So I’ve only played one time, as Absolute Zero, and it was a(n Absolute coolant -sort couldn’t help myself) blast. I felt like I figured out most of the cards by the time Baron Blade bit it, but even after perusing all 4 villain decks, I’m trying to figure out when this Subzero Atmosphere card would really shine. Any pro tips out there? I looked but didn’t find an Absolute Zero guide on the forums.
Look at when Voss’ minions and Dawn’s citizens do damage – end of turn. If they instead do damage at the beginning of the turn the heroes get a whole round to take them out before they attack.
Any villain deck where the villain plays an ongoing/minion/sticks-around-type card with hit points. If they trigger at the start of the turn rather than the end of the turn it gives you an ‘extra’ turn to deal with them before they their effects triggers (because generally when a villain card is played it’s already passed the start of turn phase).
It doesn’t always work out that way, some cards say to play an extra card at the start of a turn (looking at you, Pillars of Hercules) so anything played during the villain’s start of turn phase would also get to act during that same phase.
I’ve always wondered about this too. Glad to finally learn the benefit of the card, because it seemed so pointless.
Yeah, it’s also not super-effective vs. an average Chairman turn, because it just changes all of the Operative->Underboss->Thug fishing to the start of the turn, and then the thugs deal damage. However, it is still very effective when you naturally draw an Underboss during the villain turn (as now he/she’ll have to wait to find their appropriate Thug, and it’s super-super awesome when you get a Prison Break (as you’ll resurrect Underbosses, but not their Thugs).
As arenson9 said, Voss and Dawn are my first thoughts anytime I think of that card.
It’s great against Voss, Dawn, and Omnitron
It’s bad to use against the Matriarch and the Chairman; Huginn and Muninn regenerating and THEN activating is bad.
As I pointed out above… I don’t think it’s “bad” against the Chairman. It’s not helpful except for the 2 cases I mentioned (drawing an Underboss and Prison Break), but aside from environment cards that make the villain deck play cards out of turn, I’m not aware of any way it would be BAD against the Chairman.
It’s a tricky card. The main function, as the kind people above all state, is to “slow down” the villain, though you really can’t tell that by the rules text. It does a wonderful job of tripping up minions. There are a few pitfalls to be aware of, though.
First, everything acts at the start of the turn. So if it is destroyed by a villain play, everything will act again at the end of the turn. So, an army of Citizens is out there, and they all get their tricks. Then Devastating Aurora destroys Subzero Atmosphere. All of the citizens will act again. Bad news.
Another problem depends on the order cards are played, and the way things are written on the various cards. For instance, on Voss’s advanced flipside, he draws an extra villain card at the end of the villain turn. Subzero Atmosphere changes that to the beginning. Okay, he gets an extra card, and that card gets to trigger. No big deal, unless that card is Forced Deployment. It’s still the beginning of the villain turn, so it will trigger. Good luck with that!
THAT SAID… play it. Find out for yourself in what circumstances it’s good, and in which circumstances to tread lightly with it. It has useful applications against the minion-based villains, and it is VERY good against three of the five new villains coming out.
its pretty good against BB too, since the Blade Batallions hit for a nasty 5 damage when they come out. You can slow them and get a chance to hurt them a bit so they dish out less damage if you have Sub-Zero atmosphere. It’s one of Zero’s better cards against a lot of villians.
Although it could concieveably accellerate the Terralunar impulsion beam by a turn, but that probably isn’t going to happen, right?
After thinking about that, I don’t think Subzero Atmosphere will speed up Blade’s beam. The effects go in the order written on the card, right? So first, if he has fifteen cards, game over. Then you trash a card, due to his advanced text. Right?
Yes, but that still happens at the end of turn, so it would happen at the beginning instead.
However, it’s important to note that the effects happen in order they are written; FIRST it checks the deck for 15 cards. THEN it pulls a card into the trash. If this is card 15, then he will win the NEXT turn. Then he plays a card.
Right. That’s what I was saying. 
… I kind of skimmed…