Post-War Progress: Building Modern Civil War Grand Prize Teams

I want to follow up on my review that I did of the Civil War set in general a few weeks ago, so I thought for a team build this week, we’d do a couple based on two of the grand prizes; Captain Ironmerica and Ragnarok!

As I said back in my Civil War Review, I really dig the Captain Ironmerica and Ragnarok grand prize pieces. They excite me the most out of all the pieces and I think they’ll be pretty strong. I already went over the pieces in general, so if you’re curious and haven’t read about them, click that first link and scroll down to the bottom (or read the whole thing if you haven’t as I’ve had great feedback on my assessment of the set) to see my detailed review of the pieces. This’ll save us a lot of time!

Rather than going over why I like these pieces, we’re going to cover what each of the characters needs in their builds and just right in. I’m going to feature three builds today rather than two; Ragnarok will have a single build while Captain Ironmerica will get two because of his gigantic point cost.

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First up: Rangarok!

Clor is a really great piece, and really doesn’t need that much to make him great. I think his attack is a tad low for a primary attacker, and 7 clicks of life might be a bit small. The great thing about him is that his defense is pretty damn strong the entire dial, so we really only need to worry if he faces Pulse Wave or Penetrating damage. TK is usually a great bet as they extend your primary attacker out and let them punish early for the much needed alpha strike. I’d love to build a theme team with him as we can get an ATA in there, but his keywords are pretty lacking except for one; Robot. We might not be able to build a theme team with him, but there’s some fun we can have there. Let’s check the build.

*Quick note: most of my builds will gut resources. Pandora’s Box , the Round Table/Teleporter and Quinjet require so much cash to make great with the ID cards and sideline. My builds are aimed more at the local level rather than ROC or Wizkids Open.

300 Point Modern Ragnarok Team, No Resources

• CWSLOP 110 Ragnarok (Possessed by AoU Jocasta 039)
• UXM 059 Malice
• AVAS 020 Juston Seyfert
• TMNT 013 Baxter Stockman
• NFAoS A005 Left Arm (Hulkbuster)
• OPTIONAL: Swamp Malice and Left arm for NFAoS 047 Dr. Demonicus

The Robot keyword on Ragnarok is heavily used on this team, taking advantage of Jocasta, Juston Seyfert, and Baxter Stockman. He’s pretty much the perfect piece for Jocasta to possess as she grants him Running Shot on top click, so now we have threat in whichever way we need it with his native Charge. She can grant Precision Strike when he’s closed the gap, or Outwit/Perplex for damage boosting. Very flexible. Regeneration at the end isn’t anything scoff at either.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Juston+Baxter combo that Krang teams play. It’s just too great to ignore for 70 points. Juston brings a better form of TK in that he can take actions and let his Sentinel (in this case, Ragnarok) move their full value, then make a free attack of any kind. Since Ragnarok doesn’t take unavoidable damage like Krang does, you can simply buff his movement and attack with Baxter to get a sweet 12 attack (Joacasta gives +1 as well), which helps us with his naturally average value. With Ragnarok’s sweet 7 range, Juston can even power action to make him move to the Hulkbuster Arm and take a shot, and afterwards, Ragnarok can use his own action to pick up Exploit Weakness.

I knew I wanted a secondary attacker, and Malice seems absolutely perfect. Sharing Ragnarok’s defense powers of Impervious and Shape Change (but hers is traited!), she makes your whole team a complete pain to deal with as your opponent will always have to worry about your 4 rolls to avoid damage. Her values are really strong, and she brings Perplex to the party, so now we can boost Ragnarok’s damage, and she can charge in and tie-up your opponents. If she eats it, you get to equip her to a friendly character. Perhaps Jocasta has outlived her usefulness and you want to give Rangarok permanent Shape Change and Perplex? Maybe they want to kill Juston and he needs some more protection? What I really like about Malice is that she has a chance at getting TK, which makes your alpha strike potentially just stupid good.

If you don’t like having the double equip issue, drop Malice and the arm and pick up Dr. Demonicus. He also brings Perplex, but pumps out insanely strong Kaiju that can be used for everything from tying up the board, carrying your pieces, or just flat out smacking a piece down. He’s a little more risky, but I’ve always really liked him and think he’s better than most give him credit for.

Did I Play it? Yes I did! I played against A Captain Ironmerica team with the OP Mysterio and the 50 point Detective Magneto. It was incredibly effective and the number changing (Perplex from Malice, +1 from Jocasta, and +1 to attack from Baxter) really makes Clor hit HARD. Jocasta was awesome on every click. A solid build that seems like Krang but with more points to spare.

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Okay, let’s get into the Captain Ironmerica builds!

Obviously the big downside to Ironmerica is his point cost as I previously metioned. 175 points is a lot, especially when you can run Krang for 5 points less. However, his dial is extremely good and hard to deal with, and has all the versatility you want from a tentpole. Unlike Ragnarok, we can’t do cool Robot tricks with Juston, so TK will probably be more necessary with a piece like this. His keywords are pretty lame with Anti-Reg, Armor, and Scientist, so a theme team is more than likely out. We do need to remember that with a tentpole piece, it’s okay to not have a secondary attacker and just run a back line to keep him healthy and hurtful. However, I want to see what we can really do with him, so we’ll do 300 point and a 400 point builds.

300 Point Modern Captain Ironmerica Team, No Resources

• CWSLOP 113 Captain Ironmerica (Possessed by SMWW 063 Brainiac)
• UXM FF 002 Jean Grey
• SFoSM 029 Overdrive
• SFoSM 007 Betty Brant

Woah, 175 points AND a possessor. Well, take a look at just what Brainiac gives to Steve (yes, this is Steve Rogers in the Iron Man suit). On those first two clicks of Running Shot/Charge, he picks up Pen/Psy, which is huge. We really don’t NEED Impervious thanks to his traited Invulnerability, so we get to look at the possessor for non-defense powers which is exciting! Once Ironmerica moves to Sidestep, he can pick up Pulse Wave, which is huge for a tentpole piece. More importantly, he can use the special damage power that Brainiac has.

WORLD IS RUNNING LIKE CLOCKWORK: Once per turn when an opposing character is given a power action, you may immediately remove an action token from Brainiac.

That means that your big tentpole piece is going to be doing something every. single. turn. That’s really important and totally propels your damage output into high gear. The 25 points here does way more to help than to hinder.

That leaves us with 100 points for support. As I said, TK is necessary for him because we absolutely need to make the Alpha Strike. Jean is great because the double TK will keep you safe and out of their threat zone. She can TK him out, let him make his attack, then TK him back in so you get to choose where you’re defending from rather than stuck out in the open, waiting for the Outwit to hit and bring your defense down to a 17. Betty Brant is the best Perplexer in the game right now at just 15 points. What’s even better is that she can push again into a really great medic click, keeping Steve in the fight longer. Mainly, she’s here for higher damage though and to make your attacks really stick (or easier to hit with).

Overdrive pops up again on another build because of his overwhelming versatility for your team. Rather than being a means to get into position to attack, this time we’re using him to keep your team far away from your opponent. Once you TK Steve back, you can pop everyone into his car and drive wherever you feel the most safe while letting you setup for a completely new place to engage from. This will force your opponent to continually change their strategy. Man, I love this uncommon.

Did I Play it? Not yet. I really want to run this team!

Phase 2!

400 Point Modern Captain Ironmerica Team, No Resources

• CWSLOP 113 Captain Ironmerica (Possessed by WF 041 Mary Marvel)
• WF 037B Nightlantern
• CWSLOP 105 Night Nurse
• SFoSM 007 Betty Brant X2

What’s better than a good possessor? How about a great possessor that gives us a multitude of powers that all benefit our tentpole. Nightlantern does just that. Bringing a character from your sideline and turning them into a mini-possessor (expect no +1 to values) means we get to choose whatever powers we want and go hunting. Mary gives Steve Hypersonic Speed, Super Strength, Invincible, or Probability Control. That’s huge. Although we don’t get the Pen/Psy or Pulse Wave from Brainiac, the Hypersonic more than makes up for it. Also, we were lacking Prob before, and now we can simply pick it up.

Nightlantern isn’t a slouch either. He comes with Hypersonic on top dial, along with TK, so he can help us really make a sick alpha strike. He also ends his dial with Running Shot + Pulse Wave, making a great end-of-game damage piece. Since we aren’t getting the +1 from possession now, I went with two Betty’s to make up for it. Night Nurse fills the rest of the team, making sure everyone stays alive. The only thing we’re really missing is dedicated Prob and Outwit, which is scary, but I think the team will work.

Did I Play it? Yep, with a slight change. I don’t own Mary Marvel or Night Nurse yet, so I went with KC Wonder Woman on Isolation and the D20 Doctor Strange for possession. I played against a Sinister Syndicate team with Speed Demon, Overdrive, Shocker, Boomerang and Beetle. Only two attackers is scary, but they were both incredibly potent and the Alpha strikes were insanely good with lots of damage.

⊂ BONUS BUILD ⊃

400 Point Modern Captain Ironmerica Team, No Resources

• CWSLOP 113 Captain Ironmerica (Possessed by SMWW 063 Brainiac)
• CWSLOP 031 Wiccan
• CWSLOP 109 Black Panther + Diplomatic Immunity ATA
• CWSLOP 105 Night Nurse
• NFAoS A001 Torso (Hulkbuster)

What’s this? A fourth bonus team!? I though Nightlantern could be a bit of a cop-out for 400 points since he’s so difficult to find, so I went with a Civil War Anti-Reg theme team. Wiccan gives us literally everything we need for support with a special power that grants him Outwit, Perplex, Probability Control, and Support. Plus, he can carry, so he can get our secondary attacker, Black Panther into position. That Panther is really good for the points, and the Hulkbuster + Diplomatic Immunity ATA ensures that it’s going to be TOUGH to take him out. Outwit is really a big deal for a 400 point team, which he brings to the table. Night Nurse will keep all your guys alive (and more importantly, keep Wiccan at top-dial).

Did I Play it? Nope. I still need Wiccan and Night Nurse to have a go with this team.

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So there you have it! Not one, not two, not THREE, but four builds today! I think you’re getting your money’s worth here. Wait, isn’t this free? Dammit. Oh well, enjoy!

If you take one of these teams for a spin, let me know how they do. I’d love to see what the results are. Ideas are great too! What are you building around these guys? As always, please share with your friends for more content like this. What do you want to see in the coming weeks? Want me to build around a specific character? A certain team? Make an ATA work? Give me ideas and it could end up published. Until Thursday!