That’s why there is no Superman in this set.

The Format: 400 SLoSH sealed. No outside anything.

What I played:

SLOSH003 Lightning Lad

SLOSH011 Sensor Girl

SLOSH024 Lex Luthor

SLOSH041 Universo

Total = 400 Points

Round 1: Facing SLOSH039 Bizarro (at 150 points) and SLOSH055 Validus.

The map we played on featured a large patch of elevated on the left side of the center of the map. My opponent was able to take up a position on the elevated terrain that wouldn’t let me get off a running shot with Luthor or Lightning Lad. I could try moving further towards his starting area, but he could also move closer to his starting area and nothing would change.

I knew my team was defensive minded. I put myself in a position near my starting area where Validus could charge my characters next turn and Bizarro might be 1 square out of range depending on what he randomly rolled at the start of his turn. It worked. Bizarro ended up on a charge click with low speed and couldn’t move and attack me in the same turn. Validus charged the front of my group which was Universo and Sensor girl. He asked what the defensive powers were on each and made the decision to attack Universo. I missed shape change. He attacked and rolled an 8. I used prob from Sensor Girl. He rolled a 7. Prob from Luthor (who could see Validus because he was a giant). He rolled a 4 which was a miss.

On my turn and based by both Valiudus and Bizarro, things weren’t looking great. Even less so when I realized he was going to Pulse wave my whole team for 2 damage as a free action the beginning of my next turn. Used Luther’s TA to outwit defense on Validus and Lightning Lad to RCE him from the back row for 4 damage (RCE for +1 damage and +1 attack). That softened him up, but I was still going to get pulse waved. At that point I remember my opponent telling me a story before the game that he played Validus once before and someone mind controlled him to just run away. He disliked Validus for that reason. I used Universo to pull exactly that trick again. Suddenly my 400 point team was just facing a 150 point Bizarro. Things were definitely looking up. Luthor did a running shot on Bizzaro and hit for 1 token worth of damage.

On my opponents turn he swung with Bizzaro. Facing two probs, he missed. Validus moved to charge range and stopped. On my turn I had my available guys take two more tokens off of Bizzarro. Bizarro and Validus cleared. Another outwit from Luthor and a attack from him and Lightning Lad finished Validus. Bizarro fell a few turns later after hitting Luthor with an RCE attack and knocking him to click 4.

Luck was on my side this match and Luthor was the only one hit with an attack.

Round 2: Facing Hypefox withSLOSH054 Persuader and SLOSH040 Emerald Empress.

This time I took the elevated patch in the middle, but HypeFox got off the first attacks. Emerald Empress flew in and hit everyone on my team with a 1 damage Pulse Wave that I can’t use prob on. Persuader charged Sensor Girl and rolled a 5, just missing. Luthor gets a Successful Psyblast off on Emerald Empress knocking her to click 3. Due to his traited combat reflexes I’m having a hard time hitting Persauder. That is until I roll a 2 which I prob and get a 4. I prob again and get a 12. Turning a crit miss into a crit hit really turns things around. Persuader does manage to quake my entire team off a building, but only Universo takes damage. Eventually Universo is KOed, but I take out Hypefox’s team with time to spare in the round. My defensive abilities and prob control really shine this battle.

Round 3: Facing SLOSH002 Saturn Girl, SLOSH012 Tyroc, SLOSH026 Mister Miracle, and SLOSH036 Glorith

My opponent and I met on the elevated terrain in the center of the map. I got off the first shots this time with Lightning lad and Luthor both targeting Saturn girl. Only Luthor ends up hitting. On my opponents turn he attacked with everyone available, but with my probs and defensive abilities he couldn’t touch me. Sensor girl even probed a stealthy Mister Miracle into missing. The next round I took out Saturn girl and damage Tyroc. The round after that Tyroc is KOed and the round after that Glorith goes down. He doesn’t touch me with a single attack.

With At least 30 minutes left in the round my opponent decides to forgo attacking for the rest of the game and starts what shall forever be referred to as the Mr. Miracle dance. I fire all out at the stealthy Mr. Miracle after having Universo and Sensor Girl combine to outwit his stealth with the Superman Enemy TA. If I hit he adds an action token. If I haven’t hit him last round and he has no tokens he runs to a different position. Over the next 30 minutes with my whole team firing, I manage to make Mr Miracle push only twice. At that point he picks up side step and can just start dancing over some blocking terrain and make it real hard for me to keep up. I finally get the bright idea to push lightning lad to get precision strike when the judge calls time.

I actually liked the Mr. Miracle dance on my opponent’s part. It turned what was otherwise a one sided match into something fun and challenging that I’m going to remember a lot longer than any of my other matches that night. Kudos to my opponent.

What I learned

• The team I chose was possibly the best one I have ever fielded in a sealed event. I knew I wanted to use Universo and Luthor since I had named them some of the best characters in the set. Lightning Lad I liked for adding damage. Sensor Girl I threw in because the points fit. They worked together better than I ever dreamed. They were a defensive powerhouse with just enough damage to win.
• Sensor Girl didn’t look like much when I added her to my team but she turned out to be my MVP. The ability to use prob on just about anyone near her regardless of how pieces were placed was just huge. She would target someone in stealth from behind two other pieces. Just ridiculous. She was a little short on offense, but exceptional in every other way. I will definitely look for a reason to play her again.
• Luthor was the Glue holding the team together. His TA was incredibly useful since everyone else on the team was a wildcard. His 18 defend was just dominating when combined with his prob and Sensor Girl’s prob. Also at the time I didn’t realize his powers were uncounterable. He was great without even noticing that. I will definitely look for a reason to play him again.
• Universo was everything I said he was in my set review article. Standing at the front of my team he was almost completely unhittable.
• Lightning Lad was Lightning Lad. Exactly what you think he is. Decent for the points but there really is nothing new to learn about him.
• Bizarro’s  only taking one damage at a time is really great. It took my whole 400 point team 3 rounds of focus fire to KO the 150 version of him. I would love a chance to use that character if I happen to get one. I see why he did well at a recent ROC.
• Validus almost ate my team in match one. If not for Universo he would have done it. My opponent wasn’t thrilled with Validus and actually traded him to me at the end of the night. I would love to try him out myself except I traded him to Hypefox for FI029 Colossus that same night. If I happen across another one, I’m totally going to play him.
• Mister Miracle won’t win you many matches with offense. But if you can get your opponent fixated with him, he makes a hell a distraction. If you aren’t adding tokens to him with useless actions like attacking, your opponent won’t be able to KO him before time is called.