We continue to go through some of the most common splash models in competitive singles list and try to find some alternatives for them. Today: Baron Zemo
It's kind of unbelievable that Baron Zemo has stayed as pushed as he is from the original core set but here we are. In fact he's even gotten better since due to him being able to use the TTC I Am A Baron After All.
Zemo 1 is the games premiere Extract Chaser with his basically unmatched speed and damage output in his threat range. Add the Strategic Genius bubble and you have a model that's straight up pushed over the edge. I'd be absolutely flabbergasted if theres a team that doesn't have him in their 50 at WTC. So who could the other 4 players have in their lists to compensate?
Strucker is the stay at home version of Zemo in many ways. He is more survivable and his Builder is arguably better but he lacks any kind of action economy which is what makes Zemo so strong. Strucker would be a decent substitute for any team that brings Zemo mostly for the strategic genius bubble and not his mobility.
Just like with Psylocke in the Shang-Chi article there's a very high chance every WTC team has a Servants of the Apocalypse player and that would mean Deadpool isn't available to anyone else. If he is he should definitely be in consideration. Leg Day makes him quite mobile and he is a lot harder to actually put down than Zemo while handing out damage through sheer amount of attacks even when he can't match Zemos accuracy.
Echo has taken Zemos title of fastest 3 threat charger as with Wallcrawler she is a lot faster on the actual board. She pays for the extra freedom of ignoring terrain with attacks that aren't nearly as deadly on first look but a 4 die no rerolls allowed into a 7 die attack that also netted 2 power is nothing to sneeze at either while also matching opponents Crits with hits to effectively take away a success. Maya is definitely someone to look out for. If your team has a Criminal and player she's probably already hard on their mind though.
Kraven would be universally beloved in this game if everybody's favorite German character wasn't as great as he is. Kraven is fast, had good attacks and fantastic superpowers. He does get a lot out of the Spider-Foes TTCs though so if your team has one of them it's pretty likely he's already in.
Inhumans is another of the teams very likely to feature in a lot WTC teams but I think with Gorgon, Quicksilver, Lockjaw, Beast (if even available from Servants or Avengers) and Karnak as alternatives Ms. Marvel might hit Free Agency and play a season for your team. She is both deceptively fast and hits very hard against the right targets. She isn't as pluck and play as Zemo and some of the alternatives here as you really want her to have the power to Embiggen a lot and/or unlock Skulls for her many many rerolls.
Proxima is a Long Mover that lacks charge but instead has a range 3 attack that places her within 1 of the target making her able to zoom around the board very fast if you need her to. She can easily catch someone on or a bit behind the midline in round 1 for example. Martial Prowess isn't the best defensive tech but Invulnerability is and in combination it makes her the toughest of the characters on this list.
Laura is probably most interesting for lists that already have some other Healing Factor characters to make Instant Recovery more of a worthwhile card. Having recently been buffed hasn't done exactly wonders for Lauras popularity in the current meta game but a big Team Tournament like WTC could be just the right setting for her to shine (Dodge those pesky Wizards for example).
While I want to usually keep the alternatives at the same threat level as the focus character I would be remiss to not include Baron Helmut Zemo in today's article. While I absolutely don't think he is worth the upgrade in normal situations sadly, Team Tournaments is a way for him to shine as he is a good character. Just not 3 threat Zemo good.
Next in the series:
Black Cat
That's it for today.
Cheers from Germany 🍻
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