You’ll note that the headline above has the number two in quotation marks. That’s because the figures that tied for the “No. 2” slot are closer to 10 than two.

No. 2

[tie] The Authority

Yes, the whole team.

Let me explain.

I was barely intrigued by the Authority as a comic or concept. I had read one of the trades and it was OK. When the whole team showed in The Flash set in November, I was glad for their fans, little more.

Then I got a chance during the sealed Marquee to briefly, for a half-round, play a couple of them: Apollo and Swift. He was a nice Superman analogue while she had an interesting trait that benefited from enemy fliers doing what fliers usually do: attack and carry. Then I saw that Apollo messed with enemy TK.

Then a fellow player showed other members of the Authority and how THEY mess with the usual meta tricks:

• Doctor > Mind Control, especially the friendly MC variety
• Jenny Sparks > Special powers in general and stop clicks in particular
• Jack Hawksmoor > Starting area campers
• Engineer > Super-Poison
• Jenny Quantum > Multiple Prob Rolls and +3 stat boosts
• Midnighter > Combat Reflexes and CCE and high DV and more

…in addition to the aforementioned Swift’s middle finger to enemy fliers and Apollo’s anti-TK gaze.

Suddenly, I needed to get them ALL. And to read up on the comics. It turns out that the team is pretty Nifty overall, at least in its early incarnation.

What was most surprising, though, is how much F.U.N. each piece wound up being for me.

• Apollo: Like a Friendlier version of Superman, lacking the Super Strength at his 200 level and the HSS at 125 to be really mean but still Useful thanks to great damage skills and that no-TK-in-his-sight trait. A Neato addition to potential “This Team So Gay” and “Not-Superman, but…” themes. He’s got to run with Midnighter for best results, though, so that could squeeze him off my builds.
• Doctor: More F.U.N. AND meta at 50, where he’s a sneaky good fig with Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Barrier and Prob Control with a lot of team aid options. Lowish AV makes him Friendly while his Utility is plain to see above and at 110 points where he’s a Pulse Waver, too. He’ll be key for a “There a doctor in the house?” themes.
• Engineer: Lack of strong defense makes her as Friendly as a Top Ten of 2014 Swissblade can be. She’ll find a way onto such Nerdcore themes as “metallic paint jobs” and “Latin Quarter.” She’s going to make one of my meta builds I’m play testing for competitive events.
• Jack Hawksmoor: Soft and Friendly by not being super-aggressive, Jack scores highly on the Utility portion with TK, Prob, and a later SP to add semi-permanent blocking terrain to the map. He’s going to fit well on my “plainclothes” teams going forward, as will…
• …Jenny Quantum. She’s a double-edged sword, restricting extra Probs of both friend and foe, so she’s fairly Friendly for a Pulse Wave fig. Early Perplex and late Outwit round out her Utility quotient.
• Jenny Sparks is NOT all that Friendly with her trait that just doesn’t care about SPs upon hitting. Then again, she’s a completely unarmored character dependent on the notoriously fickle Super Senses and Regeneration to stay alive. When I’m running “plainclothes” themes, she’s the piece I’ll pick if I wanna WIN.
• Midnighter is Friendlier than he would appear. He’s not always Stealthy, his DV is surprisingly low and he’s got to be in melee to bring out his full Useful quality: the ability to soften up a target for the rest of the team. He’s a Nifty addition to the “trenchcoat brigade” theme I run every so often. He might be a little bit too vulnerable for true meta play. We’ll see.
• Swift is another really soft member of the Authority, so that makes her a little bit Friendly. But not much: She lightly hoses over teams dependent on Wing Symbol characters to carry non-fliers. Her Utility comes into play as she gains Air Tokens for free action movement all over. She’s another sneaky good fig. I’ll love her on Nifty “Wings” teams.

As much as I look forward to using each on those sub-themes mentioned above, it’s really been all about running the Authority as a keyword theme. Literally not a single ‘Clix event has gone by since I got the last piece in late November that I haven’t at least planned to either field an Authority team or to add one to a non-themed team. And that’s why they share the nearly top spot for all of 2014.

Asked to rank them in order of Favoritism:

8. Doctor
7. Jenny Q
6. Apollo
5. Jack
4. Swift
3. Engineer
2. Midnighter
1. Jenny S

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This went a little long, so we’ll postpone Heroclixin’s favorite of 2014 for next time. [No ties, promise].