He completely destroyed us 3 times straight. At first End of Days seemed like a good idea. That came back to bit us in the ass thanks to Forced Deployment. Then we figured Dark Visionary's inate power would help with that. It did for a bit, but a combination of her Brain Burn and a slew of minions targetting the hero with the lowest hp or all heroes wiped the floor with us. I'm at a loss on this one. Citizen Dawn was tough but it always felt like we were getting a little closer each time. Fighting Voss was like running into a brick wall. Gods of the multiverse help us if we get to Chairman or Matriarch.
If you're thinking in terms of what team would be good, I think a mix of Haka, Tempest, Legacy/Argent Adept would be good. I've also seen Fixer shine against him. Avoid Fanatic and Chrono, as Voss' DR would be a bitch.
Haka: Two words: Savage Mana. And another word: Rampage. Put those two together and Voss can Forced Deployment my ass. Ground Pound is also there, in case a Forced Deployment comes out when you least want it to.
Tempest: All around good hero. +1 damage due to the Nemesis bonus is wonderful against Voss, and I've seen it hurt the baddie more than it does Tempest. Also, having the ability to hit everyone in a pinch really saves you. And you can Into The Stratosphere annoying spaceships. Good stuff.
Legacy: Always good to have around. Helps push through DR, as well as the ever broken Lead From The Front + Next Evolution combo.
AA: I've always thought of AA as a harder to use but better Legacy. Notable for Cedistic Dissonant. TSF Stalwart? More like TSF Tall Wart. Okay that was lame, but still.
I just want to add a special note for Fixer here, since he is...controversial, to say the least. But against Voss, I find that Jack Handle works beautifully, and of course Tire Iron + Alternating Tiger Claw takes care of those guards in one shot. More than for most of the villains, Fixer can fix Voss up good.
Hope this helps :)
So, let's look at Voss's overall weaknesses:
He has no Ongoing or Equipment destruction, most of his damage is predicated on having Minions out, and he has no major defenses to speak of.
Bunker is ideally situated to thrive against Voss. Grenade Launcher and External Combustion both target multiple foes,the sheer number of minions will keep Bunker fueled with cards from Ammo Drop, and his Armored Plating will keep him from suffering the 1-2 damage pings from minions. OmniCannon makes for a huge boomstick against Voss, once you've funneled those Ammo Drop cards into it.
Mister Fixer, as well, can make good against Voss. Use minions as fodder for Driving Mantis style, or sweep them all away with Jack Handle. Grease Gun is an ideal response to a Forced Deployment, giving you an entire turn of no damage, with no chance of it getting destroyed.
Also, Expatriette can work wonders in terms of a minion control. Toss down Hairtrigger Reflexes, then load an ammo into her sub machine gun and watch her clear the board. Voss tends to hit hard, himself, so Flak Jacket provides solid damage mitigation.
Try pairing one or two of these guys with a force-multiplier like Argent Adept or Legacy, and watch the heads roll!
Another key is your first hero having ongoing destruction. Voss only has 3 ongoings, but being able to destroy them makes him way easier. If you wait for his Forced Depolyments to destroy themselves then you'll have to suffer damage from the minions. However, if you destroy it yourself it returns the minions and then you can beat on them before they get a chance to do damage. Also, you'll need to know the correct ruling for End of Days on a Forced Deployment.
I like how I'm seeing more love being thrown Fixers way. I think he has gotten a terrible rap on these forums which I don't feel he deserves.
The key to Voss is obviously minion control. Also assume that every villain turn will put out forced deployment. That may just help me, but you need a plan in place for when it does pop. Deck control through wraith or visionary or nightmists is invaluable. If you don't know what's going, assume the worst every time and play cards accordingly
Yup, all good stuff so far. I would just add that the first few turns are probably going to be the roughest. You can take one hell of a beating before you even lay down a single card. Don't get discouraged.
Also, don't let him flip unless you're ready to lay down some hurt. Better to pick a weaker minion to hang around and keep him in original mode while your heroes get ready for a smackdown.
How many heroes are you playing with? Are you playing on advanced?
End of Days is a hard counter to Forced Deployment. The official ruling is that, when you pop that Forced Deployment piñata, the delicious minion candy inside pops out immediately and End of Days keeps vacuuming them up.
If throw down End of Days early, there'll be a ton of minions in the trash. So don't do that unless you have to. Save it to counter Forced Deployment.
Yeah, I remeber a game against Voss with 3 heroes, lots of minions early on and not a lot of damage, someone asked me during one of Voss' turns when it would be our turn to deal damage instead of just being pounded into the ground. Then later I was laughing in his face as he hit Omnitron for 2 fire, which was reduced to 0 then thrown back in his face. Glorious retribution.
Omnitron returning fire doesn't do anything unless he actually takes damage.
Are you positive on that? Don't have my stuff in front of me to reference, but I don't remember it being worded that way.
There's also the fact that Voss' alien minions are all 3 HP. That makes things a bit more... predictable. There's a certain comfort in, for instance, Fixer slapping down his +1 damage style, and Pipe Wrench, and knowing that he can handle any alien that comes out. (not the spaceships and lieutenants, but guess who you'll see more of in a game).
It lets you work things out a bit ahead.
Except for that stupid bodyguard.
'Fraid so.
Omni-10's card says something like "When Omnitron-X takes damage of a type currently covered by a plating card, he deals one target damage of that type". Can't remember how much damage...but your hp has to go down after taking damage of the same type covered by your current plating card. Used it pretty well against the Chairman once, with Ablative Plating soaking two points of every hit I took - on some occasions I was being hit for three damage, soaking two but taking one and therefore able to whack someone in return :).
On the subject of Voss...yeah, the first round or two can be nasty, since his starting line-up of Minions can deal you nasty damage. But Tempest always works well, with his mass-hitting attacks. The Gene-Bound Shackles are always good too :). As mentioned, Ongoing destruction is very useful to counter Forced Deployment if it comes out - best if the person who can destroy that card is someome whose turn is as early in the round as possible. Then Voss plays Forced Deployment, and if the next player then uses Ongoing destruction to destroy it, it gives you the remainder of the round to try and kill as many of the resultant returned Minions as you can before it gets round to Voss's turn again and they get to have a go. Ab'Zero can potentially be quite good against Voss, using Sub-Zero Atmospheres to stop any Minions from dealing damage in the same turn they come out (again, giving you a free round in which to clobber them). Anyone who has access to a variety of damage types is good, seeing how the various Minions have different resistances. I could imagine also that Chrono Ranger with his Whole Gang bounty will be good too. Plus if you can get out as many bounties as you can, it doesn't matter how many Minions are out - the Masadah will burn through any soak that Voss might have amassed ;).
Stuff like Haitrigger Reflexes to pew the Minions the moment they come out is always good, even more so if buffed by someone like Legacy (who basically is amazing no matter who he's fighting against ;)). Stuff like Ra's Flame Barrier can be good too, though it does require him to get hit and obviously is also no good against the fiery Minion.