Talk:Black Panther (T'Challa)/@comment-67.61.203.104-20140607191539

Oh boy, true believers. With Storm - Mohawk being released, we could see some real power plays with a Panther pairing in the elite circle. with a 5 power complement between them (blue, yellow, red, green, and shared black)

Panther's 4-Environment shattering means Mistress of the Elements can rack up serious environmental AP, but if I had to recommend a build, I'd be going with 4/5/4 to balance the offense between Battleplan and Rage of the Panther.

Defense Grid is definitely the only thing a Storm/Panther pairing would have in terms of defense, and at level 5, the name is a perfect fit. After laying 5 protect tiles with 118 strength, that adds up to 590 in total softened damage. Not to mention the countdown tile stays at the ready in case one of the protect tiles gets cleared, making a constant tug of war to stay over the damage threshold.

Battleplan is much more costly than it sounds since the expense of Environment AP adds to the 9 yellow cost, even if it already guarantees you 1 strike tile no matter what. Add in that it does no innate damage on its own, and it's only really useful when placed early to middle game, and less when you're ready for the takedown.

Rage of the Panther is both incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous because of one variable, completely equal levels. If going against a fully maxed out team with completely equal levels, especially three characters with 3 different main colors, you can potentially generate 5 AP in three different colors, including damage based reds, defense/healing based yellow, or stun based blues. And don't forget problematic low cost moves like Human Torch's Flame Jet. Rage gets amped up hard by activating Battleplan beforehand, to triple the effectiveness of strike tiles, leading for a devastating wipe. If you feel bold, a 3/5/5 build is plausible for the extra 487 damage per opponent, but its reliability becomes more risky with the 12 Black AP cost if the board doesn't stack in your favor. That would also mean its pairing with Mohawk Storm would scatter tactics, since the Environment AP generation for Battleplan would be softened by the reduced strike tile damage, and Rage of the Panther would become priority to kick out Hailstorm. Lightning strikes can help, but only by so much because of randomness.

Overall, Panther is not meant to be a powerhouse, but a tactician. There's no way he can finish a battle quickly, but drawing out the fight against the heavy hitters with Defense Grid goes a long way when you're stacking Hailstorm attack tiles, Battleplan strike tiles, hiding behind a grid of defense tiles and preparing to slice the enemy to ribbons with a Rage of the Panther before they could consider counterattacking.