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Feats have pretty much gone the way of the dodo outside of Golden Age games. As we look at the best, it becomes clear why WizKids scaled them back.

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#8 

avF001 lgF007

10 points. For a long time it was the only way to make Incapacitate a relevant power, due to Incap’s high cost for such little effect. This feat brought it into the limelight. Now, Stunning Blow is even better, allowing it to tack on regular damage on top of the penetrating variety available against pushed targets.

#7

muF100

5 points per character. This feat broke the game for a while there. Allowing a strong attacker nonstop actions round after round is beyond powerful.

#6.

lgF008

20 points. What blocked line of fire? So frustrating to play against, so good to use. WizKids tried to redo this concept in a more balanced fashion with 2009’s same-cost Elite Sniper back when feats were still legal in Restricted (the Modern Age of the day) but no one uses that card anymore if this one’s available.

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Feats as bad as #8 probably contributed to the mechanic’s demise:

muF002

6 points. So ineffective — it has a penalty of -1 AV, can’t affect foes with Charge, Multibases, and now, Combat Reflexes — and for what? To get enemies a few squares away, only for them to just base you again? You’d have better odds at just making a breakaway roll. Overcosted by half at least.

 #7

mmF007

15 points. It’s a great idea: Take a cheap shot at a foe (with an AV bonus!) to rile them up into doing something rash. Two problems, though. 1) It was easy for opponents to get around the Taunt effect by taking every other action possible, thus eliminating the feat’s ability to REALLY manipulate his actions. 2) The card’s too dang expensive to not have a guaranteed effect. Bleh.

#6

ioF007

20 points. This feat would’ve been great if it allowed the wildcard to still actually be a wildcard so that fellow wildcards could use the Siphoned TA. But to actually LOSE abilities while gaining more should cost a LOT LESS than 20 points.

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Tomorrow: Some of the very best and worst of the feats.

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Once upon a time in HeroClix, long before the game-warping reality of Relics and Special Powers and Resources, there were Feats.

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They’ve pretty much gone the way of the dodo — the last one released was the print & play Frog Legs way back in fall 2010. So Heroclixin’ is quite confident that this Top Ten list should be its definitive one on the subject.

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Heroclixin’ really tried to avoid ties this time, to the degree that great feats including Nova Blast and Nanobots got shoved off the list. But two 12-point feats refused to be ignored for the #10 spot:

mmF001

12 points. Because Regen still hasn’t been fixed and paints a bull’s eye on any piece that bears it, this feat is money on anyone with more than a click of the power.

(tie) Contingency Plan 

jlF007 

12 points. Another feat that made us take notice of a power — in this case, Leadership — that was just so much junk before. Its time is a bit past, now, but it’s still one of the best feats ever made.

#9. Fortitude

avF003

25 points. One sure way to deal with the threats of Outwit and Exploit Weakness turning your man of steel into such a dude of kleenex. One didn’t run a tentpole team without it in Golden Age — at least, not before the age of the Resource dial.

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Not all feats were good. Some were awful wastes of points. Here’s the #10 worst feat ever:

Large Object

lgF005

3 points per 100. The effect — trading object damage for attack bonus — was a good idea. It was the stupid cost scaling that makes it fail. Losing the damage output was enough. It would have topped the list had it been worded in non-optional language.

9. Tactics

svF005

20 points. I can’t think of this feat without hearing the Rurouni Kenshin closing credits song in the same name in my head. The card’s not absolutely terrible — it does gives Leadership another boost — but the cost is way high at 20 points. There are way better feats to use on the power.

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Tomorrow: More of the best and busts of the feats.

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The final “piece” in this “Top Ten” list of figures Heroclixin’ will miss in retirement is a whole team:

#1

Nextwave

Aaron Stack, Elsa Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, The Captain, Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men)

Equaling a perfect 500-point named keyword team, the Nextwave squad never really got on the field the way I wanted it to. Maybe it was the lack of good top-dial moving attack options in a game which still boasted, at the time, plenty of ranges 8 or longer. A pity that almost as soon as the support powers Outwit and Perplex, which could easily nerf Nextwave before, were themselves nerfed, Nextwave gets relegated to the pasture. Speaking of which, Nextwave didn’t have any of those support powers, either — not without taking a lot of damage. And even though the crew had a decent ATA, it was unusable on a full-power Nextwave themed team in Modern Age unless one doubled up on the weakest member to make a 600-point team.

Nextwave: Not Getting Played In Force Since Q1 2011.

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Retirement has a silver lining though, because this:

Nextwave

Aaron Stack, Elsa Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, The Captain, Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men)

The team with the Nextwave ATA added up to 525 points. Now that the team’s in Golden Age, we can throw on the full 50 points of Feats to make this a proper 600-point themed team at last!

First, spend 25 points on Warbound on all characters with the Nextwave keyword. This feat, which really kinda fits this close-knit team that’s more like a family, eliminates some of the movement/action challenges the squad has at this point level. The taxis, which are also the big hitters, can shunt tokens off to the cheaper passengers (only Tabby is too inexpensive for them to Warbound to). Or the cheaper ones, when finally in position to do something, can dump their tokens off to the others, as in this illustrative pic:

Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men 015) makes a close combat attack and uses Warbound to give the token to adjacent friendly character more than half her 58-point cost, Aaron Stack (Giant-Size X-Men 016). He then pushes to make a close combat attack of his own because he's Indomitable and can use Willpower. Tabby will be free next turn to act — say, setting her Timebombs in distant squares or just making a ranged attack, because no generic cop HeroClix figure is standing up after getting kicked for 3 damage twice in a row. (Dont' worry, it's OK, it's a BAD cop they're kicking.)

Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men 015) makes a close combat attack and uses Warbound to give the token to an adjacent friendly character more than half her 58-point cost, Aaron Stack (Giant-Size X-Men 016). He then pushes to make a close combat attack of his own because he’s Indomitable and can use Willpower. Tabby will be free next turn to act — say, setting her Timebombs in distant squares or just making a ranged attack, because no generic cop HeroClix figure is standing up after getting kicked for 3 damage twice in a row.
(Don’t worry, parents, it’s OK— it’s a BAD cop they’re kicking.)

That leaves 25 more points left for feats in the 10% allowed for feats. Each character’s gonna get one.

Monica!

Rambeau

Lacking Special Powers or Traits, she will microwave the buttocks off most of the newer figures in the game thanks to Not So Special giving her an AV boost against those that do have SPs. That’s 3 points. 22 to go.

Tabby!

TabbyCANwalk&chewgum

Her no-attack-roll-necessary SP only deals a low 1 or 2 damage. So feat her with Armor Piercing, which has always put teeth into multi-target Energy Explosion, which Tabitha (aka Boom Boom aka Meltdown) has in spades on her non-SP clicks to give foes the explodo with this clever use of 10 points.

Aaron!

aaronstack

The robotic hero full of useful devices and sock-drawer-organizing skills would have the Inside Information on other Avengers, Heavy Metal, Nextwave, Robot, S.H.I.E.L.D., and West Coast Avengers-keyworded foes for a healthy AV boost against them for just 4 more points. Play it!

Elsa!

Elsa

The English-accented monster hunter can further her monster hunting ways with the 3-point Monster Hunter feat.

The Captain!

captain-avenger

In an appropriately gonzo sort of way, Alias is actually a pretty fitting feat for a guy who’s called himself just about every Captain [insertwordhere] in the Marvel Universe. Gameplay-wise, as he’s liable to lead the charge with his Impervious hide and potential Outwit/Perplex immunity, it gives him a little protection.

Feat total comes to 48 points, 2 under the cap, bringing the team to 573.

So let’s put a Resource on Aaron Stack, who, as noted before, is full of very useful devices approximating the powers of a half-complete Infinity Gauntlet:

  • Soul Gem (or “Death to fleshy ones!”)
  • Power Gem (Close Combat Expert on early dial. Range Combat Expert on 2nd half)
  • Space Gem (using extendible arms to Carry pals and stride past foes with his extendible legs akin to giants)

And, of course, his time with the Celestials means he can access robot godhood … eventually.

The most useful aspect of a Gauntlet on Aaron is the early Telekinesis he offers the team. He is the pilot of Nextwave’s ship, the Shockwave Rider, after all.

Finally, some Battlefield Conditions will round things out:

  • Mistrust. Nextwave have no team symbols to share, so they’re unaffected by this card. (And, as noted before, Nextwave is Love.)
  • Overconfidence. There’s no Perplex on the team, either, unless Aaron picks it later via Gauntlet (Assuming he’s not actually complete and utter ****). Conversely (because I may not actually have the above card in my collection anymore) I could use White Noise because, again, I have virtually no Outwit on the team.
  • Extraordinary Day. This just fits Nextwave’s penchant for **** and **** and people getting kicked. ESPECIALLY PEOPLE GETTING KICKED.
  • There’s also Debris. The Captain and Aaron both start with Super Strength, so it might be worth having a bunch more objects to use.

598 points. Can’t wait to try this out!

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Next week: back to regular features.

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Mourning in earnest now, even though I should be celebrating what remains of my freedom on this Independence Day here in America:

4

_Adv252AQThink-thumb

Aquaman (DC 75th Anniversary)

Overshadowed by my REAL favorite Aquaman (from Brightest Day), this one will still be missed for his high natural damage and water-based powers — especially now that there are a few more pieces that can grant water even on dry maps. In Golden Age, he’s liable to be crowded out by much better Atlantis pieces like the BD version and Secret Invasion Namor. Alas.

#3

Brightest_Day_17_Firestorm

Firestorm (Brightest Day)

Another one of those pieces I just wish I’d played more. His lack of any viable keywords did that damage, and will likely continue to.

#2

CommanderRogers Secret_Warriors_Vol_1_11

(tie) Steve Rogers (Captain America 031)

Gorgon (Captain America 046)

Steve is leader of my personal-fave theme Secret Avengers, which I got to finally play as a complete Modern Age team just ONCE before retirement. (I’ll tell you about it someday.) Now, the Black Widow, Beast and Steve Rogers clix used for the team are retired.

But while I can sub in any one of three decent versions of Natasha (Avengers Movie 007, 035 or The Covert Avenger) or the Fast Forces Beast (inferior though he be), Steve Rogers is the super soldier in a specific role and place in time…Cap with no red-white-and-blue shield, but a pistol. He’s not going to be remade, not with Nick Fury Jr. running the black ops Avengers now (and wearing the above uniform). Commander Rogers is forever retired.

(sniff) It’s like Cap dying all over again.

Then there’s Gorgon, this wicked, wicked Secret Warriors villain whose clix figure fascinated me. Of all the pieces on this list, he’s the one that’s somehow become a favorite anyway.

I think it’s because I like samurai swords.

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Retirement leads to joy as well:

hellfireguard 200px-Leech-first

(tie) Hellfire Club Guard (Giant-Size X-Men 004)

Leech (Giant-Size X-Men 026)

Both these pieces were hell to deal with if you weren’t prepared for them. The Guards in particular really mucked up the works because characters barely associated with the club in question gained huge dividends from it. Anyone who’s fought a GSX Magneto gets this. Leech, on the other hand, was an equal opportunity nerf stick, with an area of effect that was at least two squares too wide IMO.

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Tomorrow: the conclusion. (There may be another tie.)

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From Modern Age to Golden Age go these, with regret:

6

Scorpion

Scorpion (Captain America 032)

She was one of those figs I kinda liked but could never commit to a team. Did she belong on Hydra? SHIELD? Plus she was a little mediocre in general. But she makes the list for being one of those pieces I wish I’d played more.

 

#5

Sentinels
Sentinel Mark V (Giant-Size X-Men G09)

This was the best of the GSX Sentinels. They’re all decommissioned for Modern Age now, replaced with the far-inferior Chaos War variety. Poor Master Mold stinks even more.

 

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Retirement’s not ALL bad, though, because of figs like this:

rorschach-unmasked

Rorschach (Watchmen Crimebusters Fast Forces 001)

Similar to yesterday’s mort, this Rorschach ONLY saw play in Modern Age games because the main Watchmen set version was every bit as good, maybe better, for 18 points less. Now that both are Golden, you’ll never use this one.

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Tomorrow: Three more.

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Retirement stinks. This time, these sets get the axe from Modern Age:

  • Brightest Day
  • DC 75th Anniversary
  • Giant-Size X-Men
  • Green Lantern Movie
  • Green Lantern Movie Fast Forces
  • Captain America
  • Watchmen Crimebusters Fast Forces
  • Warriors of Asgard Fast Forces
  • Street Fighter

Not counting any pieces among my favorites for their respective years of release — because OF COURSE I’ll miss seeing them in Modern Age — there’s a definite list of figs that I’m sorry to see go. Here are numbers 8 and 7.

8

kilowog_fs 

Kilowog (Green Lantern Movie 008)

It took a LONG time to get a Modern Age Kilowog back in the game. Far too soon, he’s gone again, with no new one in sight. It’s a far cry from 2011, when the game was LOUSY with Green Lanterns galore.

So while he sorta serves as proxy for all the other GLs phasing out, this Kilowog gets the sorrowful wave goodbye for being my favorite of the lot. (Salaak nearly got the slot.)

#7

Deejay
Dee Jay (Street Fighter)

Like the ‘Wog, this happy kickboxing Jamaican represents the whole Street Fighter crew, being my favorite. I never played him half as much as I wanted to, though — he just gets crowded off the highly competitive keyword teams he fits, Celebrity and Martial Artist. Golden Age may help him as he can equip the Lunge feat to combine with the SF TA for a five-square reach for a jump-in light 2-damage attack.

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Retirement’s not ALL bad, though, because of figs like this:

Synthia_'Sin'_Schmidt

Sin (Captain America 209)

At 80 points with mediocre stats, a trait requiring a Golden Age figure to activate AND a 23-points-cheaper version in the same set, there was almost no earthly reason to use this piece in Modern Age. Now, at least, she’ll see some use on Hydra teams unless there’s a cheaper, better version available like Sin (Fear Itself 009) Crossbones .

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Tomorrow: Three more.

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Another July, another round of retirement. This time, these sets get the axe from Modern Age:

  • Brightest Day
  • DC 75th Anniversary
  • Giant-Size X-Men
  • Green Lantern Movie
  • Green Lantern Movie Fast Forces
  • Captain America
  • Watchmen Crimebusters Fast Forces
  • Warriors of Asgard Fast Forces
  • Street Fighter

Not counting any pieces among my favorites for their respective years of release — because OF COURSE I’ll miss seeing them in Modern Age — there’s a definite list of figs that I’m sorry to see go.

And a corresponding list of figs that couldn’t get to Golden Age fast enough for my taste.

Let it begin. Let it begin!

10

Angel

Angel (Giant-Size X-Men 031)

There was a time when Angel’s full-speed Charge and taxi skills for such a low price were rather attractive. Alas, his time quickly passed. Worse, it seems that the upcoming X-Men set won’t feature a feather-winged Warren Worthington III. Sorry to see this one go.

#9

gatecrasher_large
Gatecrasher (Giant-Size X-Men 037)

This intergalactic momma also never quite got her moment to shine in Modern Age, despite the copious early Perplex and some pushability. She’s surprisingly unfeatworthy, so Golden status isn’t her forte, either.

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and one on the crap list:

WLFLASH

Flash (DC 75th Anniversary W-7)

Once the cream cheese of pieces, this high-dollar fig has lost the arms race in a big way. Getting him to GA is almost a mercy. See ya, don’t wanna be ya…

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Tomorrow: Three more.

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Last month’s Top Ten looked at the powers and abilities themselves. But now we’re looking at former loser pieces that actually might see a little use, and a few that were okay but now are much better, and maybe one or two that go from pretty good to top tier.

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 Stranger (Galactic Guardians 043)

His only real weakness before was a low AV for his over-200 price. Now, with RCE/CCE, that’s handled. Also, he has access to the new pink powers of Sidestep, Precision Strike, Invincible, or Empower enabling him to, respectively, get a tad of free movement either before or after attack, , make his attacks stick, minimize the penetrating damage foes throw at him, or boost teammates in melee.

He’s only #4 because he was already quite good and the change still won’t propel him to top tier.

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Nomad (Captain America 016)

Before, his Energy Explosion was a total waste. Now he’s dealing the 3 damage AND the splash damage. Later, he picks up Close Combat Expert to help his punching, and Incap grants still more options. All of a sudden this former loser appears to have quite a bit more going for him than just Running Shot and Willpower — enough to make him the #3 Most Improved despite just 4 range and no keywords.

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Ken (Street Fighter 021)

Every single click has an improved power. On click #1 alone he can use the improved Force Blast to pushback with a fireball. Or SP Quake to clear crowds and move for free. Or pump his AV +1 or 2 in close against a single target. Then there’s RCE on the alternating clicks.

Ryu (020) is the same, but Ken gets the #2 slot for being 10 points cheaper and having the additional Quake power.

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Maul (Batman 024)

He made the Worst of 2012 list, deservedly so. But with the change to Close Combat Expert, his one crippling weakness, a terrible late-dial AV, is GONE. So push him with abandon, happily boosting his AV to double digits as he smashes with objects (thus keeping his damage value at 4 or higher). Sure, opponents might try to counter the SP, but they’d also be leaving his defense alone and shrinking him from giant size to boot. This piece is definitely the one that goes from zero to hero in a big way.

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I’m sure there’s some I forgot or overlooked, especially since I used my own “Worst of” lists as my starting point before expanding to pieces like Ryu and Ken who weren’t bad before but just had their whole dials upgrade. What are YOUR picks for Most Improved?

 

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Last month’s Top Ten looked at the powers and abilities themselves. But now we’re looking at former loser pieces that actually might see a little use, and a few that were okay but now are much better, and maybe one or two that go from pretty good to top tier.

Numbers seven through five:

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Element Lad (Arkham Asylum 037)

One of the more powerful Legionnaires in the comics, Element Lad’s HeroClix representation is based on his WEAKEST version from the comics, with a dial to match. Fortunately, the 2013 rules give him a little boost.

Double Incap is fine, now that that power’s been given some teeth. Barrier is also fine. But his 4 range on his SP — two LESS than his printed 6 — is NOT FINE. Still, in a game where Smoke Cloud has new meaning, it’s nice to be able to disperse it for free. Legion Lost ATA can get around the lame 9-or-lower AV if you’re playing a Legion-only team.

Element Lad has gone from that one Legion piece you’d probably leave off even from an “Every Single Legionnaire In HeroClix” team to one to consider. Enough to get to #7.

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Iron Man (Chaos War Fast Forces 001)

Actually, the non-flying Iron Man only rates as improved on his Alter Ego dial. Tony Stark (Chaos War) can switch to a click with anti-Stealth, Force Blast and Ranged Combat Expert — AND you can move him 3 squares free upon transformation. If you pair him with any Avenger-keyword piece over 41 points, you can keep him from being one-shot (due to the SP “stop” click) and Regen back to that fantastic AE starting line.

He’d be higher on the list if not dependent on the Stark figure, whose singular contribution of Outwit is much less useful in the modern game. Still enough to rate #6.

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Mandarin (Avengers 061)

Before, his Outwit was something of a liability, wasting his 12 range. Now he’s in a small club of figs that can counter from that far out. Too bad he must push to use his full roster of SP-granted powers: Energy Explosion, Incapacitate, Mind Control, Barrier, Force Blast, Quake, Smoke Cloud, and Telekinesis, most of which improved. Fortunately, he can use either Barrier or Mind Control to make that push worth doing.

Still not really a winning figure but definitely better. It’s #5 on the list.

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 Let’s wrap this up: Numbers four, three and two forthcoming.

 

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Last month’s Top Ten looked at the powers and abilities themselves. But now we’re looking at former loser pieces that actually might see a little use, and a few that were okay but now are much better, and maybe one or two that go from pretty good to top tier.

Grey Gargoyle (Secret Invasion)

Hobbled with a barely usable power set (thanks, Masters of Evil TA and the crap AVs that go with you all too often), this 2008 piece, had I been doing a Worst Of list back then, would have made the top 3 easily. It’s a little better now.

The new minimum 4 range on Barrier makes his SP version that only works in hindering usable at last. Combined with his new ability to set objects down with Super Strength, he might actually be able to make a useful shield sometime. His full dial of Incap also means he might be able to keep a target locked down perpetually (since the MoE TA allows him to act without stopping).

Of course, that horrible AV means using Incap is still a total waste most of the time, so Barrier for up to 4 straight turns is probably the better move.

Finally, the Fear Itself figure Mokk might make this piece see some use due to the former’s “Revert” trait. But unless you just HAVE to get the Masters of Evil TA, you’d probably just be better off sticking with Mokk’s far superior stats.

GG here is at the bottom of the list because while he’s much improved, he’s still one of the worst figs in the game.

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 Songbird (Hammer of Thor 037)

She starts with Running Shot + Force Blast for knockback ability and double-target Incap. But it’s her mid-dial RCE with decent damage that moves her up from mediocre to…well…less mediocre. Use with the Thunderbolts ATA for best results, I think. She’s #9.

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Ocean Master (DC 75th Anniversary 027)

With the range for his only-in-the-water Prob Control shriveling like a jellyfish on a hot beach, one wonders how Orm here got any better. Well, it means he’s more likely to use the REST of his powers, maybe — namely his Force Blast and Mind Control. Not exactly a winner — his range is still just 3, after all, one LESS than the minimal 4 for MC — but he’s more useful and much less the one-trick pony. #8 on the “Got Better” list.

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Numbers seven through five tomorrow.