Previously, we’ve only have 3 affiliated Sentinel models in the game. Sentinel Mk4, Sentinel Prime Mk 4, and Cassandra Nova. And for a long time, these models were pretty disappointing. Not only was squad building a little awkward, but there just wasn’t many reasons to get excited about putting them on the table (other than the awesome big stompy robot models).
That all changed with character card changes last November that made them a much better overall affiliation. Suddenly there were reasons to put them on the table. In addition, we’re now a month away from new Sentinels getting released. What are these new Sentinels and should you be adding them to your collection?
In short, you absolutely should be looking to pick up these models. They represent 3 Sentinels who have time traveled back to our present and whose only purpose is to inflict violence. True to their futuristic nature, these models are above average in almost every single way and will be a menace on the table. The new leader, Bastion, has a leadership that is nothing like we’ve ever seen and will probably rank among the best leaderships in the game. Nimrod is a tanky and brawly model (I love this chunky big robot sculpt). Omega Sentinel brings speed and lethality to Sentinels that they didn’t have access to before.
Lets break down these characters and what they do, because they do a lot and they do it well.
Bastion
Bastion is the new leader for the Sentinel affiliation. This guy/robot is a very strong mix of great character card and leadership all wrapped into one. He’s a 4 Threat character (making him the cheapest leader for the Sentinels) who will be attacking from the back lines and supporting your team. He’s tough enough to stay in the fight so you won’t have to worry about losing your leadership because he KO’d.
Bastion has a great 4/4/3 defensive dice with 7/6 health pool and damage reduction. His Range 4 attacks will keep him at a safe distance from the enemy as well. Is he or another member of your team out of position? He has a Range 2 teleport superpower that will help with your team’s action economy and keep your attacks flowing.
And attacking is the name of the game for this guy. His leadership reduces the Power your opponent will get when you deal damage with attacks. Importantly, it’s on every attack your team makes and is enhanced when you’re dealing damage to a model with higher Threat.
Did one of your models Daze or KO? If they’re within Range 5 of Bastion he can put Root and a damage on the enemy model that caused the effect. This type of superpower can be great. Root is a very disruptive effect for your opponent to have to pay 1 more Power for their superpowers, combined with the reduction in the Power they’re getting from your attacks. 1 damage can also ping down the last health your opponent’s model had and these 1 damage pings will add up over the course of the game.
I also cannot be happier with his Spender. Usually 5 Power is a lot to be paying for a Spender attack but this is a Beam 4 template with 8 dice. Bastion can teleport himself into the perfect Beam position and throw multiple 8 attack dice pools. Plus, each type of success result on your dice is a different and great effect. They all synergize with his goal of dealing damage to attrition your opponent off the board while denying them Power and wrecking their Power/action economy.
What kind of teams does Bastion want to lead?
Sidenote: gaining Power from attacks is a crucial part of this game. It’s a big way that this game has a comeback mechanic and enables back and forth games of MCP. This leadership breaks that parity and (probably) will lead to runaway games more often for the Bastion player. The leadership is oppressive and will trigger even if you’re dealing enough damage to Daze the enemy model. Be prepared for some feel bad moments that your opponents will be experiencing.
This leadership works on every attack when you’re dealing damage. This means Bastion will work best with models that are: making lots of attacks, often dealing damage to the defender, draining Power from the defender, and are a lower Threat than the defender. Let’s break down all of these categories and what models Bastion might want to lead.
- Models that make a lot of attacks: This list includes models that make multiple attacks using the Rapid Fire or Ricochet rule, it includes models that can use a Beam or Area attack consistently to target multiple enemy models, and it includes models that can make attacks out of activation such as a strike back attack or a Got Your Back attack. This includes a really large pool of characters but the ones that come to mind for Bastion include: Ultimate Spider-Man, Winter Soldier, Vision, and Crimson Dynamo. Pick your favorite with any of these characteristics and you’ll be doing well.
- Models that are effective at doing damage: This list includes models that have larger than average dice pools, models with inherent rerolls in their attacks, models with the Pierce superpower, and models that do chip damage with their attacks. Pick your favorite attrition model and you’ll want to play them under Bastion. Being able to get at least 1-2 damage through on every attack you make is going to maximize the effect of the leadership. The ones I think of are: Baron Zemo, Prowler, Ronin, Spider-Man 2099, Rescue, and Tigra.
- Models that drain Power from their target: This list includes models that have attacks that can Sap Power or have the Suppressive rule, and models that have superpowers that drain Power from an enemy. These include: Rogue, Quasar, Werewolf by Night, Deadpool, Doctor Voodoo, Vision, and Maximus the Mad to name a few.
- Models that are a lower Threat than their target: The Leadership increases to 2 less Power gained for damage dealt when the attacker is a lower Threat than the defender. So you want to look towards the most lethal 2 and 3 Threat models in the game. Remember, grunts will always count as a lower Threat than the defender that they’re attacking so they are a good choice as well. My thoughts go to: Nebula, Ultron 2, Red Skull 2, and Elektra. Your low Threat models and grunts become extra effective under this leadership.
Nimrod, the Hunter
Moving on to the big robot of this box, we have Nimrod. He’s a very tanky 5 Threat model with 4/4/4 defensive dice and 7/7 health pool. His defenses are boosted through his superpower that adds defense dice and also scales for each time it’s been used in the Turn. In addition, he has Healing Factor 2 so his effective health pool is actually going to be much higher than what’s printed on his card.
This robot’s job is to get into the fight and stay there. He can’t be moved very easily by your opponent and his own teleport superpower puts him in the position he wants to keep blasting. He has a suite of attacks which all have their different strengths. Often you’ll be using the Builder which has the benefit of letting you choose the attack type and it gives out relevant special conditions. Sometimes you’ll be spending Power for your Area attack or your Total Annihilation attack. If you have Power and a target, Nimrod will have an attack you’ll be happy using.
Nimrod also has a pretty great Throw superpower which can be used in conjunction with two attack actions to finish off all enemy models in his range. I would still not bring this models on big spread out Crises, but if you’re looking at close fights on the board Nimrod is definitely the robot for you.
Nimrod doesn’t have any really strong synergy with Bastion but Nimrod is such an all-around great model you won’t be sad playing him under Bastion. For maximum big, blasting robots play Nimrod under Sentinel Prime Mk 4!
Omega Sentinel
This is probably the most complex model of the box but she is probably also going to be the most impactful model in your games. She’s a 4 Threat, highly mobile and very aggressive model that is also a Pay to Flip Secure specialist.
Her 3/3/3 defensive dice can be a little deceiving at first because she always has an Adaptive Nano-Shifting Protocols online. The Hardened Carapace mode adds to her defense against Physical attacks and makes her really tough into Throws. I basically would choose not to Throw anything into her while she’s in this mode because she’s gonna just shrug it off.
The Plasma Cloaking mode is a great mode to start the game off if you can keep her safe with the Stealth superpower and extra defense dice against Energy attacks. The last mode goes all-out aggression. In the Power Phase you can switch to Electrostatic Pole and activate her first to get maximum lethality out of her attacks and possibly build more Power for her. Then later in the Round you’ll have extra Power to be able to change her defensive type to your best option. Or maybe she’ll have already taken out all the models around her and won’t have to worry about rolling any defense dice.
Playing against this model, just burn her down with Mystic attacks. That’s the only type she’s always rolling 3 defense dice against. Alternatively, bringing a mix of attack types can get around her defenses. Omega Sentinel will love playing against a team with only a single attack type at their disposal. Make sure that’s not you.
Omega Sentinel is the first Long moving Sentinel. She also has the Charge superpower and Range 3 attacks so nowhere on the board is going to be safe from her. I would also say that her Spender is an even better version of Nimrod’s Spender. She a really scary model to be facing and fits in perfect with the Bastion leadership. Her Builder with the Suppression trigger is extra brutal for your opponent.
If all that wasn’t enough she also gets bonuses when she Interacts with Secure objectives. On Pay to Flip points she’ll be using her base 3 defense dice but she gets 2 rerolls so you’ll be succeeding way more than a normal 3 defense model would be. She also gets refunded a Power for the first Secure point she Interacts with in a Turn. I think a very real play pattern for her on a Play to Flip Secure looks like:
- Start in attack reroll mode
- Interact on the point she’s standing next to, get refunded that 1 Power.
- Spend 2 Power to Charge onto the next Secure, try to Daze or KO a model standing on that Secure
- Interact with that Secure you’re standing next to
- Long move onto a third Secure point and Interact with that point as well
This model combined with Bastion’s inherent ability to deny your opponent Power makes me think Sentinels want to be playing on Play to Flip Crises. They will have the Power to Interact and do other superpowers or attacks. Your opponent may be constrained in how much Power they have and have to decide how best to use it.
The Tactics Cards in the Box
A Perfect Future
I’m not sure Nimrod needs or wants this card. It has to be used during his Activation and he already has a Range 2 Place he could use on his character card. This is a farther move and is less expensive but comes with the real cost of taking up a TTC slot.
Building the Mother Mold
I have a lot of rules questions about this card. My current understanding is that the only time you’ll actually be able to play it is in the event that at the end of Round 6 your opponent still does not have 16 VP. In this scenario usually you’re the player at 16+ VP or have tabled your opponent. Even if somehow you’re both below 16 VP you need multiple Sentinel models who are not Dazed and have enough Power to play this card.
I’m also a little puzzled on why it’s 6 VP. When AMG was teasing this card they made it sound like you would automatically win the game. What made them decide that 6 VP was the correct amount for this effect? 7 VP was too powerful and 5 VP was too weak? If you’re completing this absolutely unlikely plan to play this card, it should have the text “you win the game”.
Extinction Event
We discussed above how great Omega Sentinel’s is. She is going to use her Power very effectively already. So does she want this additional attack on a TTC? It’s cheap, it unlocks targets farther than Range 3, and has the opportunity to bounce to several enemy characters. I think she may want this card. I would definitely want to use it while in the attack dice reroll mode and also possibly with Cassandra Nova’s card Efficient Machines which will turn Shield results into Wild results. Overall I think it’s worth taking.
Greater than the Sum
This is a team-up card for Nimrod and Bastion that gives Bastion extra survivability. Bastion is already a pretty survivable model with his good defenses and damage reduction. While Healing Factor synergizes a lot with that, this card isn’t boosting your teams’ attacks which is what I think you want to be doing under Bastion. In fact, it’s taking Power away from Nimrod and Bastion to play this card. Power that could instead be used for your attrition gameplan.
Know Thy Enemy
This is a strike-back attack for Bastion or the Prime Sentinel models on your team. If you’re taking those models, I think you should play this card. If you’re only taking one of those models, it’s probably still a consideration. I love the out of Activation attack and Bastion can hand out his anti-heal effect and Prime Sentinel can hand out Root which can disrupt your opponent’s activation even if you don’t Daze them.
Technological Jump-Start
Another card that is asking Nimrod to spend Power that he could be using in more violent ways. This type of effect has always been good and will funnel Power to your other Sentinels. The problem is that your other Sentinels pretty much all have good Power generation on their own. There is a case to be made that this can be done outside of Nimrod’s activation and you could surprise your opponent with a play that they didn’t anticipate because you just redistributed Power on your team. I’m not sure that’s enough though.
Prime Sentinels
Prime Sentinels are not coming in this box and in fact will be coming in June. They have some synergy with Bastion and are the only affiliated 3 Threats but so far they have been underwhelming for me on the table. You will have to decide if you want to buy that Crisis Card Pack to get those models. (Keep in mind that AMG will make all Crises available online so it is not necessary to buy the Crises.)
Conclusion
Overall, this box looks extremely strong. While they fit in the very narrow affiliation of Sentinels, all of these models are very above average and very fun to play on the table. If you’ve already been playing Sentinels and you like what they have to offer, you should enjoy this addition to the affiliation. If you’re reading this and like the play style and options that Bastion represents, I think you will like playing him.
Final Disclaimer: You will have to be very communicative with your opponent about the reduction in Power gain through the game. It will also feel very bad for your opponent at times and they might get frustrated with the effect of your leadership. If neither of these things are a problem for you, then you will be fine playing this leadership.
I am still in the process of testing out what I think is the best options to play with Bastion. Here is what I think the core of my team will look like:
What does your Bastion roster look like? Make sure you’re prepared with whatever you’re playing when these models drop because they look like they’re going to make a splash in the meta!
You can always find me playing competitive MCP in Western PA at my local shop, the Fabricator’s Forge in the Pittsburgh area. While one season of the Appalachian Cup ends this month, another begins next month! Join our regional discord if you’re in the Ohio, West Virgina, or Western PA region! Want to hear me discuss Bastion even more and in a podcast setting? Listen to the recent episode of the Crit-Hit-Wild podcast hosted by some amazing players in our local scene! Finally, check out the FLG online store for deals on discount models! Good luck and happy wargaming.
