Welcome to part 2 of our Civil War team building! This time we're focusing on Team Iron Man and his cadre of superheroes. The first thing I want to mention is that I didn't want the same restrictions with Iron Man's team as I did with Captain America's, mostly because personally I wasn't too happy with the War Machine in the Civil War gravity feed set. Plus, I wanted Captain America's team to feel a little restricted since in Civil War the anti-registration team was up against the U.S. government and S.H.I.E.L.D. and they were always on the run. Compared to the pro-registration side who had a lot of resources at their disposal. Anyway, here's the team:
Team Iron Man
125 IIM029A War Machine
100 AAOU011 Vision
95 CACWS002 Iron Man
100 AVX007 Black Panther
80 AAOU013 Black Widow
Total = 500
I want to cover the Vision I chose first since not too many people like him. The reason I didn't choose the new 125 point Vision from the Civil War gravity feed set is because I was limited to choosing one around 100 points unless I downgraded Black Widow to the 50 point Avengers Movie version, which is a fine choice but I wanted her to contribute more in the form of Perplex and her "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" trait. The other reason is upon comparing this team to Captain America's team it seemed that Iron Man's team was lacking in options. Whereas Captain America's Team has some versatile members, Iron Man's team seemed to be a little more narrow in what they do. The Outwit that this Vision brings to the table can help mitigate some of their powers. Plus he is Indomitable, and alongside Black Widow they are the only two members with Willpower.
This actually brings up the reason why I chose the LE Black Panther from the AvX set. His trait "YOU DON'T GET TO GIVE UP" allows him to grant Willpower to another friendly character within 4 squares that shares a keyword. In the beginning your obvious choices will be Iron Man or War Machine, but once Black Widow gets knocked off her Willpower clicks he can help her out too. I would recommend for Black Panther to stay close to Iron Man since you don't want him to lose his nasty first click, and he can provide him with an Empower boost if he gets tied-up. Don't forget, even though Iron Man's Leadership will only be able to take a token off Black Widow, you can still roll for it even if he isn't adjacent to Black Widow just to get that token on opposing characters. Alongside Black Widow's "WIDOW'S STING" special power your enemies should have their hands full.
War Machine is meant to be pushed. Use Running Shot on his first click to safely position him on an object or hindering terrain to put him in Stealth mode, coupled with Ranged Combat Expert he can take out figures from relative safety. If he keeps pushing or gets hit he gets Pulse Wave to do some more damage. His S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability will also benefit Black Widow and Black Panther if needed since they only have a range of 4, so make sure you position him carefully. Black Panther is a Wild Card so he has the option of switching from Avengers Initiative to S.H.I.E.L.D. as needed. This helps with the team lacking in range.
Some important things to remember:
*Iron Man's Leadership special power still works even if he doesn't remove the token from anyone, but you have to remember to roll it and the same goes for Black Panther's.
*Choose wisely for War Machine's trait, and remember to use it!
*Use Vision as the tie-up piece. His top-dial Outwit can keep him safe for a little while. If he takes a hit he gets Perplex anyway, and he becomes Invincible making him a little harder to knock out.
*This is a tricky team to use because as I mentioned they are a little narrow in use, so don't forget to roll for Leadership with Iron Man and Black Panther, don't forget to grant someone Willpower with Black Panther, don't forget to activate Black Widow's and War Machine's traits, don't forget to activate Black Widow's "WIDOW'S STING" special power, don't forget that Black Panther is a Wild Card, and don't forget that War Machine has the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability.
I hope to play this team against Captain America's team before the movie comes out May 6, and when I do I'll have the battle report up here as well. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Google+. The links are on the side of the page. Thanks for reading!
