Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens, today we’re looking at the “star” of last Friday’s joke post, Superman:
He might have the saddest, most boring sculpt in the game, but at least he can hold an object just fine.
Be back Thursday for another edition of Token Totin’!
V Nova (Supernova)
This dial best represents Richard Rider just prior to the events of Annihilation…right down to the mid-dial Hypersonic Speed. But it’s woefully underpowered for Nova Prime.
Outfit's wrong, too.
Fortunately, there’s a solution. Similar to my earlier Black Widow custom, where I took a Gambit dial to better represent her powers, I used Hammer of Thor’s Air-Walker to sub as Nova powered by the full Nova Force:
Not a bad stand-in! And, unlike the earlier Black Widow mod, having the right keyword ensures that I’ll actually use him.
Now I just needed to make the look fit the dial. Here’s what I did:
Completed mid- 2010.
Next: two Bat-allies become a completely urelated and un-clixed character.
Although I usually devote Fridays to F.U.N. teams or F.U.N. character reviews, I’m trying out a different feature this week: the Friday Funny!
After all, HeroClix is a very amusing game if you don’t take winning and losing so stinking seriously.
Case in point: Some months ago, various HCRealms members did an amusing thread featuring the infamously boring, static and just plain bad Superman sculpt from DC 75th Anniversary:
I call 'im "Muscle-Suit" Superman.
Anyway, here was my contribution.
...Even the alternative Intelligent Design theory can't explain this one.
The “Thor” film is good…good enough to easily carry its share of the Marvel Studios load to make Avengers work next year. Fittingly, the comic god of thunder can tote his tokens in HeroClix as well, leading to this all-Thor edition of Token Totin’…on his day, no less (as Thursday is a corruption of Thor’s Day). Starting with the Hammer of Thor fig:
Fit it behind his right helmet wing and his hammer arm for best results.
It’s a bit tenuous. You may have to try a few spots before you find the one that works with the way your particular HoT Thor is bent.
The oft-feuding brothers Thor & Loki work together to tote the token:
Wedges easily between Thor's cape and right knee.
And there’s absolutely no shortage of ways for Thor’s Mighty Chariot to haul objects.
Back to normal, non-duo figures. Supernova Thor has an easier time of it than his HoT successor:
Also in his armored 286-point iteration:
And though I again don’t have the actual piece, this is one I’ve tested and mocked up in Photoshop…Clobberin’ Time Thor:
But…wait. Wasn’t there one more Thor sculpt? Yeah…
…but he’s devoid of actual Super Strength. (‘Cause he’s not really Thor. Not really.)
From Batman, Inc. #1.
I’m not a huge Batman fan, whether in comics or clix. But there’s no denying he’s a great character, no matter who’s wearing the cowl…there’s a reason he endures even after celebrating his 75th anniversary just last week.
So when mad genius comics writer Grant Morrison created “Batman, Inc.” with Bruce Wayne’s public revelation that he’d been bankrolling Batman for years, and then followed it with a team-up between Bruce Wayne Batman and Catwoman in that first issue as well, this Modern Age team quickly formed itself:
Batman and Catwoman (The Brave and the Bold) 142
Batman (DC 75th Anniversary #031) 77
Robin (The Brave and the Bold) 43
Alfred (Batman Alpha) 30
+ Indigo Lantern 5
+ Dynamostat 0
+ Kinetic Accelerator 0
= 297 points.
FIRST TEAM FACED: Chris’s Martial Artists led by Bullseye (Web of Spider-Man) + Thunderbolts ATA, Nightcrawler (Web of Spider-Man), Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor), and Howard the Duck on my choice of the Castle map, picked more for fun than for effectiveness.
TURNING POINTS
===
LAST MATCH was against Brian’s Future theme of Kid Zoom, Trevor Fitzroy, Karate Kid and Ahab on his choice of a 3rd-party map.
TURNING POINTS
MVP: Batman & Catwoman are a really strong duo…they could almost take on these teams themselves, given the right die rolls. But the presence of Robin as ever-ready tie-up and Batman as a very strong secondary help BatCats shoulder the load. Finally, there’s Alfred’s Support as the back-up plan should things go wrong (as they did in the 2nd game when Batwing crit-misses and took a hit, losing Charge).
I will play Batman, Inc. again in Modern Age, as all the characters remain legal when Avengers, Justice League, Mutations & Monsters, and Crisis all retire May 15. (I’ll have to find a different special object than the Dynamostat, though!)
Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens, today we’re looking at…um…(looking through my photos file) bashful Benjamin J. Grimm:
See how the token fits between his fingers, there? NICE. Be back Thursday for a special edition of Token Totin’!
Whoa, it’s been WAY too long since I did one of these. Part of the reason is that I’m running out of mods to write about. But enough with the procrastination. Time to wrap up this, my first regular feature, by early June.
AIR-WALKER (Hammer of Thor)
There’s nothing that needed fixing on this sculpt. But this dial, though? I had another use for it. However, I didn’t want to waste this piece needlessly, so I came up with a plan to have my cake and eat it too:
Now I had a dial I could swap sculpts with: this original and another character’s who just so happens to thoroughly fit the dial as well. We’ll see him next week.
First off, an apology to readers: I thought I’d scheduled the battle report I promised last time just in case I did get entirely sidetracked like I suspected I might. You’ll see that article next Wednesday…guaranteed.
Although this probably isn’t news to most of my readers who frequent both Heroclixin’ and HCRealms: yours truly was voted the winner of the HCRealms T-shirt design contest late last summer, with this design and slogan:
Really, though, it was the slogan that people loved more than the design, which stings me a bit, being a professional graphic designer. (But I’m also a professional writer, so it balances out.) Indeed, some folks actively hated the design, making the contest sponsor a little uncertain what direction to go in.
The irony is that I’d only done the orange version on a whim and suggestion by a voter. Here’s the actual original design that somehow got lost or overlooked in the submissions:
Better, but the same issues remain, I think. I did a final revision that addressed my problems with the original design:
But the sponsor felt that even this didn’t quite scream “buy me” enough, and the use of the silhouetted figures treaded too closely to copyright infringement for his comfort. So he chose to go with another designer’s take on the same idea, and this was the result:
Yes. I approve.
Even though I get a free shirt as winner, I’m buying this, too. 🙂 If my own design hadn’t won, I’d intended to print one for myself. Now, I don’t think I’d bother.
Go to the poll at www.hcrealms.com and register your preferred shirt size and buy one or more!
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OK. As I write this, the midnight showing of “Thor” is a few scant hours away. Depending on how well I like the film, I might be trying out some Asgard-themed teams in the near future. We’ll see.
Been a little while since I last contributed to this photojournal of which Super-Strong characters’ sculpts can hold a standard object token. Today, it’s that onetime killer of Superman himself:
DOOMSDAY (DC 75th Anniversary)
Fits easily — if a bit loosely — between his back and the "flag."
Be back for Thursday’s edition. But before that, come back tomorrow for a new battle report.
Finally at the end!
The #2 WINNER is:
BATTLE FURY
Battle Fury has long been little more than a detriment: it keeps one from making ranged attacks or being carried. Sure, it protected one from Mind Control, but how often does that help ya?
Well, it’s finally gotten a couple of upgrades. First, it now ignores that other light-blue power…Incapacitate. Second, it ignores Shape Change (including the variety used by the Skrulls/Danger Girl team abilities). And, of course, the power retains its other qualities, especially its discounting effect on point cost.
With a pair of completely positive changes and no drawbacks, Battle Fury is nearly the biggest winner of 2011’s ruleset.
The #2 LOSER?
GIANTS.
Otherwise known as Giant Walking Targets, these tall ones have always been magnets for ranged attacks, and the introduction of multiple elevations to the game does nothing to alleviate that weakness…it maybe makes it a little worse.
But the biggest harm they suffer has nothing to do with their own abilities, but rather a change to another. Friendly Giants can no longer be moved with Telekinesis. This used to be a nice little way of addressing Giants’ difficulty in getting into a fight without being shot to pieces first, or getting them out of trouble. It’s gone now.
Another game change is the removal of canceling. Until now, a character could cancel its powers/abilities during a turn. This was good for a few characters who possessed the Giant symbol via a Special Power, allowing them to “shrink” to normal size for a turn and avoid enemy lines of fire — something other Giants can’t do. Now these part-time Giants (Crisis Mordru, M+M Box and especially SI Yellowjacket Skrull) are just as vulnerable as the regular ones.
Giants do get a few new plusses: they can interact with higher elevations at will (though that works both ways for line of fire), or carry regardless of tokens (though only on move actions) and their Great Size and Giant Reach abilities can’t be countered. But their inherent positioning issues are still too big a liability, making them nearly the biggest losers of all.
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And the #1 WINNER after the 2011 rulebook kicks in May 1st is:
PULSE WAVE
It’s always been the ultimate answer to any power in HeroClix.
Basically the only defense against it was to hide behind blocking terrain or a Barrier. But when the 2008 rules shut down ranged attacks in adjacency, Pulse Wave got its own rock to its scissors — a tied-up PWer couldn’t use the power, as Pulse Wave is a ranged attack.
That’s no longer the case in 2011. Pulse Wave can now be used even when based. This is super for every single character with the power, ranging from the great (Hammer of Thor’s Odin and Ultron just got terrifyingly stronger still) to the small (Arkham Asylum’s Human Bomb and Johnny Sorrow are smiling now, even though you can’t see their faces). And the ever-frightening Nova Blast feat will certainly come back in vogue for Golden Age games.
This fantastically simple yet powerful improvement to one of the game’s strongest powers makes Pulse Wave the #1 winner of the 2011 rulebook!
The #1 biggest LOSER on May 1st?
TRANSPORTERS’ MOVE AND ATTACK
Apparently undercosted at its inception and even moreso once true Hypersonic Speed lost its second option, the powers that be decided to remove its ability to fire at full range. This doesn’t affect those with no range, but folks like GX Archangel and FF Hawkeye take a hit.
Um...Aquaman...? The new rules kill Manta enough. You don't need to kill him anymore.
(And, frankly, Brightest Day Aquaman’s latter-dial doesn’t dig this change so much, either.)
With a huge negative and no counterbalancing positives, Move And Attack is the biggest loser with the 2011 rules. But that won’t stop anyone from using it if they’ve got it!
Thanks for reading!