Advantages

100% stun capability (2 rounds).

Strong melee attack with fatal blow.

“Black Hand” attack gives heavy damage via debuffs and prevents healing.

Shield capability.

Disadvantages

Lacks effective area attack.

Limited offensive capabilities.

Low team-up bonuses.

Thane was released as the lockbox reward hero for Special Operations 13. To date, he is the only lockbox hero who is not a former MCU villain, though he is the son of übervillain Thanos. Perhaps in part because of the general disappointment that came with the release of SO13’s main reward hero, Black Bolt, a lot of players have not paid as much attention to Thane as they might have. That’s their loss. Thane is an extraordinarily powerful Blaster who can dominate non-PVP battles for you, and can hold his own in low to midlevel PVP play. (He was even more formidable until PD drastically reduced his attack capability by making several unwelcome modifications.)

Thane’s first attack deals heavy damage and inflicts “Amber,” a debuff that always results in a stun in two rounds. Even better, this attack causes fatal damage to an opponent who is at 30% or lower of health (and kills out PVP opponents such as Nico Minoru and Sabretooth, who can “resurrect” themselves after being reduced to 0 HP). His second attack, “Black Hand,” deals no immediate damage, but inflicts three nasty debuffs on his target that do inflict damage over the next two rounds, and prevents that target from, among other things, healing and adding buffs. (For example, an opposing agent affected by this attack can gain no assistance from applying an Offensive Accelerator or a Curative Reach to himself.) These two single-target attacks are what make Thane such a formidable team member.

He can apply a reasonably strong shield to himself or a teammate that not only deflects damage, but disallows debuffs (with the exception of Internal Bleeding and a few other “catastrophic” debuffs) and restores some health. Unfortunately, when Thane is on a defensive team in PVP, the AI tends to have Thane use the shield as often as possible, even when it is not needed. He is automatically protected by his shield during the first round of play without having to activate it.

His biggest limitation is his unsatisfactory area attack. Most Blasters have an area attack that doles out significant damage and sometimes a nasty debuff or two (think about Dr. Strange’s Vapors of Valtorr, which dishes out moderate damage and the Dark Void debuff), but Thane’s does not. In fact, it inflicts very little damage unless Thane is almost dead. It does give some health back to himself and his teammates, health apparently “scavenged” from the opponents, but the amount of health granted is very small. In most instances, this area attack is virtually useless. This is his biggest limitation as a PVP team member.

Probably his biggest advantage in both PVP and non-PVP play is in fighting Bruisers. As a Blaster, he naturally gains an advantage in fighting a Bruiser; in battle, it is a rare Bruiser that can survive more than two or, at most, three attacks from Thane. Between the heavy damage and the stuns Thane inflicts and the Fatal Blow capability, most Bruisers go down quickly when Thane goes after them. Even better, his “Black Hand” debuff keeps bruisers such as Abomination and the Hulk from gaining “rage” bonuses, keeping them from being as devastating as they can be.

In non-PVP play, Thane is quite powerful. Your team will not gain as many team-up bonuses with Thane on your side, as he only gains bonuses when paired with Black Bolt, so you may lose out on a few experience points when playing him. He will more than make up for this by helping you plow through the toughest array of enemies thrown at you in missions and special ops.

PVP: Thane has a lot going for him in PVP, including his ability to deliver fatal blows and harsh debuffs, but ultimately his limitations don’t outweigh his status as a Blaster.

Alternate Uniforms: None, and unlikely to ever have one.

Strategy Suggestions

Thane’s best bet is to focus on a single opponent and take him down, both by stunning via his Sealing Touch attack and his Black Hand attack. The Sealing Touch also delivers “fatal blows,” which prevent opponents such as Sabretooth, Nico Minoru and Iceman (in PVP play) from returning from the “dead.”

The Black Hand, with its Despair and Nanoplague debuffs, can block opponents from being healed, being strengthened, or receiving other buffs.

Placing Thane’s Shield on himself or an ally removes debuffs as well as provides protection.

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