MEV Preview: Strong Guy

I'm very happy to present to you - Strong Guy!

Man, where to start here...Strong Guy's origin? The artwork? The card's power? I guess we should take it from the top.

The Life and Times of Guido Carosella
Strong Guy was born Guido Carosella. And Guido's life kinda sucked. He was nerdy, he was picked on, and his parents were jerks. But then he got hit by a bus, and things got a little better.

Getting hit by a bus unlocked Guido's mutant power (kids - don't try that at home). Turns out, Guido can absorb kinetic energy (the extra energy which an object possesses due to its motion). Of course, Guido didn't realize that's what happened to him. If he had, he probably would have tried to release that energy before it got trapped in his body and turned him into a freaky-lookin' Strong Guy. But that's not how it went down.

Oh - did I mention Guido was rich? Yeah - emphasis on was. His parents got crushed by a satellite that fell out of the sky, and the company that owned the satellite settled out of court. This made Guido a rich man. Guido then made a bunch of questionable investments. This made Guido a poor man.

In order to pay the bills, Guido hired himself out as a bodyguard. Lila Cheney was his first client. Dazzler was his second. And with Dazzler, Guido went on to adventure with the X-men. He was later called upon to become a member of X-Factor (along with Havok, Quicksilver and Polaris) when the original X-men passed the torch. It was here that he formed a lasting friendship with teammate Jamie Madrox - Multiple Man. Many good times were had. Many bad guys were beaten up. Then, in the process of absorbing WAY too much kinetic energy from a bomb blast, Guido had a massive heart attack and died.

Well, he ALMOST died. He would have died. But he was placed in suspended animation for a while until Jamie Madrox found him and unfroze him. With help from Forge, Guido was good as new and ready for more action. He traveled the world, got caught up in stomping out a lot of evil, then returned to New York City, where he met up with Jamie and helped him get his mutant detective agency, X-Factor Investigations, off the ground. At one point he almost left the agency (he was offered the job as "Sheriff of Mutant Town"), but he decided to stick it out with his friends. And that's where you can find him today.

The Art
I've loved Ryan Sook's X-Factor art since I first saw it. It perfectly captures the "noir"-ness of the latest X-Factor title. If you'd like to see it in all its glory, I highly recommend the first few collected volumes of X-Factor. Not only is it Sook at his best, but the writing is solid throughout. Peter David knows how to write adventure, mystery, and funny. All at the same time. [Vs-Blog.com Fun Fact - I am related to Ryan Sook. No, seriously. My dad got remarried a few years back. Turns out Sook is my new step-mom's little cousin. Crazy! They're not really close or anything, so it's not like we'll be paling around over the holidays. Still, it's neat to be Six Degrees from Ryan Sook.]

The Card
When I first saw Strong Guy's power, it reminded me of this dude:

Except that, in many ways, Strong Guy kicks Subby's ass. Strong Guy doesn't care about team affiliations AND he gets to KEEP THE COUNTERS! So let's pretend you've got your 3, 4, and 5 on the board (not too hard to do by turn 6) and they all have activated powers. Strong Guy can be a 15/15 on turn 6. Not bad.

Now let's pretend your 3, 4, and 5 have "Energize". (You haven't forgotten about our newest keyword already, have you? Energize - Whenever this character defends, ready it). You have the potential to pump Strong Guy up to an 18/18 on turn 6!

OK, "Back to reality" time  - that last scenario isn't likely to happen without proper planning, as Guido will probably be the first target in any attack if you've got a board full of "Energizers". Of course, a few cards that could increase the odds of pulling off a Massive Strong Guy include (see if you can spot any combos in here):

 

 

And then there is this guy:

So, yeah - maybe getting an 18/18 on turn 6 won't be so tough. And if he's an 18/18 on 6, how big do you think you can get him on 7? Galactus-sized?

I expect in sealed we'll see a lot of Strong Guy, as he's common and his ability interacts with a lot of other characters (at least, I assume UDE put in just as many characters with activated abilities as they do in every set). For constructed - well, you'll definitely have to build around him. But, as I mentioned before, Subby has a similar ability and I've seen a few powerful "Neptune's Fist" decks in my day. I guess it will all depend on who else shares a 6-drop spot with our "little" Guido.

So - what do you think?

Comments

[RanmaSolo]

Oh I see the combos, my friend. I see them! And I raise you an Armed Escort. ;)

-Mike

[Paul Sung]

Wow, strong Dwarfipedia : )

[Omega Red]

I love the art they chose for this card.

Seems like the definite finisher in Multiple Man.dek. Jamie 5 brings out a bunch of Hydra 1-drops, which all activate to give Guido +3/+1. Very nice.

[Pi_3.14159...]

Meh, an 18/18 on 6 isn't that impressive. My 20/18 with invulnerability (a 2-drop anyway, but whatever) that gets counters from stunning? And I didn't win...

Being a lover of +1/+1 counters, this is an awesome card. Nice preview.