The Commissioner's Review of Savagery 2120

[thefamoustommyz]

This review will not be posted today, as Mutant, who now works in the post office full-time, has stolen my Savagery book for the second year in a row.

Next year, I'll have to go to Galacticon and pick up the sets in person, it seems.

[GalactiKing]

yep. You have to;) But if you steal my slot for the promoter set, there's gonna be a war.
Anyways, you'll enjoy it a lot I think.

[TheOtherTravis]

I won't even try. Your reviews are one of a kind.

All I'll say is Stigma friggin' rocks. And the story keeps on rolling. Another good one, Mark.

Peace.

~Travis

[thefamoustommyz]

Savagey 2120's handbook arrived in my mailbox today...thanks, Leslie!

The cover of the handbook features new AniMan Hanuman, one of the better pieces of art in this new set. I'll return to that comment later.

First off, we get the Lawless update, as we find out the retirees...is Prodigy due for a card or chart soon, to counter Prell?

All the World's A Stage vs Punks3

One one hand, I like Romulus and Taurine, and hate to see them in this position...on the other, the Rock-Paper-Scissors thing is just FUNNY. Nice touch with Killer Queen pitching in over here...are the Jesters on their way out? Or will Comedy be getting a new partner? Mark seems to hint at one or the other coming in the next year.

The Dissidents vs The True Way

Brainstorm has converted! Yeah...I hate to see T.K. and Raze, two guys who have been VERY successful in my fed (especially T.K.) stuck in a tag team...The Dissidents team doesn't really do anything for me...the "bad guys" are vastly more interesting here.

The King's Men vs Dynasty

Okay, I didn't quite get wet eyes...but the Exo-King story *is* tragic. I assume that Killer Queen is in the clear, but what about Bishop Hell and Death Knight, I wonder? I'd be ESPECIALLY concerned about Death Knight.

I love The King's Men...they may be the single best babyface team in any fed in YEARS. Dissension teased on The Dynasty already? And Excalibur rounds out this squad, apparently in bitterness over not being asked to join the team like Zed. Eesh. SYNCHRONICITY is kinda hard for me to visualize, but it sounds MEAN.

Outlaw Fight Club

HM...a certain SABOTEUR couldn't have ANYTHING to do with the OFC being sabotaged...COULD HE? To me, and this may be intentional, I don't think the OFC has quite the gripe with Shylock they're meant to. Especially in the whole deal with the True Way attack on him, and the shanghai on the squad...

I wonder...when the truth is out, how many of the OFC will be plants and how many will side with Shylock? Well, we know where Blizzard will be with all of that, as he begins his retirement tour.

Savagery vs Species

Talon steps it up, a relative of Mandrill joins the CPC as a good guy, Puma goes bad and Rubicon exhibits signs of defiance...

The only real "story" here is Puma's joining of Species. I'm assuming that this Puma card will be a one-set card (which'll make some folks spit) or he'll shake the serum and decide that he'd rather die on Savagery than live on Species after all.

Finally, we get updates: The Jardiil are about to crush Thayne's people...the impact this'll have on those characters again remains to be seen.

Euritar, it seems, has been wrestling part time in the CPC through 2119. I wonder if, despite his call for guys to stand on his own, if he'll be involved with...you know....THOSE guys.

And, frankly, I'll be shocked if Saboteur ISN'T responsible for the OFC troubles...although I figure it's just manipulating egoes more than fabricating wholesale betrayal.

In summary, I love the 2120 storylines. The handbook, at points, felt like it might have been a tad wordy for what was actually going on...but I liked the storylines as a whole more than I did Subversion.

Onto the cards...

In the order they appeared sorted in my stack:

Hanuman - Great piece of art...Hanuman is huge, especially for an active Savage Kingdom/Savagery member. Good power man who'll really be able to take it to Darwin's Legacy, I think. Now, whether or not he can be trusted is a different story...

Scion Nexus - I love the character...I like the concept, with Jack...I like the stats fine, except for the down-3 on level 2...I HATE the art. Wasn't Su touted as *the* go-to guy for character updates? Rehashing the first two awful Nexus pics wasn't a good way to go, especially after the great 2114 piece.

Morgana - Again, I love the character...love the stats...love the concept. She is now THE woman to beat in the CPC, undeniably. Her art, on the other hand, is weak. Not BAD...just "eh"...something about her face feels off....she was showing more personality with the mask, I guess. Anyone else find it cute that as a Titan who felt an appreciation of sorts towards the Nexus family, she debuted as a member of the Masked Assassins?

Absalom - Here's a guy who's going to have to earn his spot with me, The art is very non-descript..outside of "buff dude wearing a towel". I do like the moveset, though.

Zed Marlowe - He returns from the dark side! The art is actually better than Prince Zed, which looked (intentionally, I think) like a boy playing King. Zed SHOULD do some serious damage here, although I'll miss his out of nowhere pin attempts.

Talon - At first, I was disappointed with this piece...but no, it grows on me more and more. By the time I actually use it, I think I'll be just fine with it. Glad to see Eagle fly.

Jack of Diamonds - Ugh...I hate this art. The big, cheesy smile combined with the utter lack of ring attire. I don't mind the stats slipping, as he's the only member of the Class of '95 left...I just wish the art had been better. His last pic was a freakin' classic.

Stigma - A slight upgrade as Stigma speaks up and shows some more attitude. This art is a bit weaker, I think, than the last, if only because the background on the first pic really added a lot.

Puma - What can I say? He looks like a beast resigned to his position. No complaints with this one, as it does exactly what it should.

Talisman - Best Talisman picture ever. Nice, sneaky interference chart as well.

In conclusion...Tom said in The Dark Menace that Jeremy Su is the kind of artist that just draws what Tom asks, without question. I'm curious as to how much input Mark gives Jeremy, then...because Jeremy's CPC work is notably weaker than his GWF work, in nearly every instance. If Mark's not nearly as assertive with his vision as Tom is, and I don't know if that's the case or not, then perhaps it's time to find the CPC an artist who has a stronger vision of their own? Because the storylines are great, and have been all along...but the card art has always been the CPC's weakness.

Although, if Talon 2115 is the result of pairing Mark with an artist who had a stronger artistic vision, I'm willing to stand corrected and stick with what we have...=P