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Some time ago, I previewed this team in a F.U.N. Friday installment:

Morgan Le Fay (Chaos War) 122
Crystal (Chaos War) 105
Black Widow (Avengers Movie) 50
+ Iron Man Briefcase 12
+ Secret Avengers ATA 10
=299 points.

Here’s how it did.

Versus Cleveland’s CW Iron Man, Amadeus Cho, Ka-Zar and GF Dr. Strange on the Prison map, my failure to hit, well, anything, pretty much sealed my loss. That and me completely forgetting to use Morgan’s +2 suPerplex! What?!?

Did better in the next game against Tim’s one-man-army of Thanos (Galactic Guardians 049) on the Gotham Narrows. His bad clutch rolls helped me survive just long enough to maintain offensive ability. I think I still forgot Morgan’s suPerplex.

Piece-by-piece:

Morgan Le Fay: She’s a hoss. With her ability to make herself a hard shot either in close or at range as needed, and her suPerplex for fellow Avengers, and her wildcardness, she’s a highly versatile light tentpole. Her weakness is a great top click that you just don’t want to push off. I used her again in a sealed game (went 2-1) and I’ll play her next on a Pet Lovers theme team with Brightest Day Aquaman, DC75 Wonder Woman and Squirrel Girl, among others.

Crystal: Starting with great Running Shot + Psychic Blast ability, she’s a great threat upfront, until she pushes. Then she’s just mean. Super-Quake from range makes her a threat in all kinds of unrivaled ways. She’s very difficult to defend against; if not for her decidedly average numbers, she’d be a contender for the ranks of broken figures. I’ll always use her on an Inhumans team (did so recently, actually…look for a Battle Report on that in a week) and, perhaps, just for her own sake. This is a great F.U.N. piece.

Black Widow: Unlike the last time I ran her, this time the Takedown SP came into play quite a bit. If I’d remembered Morgan’s +2 Perplex, she might’ve gotten some more hits in. Black Widow (any version) is a favorite character of mine, so there’s little doubt she’ll find a spot on a future team.

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Some stuff in this game just ain’t fun.

You know the stuff. The powergamer pieces that represent an arms race to ever-more-broken game effects and keep you from playing that ridiculous “Clix With Serious Tail” team-up of Squirrel Girl and Tigra and Beast Boy and Hellboy you’ve been wanting to play. Or that keep you reaching for the same 20 efficient figures because you don’t want to get dragged EVERY week by the other players doing the same.

Ziran the Tester is chief among offenders in this regard.

I suck your fun out with my hands. MY HANDS!

There are a lot of characters and game elements that can punish opponents with solid power combos, huge damage numbers, ease of attacking and staunch defenses. There aren’t many that punish opponents equally for building such into their team or largely leaving same OFF.

Pretty much any team that could conceivably pass all his tests won’t have a prayer of dealing with his Multi-Attacking 13 AV, 5 damage and 20 Impervious first click. Conversely, any team actually built to take on a powerful colossal like him might have its key players nerfed or dead before the game even starts, because said team is unlikely to pass all (or any!) of the tests.

In order to pass them all, a team has to meet these conditions on the opening click:

  1. -Smoke Cloud: No colossal-killing team is going to waste points on this power.
  2. -Force Blast: Same here. It’s just not a power that appears often on powerful pieces.
  3. -Battle Fury: There’s a chance that this might show on a 600-plus team. But it’s not one to build around.
  4. -Energy Explosion: Same here. It’s a power that just kinda shows up and is rarely used by tough figs.
  5. -Mind Control: Trying to MC a big colossal is pretty suicidal. It’s unlikely to be on a team that can fight one.
  6. -5 Team Abilities: With ATAs and multiple team symbols on characters, this condition is easier to meet than others. But by itself it won’t be nearly enough. And if you’re playing a themed team? Forget it!
  7. -5 figures costing 50 points or less: A true colossal-fighting team might have a cheap “pit crew” of supporters to meet this test. Might. But that’s around 200 points of  non-fighting power you can’t really afford to build to face this sort of monster.
  8. -5 Unique rings: With Uniques far less common in the post-REV era, this one could be a bust. It’s certainly not a prerequisite for battling colossals anymore.And really — needing FIVE of all these things? At 600 points, that’s really tough! If I weren’t the F.U.N. guy (emphasis on the F, for Fellowship), I’d want to slap the guy who came up with this requirement.
  9. -Enhancement: This cheap power is actually likely to make it onto a colossal-kill squad, although it’s a little rare. Better hope you get tested on this!
  10. -Leadership: Similarly, Leadership tends to show up on a lot of opening clicks and on a number of tough pieces. 
  11. -Support: It’s not nearly the must-have power it used to be, and healers are kinda rare. 
  12. -Defend: Similarly, top-dial Defend pieces are a little soft to go against the likes of Ziran. A colossal-hunting team needs to be about maximum offense.

Here’s one of the only Modern Age teams that is guaranteed to pass:

Hawkgirl (Brightest Day) (Battle Fury)
Major Glenn Talbot (Incredible Hulk) +  Hulkbusters ATA  (Enhancement, Unique #1, <50pts #1, TA #1)
Empath (Giant-Size X-Men) (MC, <50pts #2, TA #2)
Sgt. Rock (DC 75th Anniversary) (Defend, Leadership)
Astral Dr. Strange (Galactic Guardian 014b) (Smoke Cloud, <50pts #3)
Agent Coulson (Avengers Movie) (Unique #2, <50pts #4, TA #3)
Tarot  (Giant-Size X-Men) (Unique #3, <50pts #5)
S.H.I.E.L.D. Specialist (Captain America) (Support)
Bob, Agent of Hydra (Captain America) (Energy Explosion, Unique #4, TA #4)
Adam Warlock (Galactic Guardian 032) (Unique #5, TA #5)
GCPD Riot Officer (Dark Knight Rises 011a) (Force Blast)

599 points of “Yay.” This team barely has a chance a dealing any damage to Ziran, much less winning.

So what’s a Heroclixin’ fan to do, knowing that in any game of 600 points or higher this colossal killjoy might show up to spoil your F.U.N.?

Answer: Boost the U-factor (Utility and Usefulness) of your otherwise Friendly and Nifty team with the 33-point Donald Blake (Chaos War).

Not only does the good doctor pass one of the tests (Support) and possibly two more (below 50 points, possible ATA), but he also can either A) heal up victims of Ziran’s test penalties or B) absorb  4 of the 6 clicks Ziran doles out upon complete test failure, leaving your more important figures barely hurt, if at all.

Thus Ziran’s effect on your game is blunted. Of course, you’ve still got one of the most powerful colossals in the game to contend with, but at least you’re not at half-strength from the get-go!

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This is a bit of a sneak peek at what I’ll be writing for much of October, the Halloween month. ‘Cause there’s a lot more in HeroClix to be scared of!

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The Scenario: 300 points of nothing but Alter Egos.

My F.U.N. team: Bruuuuuce!

Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight Rises 202) 80
Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight Rises 003) 60 + Alias 3
Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk 002) 55
Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk 202) 50
Bruce Banner (Avengers Movie 002) 40
+ Iron Man Briefcase 12
= 399 points, plus, of course, alter egos Batman (Dark Knight Rises 201), The Dark Knight (Dark Knight Rises 001), Hulk (Incredible Hulk 001, 043, 201 and Avengers Movie 014 and 202).

FIRST I faced a team of all A.I.Marines, one fitted with a full Gauntlet. That made all my Outwit useless down the stretch, leading to a loss after I rather overconfidently left the 80-point Bruce open to ranged shots (it was the Bridge map) and forcing me to Mastermind damage without being able to effectively retaliate from range myself.

In the SECOND round, I picked Bizarro World against another largely A.I.Marine crew led by General Thunderbolt Ross (Incredible Hulk 208). His Air Strike did little but get me to AE clicks faster. But again my lack of range denied me a lot of attacks, and the few I made were theme-Probbed into misses — and another loss.

FINALLY, I faced an assortment of AEs: Donald Blake, Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk 002), Matt Murdock, General Thunderbolt Ross 029, Rick Jones on Bizarro World again. This time I had figured out how to get the lines of fire I needed. Unfortunately, I got too aggressive with the 40-point Bruce and lost him before transformation, costing me that match as well.

Piece-by-piece:

  • Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight Rises 202): The one piece I’d never run and the tentpole of the team, big Bruce was my main offensive threat with Outwit and 10 AV. He could also Mastermind damage to pals. I depended too much on that in my first game when I should’ve trusted his Batman Ally TA instead. I found myself in an unexpected quandary in the late game more than once: his damage value is HIGHER on his first AE click than on the Batman 201 piece. It was a tough decision to give that up to switch!
  • Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight Rises 003) 60 + Alias 3: His 18 DV + Defend kept me in the first match longer than I had any right to after my non-use of the bigger Bruce’s TA. Never switched to AE, thanks to forgetting to use Alias to possibly avoid a one-turn KO.
  • Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk 002): His Perplex was badly needed by this low-AV, low damage team. But of all the team, this Bruce was the first one to AE every time. Worse, my opponents had little problem rolling doubles to KO Hulk 043 in the first two rounds before he could land a single attack. Disappointing.
  • Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk 202): Yet another Outwitter for the team, this Bruce had the advantage of being able to auto-AE once hit. Unfortunately, Hulk 201 missed his must-land attack (thanks to multiple theme rerolls) and got perforated on the next turn with ease.
  • Bruce Banner (Avengers Movie 002): never got to switch in either Hulk…always KOed too soon or just too late to get to the clicks.

Simply put, this team was just plain outgunned. I’d like to try a different build in the future when we have a new Bruce Wayne to add, or one where I can field the force-shielded Bruce Banner (Incredible Hulk 101) for a little more offensive oomph. But I probably ought to keep “Bruuuuce” on the sidelines for tournaments and save it for friendly home games only.

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Played this 600-point theme in a 4-way about four weeks back.

Thundra (Incredible Hulk) 88
Medusa (Incredible Hulk) 82
Spider-Woman (Chaos War 037) 82
Invisible Woman (Chaos War) 80
Wasp (Chaos War 030) 77
Scarlet Witch (Chaos War) 75
Tigra (Chaos War) 57
Wasp (Fast Forces) 50

=591 points. Won map and picked the Dawn of Time with Time Zones, facing a Star Trek Away Team with the LE Mr. Fantastic and Avengers Black Panther to fill points; a New 52 squad anchored by Hawkman, two Green Arrows and some JL Dark folk; and a Hand crew complete with ATA.

Here’s how the figures shook out:

Thundra (Incredible Hulk): Racked up the early kills with KOs of an Arrow and Hawkman (her marked man) in succession. Telekinesis helps her a great deal. She might’ve done even better if not for a late-game misplay pitting her against not one, but TWO figs with Exploit Weakness.

Medusa (Incredible Hulk): The Inhuman queen hardly did more than get an occasional Leadership roll (always apart from her underlings) and take damage. Landed on her glorious Flurry+Blades clicks only to miss badly and get KO’d. A royal disappointment that I hope fares better when I one day run her with her taciturn mate, Black Bolt.

Spider-Woman (Chaos War 037): Her Pheromones SP is clutch. Unlike, say Perplex, which goes away with damage, her stat-modding ability lasts all round. She very much aided Thundra’s early production.

Invisible Woman (Chaos War):  Came soooo close to getting that free heal trait to work. Darn my inattentive placement of Spider-Woman…!

Wasp (Chaos War 030): When this piece showed in the 2012 World Champion match, I was both gratified and unsurprised. She’s fragile as all get out — I lost her in 2 light hits — but can really swing a game your way. I must’ve landed six straight Super Senses rolls. It’s just a shame that she spent virtually 75% of the game tied up by White Tiger and couldn’t back up the rest of my team for the 25% that mattered.

Scarlet Witch (Chaos War): TK, Perplex, PC and Mystics made her the perfect support role player of the ladies. Even her inability to fly proved useful. Expect to see her in a Top Ten list in the future.

Tigra (Chaos War): Her low DV keeps her from absolutely buzzsawing through any game she’s in, including this one. She still racked up more than her point cost tonight.

Wasp (Fast Forces): My mobile Perplex, then Outwit piece. Definitely needed by this sisterhood dealing all-too-ladylike light damage.

_____

This was a F.U.N. team for sure, with enough juice to challenge all teams — I actually had traction against all thrre other forces — yet with the obvious Neat theme and no unFriendly elements.

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I’m part of the judge staff at Dragon*Con this year, and I might be called upon to play a bye round in the event of uneven pairings.

Here’s what I’d play in the final event “Trials of Dragon*Con”:

(1-25) Checkmate Pawn (Black) 25
(26-50) Catwoman (Unleashed) 50
(51-100) Luke Cage (Cap America) 98
(101-150) Monica Rambeau (Giant-Size X-Men) 139
(151-200) Crispus Allen 197
(201-250) Apocalypse (Mutations & Monsters) 250
(251+) Iron Man/War Machine 300

And that wraps up my Dragon*Con bye round teams. Stay tuned to Heroclixin’s battle reports to see which, if any, actually got played and how they did.

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I’m part of the judge staff at Dragon*Con this year, and I might be called upon to play a bye round in the event of uneven pairings.

Here’s what I’d play in the 400-point “Dragon of Dragon*Con” tournament:

Black Rider 100
One of the Nine 100
Ringwraith 100
Servant of Sauron 100
= 400 points, plus the “dragon” Sauron himself!

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I’m part of the judge staff at Dragon*Con this year, and I might be called upon to play a bye round in the event of uneven pairings.

Here’s what I’d play around 9 AM in the 400-point modern Age named keyword tournament:

Vision (Chaos War 100) 185
Giant-Man (Chaos War) 75
Hawkeye (Avengers Movie 208) 65
Sharon Carter 45
Mockingbird 25
+ X-Kryptonite 5
= 400 points, plus all four sideline Morph pieces for Pym.

 

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As I said Thursday, I’m part of the judge staff at Dragon*Con this year, and I might be called upon to play a bye round in the event of uneven pairings.

Here’s what I’d play around 6 PM in the 500-point Star Trek tournament:

U.S.S. Defiant 100
U.S.S. Excelsior 150
U.S.S. Hood 100
U.S.S. Enterprise-A 75
U.S.S. Equinox 75
= 500 points. The rules require either all-Federation or all Klingon, and I’ve played all my I.K.S. ships. So it’s the Feds’ turn!

 

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I’m part of the judge staff at Dragon*Con this year, and I might be called upon to play a bye round in the event of uneven pairings. I’ve pre-posted my potential teams for each event for your vicarious weekend reading pleasure.

Here’s one of the GREAT teams I’d play in the 1 PM 300-point Golden Age tournament:

THE GREAT TEN

August General In Iron 100
Ghost Fox Killer 68
Accomplished Perfect Physician 51
Seven Deadly Brothers 30
Seven Deadly Brothers 30
+ Yellow Lantern 5
+ Indigo Lantern 5
= 299 points. BFCs: Alpha Strike, Ordinary Day, Disbanded

-OR-

GREAT LAKES AVENGERS

Deadpool (Web of Spider-Man) 158
Squirrel Girl 59
Doorman 45
Dinah Soar 25
+ Great Lakes Avengers ATA 12
= 299 points. BFCs: Ordinary Day, Armor Wars, Infiltration. Plenty of F.U.N. factor, here.

 

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There’s also the “Court of Owls” game at 600 points at the same 1 PM time. Here’s my team:

The Dark Knight (Collateral Damage) 100
Batman (Fast Forces) 100
Batman (Crisis) 90
The Bat-Man (Superman) 81
Batman (DC 75) 77
Batman (Dark Knight Rises 201) 75
Batman (Arkham Asylum) 64
+ Yellow Lantern 5
+ Red Lantern 5
=597 points. It’s actually a “highlander-friendly” Batman team, with each being a different character: “The Dark Knight Returns'”over-the-hill Bruce Wayne, New 52 Wayne, Jean-Paul Valley, Thomas Wayne, Dick Grayson, movie Bruce Wayne, and Terry McGinnis.

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As I said Thursday, I’m part of the judge staff at Dragon*Con this year, and I might be called upon to play a bye round in the event of uneven pairings.

Here’s what I’d play in the 9 AM 600-point Modern Age tournament:

AQUAMAN & FAM

Aquaman (Superman) 156 + Flashpoint ATA 4
Aquaman (Justice League) 111
Aquaman (DC 75th Anniversary) 106
Aquaman (Brightest Day) 105
Ocean Master 65
Mera (Justice League) 51
= 598 points. F: It’s AQUAMAN. How beast could it be? U: Pretty tough, actually. Enough to threaten many teams at the cost and one that actually benefits a bit from certain characters taking the KO. N: Atlantis teams are one of my favorite things to play in this game, and it’s been too long since the last one.

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There’s also the “Other Age” game at 500 points at the same 9 AM time. Here’s my team:

General RAAM 151
Dee Jay 75
Aragorn 75
Master Chief & Cortana 150
Lt. Hikaru Sulu 40
=491 points. I figure all the “other” ages ought to be represented on the team! Unfortunately, barring a last-moment ruling, the Star Trek Away Team won’t be allowed as it came too late to be included in the tournament rules setup. And I haven’t gotten mine yet, anyway.