Crash of the Titans Cycle 3: Wolverine

Huh. Now that you mention it, same for me too. Should be easier than the first run (I think I had a 4-2-1 WXF).

jgomes32 wrote:

What are the chances for my 1/1/4 Wolverine? Worth getting him to 115 (25k Iso)?

With just 1 black, it will be hard because his surgical strike lacks that extra punching power you will probably need to defeat him. Still, you may want to give it a try. Or a few more than one.

Consider though: even higher covered XFW's may need multiple attempts, especially since Cyke's powers will mostly 1- or 2-shot Wolvie. So while the 4 covers in yellow seem nice, the healing it provides will mostly protect against a defeat from match damage. And you can't really rely on the damage it deals when matched.

Having less power in black means that you will need longer to finish him... but in a dragged out match it will be virtually impossible to prevent Cyke from gathering enough AP to fire his powers.

For reference: last time my XFW was 1/4/1 and level 130ish, and it took me 25-30 tries or so + a lot of boosts). (Since then I gained 1 in each color, so I have good hopes for my 2/5/2 now )

No buff.

Sluggo wrote:

I posted a speculation thread before cycle 3 started where I wondered if they'd move this to the 27th to tie in with the movie release, and maybe change the opponent as well. Possibly Psylocke?

My XFW is sitting at 133, 5/2/5. Hopefully I can beat whoever the opponent is at that level without spending any ISO.

Please change it to Psylocke. Wolverine might have a chance then rather than one full blast and dead

I've had XFW champed for all runs: at 270+ vs Cyc it is -still- harder than many matchups where I have the 4* at 172.

I was (am?) hoping this matchup shows how poor XFW is now, and how much he deserves a buff.

Great question, let's talk about that.

Characters (I may have said this elsewhere) exist on four core measurements, depending on one's gaming background and opinion. In this game, the following matter:

* Base Stats. These are HP, critical rate, and striking order of color.
* Color Spectrum. Determines damage by color in order; see "tanking."
* Ability Cost (0 - 19). Passives (0) can be valuable, while the highest cost attack to activate (not total potential cost) I believe is still GSBW's Sniper Rifle at 19.
* Ability Function. Is your character of choice well rounded? A one trick pony? Defense? Support?

These four things together make up what I call the character's "Class," again a D&Dism, and how I mentally organize. Most classes are based on two colors, with a third thrown in for variety. For example, most Red/Blue characters are "Utility Strikers," with a number of Red/Blue/Yellow characters who can lead the charge. They commonly have high end HP, one strong strike, a stun, and a support ability. TGT, IM40, Cap, and Flaptain are all great examples of this.

To your first question, damage is based on Level and Color Order. So two characters that both lead on green will deal the same damage at the same level.

Yellow/Green/Blue characters (see where I'm going?) are heavily skewed toward defense. Daisy, Sue Storm, Dr Hank McCoy, Rocket & Groot are all great examples of this. Green AOE or board disruption, blue utility, yellow defense.

Got all that? I say that to say this:

If you break down XFW, you get the following:

* Black: Strike with Feedback. Black strikes have some innate drawback. Even the Punisher (MAX) meets this requirement, since for his ability to work at full power, his team mates have to be down/stunned out. In this case, Logan throws Surgical Strike, the feedback being no one gets the color in question. This ability is Logan's B&B; if you don't have Surgical Strike at 5, "you're doin' it 'rong." Also, in this fight, your chances would be minimal.

As a sidenote, you'll notice that Storm also uses Black, but has no obvious drawback -- she does, though, in that the effect diminishes over time, rather than deal one massive dose of damage. Others, like Johnny Storm, are significantly more obvious.

* Yellow: Alliance/Support. The color of healing, blocking and defense. In this case, a 3 turn regeneration bomb. In my prior comments I noted the need to use this aggressively, because it's 9 Yellow, which is 4 - 6 turns in most matches (2 if you get insanely lucky, 3 if only really lucky). If it goes off, you heal for the measure you have the ability. Great. If you match it out, you deal Damage * Tiles, then cascade. Great. If he matches it out, he gets dealt damage, but has the cascade. Less great, but an option.

* Green is what I call "Strike 2," it's the common color for AOEs and board change (Thor, Patch, Thing, Kamala, GSBW). Logan's variant is a relatively cheap (8) direct damage + tile damage + cascade. It doesn't feel as effective as it should, so personally I prefer a 5 Surg/5 Regen/3 X-Force build, but that's a me thing.

So what does Black/Green/Yellow mean? It should mean a striker with a defensive edge. And that's what you get. His black is among best in class, so discount it at your own peril. His yellow is the hard part, as I think at 5 ranks it should reduce to a 2 turn CDT. I'd also like to see it buffed so it follows the same rules as Deadpool's tiles (i.e., if destroyed by any means, rather than only in match or line). With all of those advantages, why all the frustration?

Because among four stars, he's incredibly squishy. A true glass cannon. Scott Summers has more HP than Logan, and Logan is indestructible. If his HP got buffed to Deadpool's level (which would be completely reasonable as they both have equal regen potential), that would solve a lot of the issues people have. Is this fight winnable? Absolutely, I did it last time. Would I Champion Logan? I would, if for no other reason he can hide behind other people and has Surgical Strike and True Healing. Would I pick him over many other four stars that fill a similar role?

That I would not. However, he fills the Striker role better than most other characters can, including those with twice as many HP. He's tricky to use in a team because the natural desire is to put him out front, but that isn't where he gets the most benefit. You actually want people tanking over him as much as possible, because he's so vulnerable, and one solid Alpha Strike will put him in the ground.

I have my Xforce at this point to 5/5/3 and lvl 202. Luciferian makes some amazing points on the strengths and weaknesses of XForce..

I am sitting on 240k ISO-8 and am thinking I might benefit more from championing my Ant-Man (lvl 182 5/5/3) with the newly acquired covers from CW:2nd run.. My only issue is that my 3* Patch is sitting at 182 and next cover level gives an Xforce cover... This is my dilemma. I don't know when the next patch cover will come (DDQ i suppose, Jun 25 giving me a month to save up another 247k iso-8 to champ Xforce?). I kinda want the Xforce, but the Ant-man covers will give a leg up for the main 4* i use in the big enchilada every day

Ant-Man or Xforce....

SnowcaTT wrote:

I've had XFW champed for all runs: at 270+ vs Cyc it is -still- harder than many matchups where I have the 4* at 172.

I was (am?) hoping this matchup shows how poor XFW is now, and how much he deserves a buff.

XFW still incredibly weak. I won first time - after getting a heal off, and ending at 800 life remaining.

Tossed cho for that effort.

Managed it on the 1st attempt with my lvl 200 (5/2/5....I need more black) +2 AP all, +2 g/b and +40% damage. It was a good green heavy board with very few reds (I saved up enough for 2 x surgical strikes and there was never many reds to make it worth it) my reward my 1st

jgomes32 wrote:

What are the chances for my 1/1/4 Wolverine? Worth getting him to 135 (25k Iso)?

Edit: 135, not 115.

I beat him with those covers in the first round at max level. Took like 6 or 7 tries. Used all my best boosts, used his yellow once for a heal and once for damage.