Editor: Michael Mason. Wednesday 15th December 2004.
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You are: Home -> Articles -> Columns -> Slipping on Spandex
Editor: Michael Mason. Wednesday 15th December 2004.
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 M.O.D.O.K - Mental (as in crazy) Organism Designed Only for Kalculating I hope you've got some panadol handy (or at least some hard liquor) because the following is likely to give some of you headaches. *sound of the vast majority of readers racing to click the back button* I think it's important to start off every column with a hook. You know ... something to get people interested and draw them in for the rest of the article. Considering the above hook, I can only assume anyone still reading is a committed masochist. I'm serious, turn back now. It's like when you're watching a horror movie and a group of people are about to take a back road or investigate the noise outside or something equally stupid. There's always one character warning the rest that this is a bad idea, but the group never listens. Well, I guess I'm that guy, and considering I'm the author and therefore have my metaphorical hands on the metaphorical wheel, that's saying something. Anyway, it seems like those remaining won't be dissuaded so I'll get on with it. Back in July I wrote an article about average ATK and DEF values for all the characters in the Marvel Origins (MOR) and DC Origins (DOR) sets. I also compared them against each other and made various assumptions, many of which probably made me out to be an ass. Well, don't let it be said that I'm one to learn from my mistakes. What lies ahead is an analysis of average ATK and DEF values for every recruitment level, taking in every last one of the current 413 character cards in the Vs System. Did you know there were that many? I have to admit it shocked me. Furthermore, I'll be breaking up the ATK figures into the 19 different teams that currently exist in the game. Hopefully this will be information that people find valuable or at least marginally interesting. Before I go too much farther, I should include some kind of disclaimer. There were a few small errors in the July article and I fully expect that there might be a few small ones in here too. I'm pretty sure that there are no major gaffes, however, and hopefully any mistakes I have made will not skew any results. I'm pretty sure most of what follows will be by-and-large valid. Also, I'd like to point out that this is an analysis of printed ATK and DEF values and therefore will not take into account little gems like Batman (7) text or the numerous cosmic abilities that change these values. I think Vs has come a long, long way since the early days of MOR when size was practically all that mattered, but don't be fooled ... big is good and beatdown strategies will not be disappearing anytime soon. Even if you're playing a control or combo deck, you'll have to at least be aware of the attacking power available to your opponents and design your deck accordingly. Now, to the MODOK-mobile! One-Drops There are a total of 67 one-drops (MOR - 21, DOR - 19, MSM - 14 and DSM - 13) and their ATK values ranged from 3 to 0. Average ATK for all characters - 1 For those interested in how the different sets (and universes) compare ...
More importantly, following are the average ATK values for each team listed from best to worst ...
The four unaligned one-drops have an average ATK of 1.5. What does all of this information tell us? Not much really. Besides the simple fact that the one-drops of Vs will never really be important on the basis of their ATK values (tell that to a horde of swarming Sinister Syndicate or TNB-fuelled Brotherhood weenies), the above information can also be misleading. The last time you built, let's say, an Arkham constructed deck (if your soul is black and twisted, like Kieren's and mine) - assuming you even decided to run one-drops at all - did you use one copy each of Harley Quinn, Query and Echo, Ratcatcher and Ventriloquist <> Scarface? Hopefully you weren't building a Rigged Elections deck, because then the answer might be "yes" and my point will be shot all to hell. I'm going to guess that you didn't. I'm going to guess that you probably only used one or two of these characters at the most and you probably picked the characters which had the best ATK value. Well, maybe not for your one-drops, but this point will become more relevant as we move up the recruitment levels. The above table would have you believe that the Fantastic Four have generally smaller drops than the other teams, when in truth the result is just being skewed by Alicia Masters and Franklin Richards, who both have 0 ATK. So, with that in mind, I also ranked each of the teams based on the average ATK value of their two naturally largest characters (or the only character in those instances) ...
Since the average DEF for all of one-cost characters is 1.07, with the most common value being 1 (60 of 67), any deck with one-drops that do not have a minimum of 1 ATK, will very likely not be able to stun other characters at this recruitment level (scary prospect, I know). Similarly, any character with 2 DEF will theoretically be safe from the vast majority of other one-drops. The biggest one-drop by a country mile is the Sinister Syndicate's Tombstone at 3/4, although whether or not he's actually playable with his discarding drawback is another question. Two-Drops There are a total of 70 two-drops (MOR - 19, DOR - 19, MSM - 14 and DSM - 18) and their ATK values ranged from 5 to 0. Average ATK for all characters - 2.06 Set Comparisons
Team Breakdown (All Characters)
The five unaligned two-drops have an average ATK of 1.8. Team Breakdown (Biggest Characters)
Since the average DEF for all two-cost characters is 2.07, with the most common value being 2 (45 of 70), any deck with two-drops that do not have a minimum of 2 ATK, will very likely not be able to stun other same-cost characters, and ideally you'll want 3 ATK. The biggest two-drop - again by a long way - is the Teen Titans' Donna Troy <> Wondergirl at 5/3. Donna is one of only two characters in all of Vs that has two versions of it clearly on top of the heap for its recruitment level (see the new six-drop), and she is the only character to dominant two different recruitment levels (Superman makes up half of the four equal-first ranked eight-drops). Following Donna, is the Spider-Friends' Solo at 4/1. Both of these cards show how having an unusually large ATK value can put you along way ahead of the competition at the same level and can give you a genuine shot at swinging up the curve the turn after they come into play without added assistance. Once again drawbacks should be taken into consideration (Wondergirl is unlikely to stay on the field for too long and Solo can be stunned by all but the lowliest one-drops). Three-Drops There are a total of 69 three-drops (MOR - 19, DOR - 16, MSM - 16 and DSM - 18) and their ATK values ranged from 8 to 0 (thanks to Phantasm). Average ATK for all characters - 3.84 Set Comparisons
Team Breakdown (All Characters)
The four unaligned three-drops have an average ATK of 4. Team Breakdown (Biggest Characters)
The average DEF for all three-cost characters is 3.8, with the most common value being 4 (34 of 69), so 4 ATK is the value you are probably looking for. Here we start to see which teams are more geared towards combat and beatdown strategies. Although not reflected in these stats, a lot of the bigger characters at this level also have decent DEF values, which can help them lord it over the competition at this early stage of the game. Dominating the three-cost level stats is the Fearsome Five's Mammoth at 8/8, although is drawback is such that you'll be thinking more than twice before you throw him into a deck. Runner up, Team Superman's Linda Danvers <> Supergirl at 7/6, however, might be a completely different story. Four-Drops There are a total of 62 four-drops (MOR - 18, DOR - 15, MSM - 13 and DSM - 16) and their ATK values ranged from 11 to 5. Average ATK for all characters - 6.74 Set Comparisons
Team Breakdown (All Characters)
The four unaligned four-drops have an average ATK of 6.25. Team Breakdown (Biggest Characters)
The average DEF for all four-cost characters is 6.56, with the most common values being 6 and 7 (28 and 21 of 62), so a minimum of 7 ATK is probably optimal in a character at this level. We can see from these stats just how head and shoulders above everyone else the Brotherhood's Sabertooth, Feral Rage (11/7) is in terms of raw power, as well as how much of a difference John Proudstar <> Thunderbird (9/8) has made for the X-Men. The former in particular is capable of dealing bucket loads of breakthrough because his ATK is just so much bigger than the average DEF value for a four-drop and the scary thing is that some teams don't even have characters big enough to stun him back in combat. Five-Drops There are a total of 52 five-cost characters (MOR - 15, DOR - 12, MSM - 13 and DSM - 12). Their ATK values ranged from 11 to 5 (don't sound too much better than a four-drop, do they). Average ATK for all characters - 8.42 (well, I guess they are marginally better on average that four-drops). Set Comparisons
Team Breakdown (All Characters)
The three unaligned five-drops have an average ATK of 8. Team Breakdown (Biggest Characters)
The average DEF for all five-cost characters is 8.46, with the most common values being 8 and 9 (22 and 17of 52), so 9 ATK is what you should probably be looking for here. With the exception of Arkham Inmate (woe is me), there really isn't a lot separating all the teams on the fifth turn. The Fantastic Four's Thing, Heavy Hitter at 11/11 is obviously a great guy to lay on this turn, but the fact that there are three characters (Brotherhood's Post, Sinister Syndicate's Carnage and X-Men's Archangel) that have 10 ATK shows that this is tighter field. < Rant >Arkham's stats also suggest that UDE could have thrown Kieren and I a better bone in the form of a better five-drop to complement Killer Croc rather than the most unimpressive Maxie Zeus.< \Rant > Six-Drops Now were getting into the serious stuff. There are a total of 45 six-drops (MOR - 12, DOR - 9, MSM - 11 and DSM - 13). Their ATK values ranged from 15 to 6. Average ATK for all characters - 11.56 (a fairly hefty jump up from the five-drops). Set Comparisons
Team Breakdown (All Characters)
The one unaligned six-drops has 11 ATK. Team Breakdown (Biggest Characters)
The average DEF for all six-drops is 11.29, with the most common values being 12 and 11 (20 and 11of 45), so 12 ATK would be best for any six-drop candidate. Once again we see that there isn't a lot between the characters at the six-drop level, although the Teen Titans' Donna Troy (this time as Troia) makes a return appearance with her 15/13 stats. She's a bit of a risky prospect, but if you can keep her on the board into the seventh turn she might be worth it. Her biggest hurdle is that she probably doesn't fit in the currently preferred TT-build. While there mightn't be much separating all the six-drops from each other, it's obviously a big blow to miss your six drop when you opponent does not. The sixth turn marks a big kick up in the power levels of the characters. Seven-Drops There are only 28 seven-drops (MOR - 9, DOR - 6, MSM - 5 and DSM - 8) and their ATK values ranged from 18 to 7 (thanks to Batman, The Dark Knight skewing things at the bottom). Average ATK for all characters - 14.68 Set Comparisons
Team Breakdown (All Characters)
The two unaligned seven-drops have an average of 16 ATK. Best two character breakdowns become completely irrelevant at this point, as no team has more than two seven-cost characters in their ranks. What you see above is generally what you get. However, since you're unlikely to run more than one seven-drop in any given deck, here is a ranking of the teams based on their single biggest character.
It doesn't change too much, but does give a more accurate picture of what each team offers. The average DEF for all seven-cost characters is 14.19, with values ranging reasonably evenly from 13 to 16. Furthermore, Magneto (7) is often splashed into decks that don't have a beefy enough seven-drop of their own. Therefore, any seven-drop with less than 16 ATK could very easily be outclassed in combat at this point. Darkseid's Elite's unworthy son, Kalibak is the beast here with 18/17, while the unaligned Juggernaut and the Sinister Syndicate's Green Goblin, Altered Ego aren't far behind with 17/17 and 17/11 respectively. Eight-Drops There are but 16 eight-drops (MOR - 5, DOR - 3, MSM - 3 and DSM - 5) currently in Vs and their ATK values ranged from 20 to 16. Average ATK for all characters - 18.25 Set Comparisons
Doom and Fantastic Four are the only two teams with more than one eight-drop - both having two - so in the interests of brevity (too late for that, now that we're over 3000 words in), I'll rank these two teams based only on the biggest of their two options. Team Breakdown
The two unaligned eight-drops, including the standard-setting Apocalypse, have and average of 18.5 ATK. The average DEF for an eight-drop is 18.44. As you can see, Man of Steel really beefed up the eight-drop category with three top-of-pile 20/20 characters. Size isn't everything, though, as many deck builders are still opting for Apocalypse, who is a touch off the pace at 19/19, because of his triggered ability. I can't see many teams with an eight-cost character that has less than 19 ATK picking their own guy over Apocalypse. Nine-Drops There are only two nine-drops (MOR and DOR one each) and both are unaligned. Their ATK values are 21 and 20 respectively. Ten-Drops Similarly there are only two ten-drops currently in VS (MOR and DSM one each) and both are unaligned. Their ATK values are 25 and 28 respectively. Conclusions Well, I don't have a lot really, except most importantly that these numbers will not tell you which team is "best". At best, they'll help you in those largely pointless "which team is strongest debates". I also hope that they might help with some of the finer details, such as providing a possible answer to why some of your characters mightn't be performing quite as well in the way you're hoping for them to perform. Interesting things to come out of the above include the revelation that Brotherhood boasts the impressive rankings (all characters) of 1st, 1st, 4th and 2nd for the important recruitment levels of four to seven. In terms of rankings for only the best characters, they are still 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 3rd over those turns. This goes a long way to explaining their dominance as a beatdown team. Similarly, the late game power of Darkseid's Elite and Doom shows up in the stats. Darkseid's Elite are ranked 4th, 1st and 1st for drops six to eight (all characters), while Doom finishs 1st, 6th and 5th (all characters). When only the cream of the crop is considered Darkseid's Elite looks even better, ranking 3rd, 1st and 1st. Doom doesn't fare quite as well in this measurement, however, finishing 2nd, 7th and 5th. Gotham Knights are revealed to be consistently decent across all drops with the exception of the largely irrelevant one-cost characters and at the seventh level (thanks again The Dark Knight), ranking 6th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 18th and 1st (all characters, drops two to eight). The rankings for the same drops in the best characters measurement are only marginally worse at 5th, 6th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 18th and 1st. Perhaps unsurprisingly (though anguishing), Arkham Inmates have double-figure rankings for all but the eight-cost level and even then they are still equal-worst. I didn't bother looking at the "cream" figures. If you're the one and only lunatic still reading all this way down, I'll offer just a couple more pieces of trivial statistical nonsense. This may not have (and probably doesn't have) much bearing on anything important, but I took the time to rank all the teams based on their rankings across the different recruitment levels, both for all characters and best characters. I left out Deathstroke, Negative Zone and Skrull because of their potential to skew figures, and readers should look at the Fearsome Five figures with some scepticism. Rankings (All Characters)
Rankings (Best Characters)
It's a bit of a surprise to see Sinister Syndicate and X-Men moving up the ranks, but considering both of these teams early game grunt, it's probably shouldn't be such a shock that they rank high in a list of beatdown-oriented teams (based on stats). The other surprise was Arkham Inmates not being last, but the fact that they are unlucky 13 might reflect something else. All of the top four teams in this final list were pretty closely ranked. Anyway, that's it. I don't even care if you found this useful for interesting anymore ... I'm spent.
*Bamf*
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