Keywords and their impact

I don't know about you, but when I read the keywords on a figure's card, I feel like I'm sometimes seeing a preview of things to come. For example, Technet: we only have one character for the Technet so far, but seeing a keyword almost seems like an unspoken promise that you are going to see more of these guys.

Now, the company has gotten better about this, but they really should reign in that keyword use and consider what they are saying when that word is printed. As it is, there is an armada of keywords out there. I know there pretty much has to be that many in order for there to be a good range of themed teams to build. But how do they decide on what the keywords will be? Sometimes it's hard to follow.

Sometimes, it looks like keywords on done on a character by character basis without much thought to the future. Well, it used to really look like that, I admit it's a little less that way now. And just to show I'm not talking out my ear, check these out:

(Remember: in order to have a themed team ALL of the characters on your force must share the keyword AND there must be the acceptable number of figures on your team. For a 300 point team that's 3 figures for generic and two for non-generic. Remember those numbers)

NG means Non-Generic and I'm pretty much just doing those because that's as much as I could fit here, ha ha.

Agency X (NG): Two characters have been given this keyword. In current format they come to 298. They are Taskmaster and Deadpool. Problem: While you can make a team now (that will die a horrible death), this keyword needs more figures to make it viable in games. From Avengers to Web of Spiderman (from when Keywords officially started) only two people is just not enough. If you use older pieces or dupes (that most venues make rules against now to avoid over cheesiness) you can go to back to Xplosion and use extras. Yes, I have the fifty page printout with keywords given all the way back to the very first set.

Badoon (NG): The only saving grace for this group (having the Skrull team ability) is that they are a "minion type" generic figure that you can use as many of that you want to. I've seen a few Skrull teams with them, but now they lose the theme. Why? Because they DON'T get the Skrull keyword. And I sorely doubt anyone wants to make a Badoon army. The enhancement is cute, but the team will likely die. So, Badoon is pretty much useless. Especially to the Skrulls. Look it up.

Beast (NG): Why??? Why is this listed as a non-generic for one? And why oh why is there only ONE character? Yep, just one. Marrina from Armor Wars. Look, this one was redundant. Give her the animal keyword and have done with it. Or monster if you really want, that's another type of beast isn't it? Better yet, if they are going to go back and assign keywords to figures that didn't have any at first... omit the useless keywords. This one is a prime example.

Beta Flight (NG): Marrina and Vindicator only. Two people and not even two hundred points. 143 to be exact. There hasn't been another since Supernova. Sorry Beta Flight fans (if there are any).

Big Hero 6 (NG): Another that got slapped in there with just two guys, Silver Samurai and LE Shiro Yoshida. Did the person making this list use wishful thinking? And why not Vet Sunfire? I realize this list may not have been made entirely by the company, but...

Black Hole Sons (NG): Currently only the Mindless Ones from Giant Sized Xmen have this keyword. Okay, so, are Starstalker and characters from his storyline coming? If not, why even have this keyword? Aren't brute, monster and mystical enough? Is it just to look cool? How about the Mind? Well, this is a point I'm trying to make. When I see a new keyword (since the purpose of a keyword is to build a team around it) it suggests to me that, in upcoming sets, I'm going to see more of them. If I don't, it will be a disappointment and poor planning in my opinion.

Captain Britain Corps (NG): There are only two for this one since Avengers. They can reach 300 points if you pile some cards on. If you don't and you play them in a 300 (and they have to be the only ones you play for that in order to be themed), you will be squashed. I actually don't know of that many of the Capt. Britain Corps that are even viable. I personally find the group redundant. Still, if you are going to give out the keyword, let's use some proper planning and make it usable.

And it goes on and on: Circus of Crime, Coast City, Conglomerate, Deadpool Corps (JUST ONE GUY!), Emissaries of Evil, Enforcers, External, European Defense Initiative (WHAT?), Excelsior (oh brother), Exemplars, Eternals, Factor Three, Fawcett City (look, it worked for Gotham but that was about it okay?), Gene Nation, Great Lakes Avengers, H.A.M.M.E.R. (Why?), Heavy Metal (I better see more of this one ha ha), Hive, Intergang, and don't even get me started on all the Justice League craziness and confusion. Seriously, isn't JLA the same as Justice League America? I realize there's competition with having as many or more than Avengers, but aren't we trying just a little too hard? Oh and there are still more, but I'm stopping now (aren't you grateful?).

There are plenty of great keyword teams to build. I'm just saying that there are places some better planning could be considered. It will make for less questions and confusion. It also makes for less spoiled expectations. Just my thoughts.

Giant X-men: Likes and Dislikes

Are you fired up and ready for your X-men? I know I am. I do plan to write a review after I get my case of X-men goodness (which may be all I can get my hands on) but before that, I thought I would toss out some of my likes and dislikes so far. You may be surprised and I'm sure opinions will vary.

Likes are fun, let's do those first.

-HORSEMEN keywords: For that matter, I like how most of the keywords are playing out in this set. You can actually play a full 300 point Horsemen set and be fully themed with two, also totally possible to play. I don't know how easy it will be to get my hands on them, but I really like they way they are working out.

-Reavers: What can I say? I like the Reavers and they are classic to X-men being over 20 years old. I like the mechanics with them and can't wait to annoy an opponent with some of the Reaver's skills.

-Collosals: Not just giants, but colossal figures, six of them is my understanding. I just hope it's easier to get all of them than it looks. I don't like the looming supply problem. It's an interesting marketing strategy and I like that you can at least get one with a brick, giving you a chance of some kind.

-Cool new power mechanics: Full length charge isn't really anything new, but it's nice to see and so are a lot of the new and cool white powers that I've seen so far. Angel looks particularly good. It's really nice to take the carry penalty away from him but it would be easier if being a transporter did that anyhow. Sorry, it just makes more sense to me that someone who is supposed to be good at "TRANSPORTING" people would have that kind of bonus regardless of what they do with the watered down hypersonic thing. I've said that before and will again.

Okay, now the dislikes:

-Chase figures: Ugh. Well, I do have to say that the distribution has gotten better so long as they at least do it like they did with the White Lantern chases. They're too hard to get and that makes them cost way too much money. Honestly, most of them cost more than what their power scale makes them worth. I've only seen a handful of chase figures that really and honestly do anything that most uncommon pieces can't do. So you wind up being gouged in the secondary market for nothing more than "rarity" and a name. I'd rather spend my hundred bucks on booster packs and get a whole bunch of things I or my players could use than just one single figure. Then I would have a wafer thin chance of getting the figure anyway. Sorry, but I find their "value" highly inflated too quickly to make them financially viable.

-Shadowcat: What's that you say, there is no Shadowcat? Well, that's the problem. I love that Lockheed is in the set, but he loses some of the spirit of being from Giant sized X-men days without the first X-man he ever bonded with. I'll take him, of course, but missing Shadowcat is a disappointment. It's like selling Robin without Batman. Think about it.

-3 Angels: Huh? Why do we have three forms of Angel in the set? Isn't two enough? Couldn't we have put a missing character in to fill out other themes? Shadowcat? Donald Pierce? Sebastian Shaw? Why do we need a third Angel form? Is it because of a suit and a couple clicks of hypersonic? I'm sorry, but whoopty doo. And if this is a chase figure it's a perfect example of the problem with chase figs mentioned above. It's not that it's a bad fig, really. It's that it's redundant. That slot would have been far better used with some other character and this one could have been done later one where it would have fit better.

-Deadpool: Okay, this isn't as bad as having three Angel's taking up space, but hang on a sec. Didn't we just see Deadpool, a better version of him, in the last Marvel set? I know he's got the keywords, but once again, there are characters that should be here and aren't in my humble opinion. Yes, I know there's a Deadpool movie looming out there, but that's not enough of a reason for me. A new Soulsword Shadowcat would have fit the theme better and been just as cool. I just think that filling out the Hellfire club inner circle or another missing classic Xman, like Banshee to match up with his daughter would be better. Heck, even remaking Mastermind or Arcade would be better. Mastermind was instrumental in the Hellfire club for triggering Dark Phoenix! How would that not fit?

And for a couple things I'm not too sure about though they sound cool:

-Gatecrasher: This depends on her keywords. If she's the only one with them, she won't get much play time. Hey look! More missing characters that could have been better to use than and extra Angel or Deadpool!

-Removable pieces: Hmmm, that sounds cool and I like some of the sculpting with that. But what does it really mean for game play? How does it affect cost? Yeah, it sounds cool, but is it really necessary? I could see some cool homegame things to do with a removable shield or hammer, but past that, I really don't know. Take the removable burning Wolverine. What else am I going to do with that? Yeah, it's cool, but I guess I'll have to get in my hot little hands first to really see.

Make your own keywords

I'm always interested to know what kind of keywords that players or judges find that aren't in the game officially. A judge has the power to accept any keyword that a player suggests, but in most cases should be careful in what they approve. Keywords should be something that's somewhat unique to a group of characters that they have in common. They should not be things like color of outfits or power use (like all having outwit). Here are a few that I have found that I think are interesting and suggestions are always welcome.

Circus Performers: A favorite of mine because of Nightcrawler. Others include, Hawkeye, Mister Miracle, Deadman, Nightwing, Ghostrider (the Johnny Blaze version) and Swordsman.

Acrobats: Characters known for that special mutant acrobatic ability that doesn't really come into play in powers so directly include, Spiderman, Beast, Nightwing, Deadman, Nightcrawler, Deadpool and a few others. For that matter, pretty much any of the "spider" characters could hit this area.

Clones- or, if you prefer, Genetically Engineered: Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly, Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer, Superboy (in the black t shirt), Goblin Queen, X-23, Guardian, Arc Light, Harpoon, Scalphunter, Vertigo, Genesis (Mar-Vell).

Mercenaries: Deadpool, Deathstroke, Maverick, Elektra, Hand Ninja, Bullseye, Silver Sable, Sandman, Cable, Domino, Paladin, Taskmaster, Ravager, Deathlok, Swordsman and I'm sure you can name a few others, maybe even Heroes for Hire.

Elementals: These are people who's power or ability are based strictly on a particular of the four elements somehow: Sandman, Hydroman, Iceman, Metamorpho, Human Torch, Thing, Mr. Fantastic (water), Invisible Woman (air), Crystal, She Thing, Fire, Firestar, Sunfire.

I've seen shapeshifters accepted before with Mystique, Clayface, Morph, and any Skrull you care to add.

How about Poker Night? Wolverine, The Thing, Doctor Strange, Human Torch, Spiderman (look up the poker nights Wolverine and the Thing put together, some cool names come out).

These parallels allow you to return to some of the cool comic book crossovers we all loved to make before "keywords" came along. Another area of Keyword acceptance that could be cool for a tournament is to build based on a specific story and the title becomes the keyword. Marvel Team-ups could give tons of cool ideas for this.

What sort of creative key word combos can you come up with?

(image property of Marvel Comics)