Acknowledging that many others in the thread have said some of these points, here’s my summary of where I’m at with Grimble at the moment:
Titans
His crit bonus is great for the dark stack, but you are likely making a big sacrifice in tile damage to bring it. Because of that, it is unclear to me if he has a spot here on most teams. Ameonna, Proteus, and Sabina at the least all probably go before him, and they’re hardly scarce.
Defense
He has tanky stats, but if he fires at tank before dying it is probably before the other team has minions up. And he suffers from the primary problem when choosing defenders: the AI will rarely luck into the correct timing. Again, I’m not sure if I see a clear role for him.
Offense
It’s natural to think of Delilah tanks, but I think that’s actually not a good spot for him. If I put together enough purple tiles to charge him, Delilah is likely dead anyway. And at that point I’d rather have a Proteus charged whether or not Delilah fired before dying. To say nothing of the significant savings in resources to have Proteus instead of Grimble.
Where I think Grimble could be good is actually against Delilah flanks in your minor stack of a 3/2 attack. I particularly like the idea of pairing him with a costumed Rigard: attack boost then AoE attack. I think you could get the timing right and in an impactful way in that sort of situation. There are other minion situations similar to the latter; the point is I actually think he’s better in that role than as an attempt to make a hard counter to Delilah tanks.
Investment
This has been said by others: I agree that the true value of Grimble is as a hedge against minions becoming an ever-increasing part of the game. I think SGG is making an effort to slow the game down. And emblems and costumes have been a part of that (despite the fact that they actually bumped up the mana speed of some heroes). Minions are another area. And I think it’s working. Heroes are harder to kill and I suspect fights are taking longer / more moves.
My Plan
A hero was just released (Puss in Boots) who can spawn SEVEN minions at once (if he’s on the field with four minion summoners). I’m going to queue Grimble up, take him to 3.70, and then re-evaluate. That will put me in position to max him if the asset appreciates. If it fails to, I’ve invested very little.