack as one of them (or Dodge!)

Ambuscade - He should get his own selection of little remote bots (Automated Turret, anyone?).  They could act on Surge.

Ra - He could use one strong attack or something that gives him reach.

Wraith - A power that deals extra damage from cover or if she started her turn in cover....that could be crazy cool.

The dice. I would make them standard d6s as opposed their current faces.

The only reason I can see to purposely have different dice is if you are going to have a character who rotates the die by e.g. 90 degrees (or if they were a defective lot that >G could get to lower the price for us).

Visionary gets a lot of flak as an underplayed character, but with a supportive team, she can do some serious boosting. The die-swap effect of Foresight, especially if you can spare the power card for Twist the Ether, can be a game-changer.

She can also pull a kamikaze attack with Wrest the Mind and Brain Burn, rerolling dice until she incaps herself; a viable strategy for scoring a last KO.

All in all, I love Visionary’s potential. It can be frustrating when she doesn’t get to do much of anything on her turn, but having three actions may unbalance her more than you might think!

Okay, I’ve said my bit as a Visionary propagandist.

That's why I'd be really interested in seeing how the Australia games went.  Apparently she was used quite a bit there.  Did the winning team user her on the way up?  Was she in a majority of victories or losses?  What teams did well with her and what didn't?

Visionary was played in almost every match of the Melbourne tournament - the team that won used her in every game except one, and the only team that lost with her did so against the winning team, and obviously didn't know how to play her (and picked her just so they didn't have to go against her again).

She was used mainly with Foresight and Twist the Ether out, making it almost impossible to hit her (or anyone) and letting her buff her team a whole bunch.

The "winning team" of the overall tournament doesn't exist yet, because the finals are at PAX Australia, but I suspect the Melbourne team (Zeus's Hammer) will be using her in at least a few of the games. Will have to see how she goes!

Do you have videos from the tournament?   I would like to see how those games played out.  

Awesome!  Thanks, Peter!  Hopefully Visionary will get some more tournament love in the next matches!

Haha, considering it was me running them solo, videos were not an option.

Shucks.   I'm glad to hear Visionary was being used.  I was just hoping to see more of the strategy those teams went with.  

I love how different meta's are established in different parts of the world. It speaks to how different mind sets and philosophies from a geopolitical standpoint translate into how something like a boardgame is viewed and played. It's very cool stuff.

It also means that in the event of a world tournament we'll get to see various other metas face off against each other, which is exciting in and of itself.

If I could change one thing. . .

I'd un-errata Tachyon so her health abilities weren't unlimited, and would word LSB so it only worked on attack actions, not free attacks.  It annoys me when one of the most powerful characters gets a big boost by essentially rewording her innate power, when publicly they state they aren't going to change characters like that.

I'd make Kusarigama unable to move Omnitron IV.  (This one drives me crazy, Beacon can't budge it but Operative throws it around??)

I'd make Citizens work like Blade Battalions, cost an action to get a turn from a Citizen.

I'd make Ambuscade's traps unable to be in the same space.

I'd give Proletariat 6hp. (One for each clone possible)

I'd cut Wraith to 2 actions, and change Stealth to give her a +1 attack and defense if she doesn't attack on her turn.

I also agree with Foote, largely, but some things could be more balanced or more consistent.

I always considered LIghtspeed Barrage to be unlimited, so I didn't notice a change.  However, you are right that it isn't an ability and therefor isn't covered under HUD Goggles in the strict sense.  I find her to be pretty risky more than anything.

I would change the fact the game needs more single player options