Avengers 60 is in pre-release phase as this publishes. But thanks to the PRE-prerelease at HeroClix for Huntington’s in Huntsville about a month back, we have gotten a look at the entire set earlier than usual — including the legacy cards! So here’s our customary review.
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In principle, legacy cards are a F.U.N. way to bring some old pieces back into Modern/Silver play, rework some old figs that never really worked right before — or don’t anymore due to rule changes).
In practice? Well, let’s see.
As usual, we’ll look back at what this figure used to do THEN when it was new, before looking how it’s updated NOW and considering if it’s F.U.N. But starting this set, I’m getting personal and talk about ME: Do I even want this one?
By set number:
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L003 Ant-Man
(Age of Ultron, 2015)
THEN: With pretty average stats for both his 100- and 50-point cost, AOU Ant-Man’s value came from his SP giving him Charge (good with his printed Exploit), Sidestep and Stealth — along with the power to make an adjacent normal-sized pal into a giant or a fellow tiny for a turn. Also, back then Tiny Size figs were allowed to be carried along with a standard passenger. Finally, he had the “Morph: Many Identities” trait shared with nearly a dozen other Hank Pym characters in that set, where he could swap in and out with the Pyms. Not bad for Avengers and Scientist themes.
NOW: He cuts both price lines in half — but it’s no longer morphin’ time, as that complex trait is lost. Instead he gets “Shrink Out of the Way,” a Sideline trait that swaps him in the place of a Wasp, Hank Pym or Giant-Man thatwould be KO’d. His SP is unchanged because it was great already. He adds Illuminati to his keywords. It must also be mentioned here that he still has the Avengers team ability, which gets a massive upgrade in this set: Instead of just +1 to MOVE (as the TA has been since 2017) or MOVEs not counting against actions (as when this fig was new in 2015), at game’s start, you can pick an enemy team ability and get a +1 AV when targeting that TA.
F.U.N.? It will depend on if any of his alter egos are competitive. But from where I’m sitting, he looks like big F.U.N. for such a little guy.
AM I GETTING THIS? I still have a couple of these figs and Ant-Man is one of the characters I want to collect every version of. So yes.
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L008b Ms. Marvel
(Secret Invasion, 2008)
THEN: Once upon a time, in the pre-NECA days, she ruled the meta with her Exfiltration SP: Hypersonic Speed, Stealth and Plasticity with 4 printed damage, Super Strength and then-default-10-range Outwit. Though she cratered a lot if hit just once, getting that hit was tough because in 2008, Stealth was VERY difficult to handle and HSS even more so — automatic breakaway. Skrulls team ability was icing on her 168-point cake.
NOW: Keeping her original Skrulls and Spy keywords, her cost dips slightly to a more-Modern-friendly 145. Her already near-perfect SP gets upgraded to add Close Combat Expert to aid her no-longer-adequate AV. Her new trait “Emotional Manipulation” serves that end as well, forcing her adjacent foes’ DV to match her own middling values, which really fits her new super-cheap 50-point starting line with Charge, 8 AV Quake, 15 DV Toughness and Perplex.
F.U.N.? Sometimes you can go home again, and that’s what happens here with ol’ Ms. Skrull-vel. So much of what made her good is gone and even this card’s tweaks can’t bring back her past meta glory. Which is OK with us because we’re all about F.U.N. here.
BUT AM I GETTING THIS? I certainly have 1 or 2 of her. Carol Danvers isn’t one of my “every version” characters, though, so the only reason I’ll track this down is to make my Skrull collection complete.
*looks at otherwise complete Skrull collection*
Which, uh … I guess I WILL be tracking it down.
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L030 Wasp
(Chaos War, 2012)
THEN: Her being able to Incap AND deal a little penetrating damage AND possible push-damage was OK, a rare workaround against the Mystics team ability, even at her weighty 77 cost. That cost was actually useful since she had Leadership and back then it only worked on a successful roll to give the extra action and remove an action token from a cheaper adjacent fig — one that could, like with Ant-Man above, carry both her and another ally. She actually saw some high-level play in the world championships that year.
NOW: Her price plummets to just 40 — her stats have not aged well and she loses a trick or two to changed game mechanics (along with the Lady Liberators keyword the original one paired with Avengers. She’s a Celebrity instead now). Her Incap SP now deals bonus penetrating damage for each action token on the target(s). Her Leadership is better than ever, though, and the new Avengers TA will help a lot.
F.U.N.? Invincible didn’t exist when the original made its splash, and Incapacitate lost all its damage capacity in 2021, so her Incap-plus-penetrating skills aren’t as dangerous as in 2012. But she’s gonna be F.U.N. to field.
AM I GETTING THIS? See Ant-Man. I collect Wasps and have this piece. So yes.
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L033 Hulk
(Avengers Assemble, 2015)
THEN: .One of several giant-sized Hulk figs, this 185-point monster wound up being a major letdown for several reasons. A) That cost puts him well into the upper third of Hulks, but B) his offense is poor with just 10 AV, despite a Flurry SP that also gave him Quake as FREE after a Leap/Climb MOVE. C) Unlike many Hulks, his abilities don’t ramp up very well until near end-dial. But by then you’re D) looking at avoiding KO, hoping against hope that he can land on 2 tokens so he can FREE turn to click 11, his “Banner” click that’s a once per game get outta jail free maneuver. The click had Stealth, Outwit and Perplex and also was a semi-difficult KO. But he was then nearly 2/3 of your team doing virtually nothing. And E) subsequent attacks on him tended to land him on 16 DV clicks that were easily pierced to score him soon after. Keywords: Avengers, Brute, Scientist.
NOW: In addition to adding Defenders, Illuminati and Monster keywords, this legacy addresses each of the above issues. A) His new cost is a much more palatable 100 to match his still-barely-adequate 10 AV which is nevertheless B) much more effective thanks to new SP Charge+Flurry+Plasticity compared with his old light-damage Quake. C) He still doesn’t ramp up so well, but he’s less likely to skip his good end-dial now that his trait is reworked to go straight to click 11 instead of KO. D) That Stealth Banner click adds Prob Control and SAFEGAURD: Outwit to the mix. Finally, E) hitting him here lands him on click 4 — no more goofy calculations — one with a 17 DV instead of 16, and with his Charge+Flurry SP so he can readily start smashing again. Defenders TA alongside his original Avengers symbol rounds out the upgrades, giving him a chance to share a higher defense in either state.
F.U.N.? This is a prime example of a great legacy treatment to repair an old dial that was never allowed to shine. Smashingly F.U.N.
AM I GETTING THIS? As one of the few who kinda liked the original version, yes, I’m excited to get this card. I also collect Hulks when I can, though I don’t chase this theme down the way I do many others.
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L040 Captain America
(Captain America, 2011)
THEN: One of the best sculpts ever, peanut Cap here was otherwise a slightly unwieldy piece. An 83-point Charge fig, he also had, via trait, Running Shot, two targets (but dealt 3 damage to both) and Energy Shield/Deflection while holding his detachable Shield. But after doing that range attack, he had to go PICK IT UP (with traited Super Strength that he could ONLY use to hold the Shield) from next to one of the targets. I guess this rookie Steve Rogers hadn’t yet figured how to rebound the shield back to him; his keywords reflect WWII-era Cap (All-Winners Squad, Avengers, Howling Commandos, Invaders, Past, Soldier).
NOW: His rewritten first trait just gives him the Shield token to +1 all his stats until he FREE places it in a square in 4 range and LOF. Then his rewritten second trait allows him to close attack from that square for some possible around-corner shots with traited Flurry and Giant Reach:2. He gets his Shield token back automatically at the beginning of the next turn. With his cost cut to 50, of course he’s got some losses: his old Running Shot and range attacks, his old ESD, his old All-Winners Squad keyword. (He gets Defenders instead, to FINALLY match up with his original Defenders team symbol — which is joined by Avengers TA too.)
F.U.N.? Sure as Cap salutes the flag. This is a good pick for a legacy, as the original fig, if played with today’s ruleset, would barely function.
AM I GETTING THIS? Maybe eventually —especially since I have a pair of the originals — but I don’t need it.
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L042 Iron Doom
(Invincible Iron Man, 2013)
THEN: For 200 points, he kept any other cheaper fig on the map from using Leadership or Mastermind; meanwhile, he got use of both, along with Super Senses. His other SP granted Perplex and Outwit, the latter of which he had a 50% shot of using without needing range or LOF. Beyond those, he was an OK Running Shot piece to start, with Impervious/Invulnerability down the line. A wildcard, he really depended on fellows to truly work. Keywords: Armor, Mystical, Ruler, Scientist, Weapon X.
NOW: 75 points cheaper, he gets a new trait that lessens enemy healing in his range. His old Mastermind SP drops the Senses and Leadership while adding Invincible and Shape Change for a greater focus on defense — especially with it being Pulse Wave- and Outwit-proof. His other SP allows his Perplex and Outwit to last until the power’s gone or he uses it again. He loses the Mystical keyword but picks up Exiles, and Minions of Doom is no longer a wildcard TA.
F.U.N.? This old Super Rare was paradoxically a little too top-heavy to really work but also too strong with his global effect. Now he feels like a proper piece.
AM I GETTING THIS? No. It’s one of the rare instances that I’ve never owned the piece. There was a time when I had to have each new variation of Stark Industries armor (do a search on this site of “Iron Campaign” to see how far back that goes!) but that impulse was broken about a year before this set was released.
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L043 Iron Man and War Machine
(Invincible Iron Man, 2013)
THEN: This iconic duo started with Running Shot and had Duo Attack, naturally, but what made them special was their “Reactor Full-Power” trait that allowed them to take an action as FREE when they had two tokens (but not two turns in a row). Mid-dial, they gained a SP granting FREE Duo Attack after a MOVE. 9 range and 3 bolts with Improved Targeting: Hindering rounded out this surprisingly simple dial for 265 points. No TA and minimal keywords: Armor, Avengers, Stark Industries.
NOW: They weigh only 180 points, adding the improved Avengers TA and new keywords Celebrity, Illuminati, Scientist and Soldier. They also lose their old built-in Duo Attack and their old Reactor trait is now 3-6 Willpower that heals them. The SP is now Hypersonic Speed with a FREE attack after. They get a brand-new trait: unOutwittable ESD. Finally, in place of an old, complex mechanic Duos had called Split, this pair — and other legacy duos — get the ability to be “replaced” upon KO by an Iron Man and a War Machine of a combined 180 points or less, healed to their respective last three clicks.
F.U.N.? Not the first pairing of Tony Stark and James Rhodes, it was the last as WizKids backed off from doing Duo figs in the years since. It’s nice to see them return to the field.
AM I GETTING THIS? I 100% am. It’s a new version of Rhodes and the “Black Box” is one theme I WILL still prioritize completing.
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L049 Thor Odinson
(The Mighty Thor, 2017)
THEN: I‘ll just let Sceritz from 2017 do the talking:
I am hardly upset about this dial being a hefty 175 points for the potential that it brings to the table. It feels almost wrong at this point not to play an him on an Asgardian theme because what he brings to the potential is just that staggering. His dial starts with a 19 Invincible, worthy of a god of thunder and when you think he’s finally down and out, his dial ends with another 19! You aren’t going to be safe with a few good hits. If you’re going after him, you need to go hard.
At the same time, I think his dial is fair. It isn’t exactly easy to build around 175 points in most formats, and you’ll have to make sure you back him up with some pretty decent support. So it’s likely he will be your main attacker. Either that, or you’re going to forgo some of your other utility for the sake of raw aggression with the use of his “Bring the Lightning” for extra attacks or “Restore the Lost Asgardians” to bring in others Asgardians to attack for you.
But here’s the other deal… if you choose to play the long game, as Odinson’s deep dial is surely capable of, then you may have a chance to trade in 8 Plot Points for “God of Thunder,” which forces opponents to gain two action tokens whenever they would receive action tokens, severely hindering their game. If you can land this with enough time left on the clock, you just might have that match in the bag.
With the ability to deal massive damage, bring other Asgardians into the fray and a dial that make opponents think twice about attacking, I think this is the Thor I was waiting for.
NOW: No longer a Title Character with those complicated Plot Points, he’s barely discounted to 160 points and just gets a pair of new traits. But it’s easy to see why he’s almost the same price: The first trait lets him FREE Pulse Wave from a square he just RANGE Destroyed and his other trait tokens all enemies in his 7 range when he clears HIS tokens — no attack roll or even LOF needed. He gains the Deity keyword along with his old Asgardian, Avengers and Warrior ones, and he’s got Avengers TA, too, instead of being teamless.
F.U.N.? Another reason for legacy figs, it seems, is to reimagine some without the cumbersome mechanics — in this case Title Character — that they were created with, making for a much more streamlined — and F.U.N. — play experience.
AM I GETTING THIS? Thor is one of those characters I absolutely do NOT need each version of. I have the figure, so I’ll be pleased if I pull the card, but I won’t chase the legacy down until I have others first.
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L056 Squirrel Girl
(Captain America, 2011)
THEN: Squirrel Girl was a game changer, being one of the first bystander generators for All-you-can-beat Tie-up/Mastermind fodder. Cheap tie-up pieces have always been a gameplay staple, and she was a never-ending supply of such with her ability to repeatedly spawn Monkey Joes to lock down enemies. She also served as good tie-up in her own right, with Reflexes and, with M.Joe attached, Super Senses.
NOW: Such pog farms aren’t as special, so she drops from 59 points to 35. Instead of the Leap/Climbing Monkey Joe, she generates his Hypersonic and Precision Striking successor, Tippy Toe — this time as FREE instead of as POWER, and she gets +1 to her stats when T.Toe isn’t on the map.
In fact, what once took two traits to do is now combined into one, so her other trait is brand new: Support and she can heal a patient next to Tippy Toe for nice long-range medic action. Her original Animal and Great Lakes Avengers keywords are joined by A.I.M., Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. — along with the new-and-improved Avengers TA.
F.U.N.? Taking an old piece that introduced a then-new mechanic and streamlining it is a good choice for legacy-ing. Peak F.U.N.
AM I GETTING THIS? Yes, eventually. I like the Great Lakes Avengers and came around to liking this character as well. She’s low priority, though.
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L060 Avengers Prime
(Chaos War, 2012)
THEN: Adapted from an old Heroclixin’ article about Duo figs:
At a staggering 400 points, this duo trio figure was by far one of the priciest clix ever. That bought a LOT of damage potential, much of it through Duo Attack. After an opening salvo with Running Shot thanks to the Iron Man-themed Speed SP (which also had Perplex and RCE), one best used the same power to Perplex the trio’s damage +1 (possible at the time) to then deal out a possible 11 CLICKS in the followup Duo Attack.
But this dial had a lot of mostly wasted points on myriad abilities that couldn’t be used in combination, sometimes not even through the “Trio Attack” trait, which was a double power action granting any combo of CLOSE or RANGE for 3 single-target attacks. Keywords were Avengers, Armor, Asgardian and Soldier. Avengers TA, of course.
NOW: No longer 400 and 300 points, the trio can actually fit a team at full dial — 300. First SP is now Running Shot and Sidestep, plus a FREE attack — potentially devastating with printed 6 damage. At 180 points, they start on click 4 with the Attack SP: Energy Explosion, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Precision Strike and Quake — powers that either didn’t exist back then or didn’t work together like today. Click 5 reveals the damage SP “Forever Fight As One”: STOP, but only the first time this power is revealed each turn. Avengers Prime can reduce penetrating damage. Finally, they have the same “split into multiple figs” ability as a Iron Man & War Machine above, just with Steve, Tony and Thor. Keywords expand to include Deity , Past and Stark Industries.
F.U.N.? Normally we hate the idea of chases being remade as legacies. The original pieces are rare enough! But this one is more iconic than most, and more importantly, it never quite worked right as designed. So most of the F.U.N. will be in getting to effectively field this crew on a team at last.
AM I GETTING THIS? No. I never got the fig and I don’t need it, so it’ll be trade bait for me.
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L086 Nick Fury
(Clobberin’ Time, 2003)
THEN: The very first of many Furies, he was Unique — the equivalent of Super Rares the pre-card era. Essentially a Stealth Leadership piece who, if targeted and hit, shifted into a mid-dial Running Shooter and Outwit figure, late-dial he’d stay alive with Mastermind. At 62 points, he was probably the most expensive fig on a SHIELD team (though keywords didn’t yet exist — he and other other figs got them retroactively in 2007).
NOW: He slims down to 40 points, which, given his still-putrid combat values, some think is overcosted. But they’re wrong because A) He’s got traited Perplex and Leadership, the former of which is strong with his 6 range (likely longer if he has a SHILED TA teammate adjacent) and the latter keeps enemy teams from adding actions when he rolls it on his first two clicks. B) He’s 7 clicks deep so they CAN’T one-shot him and he stays useful all dial long. And C) if they try to KO him, that’s leaving 260 points of the rest of your team alone. SHIELD TA, of course and keywords are Politician, S.H.I.E.L.D., Soldier and Spy.
F.U.N.? This is a sneaky good redesign that, while not meta, is gonna be better than people think.
AM I GETTING THIS? Yes. I have a small case in my closet called “Box of Fury” full of this character.
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L096 Loki
(Mutant Mayhem, 2004)
THEN: Another first, this one of the god of lies. He was a wildcard with a really good 12 AV Psychic Blast but hobbled with Phasing and middling DV (though with Batman TA to copy, he could stay real safe in hindering and cover a lot of area with 8 range and 2 bolts. Probability Control, too, then Outwit, then Perplex.
NOW: He’s cut nearly in half from 160 to just 85 points but gets gains, no losses. First: Mystic TA. Second: IT:Hindering. Third are two traits: one granting Sidestep, Stealth, Shape Change, Super Senses AND +1 whenever he rolls a single d6; the other Mind Control with +1 AV for each token on the target. Fourth: new Cabal and Ruler keywords to go with Asgardian, Deity and Mystical.
F.U.N.? Well, OK, he has ONE loss — he’s no longer a wildcard and is stuck with the relatively less useful and situational Minions of Doom TA. But this is as solid a representation of the Asgardian trickster as exists in Heroclix. F.U.N. times ahead.
AM I GETTING THIS? I collect Loki figures for those Asgard Wars that Heroclixin’ board member Lenny and I have all the time. So of course.
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L135 Ultron
(Infinity Challenge, 2002)
THEN: Appearing the very first HeroClix set, Veteran Ultron was fearsome with an opening 14 AV and Energy Explosion. Paired with an Enhancement piece (which once boosted EE damage), he could do massive harm to clustered foes from afar with his 3 bolts and 10 range. No moving attack wasn’t an issue because figs could attack after being carried. Alas, he was saddled an equally massive 188 price point, largely due to the Masters of Evil team ability, which used to add a lot of cost — but with him being a ranged attacker, it did him almost no good. See, the original MOE TA allowed members to make Autonomous close attacks if and ONLY if 2+ members were next to an enemy. And although Ultron’s Invulnerability was the best defense available, it was easily negated by enemy Outwit (also from 10 range) — which became much more dangerous when the rules barred non-free actions after carry. Really, he was outshined in nearly respect by his Experienced counterpart, a wildcard and 49 points cheaper.
NOW: He’s only 38 points cheaper, and the MOE TA is once again no good for a range fighter like himself. But that’s where the downgrades end. UPGRADE 1: He adds Cosmic Energy TA, so Outwit is no longer of any concern. UPGRADE 2: Traited Mastermind that treats any teammate with “Ultron” in the name as adjacent. UPGRADE 3: Same trait lets him use any standard power those other Ultrons can use, such as the moving attack powers he once lacked. UPGRADE 4: Same trait allows him to draw LOF from any of those Ultrons (though his range is 3 when he does that). UPGRADE 5: Trait Leadership that can generate Ultron Drone (Avengers 60 013) in addition to usual effect. UPGRADE 6: A final trait to reduce penetrating damage and heal up to 3 when another Ultron is KO’d.
F.U.N.? From a game balance perspective? Not in the slightest, as he might be immortal. Did WK learn nothing from colossal legacy Apocalypse about the dangers of making long-range Mastermind? From an Ultron fan perspective, this is going to be GREAT fun.
AM I GETTING THIS? Ab-so-LUTE-ly, though it may take a while. I have a complete set of Ultrons. In spite of the fact that they keep making chase-level rarity versions of him, I keep either pulling them or finding them online for WAY cheaper than I ever expected.
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L208 General Thunderbolt Ross
(Incredible Hulk, 2011)
THEN: Starting with Leadership and low AV, he had to push to click 2 to be interesting. There he gained this SP “Call in the Air Strike”: Once per game, he could double power action and range attack any square on the map with 11 AV, dealing 3 to the hit target in that square and 2 plus knock back to everyone in the surrounding squares, as well as destroying all the walls and blocking next to/in that square. Thankfully, it didn’t work with Enhancement. But it was an absolute silver bullet against whatever turtling nuisance the rest of your team couldn’t get to. Often worth the 55 points.
After shooting his air strike wad, he could Alter Ego into Red Hulk (Incredible Hulk 210), a 2-click Flurrying, Poisonous, Invulnerable Hulk with SP 4 range. But because it was a power action, this Hulk was tokened and often unable to act enough to be effective.
NOW: With pushing rules gone, his Air Strike SP has become a “when this click is revealed by an opposing attack” meaning Ross can’t just hide in the corner and attack mid-game. This general now has to be on the front line and has to be hit. The good news is it triggers with each revealed click and the timing is like Mystics, so even if he’s one-shot, the power goes off once for each of his clicks with that SP, dealing 1 penetrating to the attacker and its adjacent friends. Enemy better hope they all have Invincible. His Alter Ego SP is now a FREE that permanently swaps in a Red Hulk pog with Charge, Poison, Impervious and Outwit.
F.U.N.? Kinda like a mega-Mystics piece, but hard to use to full effect, as his clicks 2-3 have Enhancement he might never see. He’s only 45 points this go-’round. F.U.N. enough, maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
AM I GETTING THIS? Maybe? I don’t need it, but I have the figure. So why not? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯