Why I Love Mr Fixer

Based on what I've seen on the forums, there seems to be a lot of negativity that gets pushed Mr. Fixer's way, and I think it's pretty unwarnted...while not a flashy character to play, in our play group Mr. Fixer snatches victory from the jaws of defeat time and time again.

When I first started playing Fixer, I like most people on the forums, thought that he was just a subpar damage dealer with a deck that let you customize how you wanted  to deal damage..however the reality is very different: his job is to constantly shift to do whatever you need at any given moment in time (which is unsuprising given his name).

Have a lot of mid tier damage dealers going against mid tier damage reduction?: use tools/bloodly knuckles to remove damage resistance for the group.

Are you the primary damage dealer against someone with insane resistances?: ignore the resistance yourself and punch through

Feeling overwhelmed? Grease Gun can synergize with so many different cards (and wounded heroes) to perpetually lock out damage until you can chip a victory

When playing Fixer its not about a simple routine you always do: (Haka smash/draw cards, Legacy galvanize/draw fire, etc) if you find a tool/style combo you like and stick with it the whole game you'll probably lose...you have to be willing to change with the board, swapping tools and styles with frequency. 

he can fill any hole  He can outlast his team mates. he can damage any enemy.  he can prevent all damage.

the guy is a total rockstar.

illustrated example:

Last night advanced Spite got all five drugs out before hero turn 3.  we thought we were dead.  by hero turn 4 spite mathmatically had no chance of winning.  what was the difference?

Grease Gun.

When grease gun is in play non-hero targets deal no damage.  at the start of your turn you destroy grease gun.

unfortunatlely for Spite he bounces equipment back to peoples hands.  as a result, Fixer was able to perpetually lock out spite dealing damage.  Yes because of board position, 2 heroes were vulnerable to his retalitory strikes until Fixer could reapply the grease gun, but it was literally impossible for wraith (who went after fixer) to take damage for the rest of the game...he got wrecked in record time.

Right on for the Fixer love. :)

Hate to be the bearer of bad news again, but! The ongoing gets bounced back on the start of the villian turn from Upsilon. So his other Drugs and even his written power will still do damage. The only thing it will protect is when he deals damage when someone used a power. A card that is really good to bounce back and forth though with Fixer is Bloody Knuckles!

excellent point!  That being said, the real badness that needs to be avoided with spite is the using powers to take 3 damage (4 on poor wraith), because you're taxed for doing anything...there's lots of passive management to counter the 2 damage dealt 3 times, so i would greasegun spite every day of the week and twice on sunday.

I like Fixer.  He has a great premise and interesting mechanics.  However, how do you propose that he get the Tool he needs for the right job when he needs it?  I have noticed too many times that I have a Tire Iron or a Hoist Chain and I am in DESPERATE need of the Dual Crowbars or the Jack Handle.  I don't think Fixer is a bad character, I just don't understand why the guy only has Toolbox for card acceleration and no search cards for Tools.  He (along with Expatriette, who can only search for The Bronte Sisters or pick one of the first two Equipment she reveals from her deck) have no cards that search for Equipment.  Legacy only has the Legacy Ring, which is mostly a "win-more" card anyway with Galvanize.  Tempest only has the Gene-Bound Shackles (again, win-more), and his Elemental Subwave Inducer, but he also has multiple forms of card draw.  Haka has excellent ability to draw cards and rarely lacks the card he needs at any given moment.  Absolute Zero can search for his Modules, Wraith can search for ANY equipment card and play another, Tachyon has enough card accelleration to access her HUD Goggles early on, Bunker's innate power allows him card draw as well as his APS (though I often find myself missing the card that I need with him in a match, as well), Fanatic has a few cards that allow her to draw more cards to find Absolution or her Aegis, Ra can summon Staff (which also allows him to draw a card) or use Living Conflagration and Horus can Sunrise,  Nightmist has INSANE card draw AND Call Forth, Argent Adept has Instrumental Conjuration (which even lets him draw a card after that) and multiple cards and songs that allow for drawing even more cards, and Unity has Brainstorm, Swiftbot, and Supply Crate.  I've been quite impressed with the construction of all of the ST heroes as well.
Fixer is dope, but this whole "He's just a right-tool-for-the-right-moment" argument really confuses me.  How does he have the right Tool for the right job?  Are people just getting lucky draws every game?  Because my group has had so many matches where Fixer was rummaging through his deck for five or six rounds without coming across the Tool he needs to save the day.  When he does, HO BOY!!!  That guy is a force to be reckoned with.  I just don't understand why he (and Expatriette, and Bunker to a lesser extent) have such a limited means of getting what they need when they need it.

I don't have those "thank goodness Fixer had a Grease Gun at the right moment!" games as much as I would like.  I get those with Wraith and her Infrared Eyepiece/Razor Ordinance-Micro Targeting Computer-Utility Belt-Throwing Knives/dual Stun-Bolt/anything-else-crazy-awesome-that-she-does or Nightmist when she sets up to tank with her Amulet or Necklace, but not as much with Fixer.  I mainly experience "Grease Gun!?  The card I could have used four turns ago?  Awesome..." matches with my group.

I totally understand what you're saying, and undoubtably luck DOES play some part in it...however I think there are some really solid ways to mitigate that:

1: tool box is a great card draw item because it recurs...you can drop it multiple rounds in a row for quick acceleration

2: since his default power is 1 damage, i have no qualms not playing cards/power to draw 2 to get the style/tool I need in the moment as opposed to playing something just to have it out

3: Praying manits style is a great stall card to buy time until you have what you need

while its basically impossible (save for scrapyard) to pull the tool you NEED at a whim, with every tool you draw you have another option at your disposal since they always bounce back to your hand..its hard for the villain deck to eliminate all your options

is it bulletproof?  nope.  does he crack the holy trinity of Legacy/Tachion/Visionary?  nope.  Is he way way better than people give him credit for? absolutely.

I can definitely agree that people can blow off all of the good that Fixer can bring to the table.  I just don't get why Rook City heroes (from a mechanical standpoint) have no concrete method to get exactly what they need when they need it!

Though your Spite example is wrong in principle, the exact situation you describe does have the makings of an almost-total lock.  Fixer plays Grease Gun.  Then Wraith double Stun-Bolts Spite, taking no damage from using powers.  Then Fixer returns Grease Gun, but Spite can't really hurt anybody, having been double Stun-Bolted.  Well, he can still hurt Wraith (nemesis).  And he can hurt the first two characters for 1 if they use a power.  But still, some solid synergy.

Well, Legacy has no cards allowing him to find the Ongoings he may need - and ongoings are the "tools" of Legacy. In fact, he doesn't have many card draw. And no trash recuperation at all. You often have to do with what you get. While Mr Fixer has Toolbox for card draw, Meditation for ongoing retrival, the Scrapyard... Of course it is not Impromptu Invention, but nothing matches Impromptu Invention.

Most heroes are limited in what they can get "at will" from their deck. Wraith is an exception - she is the one with the billion dollars of ressources and a gift for hair blower reconfiguration. And the beautiful eyes.

Mr Fixer does what all heroes must do : improvize with the cards he had the luck to draw. Again, even Legacy must do with card draw, and has far less ability to get more cards than Fixy. But no one seems to complain about having problems getting Next Evolution when it would be useful - or Lead from the Front, or Danger Sense, or any other "tool" in Legacy's deck. I don't know how it turns out for you, but whenever I play Legacy, it seems the cards I desperatly need are at the bottom of the deck.

Anyway - happy to see Mr Fixer has fans ! He is one of my favorites, with Haka and Absolute Zero.

Legacy is a poor comparison.  Legacy does not have much card draw, true, but I have never had problems getting what he needs.  That's mostly because he doesn't need anything.  The strength of his contribution is not based on him having a bunch of stuff.  Each of his plays is individually strong.

"Legacy uses Galvanize."

That alone does so much for the table that most of the time anything else is a bonus, not a necessity.

"Fixer uses an unmodified (or poorly modified) Strike"

That rarely does much for the table at all.

Legacy never needs a set up to function.  His cards just make him cooler than he already is.  Whether you're dealing massive damage, immune to the environment, buffing everyone, healing everyone, or making everyone draw cards, it's never "I just need his Lead From the Front card and then I can start having fun playing Legacy!"  Legacy's effects are just cool.  And Bolster Allies and Thokk! both give him some extra cards in case he REALLY needs that Take Down.  Or he could just punch something.  Or become immune to it.  Or boost his teammates.  Really, any choice is quite good in a variety of situations.

This is a good comparison, though.  Legacy and Fixer both just use what they get.  The difference is that the "Fixer uses whatever Tool he needs for the job" argument is ripped apart.  When Legacy just uses what he gets, he buffs the team and something more.  When Fixer just uses what he gets, he's throwing a Tire Iron at Spite while repeatedly hoping to find a Meditation, Style, or Tool for the job with a Toolbox.  If Fixer is like Legacy, why not have a deck filled with cards that are useful for most any given situation?  Buffs, DR, life regain, damage redirection, damage immunity, and just plain damage are useful in almost any situation.  Tire Iron, Alternating Tiger, Riveting Crane, and Driving Mantis are for very specialized situations.  In those situations, they are quite valuable (when he has them when he needs them, of course).  But for such a specialized deck, I would've thought that the ability to search for that specialization would be part of the design.

Wraith is a utility character.  Deck manipulation?  Damage?  Damage reduction?  Damage redirection?  She's your girl.  Just say the word and she'll get to it.  Trust Fund, Grappling Hook, and Infrared Eyepiece all speed up her draw, and multiple copies of each of her Equipment cards (as well as her healthy supply of Impromptu Inventions) allow for her to get what she needs when she needs it.  Fixer, while being an interesting character with useful effects, doesn't get what he needs when he needs it.  He sometimes gets what he needs and cannot guarantee it will be when he needs it.  Even without the comparison to Wraith, Fixer doesn't really scream utility.  He screams "Up for a challenge?  Try your luck.  Maybe you'll get what you need, and maybe you'll sit in the corner drawing cards all game."  Those good games with him where he has what he needs?  They're an absolute BLAST!  But he doesn't bring the consistency that other characters bring to the table as far as efficacy and overall contribution goes.

One thing to consider when comparing Legacy and Fixer is Legacy relies on others for his Galvanize to be good, correct? So you could say the same thing about Fixer's strike. The mind set is that Legacy increases damage which is generally a fairly awesome thing, but what if teamed up with with a few heroes who are not able to deal damage right off the bat? In that situation Galvanize probably will end up only doing 1 extra point of damage to 1 target, it's not any better than Strike at that point. Granted if there is reduction is invovled than sure it's slightly better, but the point is they both rely on others to make their innate useful in the beginning. Sure Legacy doesn't run into the lack of damage dealing heroes too often as most heroes are actaully of damage dealing nature.

I for one am perfectly fine Fixer not having any search cards for him equipment cards, as that would lower the amount of other cards he has and what would we want to get rid of? Toolbox is fine by me, after all it allows him to move into his deck a lot faster than normal. If it was just a search card for tools than what will he play on his turns when he doesn't want to replace a tool or a style? It allows him to get into his deck and get any card faster. Having search cards are nice, but why have a search card for every single hero? Where's the difficulty in that if half your deck gives you ways to get something into play? Absolute Zero has a search card, but oddly there are just as many people complaing about him as there are Fixer, so if Fixer did have one for tools who says they still wouldn't find something to complain about him? Also if he did then his tools probably wouldn't go back to hand when playing another tool, and honestly that would lock him into the same style and tool everyone round unless he happened to have a Salvage Yard he's saving to retrieve them.

Now on the topic of Salvage Yard, that is probably one of the best supporting cards in the game. Devasting Aurora, Technological Singularity, Pervasive Red Dust, Devious Disruption, Mass Overheating, Pterodactyl Thief, or some other card destroyed all of Wraith's, NightMist's, Haka's, Expatriette's, Bunker's, Argent Adept's, or/and Absolute Zero's equipment? Have no fear Salvage Yard brings it all back into your hand, plus the added bonus of using Overdrive for at least a total of 2 points of damage. Now sure it may not be much, but have you even had a game that ended with the villian at less than 5 health? I know I have and it is just awful. Then Grease Gun will help prevent a lot of damage if can be used at the right time, saving the heroes from a mass beating from Gene-Bound minions, danagerous band of Citizens, and even a bunch of backlash damage from the death of a lot of fowls.

Finally Fixer may take a little to set-up but his damage is able to by pass a lot of other heroes damages or at least equal it.

• Grease Monkey Fist and Dual Crowbars  = Taiha, infact he can choose the type so can get passed immunites to certain types of attacks or take advantage of increases to certain damage *cough*leaking room*cough*

• Grease Monkey Fist and Jack Handle = Grevious Hailstorm, plus still taking advantage of the lovely type changing.
• Driving Mantis and Pipe Wrench = Synaptic Interuption, plus it is nice for heroes to bounce attacks off of to deal more damage to a single target.
• Driving Mantis and Dual Crowbars = Pride and Prejudice, if it is a single target in play he can bounce his second hit off himself to hit that target.
• Driving Mantis and Hoist Chain = Stun Bolt and... Not sure, it may not kill much but he can't get hit with the first attack that is 2 or less and he can reduce damage dealt by a target by 1.
• Altering Tiger Claw and Tire Iron = Wrathful Gaze/Sucker Punch and nothing else as other heroes can't deal consistant Irreducible damage. Very helpful against pesky reduction!
• Riveting Crane and Dual Crowbars/Pipe Wrench = Once again nothing does what this style does, but the only draw back is he has to hit the target to do anything about it.

Most cases it takes an additional card to pull off, but it also features a secondary effect that adds that much more to the attack. Now I would type up the uses for every combination, but sadly I don't feel like sitting here and typing a "How to" on Mr. Fixer.

On a final note, the comment about Fixer using the right tool for whatever job, sure he can't do it every turn, but he will be able to do it at some point.

One more thing, as I forget to mention it in my entire post is Fixer isn't really a main damage dealer, sure he can do it if need be, but he is perfectly content being minion control. Not to mention an awesome power all heroes have is to not play or use a power to draw an additional power. So if 1 damage is not good enough and you truly don't have a style or tool you want to use than hopefully drawing 2 will pull you in the right direction.

Most of these combinations require either Grease Monkey, Dual Crowbars, or Pipe Wrench, all of which increase Fixer's damage by 1. For most of Fixer's combinations to be really effective, he seems to need a damage boost, and unless you play every game with him in a team with Ra and/or Legacy he can be subpar if he doesn't draw one of those cards. Drawing three cards with Toolbox is okay, but I don't think allowing it to help you get a tool would mean you would have to get rid of the returning a tool to your hand mechanic, especially if you make it like Arsenal Access, and just allow it reveal cards until you find a tool and put it into your hand and shuffle the other revealed cards into your trash. Giving Toolbox a search function would not take away from any of his other cards, you would just have an increased chance of getting the tool you need which would make all of your one shots more effective.

I began comparing Legacy and Mr Fixer because Reckless first did it in his post, by suggesting Fixer needed cards for gaining his tools, while Legacy, having only his ring, did not need them - reason why I suggested it would be better to compare with the ability of Legacy to find his ongoings.

As for the fact that Legacy's cards are always good, I don't agree. There are games where you want Legacy to have Lead from the front and Fortitude, but you can't find them, and have to use Danger Sense and damage cards, because that's all you have. Even if the Environment is not a danger. Of course he still does something with these cards - but it is the same for Mr Fixer or anyone else : if you don't have the "right "card, you still can do something. No one complains when Legacy doesn't manage to get the wanted combo out, but it seems players think Fixer is no good unless he has the needed combo out...

Does Fixer always have the right tool for the job ? Of course not. Just like Legacy may not have Next Evolution and Lead from the Front when you would like it. But both have these tools in their deck - and Mr Fixer has more ways to finally find them than Legacy.

I think the problem many players have with Mr F is that his role in the team is not obvious. He seems to be a damage dealer, at first glance, but in fact is not. His main job is to let other heroes fight at maximum efficiency by disposing of damage reduction, either by killing "guards" or bypassing other damage reduction cards. Even Tire Iron and Bloody Knucles are meant to bypass the damage reduction of targets like Voss bodyguards, and destroy them, allowing his team mates to concentrate their "better" damaging powers on high HP targets.

He is, in many ways, a support character, who can also act as a damage dealer if needed.

Maybe I should compare him with the Visionary. She is seen as a very good "deck controller" - but for this she needs to find the good cards and have them at the right time. There are many games where she does not have the opportunity to control the villain's deck, and needs to do something else -often damaging targets, or becoming the team's tank with her cocoon. Or spending a few turns drawing cards. Even if what the team needs, and the reason she was invited in the team, is her deck control abilities. But she is still seen has "the" deck controller.

I think the difference is that Legacy's cards whereas they aren't always the most useful, are still mostly at least a little useful, some of Fixer's cards by themselves are kind of useless. Take Riveting Crane. Being able to make all damage against a target be irreducible is pretty awesome, but the only time it would really be useful is against a target with DR. Mr. Fixer's base damage is only 1, and so if he doesn't have anything to increase his damage, then that ability is completely useless. It's true that Lead from the Front, and Next Evolution aren't always the most useful cards to have, but you always have the chance to at least use them to some effect, and in the situations they should be useful, they are. Fixer seems to have more cards that he can't use at all unless the stars are perfectly aligned, and I think this is what frustrates people about Mr. Fixer.

Alright, I made the mistake using too many Crowbars and Pipe Wrench's in my post. Grease Monkey Fist on the other hand does infact have a search card and isn't really up for debate as Tools are the primirary target.

• Altering Tiger Claw and Jack Handle are excellent together if someone like Anvil is out giving reduction to multiple targets.
• Driving Mantis and Tire Iron are fun as he may not be dealing a lot of damage but redirection does help weaken minions and once they are down to 3 he can instantly kill them.

I could continue if I really wanted to list off all awesomeness of not using increased damage. More often than not his Tools tend to always have a use for them in any situation, will it be the best? Not likely, but they all help in some way.  Jack Handle and Tire Iron may be the only Tools that lose effectiveness depending what's on the field. Like Spite who destroys all Evironment cards anyhow, Fixer won't be in a situation where he needs to hit more than one or destroy them easier when they hit 2 or less health. Though there is Harmony, so if those are your only two equipment then why not go ahead and play them as it's not like you can't easily replace them.

Can Mr. Fixer take a bit to get going, yes he does. Compare him to Absolute Zero, Bunker, Tachyon, and NightMist. All insanely great heroes, but if you're not getting the right cards at the right time then they aren't really helping. Give Fixer enough time and he is destroying space ships with tire irons and punching demons with a fist radianting holy light. Imagine how easy the game would be if everyone could do their maximum potentional at turn one.

Riveting Crane is one card I find to be incredibly disappointing.  In order for it to even work, you need another effect to buff Fixer's damage.  Without one of his damage buffing Tools, Galvanize, Imbue Fire, or Strike, its effect doesn't apply.  Which, yet again, leads to my disappointment with his inability to search his deck for Tool cards.  He has a Style that relies on him having either a Pipe Wrench or Dual Crowbars (or worse, one of his other Tool and Harmony:  THREE cards to make one card work).  That kind of sucks for the whole "versatility" argument for Fixer.

Fixer won't always have an opponent with DR, but Legacy will always have an Environment to be immune to.  Fixer won't always have a target with two or fewer HP to destroy, but Legacy will always have damage he can redirect away from his teammates.  Fixer won't always have multiple targets for AoE, but Legacy will always be able to become immune to a damage type the opponent is throwing.  Whether it is the best option or not is irrelevant.  Legacy's cards apply to more situations more often than most any of Mister Fixer's Tools or Styles.  Legacy works with what he has, and Fixer burns through his deck trying to find the one thing he needs to make things work.

I get the utility of this character.  I understand that he is useful in certain situations with certain cards.  What I don't understand is why a character that has such a specific design to his support style and needs such a specific set of cards to deal with each of these particularly difficult situations has such a high chance of showing up late to the party.  Jack Handle and Alternating Tiger is awesome.  It's so useful against hordes of minions with a Gene-Bound Guard or two.  With every other character that needs something to function on a basic level against a threat, they have the means to draw what they need or search for it.  Why is it that Fixer gets screwed when his Jack Handles are on the bottom of his deck and the heroes are counting on him to clear the field?  Is it really ok that a hero as cool as him just has to deal?  H.R. "Slim" Walker seems way too resourceful to have something like that shut down his playstyle.

Jeebus, did this have to turn into another topic where people point out all the things they don't like about Mr. Fixer?  We have lots (and lots) of those.  This was supposed to be a place where people who actually like him could say their peace. :)

Are you implying that a perspective on Mister Fixer that involves negative criticism means the poster doesn't like him?

I'm implying that there are lots of topics in which to discuss Fixer's shortcomings, and I think this post was meant to discuss what makes him fun to play.  Instead, all the Fixer critics have jumped in with the same arguments they use in the other forums, which was perhaps not the discussion the OP had in mind when he started the topic.  I'm just tired of listening to endless explanations of why Fixer is the worst thing since athlete's foot, is all. I think that particular point has been made. ;)

My apologies.  I didn't realize that my experience playing Mister Fixer wasn't valid in this thread.

My apologies.  I didn't realize that my experience playing Mister Fixer wasn't valid in this thread.

Ha, a tiny overreaction to my trying to get the topic back on track, although I do think people have misinterpreted this topic as a call for discussion on Fixer's strengths and weaknesses.  We've done that plenty elsewhere.

At this point, further protestations or insistences are unlikely to sway the opinions of others. 

Give him a break. He's an old man with no super powers.

If you want to compare Legacy to Mr. Fixer take a look at the compiled statistics. Legacy is at the top. Fixer is at the bottom.

Christopher has pointed out that they were not trying to create balanced gameplay with Sentinels.

Out of curiosity. I myself has not played Mr. Fixer much, but would everyone still say Mr. Fixer is a complexity 2 Hero. 

He kinda feels like a complexity 3 Hero cause he requires a setup time similar to AZ, Ardent and Nightmist, but a very exact component of cards before he is useful.

Also I remember reading somewhere Bloody Knuckles against Spite's bouncing drug is quite good.

The problem with that argument is that Wraith is only a third of a percent above Fixer… 

Also take a look at the games Fixer has been in. Mostly against Rook City villians, not really an ideal field to be playing on. He needs more games against Infernal Relics and base game to help balance it out.

Maybe I'll see about playing him some more this weekend, then, to even it out a bit ;). I quite like Mr Fixer - he's got lots of useful tricks to deal with pretty much any situation. Yeah, you have to get the right cards out but he has multiple copies of every tool and style, plus Meditation to search for the latter and the Tool Box to give him a greater chance of drawing anything. One card I don't seem to get very often is Harmony (not sure how many copies are in the deck, possibly only two?) but that might just be my bad luck ;). While Legacy is good at stuff and I don't mind playing him, i do find that it's a bit tedious in that you can only ever draw one card per turn unless you manage to get Bolster Allies or erm, "Thokk!" I think, and even then they only let him draw another card - he has nothing that really lets him run through his deck quickly or search for anything specific. Okay so pretty much all his cards are useful at some point, but it'd be nicer if you could get through the deck a bit faster in the event that there's one card that would really help right now…

Yeah, I don't know what's going on with Wraith. Very strange. She is the main surprise in the hero stats. There's lots of surprises in the villain stats.

What are you talking about? Everyone says he owns against Plague Rat and Spite. And everyone says he needs boosts which he gets against the Chairman and the Operative.

Spite he doesn't really own, he just helps with Spite bouncing cards back and forth. The Chairman is a rank 4 villian, the current toughest in Sentinels of the Multiverse. Fixer's boosted damage does not help him enough when he is being beaten by the Chairman and Operative who in turn have boosted damage against him aswell. So Fixer's boosted damage against the hardest villian in the game doesn't really help too much. Plague Rat is the only Rook City villian he does have a severe advantage over, so much so that it may even be broken.

Plague Rat doesn't have any ongoing destruction, and so that's an extra 1 or 2 irreducible you can deal every turn.

Hey, this thread may be for Fixer's fans, but his critics are allowed. We just all have to know that we can't convince each other - and maybe try to give hints or advices on the way to play him.

About Wraith and Fixer : I think the main difference between the two is that Wraith cards and combos have a big "Wow!" factor. She has a lot of possible combos, and a lot of cards that seem/are obviously good. While Fixer can do many of the things our beloved mummy in a swimming suit does, but with cards that look meh.

The way we look at heroes (and at villains, even) depends a lot on how "amazing" they feel when we play them - especially the first times we play them. Expatriette's shotgun may be the best one-target damage power around, it feels less awesome than Ra's base power of burning people alive. Playing Wraith feels like opening a toy chest full of marvels - while Fixer's feel like opening a greasy toolbox.

My own experience is that, after playing a lot all heroes, they all have roughly the same "problem" : sometimes, you can't do anything interesting with them, because they don't have the cards they need. Even with a lot of drawing, you often can't manage to do much. It is true of Mr Fixer, it is also true of Wraith - I have had games were she was a dead weight, unable to do anything valuable for 3 rounds in a row but hide herself. It happens to everyone.

There's another thing to take into account : the BIG difference beween playing solo or with other players. Maybe it explains, at least in part, why heroes like Expatriette, Mr Fixer, Absolute Zeo or Bunker are seen as sub-par. When I play solo, I play the team as a whole - one of the heroes may have a bad turn, I don't really care, I have 3 other heroes to have fun with. In a multiplayer game, it can feel very different - spending a few rounds doing nothing big while the other players seem to chain amazing moves can be unpleasant, both for the player and his team mates…

I think that is the problem with some heroes of the base game and rook city : though they are as capable as their colleagues, they may not be as "shiny" to play than the others, at least at first. I think we won't see this with future heroes - this is the kind of problem the play testers help to mitigate.

As for why Wraith is in the "lower end" of the scale according to the survey… I am not sure. Maybe because she has a harder time to get her combos out than you might think at first glance - she has a long setup time when/if you don't have Impromptu Invention in hand. Maybe because she has many different "roles" she can perform - but only a few of them are really useful in a given fight. There are times when Infrared Goggles, for instance, are less useful than damage, or tanking/stunning. And vice versa. I know that I sometime chose the wrong tactics - or can't manage to have the cards I would need… Her deck feels awesome - and in fact IS awesome - but you rarely can use it all in a given game.

By the way - I will here give my only negative "critic" to flamethrower49's marvelous guides : they are very useful and enlightening, but they give the feeling that it is "normal" to have all these beautiful combos and cards. It is what I call "the Argent Adept fallacy" : yes, you can, sometimes, have AA use all his instruments in a given turn. it happens, I've seen it. But in most of my games, he can't manage to have more than a few cards and an instrument in play - most games are played too fast for a big set up. He can be quite effective even with only one or two cards, and I like him. But his big setup is as rare as Bunker's or AZ's, or Nightmist's. Most of the time, heroes have to improvize with what they have, and what they have is not shiny at all. I think we may need some kind of "improvizing with your hand" guide someday ! (Flamethrower49, I like your guides ! They are great ! Don't take this "critic" negatively ! Biggest Fan ! )

I think bad games can really warp people's opinions of a character. It's hard for them to believe or care about situations where certain heroes rock the house when they haven't personally experienced any of them. I just think that allowing Fixer a way to search for his tools would help lower the amount of games where people feel like they didn't get to do anything cool with him. That being said, I think you make a very good point Sound of Trees.

loan voice of dissent here, but in my opinion the Chairman isn't nearly as hard as plague rat or matriarch…the chairman has no tricks to fuck you over, it all comes down to strategy and math

Actually, I would also agree on the Chairman being less of an arse than those two - the worst he can do is get loads of Thugs and stuff out who dish out loads of damage. Plague Rat whittles you down relentlessly with his irreducible damage plinking away, while Matriarch...well, yeah...those damn birds...

This!  This!  Forever this!

My Friday night group played again over the weekend in lieu of our normal Hell on Earth game, and one of our newest players took Bunker for the evening.  He's an old school Magic player, and a little bit of a min-maxer–then again, that's the pot calling the kettle black, there–but I just could not for the life of me figure out what he was doing all game.  

Bunker may well be my favorite character in the set, simply because I'm a giant Iron Man fanboy.  I've played him probably more than any other character.  So, when I saw Dan spending turn after turn just collecting cards and not dealing damage, I felt like I wanted to scream at him, "Dude!  You're doing it wrong!"  Countless times, when buffed and with Grenade Launcher in hand, he chose to forgo mowing down minions in favor of simply drawing more cards.  His justification was that he was building a big enough deck to power the OmniCannon and the Gatling Gun simultaneously.  Meanwhile, we kept getting hammered by foes and, expectedly, his exasperation when we'd hit equipment-destroying cards was almost tearful, after he'd spent turn after turn building up with little actual effect on the game.

I find that as I play more and more–particularly as I've tried playing solo, which has helped me understand a lot more of the complex cards in the deck–the allure of the Big Damn Combo becomes less and less.  It's awesome when it happens, but the likelihood of a huge, 30-40 damage turn just isn't likely.  I'd rather be able to put out 6-10 damage on a regular basis, while slowly expanding an arsenal of tricks, rather than bank multiple turns on a plan that could be nullified by the flip of a single card.  Given the example above?  I find that I very rarely try to do both the Gatling Gun and the OmniCannon–between card discards and rebuffs nuking my Ammo Drops, I find that I never have enough cards to run both effectively.  But, by committing to one, coupled with the Flak Cannon or Grenade Launcher, I can put out consistent, potent damage while keeping my hand full of options for deck control and recovery.  

I guess what I like about Fixer, then, is his zen-like simplicity.  He doesn't need a specific tool or a specific style to contribute–he just needs A style or tool.  And, once he has that, his cards become a pool of options rather than necessary plays.  Damage reduction?  He's got a style for that.  Lots of dudes?  Jackhandle has it covered.  And, when he's got the right option in play, he can lay down Overdrive or Bloody Knuckles for added damage.  The key is to simply flow with the situation, and not get attached to finding the "perfect dream combo".  

Likewise.

I realized at some point that the best way to be effective with Bunker (and most heroes) is to accept what you've been given and use it, not try to get to some particular set of cards. What I end up doing with Bunker is generally one of four things: Gatling gun and some other attack power; Multiple attack powers and turret mode; Omnicannon; Tank (some combo of heavy plating, recharge mode, and healing). The first option is a lot more likely than the others, I think. Even within these options, though, there's space for adapting to the situation on the ground – making decisions like whether or not it's worth it to wait for a second gun before going into turret mode, whether or not its worth it to come out of recharge mode in order to throw a foam grenade.

I find Bunker fun to play not necessarily because he can be the most effective hero, but because it's fun to fire the guns and playing him requires interesting choices.

Rook City is Mine begs to differ. And the math says that the Chairman does a ton of damage, has lots of damage reduction, and heals lots of damage too.

On topic, I think Mr. Fixer should probably be good in 3 player games against the Chairman, but suffers in 4 or 5 player games because it's hard for him to effectively use Driving Mantis against The Operative. Also, it's hard for him to keep any of his styles out against the Matriarch (though Bloody Knuckles is a really solid play against her). In one game, I tried to use Riveting Crane to allow Tachyon to use Hypersonic Assault against the Matriarch, and it just didn't work.

Im all about the Plinking. Constant, steady, low damage turn after turn is far more effective (especially with a couple of damage boosts!) than high grade single shot big power hits. Thats why I /love/ expat and Fantaic.

That and Fantic using her discard a card at the begining of a turn and do 2 damage card can seriously destroy some things if you have the cards in hand

(Don't take this for me being sore or anything, merely curious.) 

Your critique confuses me, SoundofTrees.  With each of my hero guides, I take pains to describe every card (or at least every class of card), and detail the situations in which you might want to use them.  This is exactly so I can help people understand what cards might be best for a given situation.  There can be multiple right answers,  or no right answers.  (AKA, draw two cards with your turn.)  I do mention the awesome combos, of course, but I don't think the approaches I describe are combo-based at all.  This is because I understand that you don't always draw the combos, so I have never limited my gameplay that way.

A notable exception to this is my Absolute Zero guide.  I don't really spend time talking about the fact that AZ wearing just the Isothermic Transducer can still be a big threat, but at the time I was focusing on informing people specifically about how his deck synergizes.  I'll add a bit about that someday.

So I guess I'm wondering how you came to that conclusion.  I need better understanding if I'm going to fix the problem.

If it wasn't clear, the Argent Adept "exercise" of using all of his powers is about understanding how to gain advantage by using them.  Not how to use them when you've accumulated six equipment cards and who knows how many ongoings. 

Perhaps I should specify that… 

I don't know if this has been said yet (I don't like reading all that much, not if I have something to say!) but thus far Mr. Fixer is the only hero to either deal or grant irreducable damage. This alone makes him both pretty valuable and pretty key against certain bosses, most notably Apostate. Who knew a twisting motion was powerful enough to break ancient artifacts?

Well, Fanatic does have one card that grants a little irreducible damage, but it is very small and a one shot.  So yeah, just Fixer in a practical sense.

Heroes in the future have access to a little more than that.

Can't wait!

I don't want to put words in SoundofTrees' mouth, so take anything I say with a grain of salt, brother.

Imagine if you will, a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle in a blank cardboard box.  As you open the box, you have no idea what the overall picture is supposed to be and how the pieces will fit together.  After an hour or so of fitting pieces together, you begin to see a patterns emerge.  You might start at the edge and build a framework, allowing you to access deeper and deeper within the puzzle itself.  Eventually, the more time you devote to it, the closer you get to understanding the whole picture, even without seeing the original image.

Now, imagine doing the same puzzle while looking at the box lid with a picture on the cover.  If it's an image of a carnival, you might start right in the middle of the puzzle, looking for bits of the Ferris Wheel in the middle of the puzzle, rather than at the edge.  While the reference image simultaneously makes your life easier by giving you a point of reference and an overall sense of direction, it also builds in the inborn temptation to skew away from the "basic" framework of the puzzle.

Your guides are great, brother.  After I picked up Sentinels a few weeks ago, they really helped me to understand how the heroes function, what roles they fill within a given group, and what cards to keep an eye on.  But, when you know what the "ideal" hero set-up is supposed to be, can anyone resist the temptation to try to fulfill that vision?  And, in trying to fulfill that 'ultimate combo', it can become easy to lose sight of the actual goal of defeating the villain–I saw that problem firsthand with Dan, in the example I had earlier.  He was more focused on getting that Gatling/OmniCannon/FlakCannon combo rolling, rather than actually winning the game as the group.

I'm not trying to say that your guides are "cheating" or that someone should have to "make their bones" by playing the game raw first–rather, it's just tempting to see the potential in an "ideal scenario" and hold an unspoken expectation that "Hey, this guy can do X, Y, and Z.  I should be able to do that!"

Case in point?  I've never managed to get the Wrest the Mind / Telekinetic Cocoon combo to work.  I see the obvious appeal–redirect damage away from allies, while damaging enemies?  Awesome idea!–but each time the possibility has come up, I've found myself needing to use a Power or play a different card, or something simply makes the combo untenable.  But, the temptation for me is still there, each time I play Visionary:  can I pull off this combo?  Can I drop the big damage with Bunker or Absolute Zero?  

Robert Penn Warren wrote in "All the King's Men" that "The end of man is to know."  Man's demise would come either from the knowledge he hasn't got (being a rookie, playing a game the first time) or the knowledge that he has got (knowing how cards are played and trying to subconsciously go for the 'high score' rather than winning the game).  Even as our overt, stated goal would be to win the game cooperatively, there's still a niggling temptation "down in the dark, which is you" that wants to achieve the 'impossible'.

For what it's worth?  I still like your guides and I still want to see more of them.  I really hope you finish out the remaining set, particularly as Shattered Timelines comes out.  I just have to keep them in perspective in terms of my own play, and find what works best for me.  And, y'know…more perspectives are always good!

I understand what's being said about Flamethrower's guides, but I don't really want to blame them for people being too focused on power combos rather than being a team player. If player's are more focused on themselves than the group, then they had the wrong mentality when entering the game, and they still probably would've made similar errors whether they read Flamethrower's guides or not.

I didn't mean your guides are "oriented" in the direction of big combos promotion. What makes them so good and useful IS the fact that you take great care to look at each card and what you can do with it. Your guides are not at falt : what I really think, and should have said, is that your very complete guides can't escape the "awesome combo!" reaction of its readers. You can hardly fight this.

I'll try to be clearer - and keep in mind that it is very subjective. When someone asks, on these forums, how to fight a given villain, or better use an environment, or which hero can be the more useful in a given situation, the answers often are very specific. For instance, Haka is often cited as a good hero to have against the Matriarch, because of Savage Mana. But Savage Mana is just one card in his deck, that you may never see in a given fight. Against the Chairman, Legacy's Lead from the front + Next Evolution is often cited - but it is a combo I've been able to put once only in my last three fights against the chairman with Legacy.

Often, when talking of Tachyon, we put her big Lightning Speed attacks to the forefront - while, in play, I rarely have an occasion to wait for her trash to be big, and am content with a 6 hp damage lightning speed at the right time…

We are often fascinated by great combos, or perfect card uses. And when we read guides or hints/advices, we tend to remember the most the awesome combos (or the things we never thought of before). This is not a problem with your guides, but with our attitude : we tend, when asked how to play a hero, to first think of the times something big happened, when the other player's jaws dropped on the floor. We often forget the other times, when our beloved hero did nothing special… The anecdote becomes the focus of our thought on this hero/villain, etc.

I tend to "defend" Mr Fixer (or Expatriette) because I've seen him "rock the casbah" on multiple occassion - even if I've seen him spend other games doing nothing much. On the other hand, I first didn't like the Argent Adept : I had read so much about him being awesome that the first times I played him, I was unimpressed, as he did not manage to put big combos out. I'm just beginning to like him, but not because of the big card combos, because of the little things he can do that seem less awesome than the "play every power" trick but are so damn useful.

I should not have associated this with your guides - I'll confess I maybe failed to prevent myself from trying to be provocative. This is more about our attitude, has a forum crowd of SotM fans. We are fond of the awesomeness that happens in this game, and often forget the less awesome games where our heroes do nothing "big", the villain keeps being un-impressive, and nothing memorable happens.

We build expectations about what heroes should do, how difficul villains should be - and are disappointed when these expectations are not met. But our expectations are often built on very "perfect" anecdotes, leading to bigger disappointment, and, often preventing us to be imaginative and improvize with what we have, because it feels "subpar".

Bunker and AZ, for instance, fall easily into this "trap" : as pointed in the guide for Bunker, Mode cards are not the center of his deck, but useful tools that you will only use some times - but many players, at first, try to use them at all cost (I did…) Likewise, AZ can play a whole game without ever using his modules and still be effective - but it feels "wrong" to play like this if you don't know him well. Last time I played AZ, he had both modules in hand, but never put them in play : it was more useful to play cold snap and apertures, and keep getting them out the trash. One or two months ago, I would not have dared to play him this way (and, by the way, would have lost the game!). Likewise, I begin to often play Nightmist without using her amulet - either because she does not draw it, or because it would have her lose a turn…

Damn, It is again a long text. My point is : let's not forget that, most of the time, the really good combinations of cards we associate each hero with may not happen - but we have equally useful tricks we can use, if we just concentrate on the "here and now".

PS : flamethrower49, again, your guides are great. I don't think you have to change anything. But maybe, you should (or we, SotM fans, should) work on a generic guide about "how to be awesome when your hand his bad"

That was a bloody good post, brother!

Much obliged.  :D

I tend to pick up affectations from the people I'm around–my grandfather used to call everyone 'brother', and after he died, I found myself starting to do the same.  

Makes more sense now.  Great posts!

Absolutely.  After about my second game with him I realized he is a primarily tank that can help keep small targets off the board.  That is how I have played him ever since and he has seemed much more capable.  If I can find a mantis stance early I'm set, throw in a tool and its go time.  Just fine since my group loves tanks anyway.