May the Power Protect You: Kimberly Ann Hart (Ranger Slayer)

There are only two characters I've played that I utterly underestimated upon first sight: Jason Dragonshield, and Ranger Slayer. I'm not saying I've not been wrong about other characters; I've been wrong in evaluating game mechanics before, but man, I felt stupid after playing Ranger Slayer. I've already eaten my crow with Jason Dragonshield earlier, so now it's time to eat crow for Ranger Slayer! There was almost no cards in Ranger Slayer's deck that I liked upon first glance, to the point to where I honestly thought about hiding the character so that way others wouldn't ruin our first few playthroughs with someone so sub-par. And, especially after playing Green Ranger and getting the stuffing kicked out of him I wondered if I had actually misspent my money.

I am such an idiot.

YUMMY

Ranger Slayer is what happens when someone looks at Kimberly and says "I want this but bitter and vengeful." Which, for the record, is me. I am that guy. I am convinced that the dice in HotG are evil and possessed, capable of making all strategies turned to ash in an instant. It's not as bad as Risk, because there are characters who grant rerolls and who do flat damage, but we all know that sinking feeling in the pit of our guts when that reroll does nothing, not at frickin' all, and all good and hopeful in the world dies. And it feels like Ranger Slayer is made to counteract some of those effects. And we should all be happy about that.

Last Shot is perfect. Just, perfect. MMPR Kimberly's ability always feels a little risky to me, because you don't know how the fight is going to shake out. You have to pick and guess and hope. Last Shot, however, takes effect when the battle is over. And there's almost always that one card.

You know the one I'm talking about.

That one.

The one you really needed to take out, but couldn't, cause those damn dice missed by one because of course they would and I usually find myself glaring at my dice and wishing there was a fire I could throw them into and then I find myself making a note to clean out my chimney for just this frickin' situation and then resolving to not tell my wife I'm burning plastic in the house and then realizing that would probably get her mad and then I'd get a restraining order and divorce papers slapped on my dumb ass for putting my children at risk and no one would feel bad for me because I'm just a frickin' adult child sitting around playing all these damn games all the time and who does that and WHY WOULD I SET FIRE TO DICE IN A CHIMNEY ANYWAY IT'S SO UNNECESSARY JUST GO OUTSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Erhem.

Well, with Last Shot no need! Just throw that extra damage on and laugh and get high fives, and move on! The monster goes down, my wife isn't going to divorce me for burning toxic substances in the house, and I get the satisfaction of picking an awesome character! Everyone wins with Last Shot, particularly me, because I'm still married!

I promise this is all OK and normal.

Bow of Darkness is the only card in the game (so far) that gives you a high amount of flat damage. Can Ranger Slayer outdo MMPR Pink's potential? No. But the simple fact of the matter is that five flat damage is much more reliable than six dice, and I would would take that any day, particularly since most Boss cards are sitting at 7 Health at max. You can boost this card with other abilities and whatnot, and know what it is you'll be getting pretty reasonably. Never underestimate a sure thing. It may very well save your bacon later. Dice are more exciting, but flat damage helps with the above screaming panic attack and make it manageable. The Bow of Darkness is a pressure release valve for what is otherwise a very intense game.

Ptera Kick is one of those cards that's incredibly underrated. Being able to recall any card, regardless of any circumstance, is one of the most useful abilities in the game, definitely in the top three things you can do! Hand size is one of the most crucial resources you have to manage, and the ability to keep a card after using it is so, so, so good. Throw Ptera Kick at high Health targets that no one has a single card to take down with, and keep bouncing it back to your hand to whittle it down before someone else pulls out another attack. But make sure everyone else can withstand the onslaught required to do something like this. Not everyone wants an all-out brawl. But when you have to just trade blows with monster? Ptera Kick is the card to do it.

Do I really have to explain the Gravezord? Do I really have to? I mean, isn't it obvious? You get to use another zord again! That's amazing! Your burst power just skyrocketed. But what should it be used for? Which zords do you focus on? I mean, this is a pretty open zord. And I won't pretend to know what you're facing right that moment, when you're looking at it and feeling a bit overwhelmed. But I think I can provide some guidelines I've found useful, namely Always focus on getting energy and cards first. I mean, sure if you have the Tyrannosaurus zord that just looks too awesome for words but, unless you have a clutch play that needs to be made right now, focus on getting your basics first.

Ranger Slayer doesn't see nearly enough time at my table. She's an insurance policy, and people don't like to think of things going wrong. But that is where Ranger Slayer shines: when things go wrong. She's super reliable, does tons of damage, and her zord can either smooth things out in your basic operations or provide some of the most sickeningly large combos in the game. Every time she hits my table I'm glad she did. Ranger Slayer is easily one of my favorite characters in the game. Even with the taste of raw crow in my mouth.