Confusing Card of the Week #35 – Dick Grayson, Brand New Bat

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

Today, we’re going to take a look at Dick Grayson, Brand New Bat from the DC World’s Finest set.

       

Ruling – Ability

Dick Grayson’s ability says that when a Batman Family character is KO’d, he gets +2A and +2D. It also allows him to deal his combat damage to your opponent instead of any blockers if he’s blocked. It’s worth noting that his ability to deal damage to your opponent instead of blockers is not optional. If Dick Grayson is blocked, but does his damage to your opponent, he returns to the Field Zone and does not go to he Used Pile.

His ability will trigger each time a Batman Family character is KO’d, yours or your opponent’s. If you have three Batman Family characters that are KO’d, he would get +2A and +2D for each one for a total of +6A and +6D.

If a Batman Family character is KO’d on your opponent’s turn, your Dick Grayson would still get the +2A and +2D, but the rest of his ability wouldn’t work because he’s not attacking on your opponent’s turn.

 I want to breakdown the Attack Step for this particular card. We’re also going to assume that I have a Dick Grayson in the Field Zone as well as three Alfred Pennyworth, MI-5 dice. I have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Monstrous Dragon (not active) on my team.

Attack Step
~ Select Attackers
~ Assign Blockers
~ Use Actions and Globals
~ Assign Damage

I can use Blue-Eyes to KO three Alfred dice before the Attack Step so that Dick Grayson gets +6A and +6D, and can do his damage to my opponent instead of blockers. You can also do something similar in the Attack Step.

Attack Step
~ Select Attackers
I select Dick Grayson as an attacker.

~ Assign Blockers
My opponent assigns a Sidekick to block Dick Grayson.

~ Use Actions and Globals
I use my Blue-Eyes Global three times, KO’ing an Alfred die each time. Dick Grayson gets a total of +6A and +6D and can now do his damage directly to my opponent instead of the blocking Sidekick. All of my Alfred dice would have their abilities trigger at this time.

~ Assign Damage
Dick Grayson assigns his damage to my opponent. The Sidekick assigns its damage to Dick Grayson. Damage is dealt simultaneously.

Here is what happens if I do not KO any of my Batman Family characters before the Assign Damage part of the Attack Step.

Attack Step
~ Select Attackers
I select Dick Grayson, who is level two, and all three Alfred dice as attackers. All of my Alfred dice are level one, so their attack and defense are both one.

~ Assign Blockers
My opponent assigns Sidekicks to block all of my attackers.

~ Use Actions and Globals
I do not use any Actions or Globals.

~ Assign Damage
Dick Grayson assigns his damage to the Sidekick die blocking him. The Alfred dice all assign their damage to the Sidekicks blocking them. The Sidekicks all assign their damage to the characters they’re blocking. Damage is dealt simultaneously. All the Alfred dice are KO’d at the same time and Dick Grayson would not get to do more than five damage to the Sidekick because that’s what his attack was at the time damage was assigned.

All of my Alfred dice that are KO’d would have their abilities trigger at this time.

It’s very important to choose the correct time to KO characters for Dick Grayson’s ability to work best for you.

Ruling – Global

Dick Grayson’s Global allows you to give any character the Batman Family affiliation until end of turn for the cost of a Mask Energy. Giving a character the Batman Family affiliation through this Global does not remove or change any other affiliations that the character previously had.

If I decide to give Fatality, Bounty Hunter the Batman Family affiliation, she would then have Batman Family, Star Sapphire Corps, and Villain affiliations.

You can use his Global Ability during the Attack Step to give a character the Batman Family affiliation, and then use a Global or Action Dice to KO that character, giving Dick Grayson a surprise boost in Attack and Defense and the ability to hit your opponent directly.

Competitive Play Rating
While Dick Grayson has huge potential, I’m not completely sure of his meta status just yet. We just had the ban news of Relentless and Swords of Revealing Light, which will slow down the Bard Blitz and Guy Rush teams, but will it slow them enough for cards like Dick Grayson to find a place in the meta? I can see him on several rogue teams, and we’ve already seen a few variants that folks are referring to as Bat-Bomb teams. I don’t like his fielding costs and his purchase cost is high, but for what his potential is, I’d say that he’s worth it. It will take some creative team building but I think he might make it into a top cut on a few occasions. Until we start seeing him consistently in top cuts, he will only have a rogue team rating from me.

Dick Grayson, Brand New Bat gets a competitive play rating of three out of five stars.

Casual Play Rating
Dick Grayson’s ability timing can be very difficult for new players and beginners. I don’t mind recommending him for advanced casual players, so long as he is explained appropriately to beginners. His level three fielding cost is still unfavorable, even for a casual setting. His purchase cost can be tough to deal with as well, since many casual players don’t have or don’t use Blue-Eyes. But a team built efficiently around Dick Grayson can be fun to play and even put up a good challenge for your opponents. I wouldn’t recommend Dick Grayson for any beginner or new player. I would only recommend using him if you’re an advanced player or you fully understand how he works and can explain it to your opponents. He is a unique character that would make a great teaching tool for up and coming advanced players.

Dick Grayson, Brand New Bat gets a casual play rating of three out of five stars.

 

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