The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and his arch rival hit Crisis Protocol, but do they hit hard?
One of the packs I have personally wished for since the launch of Crisis Protocol, Daredevil and Bullseye have arrived (or should within days of this article’s posting). Having tested them for the past week, I can say that they are noble additions to the game, though not necessarily quite the killers my fanboy heart hoped they might be.
Daredevil:
Crisis Protocol often puts a premium on Long moving characters, and the same curse which struck Spider-Man (Peter Parker) has appeared once more. Coming in at 4pts, Daredevil’s movement + wall-crawler makes him seem like an objective grabbing solo, but several things conspire towards making him merely good, instead of great.
Lacking any sort of movement power, Matt Murdock will need to use his actions on movement, rather than fighting, fairly often. This is theoretically offset with “Man Without Fear”. The son of a prize-fighter, Matt is a counter-puncher, and as long as you have two energy to spare, he will get his chance after every survived enemy attack. His “Radar Sense” ensures he can take a few hits, which helps, as blanks on defense vs. physical or energy attacks, count as successes.
DD’s own attacks aren’t much to speak of, however. A serious premium exists again on his Devil’s Deliverance, an attack which seems amazing on paper, and yet one where it is incredibly hard to execute. At 2 attack dice, plus an additional 2 for each upright enemy within range-2, you have a deeply inefficient attack versus single targets, and one which only seems exceptional if you throw yourself into a group of three opponents.
In essence, Daredevil is a wonderfully fluffy, comic accurate depiction of the character (one who happily takes beatings in order to give some), but one who is likely over-costed if considering more competitive play. For good or ill, competitive MCP is the land of efficient 3pt characters, potentially joined by one 4-6pt beatstick. Had he been priced at 3pts Daredevil would’ve been an excellent choice as-is, but at 4pts he fails to offer much. That said, joining the Web-Warrior’s Affiliation might just bump his defenses to great enough heights that he earns your consideration.
Bullseye:
The villain half of this pair fares much better competitively, while still evoking the flavor you would hope for. A sniper whose “death by a thousand cuts” style shines brightly, Bullseye is absolutely perfect for scenarios that require a model hang back from the rest of your team. At range 4 across the board, Bullseye can contribute from relative safety. Meanwhile his “I Never Miss” creates a very impressive drip-feed of utterly unavoidable damage, as does the Bleed effect he throws around so easily. Drax and Bullseye are certainly about to become best friends, as the pair proved strong in many of our test games.
“Pin Cushion” likewise pairs well with “I Never Miss”, offering you two unavoidable damage, and makes for a great reason to consider taking Poindexter as a part of the Cabal.
Finally, “Hit and Run” can be a frustrating way to force your opponent to waste actions, chasing down Bullseye, all the while kiting and doing damage to them.
Bullseye’s value is pretty clear at 3pts, and while a fairly straight-forward set of rules mean there won’t be too many opportunities for tricky plays, what he does is obvious, and important to winning games. Expect this model to be an irritating piece that throws off many opponents who become conflicted over whether they should ignore him or not.
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