Mad Bomber Blade

I'm not sure if I'm playing it right, but here we go. I just noticed that the Mad Bomber's original, unflipped side is a much, much bigger threat than his flipped side. I mean, damage to all heroes? Check. Ability to chain-prep your killing device? Check. This, as opposed to his flipped side, which only hits one target and charges up reaaaally slowly. Just seems kind of weird is all, since his flipped side is supposed to be his "whole plan".

Thoughts?

Well, consider that the maniacal death ray wielder side probably comes close to emptying the field of hero ongoing/equipment unless the PCs were pretty fast in beating him (especially if you were playing Advanced), so unless the heroes have played VERY well they're pretty much starting over, only at much fewer hit points. Also, it's the entire trash, so yeah, he might get a few more cards per turn there on the mad bomber side if you're playing advanced, but he gets the EFFECTS of those cards on the death ray wielder side. All those "Hasten Doom"s? Toxic damage, an extra card played, AND fuel for the death ray. That card that heals him? Hit points, and more fuel. Each of his ongoings you get rid of? More fuel. And that's not even considering the ugliness that will result from a "Consider The Price Of Victory".

That said, if you have Visionary with Suggestion and Brain Burn, or Legacy saves a Next Evolution in hand and plays it after the flip, you'll probably find that side a lot easier, yeah. Or a bunch of heros with "target cannot deal damage until the start of your next turn" cards. But let's face it, you used most of those surviving the mad bomber phase, didn't you?

I agree it can be kinda wonky from a thematic perspective. I tend to think of it as you thwart his original plan and then you have him on his back foot and he's fighting from a desperate position. This might not be perfectly canonical, but it makes sense in my head.

I think it works really well from a gameplay perspective, and reflects original Blade's overal pacing. He's always been about forcing you to hit him hard and fast early in the game to force him to flip, and Bomber Blade is no different. I think that's a really cool design choice for a villain.

Its just that.... in the game I just had, he was kicking my arse on his Bomber side, but just a few turns after he flipped, he was basically neutered. I just needed to have Legacy with Lead from the Front and Next Evo and it was done. Too easy. And even the ongoing/equipment destruction on his flip was underwhelming' it just felt like a damped down, one time Devastating Aurora. Granted, he never got a chance to use his 'Consider', but still. I sometimes have a bigger problem dealing with regular Blade than Bomber Blade, whatwith the Platforms and minions.

Of course his first side is a bigger threat.  He's leaving bombs, all over the friggin' place.  They get more and more lethal as he strings the heroes along from point to point.  Taking down his first side symbolizes that you've foiled that plan.  Disarmed all the bombs or whatnot.  And mechanically, you had better do this quickly, since he'll be doing pretty lethal damage within about 4 turns.  He only has 30 hit points, so it's fairly easy, but if you screw up, he'll kill you but good.

Then he hulks out and brings out his Death Ray, which is far less dangerous than the bombs, since it's not the soundest invention ever.  But mechanically, he's got a decent chance, especially if you fumbled his side A and took a bit too much damage.

That's been my experience too, actually, with MBB. Sweat it out until you flip him, then lay on the pain.

I find the flipping mechanic my favorite part of this game generally, and I like being able to say "OKAY, all we have to do is flip him" or "WE CAN'T LET HIM FLIP". Gives new players something to focus on, it's a way to see how you're doing, and it keeps each fight from just turning into "hit the bad guy til he dies"

So whether it's a rush to flip or a "do everything you can to prevent the flip," I appreciate that there's a sometimes significant change in difficulty from one side to another. (EXCEPT YOU AKASHBHUTA EXCEPT YOU).

I'm sorry, but this combo can have that effect against several villains.  It's not a total panacea against Maniacal Death Ray Wielder Blade, either.  Protect yourself from the energy from his basic attack, sure, but you're still vulnerable to toxic, fire, melee, and sonic.  Give him a few more plays.  You'll probably win most of them, but you will see how his flip can be threatening.

Isn't that true of both sides?  Mean you can still make yourself immune to fire and redirect everything to you on the front.

On Advanced Mode, Akash'bhutha is pretty different when she flips. Instead of protecting herself, she goes on a murder rampage.

Hmmm. I guess I jsut never felt the pain of his flipped side. I guess it does make sense that, you know, the first part is this big rush, and the flip side is much more relaxed because you've foiled his dastardley scheme, btu I don't know. I guess Blade's "Real Plan" just seemed underwhelming compared to his decoy plan.

Another point might be: if you feel Legacy's Lead From The Front/Next Evolution makes him too easy, try fighting him WITHOUT Legacy. I mean, yeah, almost any villain becomes significantly easier if you cherry-pick your heroes to match their weaknesses. Send a random team up against him in advanced mode in Rook City, or something!

On Advanced Mode, Akash'bhutha is pretty different when she flips. Instead of protecting herself, she goes on a murder rampage.

Yes, that's true. I've never played her on advanced mode because as of now I've always found her 200 HP hard enough.

But… then you'd never play Legacy, since he's designed to match almost any villain's weakness :-p