Aside from the iconic nature of this upgrade, this is a remarkable card. It essentially gives Cyclops a free shot in hero form every turn, which adds up considerably.
But the clutch part, for me, is that it is a constant source of 'Tough' removal. I can't tell you how many times I have set up a huge swing to uppercut the villain right out of their sneakers, only to realize that I forgot the villain was 'Tough' and now I have to waste some resources or a basic attack just to remove that Tough status. Even worse, my swing depends on exhausting my hero, so the Tough kills my entire round.
So I very much love a free Tough exterminator. Especially when paired with Field Commander, ensuring Cyclops clips those Tough wings every turn to make way for other heroes to take big swings.
If I have complaints, they are these two:
- Optic Blast requires the enemy to have an upgrade. This siphons resources that may have been useful elsewhere.
- This card should be a setup card. It is so essential to who Cyclops is that he literally can't function without it. How does Thor get to pull Mjolnir, but Cyclops has to blindly wander around the game with his hands out searching for walls for the first half of the game?