I keep coming back to this F.U.N. theme of female characters who either have or can use Great Size — and thinking that it can compete with the meta.
And here’s the latest version:
Wasp, Heart of the Avengers [Avengers Infinity G011] 50
Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity Fast Forces G001] 50
Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity G001] 40
Stature [Civil War] 80
Giganta [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 055] 50
Ms. Marvel [The Mighty Thor G005] 15
Tribbles [Star Trek: The Original Series ] 5
Invisible Plane Terrain Dial 5
Prodigy ID Card 3
=298 points of Colossal Retaliation and Stamina galore. But how does this G.L.O.H. (Gorgeous Ladies of HeroClix) team stack up in actual high-level competition?
ROUND ONE
LE Doc Ock, Captain America [Avengers Defenders War 069], Renet Tilley [TMNT2], Shredder Clone. A whole team of actions after taxi. And sure enough, it took a figure down, just like I planned.
I did NOT plan for TWO to go down, limiting my retaliation options.
But it turned out OK as my opponent couldn’t take down Giganta (she being Stealthed and now able to get the six-characters-on-force stat bonuses) and I began to gain the action advantage with Stature’s Colossal Stamina attacks — though that almost turned to disaster when she crit missed on one of those to suffer a near-fatal THREE clicks of self-harm. But she escaped to preserve a solid points advantage despite not being able to finish off Shark Shredder for a big points bonus. 1-0.
ROUND TWO
Superman [Elseworlds 050], Unseen, Starfox [Avengers Infinity 048] and Mangog on my opponent’s Junkyard map.
Ohhh, damn this mudpit map, leaving me with nowhere to plant Giganta in Stealth. Had me settling for trying to KO an ID Iceman to get a swift lead in points.
(“Oh, Rurouni KJS … you poor fool,” some of you Mangog experts out there are thinking.)
As it turned out, I didn’t score a hit until late in the hour. And that’s when the big yellow retaliator struck, dealing WAY MORE DAMAGE to WAY MORE CHARACTERS with a single attack than any other figure in the game EVER. And so my giant girls all fell in one turn except Stature.
1-1.
OK, seeing how my team’s whole strat was Colossal Retaliation, I pretty much had no shot at winning this round — especially given my thorough unfamilarity with the Mangog threat. Knowing what I know now, I’d simply march for Mangog immediately, regardless of the risk.
ROUND THREE
Facing Uni-Mind, Lockjaw, Carnage [The Mighty Thor], and Groot [Avengers Infinity] with the Boxing Ring on my Muir Island map.
Uni came for Wasp in his Boxing Ring, gambling correctly that his Perplexes would nullify the penalty of shooting out. She got one-shot. Not the punch in the face I thought to take. But I hadn’t lost yet.
I called in ID character Prodigy, who Outwitted Uni, then I retaliated with FF GG, placing her like so (inside the Boxing Ring, next to Uni-Mind).
And that is when I DID lose.
See, I forgot about Super Strength.
I missed the retaliation, but landed the followup punch with an object. Then Stature charged, using Giant Reach from outside the ring, but missed by one.
But had I remembered Super Strength, I’d have placed here instead:
… and used the KNOCKBACK (indicated by the arrow) to hurl Uni out of the Boxing Ring for what would be a much more likely hit to split him into the far more manageable Makkari and Thena. And that’s a game I probably can win.
As it was, Uni easily escaped, got healed to full. And I got just 10 points in a Carnage KO. 1-2.
ROUND FOUR
Got stuck facing chase Starfox again (this time with Mjolnir!), Lockjaw again, and Groot again along with Mudman and a full load of IDs. But the real MVP of his team was Infinity and her -1 speed to my whole force. Kept me from Charging, taxiing, or even getting my loaned Dr. Leslie into Outwit position. On my opponent’s Amok Time Star Trek map, there was nowhere to plant Giganta that helped at all. It was just a miserable slog; what else can you say about a game where Starfox with Mjolnir never has to make a single attack?
1-3.
Disappointed as usual. But I’m gratified that I got the one win against a solid team in Round 1. I also learned a powerful lesson against Mangog in Round 2 and about my own team in Round 3. Round 4 was the only time I felt completely without a chance to win.
By piece:
Wasp, Heart of the Avengers [Avengers Infinity G011] 50
Her plot driven “retaliation” represented one of the threats of the team. I was always torn whether to be aggressive with her (she’s Indomitable) or to keep her safe, as she’s a key target.
Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity Fast Forces G001] 50
“Blue” Giant-Girl’s free Colossal Retaliation on top of CR can be a game changer. I completely forgot her “Keep It Moving, Avengers” trait allowing her to move 2 squares when an Avenger hits.
Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity G001] 40
So I’m torn. On one hand, having an extra taxi who can take a hit and block for others was great. On the other, her not having the usual free CR (it’s a POWER action) really limited its usefulness and I never got her into a position to get the heals from KOs with normal attacks even with CR’s easy reposition ability. I might try “purple” Giant-Girl at minimal 10 points in a future version of the team.
Stature [Civil War] 80
On paper, she looks like the albatross of the team, but in practice, she’s a high-risk/high reward attack machine doing work while the other girls draw fire. I have no complaints even though her points MIGHT be better used on a higher cost purple Giant-Girl.
Giganta [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 055] 50
The other secret weapon of the force, the taxi-able Giganta was able to stay safe in Stealth when I could actually find some hindering for her. Lack of move+attack was a problem as she often found herself out of punching range. I might need to upgrade to her top dial for the Charge.
Ms. Marvel [The Mighty Thor G005] 15
She functioned as a great taxi for either Giganta or Stature and as trigger for the rest of the team’s CR. I wish she could have survived ONE attack all day long.
Tribbles [Star Trek: The Original Series ] 5
The girls’ stuffed animals. They’re there to ensure Giganta keeps the stat boosts for when she’s in the fight.
Invisible Plane Terrain Dial 5
This was a waste of points that honestly had an outsized effect AGAINST me by limiting my movement and placements more than the opponents’ and NEVER turning its dial even once. I thought it a better fit than the Boxing Ring (which is no good offensively and only OK as a defense IMO) but I was wrong.
Prodigy ID Card 3
I didn’t want to break the tall women theme, but I had points left and Outwit is never unwelcome. Almost won me that one game, in fact.
A future version of the team might be this:
Wasp, Heart of the Avengers [Avengers Infinity G011] 50
Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity Fast Forces G001] 50
Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity G001] 10
Stature [Civil War] 80
Giganta [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 055] 90
Ms. Marvel [The Mighty Thor G005] 15
Tribbles [Star Trek: The Original Series ] 5
= 300 points. Oughta be F.U.N.