Card Preview - MUN222 Beta Ray Bill

There comes a time in a man’s life when the cosmos recognises his efforts. Some karmic balance is finally tipped. All those times you walked the little old lady across the street. All those times you distinctly didn’t take the last doughnut. All those times you actually emptied the dishwasher before your mother / wife / girlfriend / alternative-lifestyle-partner-of-choice nagged you.

And then there’s those times when some crazy dude in an office somewhere who, for some godforsaken reason, has control over these things decides he’s gonna be nice to you to make up for that time he ate a puppy.

I have no bloody idea which this is, but, let me just say…

HOT DAMN!

 Alright, alright, you can have your darn preview…

Happy now? Heck, I know I am! The dream is realised! We have Alpha Flight, we have Omega Flight, we have BETA RAY FREAKIN’ BILL!!!!!!!

Now, as promised way back here, I have to interrupt the preview for a second to say the following:

Billy Zonos is without a doubt the greatest human being named Billy “TBZ” Zonos, who happened to have once portrayed a lovesick gamer geek girl online, to have walked the Earth in search of oreos. No other human being named Billy “TBZ” Zonos can compare to his niftiness, and he has a much more palatable aroma than you’d expect from someone who regularly bathes in cafe americano.

Okay, now I can get back to blathering about the the REAL Bill!

As usual, without seeing the rest of the team, it’s not really possible to fully disect the card, but we can say with some degree of confidence that he tops out the curve for Alpha Flight. Definitely for Omega Flight (here’s hoping we get the full squad!), but from Alpha Flight’s main roster I would think the only other characters potentially on that level are Sasquatch and Snowbird, when they’ve got Tanaraq running rampant through their systems.

So… 7-drop? Damn straight, anything less than 6 would be an insult. 16/14 with flight and range? I’ll take that, sure, thanks! Packing an out-of combat-stun? Talk about calling down the lightning!

We’ve seen a lot of out-of-combat stun stuff in the previews for Marvel Universe, especially from the Negative Zone, but this one? What makes it special?

For a start, it’s reusable. If you’re up against a standard curve deck, you’ll likely get a single shot out of it, but if you’re up against a hardcore stall deck, then you’re going to fire it off multiple times.

Since it happens out of combat it’s the perfect solution for getting rid of nastiness like the Skrull Captain America’s counter that he’s been safely hiding away, before he can launch an unstunnable Titannus at you. Heck, if you have enough plot twists, you can just stun Titannus out of hand. After all, if there’s anyone who knows about being cosmic, it’s our Bill.

That, for the record, is his opening strike from Omega Flight- clears the field nicely of a good portion of demon thingies so he can smack the Wrecking Crew around a bit.

So, it’s reusable. Start of the Combat Phase, not limited to Attack Step, means it works on offense and defense. It targets, sure, but it doesn’t give a rats patootie about where the target is. Front row, support row, visible, concealed - the lightning strikes.

If nothing else, just pack a handful of turn-long combat pumps. If you have the initiative, take out a reinforcer with Bill’s ability,and then plow through for glory.

Spud got some stuff to share with you with regards to this most excellent of previews in this week’s How I’d Do It, but for me, this is a geek dream come true. When Heroclix were first released, I declared “If they release a Beta Ray Bill, I must have it”. When VS was released, I uttered the same declaration.

Finally, it is so.

I can’t wait for my cards - but I’m telling ya, there better be a Bill in those boxes, or there’s just no justice in the universe. Hah. Universe. See? I made a funny!

Aah, it’s a good time to be alive to be playing VS, and it just goes to show that good guys don’t always finish last.

Well, bald guys.

Well, me.

Last minute addendum: We’ve now seen Weapon Omega… Now you can use your opponent’s stuff too! Hot damn! Am I the only one champing at the bit to see what other blue tricks they’ve packed into Alpha Flight????