Welcome to another edition of the Brotherhood Character Deep Dive. It's been a while since the last Deep Dive article and we only have a couple more to get through to round out the Brotherhood affiliation. So this week, we're taking a look at the immovable object that is, The Blob!
Character Card
As always, let's start by looking at his character card.
Blob is 3 threat with a slow move, though he is on a medium base which helps his movement significantly. With, 4/2/2 defences this is on the below average side for a 3 threat character, though this is somewhat balanced out by his 6 health which is above average. He's also Size 3, which requires larger displacement tech to be able to move him around.
Looking at his attacks, he has a fairly standard 5 dice strike, this does however have a Size 3 push on a wild though which adds some nice displacement.
Thunderous Splash is Blob's spender, and in my opinion, one of the best spenders in the game. A 7 dice and range 3 attack is nice, but that's not where this attack shines. First, Blob places himself within Range 1 of the target character, this happens before damage is dealt, so even if you daze the character here Blob will still place. Then, on top of this, on a wild Blob then triggers Explosive Force and any character within range 2 of the target is pushed away short and takes a damage (note, this also applies to your own characters too). Although the Explosive Force trigger is dice reliant, this is an excellent form of control with the ability to displace multiple characters from a single action. Even if you fail to get the wild trigger, the range 1 place is automatic and is an excellent way to move Blob around the table and makes him deceptively mobile.
Moving on to his superpowers, and for 3 power Blob can use his Catch Little Man superpower. This is a fairly standard Size 3 terrain throw that we see on many characters in the game. Very useful here though, as it synergises well with Magneto's leadership, giving out power whenever terrain is destroyed.
Ha Ha Ha, That Tickles is a superpower at the time of writing, that is completely unique to Blob. If Blob suffers damage from an attack he may spend a power to reduce the damage by 1 to a minimum of 1. After the attack is resolved, if the character is within range 3 of Blob, he may push the attacking character away short. I'd just like to point out here, there's no size limit on this push, so he can push ANYONE away as long as they've done damage to him and they're within range 3.
Nothing Can Move The Blob is his final superpower which is innate. This stops him being pushed or thrown as a result of attack special rules. Another note here, this means he can still be moved by attack special rules that have places, just not any that stipulates pushes or throws. So "Nothing Can Move The Blob" unless you have a place on your attack or your just anybody with a size 3 throw that's a superpower...
Tactics Cards
In this next section, we'll review his character specific tactic cards.
Leapfrog is the only character specific card that relates to Blob. After an allied Toad deals damage with an attack, Toad and Blob may both spend a power and Blob may advance short and make a strike attack. I'm a little bit down on this card personally for a few reasons. The first of these, is because of that first stipulation that Toad needs to deal with damage with an attack. Toad isn't typically a character that wants to be attacking people, he's used to grab extracts and run away as he's quite easily taken off the board if attacked. If in a rare instance he does make an attack, he only has access to a 4 dice and a 5 dice attack, so he's not going to reliably damage anyone.
The second issue, is that if in some niche circumstance you have done all of the above, Blob then also needs to be in a position where an advance short and making a strike attack is going to be meaningful.
On paper this card sounds great, but in reality, none of those things are going to align where this card is going to be worth one of the limited card slots in your roster.
Strength's and Weaknesses
Strengths
Access to a wide range of displacement effects
Large health pool which is above average for a character of the same threat level
Excellent spender
Weaknesses
Weak to both energy and mystic attacks
Ha Ha Ha That Tickles only works from range 3, so any long range characters can play around this effect
Nothing Can Move The Blob only works for attacks so he can be easily displaced by superpowers
With only a range 2 builder and a slow move, he often struggles to generate his own power
Where Does He Fit in Affiliation?
Blob has something to offer both Mystique and Magneto. His displacement effects synergise well with the scenario game plan that Mystique typically likes to play. The displacement is also welcomed in a Magneto led squad, whilst his throw also synergises well with the leadership in generating power for the rest of team. Magneto also helps negate some of his defensive issues, by providing him cover with Magnetic Refraction and provides him with the power he needs to fuel the rest of his kit. Magneto also prefers to play narrow scenarios, where Blob's movement is less of an issue. Ultimately, I think this is his best place for him as his weaknesses are exposed under a Mystique led Brotherhood. He often struggles to generate his own power as he only has a range 2 builder and is slow to move around the board. This often means the best parts of his kit are not online and it's easy for your opponent to just play around him.
Overall Blob is a solid character that offers some unique selling points, whilst having some defined weaknesses that don't make him an auto include. A solid place for a character to be.
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