Sythean the Devourer really stinks

I have played fallen quite a few times since getting it. Recently I have tried Sythean, and I must say he really really stinks. There is basically no upside to playing him and SOOOOO many downsides. His critical's are insanely over powered and bad for him. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing if Dungeon Lords normally could get crit but since they can't it is such a horrible side effect. His cards are no better than other dungeon lords, they are actually quite a bit worse because they require Sythean to be the active creature to play them. The worst part Sythean as creature is no better than creatures of the same level. The cave worm lets you deal a wound for free, and the 2nd and 3rd level creatures sort of stink too compared to what else you can get from the decks of same level.

I am curious as to whether or not there is a unique way to play him and I am missing it. I doubt it but I would be open to trying other play styles if they will actually make him useful and not suck so much.

Well Wardedman, I'm not sure about a unique way to play him, but I can share some of the designs behind him.

His intent is to be an intimidating force when activated for a challenge. When activated he rolls the maximum dice available for a Creature of the same level, gains a free shift if his ultimate is used, and half of his power cards provide additional nasty effects with he is activated (while the other half do not require him to be activated). While he's not a guaranteed win when he is used, he should be a major issue for the Hero when brought into the challenge.

Keep in mind he has one additional armor value compared to Creatures of his same level. This makes it harder for a hero to sink the criticals in. A dedicated hero can certainly score 2 or even 3 Serpent criticals but this also means possibly fewer wounds dealt to other Creatures. How many times does a level 3 Creature with its 4 armor value get killed in a game. Perhaps once? Not at all? And Sythean is even tougher than those.

His final level 3 Devourer form, aside from his ultimate and power card effects when activated, is stronger than the Dragon of the same level. Sythean has better challenge dice, stronger armor value, and his ability can be used during all three challenge types.

Add to this he has two power cards that can heal him and discard XP from the Hero (which can be really frustrating for the Hero if timed right). And not to forget his two other power cards that let him refresh himself which can bring devastating amounts of wounds to the Hero and plenty of dice rolled in challenge after challenge. I've played him three challenges in row during a few games.

Of course all of this is balanced out with his Serpent criticals. Dive in recklessly or when you feel there is a lot of wound potential that the Hero can dish out, and the Hero will score criticals early on. Try to avoid giving away early criticals when you can as most of them are worth 2 or less XP for the Hero. This means the Hero is spending more wounds to take a level 3 Sythean down but possibly earning less XP than a normal level 3 creature.

Hopefully that explains some of the design behind him. Certainly still interested in hearing if people think a character is broken though.

I will keep trying him and see if I can get a way down that I like to play him and I will post back. Just at this current junction my wife and I have played about 12 times since getting the game, and he has been way underpowered compared to other characters. I will try holding him in reserve more until he gets leveled and I have his strike cards and see if that makes him better.

I am confused by the statement saying that he gets the max dice for that level, because that is what I am comparing his underpoweredness too

Level 1; Gobiln, Skeleton, Thelastian Scribe all get 2 blue dice like Sythean. Also there ability is free and gives you the ability to gain more dice than Sythean at first level (yes wounds are super powerful however it cost money)
Level 2; Night Prowler, Dread Vines, Ogre, Tendriled One, Lurker all get 2 red dice and have the ability to deal wounds some of them even have the ability to deal 2 wounds if things go right.
Level 3; His last form I would have to say is AMAZING!!!! Dealing 2 wounds for free is stupid powerful. However Behemoth, Goliath, Hydra all have 3 red dice and there powers are also extremely good.

The true issue I see here and what I think needs to be corrected is the critical cards. They are soo extremely devastating for the dungeon lord that it really discourages you from using him, and it encourages your opponent to deal wounds when they typically wouldn't because the devastating effects. I mean one of the critical decreases your hand size to 2 which is just BRUTAL. That one critical can not make up for even his amazing lvl 3 form.

You really encouraged me by responding and I am going to try play testing him another 5-10 times and then I will repost where I stand with him.

I have found the opposite for Sythean when I have played against him. I played the Priest against Sythean and had my butt handed to me on a bloody silver platter. It could have been hot dice on the part of my opponent, but I did a crit card where Sythean had to get a fourth charge to use his ultimate ability and it felt like every other challenge I was getting two wounds, thankfully I had a couple of runes on the priests rune card to heal when I lost a challenge, but it was an ugly game for the hero, cause I couldn't get anything leveled up to get more dice for my initial role. I had to throw everything I had to win one final battle card but then that left me with nothing at all. for the 3rd and 4th final battle cards. I was slaughtered.