What can I say here, Scratch is formidable box stock, turns into a legit beat with base upgrades, and either path is just icing on the cake.
I think most people would benefit from the Ruby Path, especially newcomers to the series. You bump up the Critical Hit Chance, have a nice claw-roll combo on the primary side, and the Ruby Mask impacts a larger area.
That said, I personally prefer Sapphire. Why? I am not big on the "increase Critical Hit" upgrades and I am HUGE on Speed, or Armor. Sapphire Slash is a cool, air based attack, but honestly I think the base upgraded tertiary still takes the cake. Sapphire Mask slows enemies and while I'd rather have the increased damage of the Ruby Mask, it plays in well with your speed increase and vortex abilities.
Bottom line with Scratch, you really can't go wrong with either path...I think for the vast majority Ruby will be preferred. Keep the aesthetics in mind too when making your choice.
Hopefully you follow along on Twitter, but as of tonight I was able to land the 4 Wave 4 Singles currently hitting the shelves at your local Wal-Mart!
It was a pretty killer hunt with ALL of them being hidden/stashed, the Air Elements both being literally buried under some disney infinity stuff.
My Nephew was pretty stoked about the find as he was in store making the rounds with me!
He is so excited he wants to help unbox them...I'm extremely busy, but hope to get that done (as well as the introduction videos) today...so stay tuned for that! I'll Tweet any updates as we go.
Until then, keep checking your local Wal-Mart for Wave 4 Singles if you are in the US!
I opted to make this video on the PC to showcase the nice high-res shots I have of the actual Skylander figures themselves...
That said, while making my rounds Thursday night I innocently tweeted that I was out hunting Wave 4 Skylanders...Needless to say that got a lot of interest...I had everything from a few direct replies to a ton of messages.
As such, I figured I would just make a quick video to kind of update you:
Skylanders SWAP Force Wave 4 Update Video
Here is a text for those of you who still prefer to read:
Wave 4
Wave 4 Singles of the Core Characters have started to surface at Walmart's across the west coast. They will make their way east over this coming week or so.
The hot commodity will no doubt be Fire Element Newlander Fryno and Air Element Newlander Scratch. They cover basically 66% of the case with the remaining slots going to Series 2 Fire Bone Hot Dog and Series 2 Turbo Jet-Vac.
Your next question is probably regarding the Swappers (Doom Stone, Trap Shadow, and Freeze Blade).
Well, consider this your lucky day because Freeze Blade and Trap Shadow have both arrived in Canada at EB Games! If that follows suit state side you might see them at GameStop before the other retailers....keep in mind that will just be a small chance and a few days.
Why do I think we will see both very soon? Simple. Target has a solid release date of Sunday, March 23rd, 2014 for Nitro Freeze Blade. We have never had an in-game variant of that type available BEFORE it's standard counterpart. That bodes very well for both Freeze Blade and Trap Shadow.
Speaking of in game variants, one of the wackiest to date has to be Springtime Trigger Happy. I think we should see him very soon as well, obviously with sales intended to go BEFORE Easter.
That also lends to the basic notion that the special "Spring Edition" packaging for Fryno and Punk Shock should be hitting shelves soon as well. As of right now nothing has been spotted.
With this initial hit of Wave 4 we are faced with the likelihood that Punk Shock will be the most sought after "Spring Edition" just because she doesn't yet have a standard counterpart. Keep in mind that with Fryno and Punk Shock the figures are exactly the same, it is just the packaging that is different.
Also somewhat in the dark is Doom Stone. Could my most anticipated Swapper be relegated to an SSA Wham-Shell like launch some time in June? Common sense would say that isn't likely as they will probably get him in the mix as soon as they can in order to keep the restocks coming etc. As a single launch, if the initial quantities aren't up to par, he could turnout to be quite difficult to track down.
That brings me to the issues with Scratch and Fryno. Out of the limited segment of the country that has access to these Skylanders, the scalpers are back in full kill mode. You can find some sellers who foolishly post up mile high stacks of either character in their listings. As always I advise and encourage you to NOT buy from them. When they wind up with a stack of toys they have to sell at face value, they'll find something else to pirate, or perhaps get a real job!
Everyone should know how I feel about Walmart...in all honesty, I think the last time I was in the place was to get Enchanted Hoot Loop. I really, really hope that other retailers get the new stuff in this coming week as well so I won't have to waste time going in that place...However, it will become a "must enter" for Enchanted Star Strike...I suppose once every 5-6 months is acceptable, lol.
The other big concern is Nitro Freeze Blade. Target, at least where I am at, has a really bad history with their special characters. They finally got in a few more of the Nitro Magna Charge packs, but in limited quantity. To date, I never saw Granite Crusher at my local store outside of the last two on launch day that I picked up...
Our one saving grace is that usually, in the Spring, there is less demand than fall/winter.
I will continue the hunt here from the homeland and keep you updated on any leads or figures I obtain!
I fully anticipate that Trap Shadow and Freeze Blade will be the favorite Swapper for a large number of people. I also think Scratch will go over quite well with female Portal Master and dragon fans...Fire Bone Hot Dog should be well received due to his popularity. Call me crazy, but I am excited about Turbo Jet-Vac's new Wow Pow.
That said, it is all of a sudden a very exciting time for Portal Masters everywhere!
Let me know what you find and be sure to vote in the recent blog polls!
-SWAP Force Upgrade Options (see the post below)
-Best Skylanders Game (Console)
-Best Skylanders Game (3DS)
-Tower of Time vs Sheep Wreck Island
While my plan for today was to waltz into GameStop and pick up my pre-ordered Pumpkin Eye-Brawl, that didn't happen. For some reason, GTA V has apparently altered their shipping schedule.
Anyway, I was a bit disappointed and while leaving I turned back just to check the stock on Skylanders. While doing so, I saw the SWAP Force display box. I hadn't seen it before, so I figured I would make the trip worthwhile by lining it up with the Dark Edition Starter Pack inset poster...
While trying to stand it up I noticed something unusual...the "display" box had a backside! So many times those big, oversized paper boxes just have a colorful front to get your attention and then nothing on the backside...or in some cases, the exact same thing as the front so as to fool proof the display. This was inherently different....it had a more "polished" feel to the back with the game's story, box art, highlights for the S2, S3, LightCore, and SWAP Force Skylanders, AND a lineup for 4 of the Elements!!
Yep, you read right...4 of the Elements were listed out with characters from each...
They covered: Life, Air, Fire, and Undead.
They were listed out as follows: SWAP 1, SWAP 2, LightCore, Repose, Repose, SF New, SF New
Wow...talk about an unexpected find! My disappointing trip just turned into quite the find!
This is one of many posts/conveying of information where the blog is far superior to a video. The pictures in standard, widescreen, and any HD setting look like garbage. With my narration you can tell what is going on, but here on the blog they are so much easier to view and take in...
As usual, I realize many people only watch videos and rarely head to blogs or forums, so I made a video...but it is being posted with the caveat that you should really just come here and enjoy the pictures.
I've known of most of these, but it is cool to see the final figure poses...Especially of interest are Thorn Horn Camo and Scratch. This means that our lingering Life returnee is in fact, Camo. Quite fitting that he and Warnado both returned. Scratch also looks quite interesting.
So without further ado, why don't I quit rattling off info and let you see it for yourself? If you want to get a better look, head to your local GameStop and look for the Skylander SWAP Force display...The backside was very sneaky, but much appreciated! I wonder how many people have seen this display and NOT realized there was a backside? Anyway, here you go:
*Please note that you can click on any image to bring up a gallery where they will be enlarged!*
And if you want more of my thoughts, and less clear pics, here is the video:
