We continue to go through some of the most common splash models in competitive singles lists and try to find some alternatives for them. Today: Luke Cage
Luke Cage is the premiere 3 threat tank in the game and has the added bonuses of:
- a taunt
- a size 3 character throw on his Spender
- one of the games best TTCs attached to him
Noone in the game combines all these qualities together quite like Luke so he is sure to be in someone's roster in your team. But what about the rest of you?
We will split this up into two categories:
Characters that can play Sacrifice like TTCs, or are native Taunts or Bodyguards and Characters that aren't those but are generally tanky, starting with the former.
Maybe the most obvious substitute for Luke because Danny can play Heroes for Hire, too. His play pattern is very different though. Danny is pretty mobile with Flying Kick and he threatens one extremely powerful comeback after being dazed (unless you somehow spiked into enough power without that) with his incredible Spender. He is way less tanky than Luke though.
On the list of the 10 toughest 3 threats in the game Angel sits at rank: 45. But he does have a Sacrifice like TTC and if that's really what you're after Warren might not be a terrible choice. He offers mobility and sizeless displacement as his upside.
This can be an awesome way to ruin an Apocalypse Spender specifically.
Red Guardian has great attacks where both his spender and his builder have automatic displacement and he adds a Shield Throw on top if it for reliable power generation. Adding blanks on defense is great but having to pay for it less so.
Red Guardian being the one paying here is actually upside as he doesn't struggle for power in most situations. He is way more likely to daze during the resolution of the card than Luke though. Overall still a good replacement especially if you want some long range fire support and/or more control.
Probably the best but also the least readily available substitute for Luke is Gorgon. Gorgon has a fantastic superpower, Charge, Inhuman rerolls and a taunt. He is not that tanky though in exchange for his way better attacks. He even brings a Sacrifice style TTC of his own:
Gaining Shock and Stun is a decent effect though not as strong as getting thrown in most instances.
And there's another character that can use Royal Guardians:
Mostly overshadowed by his cousin especially as a splash Karnak is still an interesting choice here. He's probably more the Inhuman Iron Fist standin where Gorgon is the Luke Cage but that isn't a bad thing in an of itself.
Karnak is very dependent on his Weakness Token to determine whether or not he is tanky against an enemy attack or not and how hard he can punish them for not putting him down.
Skurge is the most offensive of the natural Taunt 3 threats which he pays for by not being all that tough. He can make good use out of Aggressive after he Right-hand Maned an attack and his two power per Power Phase means the Taunt is basically always online.
Now we have some alternatives if attack redirection isn't your main focus and you're just looking for a 3 threat that can take a punch or seven:
Ted is a great character. You usually don't see him outside of his home affiliations but team tournaments might be exactly he environment for him to come in and be your tank. The combination of turning off opponents Crits and Healing Factor 2 make Man-Thing an absolute chore to chew through and power he gains from getting damaged can be spent on his great teleport.
Seeing Groot outside of Guardians and without Rocket is an absolute rarity but he has a giant health pool for a 3 threat and can heal himself, root opponents and has the single best Spender in the game (though it's very expensive). His problem is being very slow.
N'Kantu is strongly challenging Luke for the title of being the toughest 3 threat in the game. He can't redirect attacks but has the best "gun" on the list.
Taskmaster is a great choice on Scoundrels, can help with affiliation math and is just very annoying to get off the board for your opponent. His spender is very cheap and can be very effective.
Not much needed to say about Lizard. He is the fastest character on this list after Angel but about 2 times as tough as Warren. His throw is great as it the only displacement on any of these characters here that doesn't cost an action (or a TTC).
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