9. Mercy Graves [Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice 005]

Sceritz: she’s a 17 defend 
S: that’s like the worst number for defend
S: she’s next to pointless and too many points
S: All she’s good for is essentially pushing to her second click and standing next to a powerful Lex
S: and that’s still 40 points for that…
Rurouni KJS: 50
S: LOL at the typo
R: I think the 18DV was enough to drag her off the top 10 for me.
R: Barely
S: because I feel she should be 40 points to be excused from the list lol
R: Yeah
S: I just don’t like one trick figures that cost that much
S: She’s obviously there to support a tent[pole], but then most tents already have several 18 defense clicks
S: so what does she add? Shape Change
S: They are just going to kill her off get a nice 50 points and then focus on the tentpole
R: Esp. after these JSA figs do the one-trick thing better
S: plus her tents are few with the politician kw
R: I’m convinced. She bad
S: lol
R: And not in the good way

10. Court of Owls Initiate [Joker’s Wild 005a/b]

The only reason to ever run this (these?) is for a Court of Owls team running the two other figs in the game who can Mastermind to them. And only one of those other figs works with their Underworld TA. They’re only 10 points, you say? Just like a lot more useful pieces.

Both Sceritz and I think these plebes should wash out.

 

In the modern game of HeroClix, there are no terrible dials anymore, really. Not the way there used to be.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few stinkers made. For the next week or so, Heroclixin’ — yours truly Rurouni KJS and new collaborator Sceritz — will look at the bottom of the barrel and make our picks for the least playable figs of 2016. But first, here are a few that didn’t quite bottom out enough to rate as the worst of the bad:

 

Occultist [World’s Finest 012]

You shouldn’t expect much for 20 points, and his pokey 6 or lower speed and three clicks of health are fitting of his price point. Heck, his Willpower and Exploit Weakness almost look good. But his SP requires an adjacent ally to get hit and hurt for him to truly pull his weight. Not sure if this is worth the points and the price of, y’know, starting to LOSE.

Black Panther  [Captain America: Civil War 013]

He has a nifty SP nixing LOF to him beyond his printed 3 range and also granting Sidestep, forcing foes to get close.

But that’s when the trouble starts.

He only has Super Senses for 17 defense, no Willpower to truly leverage the SP, and he loses the SP quickly. Traited Precision Strike frees up the attack slot for, say, Blades — which doesn’t show till click 2. So you’re basically running an 80-point Outwit or Perplex piece with a mishmash of extra powers and modest stats. Not so kingly.

Prism [Uncanny X-Men 013]

A piece with super-low DV and a SP that opponent won’t want to counter because it can cause insta-KO. The only reason he doesn’t rate among the very worst is this convo between me and Sceritz:

Sceritz: You’ll spend all that time trying to get him in position or whatever and screw yourself over and then get him blasted xD
Rurouni KJS: Gotta use him as meat shield against range. Make sure he can’t be knocked back LOL
S: I suppose that could be useful
R: That and the Enhance is his ONLY use
S: I think my brain is trying push all the other things I could use 35 points for out of my head
S: or rather I need to push those things out of my head
R: Nah
R: Those other 35-pointers are part of the reason these are the worst

So I talked him off the worst list. But………he’s still bad.

Killer Moth [Joker’s Wild 035]

65 points for Running Shot, 9 AV Incap. For some reason, he ramps to 10 AV mid-dial. Damage fluctuates from 2 to 1 and back. For 65 points.

But almost ANYTHING is a better use of 65 points

Looker [Joker’s Wild 37b]

Usually, primes are supposed to be stronger than other figures. But so not with this 100-point, five-click pile of nothing but TK, really. Sure, she can Steal Energy to more powerful clicks past her starting line, but with only 8 Charge, 10 AV and no Willpower, she’s going to have a lot of trouble getting to and staying on those sweet spots. LOOK AWAY.

So much for the almost-worst of 2016. On to the list of the actual worst of 2016’s figs. Stay tuned