Hero Order

Hi everyone - first time poster here. I got the game last week and am really enjoying it so far, I especially love how unique all the different characters feel. I've already ordered the expansion packs, looking forward to trying all the new characters and locations.

Anyway, onto my question - are there any potential advantages or useful tactics when it comes to the order in which you use your heroes? I've been mixing and matching them in a fairly random way thus far so that I could get a feel for the different interactions, but I haven't been able to figure out if anyone would benefit from being placed first, last, etc. Any tips, or does it not really matter a great deal?

There are a few heroes that can do small things by being in a certain.  But it's really not that big of a deal.

One example off the top of my head is having someone with Ongoing destruction going first. THe can destroy Baron Blade's Ongoings, thus preventing anyone from having to take extra damage or have to overcome some DR.

Unity before Mr. Fixer, because of Mr. Fixer's Grease Gun, which is a card that will destroy itself at the start of his turn. Unity's base power is to destroy an equipment card to get a bot into play. It will allow Fixer to paly said Grease Gun and get the benefit of it during the Environment and Villain turns, then Unity can destroy it since it will be destroyed anyways.

Welcome to the site!

Some folks like to optimize situations, so they'll figure out interactions and put heroes in the appropriate locations based on the specific situation (heroes, villain, and environment). Because there are so many permutations, it's hard to say there's a solid set of rules you could follow. For example, some folks like to place Haka so he can take out as many targets as possible to put under Savage Mana. Against some villains, you might want him to be later in the rotation so other heroes can soften up the targets, but against the Matriarch he's better off being early so he can take out as many of her birds as possible.

For our group, we pick our seats, pick what we're playing (which is quasi-randon), and discover how that matters in the course of play. Generally, we don't worry about optimizing our situations - at least, if anyone does, they don't tell me about it!  For me, doing that results in a lot of time doing analysis, generally after a day of doing analysis (as that's my job), so I'm more interested in relaxing and enjoying a game.

That's just me, though!

I will generally want Legacy to go first so everyone can benefit from his damage boost(s) immediately. I will always want Dark Watch Mister Fixer (a promo version of a character in an expansion; his card is available for download on the main site, if you were wanting it) to go first just so he can punch one dude once* without destroying anyone’s cards.

*EDIT: Or twice, if you have a copy of Overdrive in your opening hand.

What the others said, having someone that can deal with a nasty card early (Ongoing, Environment, or damage reduction) can be helpful. The same with heroes that buff other heroes.

Ignoring the optimizing issue, a lot of times I like to have heroes that do consistent damage earlier in the turn order. In SotM, overkill doesn;t do anything, and you really want to destroy something with "exact change." When I first started playing with Expat, I would put her last, since, by that time, I would know precisely what she needed to do. Needs some more damage to destroy things, play Incediary Rounds. However, if you don't need that extra damage, she can play another gun, or load another gun, to keep her ahead of the game.

In truth, nothing here can be predicated from the outset by asking everyone what they can or cannot do. Sometimes, though, it can be a pain to do the precise calcualtions, and sometimes we are talking about the difference of only a single point of damage. Anytime a character doesn't have to deal damage, they can setup for later.

Thanks for all the comments, that's really useful stuff to know. I've been going through the forum to pick up other tips and tricks, it's good to see there's such a helpful community around this game.

Another time when it's nice to have ongoing destruction available ASAP during a round is when you're fighting against Voss. After that's done, you'll want a bunch of AE damage. Voss has only one ongoing card in his deck (though he has three copies of it) - when it comes up, you'll know why the aforementioned strategy is very useful ;).

Oh and welcome to the forum :D.

I love a first turn Fanatic, Omnitron-X or Expat, because they can take out a low health nasty thing or an ongoing card.

I like a last turn Adept, or someone who is good at single target damage like Ra, or Chrono Ranger.  Early multi target damage and ongoing destruction, late turn single target smashers with the LEgacy's and such in between, adjust for specific heroes

I will generally put Young Legacy first as well, in case she draws Inspiring Presence, but I will generally prefer Greatest Legacy go last, so the heroes will all have a chance to get out a card that will make maximum use of his power. For the same reason, I prefer Argent Adept go last, so he has a chance to weigh who would benefit most from the card draw/card play/power use effects he may or may not activate.

Anyone who can let the Adept use a power out-of-turn is amazing too >:D.

Heroes who let others play cards outside of the normal turn order are the only ones with whom I usually pay attention to seating order. They're most effective after heroes with "Until the start of your next turn..." effects so they don't just expire right away. Putting them before heroes with cards that act on their turn and then stay in play, however, allows them an extra turn to act. There are also some hero cards (Hunter and Hunted et al.) that can both hurt and help, and their owners might want to destroy them before the villain turn rolls around.

Let me know who I missed; I'm at work and somewhat rushed:

      1. Heroes with effects that expire automatically on their turn (Tachyon, The Naturalist, The Sentinels, Legacy, Scholar, Parse*)
      2. Heroes that allow others to play cards out-of-turn (Parse, Omnitron X, Argent Adept)
      3c. Heroes that may want to destroy their "extra" cards before the villain turn (Mr. Fixer, Chrono-Ranger, Setback, The Sentinels)
      3b. Heroes with effects that act during their turn and then stay in play (Omnitron X*, Unity, Absolute Zero, Tempest, Ra, Expatriette, Chrono-Ranger)
      3c. Heroes with cards that [may] trigger during their turn and then blow themselves up (Parse*, Bunker, KNYFE, Unity)
       *When more than one out-of-turn enabler is in the game

This also applies to out-of-turn power usages for the handful of powers with Start of Turn expiry dates. Legacy prefers to go before The Scholar, for example, so his Next Evolution can stay active for the villain turn. GI Bunker's base power is the same way.

Put Tempest before a hero that can manipulate the Villain Deck (ie. Visionary or Nightmist).

Tempest plays Into the Stratosphere (which puts a card in play on top of the Villain deck) and then the other hero puts cards from on top of the Villain deck to the bottom.

Also, putting a hero that can prevent damage (Wraith, Tachyon, etc.) First against a villain that deals counterattack damage (Iron Legacy, Blade, The Operative, The Matriarch) can save you a lot of heartache early-game as well.