Concept is king in a situation like that. Air Superiority works great for my MA/Regen Scrapper: it provides some nice mitigation, and it looks just fine on a cyborg that has been designed to be a walking "deathbot." He's extremely strong, so it makes sense.
I mean seriously, any MA character taken to 50 is going to have to deal with the idea that they can defeat robots or villains with power armor, just by using the power of their feet. If that can fly with you, you can make AS fly as a concept. Heh.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
"My sneakers do more damage than your sword."
- How to embarrass Katana Scrappers in one easy step
It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...
After the next Issue, you might not have a problem!
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]
Viera: Level 50 Natural Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Martial Arts
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Storm Kick -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(17), Mako-Dam%(39)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(5), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(15)
Level 2: Focused Senses -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(5), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(11)
Level 4: Agile -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(23), LkGmblr-Def(40)
Level 6: Air Superiority -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37)
Level 8: Boxing -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Acc/Dmg(9), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(17), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(37)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A), Jump-I(13), Jump-I(13)
Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 16: Dodge -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(40), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(43)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(23), RgnTis-Regen+(40), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(48), Numna-Heal/Rchg(48), Mrcl-Rcvry+(50)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg(21), P'Shift-End%(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(43)
Level 22: Quickness -- Run-I(A)
Level 24: Crippling Axe Kick -- Hectmb-Acc/Rchg(A), Hectmb-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), Hectmb-Dmg/Rchg(25), Hectmb-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Hectmb-Dmg(34), Hectmb-Dam%(36)
Level 26: Dragon's Tail -- Armgdn-Acc/Rchg(A), Armgdn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Armgdn-Dmg/Rchg(27), Armgdn-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Armgdn-Dmg(29), Armgdn-Dam%(34)
Level 28: Lucky -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(42), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(43)
Level 30: Focus Chi -- AdjTgt-Rchg(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(31), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 32: Crane Kick -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), FrcFbk-Rechg%(37)
Level 35: Evasion -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(36), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(36), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 38: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(39), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(39)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(A), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Build%(45), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(46), GSFC-ToHit(46)
Level 44: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(45), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(48), Zephyr-ResKB(50), Winter-ResSlow(50)
Level 49: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- HO:Nucle(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- HO:Micro(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
This is the MA/SR scrapper I'm building for. It has.... Some recharge. 187% to be exact. Currently it's at level 22. You'll notice it has Air Superiority and Boxing, but no Thunder Kick. Why?
Thunder Kick does better DPS than these powers, that's for certain. But, in the grand scheme of things, it would have actually winded up being more detrimental to my build if I tried to use it as one of my earlier attacks.
Boxing does comparable damage, and grants me easy access to Tough and Weave. Had I not made it a part of my attack chain, I would have had to make a cut somewhere else in my build to fit in those three powers. Without Tough and Weave I'd have a much more difficult time trying to cap my positional defense, and would have a harder time when my HP starts falling with my scaling resists.
Air Superiority is a good attack that also does comparable damage to Thunder Kick, but offers far better mitigation. This is especially important in early levels for /SR while it struggles to get all it's defenses together. I would be quite dead many times if I didn't have this power in my build. Even when my recharge and defense makes this superfluous to use, I can still think of plenty situations where swooping in and knocking the enemy over repeatedly could save an alley from a potential face plant.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it's important to focus on the entirety of the build, not just how much DPS it can crank out. Sure, thunder kick can do better damage, but the things Air Superiority and Boxing offered to my build not only pleased me more thematically, but they also aided me far more greatly than Thunder Kick in a game play perspective as well.