Bushwhack was a Trap Master I wasn’t sure what to expect…He looked great, but the presence of the Axe made me wonder if he would be a slow and heavy hitter, or if he’d have some sort of a Stink Bomb like quality to him.  With the unknown in sights, things slowly revealed themselves and the stars aligned to make Bushwhack a must own in my book.

Bushwhack’s Primary Attack, “Traptanium Axe” is classic and straight forward.  He has a big axe, swings it, and deals nice damage.  The presence of a box-stock combo is a nice throw in imo.  “Mystic Acorn” may not seem that great to many folks, but to me it is the perfect compliment to the axe attack.  It doesn’t deal much damage, but it stuns enemies AND has great range.  The axe swing is honestly fairly quick, but this combo of moves sets up for a very formidable 1-2 punch.  Looking past that to the often overlooked and new for Trap Team “Jump Attack” you can find my personal favorite move of Bushwhack’s!  You can jump and throw the mystic acorns, or swing the axe.  If you swing the axe he does a powerful ground pound with it.  I find myself using this more frequently than his standard attack!

“Headbash” gets things off to a rocking start with Bushwhack’s Tertiary Attack in place.  I’m not a huge fan of this move, but it is effective.  “Nut Grenade” is up next and I am a huge fan of this one.  Cosmetically the Mystic Acorns now glow an acid/nuclear green and do sizably more damage!  “In A Nut Shell” is something I was ridiculously excited about…it promised “new armor” and “reduced damage.”  I assumed this would be taking Bushwhack’s Armor Stat from 18 to 24, maybe even 18 to 30 (I didn’t expect the SSA Glory Days of +40).  I was left in a flurry of disappointment as there is no measurable increase in Armor.  I know this will work “in game” but I’ve found these types of upgrade (Armor and Critical Hit) are quite disappointing if you sit down and try to evaluate it in game…The tangible +6 or +12 is much more predictable and of greater value.  The good news is that we end on a positive note with “Thorn Trail.”  This upgrade has the axe swing’s leave a quick trail of thorns that do nice residual damage…This will work great against large groups of enemies!

If you are fan of the Traptanium Axe attacks, this is the path for you.  It turns Bushwhack into a super formidable Trap Master.  “An Axe to Grind” just comes in and ups damage from 70-105 to 98-147…that alone is a very significant jump!  “Combo Attacks” offer both “Spin and Slash which deals 186-279 and “Head First” which drops an astounding 245-367 with a follow up of 147-220!  “Go Nuts” finishes the path off by allowing you to hold down “Attack 2” after “Spin and Slash” to spam Nut Grenades!  Overall, this is a straight forward path with great increases and 2 more unique attacks.

This path had me really excited…After getting “In a Nut Shell” in the base upgrades and seeing it had no measurable impact on Armor, I greatly tempered my expectations…I am glad I did.  “Bush’s Shack” kicks things off and it is, in my opinion, the best thing about the path.  By holding “Attack 1” you execute the standard attack and then see Buswhack kneel to the ground with a slam that ushers in a teepee of Life Element goodness (thanks Arbo!).  Roughly every 4 seconds you gain +25 Health!  I can only imagine that this will be even more useful in a Life Element Zone!  You are susceptible to damage, but it seems to be cut roughly in half while in this state.  That means that unless you are in Nightmare Mode, or Hard vs formidable minions, you should have health regen outweigh damage taken.  “Primal Warrior” is up next and it came up flat.  You get “new armor” but it once again fails to add the statistical rating and during my research I found it to be insignificant in terms of it’s functionality.  The saving grace is that the move also includes an upgrade to Headbash damage that takes the attack from 75-112 to 100-150.  “Spring Forward” finishes things off and offers a quick dash and Super Headbash.   The dash can deal 40-60, but the Headbash stayed at 100-150.  In my opinion, the best thing here is the increased speed in the short dash to potentially evade danger.

The Soul Gem “Timber” is a really nice addition to either path!  This reminds me of Villager’s attacks in Super Smash Bros.  You jump and hold down “Attack 1” and Bushwhack plants a tree, and cuts it down.  IF you are thinking, “Oh great, I have to wait for the tree, then go back to it and spend a few hits to cut it down” you are wrong!  I also figured it would be a cumbersome Soul Gem and was pleasantly wrong!  The tree grows instantly (provided you didn’t just do the attack and there are limbs on the ground) and Bushwhack automatically fells the tree.  It is a big tree and subsequently covers a nice area upon impact.  The most important thing though is that it deals 440-660 damage!!

Bushwhack Attack Damage Numbers

(Click to Enlarge)

Bushwhack is a great addition to any collection and will provide a formidable ally when taken down the Axe Avenger Path!  This is an old school, straight forward approach that simply  delivers measurable damage and assets at each turn.  It is my preferred path and what I would recommend to everyone, including rookie players.  Armor Awesomeness is not a bad path, but it really fails in comparison to the epicness that is Axe Avenger.  If this was the traditional +40 Armor from SSA, I’d say Bushwhack is a shoe-in for “get the Legendary figure and take both paths,” but since it fails to really deliver on the Armor front, you are left with the dash, increased headbash damage, and admittedly cool Bush’s Shack.  If you like the headbash, or prefer dash attacks, this is well worth taking.  Bush’s Shack might seem enticing, but keep in mind…in toughbattles, or nightmare mode you won’t be able to just retreat into it and fully regen with enemies on screen.   You can, however, defeat them and then take a few seconds to fully regen if that type of play interests you.  For me personally, Axe Avenger is just too proficient to pass up.  That said, I’m glad I have Legendary to be able to enjoy Armor Awesomeness along the way!