Unmatched
Squirrel Girl
Overview
Squirrel Girl is a Marvel Comics heroine created by Will Murray and Steve Ditko and was first introduced in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2 #8 in 1991. She would go on to make guest appearances in a variety of comics, almost becoming a meme for her history of defeating some of the most powerful Marvel characters, typically off screen. Perhaps her most famous victory was against Galactus, where instead of fighting him she befriended him and convinced him to not destroy Earth. It wasnât until 2015 where she starred in her first comic series The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. She has since made guest appearances in a few animated series as well as ensemble video games.Â
Squirrel Girl is certainly not the most stoic or serious heroine. In fact, her silly and upbeat attitude is what saves the day more often than her powers. At the age of 10 she discovered she could communicate with squirrels. She started befriending these squirrels, and by the time she was 16 she started taking on the physical properties of one. She grew a large, bushy squirrel tail and possesses the proportional strength, speed, agility, and reflexes of a squirrel scaled to that of a human. She often fantasized about becoming a superhero so when her powers developed, she donned the name âUnbeatable Squirrel Girlâ. In Unmatched, Squirrel Girl uses her army of squirrels and squirrel reflexes to overwhelm her opponents.
Squirrel Girl is included in Unmatched: Teen Spirit
FIGHTER Stats
Health: 13 / Attack:Â Melee /Â Movement:Â 2
Special Ability: Go Nuts!
At the start of your turn, summon a squirrel in a space adjacent to Squirrel Girl. Squirrels are small fighters. Do not start with any squirrels on the board.
Sidekick: Squirrels
Health: 1 / Attack: Melee / x8
Strategies and Tips
Squirrel Girl is a hero who relies on her sidekicksâ positioning and how many of them are on the board. Her most powerful effects rely on a certain amount of squirrels being adjacent to your opponent before they will activate. With 8 squirrels at her disposal and the ability to get any of them back on the board at the start of her turn infinitely, this may not pose a problem. She will be noticeably weaker at the start of the game until she summons most of her squirrels. The squirrels are also small fighters, meaning they have special rules specific to them.
Primary Strengths
High board presence
High attack potential
Incredible movement with effects
Primary Weaknesses
Early game
Few defensive options
Low movement without effects
Tip #1: An Army of Squirrels!
As small fighters, the Squirrels abide by specific rules that only apply to small fighters:
- Your squirrels may move through opposing fighters, and your opponents may move through spaces containing your squirrels.Â
- The squirrels can share spaces with other fighters, including other small fighters. Up to 4 squirrels can share the same space.Â
- A squirrel can attack an opposing fighter in their space, and vice versa.
- If a squirrel takes damage, it and all other squirrels in that space share the damage and are defeated.
The movement potential of the squirrels cannot be understated. On Marvel maps with items, a squirrel can infiltrate a space containing an opposing fighter and use the item before they get the chance. Additionally, squirrels can bypass sidekicks that certain heroes like to hide behind. This can disrupt the game plan of heroes like Medusa and Elektra.
All of these advantages are great, but your first priority should be to get as many squirrels on the board as you can, as fast as you can. Your special ability allows you to place a new squirrel every turn so long as there is an empty adjacent space. If you are in a position where all of your squirrel tokens are on the board, then you may move a squirrel from any space on the board and place it on an adjacent space to Squirrel Girl. Summoning squirrels this way will be rather slow, so rely on the following cards to add more squirrels quickly:
Eat Nuts is a scheme that allows Squirrel Girl to recover 2 health and summon a squirrel in a space adjacent to Squirrel Girl. Unlike with your special ability, this space does not need to be empty. There are 2 of these in her deck.
Get âEm Tippy-Toe is a versatile card with a value of 3 that lets you summon 2 squirrels in any space after combat. When used defensively this lets you place squirrels in any space to give you the advantage on your next turn. There are 3 of these in her deck.
Squirmish is a versatile card with a value of 4 that allows you to summon a squirrel in Squirrel Girlâs space after combat. Then, you are allowed to place Squirrel Girl in any space in her zone. This is a solid option to use offensively to not be punished on your opponentâs turn or defensively to set up an attack on your next turn. There are 2 of these in her deck.
Tip #2: The Strength of a Thousand squirrels!
Individually, squirrels may not seem like much of a threat; however, together they are a force to be reckoned with.Â
Bite of Steel is a squirrel attack with a value of 2 that becomes a 5 during combat if there are four or more squirrels in the opposing fighterâs zone. This is one of only 2 cards the squirrels can use to attack with. Generally it is a good idea to keep your squirrels spread out amongst the battlefield but remember this card when positioning to make sure you keep 4 in your opponentâs zone.
Call of the Mild is a versatile card with a value of 2 that becomes a 4 during combat if there are four or more squirrels in your fighterâs zone. The is the only other card available to the squirrels, and their only blocking option. This card is best used defensively. There are 3 of these in your deck, so hopefully you can use all three to force your opponents into wasting attack cards.
Generally, stacking multiple squirrels in one space can be seen as a bad idea since your opponent will then have the opportunity to take out multiple squirrels with a single attack. There are times when stacking is to your advantage:
Kick Butts is a Squirrel Girl attack with a value of 1 that is increased by +1 during combat for each squirrel adjacent to the opposing fighter. Since you are able to have 8 squirrels on the board simultaneously, this card can reach a maximum value of 9.Â
Positioning all 8 squirrels to be adjacent to an opposing fighter is impossible without stacking multiple in single space. You just need to be smart about when you stack them.Â
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is a Squirrel Girl versatile with a value of 4 that immediately cancels all effects on your opponentâs card and ignores its value if there are four or more squirrels adjacent to the opposing fighter. This cardâs value is solid for attack or defense even without the effect. With the effect you can shut down any effect driven defenses or block any attack.
Horde of Squirrels is a scheme that lets you choose a space with four or more squirrels adjacent to it and deal 2 damage to a fighter in that space. With 2 of these in her deck, you are able to deal 4 points of auto-damage.
Nutwork of Spies is a scheme that allows you to look at your opponentâs hand and choose 1 card for them to discard. If one of their fighters is adjacent to four or more squirrels, then you can choose 2 cards for them to discard. This can be deadly when setting up an attack. There is only one of these in your deck, so plan accordingly.
Tip #3: The Speed of a Thousand Squirrels!
The squirrels may be able to move through any space, but with only a movement of 2 you might find their overall movement potential lacking. Additionally, all of the cards in Squirrel Girlâs deck only have a boost value of 1 or 2. Thankfully, there are a few card in her deck that make up for this:
Dash is a versatile card with a value of 3 that allows you to move Squirrel Girl up to 3 spaces after combat. Offensively, this can be used to get yourself out of danger at the end of your turn, and defensively you can use this to approach an elusive foe.
Fuzzball Special is an attack with a value of 3 that allows you to move each squirrel up to 3 spaces after combat. This card may not let you move Squirrel Girl, but the ability to reposition all of your squirrels is a huge advantage.Â
Previously it was stated how there are times when it is best to stack your squirrels in a single space to maximize the damage you can do. Additionally, there are times when spreading out your squirrels across the entire map is the best option for you:
Squirgility is a defense with a value of 3 that allows you to move Squirrel Girl up to 3 spaces after combat. She may move through sidekicks, and you do not count movement for spaces containing sidekicks. If you have spaced your squirrels out appropriately, this card can allow you to move a total of 11 spaces on this single action. This card also includes opposing sidekicks, so against the likes of Robin Hood or Elektra, you can move a total of 15 spaces. There will be nowhere on the board that Squirrel Girl cannot reach when her squirrels are positioned appropriately. There are 3 of these cards in her deck, so plan ahead before using them to defend.
Final Thoughts
Squirrel Girl is the first hero in Unmatched to introduce Small Fighters. She uses her squirrels to increase her attack and agility, which helps make up for her lack of strong defensive options and low base movement. It will take some strategic planning to properly position the squirrels throughout the game for optimal attack and agility, but whether you are a new player or experienced with the game, her gameplay is engaging at every turn.
