**** Emma Frost (Astonishing X-Men) ****

BrigbyBrigby ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 7,326 Site Admin
in Character Details

4-Star Rarity (Legendary)
Heroes, X-Men
purpletilepng blacktilepng yellowtilepng

"Emma Frost spent her charmed youth honing her mutant gifts to become one of the world's most powerful psychics. Coupled with her creative flare for manipulation, Emma's powers carried her swiftly up the ranks of the powerful and villainous Hellfire Club.

After a devastating attack wiped out her school, Emma joined forces with the X-Men. Despite their antagonistic history, Emma's dedication to educating mutant youth has made her into an unlikely ally."

(Abilities, Match Damage, and Health listed at level 270)
13,995 Health
purpletilepng 85 | blacktilepng 74 | yellowtilepng 65 |  43 | bluetilepng 13 |  12 | greentilepng 11 |  3.0x

Psychic Meddling - 10 purpletilepng AP
Emma weaves her way through the enemy's mind, further destabilizing their psyche at every turn. Creates a 3-turn Purple Repeater tile that destroys 2 enemy Strike, Protect, or Attack tiles. If none exist, the Repeater tile destroys 1 AP in the enemy's strongest color instead. (Does not generate AP.)
  • Level 2: Creates a 2-turn Purple Repeater tile...
  • Level 3: ...destroys 2 AP in the enemy's strongest color instead.
  • Level 4: ...destroys 3 enemy Strike, Protect, or Attack tiles.
  • Level 5: ...destroys 4 enemy Strike, Protect, or Attack tiles.
Girl's Best Friend - 11 blacktilepng AP
When the pressure's on, Emma transforms into her powerful diamond form. Fortifies up to 1 friendly Special tile and turns this power into Diamond Skin.
  • Level 2: Fortifies up to 2 friendly Special tiles...
  • Level 3: Fortifies up to 3 friendly Special tiles...
  • Level 4: Fortifies up to 4 friendly Special tiles...
  • Level 5: Fortifies up to 6 friendly Special tiles...
Diamond Skin - blacktilepng Passive
Emma's diamond skin grants her super-strength, but limits her psychic powers. Emma's match damage is increased by 150%, but she cannot fire powers. When there are no Fortified friendly Special tiles on the board, this power becomes Girl's Best Friend.
  • Level 2: Emma's match damage is increased by 180%...
  • Level 3: Emma's match damage is increased by 200%...
  • Level 4: Emma's match damage is increased by 260%...
  • Level 5: Emma's match damage is increased by 325%...
Labor for Learning - 8 yellowtilepng AP
Emma makes sure her team is fully-trained, battle-ready, and appreciative of the merits of lifelong education. Creates a 2-turn Yellow Repeater tile that places 1 strength 49 Strike tile and improves up to 1 existing friendly Strike tile by 27.
  • Level 2: ...places 2 strength 49 Strike tiles...
  • Level 3: ...improves up to 2 existing friendly Strike tiles...
  • Level 4: ...2 strength 73 Strike tiles...up to 2 existing friendly Strike tiles by 37.
  • Level 5: ...2 strength 90 Strike tiles...up to 3 existing friendly Strike tiles by 58.
What do you think is Emma Frost's best build? Vote down below!

**** Emma Frost (Astonishing X-Men) **** 7 votes

5/5/3
14%
Black Duke 1 vote
5/4/4
0%
5/3/5
42%
MoosePrimeAnondramatist 3 votes
4/5/4
14%
fab2609 1 vote
4/4/5
14%
bonny79 1 vote
3/5/5
14%
HobieCat76 1 vote

Comments

  • Black DukeBlack Duke Posts: 672 Critical Contributor
    5/5/3
    Even though Emma is still a fairly new character I think she needs a buff.

    Psychic Meddling is fine.

    Girl's Best Friend is too expensive for what it does (for comparison only: Shuri's Vibranium Virtuoso creates 6 Fortified tiles for 8 AP) and the inability to fire powers once you're able to activate Diamond Skin lowers her usability.

    Labor for Learning's Strike tiles are just too weak to be useful (3* Daken's passive creates 2 strength 56 Strike tiles at level 266).

    My simple fix:
    • Remove Girl's Best Friend completely. Let her Diamond Skin activate whenever there are Fortified friendly Special tiles on the board and remove her inability to fire powers.
    • Let Labor for Learning create Fortified Strike tiles which are much stronger (strength 200 or higher).
  • JaedenkaalJaedenkaal Posts: 3,338 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited September 2018
    Even though Emma is still a fairly new character I think she needs a buff.

    Psychic Meddling is fine.

    Girl's Best Friend is too expensive for what it does (for comparison only: Shuri's Vibranium Virtuoso creates 6 Fortified tiles for 8 AP) and the inability to fire powers once you're able to activate Diamond Skin lowers her usability.

    Labor for Learning's Strike tiles are just too weak to be useful (3* Daken's passive creates 2 strength 56 Strike tiles at level 266).

    My simple fix:
    • Remove Girl's Best Friend completely. Let her Diamond Skin activate whenever there are Fortified friendly Special tiles on the board and remove her inability to fire powers.
    • Let Labor for Learning create Fortified Strike tiles which are much stronger (strength 200 or higher).
    Really? I think Psychic Meddling is terrible. Labor for Learning at least is cheaper and, if not matched away, continues to affect the match in a meaningful and progressive way. Sure, it's not great compared to BP's Protector of Wakanda, but that's a pretty high bar.

    The thing with Girl's Best Friend is that it's kind of her thing. She goes Diamond Form, and it shuts off her psychic powers. It does make her hard as a diamond, though, which the game only represents as increased match damage (and not even base match damage) and not with any increase in durability, which might have been nice. The other problem is in game, you can't choose to leave Diamond Form to use her other abilities again (and labor for learning isn't even a psychic power, she's just a teacher??), although, Psychic Meddling isn't so great anyways, so is it a big loss? ...

    She's a mess.
  • hopper1979hopper1979 Posts: 555 Critical Contributor
    After using her in the last event she needs a rework, I refuse to use her black unless she is paired with 4's it is pointless.  Her pink and yellow are fine but they cost too much to be effective the match is almost over by the time you get one out and the countdown is over, both should cost 5-6 and her black needs to be increase her defense as well as her damage to be worth much of anything.  It is too bad, I like the character but she is down with Kraven and Lockjaw at the bottom of the 4's.
  • himatakohimatako Posts: 242 Tile Toppler
    Even Okoye can't help turning her into a usable character since none of her power deals power damage and thus cannot be boosted by Okoye's black passive. Her only damage dealing power relies on her being the one who tanks even makes it worse. 

    She really is a mess and just a liability in any required node. I like her and it's sad to see this character get treated like this. 
  • Daredevil217Daredevil217 Posts: 2,075 Chairperson of the Boards
    hopper1979 said:
    It is too bad, I like the character but she is down with Kraven and Lockjaw at the bottom of the 4's.
    Lockjaw and Kraven are WAY better than Emma. 
  • hopper1979hopper1979 Posts: 555 Critical Contributor
    Yes but it is still the bottom :)
  • sinnerjflsinnerjfl Posts: 1,112 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited October 2018
    After using her in the current PVE, I don't think she's that bad but she ends up being way way too slow to have any impact on a match.

    Two of her abilities work on 2 turns repeaters and her abilities are not exactly cheap either. The costs of the abilities need to be reduced to compensate for that, seriously.

    Purple: 9
    Black: 10
    Yellow: 7

    That would already be a good improvement, more in line with a 4* (and not even a good one at that).

    It's too bad, she could be decent utility but with these costs the match is almost over when those repeaters get going or you need to bring an AP generator for her (and it's not worth it).

    Emma deserves better :'(
  • STOPTHISSTOPTHIS Posts: 775 Critical Contributor
    Black Duke said:
    Even though Emma is still a fairly new character I think she needs a buff.

    Psychic Meddling is fine.

    Girl's Best Friend is too expensive for what it does (for comparison only: Shuri's Vibranium Virtuoso creates 6 Fortified tiles for 8 AP) and the inability to fire powers once you're able to activate Diamond Skin lowers her usability.

    Labor for Learning's Strike tiles are just too weak to be useful (3* Daken's passive creates 2 strength 56 Strike tiles at level 266).

    My simple fix:
    • Remove Girl's Best Friend completely. Let her Diamond Skin activate whenever there are Fortified friendly Special tiles on the board and remove her inability to fire powers.
    The canon is (or it at least was, when I read the X-Men) is that Emma can't use her psychic powers when she's in diamond mode. So the restriction has a base in the comics. What they should do is give her purple a change when she's in diamond mode ala Nico and her countdown. A power that does direct damage, because as of right now Emma stinks.
  • sambrookjmsambrookjm Posts: 1,465 Chairperson of the Boards
    STOPTHIS said:
    Black Duke said:
    Even though Emma is still a fairly new character I think she needs a buff.

    Psychic Meddling is fine.

    Girl's Best Friend is too expensive for what it does (for comparison only: Shuri's Vibranium Virtuoso creates 6 Fortified tiles for 8 AP) and the inability to fire powers once you're able to activate Diamond Skin lowers her usability.

    Labor for Learning's Strike tiles are just too weak to be useful (3* Daken's passive creates 2 strength 56 Strike tiles at level 266).

    My simple fix:
    • Remove Girl's Best Friend completely. Let her Diamond Skin activate whenever there are Fortified friendly Special tiles on the board and remove her inability to fire powers.
    The canon is (or it at least was, when I read the X-Men) is that Emma can't use her psychic powers when she's in diamond mode. So the restriction has a base in the comics. What they should do is give her purple a change when she's in diamond mode ala Nico and her countdown. A power that does direct damage, because as of right now Emma stinks.
    Isn't she also resistant to damage as well?  Make is so she's also got *at least* Rogue's level of damage reduction in her diamond form, and now we're getting somewhere.
  • hopper1979hopper1979 Posts: 555 Critical Contributor
    No she gets no resistance buff, if she did her black power might be worth.  Since she is indestructible in the comics in the diamond form you would think that would be addressed but no.  A few minor tweaks and she would be useful but too expensive and black screws up her usefulness too much.  She fell victim to the same issue as Ghost Rider, countdown too long powers too expensive.
  • dramatistdramatist Posts: 125 Tile Toppler
    5/3/5
    She has got to be the worst 4*. Yellow might be ok (just ok) if it wasn't so expensive.
  • DormammuDormammu Posts: 3,379 Chairperson of the Boards
    dramatist said:
    She has got to be the worst 4*.
    Is she worse than Jubilee? Winter Soldier? Flaptain? Wait, wait, worse than Kingpin?!?

    Being forced to use her in Venom Bomb as an essential is making me agree with you. There's so little offense on that Emma/Starlord/Fishnets team that it makes me almost appreciate Emma's black. Almost.
  • hopper1979hopper1979 Posts: 555 Critical Contributor
    I am beginning to agree that she might be the worst 4 as well, yes worse than all those you mention above.  She is just too slow it is that simple.  Winter Soldier and Flaptain may be slow but they both hit like a truck.  Jubilee has a stun and tile removal and Kinpins is still a very solid yellow batter even though they killed his black and his yellow countdown is too long.

    Frost on the other hand has 3 very expensive powers and the countdown is too long on yellow and pink, she might be serviceable if they were just 1 turn but two is way to long you are typically talking turn 6-9 when you finally start seeing any benefit from casting the yellow or pink power.  The match should be over by then.  Her black is only good is she is on a team she is tanking but it hamstrings her other powers so it is essentially useless (if it had a defensive component to it it would be a little better).  No she is just too slow. the tiles she generates are too week and black kills her utility.  

    Nope I will say it she is the worst.  I tried this event to get her to work she needs a rework asap :)
  • sinnerjflsinnerjfl Posts: 1,112 Chairperson of the Boards
    She needs lower cost and also an immediate effect on purple & yellow (remove specials right away and lay down some strikes as well). The strikes should also be stronger even with the buffing she does, its so slow...

    Flaptain is still worse in my book.
  • hopper1979hopper1979 Posts: 555 Critical Contributor
    On the right team his red can one-shot a 5, he is better for that reason alone :)
  • QuebbsterQuebbster Posts: 8,070 Chairperson of the Boards
    hopper1979 said:
    On the right team his red can one-shot a 5, he is better for that reason alone :)

    With the right team the fight is over long Before Captain Falcon gets enough AP to use his red...

    I mean, I want to like him, the design is pretty neat. But he is slow and that unfortunately means he is of Little use in the speed meta.

  • hopper1979hopper1979 Posts: 555 Critical Contributor
    Quebbster said:
    hopper1979 said:
    On the right team his red can one-shot a 5, he is better for that reason alone :)

    With the right team the fight is over long Before Captain Falcon gets enough AP to use his red...

    I mean, I want to like him, the design is pretty neat. But he is slow and that unfortunately means he is of Little use in the speed meta.

    Well duh, you could say that about any character with the possible exception of 5 Gambit before the nurf. :) 

    If we are talking about the bottom of the barrel we have to look at the positives, his upside is greater than hers for that simple reason, he can do a ton of damage and swing a match (assuming it makes it that long) she cannot, hence, he is a little better.  We are talking bottom 3-5 characters here, nobody is going to be competitive bringing either of them in a match. :smile:

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