Conner is back with another unboxing. We’ve been busy with vacation, and then I was busy with E3 and our other site GameNutts.com so we haven’t been able to post as much as we would like, but hopefully it will start picking up now. Check out the Scorp Unboxing and see what Conner thinks of him. Then let us know what you think about Scorp!
Conner finally does a Scratch unboxing. She’s been one of the characters the boys have been most interested in playing with recently. So check out Conner’s unboxing and let us know what you think of Scratch.
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Once again Toys R Us is having a Skylanders sale with their popular Buy One Get One 40% promotion. This time it seems to apply to all figures, Swap Force, Giants, core characters, triple packs and adventure packs. It does not apply to accessories this time. Also, if you haven’t heard, it appears that Lightcore Bumble Blast is now available at Toys R Us, so if you’ve been waiting for him. Now is the time.
Pop Thorn is a new core Air Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force that only comes with the Tower of Time Adventure Pack. He is a creature called a Pufferthorn which sort of resembles a puffer fish. Like a puffer fish he has a puffed state where he is bigger, slower, and uses his spikes as an attack. His other state is popped or deflated where he is faster and uses his breath for an attack. He is a simple looking figure with a light and dark blue color and a yellow underside. He is covered in spikes and has two little wings which help him fly and move in his puffed state. Pufferthorns are known for their quiet and timid nature and this comes across in his pose. He holds no weapon and he doesn’t look very menacing. The only thing you can tell is that he has spikes which look like they are used for defense. Make sure you check out our unboxing video where you can see his spikes in action. Overall his look is somewhat unique but rather plain.
If you haven’t really though much of Pop Thorn because he doesn’t look like he’s powerful or exciting then you will be in for a big surprise when you play with him. A fully upgraded Pop Thorn might be the most powerful and dominating core Skylander that I have used. He is one of my go-to characters whenever I need to get through a difficult part. His basic attack while puffed is to shoot spikes at his enemies. These spikes are homing spikes which means they will always hit an enemy, no matter which direction you are moving. If you need to move faster to get out of trouble, then you want to “pop” and become smaller. This removes the spike attack but adds a wind attack similar to Spyro’s fire breath. Many of his upgrades are also not very exciting but they are extremely useful and powerful. Spike attacks become more powerful and add more spikes. Wind attacks become more powerful and can add multiple blasts at one time. He can even learn a Mario like ground pound which will damage and knock back all of the nearby enemies. The ability to attack with spikes from at a distance or while running away is very powerful. But combine that with an upgraded wind blast that occurs when you “pop” or a ground pound if too many enemies close in and Pop Thorn can clear an area in record time.
Despite Pop Thorns lack of Flash or complicated attacks, Pop Thorn deserves to be in every Portal Masters army.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 90 | Max Health | 280 | |
| Defense: | 110 | Speed | 43 | |
| Speed: | 45 | Armor | 24 | |
| Luck: | 65 | Critical Hit | 6 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| All Attacks | |||
| Puff | Press Attack 1 to Puff and damage nearby enemies. While puffed, rapidly press Attack 1 to shoot out homing spikes at nearby enemies. | Free | |
| Pop | Press Attack 2 to Pop and shoot a large wind blast. While popped, hold Attack 2 to shoot gusts of wind at enemies. | Free | |
| Fresh Breath | Press Attack 2 to Pop. After popping, hold Attack 2 to shoot more powerful air projectiles for a short time. | 500 Gold | |
| Puffball Pound | Press Attack 1 to Puff. Press Attack 3 while puffed to slam into the ground, damaging all nearby enemies. | 700 Gold | |
| Polished Spikes | Press Attack 1 to Puff. After puffing, press Attack 1 rapidly to shoot more powerful spike projectiles for a short time. | 900 Gold | |
| Wind Trap | While popped, press Attack 3 to leave behind a spiny mine. The mine puffs and explodes when enemies approach, launching them into the air. | 1200 Gold | |
| Tough and Puffed Path | |||
| Rollerpuff | While puffed, hold Attack 3 to roll forward, damaging all enemies in the way. | 1700 Gold | |
| Bounceback | Puffing deals increased damage and reflects nearby projectiles. | 2200 Gold | |
| Prickly Body | While puffed, taking damage releases a spike projectile that damages an attacker. | 3000 Gold | |
| Controlled Breather Path | |||
| Aero Trampoline | While puffed, hold Attack 3 to charge a powerful slam attack, release to bounce multiple times, damaging all enemies in the way. | 1700 Gold | |
| Deep Breath | While puffed, press Attack 2 to shoot three air blasts instead of one. | 2200 Gold | |
| Scattered Winds | While popped, air beams now shoot multiple projectiles that spread. | 3000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| To Puff or Not To Puff | While popped, speed is increased. While puffed, armor is increased, which reduces damage taken. | 4000 Gold | |
Knockout Terrafin is a Series 3 Earth Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. He has appeared in each of the three games so far. For Swap Force he comes bundled with the Fiery Forge Battle Pack but he can also be bought separately. Being a Series 3 Skylander gives him a couple of advantages over his Series 1 counterpart. (Note: Series 2 Skylanders have the same extra abilities). First he is granted an extra attack upgrade called a “Wow Pow!” which the Series 1 Skylander does not have. This is usually the most expensive attack upgrade and is quite powerful. The second advantage is that you can switch upgrade paths after you have chosen a path to upgrade. Normally with series 1 characters you cannot switch paths without resetting the entire character.
Knockout Terrafin is a land shark. He has the unique ability to be able to burrow through the ground as if he was swimming. Knockout Terrafin is a rather plain looking Skylander. He is a two tone dark and light grey like a shark with arms and legs. The only exciting thing about the character are these two huge Wolverine-like brass knuckle claw gauntlets that he wears. It shows that he is a melee focused Skylander with some mean punching power. He wears no other armor or really has any other menacing looking features. Overall his look is a little bland and boring.
Even though Terrafin’s looks lack some flash, he does have a couple interesting and useful attacks. First he can burrow underground. This is a nice ability that allows him to escape easily when he gets surrounded. He can then use his heavy punches to work his way back through a large group of enemies. He can also unlock an upgrade that allows him to send out mini-sharks that can do some long distance damage. They can also help distract enemies so that Terrafin can move to get a better angle on his attack. Most of his other upgrades revolves around making his punches stronger, punching more enemies, adding new punching combos or adding speed. Despite this he can still be very useful in battle with a no nonsense attitude.
Overall Terrafin is a solid character. He lacks some flash and a lot of his upgrades are very basic. But he does have a few very helpful moves that makes him worth owning. However, if you already have a previous version, there is nothing new about this version that makes him worth a purchase.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 100 | Max Health | 310 | |
| Defense: | 100 | Speed | 35 | |
| Speed: | 50 | Armor | 18 | |
| Luck: | 70 | Critical Hit | 6 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| All Attacks | |||
| Punch | Press Attack 1 to punch the enemy. Press Attack 1, Attack 1, Hold Attack 1 to perform a combo | Free | |
| Earth Swim | Press Attack 2 to burrow and while underground, press Attack 1 to perform a Belly Flop. | Free | |
| Brass Knuckles | Punch attacks do more damage. | 500 Gold | |
| Mega Belly Flop | Belly Flop does increased damage and affects a larger area. | 700 Gold | |
| Feeding Frenzy | Press Attack 3 to spawn mini-sharks that burrow and latch onto enemies. | 900 Gold | |
| Multi Target Punches | Punch attack hits multiple enemies. | 1200 Gold | |
| Sandhog Path | |||
| Master Earth Swimmer | Increased speed while burrowing. | 1700 Gold | |
| Homing Frenzy | Mini-sharks home in on enemies and do extra damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Razorfin | While burrowed, your dorsal fin does damage to enemies. | 3000 Gold | |
| Brawler Path | |||
| Pugilist | Press Attack 1, Attack 1, Hold Attack 2 for Body Slam. Press Attack 1, Attack 1, Hold Attack 3 for Uppercut. | 1700 Gold | |
| Spiked Knuckles | All punch attacks do even more damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Frenzy Shield | You launch mini-sharks at enemies who damage you. | 3000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Surface Feeder | Collect power-ups while burrowed. | 4000 Gold | |
| Wow Pow! | |||
| Have You Met My Kids | While burrowed, press Attack 3 to launch at enemies and hit them with a claw swipe move as well as with mini-shark allies. | 5000 Gold | |
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Bumble Blast is a new core Life Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. He comes with the Fiery Forge Battle Pack, or you can buy his limited variant Jolly Bumble Blast as a single character. His back story says that he was originally a beehive where bees made a sweet magical honey. Then when Kaos launched an attack on the bees to take the honey for himself, Bumble Blast came to life as their protector. He is a very detailed character but I think he looks more like a smaller version of Tree Rex than a beehive. He is a walking tree with a beehive gun and a sweet honeycomb jaw with a honey tongue sticking out. The detail on his character is fantastic. There is a little stinger coming out the barrel of his beehive gun showing the bee he is about to shoot, and even the life element symbol carved into the wood knot on his shoulder. Bumble Blast looks great, but he has a limited colored variant called Jolly Bumble Blast who looks even better. He dons a Red Santa Suit with green feet and stands on a snow covered base. He even has a candy cane striped bee coming out of a green holiday beehive gun. It’s a fantastic looking colored variant and it might be my favorite Skylander character.
Besides being a great looking character, Bumble Blast also has some pretty awesome attacks. He starts with a basic Beezooka attack which shoots homing bees at enemies. These bees hit their target as long as you are aimed fairly close to your target. He also starts with a Honey Glob attack which coats enemies in honey. As you begin to upgrade him, the bees will always target enemies coated in honey. This allows you to attack while running away from trouble. It’s a huge advantage. You will also be able to drop mines that explode to oat enemies with honey and be able to shoot multiple bees at one time. If you choose to upgrade the Bee Keeper Path, there is also an upgrade that shoots out a huge Queen Bee that knocks a group of enemies into the air. If you choose the Honey Tree Path, then you will improve your honey coating abilities.
For Bumble Blast’s Soul Gem Ability, he will gain a backpack that automatically fires bees at enemies. It’s an interesting looking change to the character and it allows you to worry more about coating enemies in honey than always firing your bees. No matter what upgrade path you choose, and even before you unlock the Soul Gem ability, Bumble Blast is a very strong Skylander and very fun to play with.
Overall Bumble Blast is a must have. He is on a short list of our all time favorites.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 85 | Max Health | 320 | |
| Defense: | 85 | Speed | 35 | |
| Speed: | 50 | Armor | 24 | |
| Luck: | 90 | Critical Hit | 4 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| All Attacks | |||
| Beezooka | Press Attack 1 to shoot honey homing bees at enemies | Free | |
| Honey Glob | Press Attack 2 to shoot a big ball of honey that will coat enemies in honey when hit. | Free | |
| Honey Beecon | Bees will always target and attack enemies coated in honey. | 500 Gold | |
| Hungry Bees | Bees deal increased damage against honeyed targets | 700 Gold | |
| Hive Mind | Press Attack 3 to shoot a beehive into the ground. The hive explodes into honey when an enemy approaches it. | 900 Gold | |
| Painful Stings | Bees gain more powerful stingers, increasing their damage. | 1200 Gold | |
| Bee Keeper Path | |||
| Bee Armada | Hold Attack 1 to charge the Beezooka, release to shoot three bees at once. | 1700 Gold | |
| Stirred up a Nest | A new Beezooka now shoots even more bees that do increased damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Queen Bee | Hold Attack 1 and charge theBeezooka even longer, release to shoot a Queen Bee that knocks enemies into the air. | 3000 Gold | |
| Honey Tree Path | |||
| Honey Buzz Blast | Hold Attack 2 to charge a honey attack, release to shoot a honey glob that contains angry bees. | 1700 Gold | |
| Heavy Honey | Honey attacks deal increased damage and slow enemies. | 2200 Gold | |
| Honeycomb Bark | Armor is increased. Bark skin will sometimes drip out honey that coats enemy attackers | 3000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Bee-Pack Backpack | Gain a behive backpack that automatically launches bees at nearby foes. | 4000 Gold | |
Rip Tide is a new core Water Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. He is an Aqua-Fighter and appears to be a descendant of some kind of fish himself. He is all blue with a light green underside and is wearing a full body, gold armored suit. Unlike a fish, he walks on two legs and has two arms. His character holds a swordfish in one hand as a weapon. In the game he can change his weapon to be a hammerhead shark or, after some upgrades, a large whale. He is moderately detailed with scales on the top side of his body and even the gold plated armor has scales. He looks like he’s ready for a fight and even his swordfish weapon looks to be ready for action. Overall he has a very interesting look, a fish-man wielding another fish looking for a battle.
Initially I was not too impressed with Rip Tide’s attacks. The swordfish attack was a good fast melee attack, but the hammerhead attack seemed too slow and not strong enough to use instead of the faster swordfish attack. Eventually you upgrade the ability to throw your weapon. This changes the character’s attack strategy as now he can stand back and perform more ranged attacks. However, each time you throw one fish, your weapon switches to the other. So you might end up equipped with weapon you do not want to use when you get back into melee. We chose the Fishy Fencer Path and the main ability that path added was a dash to the swordfish attack. This acts almost like another ranged attack as it allows Rip Tide to quickly get into a fight or quickly get out of trouble. The soul gem ability is also pretty interesting as it allows your weapon to turn into a giant whale which does a wide area attack and then also shoots out extra smaller fish to damage nearby enemies.
Overall Rip Tide is a fair character. He has a bit of a slow start but finishes with some good abilities.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 120 | Max Health | 300 | |
| Defense: | 70 | Speed | 43 | |
| Speed: | 75 | Armor | 30 | |
| Luck: | 55 | Critical Hit | 4 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| All Attacks | |||
| Tetra Attack | Press Attack 1 to swing the currently held fish at enemies. Swordfish attacks are quick while Shark attacks are slow, but more powerful. | Free | |
| Fish Toss | Press Attack 2 to toss the currently held fish at enemies. Fish Toss will also change between Swordfish and Shark. | Free | |
| Whale On 'Em | Press Attack 3 to drop a large whale and smack down a large number of enemies. | 500 Gold | |
| Bigger Fish to Fly | Press Attack 2 to throw the held fish, doing increased damage to enemies. | 700 Gold | |
| Fresh Fish | Press Attack 2 to throw the currently held fish. Press Attack 1 to attack and critically hit with the new fish. | 900 Gold | |
| Blistering Blubber | Whale attacks do increased damage. | 1200 Gold | |
| Fishy Fencer Path | |||
| Nipping Needle Nose | Press Attack 2 to throw the sword fish which does damage over time to enemies that it hits. | 1700 Gold | |
| Practiced Parry | Swordfish attacks do increased damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Straight as an Angler | Hold Attack 1 to charge a swordfish attack, release to dash through enemies causing them to take damage and be knocked back. | 3000 Gold | |
| Flounder Pounder Path | |||
| Shark Surprise | Press Attack 2 to throw the Shark which bounces off of enemies' heads before landing. | 1700 Gold | |
| Time to Hammer | Hammerhead shark attacks do increased damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Shark Bite Bait | Hold Attack 1 to charge a shark attack, release to dash forward biting any enemies in the way. | 3000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Reinventing the Whale | Angry fish explode out of the whale's spout, seeking out and damaging nearby enemies. | 4000 Gold | |
Check out our Legendary Zoo Lou unboxing. Today Conner unboxes Legendary Zoo Lou. Zoo Lou is a new life core Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. The “Legendary” edition has slightly increased stats and is exclusive to Toys R Us. Watch and let us know what you think of Legendary Zoo Lou.
Here is a Smolderdash Unboxing. We recently picked up the regular Smolderdash for Skylanders Swap Force while searching for new characters. Here is her unboxing and a quick comparison to Lightcore Smolderdash.
Let us know which Smolderdash you like better: the regular or the lightcore version?
Watch as Conner salutes in this Phantom Cynder unboxing video. (Why? I don’t know. He comes up with the strangest things sometimes.) It’s also one of his easiest unboxings yet. However, after pronouncing Phantom Cynder correctly the first time he quickly falls back into his bad habit. He also asks a very important question which I can’t really answer.
