Got a rare chance to play a lot of figures in just a couple of days against actual other people rather than in one of my sad solo playtests thanks to a trio of bye rounds for an 800-point Golden Age, no tactics other than themed teams and special objects event. In one of those rounds, I was able to try out a newer, better version of a team I ran a couple years back.

CAPTAINS AMERICA:

Captain America [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 101] 100
Captain America [Fear Itself] 88
Captain America [Secret Invasion] 49

and THE FALCONS:

Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006] 105
Falcon [Captain America 030] 79
Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 103] 75
Falcon [Avengers] 75
“Snap” Wilson 60
Falcon [Sinister 057] 57
Sam Wilson 53
Falcon [Sinister 056] 46

= 787 points. Added Gold Kryptonite and a Generator for a 797 total. My opponent Keith was fielding an all-Halo squad: blue Spartan, ODST, Arbiter, Drone, a battle rifle Marine, one each of the two red Spartans, all led by hammertime Master Chief. He picked the moon crater map from AvX.

It pretty much went all my way when Keith made the rookie error of splitting up his force neatly in two. I took on the crew on the near side before he could bring Arbiter’s Outwit to bear and scored many KOs before he could begin to seriously threaten my force.

By piece:

Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006]: This one was the engine for the team. In between serving as advance attacker with his trait-boosted Move and Attack ability, Gravity Feed Falcon taxis the Caps with his free Sidestep or buffs others with Enhancement and Empower. Priciest of the squad but worth every point.

Captain America [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 101]: With a taxi, I think his ability to stay stealthy — and thus healthy — made him a solid meat shield in this debut. He’ll never be my first choice for a Cap, but he’s a nice option.

Captain America [Fear Itself]: As I’ve noted before, I’m always torn on how to run this favored piece. This time I used him as a Charge piece behind other characters running interference for him. His SP to boost allies’ defense after his first click comes in really handy with this crew.

Falcon [Captain America 030]: On a team this size, running him as a tie-up fig seemed right for the situation, especially as he was able to bring a Cap along for the ride to take advantage of the AV bonus they both get.

Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 103]: This was my first time trying the starter set Falcon, with some reluctance as he’s not half as good as the GF version. But his DV bonus for Cap allies is dynamite, esp. paired with the Fear Itself version’s SP. On this big team, a 75-point taxi was a fine use of points.

Falcon [Avengers]: Though a rare mobile shooter, this is the first Falcon I’d drop for room for something else. Still, SHIELD TA is good for something.

“Snap” Wilson: Spent all game hanging back in the starting area as I burned actions doing more important things. If I replayed, I’d make sure he was available to block for bigger figs and leverage that 10 AV and 6 range more, using the Enhancement available via GF Falcon.

Falcon [Sinister 057]: Though he’s a better taxi than the cheaper Falcs on the list and boasts more 3 damage, in a pinch I’ll drop this Vet if it means getting the rest in.

Sam Wilson: Willpower makes him a great taxi + attacker, even if his Leadership is a little wasted on so few cheaper allies. SHIELD TA is probably the bigger deal, boosting all the 6 range on this team to 7.

Captain America [Secret Invasion]: He’s a very good option to activate various Falcon bonuses. I won’t run a version of this team without him if rules allow.

Falcon [Sinister 056]: Free-move taxi is never a bad thing. And check out that 3 damage.

 

I really want to try variations on this team on future, more competitive games! Maybe something like this, in Modern Age:

Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 103] 75
Captain America [Fear Itself] 88
Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006] 105
Captain America [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 001] 125
= 393 points. Add a Bookcase for more Empower/Enhancement fun.

or go all out:

Captain America [Avengers vs. X-Men] 200
Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006] 105
Captain America [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 101] 100
Captain America [Fear Itself] 88
Falcon [Captain America 030] 79
Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 103] 75
Falcon [Avengers] 75
“Snap” Wilson [Sinister 219] 60
Falcon [Sinister 057] 57
Sam Wilson [Sinister 207] 53
Captain America [Secret Invasion] 49
Falcon [Sinister 056] 46
= 987 points for a big build. On paper, it looks like it just dies against the heavy hitters this build limit allows. But I think the surprising swarm ability might give the enemy a stiffer challenge than expected.