Split from https://greaterthangames.com/forum/topic/knyfes-overdo-it-incredibly-underwhelming-4696
Also, keep in mind that different cards sometimes work better, depending on who's in play. Bloody Knuckles, for instance, can work great if you have Visionary waiting to destroy it right after Fixer's turn. And Surge of Strength is fantastic for Young Legacy.
I consider Bloody Knuckles a great card, even if it remains in play until the start of my next turn.
If you didn't have to blow it up it would be great. As it is I think, when using the regular Mr. Fixer, that it's very situational compared to Overdrive or Charge.
Even having to blow it up, its great to take down a target with soem DR when you don't have the right style in play, or to put out just enough damage to finish another target off that was causing a lot of difficulty for the team
And like 90% of all sentinels play... its situational. The whole game is about utilizing what you have in the right time at the right place.
It really depends on the set-up Fixer has and the villain that is currently at hand. Such as Voss, if there is a minion in play and Fixer has at least one card to increase his damage, I would play charge to kill the minion and then hit Voss. If Voss is alone by Fixer's turn, I would much rather play Bloody Knuckles and save the Charge for when there is a minion.
Charge and Overdrive also get significantly more powerful if Fixer is using things that increase his damage, like Pipe Wrench, Dual Crowbar, or Grease Monkey Fist. While with lower damage, Bloody Knuckles can yield out more or equal to Charge, but since Charge can get even better later, it's best saved for that time, and it's best for Villains with DR when not using Alternating Tiger Claw.
And Dark Watch Fixer loves Bloody Knuckles...
I love Bloody Knuckles, esp. vs. Apostate with his relics of -2 damage taken and redirection and general doom are out, Jackhandle/Tiger/Knuckles cleans up a nasty mess pretty well.
The same With Voss and several Guards, or Crowbars and +1 from monkey or harmony, you can drop 2 guards and let the rest of your team mop up the unprotected minions remaining.
Knuckles is mostly used for those times when that extra point or two of damage makes all the difference. There are a lot of moments like that.
I've had a couple of games where Bloody Knuckles let Fixer do some game-winning Riveting Crane magic. In a particularly memorable game against Advanced Voss, being able to cancel his DR and hero-nerf on his frontside meant we could burn him down from his 40s to nothing right before a Forced Deployment would've activated and murdered us. (It's pretty silly against Spite, too. Why thank you, Mr. Upsilon!)
Fixer is just amazing. That's pretty much what we are saying.
Second.
I still think Fixer is one of the weaker heroes (not that the gulf is large). Sure, he can dish out a lot of damage with a good setup, and has somewhat better odds of a good setup than other heroes who can do better. But he's still fairly limited in the range of effects he can produce. No Ongoing destruction, no villain deck control, little ability to contribute if heroes can't use Powers, even less if they can't play cards in the early turns, and virtually none if he can't deal damage, unless he has one of a very small number of powerful utility cards in his hand (Grease Gun, Salvage Yard, am I forgetting anything?). That combined with the fact that many of his card plays sabotage each other make him fairly narrow and situational. He can be an all-star in certain situations that are not exactly rare, but he can't always be counted on to help, and he only rarely proves the best contributor.
Compare all this to, say, Tempest or The Argent Adept. It's clear that, while the heap is pretty evenly-distributed, there are heroes which are at the top, and Fixer is at the bottom. (Although given that I can name more very-strong heroes than very-weak ones, perhaps "heap" is the wrong metaphor..."trench" perhaps?)
I've always loved Fixer. Maybe I'm just lucky because I tend to do well with him, but the stats say he isn't too great.
Now the stats are not the final statement on a hero's ability, lots of things go into them. Maybe people just don't play him well, but in my opinion its a lack of getting the goods. Let me explain because I know he has tons of great things he can do.
The issue I see with him, when he is bas, is people never have the right card at the right time. Its always "Hey Fixer has a great card for this situation, which I haven't seen yet. Instead I have seen all of his other situational cards that don't work well currently." Lots of "Boy I wish I had such and such card instead of the ones I have."
I have one friend that just refuses to play him now beause in every game he played with Fixer (I think he tried 4 times). He would swear after every card draw because he just got his 3rd copy of some stance but still had not gotten a tool or grease gun. Ever single round was: Draw card, look at card, sigh, "F you Fixer". After the first game he thought it was just bad luck, after going 4/4 like that he was done forever.
Ok, I'm really off of the original topic. The summary is, I have always liked Fixer but I have definitely noticed his potential often doesn't line up with actual play so I UNDERSTAND why people dislike him.
My experience so far with Fixer has only been 4-5 games. I've seen him stellar once, and "meh" the other times, though key in the win with one of those due to setting up another hero for the kill. I think one part of it is that since I mainly play 3-hero games that if one of the heroes is not contributing heavily it shows, and you need Fixer getting beyond inflicting 2-3 points of damage per turn on a single target. I suspect that with more heroes there is a greater chance of a "support" hero helping him out, or possibly the other heroes covering for him when he is having an off-day.
I'm less than impressed with basic Mr. Fixer. Darkwatch Fixer, however, is a game changer.... primarily because of Riveting Crane Style. Strike is often too weak by itself to get in the 1 point of damage needed to take advantage of Riveting Crane. However, when Bitter Strike is added to the mix, fixer can strip damage reduction off of a boss or even off of several minions at a time. Essentially, on certain turns against high DR opponents: Fixer can contribute Legacy's buff several times over.
Living the dream as DW fixer is Riveting Crane Style, Harmony, Jack Handle and something he can trow away for a Bitter Strike (toolbox or Bloody Knuckles being ideal).
The trick with Fixer, as I see it, is that he gets some unusual effects. DR cancellation and damage type manipulation are fairly unusual. If those are the tools you need, Fixer is your man. But if that isn't what you need, or you can't get the right tools or stances, then he's weaker than average.
Which is just another way of saying that he's situational, which is what everyone else is saying. But I guess what I'm saying is that when Fixer is MVP, it's because he's doing something that nobody else can do, which is why he makes up for it by being meh when his skills aren't critical. And DW Fixer can help fill in when he needs a bit more oomph instead of surgical precision.
I found Fixer to be underpowered until I played him more.
I began to think of him as a Jack-of-all-trades type character, able to do a bit of everything (except card destruction) but not really good at anything.
Then I really started to understand the sickness that is Fixer.
He can do so much that other players can only dream of doing, and on certain teams (any equip heavy team for sure) is just ridiculous.
He's one of my absolute Favorite 3-hero team characters, because when Damage starts dropping Mantis and Pipe Wrench get sick.
He's one of my favorite 5-hero team members because Crane, Hoist Chain, Salvage Yard and Grease Gun get really good in High (H) games.
He's one of my favorite 4-hero team members because Grease Monkey, Tiger, Crowbars and Jackhandle all let him fill gaps in your team.
Then there are the ridiculous combos he pulls off with certain teammates.
Agree with jzs2. Bunker can make the same claim; no other character can embed the Paparazzi of Megalopolis in adhesive foam for three full turns. But he is also mediocre much of the time, and has to do a lot of work getting there. Such characters might be your "go to guy" if assembling a team for a particular foe, but they are often weak if selected randomly or at-whim.
But only about half of villains use reduction, and it's often not their most salient form of invincibility. Spite and Iron Legacy both rely more on healing, which no hero yet published (possibly excepting Vengeance, I don't know there) can prevent, although at least one Environment does reduce it a bit. ATC and RC styles are completely useless against villains who don't rely on DR as a way to protect themselves (for instance I believe Plague Rat has just a single copy of a DR card, which might as well not exist given that he provides no secondary targets to distract the heroes from whaling on him). Against someone like Warlord Voss or advanced Miss Information, Fixer is an all-star…but the second or so time I played him, we were up against La Capitan, and only one of her minions even has reduction (while another has healing, grrrr). Fixer only has the tools (or Tools) to fix certain problems; others remain insoluble, and Fixer isn't always worth the +1 to H that his presence generates, or the slot he takes away from a different hero.
Driving Mantis is one of my favorite cards in the game at (H)=3.
Driving Mantis is one of my favorite cards when paired with; Dual Crowbars, Assault Rifle, Thermal Shockwave, Taiaha and Puninsh the Weak, Inferno, Cerebral Hemorrhage, Danny-boy, Chain Lightning... I think people get where I am going with this.
Riveting Crane is one of my favorite cards when going last against Voss, when Mega Computer is in play, or when hitting a target with DR.
Alternating Tiger Claw is one of my favorite cards when there is a ton of DR!
Grease Monkey is one of my favorite card when any of the other 3 styles are not my favorite card.
Jack Handle is one of my favorite card when there are bunches of targets to hit or when Fixer would be forced to hit himself or another hero.
Dual Crowbars is one of my favorite cards when there are a couple of targets that I want to hit, when I have Driving Mantis to redirect my second hit, or when I am forced to hit myself or an ally so I can still hit the enemy.
Hoist Chain is one of my favorite cards when a solo target is dealing most of the damage, when I want to help protect an ally, or paired with Driving Mantis to help redirect damage.
Tire iron is one of my favorite cards when Fixer is on beating the lowest target duty or when the current tool can't quite do the damage needed to finish the job.
Pipe Wrench is one of my favorite card when I feel like being a jerk and carrying only about my own safety, when pairing with Driving Mantis to redirect damage, to remain the highest hero target when mostly the highest is being hit.
Salvage Yard is one of my favorite cards when my allies need equipment back ASAP.
Overdrive is one of my favorite cards because I can use the same power twice in a single turn or when I need a slight boost in damage.
Charge is one of my favorite cards when I need to beat things multiple times.
Bloody Knuckles is one of my favorite cards when it can do exactly the right amount of damage when I need it to.
Meditation is one of my favorite cards when I want to stand in a better position than currently am in.
Tool Box is one of my favorite cards so I can discard cards for allies and not care about it or move through my deck faster.
Grease Gun is one of my favorite cards when heroes need a break from non-hero targets.
Harmony is one of my favorite cards when I have achieved inner peace.
Every card in Fixer's deck is one of my favorite cards when it is in my hand.
Now do one for Argent Adept!