Continuing this photographic record of figures hefting objects, this time featuring Ms. Marvel from the Fear Itself expansion:
Yup. She’s got it in a decent hold, upright on the base under her axe wrist.
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Token Totin’ Tuesday: FEAR ITSELF [part 1]
Continuing this photographic record of figures hefting objects, this time starting an overdue look at figs from the Fear Itself event. First up?
“A” is for Asgardian Troll 002 who, at his 25 point cost, supplants Aquaman (Hypertime ) as the least expensive Super Strength non-bystander in the game. The Troll’s hold on the token is a wedge between the club and his right heel.
F.U.N. Forces: Saddle up for a ride with the Valkyries
Years ago, when HeroClix’s rebirth was in its infancy, I wrote about this theme. Now, with a new Valkyrie figure, it’s time to cue up the Wagner and field the choosers of the slain again!
RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 055) 145 + Not So Special 3
Valkyrie (Fear Itself 005) 130
Mirage (Wolverine and The X-Men 004) 75 + Camouflage 8
Valkyrie (Sinister 048) 71 + Not So Special 3
Brunnhilde (Sinister 204) 69 + Not So Special 3
Valkyrie (Sinister 047) 60
Samantha arrington Hammer of Thor 101) 55
Mirage (Fantastic Forces 007) 55
Valkyrie (Sinister 046) 44
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 012) 38
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 012) 38
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 012) 38
+ Defenders ATA 20
= 800 points. EDIT: I must’ve been falling asleep at the desk, because this in no way adds up to 800. Here’s the REAL team:
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 055) 145 + Not So Special 3
Valkyrie (Fear Itself 005) 130 + Contingency Plan 12
Mirage (Wolverine and The X-Men 004) 75 + Camouflage 8
Valkyrie (Sinister 048) 71 + Not So Special 3
Brunnhilde (Sinister 204) 69 + Not So Special 3
Valkyrie (Sinister 047) 60
Samantha Parrington (Hammer of Thor 101) 55
Mirage (Fantastic Forces 007) 55
Valkyrie (Sinister 046) 44
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 012) 38
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 012) 38
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor 012) 38
+ Defenders ATA 24
+ Black Lantern 0
+ Generator 0
+Mjolnir 0
= 900 points is more like it. EDIT: Except that IT’S NOT 900 POINTS. I keep screwing up the math on this. Either drop the C.Plan feat or Camouflage + a Not So Special card to make the team fit.
The last time the Valkyries rode, the team was able to take advantage of some tricks that no longer work (such as transporter Move And Attack being a move action). But it has some new ones that might work better.
- Big Hammer of Thor Valkyrie is no longer the sole tentpole of the force. Before, the Contingency Plan feat was all but required, to allow the strong but soft-skinned horsewoman to make safe hit-and-run attacks with a decent AV. But now she has help from two more sources…
- No-cape Fear Itself Valkyrie, who shares the high damage potential and excellent AV of horse Val — and can field the C.Plan for more clicks than Horse Val…
- The Defenders ATA allows both these Vals to chain their stellar AVs to their three sister Defender-keyworded sisters from Sinister, making for a solid front line of melee offense.
Then there are the curious mortal inductees to the cadre.
- Samantha, whose low AV was always reason enough to hold her off the team before, finds that weakness addressed by the ATA.
- Mirage of the upcoming WATX set adds a bit of ranged ability with her -range and Incap (with Sidestep to add even more swing).
- Finally, there’s Mirage from Fantastic Forces. Though very weak stats-wise, her Running Shot and Penetrating/Psychic Blast could land a light shot against weakened foes. More important still is her taxi ability to carry the less-mobile of the Valkyrior.
A team of Charging Super Strength figs can make good use of the Generator. The Black Lantern, though from DC, is highly thematic for valkyries. And Mjolnir is quite fitting.
I obviously can’t run this team yet because Wolverine and The X-Men is still a few days away from release (AND I no longer own a Samantha Parrington LE). But one day, the Valkyries will descend upon a HeroClix battlefield!
Token Totin’ TITANS (part nine)
Concluding the photographic record of clix from the Teen Titans set with Super Strength that can hold the game’s cardboard object tokens. Today, let’s look at this last pair:
Despite being the standard burly brute character, Mammoth (011) can just barely tote his token. One must carefully balance it under his left wrist brace and against his right knee. But Heroclixin’ has not been able to reproduce this hold on any tokens other than its well-worn ones — the new ones just roll right off with the slightest touch. So your mileage may vary.
And this (foot)hold is just going to be better all around:
It’s one of the few that work better with the newer, thicker card stock.
And a final teen titan fig with a grip: Skitter (048)
It’s almost more fitting to ask “how DOESN’T she tote a token?” This intricate sculpt has no issue with a number of solid holds.
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OK, that’s more than enough Teen Titans toting tokens. Next week, TTT begins a long-overdue look at Fear Itself. Tomorrow, check out a F.U.N. Force for Heroclixin.’
F.U.N. Fights: Plainclothes clix
So I got to a venue too late and too broke to get in the scheduled Fear Itself event and instead joined a battle royale with this team:
Clark Kent (Man of Steel 009) 115
Lois Lane (Man of Steel 00) 39
Harve Bullock (Streets of Gotham 016) 32
Roy Raymond, Jr. (Batman 026) 74
Miranda Tate (Dark Knight Rises 012) 70
Pepper Potts (Iron Man 3 007) 70
= 400 points of plainclothed clix…no costumes, no weapons, nothin.’ I had a few pieces running for the first time.
VERSUS three others in a battle royale:
MATT with Superboy (Teen Titans 026)+Belt, Kid Flash (Teen Titans 039), and something I can’t recall. Solstice, maybe?
DOMINIQUE’s Thanos (Galactic Guardians 045) and Terraxia.
JASON fielding Superman (Man of Steel 101) and Superboy (Teen Titans 026). And I think that’s all.
I knew that Thanos was the big threat, but Matt & Jason went at it first anyway because they’re noobs. I crept about toward Thanos, using Stealth (thanks, Harvey for giving it to yourself and fellow detective Roy) for cover. Eventually, I made my move:
- Based Thanos with Roy Raymond Jr. for the -1 DV trick
- Knocked down T’s DV further with PD TA
- Perplexed it down one more time with Miranda…
- …so she could Mind Control him to kill Terraxia nearby!
But Thanos himself missed, leaving me with Miranda taking MC damage and Roy all set to just get one-shot by Thanos. 🙁
Fortunately, 5 damage is not enough to one-shot Roy, so he lived to use Outsiders TA for many more rounds to come. That proved key to dealing with Matt’s Superboy’s Belt-fed modifications.
In the end, it was only Lois Lane and Kid Flash. A late misplay cost me a shot at a most unlikely victory for the overachieving star reporter.
By piece:
Clark Kent (Man of Steel 009)
Traited Stealth and SP Willpower made him the solid core of my team’s offense. I happily landed on his second such click, with HSS and Perplex. Maybe I erred in healing him off it (though with only a natural 8 AV, who could blame me). Great piece that literally flies under the radar.
Lois Lane (Man of Steel 007)
Amy Adams, as noted above, nearly won the whole shebang with her nosy reporting ways. A fine use of 39 points.
Harvey Bullock (Streets of Gotham 016)
Key for his ability to Stealth fellow cops and detectives. His TA also came into play. All told, he was worth way more than his cost.
Roy Raymond, Jr. (Batman 026)
Been wanting to get this unusual figure on the field. He’s tricky to use because his Outsiders and maxxed-Outwit beg for him to stay away from the fight. But his Combat Reflexes and ability to -1 adjacent DV means he ought to be in foes’ faces. With no Stealth or other defense against range, his 16 DV is an easy target. Use with care…but do use him on plainclothes teams like this one.
Miranda Tate (Dark Knight Rises 012)
Still one of my faves, she had so many ways to mess with the team (Perplex. Outwit. Mind Control). Both underestimated and a priority target, she always served her purpose on this force. On a future build, I’ll want to couple her with Bruce Wayne 003 from her set to gain Batman Ally TA and a Defense boost.
Pepper Potts (Iron Man 3 007)
Great for drawing fire early on — as she need not fear being one-shot — then for fighting after taking the big hit. Gwyneth is a winner for this theme. On a Golden Age team, I’ll run her with Loner for the DV boost.
That is, if I can still fit her on after adding the ultimate plainclothes clix piece:
Crispus Allen (Arkham Asylum 101).
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Tomorrow, one more installment of “Token Totin’ Titans,” and I think I’m done with the set (minus a few whose high rarity have kept me from readily getting pix: Wonder Girl 065, Wonder Woman 068 and Zookeeer). Then on Friday, a look at a F.U.N. Force I’d like to run.
Token Totin’ TITANS (part eight)
Continuing the photographic record of clix from the Teen Titans set with Super Strength that can hold the game’s cardboard object tokens. Today, let’s look at this pair:
One can bend Changeling’s forearm a tad to reveal a gap between it and the clear green tiger form for a solid and appealing hold. Meanwhile, his sometime fellow Osiris has a less secure hold under his raised arm.
Over on the Ravagers side of things, the OTHER Beast Boy manages:
It’s actually under his right knee. This is an OK hold, but there’s another, more dynamic one available:
The balance is precarious, but it works as pictured.
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Back on Thursday for another teen titan fig with a grip.
Card Art #36
I added art to DC cards to make ’em prettier. Here’s the latest, another feat from Justice League:
From Final Crisis #6. Doug Manke draws a fighting-mad Superman smashing walls like they’re not there.
Next week, more feats from JL.
Top Ten Greatest Feats of HeroClix — and 10 horrible ones (4 of 4)
The two very best feats.
#2
20 points. Expensive, but such a simple way to make our whole team better as needed every round. There’s probably no better use of 20 points on a team with, of course, the prerequisite Perlexer and allied beneficiaries.
# 1
5 points. The inexpensive price is what vaults this one to the top of the feat heap. It suddenly makes a HOST of Leap/Climbers and Close Combat Experts highly viable move-and-attack pieces, opening up tons more positioning options than before. But it’s also quite balanced since its two-square reach really isn’t that overwhelming. It’s the perfect example of a great feat card and it’s a real pity that more weren’t this fun and awesome.
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The very worst feats.
#2
9 points. Even when Soaring was a thing, this feat was useless. +2 movement for move actions really was not a big deal without the ability to carry. Breaking away from other soaring characters came into play about the same number of times more than one character occupied soaring status: almost never. And the cost? At least seven points too many.
#1
12 points. Couldn’t have been much worse if they’d just written “only this one Colossus character and that one Wolverine figure can use this feat, once, EVER.” I mean, have you ever seen so many arbitrary conditions to use a power?
- Same team symbol required. This kind of makes sense, but cuts out so many combinations.
- First must have Super Strength. OK, that’s fine.
- Second must have Toughness. Sure, that’s fair. Need to be able to survive the impact. But…
- …not Invulnerability. Not Impervious. ONLY Toughness. Here’s where it gets stupid. And we’re not done.
- Can’t have more than 3 damage, either. Which is ridiculous, because…
- …It costs both a power action. Ugh. So you’re burning up two actions for one light attack! Really?!
- Hit or miss, it’s a one-time-use feat…
- THAT COSTS 12 POINTS.
Feats are supposed to increase a character’s flexibility. This one is the definition of INflexible. That’s why it’s the worst feat WizKids ever attempted.
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Tomorrow, a bonus: Heroclixin’s favorite F.U.N. feats!
Card Arts #35: Brilliant Tactician
I added art to DC cards to make ’em prettier. Here’s the latest, another feat from Justice League:
It’s pretty. More to the point, Brainiac 5 (as drawn by Barry Kitson on the cover of Legion of Super-Heroes #1) is the prototype of the feat.
Next week, more feats from JL.
Nextwave 600 points: Wave One
So a few weeks (or more) ago I mourned the exit of the Nextwave squad from Modern Age and thrilled at the possibilities for the team in Golden Age, tricked out with Feats and BFCs and Resources and ATA. Little did I realize I’d run the team that very next day.
Monica Rambeau 139 + Not So Special 3
The Captain 124 + Alias 3
Aaron Stack 106 + Inside Information 4 + Infinity Gauntlet (Soul, Power, Space) 25
Elsa Bloodstone 73 + Monster Hunter 3
Tabitha Smith 58 + Armor Piercing 10
+ Warbound (Nextwave) 25
+ Nextwave ATA 25
=598 points. I opted not to use Debris, Extraordinary Day or Overconfidence against my opponent’s mostly X-squad of Professor X (Giant-Size X-Men), Wolverine (Giant-Size X-Men), Cable (Giant-Size X-Men), Storm (10th Anniversary 010) and Spider-Man 2099 (Amazing Spider-Man) with the full Utility Belt. I got map choice and we used the Time Zones on the Dawn of Time map.
My opponent is a notorious turtler, so I advanced with caution.
KEY MOMENTS
Opponent, seeing how I’d finally poised my attackers for a first-strike Charge on Storm, moved her well out of range. But in doing so he’d killed his ability to attack back — or even Outwit — from her square with Prof. X. That gave The Captain a Charge opportunity on Cable.
Which failed.
In fact, Cap pretty much just did this the rest of the game.
Similarly, Monica missed her shot on the retreated Prof. X — one that, had I remembered she was wearing the +1 AV Not So Special feat, may NOT have missed. The leader of Nextwave didn’t do much else this game but die.
I also completely forgot that once the Prof. left his starting area, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE CONTINUED SHOOTING ME. Big mental fail on m part.
The Nextwave squad eventually got Cable, mostly thanks to Elsa. (This may have been the first time I’ve ever triggered the Nextwave ATA on a Nextwave team.) But the Belted Spidey 2099 was killing said team, making victims of Monica and then Elsa.
Yes, Elsa. VICTIM.
Fortunately, Aaron Stack had slowly built up to the Gauntlet’s special powers. And now, with combinations of Perplex, RCE, Poison and Hypersonic Speed, he began to wear down the opposition. (Or, at least, he keep Tabby from dying right off.)
In the end, it took a careful combo of Poison and judicious attacks to damage Spidey 2099 just so to avoid him landing on his Power Cosmic stop click with fewer than two tokens on him. Then, with a couple more attacks, Aaron took him down for the victory.
Leader Monica was difficult to use right. I really needed her to attack more, but early on I made her a taxi, using Warbound to stay mobile. Same went for The Captain, who carted around Aaron. But that made Aaron push with two tokens much of the time, preventing him from leveraging his fight skills or even the early TK he offers via the Gauntlet. I also found that Tabby was left behind and thus unable to bring the explodo for far too much of the match.
In the future, I’ll probably use Warbound to push Monica ASAP, so she can properly contribute to a fight. Captain will try to remain as free of tokens for a long as possible — he doesn’t push well — and Aaron will TK either Elsa or Tabby into their effective range.
This is a team I carry around in my travel box constantly, lately, always ready for a pickup game of 600 points.