AMG are really stepping on the gas with character previews this week, just a few days ago we saw the Panel to Play for Man Thing and now we've been treated to our first look at Richard Rider, also known as Nova!
As per the usual format for these articles, we'll start by reviewing his character card. His 4/4/4 defences and 7/7 health statlines are probably on par with recent 5 threats we've seen, and with a long move, this guy is incredibly mobile.
What's really interesting, is this is another character we've seen recently where he only has access to gainers rather than builders (Frankenstein being the other). This isn't necessarily going to mean he's power starved for reasons we'll go into a bit later in the article, but it is going to put a ceiling on his power generation.
The first of these gainers is Nova Burst, a Range 2, 5 dice energy attack with a Size 4 short throw away on a wild. The Size 4 throw is excellent, but a 5 dice energy attack does seem underwhelming on first inspection, but there's an element of his kit that significantly improves this attack, which we'll dig deeper into a bit further down.
Gravimetric Cannon is the second of Nova's gainers, this time it's a Range 4, 6 dice energy attack, with a sizeless auto push if damage is dealt and handing out the judgement condition on a block and wild trigger. The option of both a range 2 and range 4 attack is really useful, and that sizeless auto push is excellent, it is a push away though so positioning is going to be key. Judgement isn't a condition we see a lot in the game, there's currently only Scarlet Witch and Ronan that have access to handing this out, so it's good to see another character being added into the game with access to this.
And now we get into the real spice with Lightspeed Lance, a 7 dice, RANGE 5 BEAM which costs 5 power to use. So this has yet another sizeless push after each attack is resolved, though this one does trigger on a wild, and then Nova places himself within range 1 of the last character that was targeted by the attack. So first of all, we may have just discovered why Nova doesn't have any builders. If he had access to be able to use this attack regularly, he's going to really dish out the hurt and push characters around that would make even the likes of Thanos proud. Range 5 is also a REALLY long way, so there's going to be a huge distance for you to cover multiple characters in this attack, he also places within range 1 of the last character he targeted once the attack is resolved. So that character may be Range 5 away, and you also triggered the short push away. You then place Nova after the push, that's probably one of the longest places that exists in the game if you consider that character might be on a large base, he could pretty much cover the entire length of the board.
Faster Than Light is Nova's only active superpower. This is essentially a hit and run for 2 power, however instead of a move action, he instead places himself within 2 of his current position. Having access to a hit and run not only further enhances his already excellent movement, but it also gives him action compression in the event he needs to re-position himself.
Xandarian Worldmind is his reactive superpower for a 1 to 3 power spend. For each power spent, he or another character within range 3 of Nova can re-roll 1 defence or dodge dice equal to the power spent. I do like that this gives Nova some defensive tech outside of his 4 defence dice and this does help increase the survivability of your other characters, however given his limited power generation and with other things he would probably rather spend power on, I do wonder how often this will get used.
And now, for the spicier spice - Nova Force. After Nova makes a move action during his activation, he gains 2 power and may remove all special conditions. He then adds 3 dice to his next Nova Burst or Lightspeed Lance attack (his range 2 gainer and his spender) made that activation. So, a few things to break down here. This superpower turns his Range 2 attack into an 8 dice energy attack with a size 4 throw on a wild trigger that's now going to trigger far more than it would on a 5 dice attack. His spender then turns into a 10 dice, range 5 beam with a sizeless push on a wild, that's now also going to trigger far more than it ever would on a 7 dice attack. This is where Nova is really going to shine, and is where he's really going to pack a punch as well as displacing multiple characters. As part of this, he's also going to remove any conditions he has, as well as gaining 2 power once the move action is finished. The condition removal is excellent and stops him being bogged down from multiple conditions, a point to note here though, is this would remove stagger as he needs to make a move action for this to trigger and you'd need to remove stagger as his first action. The additional power generation from the move stops him from being power starved, whilst also creating a ceiling for his overall power.
So, a point to note regarding this, is that he must make a move ACTION to get the benefits from the superpower. The place on his hit and run does not count for this as it's a place rather than a move action so in order to trigger this, he's going to need to spend one of his two actions moving, which means he's only going to be able to attack once with the benefits of the extra dice. This gives you an element of flexibility in choosing how you use his activation, whilst also curbing his overall output.
Flight on a long moving character is always excellent further enhancing his ability to move across the board, and being immune to one of those most punishing conditions in Incinerate is also a welcomed addition.
Nova comes with two tactics cards, the first of these is Veterans of the Annihilation War, a team up card with Gamora. So, this card must be played in the Power Phase and both characters must be present on the board to play the card, and this card has no power cost to play (already a good start). Gamora gaining re-rolls on her defence and dodge rolls combined with Martial Prowess is going to be incredibly annoying and increases the survivability of a character that's usually relatively easily to take off the board (outside of Martial Prowess). Nova also then having the ability to increase his damage output for a round with Star Crossed Strike is also excellent, and might be a card you want to combine with a big beam round. If your running both Gamora and Nova in your roster, this is probably a card that comes with you.
Call for Backup is the second card that Nova has access to, and for 3 power he can choose on of the abilities listed on the card. Both effects on here are excellent, the ability to push everyone short off a secure token regardless of their size is really powerful and can be game winning in certain situations. Slowing down Extract holders is also a really powerful effect especially given the fact there's no range limit on this effect. Giving that pesky Toad or a Web Warrior a slow from across the board is going to feel good! This is definitely a card your taking with you. Two really useful and powerful effects for you to choose from.
In summary then, Nova's going to really make an impact on the board. He's got access to a range of different displacement techniques and can really pack a punch and I'm really impressed with the design features AMG have given him to ensure his ceiling isn't over the top. We know he's already Guardians affiliated and with those Winging It Tokens he's really going to excel, but he's going to be a welcomed addition to your roster, under whoever that might be.
As always thank you for reading, and keep being Omega!
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