My Next MM

Just finishing off my Bots/Traps MM, still working on IO Set'ing him out, and I'm going to be looking for my next MM project. I typically run my MM's exculsively Solo, teaming occasionally with one of my Brothers toons, so I need something that can get the job done on it's own. Something that can walk into adversity and come out the other side alive (maybe banged up but living).

I am not a big fan of repeating sets which takes Bots, Mercs, Traps, and Dark of the table. (Though I would consider re-rolling dark if we get Demons with Going Rogue.) These are the pairings I'm considering:

Thugs/Thermal:
I have long wanted to make a Thermal controller but never got to it due to Cold, Radiation, Kinetics all getting my attention. Seems like Thermal would be a beautiful match for Thugs, keeping everything Alive (looking at you Arsonist), and keeping Forge on the Bruiser and the Arsonist. HE and MA should allow me to take on a good majority of AV's. With two Autohit Heals and Two Shields, Survivabilty should be pretty high. Great Damage/High Survivabilty = a LOT to like. However, worried about getting tired of constant buffing.

Zombie/Thermal:
For much of the same reasons listed above, two Forged Grave Knights seem tasty. Do the Zombies have higher base resistances than Thugs? Does that mixed with Oni's control and Zombies toxic damage make this comparable to what Thugs/Thermal is capable of? I guess is no, but please educate me if I'm wrong.

Ninja/Storm:
I have always wanted a Storm toon, but like Thermal have never got to it. I feel like there would be surprisingly good synergy with this build. The Defense of Ninja's and the -ToHit of Hurricane, not to mention the general chaos that Gale, Tornado, Freezing Rain and Lightning Storm can cause. My brother has gotten pretty good at corner herding with his Thugs/Storm MM. Is this set going to be to choatic to be efficient?

Thugs/Poison:
I have read Poison Pill's guide a couple times and I have seen all of the people who just love this build. I just can't get myself past how single target based the set seems to be and it worries me that I won't be able to handle the larger spawns going solo. Am I missing something? I could see this set being as strong of an AV slayer as my Bots/Traps, but is this set to team oriented? If somebody can convince me that I'll be just fine going solo, this set may just jump to the top of the list.

There you have it. Right now, I'm intrigued by all four sets pretty equally, with Thugs/Thermal probably getting the edge if I had a gun to my head and Thugs/Poison falling behind because of concerns as to its ability to Solo. Any advice of stories that anyone could share would be very helpful. I'd like to make a decision in the next couple of days and get rolling on my newest MM Powerhouse.

Thanks in Advance!

Personally, I am enjoying my necro/thermal. The shields and thermal heals are amazing mitigation for the puking, sword wielding crew. The summoned spirit does well with the shields, too. I am still in the low levels, but surely forge, melt armor will make the combo even more amazing.

Played properly, there is nothing chaotic about /Storm. Just like any other set, you want to use your powers to keep herds tight and finish them off in an efficient manner.

Ninja/Storm is a fantastic combination and a lot of fun.

Appreciate the thoughts from both of you.

Brophog, can you elaborate any on Ninja/Storm? How does it preform against large spawns solo? AV's? Late Bloomer or Early Riser?

These are the answers I'm looking to get about these 4 sets.

Thanks again.

That depends entirely on how good you are with Storm. If you're not a good storm player, then don't bother with the combination.

If you're good at herding, using tornado, and managing the spawn then it can be very powerful. The Ninjas need active mitigation, imo, and that's what Storm does well. The better you start the fight, the better the fight will go. Scatter everything all over the map, and it's going to be an uphill battle. The Ninjas have a lot of damage, but they really need to be in melee to do it. The less they have to run, the better it is for you. If you can keep the mobs close, then you can concentrate the Ninja's attacks and concentrate the debuffs/damage that Storm brings.

Ninjas don't have a lot of AOEs. Caltrops, Rain of Fire, and Fire Breath are about it. That's why it is key to keep things as bunched up as possible. They do bring quite a bit of mitigation though, mostly in the form of knockbacks, slows and stuns.......which all stack nicely with Storm.

It isn't a great AV combination, but like all masterminds, it isn't bad. If bagging AVs is your thing, I suggest one of the standards for that type of thing. Large spawns are fine, if you can mold them to what you want. Leveraging Tornado and Hurricane are key for the combination.

I've taken a Thugs/Poison up to level 26 entirely solo. Lots of fun, and very powerful. I didn't even have noxious gas! I hear that's what really puts thugs/poison over the top, a noxious bruiser.

I still like him, but I met a few friends who play on Virtue. I'm not paying for server transfers, so I just re-rolled all my characters and haven't gotten back around to him yet.