Help me make an ultimate Mastermind. :3

I've been itching to do a new character, and when it comes down to it, Masterminds are really the only archetype that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Sure, they have their problems, but gul darnit are they fun. My current main is a Bots/Traps whom I adore, but she's kind of at a point where there isn't anything else I can do with her. Her IO build, focused on defense, is cheap but totally effective, and I can't see any way to improve it.

So I'd like to start something new! My prerequisite for this is that I don't want either Bots or Traps in this build. I know that things like "best" are hotbutton words for class powers, so I'll establish that I'm looking for something different than a Tankermind, since that's what I already have. Maybe a set based on spamming the "Attack my target" button and unleashing hell on large group. I also have a fondness for pets that don't require a massive amount of micro-management, though I know this might be tricky when taking bots out of the equation. I have about six billion inf to spend on this character, so I don't mind dropping some moolah on her. Right now I'm leaning heavily towards Thugs because I have an RP concept in mind for it, and I've heard that it's up there with bots as top-tier.

Any thoughts? Does anyone have any build they're running that's been an unexpected powerhouse?

Edit: Think I'm going to focus on Thugs. But still unsure of a secondary.

Thug/time is a solid choice. Mine is a ton of fun and while I "know" bots are supposed to do more damage... I don't see it. My thugs pump out enough damage to take down things quick and when they're not quick enough, I'm making the mobs slow so it doesn't really matter all that much.

I think demon/thermal or demon sonic is what you want. Pets cap resistance at 90%, and while thermal doesn't quite get you there, even with the uniques, the healing makes it worthwhile. Sonic will push out more -resist, though.

I think Thugs/Time is pretty nice as well. You can stack your pbaoe defense buff (eventually power boosted, perhaps) with the Enforcer leadership defenses. You have AoE heals. Controls/slows. A buff for the Bruiser. Lots of stuff to do to keep you busy.

Lewis

Is the Bruiser difficult to control? I know that at release, there were major problems with his hand clap knocking enemies back, to the point where a lot of Thug MMs just didn't give him that upgrade. From what I've seen of Time, it looks like a fairly active set, which I like. And the heals might let me be a little more crazy than Bots/Traps does, since I'll have more margin of error.

A resistance build Demons/Thermal sounds tempting too, but I'm not sure I could find a way to justify the concept for RP like I could with Thugs. I've never been big on magic concept characters.

The bruiser gives me no problems. I fully upgrade him. I have no regrets.

There are several ideas for thugs/thermal that are not magic-related. Your mastermind could simply be another thug who was lucky enough to discover that he has mutant powers (thermal). You could even pick up the fire APP to match. A tech option is that you are a corporate weapons dealer for a shadowrun style organization. Your access to weapons lets you keep your bodyguards (the thugs) geared up, and access to esoteric weapons tech (thermal) gives you an edge on the street. For a natural origin, you could be an alien with natural fire (thermal) powers who picked up some followers, because you can make stuff go BOOM. A simple science background is that you were homeless and a shady company was rounding up people that nobody would miss, for the purpose of experiments to weaponize humans into bombs that could infiltrate, explode, and then walk away unscathed. It worked only once ... with you. You even walked away, but everyone at the facility was killed. You cant seem to repeat the explosion, but you did have parting gifts in the form of your thermal powers. The thug who helped you pull yourself from the fire thinks you are cool. I'm sure he will tell all his friends before too long, and you'll have your running crew of thrill seekers eager to be set on fire and eager to get into trouble.

Etc.

Lewis

Going with the original theme of the thread, Necro/Dark.

But if you -must- have thugs, the Bruiser isn't as much of an issue anymore. With the run into melee AI he's actually golden. The Arsonist is gonna be the one you'll have to babysit.

It's kind of counter-intuitive, but a Necro/Storm is very very capable.

These are my top two Masterminds if you want a try at them.

Bots/Dark is able to do 0/6 on SOs just fine. Kinda a Tank Type, hard to die while slowly taking your foe out.

Demon/Poison is able to bring AVs (not GMs) down in a minute or so, depends on AV. Stalker/Scrapper Type. Able to kill Trapdoor in 30s or less on SOs. Downside only able to 0/4 at best for even levels, might be able to do +3/2.
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Been a while since i played a Thugs so can't really say much on that.

Necro/Dark is classic, awesome sauce.
Nonetheless, you can pump out a real army, up to 10 pets: 6 base, 1 from dark extraction, dark servant and 2 lore pets. Take the seers as lore pets and you'll have so much cc around that anything will barely move.

Demons/Time, very survivable pets with their own built in heals and +res shield, paired with a secondary that you can play as active as you want.

Of all the MMs I have (and there are many...) I like the following in order for the following reasons:

1) Necro/Dark: Classic set with loads of things to do well into the EPP/PPPs. The -To Hit you can toss out helps Pet survivability a lot. Also great for teams because of the AoE heal, conceal and Tar Pit.

2) Thugs/Time: My second fave to play. As was said before, a buff for the Brute, lots of good synergy with the Enforcers, AoE heal and so forth.

3) Demon/Therm: Another theme-heavy set with great resistances, pet buffs and heals.

My usual tactics for Melee-centric pets is to Team Teleport right into the mob and drop whatever AoE I have (Tar Pit, whatever). Saves them hovering on the edge of the spawn not using their best attacks.

As for the Brute I have a special button just for him. I moved the Brute's control button to my power tray and edited it to Goto/Aggressive. I press it and a target reticle appears (like Teleport). Drop it in the middle of the next spawn and there he goes. No other micromanagement needed, you can buff him/Insp him before sending him in and he acts like a pocket tank. This works great for Black Knights too btw.

Good luck!

I've done a lot of thugs/ builds.

Thugs/FF -

Pro - Your henchmen are totally invincible (defense way above soft cap, so even def debuffing enemies are powerless to get them.)

Con- Nearly every boss you ever face will run in terror, requiring you to chase them. The soft capped defense falls apart if your thugs break formation so using an AOE immobilize on mobs is essential to survival.

Thugs/Dark -

Pro - Between toHit debuffs on enemies and Thugs' natural defenses, you can hit softcap, and the healing is nice.

Con - I tried it before I knew about BG mode..... so there might not be any cons.

Thugs/Thermal

Pro - Solid mix of resistance and defense. Also nice now that the shields will spam onto your gang war, and you can usually get Forge onto both Bruiser and Arsonist.

Con - Your guys are far from invincible.

Thugs/Pain

Pro - Lots and lots and lots of survivability.

Con - Boring as hell to play. I just plain got tired of my character and deleted her.

Thanks for the insights, everyone! After much deliberation and a bit of test playing, I've decided to go with Demons/Time, since it seems like it mixes a strong offense with some good survivability. I love the idea of using team teleport to just be all "lol, hi" on enemy groups. I'll start working on a build and levelling her up this weekend, and let ya know how it goes.

Thanks for the protips!