Character Review: Colossus

 

Some information in this article may be out of date as characters, tactics cards or leaderships have changed. All articles with out-of-date information are identified with the Legacy tag. You can find an updated review of this character here.

Piotr Rasputin, the Colossus, is one of the most iconic and beloved members of the X-Men, but how does he fare in Crisis Protocol?

Standing at 4 threat, with 6 health (up to 7 on his injured side) and 4 physical, 3 energy and 3 mystical defenses, his defenses are on par with most other characters of his threat level. The short move is nothing to write home about, even if it's on a 50mm base. The size 3 is a welcome addition as it makes him harder to displace.

Colossus's Strike is about as average of a builder as you can get on a character, range 2 with 5 dice of physical damage and a wild trigger is on par with most characters in MCP. The Concussive Force trigger is a nice way to mitigate the power the opposing model generates and can be more relevant in the cases where he doesn't do any damage. 

X-Slam is Colossus spender. At range 2 with 7 dice physical and automatic stun, is already a solid floor for 3 power, but the wild stagger helps it be an even more relevant attack.

Playing Catch, as a size 3 medium range terrain throw, helps Colossus put more offensive pressure than his range 2 attacks let him, especially when he gets displaced.

Big Brother is, in my opinion, the superpower that ties Colossus's kit together. The ability to protect another model gives him significantly better reach and helps protect models with important activations or scoring VPs.

Bozhe Moi is a nice defensive boost that can help boost his physical and energy defenses to excellent levels and works very well when combined with Big Brother against big attacks.

Bozhe Moi on his injured changes from adding 2 dice to counting blanks. Combined with the additional health he gets, it makes him one of the most resilient characters in the game and an excellent bodyguard.

Organic Steel is, I think, the second most important superpower on Colossus. Reducing damage by 1, even if to a minimum of 1, with Bodyguard, makes him extremely hard to remove from the board, doubly so on his injured side. The immunity to Bleed is a nice addition as it stops him from taking upticks of damage and be a more efficient bodyguard.

I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up Colossus and Wolverine's signature move, the Fastball Special. Exactly like it's comic counterpart, it lets Colossus throw Wolverine into the action. Combined with Storm's leadership, it can give Wolverine impressive reach but that's something worth it's own dedicated piece.

Overall, Colossus is an interesting character, his relatively slow speed an range 2 attacks makes him vulnerable to control and displacement especially from the likes of Thanos or Hulk who can easily move him around which also gives him a hard time generating power. He does make up for it by being incredibly resilient and the ability to protect your other models.

Thanks for taking the time to read this piece and as always, don't forget to have fun!