OK, let's see what we have here. Mandarin's a PowerSurge baby, so his specials are pretty decent. But he also got a little jipped stat-wise. Then IQ remedied that, yessir. This evil genius can be downright dangerous. Just ask my buddy Tony Stark. And just look at those beautiful rings...
MANDARIN <PS> 6-5-3 (14)
If you decide to use his PS hero for some odd reason, you're getting majorly jipped. A six in Energy isn't gonna do ya much good, but at 14 points, he's still your average Joe. A much better decision would be his IQ hero.
MANDARIN <IQ> 7-4-3-5 (19)
(Fighting Power cards are +2 when used for defense.)
Now we're talking, Mandarin. Upgraded to a 7E, this man can be quite useful. His inherent isn't even that bad, since his Fighting grid is a 4. And 19 points is good for 'im. He pays for himself, so ya don't have to put the Babies in necessarily. Let's take a look at his specials.
ARCH VILLAIN (AF) <PS>
Opponent -3 to Venture total for this battle.
Nah, it's as cheesy as it sounds. Three points, big whoop. Mandarin has better stuff to use. Keep this one in your collection.
DISINTEGRATE (AI) <PS>
Opponent must discard 1 placed card of Mandarin's choice.
Hmmm. Now this one can be quite useful. Think about it. You can ditch any one card that's placed. Wildcat Attack on Sabretooth? Gone. Avoid on Cable? See ya. And this baby will give you some extra fire-power against those stupid Marauders/X-Babies/Flash decks. Gotta put at least one in. Two maybe? Your call.
ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELD (AD) <PS>
Teammate may avoid 1 attack of 9 or less.
Not bad. Not bad at all. Just keep this one in your hand so Mandarin doesn't get jumped.
Use it on any attack during the battle to protect your buddies. Probably put two in.
ENERGY VOID (HE) <IQ> [OPD]
Heroes on Opponent's Team with Energy 7 or 8 may not use cards with an Energy icon to attack for remainder of battle.
Here's one of those silly IQ specials. We don't like 'em, so we don't use 'em. And this card is completely useless against a non-energy team. Not very good chances that this is a game-winner.
MASTERMIND (AT) <PS> [OPD]
Draw 1 card. Do not discard if duplicate.
Another cool PS special. Some guys like 'em, some don't. When we use one of these, we like to place it and if you can, wait until you reach the power pack. There's a chance that you'll draw an extra 7 Energy Power card to nail your opponent with late in the game.
MASTER TACTICIAN (AE) <IQ>
Acts as a level 4 Fighting attack. May be combined with 1 Intellectcard for a single attack.
Another silly IQ special. If you decide to use it, you can get a 9 out of it. Not bad, but you're using two cards for one attack. If you're playing against a team with someone like Mandarin on it, one of those "Avoid 1 attack of 9 or less" specials will kill it easy. Your choice on this bad boy.
MIND CONTROL (CT) <PS> [OPD]
All attacks made on Mandarin are made on target teammate until teammateis KO'd. Teammate may defend.
Very interesting, my friend. The rules say that since there's no clarification on the card, and because it's an OPD, this one lasts for the game.or until your nice teammate dies, or until somebody p*sses you off with a negate. Definitely use this if Mandarin is one of your key players and you stack his specials.
VORTEX BEAM (AR) <PS>
Acts as a level 6 Strength attack.
Not as good as the original AR attacks, but 6 ain't bad at all. Especially in an off-stat. A must to use when playing Mandarin, and ya might even wanna throw in a second.
Final Analysis
Mandarin kicks ass in OP. And he has that wonderful costume jewelry. Go ahead and use 'em in a couple of decks. He's great at parties, too.
