Take Citizen Dawn, if Infrared Eyepiece reveals 2 Citizens that wouldn't be bad to have in play, you can put the other one back on top on The Sentinel's turn. Next round will The Wraith uses Infrared Eyepiece, you know you will not reveal dual Devastating Auroras. If you place Devastating Aurora, Return with the Dawn, or Channel the Exclipse on bottom, Writhe can discard it.
At least this is what I think Pydro is talking about it.
Edit: Darn, took too long to respond.
I don't see any reason why you couldn't.
Comparing a base power to a card that can be played seems like an odd comparison. No one's sitting around talking about how Crush is terrible when compared to Tactical Shotgun. Writhe is the only non-promo hero with base power villain deck manipulation. Comparing his base power to IR Eyepiece, Astral Prem, or Extrasensory Awareness (which is, IMO, the best villain deck manipulation, personal preference.) Writhe's power is good, and most importantly, it gives the Sentinels a good mix of base powers; offense, defense, healing, control. I find myself using Writhe fairly frequently, especially as a second power with Tactics.
A better comparison would be Dark Watch Visionary.
Getting closer to the bad cards is only an issue if stop stacking the villain deck.
And it is situational, but Writhe's power is so situational that it's hard to justify. I can see possibly using it to duck some nasty surprises, but you are just as likely to hurt yourself as help yourself when using it with the villain deck.
That’s part of the problem. Once you start, you are almost required to continue, and you lose out on a lot of other things. Stacking the villain deck might be useful, damage is (almost) always useful. I have had a bunch of games that would have ended mush sooner if I did damage instead of trying to stack the villain deck. It can be a great defensive play if it works, but going on the offesive always helps. If that big horrible card is 8 cards down, and you find it after 4 uses of Infrared Eyepiece, you could have instead down 35-40 damage. That’s alot of damage.
In the case of Writhe, I would absolutely use his power to put that “not so bad card” card back on the top (especially after Visionary puts 2 not-so-bad cards on the bottom), since 5 or 3-3-3 damage or -1 damage from Wraith can be better than one of the other Sentinel’s powers.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the those types of cards are very powerful, and I use Infrared Eyepiece a lot (although it’s more for the extra card). I just no longer always use them at every chance I get.
I am not trying to say that it isn't situational, just that you said above:
and I can think of several situations where you would want to use it.
However, even without those situations, I don’t think it is so bad. You can’t move bad cards from the top of the deck like other cards, but it can still be very useful if you want to stack the villain deck. Assuming you are not playing against a villain that loves the trash (in those cases you would need to consider other things), look at what the power does for you you:
1) If you draw a really bad card, you then you know that the really bad cad (or at least one copy) is not on or near the top of the deck (and is now no longer in the the deck at all). This knowledge can be very useful.
2) If you get a no-so-bad card, put it on top, and you don’t have to worry about a bad card next turn, and you know the bad card is not on the bottomw of the deck.
Honestly, either option is good to know, if stacking the deck is something you want, and if you use it constantly, you will be in good shape. Is it as good as some of the other villain deck stacking stuff, no, if only because it only reveals a single card instead of 2 or 3. In other cases, you get to choose what would be the better card for the heroes. With Writhe, you have to go into saying “I am only try to avoid XYZ”. If XYZ doesn’t come up, move the card so it doesn’t come up. If it does, trash it. It is a slightly different way to look at things, but it can be extremely effective.
It does have some negatives, like trashing the card (which can sometimes be good), but it also has some positives like how it combos with other cards. But the Sentinels have other options, so being weaker/different isn’t so bad. However, as you pointing out up above, sometimes, even many times, straight damage, etc., is better. Straight damage/damage reduction, etc. being better, might be more of a reflection of those abilities being better than stacking the deck, especially with the Sentinels, than the ability being weaker.
I'm not saying that the power doesn't have some use, just that I have hard time seeing it as being worth the opportunity cost.
Well if you have a round where the Sentinels can't be dealt damage I would be more inclined to use it especially with Sentinel Tactics out. I could use it to stack the villain deck or setup a hero with a card they might not have seen otherwise.
Depending. Healing would be a good option, or damage. If there's a lull for a round it's a good choice when you have nothing else to play, but that's kind of my point ;-)
Hence why we've said situational. It's a good base power but the Sentinels have other options that more often than not will take priority.
Keep in mind there are similarly-situational powers for other heroes, they're just on a card in their deck. In those cases, you have to get the card out to use it, first, whereas the Sentinels start with all their available powers in play.
I tend to look at Writhe's and (to a lesser extent) Medico's powers as the situational ones, with Mainstay's and Idealist's as the primary.
Something which I believe is easy to miss…
Hypocratic Oath does not require that the target selected to take damage by Medico be the target that regains HP… it is a smart move to target another Sentinel (to take advantage of Nemesis bonus) even if you plan on healing another hero… better yet target Chrono-Ranger with Hunter and Hunted in play or TermiNation Absolute Zero.
Which also means that damage to Villains can become healing for heroes, which is relevant if you want to turn Blackout into one of the best healing effects in the game.
Never thought of that one… sounds like a great way to deal with The Matriarch.
I did just play a game where I used Fling into Darkness to destroy a full health manifestation and heal a hero by 3.
So many fun Sentinels combos!
I'd also note in the guide that the Sentinels are especially susceptible to Ongoing and Equipment destruction since their Signatures are unique and Unique Capabilities only draws from the deck, not the trash. So if a board wipe comes out after you've set up, you can't get them back again easily.
I'd also note that Caliginous Form is great when Irreducible Damage is involved and coming at the team -- I had a game once where Writhe ended up highest HP and Gloomweaver's Crimson Pin ended up on him, meaning that every turn Gloomweaver smacked himself. The Compulsion Cannister is also a winner here, with the added benefit of scoring a power use if Sentinels Tactics is out. Pop an Infection on him and enjoy the free damage at the start of your turn (though if Hippocratic Oath is out, Dr. Medico is the obviously better choice for infection).
One thing I've noticed in the video game as well -- the reduction happens first, then the redirect, meaning that Writhe effectively has 2 DR on the first shot every turn, which makes him a fantastic tank.
I may not agree on your opinions for Wrtih's base power or his Signature card, but other than that I think you've made a solid how-to guide. :)