Welcome back to SGP and our Which… series where we compare different versions of a character in MCP and find out which version is the right one for you.
Todays topic is Mister Mean Green himself, Bruce Banner a.k.a the Hulk.
Hulk has been in the game as the very first expansion and this year got a second incarnation called the Immortal Hulk based on the fantastic comic run of the same name.
Let’s look at the card for the similarities and differences:
Strongest One There Is is probably the most fitting line of words on any character card in MCP. It is his throw which is already the unparalleled best throw in the game chugging both characters and terrain from Range 2 Medium (omnidirectional) for a measly 2 Power. It gets even better once you realise that Hulk has this online automatically every activation (unless something robs him some power before he activates). Not bringing it in line with every similar throw and increasing it to 3 Power cost is one of the biggest oversights of the recent character updates in my opinion.
Aside from that Hulk feels very much worth his big 6 threat price tag. He is a scenario beast and fantastic control piece with decent damage potential but his reach, durability and his displacement are his real main strengths. Which is quite often the biggest gripe people have with playing him. No sane person would argue he is bad, most people describe him as the best model in the game, but does he feel like playing Hulk? Is a measured, well thought out activation that sometimes values a walk over an attack if it gets you a VP what you were hoping for when you brought the Mean Green to the table?
Hulk is affiliated in Avengers and Defenders.
Sculpt: D. It’s a very old sculpt and one I’m basically never going to be picking up. I have my Joe Fixit to use as regular Hulk until I get my Fixit rules.
7 threat Bruce Banner has the potential to have 25 points of Stamina plus near unending healing if he isn’t dealt with properly and he also has the higher damage output average than his regular version. His throw has been adjusted to be the same as Thor’s, Carol(1)’s and Bill’s at costing the appropriate 3 power. He also has the wild trigger on his builder be a size 4 throw instead of a push and an automatic size Unrestricted throw on his Spender for the potential of three size 4 throws in a single activation. Defensively exchanges the defensive rerolls against Physical and Energy from Hulk Not Puny Banner with 5 Mystic defense. Making him an honourable Convocation member pretty much.
Is real affiliations are Defenders and Midnight Sons. He loves the Daredevil leadership but Midnight Sons is probably his best home.
Sculpt: A. One of the best minis in MCP in my opinion. Tonnes of fun to paint too.
So which version of Bruce Banner is best to put in your list if you want to run him every game?
Honestly both work. It kind of depends on what threat your leader and other core models are as both are big investments and math can get difficult sometimes.
iHulk feels a bit more like playing a Hulk in my opinion but classic Hulk remains arguably the best overall model in the game (Bill is challenging that a bit).
Next time we will take a look at the star of the hour, Carol Danvers.
See you then and cheers from Germany 🍻
Deutsche MCP Spieler, kommt auf unseren MCP Germany Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/M5vkkasF