So WK came out with these “legacy cards” that take old, retired HeroClix pieces and bring them back to Modern play with new traits and updated special powers.
It’s a neat idea. But how F.U.N.?
Friendly? yes and no.
They’re on this terrible holographic foil presentation that is difficult to read. That’s the unfriendly aspect. But each is pretty balanced, playwise.
Useful? Sorta.
Though all are improved, none are really better enough to be meta.
Neato? Yeah.
Like we said, they’re definitely a neat idea. We hope WizKids does more and keep them balanced and F.U.N., never overbearing
Let’s look at them individually, seeing what the figures did originally, how they’re updated, and if the change makes them any F.U.N.
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L022 XAVIN
THEN: I said, “if he’s on either his first or last click: you can literally turn the dial to any click you want. It’s not quite any power, but with his rainbow dial he basically has access to 14 different powers when on clicks #1 and #6.”
NOW: Xavin doesn’t need to be on their first or last click to pick their click — and, like Moira X (House of X 030), they get to use ALL the powers on lower clicks. But an additional trait puts a further element of risk in the mechanic — if Xavin misses all attacks, they get stranded on the chosen click.
F.U.N.? I thought at first this was a lateral change at best, but this legacy upgrade is super F.U.N. in action. Also note the updated “they/their” pronouns on this non-binary character.
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L023 SHE-HULK
THEN: She got a bonus to map roll when not on a themed team if the first roll fails, SP Charge+Flurry, and SP “Objection!”: Willpower with Perplex — if she stands next to another Perplexing character.
NOW: She adds a 2nd trait giving her and adjacent allies +1 AV against primes and taking only 1 damage from same. Her Charge Flurry also grants IM:Destroy Blocking while “Objection!” took away the extra requirement for using Perplex. She just gets Perplex now. She’s also five points cheaper on top dial: 125 instead the original 130.
F.U.N.? We appreciate this version of Shulkie leaning more into her lawyerness and 4th-wall-busting. But we do not love the misprint on her card of one of her traits as a nonexistent attack SP.
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L029 MORG
THEN: His “Execution” trait gave him +2AV against an target with 2 action tokens and he got “Axe Swipe,” an occasional attack SP Quake that dealt 2-4 damage instead, based on a d6 roll.
NOW: Execution is basically the same while Axe Swipe can now do up to 5 damage. He also got a new trait, “Well of Life,” that if he gets to an enemy start zone and hasn’t been placed (this turn), he can POWER gain Prob, Blades and Steal Energy for the rest of the game.
F.U.N.? His upgrades aren’t quite enough. The restrictions on his new trait are a bit too much given the inherent risk of invading enemy territory like that. And, of course, him not starting being able to use the other abilities is a tough row. His best boost? Being Power Cosmic to use the new Willpower.
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L037 MR. FANTASTIC
THEN: So he had a trait “Find A Way To Save My Family” giving him a 1-in-6 chance at bringing back a KO’d Fantastic Four team ability user after he heals from the Fantastic Four team ability; an attack SP “Stretch” to punch 10 squares away at a visible target as a double power action; and a damage SP granting Leadership as though he’s 150 points instead of 130 along with Outwit that he can use twice if the second is against an enemy next to a friendly FF keyword fig.
NOW: “Find A Way To Save My Family” prevents KO of any other Fantastic Four keyword fig on a 5-6 roll instead of the several requirements of the earlier version; his attack SP is no longer a DPA but is just Giant Reach: 10 punch as POWER. His damage SP is mostly unchanged, though his Leadership is no longer enhanced to 150 points.
He also got an additional trait, “Marvel’s First Family,” which sheds an action token and boosts all his stats for a round when he heals from the F4 TA.
F.U.N.? He was overcosted and unremarkable in 2012 and this new card doesn’t really change that inconvenient truth. Worse: The card is misprinted with his damage SP marked as a trait and an actual trait listed as a defense SP … which he doesn’t have at all. But at least his Stretch power is actually usable.
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L038 THING
THEN: A fun figure with the SP to nonstop attack … IF the opponent allowed it.
NOW: He gains Sidestep and Close Combat Expert and the old choice to either keep clobbering or quit at the cost of a last bit of unavoidable damage is now HIS, not the opponent’s. He also gets the “Marvel’s First Family” trait.
F.U.N.? Still a lot of points and his numbers aren’t best. But with enough stat mods to his attack (possible 13) this is a fig that could one-turn nearly any target with even just average attack rolls.
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L049 MORGAN LE FAY
THEN: Way back, I wrote: “With her ability to make herself a hard shot either in close or at range as needed, and her suPerplex for … Avengers, and her wildcardness, she’s a highly versatile light tentpole.”
NOW: She’s the first legacy figure to get a radical point cost change (from the original 122 to a new choice of 100- or 50-point start lines). She lost the suPerplex (+/-2 anything except damage, a trait only usable on Avengers keyword), her ability to be on Avengers theme teams without breaking theme and her wildcard TA (thanks to the change to Minions of Doom) to gain an additional team symbol in Mystics, regular Perplex, and the ability to merge Avengers and Latveria keywords to make a single themed team (thus allowing her to truly theme with Avengers because she’s Latveria). She kept a trait that made her weak to Blades/Claws/Fangs, while adding a further vulnerability to equipped foes and object attacks.
F.U.N.? Unfortunately, her loss of wildcard status makes her just a little less effective than before and her stats today, which were kinda pedestrian in 2012, are never impressive.
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L057 INVISIBLE WOMAN
THEN: Like her brother (see below), her SP never quite worked right, though not nearly as poorly as his. First, she had to take damage to get to her Invisible Barrier SP — maybe too late to use it effectively. Then she lacked the Willpower/Indom to use the Barrier well.
NOW: She gains a keyword (Scientist), a trait (that boosts her stats +1 when the F4 TA triggers) and, most importantly, she starts with the Invisible Barrier instead of having to push to gain it, making the ES/D it grants much more usable. She also gets a +3 range boost instead of the old version’s +2.
F.U.N.? She remains fairly overpriced but is much more playable, at least.
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L058 HUMAN TORCH
THEN: He made my “Worst of” list for that year: “He’s got to push to even get TO the Special Power that allows him to TRY to add the Nova Flame. Pushing means he loses that [starting] 4 damage AND he’s stuck there for a turn, anyway, on top of that. THEN he’s got to push AGAIN, via double power action, to get the Nova Flame, leaving him a sitting duck AGAIN. Better hope he actually managed to hit something while he’s hurting himself…AGAIN. [Also] better hope he doesn’t GET hit, because taking ANY LITTLE BIT OF DAMAGE from the attackers who fire at this sitting duck removes the Nova Flame and he’ll have to start all over again.”
NOW: Aside from the fact the card mislabels his Defense SP as a trait, it’s a massive improvement: He gets the Avengers keyword; his Nova Flame grants +1 attack along with the old version’s +1 damage; and the double power action has been made into just SP Pulse Wave, compatible with Running Shot.
Oh, and he actually STARTS with the Nova Flame and its abilities instead of depending on a SP not even on his starting click to ever access it.
F.U.N.? He’s still too many points, but at least he actually functions now.
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With legacy cards clearly set to be an ongoing feature in HeroClix, look for this to be an occasional series. We’ll review Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary in its next installment.