Thursday 13 #10: Stopping the bleeding

 

This week I’ve got a lot going on in the dreaded realm of “real life”, so I freely confess that I’m not 100% responsible for this week’s T13. Thus, a pat on the back for Adam/Flashback for his assistance. With all that I’ve got going on, I appreciate the assist.

In keeping with Crime Lords Month here at Lost Hemisphere, this week we’re taking a look at thirteen cards that help the Crime Lords do what they do best.

See, the Crime Lords, as a team, have a nifty array of abilities when they’re being attacked… but a heck of a lot of them are entirely dependent on the defending character being reinforced. It’s not always easy to ensure you’ve got a spare character to do the reinforcing, so packing the deck with alternative ways to gain reinforcement is key.

Thus… in no particular order, thirteen cards that I’ve used in more than few happy decks, that provide reinforcement!

Catcher’s Mitt: Versatility is a good thing. Catcher’s Mitt is an equipment card, so it’s automatically in my good books, but on top of that it hits a trifecta: It has an alternate recruit cost It can be be recruited or played from hand It’s board-wide reinforcement What’s not to love?
Mosaic World: I play a lot of casual games, and there’s a lot of jank out there. There’s little I find more annoying than being denied my team affiliations by the likes of Ra’s Al Ghul.Mosaic World gets around that, since it allows your characters to reinforce even when they don’t have an active team affiliation. DGL’s been good to me.
Duty Calls: Possibly my new favourite in terms of versatility, Duty Calls not only reinforces, it also provides flight and range for the entire turn. Play it while attacking for the flight and range, avoid a stunback and you still don’t have to worry about bleeding endurance or allowing those fiends in the Squadron Supreme to get their alternate break effects.
Pogo Plane: I love me some Fantastic Four (as will become more evident as you keep reading). Pogo Plane not only reinforces, but it lets my Every-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing fly over the defenders and stomp into the support row.That it can be used to hunt out critical locations like Pier 4 is just gravy… even it that is the primary use for it in a Pier Pressure deck.
Framistat: Oh look, more Fan4! Ah, but Framistat’s generally useful.It can be recruited without having to spend resource points, and then has the option of being an offensive or defensive tool… …. or both if it happens to be on a Fantastic Four member. Did I mention I like them?
Burn Rubber: The grandaddy of generic reinforcement, this one’s been around since Marvel Origins. It makes it onto the list out of respect for that if nothing else.The “move a character” function could see a resurgence in popularity if Marvel Universe has a strong Leader theme…
Personal Force Field: This one ain’t free, but it’s a triple-threat of effects. +3 def, reinforcement, and you can’t be targetted with plot twists. That’s pretty neat…… though you can’t target the equipped character with your own plot twists either. Price you pay, I guess.
Invisible Woman: Sue Storm: Ah, Susie, how we love thee. I can’t say I’m a fan of the art, but this young lady set the standard for character-based reinforcement, as far as I’m concerned.Global reinforcement for all of your Fantastic Four peeps is just so, so sweet.
Invisible Woman: First Lady of the Fantastic Four: The MVL functional reprint of Sue Storm, this one has advantages in that she’s a lower cost and she’s Concealed…… but she only reinforces her three pals. She doesn’t reinforce other Fan4 characters, nor herself. Being hidden’s a bit of a trade off for that.
Poker Night: Requiring an exhaust puts this behind things like Burn Rubber, but being able to turn it into card draw is a good thing.Hand advantage is advantageous. Duh.
Crowd Control: Crime Lords love this card. One simple discard, and the entire support row is reinforced. What’s not to love? No more worrying about those pesky fliers swooping into your Roscoe Sweeney for massive breakthrough!
ESU Science Lab: When I’m not busy loving Fantastic Four, I’m a fan of Spider-Friends too. Spider-Clones is still a favourite deck to toss together every once in a while, so being able to gain reinforcement off a power-up is a handy treat.The card draw functionality’s not too shabby when you’re on the defensive either.
Rick Jones, A Hero’s Best Friend: Lastly, a tip of the hat to the Avengers, since they’ll be featuring so heavilly in Marvel Universe.Rick’s concealed, he’s a Reservist, has an alternate recruit method, and can reinforce any of your defenders - whether they’re Avengers or not. Looks like an awfully smug jerk in that art, but, well, he is kinda handy.