So I had some success last year with a Juneteenth-themed team of all-Black/African-phenotyped characters. I’m saddened that nearly all of it will retire this July.

But Silver Age tho.

The ROC announced it’s going 100% into the format, and WizKids is allowing all ID cards (except a few banned ones) to be played.

That got me rethinking the team, which I’d planned to run in a ROC practice event locally ahead of ROCmeister Howard Brock’s ROC regional in Huntsville.

I’m not going — it’s Easter weekend and a 3.5 hour drive each way — but I want to use my force as a stress test for my fellow locals who are. And to just run these pieces in a competitive tourney.

Ambrose Chase (WizKids DP19-005) @ 90 points. Support and range attacker.

Ayo (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 021) @ 30 points. Leadership, equipment facilitator.

Dr. Claire Finn (The Orville 003) 25 points. Medic, mobility.

Maggott (House of X 051) 40 points. Melee attacker and support.

Micron (Justice League Unlimited 059b) 40 points. Melee attacker and support.

Teen Lantern (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 035) @30 points. Taxi, support, range attacker.

SIDELINE: Black Manta (Justice League Unlimited 068), Black Vulcan (Justice League Unlimited 072)

TOTAL SO FAR: 265 points. Enough room for a full raft of ID Cards.

Originally, I was only going to run two IDs on the previous build of this squad that included the 35-point Duke Thomas. But as the ranks of potential ID Characters I could run grew as I acquired or dug up more of them, I opened up the roster to the full six.

Here are the ones that:

1. fit the all-Black theme;
2. are legal for Silver Age;
3. can be legally played on the above team, that already has a prime and
4. have options cheap enough to be called in:

Black Panther NFID-002

Cyborg WFID-015

Falcon AVID-003

Luke Cage AUID-004

M.   XID-013

Power Girl WFID-009

Prodigy XID-009

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1 NFID-008

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 NFID-007

Spider-Man MVID-009

Storm DOFP-005

Storm XID-024

Synch XID-015

Vixen WFID-023

 

ID Characters have some built-in restrictions, too, that limit their viability. They can’t:

• be carried (no carting them out of harm’s way)
• replace or be replaced (forget your Shifting Focus ideas)
• be equipped (this includes starting with the equips)
• do DOUBLE POWER actions.
• be called in by a cheaper character.
• outnumber the characters on your starting force.
• go more than 5 squares from the figure that called it in (but of course this is an actual advantage for some, being able to “poof” and not risk being KO’ed)

So this is a lot to sort through (and why I didn’t make it to the game at which I’d initially planned to try this out).

After IDing ( 😀 ) all the figs in the Black Box that could be used with this team, I had to figure which would be best for it.

———

One no-brainer — and thankfully so, because of the 20+ options available — was Black Panther (War of the Realms Fast Forces 003):

• PROS: Inspires Barrier/Stealth/Smoke Cloud (but mainly Barrier),  Outwit, can be called by entire starting force because only 25 points
• CONS: No offense, maybe an easy kill

But on to the rest:

Cyborg WFID-015: there are 5 options (2 via multiple start lines). I’m leaning toward Cyborg (Rebirth 013) at his low dial.

• PROS: Inspires Improved Targeting:Hindering and +1 AV for range attacks. Also has Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Enhancement for the team’s other shooters and Sidestep to maybe poof, Invulnerability if he can’t. Can be called in by my two highest-priced figs, Ambrose Chase and Micron.
• CONS: Doesn’t hit that hard for the cost.

 

Falcon AVID-003: The best option is a prime and can’t be used. So I looked back at WizKids M17-007 Falcon.

• PROS: Only 50 points so Micron can call him. Charge and Precision. Inspires +2 speed.
• CONS: His SP, which is based on a Leadership roll, doesn’t work. Also doesn’t hit hard enough or do enough and he’s soft.

 

Luke Cage AUID-004: 3 options. One busts walls but is pricey. Another  reduces penetrating. But the third, Luke Cage (WizKids M19-005), is who I’m considering.

• PROS: 11AV, 4 damage (and Super Strength). As a wild card, he can copy Teen Lantern’s Green Lantern TA to carry the team or X-Men to heal Maggott if needed. Inspires +1 attack. Gives adjacent team Toughness from range shots if he can see the shooter.
• CONS: He’s a Charge figure. At 60 points, only Ambrose can call him.

 

M.   XID-013: 2 options in M (XXS 042) via multiple start lines, 90 and 50.

• PROS: Student ID costs just 3 points. At full, she’s a Hypersonic flier and, as such, could poof easier than most. If not, she’s Invincible to survive attacks. At 50 points, she’s got Charge+Super Strength to hit a bit harder if she can get an object.
• CONS: No Inspiration. Her SP doesn’t function due to timing. HSS no longer has easy breakaway, so she could get stuck. Only Ambrose can call her at full cost and she doesn’t hit hard at all. At 50, she’s Invulnerable but risks getting KOed.

 

Power Girl WFID-009: 2 options, but I’m only looking at Heroclixin’s No. 1 favorite piece of the 2010s, Power Girl (Rebirth 022).

• PROS: She can become a giant or colossal to get +1 to all her stats, enabling her to Charge from the back line and Giant Reach to hit someone very hard (esp. with Super Strength). She also has Outwit or Perplex. She’s also a potential taxi. Finally, the card’s Inspiration offers +2AV in close attacks — good for the melee fighters on the squad.
• CONS: She’s 75 points so only Ambrose can call her. And as a giant, she is an easy target the next turn.

 

Prodigy XID-009: Prodigy from X-Men: Xavier’s School is the only candidate — and one I’ve used as an ID fig before. How about now?

• PROS: Student ID costs just 3 points. His X-Student trait might help an adjacent pal if they roll a 5? Has Outwit, can be called by most of the team. And the student ID is cheaper.
• CONS: No Inspiration. His Knowledge Sponge trait is really probably useless and he’s soft.

 

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1 NFID-008: The S.H.I.E.L.D. Diplomat (ABPI 010) could maybe qualify. So let’s look at him.

• PROS: He’s only 20 points so everyone can call him in. 18 Defend and Perplex is OK. Inspiration gives S.H.I.E.L.D. TA and +1 speed.
• CONS: His friendly-only Perplex has to boost the same value on someone on the other force. Doesn’t make a great impact on the game for the opportunity cost of bringing him in.

 

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 NFID-007: There are 9 options, including a pair of Captains America (Avengers Defenders War 069 and Captain America and the Avengers 039), who normally can’t be IDed due to the banning of the Cap ID card. But most of the options are … not great.

• Cape Killer (Superior Foes of Spider-Man 004) is 50 points and brings nothing special despite a SP.
• Captain America (Avengers Defenders War 069) is good after being carried but … can’t be carried as an ID character.
• Deathlok (Spider-Man Venom Carnage 008) can select any damage power and sees through characters and hindering. But he’s 75 points with only Toughness so he could die fast.
• Nick Fury (Avengers Infinity 017) has a Leadership boost that can’t work due to timing.

There are also a couple of Spider-Men, but we’ll come back to those two. That leaves two figs we’ll seriously consider for the team: Captain America (Captain America and the Avengers 039) and Nick Fury (Captain Marvel 004).

• PROS: Cap has the Living Legend trait so he will NOT be KOed if called in. Fury, who can be called in by two figs on the force, comes in with Tradecraft tokens that can give attacking pals SAFEGUARD: Opposing Prob Control for a turn. He can also see through hindering. Both characters would inspire S.H.I.E.L.D. TA and +1AV in range attacks.
• CONS: For 75 points, Cap does not hit hard at all. Nick Fury is an easy KO.

 

Spider-Man MVID-009: Three options are Mile Moraleses and so fit the theme. (An additional one is a prime we can’t consider for this team.) The oldest is 70 points and lacks good damage or dodging. The newest offers Super Senses to Avengers (none on this team) and adjacent pals — same as the card’s Inspiration, so even though he’s just 50 points he’s kind of a waste.

But the (Spider-Man and Venom: Carnage 021) version tho.

• PROS: He brings anti-Stealth Outwit and 11AV. But his best thing is his SP: When he MOVEs 5 squares or less — which is within the ID fig’s life zone anyway — he can RANGE Incap every enemy in his range, then Sidestep outside the 5-square zone
• CONS: That move doesn’t do any damage, though, and because ID figs can’t equip, he doesn’t get the Dimensional Watch to help him Phase into position. And only Ambrose can call him. Finally, his Outwit goes away with him if he poofs, so that’s something to think about.

 

Storm DOFP-005: Of the 12 options, most are so expensive only Ambrose can call them and they don’t have especially strong effects for this team. So I’m only considering the Legacy card Storm (X-Men Rise and Fall L003) here:

• PROS: Her mega Energy Explosion is perfect for an ID Call In (by Ambrose OR Micron), and her Stealth might shield her from attack after — but if so, she only gives up a healed click on the opposing team, not points. She also brings Perplex and shares a couple of keywords to carry those characters (Ayo and Maggott) if that sort of evac is needed. Finally, she might heal her caller.
• CONS: She’s a defenseless target if not Stealthed. Her Inspiration (Energy Explosion) is not that useful for this lowish to no-ish ranged team.

 

Storm XID-024 see above, but inspiring triple targets.

• PROS: See above, except for the below caveat.
• CONS: She could actually die if called via this card, so don’t use it.

 

Synch XID-015

• PROS: Synch (X-Men: Xavier’s School 011) can pick one friendly standard power within his 5 range. He also gains Perplex because a fellow Generation X member, Maggott, is on the team. Possibilities are wide — and situational. Can be called by two characters. And that Student ID discount!
• CONS: An easy KO if he’s not defended. Does not hit hard. No Inspiration.

 

Vixen WFID-023

• PROS: Like Synch, Vixen (Justice League Unlimited 015) can pick just the power (from her card) she needs. Unlike him, she can hit very hard (Exploit with Close Combat Expert or Flurry? YES MA’AM) and Inspires (Super Senses).
• CONS: She is an easy KO from range since she likely won’t pick a defense power that could save her.

———

SO! That was a lot of reviewing just to figure what’s going on the Sideline for this team. Of the 6 slots available, here’s what I’ve decided on for sure:

1. Black Panther (War of the Realms Fast Forces 003):

But which should be my other five picks? (Ruling out a few …  they’re just bad)

• Cyborg (Rebirth 013)
• Falcon (M17-007)
• Luke Cage (M19-005) 
• M (XXS 042)
• Power Girl (Rebirth 022)
• Prodigy (XXS 047)
• S.H.I.E.L.D. Diplomat (ABPI)
• Captain America (Captain America and the Avengers 039) —OR— Nick Fury (Captain Marvel 004)
• Spider-Man (SVC 018) 
• Storm (WOTR L003)
• Synch (XXS 011) 
• Vixen (JLU 015)

Tell me in the comments!