I flushed a LOT more this past weekend than I expected to. In alphabetical order:

Alfred Pennyworth (Dark Knight Rises 013) is still better than he should be, like much of the set he came from. His Perplex was key to the hodge-podge Gotham team he was on, and his 17 Defend helped him both make fellow tie-up pieces better, but also served to draw fire from more important teammates. He’ll be my pick for Alfred if I need him to do some fighting in addition to healing.

Alyosha Kraven (Amazing Spider-Man 031b) performed as well as you expect a Prime figure to. His lion pog partner just rips teams apart unless it’s dealt with — and quickly. Meanwhile, Ally here is no slouch himself. He’ll join Vixen on pretty much any Animal keyword team I build, EVER.

Arkham Asylum Guard (Batman 003b), as a source of Willpowered Perplex, was also a key piece on the Gotham team this week. It’ll be hard to pick him over the Capture version, though. He’ll be on a Gotham crooks team I’m running sometime later this month…

Atrocitus (War of Light) absolutely destroys range teams with his forcing Battle Fury on anyone within 5 squares. It’s hard to build a team with a taxi who can’t carry anyone (TK is a must) but it was also refreshing to not have to hang back and worry about getting shot up by enemies. Atrocitus could just move right into the enemy zone with minimal cover and Indomitable-push his fists in their faces with Charge + Flurry next.

Black Canary (Streets of Gotham 003) was the lone bright light of her Justice League International team, as she scored a solid hit on the enemy. Unfortunately, she was the only one really and couldn’t take down her Warriors Three opponents without help.

Blue Beetle (Streets of Gotham 006) was good for his Perplex and nothing else. Without a Bug for him to pilot, I can’t see myself reaching for him over the Crisis Blue Beetle or the Booster-Beetle duo under any circumstance.

Booster Gold (Batman 052) had the potential to lead his JLI team to victory. If only he hadn’t missed ALL FOUR of his must-hit clutch attacks to stop Fandral from Outwitting the team! Still, he’s a fine piece and will make my teams in the future.

Bruce Wayne (Batman 202b) is a greater finesse piece than the TK+Perplex version. But Barrier+Outwit isn’t exactly useless. With some outside help to his range, he slowed down an enemy Captain America (Hammer of Thor) long enough to stop the first strike handily, then countered the Captain’s SP when it was time to neuter the flag-waver for good. A lock for the “Bruuuuce!” team.

Commissioner Gordon (Dark Knight Rises 027) was key with 18 Defend and Outwit, though it was hard to get the slow-moving guy into position to use them or to leverage his decent offensive skills beyond strictly support.

Demogoblin (Amazing Spider-Man 029) was the biggest disappointment of the weekend. Though he worked OK as a taxi for his Syndicate team, he never had any opportunities for either his special Energy Explosion (too much armor, or Mystics, or lack of clustered targets) or for his “Repent!” SP (Power Cosmic opponents). Worse, everyone treated him like a huge threat and either took him out in one turn or in ONE ATTACK. This demon’s goign back to Hell or wherever!

Electro (Amazing Spider-Man 021) seemed like he was going to break the game wide open, but he’s really not that scary at all. You have to pick between popping him from object to object or making a Penetrating Blast, or bouncing shots around via “Arc Lightning.” He was a key part of the Syndicate team, and he’ll be on future incarnations, but he’s not the anchor.

Emp (Streets of Gotham 037) helps his WildCATS work, nerfing foes for the likes of Maul and Warblade to smash and slash. I want to run him on a “little big planet” team of small-sculpted characters sometime.

Firestorm (Justice League New 52 009) was all set to Pulse Wave his mark and save his team, but I positioned where he could get based and he’s no good when based. I’m not sure if I’d ever use this Firestorm without his other half again.

Gabriel Jones (Infinity Challenge) is the prototypical early Leadership piece: dirt-stinkin’-cheap and incapable of anything else. He’s for swarm SHIELD teams only, which will need the extra actions.

GCPD Motorcycle [Autopilot] was on the Atrocitus team, so its taxi use was limited and its Barrier, unneeded. Still helped to get the likes of Robin into Charge range.

Grifter (Batman 012) was a victim of Atrocitus’ Battle Fury trait and thus was highly ineffective against him. He’ll be among the first I consider for a “trenchcoats” theme and, of course, he’s made for the WildCATs.

Hush (Batman 037a) landed a ton of Shape Changes, saving him from ranged shots and his Mastermind helped him last a long time against the Battle-Furious atrocity known as Atrocitus in his face. Another trenchcoated figure of note, his performance was one of the few high points in a losing effort and won’t be forgotten.

Moon Knight (Amazing Spider-Man 032) was the lone fig outside his ally Atrocitus’ Battle Fury zone and, with enough Full Moon rolls, was able to take shots at Hush above as a result. Fantastic piece (and one of Heroclixin’s needed remakes) that will make the next comic-accurate Secret Avengers team build I play!

Onomatopoeia (Streets of Gotham 029) if not for Atrocitus (again), he might’ve been a force. As it was, he lasted much longer than he had any right to. “TAK” is the sound of him hitting the play field again sometime, probably in a trenchcoat-and-twin-guns theme with a piece on my next Top Ten list coming Friday.

The Question (Streets of Gotham 015b) SHOULD be on this list, but I mistakenly played her on the Renee Montoya dial while using the Question trait without realizing! So look for her in a future installment.

Rhino (Amazing Spider-Man 020) benefited from enemies’ hatred of Demogoblin and was always able to make them pay either by outright Charging the crap out of them or getting in base with fellow Syndicates to share his 11AV. It’ll be hard not to run the Rhino on future teams!

Robin (Batman 017) was OK once he got to his target (being unable to be carried most of the time on the Atrocitus team). But he’s the last Robin I’ll consider, given his limited utility for the cost and the existence of better Robins out there. On the other hand, he’s different enough that perhaps it’s time to run another Boy Wonders squad with him on it!

Roy Raymond, Jr. (Batman 026) was intended to tie up Atrocitus and give his fellow trenchcoaters a chance with his Outwit and Outsiders. But Guyladkin the Lion ruined that plan quick with a six-roll on BCF. Still, I strangely like this dude. He’ll see action again.

Shocker (Amazing Spider-Man 002) was another key to the Syndicate, being the less threatening-looking shooter next to Demogoblin and Electro. He’ll vibe his way back on the map.

Voodoo (Batman 054) absolutely made her team run, giving them The Sight to get past the Super Senses their opponents absolutely relied upon, and making the occasion Mind Control to get enemies into or out of position. Much better than she looks on paper.

Wong (Amazing Spider-Man 023) wasn’t even good tie or a blocker most of the time, just filler to keep the sealed Syndicate team from being 40 points under. But the manservant of Dr. Strange did beat an enemy Blade silly with a pair of solid attack rolls. Would be nice if I’d dropped Demogoblin for Strange instead.

Warblade (Batman 043) was better than expected. His free Barrier was clutch in slowing down the enemy and he turned in a solid offensive performance. He’ll mostly only see action with fellow WildCATs. Hopefully an ATA is coming that’ll make that team a better prospect.

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WHEW. That’s a lot of first-time plays. After peeking at Token Totin’ Thursday, check back on Friday for a shortened Top Ten Favorites list for March.

More figures flushed out of the never-played status in a pair of solo games while I judged my venue’s “Black History Month” event, in which either half the build or half the number of clix had to be black. These were the teams I ran:

BLACK ANIMALS
Vixen (Streets)
Killer Croc (Streets)
Falcon (Cap)
Werewolf x2
Flock of Grey Bats x2
Catwoman (Unleashed)

vs

BLACK S.H.I.E.L.D.
Brother Voodoo
Sam Wilson
Nick Fury (Chaos War)
Nick Fury (Avengers Movie 035)
Rookie SHIELD Agent (Infinity Challenge)
Rookie Mandroid Armor
Spider-Man (Amazing 034)
Gabe Jones (Cap 103)

It would up being a narrow victory for SHIELD when they KO’d Croc in the last action while losing only Spidey and the Agent. But the Animals had put no fewer than three SHIELDS on their final clicks and all but one were wounded.
Then I played this:

BLACK AVENGERS
Luke Cage (Cap)
Dr. Voodoo
Black Panther (Avengers)
E Photon (Sinister)

vs.

HEROES FOR HIRE…well, mostly
Colleen Wing & Misty Knight (Amazing Spidey)
Power Man & Iron Fist (Secret Invasion)
Cloak & Dagger (Secret Invasion)
+ The Hand ATA

The duos, not being a themed team, got boned by losing map roll and having to play on a light-on-blocking-and-walls map. Exposed to ranged attacks (particularly, Dr. Voodoo’s armor-canceling SP), PM&IF didn’t last long. C&D were largely ineffective without much hindering terrain to snipe from. But Knightwing held off Doc, Cage and Photon longer than they deserved to. Meanwhile, Luke Cage was a boss, and Dr. Voodoo performed admirably to make Photon an even greater HSS threat than usual.
Then I had a rare evening game, in which I played the THIN BLUE LINE OF GOTHAM:
GCPD Cruiser
GCPD Officer (Batman)
Lucius Fox (DKR)
Batman & Nightwing
Arkham Guard (a)
Dr. Thomas Wayne

Went 2-1 with this team. If I’d remembered the GCPD Cruiser’s “Cuffed to the Bumper” Pilot ability in the sole loss, I would have prevented Spider-Man 2099 from fleeing and won that match, too (though it would’ve put me in the winners’ bracket against stiffer competition).
Piece-by-unplayed piece:

Killer Croc was solid enough, but I wish he had a better starting AV. He’s a (horribly mutated) black man, so he goes in the “black box” of black characters I’m collecting and will accompany Vixen on any future “black Animal” teams. But he’ll not be a frontrunner for even Batman Enemy squads.
Werewolf is a little bit broken. With enough Full Moon rolls, this 31-point piece just keeps going back to click #2 and won’t die. I’ll have to ensure one is on any Animal team I play.
Flock of Grey Bats was fine for its Poison tricks. Another cheap Animal to fill out themes or give Vixen another power.

Brother Voodoo being able to do free Mind Control two of every three turns is huge. Add his PC and Mystics and you’ve got one of the game’s best pieces right now. I’m using him next on a Heroes For Hire team, whenever we get those new ATAs.
Spider-Man (Amazing 034) didn’t impress, but I suspect this little piece has some hidden charms I wasn’t able to take full advantage of in this build. Still, he’s living in the tackle box for now.

Dr. Voodoo is OK, being a more straightfoward piece than the Brother. But the Prime piece is probably going to be my go-to choice in games where I’m not needing Avengers status.

Colleen Wing & Misty Knight, played with the Misty Knight half first, could’ve been much better on a better map for The Hand ATA. I will definitely play this piece again at this price point and click number, next on that Heroes For Hire team I mentioned.

GCPD Cruiser is every bit as torrid as I said, being able to carry a pretty weak team well.
GCPD Officer (Batman) was only the pilot for the car. I frankly still consider this an unplayed piece.
Lucius Fox (DKR) was surprisingly key for his Perplex and clutch Leadership rolls. Morgan Freeman is the man even in HeroClix, it seems.
Batman & Nightwing is priced like a tentpole but too fragile by far. I probably won’t be fielding this duo again, not with so many better choices for the points.
Arkham Guard (a) still hasn’t made a capture for me yet, but the sheer threat of it makes him effective as a decoy piece.
Dr. Thomas Wayne is a new candidate for Best Medic. Came very close to KOing the 160-point Spider-Man, too. Perhaps I’ll field the good Dr. again in that Combat Medics theme I’ve been wanting to play since Collateral Damage.

______

Welp, the weekend’s here, and it’s time for more figures to flush. Next week, you get to read about my team(s) for my venue’s Career Day event. Until then, have F.U.N. Heroclixin’!

This is actually going to be more of a straight-up battle report, as the 900-point Modern Age tourney I attended got me the chance to play a big Birds of Prey theme:

Big Barda (Batman) 148

Black Canary (Fast Forces) 100

Huntress (Fast Forces) 100

Hawk (Fast Forces) 100

Dove (Batman) 86

Katana (Batman) 76

Lady Shiva (Streets) 67

Lady Blackhawk (Fast Forces) 50

Oracle (Fast Forces) 50

and, wearing a maxed-out Utility Belt…

Oracle (10th Anniversary) 73

Wait…WHAT? Wasn’t this one of the Top Ten WORST pieces of 2012? Yes, it was. But the U.B. on this barely mobile support piece seemed the most F.U.N. approach to using it.

My basic strat was to use Lady Blackhawk to ferry Barda, Shiva, little Oracle and Canary to hindering patches in preparation for Boom Tubings. Big Oracle would use PC or Perplex or Outwit as needed from the starting area or a building somewhere (which wouldn’t be a problem thanks to a pair of Grapnel Guns on her Belt) with Katana acting as bodyguard. Hawk and Dove would back up Barda.

Here’s how it actually went down (all played on the Jotunheim mountain map):

1. Dan, my first opponent, was really green and blundered right into my attack. But I played a little too conservatively and got Dove killed before she could finish a near-dead Terrax. Also rather improbably missed four of five attacks in one turn on Ancient One, who slowed down my force from helping. Meanwhile, Dan had sent Gladiator pushing to one-shot 10th Oracle clear on my side of the map for the difference in the game. 0-1.
2. The very young Kai’s army of Haunted Tank, tons of Living Mummies and a pair of Franken-Castles were no match for my superior tactics. KO’d both his Spider-Girls (which were there just to grab LE The Zombie’s relic) and Franken-Castles for the win when time ran out. 1-1.
3. Ended with a victory against new but learning Dakota’s pair of Electros, The Mighty Avenger (fully Gauntleted), Baron Mordo, Big Barda, Ancient One and Man-Thing. He unwisely claimed the high ground, which put him in my swing range. I lost Black Canary but took Barda and both Electros for the clear difference. 2-1.

Had a lot of unplayed pieces in this team:

Black Canary (Fast Forces): Despite Barda ostensibly being the lead attacker, in each match it was Canary who actually made the first strike with her Running Shot + Pulse Wave combo. A fantastic piece that totally made this team work.

Huntress (Fast Forces) impressed much less, but that’s only because of the sheer firepower on the force. Running Shot + Willpower allowed her to press the attack more than once. I probably should have been much more aggressive with her than I was. I’m not totally sold on her as my go-to Huntress, but less likely to just trade/sell the piece away now.

Hawk (Fast Forces) IS my go-to version of the character. Great attack value and armor makes him the better partner to Dove (especially the 0 damage version I prefer).

Lady Shiva (Streets) was Big Barda’s passenger, the KO blow to Barda’s opening shot. Combat Reflexes + 18 DV made her a great tie-up piece to safeguard Barda post-Boom Tube. 

Lady Blackhawk (Fast Forces), along with her set-mate Oracle, was the engine of mobility for this team. Her super-taxi skills got Barda and Canary in range of attacking anyone for the early game, then ferried Dove in range for her combat skills in the thick of it.

Oracle (10th Anniversary) was on the team for the F.U.N. combo of her running the Utility Belt: Friendly because, well, it’s Oracle; Useful because of her “Eyes Are Everywhere” trait; and Nifty because much of it is quite character-accurate for Oracle’s long reach. I used the following items:

• Radar Monitor to leech enemy team abilities. Cracking enemy codes is totally something Oracle would do.
• Two (2) Grapnel Guns were to ensure she could get onto elevated terrain in a hurry if necessary. Oracle’s been known to use them to hoist herself to different levels of her Clock Tower in emergencies.
• Gas Pellets (planted on her team ahead of time to be remotely activated in need) were useful as a surprise contingency combined with her trait. Next time I try this Oracle+Belt combo, I need to double up on these!
• Two set of Batarangs, on the other hand, were NOT as needed nor as comic-accurate. I’ll drop ’em in a flash for Flash Grenades (natch!) or more Gas Pellets.

That wasn’t the only fun I had with the Utility Belt. Prior to the tourney, I had a quick fun game with some unplayed Spy pieces:

KGBeast

El Gaucho

Skrull Saboteur

and, cinching her business suit with a Utility Belt (OBVIOUSLY snatched from Bruce Wayne’s boudoir, so to speak), my #10 Favorite piece of 2012:

Miranda Tate

Unfortunately, the opponent was Blackheart and his two Hellfire Guards. The big bad demon kept siccing his Poison gargoyle on my team, drawing my fire over and over. I should’ve let it Poison Tate to her Outwit and then countered its Poison over and over.

The Belt’s stat boosts were a great help to a low-damage piece like Tate. I also got some use out of Gas Pellets, Batarangs and the Radar Monitor.

As for the never-played pieces on the team:

KGBeast was OK with his range but missed the one shot he got off before that stupid gargoyle tied him up and Poisoned.    He’s a bit too soft for the attacker he ought to be. I’ll keep him around for the Russian theme team I’ve been wanting to run (complete with accent to being used for each declared action, da?) but not beyond that.

Similarly, Skrull Saboteur spent most of the time tied by that same Gargoyle. A decent tie-up in his own right (thanks to Toughness), SS is more suited to range with his Energy Explosion. But he’s for Skrull teams or nothing, IMO.

Finally, El Gaucho was unable to effectively leverage his talents with the knife as he needed to get in close to deal with Blackheart and his Hellfire shields. He did OK, but played more like a 60-point piece rather than a 92-point one.

___

So I’m warming to the Utility Belt. It’s a dynamic little resource outside of the +1/+2 stuff. As you can see from this article, I’m still more focused on making it F.U.N. rather than powergamey. But that’s what you expect from Heroclixin’!

On Friday, just in time for Black History Month to be over, check out my reviews of a half-dozen black characters in the second half of Figure Flush Week Two.