Editorial: Is it Worth it to Run Invicible Iron Man?

 Dear Readers,


Today I am coming to you with an argument. The inclusion of a model that seems to tick almost all of our boxes for the inclusion of being a Web Warrior: Invincible Iron Man (T3 from here on out). 

(Thank you MCPDB.com for all of the card info)

Coming in at 4 threat with a 4/3/3 defensive stat line with 6/6 HP, T3 doesn’t seem like he is coming in to hot with defenses, until you take into account his I Am Iron Man super power which allows him to reduce damage from enemy effects by 1 (minimum of 0) for 1 power. While not as strong as say Thanos or Kingpin’s damage reduction, when combined with Web Warrior re-rolls, it does take a little bit more to take him out of the fight than your average bear. I will say this, I really wish his damage reduction worked just like Juggernaut or Kingpin’s where you could even work it in with Cubes, but for what T3 brings to the table I think it's fine.

Next his ability to move other characters is respectable. Coming in with a R4 attack that has unlimited size on its Wild triggered push, Tony has a 53% chance according to Jarvis-Protocols to push a target off of a point. Having a coin flip’s chance to push anyone is pretty good and fitting him in on some of our better maps is very nice. Better yet, unlike most attacks in the game, T3’s attack acts as both a builder and a gainer, allowing him to always be able to bring power to the table. This allows him to continue to be more defensible than normal or to act as an excellent source of RnD if you haven’t used it to turn-on models such as Miles and Gwen on the first turn with Wong.

His spender isn’t bad either, allowing you to teleport within R1 of a target before damage is dealt from R3 and getting a throw on size 3 or less characters 58% of the time. Being able to punch someone so hard it throw’s them off of a point while taking it from them is so satisfying while also being thematic and possibly game altering, putting that character back into range to be pulled closer to an angry team with Venom or Gwen, off of a point to steal it, or to just lay on more damage to weakened enemies are all great reasons to use this spender.

But, the biggest reason I am looking at T3 for Web Warriors is his dice manipulation. J.A.R.V.I.S. being able to allow offensive re-rolls for characters (except T3 himself, which is odd considering J.A.R.V.I.S. is his AI) within 4 of T3 is fantastic and can give you the edge when you need a Miles, Gwen, or Peter push to happen, to more reliably load people up with status conditions from Spider-Woman, or to maybe get that Elusive proc from both Jessica and Felicia when you need it to create distance. This also gives your All Webbed Up turns more punch as your already empowered attacks get to reroll. And, remember, Miles’ ability to re-roll skulls is not limited to defense dice. I will repeat that. MILE’S ABILITY TO RE-ROLL SKULLS IS NOT LIMITED TO DEFENSE DICE.

 

So, combining J.A.R.V.I.S. with Web Warriors with Hammers or on an All Webbed Up turn can very quickly make models that normally do not hit too hard into monstrous foes.

In addition, Stark Armory gives you a second round of pseudo All Webbed Up that gets around things such as Ock 2’s leadership and Crew of the Milano (we hates the Crew, Precious). Considering most of the current main stays in Web Warriors have longer ranged attacks at R3 or longer (Miles, Gwen, Jessica, both of our good Peters, Felicia with Trouble Maker, and Venom, and Agent Venom). Why this is important is that it means it is easier to work within a smaller Stark Armory aura as you don’t need to be as close to your enemy to make it work. In my experience, All Webbed Up is needed to be done on a turn that you have a great chance of breaking your opponent’s back to pull farther ahead. Having the option of Stark Armory to either act as a follow-up turn or to create more opportunities to create crippling moments.

Helios Laser can also see play, but may not be as viable as Stark Armory. I know that when I played S.H.I.E.L.D. I would take both Stark Armory and Helios Laser for when I needed to snipe an enemy Hulk or CGR. Web Warriors is a faction that needs its power, but I can see some use for the card if you just want to put an opposing Kaiju in the dirt.

Now, it would be disingenuous to not mention some of Invincible Iron Man’s weaknesses as a pick for Web Warriors. The first major issue is that his mobility is tied to a spender. While up to around an R4 place for 3 is great, especially if you throw your target in the exchange, it isn’t as free as a 2 power R3 place that doesn’t have to target an enemy nor takes up an activation to do. If T3 doesn’t have an enemy to punch, he is just hoofing it. He will be slower than the rest of your squad and will work more like a turret in some instances than the mobile annoyance machine Web Warriors is used to. It would be different if those jet thrusters in his suit allowed him to move long, but since he just moves medium on a small base, he actually moves slower than Rhino.


Power economy is another issue. If T3 isn’t blowing people’s faces off, you will have to be very selective when you are doing Stark Armory, allowing for re-rolls, or just simply activating his defenses. While in some games you will never feel this, in others you will hunker down on a point, generate 3 power a turn, and just hope you don’t get smacked too much.


Finally, T3 shines brightest with TTC included. Even if you decide not to take Helios Laser, you are now having that Stark Armory competing with your other TTC slots. And Webs rely heavily on a tight TTC allotment. If you can’t find that right balance to include Stark Armory, there are other 3s that work well in this slot such as Zemo. 

 

So, what are your thoughts on including T3 in Web Warriors. Have you tried it before? Let me know below your thoughts on this and I wish you all a great day!


Till next time Webslingers.