but you could always just use TLT's base power until she draws research grant, then switch over to that. At a certain point (once heroes have like 15 cards in their hands) team card draw is no longer especially helpful.
Yeah, it isn't Rapid Recon that is better for her than Team Leader, it is Research Grant. If you want TLT to do really well herself you switch to Research Grant as soon as you can, just like Regular Tachyon does, and you will end up either almost as effective or even more effective (depending on when you have Goggles out) than regular Tachyon.
I also weigh TLT’s strength in terms of how many other characters use cards for fuel in some respect.
Bunker–Gatling Gun and Omnicannon
Fanatic–Divine Focus
The Scholar–all Elemental Forms
Nightmist–almost every Spell card, plus Starshield Necklace and Amulet of the Elder Gods
Expatriette–Ammo/Speed Loading
Haka–all Haka cards
Tempest–Vicious Cyclone
Is one or two points of damage on a Lightspeed Barrage or an extra target on Sonic Vortex generally going to be worth the overall output of the options on the cards themselves plus their alternative uses for all of those above characters? I’d say that 95% of the time, that answer is no. Chances are pretty high that at least one, if not several of the above characters are in the party (that’s 7 of 18, and Tachyon herself makes 8).
Don’t get me wrong: I see the utility of Rapid Recon and, in terms of theme it’s spot-on. And yes, its better for both versions of Tachyon to later switch to Research Grant. However, in terms of Base powers? TLT easily can keep up with Base Tachyon in terms of card burning while still helping her entire party and gaining an HP in the process. There’s no question in my mind who’s mechanically stronger.
The only way normal Tacky is better is if you can't get cards out of your hand, and the vast number of Environments with "discard cards to get rid of this" effects*, as well as several villains (Citizen Dawn being the big one) who force discards, mean that it's fairly rare for cards to be trapped in your hand when you want them trashed. Thusly, the number of situations where TLT might be disadvantaged even a little is quite small. I definitely think she should have had less HP instead of more, to make the comparison less unfair. Also, while TLT is like Legacy in getting better with more allies, she gives those allies enough that I don't feel she's weak even in 3H, and in 5H she's just absurd. In 3H I don't much enjoy using Legacy's power phase to give just two other heroes the ability to deal extra damage, because I can't use the bonus myself for the most part, but TLT can use her own card.
* On a tangent, it occurs to me that Spite's victims often ask you to discard cards to save them, which makes him feel interestingly as though he brings his own Environment with him.
As long as there is even a single scenario where Original Tachy is better, you cannot say the TLT is strictly better. Nobody is saying that overall TLT isn't stronger, however, she isn't strictly better.
I think this is pretty much true for any of the promo/original comparisons. One may be stronger OVERALL, but each has their niche. Some also just favor different playstyles (Legacy/Young Legacy), but aren't better OVERALL. That's why I love 'em 
I would argue that the self benefits of Rapid Recon never outweigh the team gain of Team Leader. The self benefit is so situational and low that at its best it could be offset by the rest of your team drawing 2 cards each.
I can't imagine a situation on a team where drawing extra cards and burning your deck is not a large benefit over the course of the game.
Giving up a situational and small benefit for a much larger benefit is a net gain.
If there is a fight where a team is better off giving up team leader over the course of a fight for the benefit Rapid Recon potentially could give it escapes me.
I am pretty confident in saying that in any game played Team Leader Tachyon is going to benefit the team more than her normal self.
I don't play TLT anymore, I don't find her to be fun to play, and she ruins the challenge of the game.
I can think of one situation where normal Tachy has the edge: when you need to kill one more target RIGHT NOW with Sonic Vortex, and are getting an incap ability to play a card after your turn or use a power before your turn. If your allies are dropping like flies, TLT starts to look less appealing. Ironically, the hyper-violent Iron Legacy might be one of the villains more likely to kill all her friends and leave Meredith kind of regretting that extra point of HP. A better example, though, is Grand Warlord Voss. Say you start with five heroes, so Voss has five minions in play. First turn, he plays a Translocator, and then two minions emerge each turn thereafter. Then Forced Deployment. All of a sudden you have like 12 minions in play, and they've killed everyone with more or less HP than TLT. Sonic Vortex probably doesn't make a difference in whether you have 9 or 10 minions left at the start of Voss's turn...but it might make a difference as to whether you die horribly or not.
The wording on Prime Warden Tempest doesn't involve a card dealing him damage. Because of that Ground Pound will not protect him, neither will Mega Computer or any card focused on preventing damage dealt, since they all involve the word "card" and no card deals damage to PW Tempest for his power. Heroic Interception is awesome for it, as is Smoke Bombs if your highest has good reduction.
Smoke Bombs only redirects villain damage.
You're right, I was thinking Stealth Bot and screwed it all up.
I was going to bring up Ground Pound. Haka is still good, because of enduring intercession.
No one has ever played Enduring Intercession seriously in the history of SotM
Once. Check a La Capitan game from one of the PBFs. We comboed it with heroic Interception and Anchient Library and went wild. It was great.
Also Haka can deal with environment damage way better than tempest so it can combo well.
That said you’re right, it’s one of the most situational cards in the game
Tempest can get more DR than Haka and also can heal HP more consistently. Idk. I don't see it.
Very good point–I'll amend to reword this shortly!
PW you said Salvage Yard and meant Grease Gun when talking about PW Tempest. Sorry that you keep having to change that
I have. Once in Pike Industrial Complex, the only time he took damage was with Checmical Explosion. It was certainly better than letting Chrono-Ranger take extra damage from the Supercooled Transolvant Vat while Hunter and Hunted was in play. Another time, with 2 Mega Computers and Ta Moko in play in The Final Wasteland, lots of Ancient Library abuse and heroes would not take any damage from the Environment. Freedom Tower was another use of it, Frost's Cryo Chamber only did 3 extra damage a round to Haka and it helped wreck the villain.
Yes, I have used every card in Sentinels of the Multiverse in a awesome way.
I used Enduring Intercession to kep Jackhandle in play for DW Fixer.
I think that beats Ronway's use.
Super Scientific Tachyon reveals the BOTTOM two cards of a deck. Not the top two.