Heroclixin' ...it's all about F.U.N.

Another pre-Corona World flashback, featuring the Boy Wonder (and a couple of wonderful girls, too)

 

LONG ago, I wrote a bit about how I’d like to run a force of nothing but Robins. There have been a LOT more added to the game since then and I’ve tried it out a few times. Here’s the latest:

Robin [Batman The Animated Series 002] 35

Robin [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 031] 40

Robin [WizKids DP19-009] 40

Robin [Elseworlds 048] 45

Robin [Batman The Animated Series 102] 50

Robin [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 031] 55

Robin [Batman The Animated Series 041] 75

Robin [Rebirth 050] 75

Batcycle [WizKids DP19-010] 40

Duke Thomas [Rebirth 011a] 35

= 490 points.

My opponent, David, is an occasional returning player who’s relearning the rules, so I often coached him as to some of his best move options. His team: X-Men

Cable [X-Men The Dark Phoenix Saga 015] 75

Colossus [Avengers V X-Men 012] 125

Gambit [X-Men The Dark Phoenix Saga 025] 65

Magik [Avengers V X-Men 013] 125

Storm [WizKids M19-003] 75

= 465 points

Dave had just bought the Earth X starter set, so he selected the Wakanda X map.

That was the first of the game’s TURNING POINTS:

• Too much Stealth meant he had to close in on my team eventually, severely blunting the threat represented by Storm’s 12 AV Running Shot. So he had to cart Colossus in close with Magik. But the big guy got one-turned (he was on his short dial) and Magik was beat up, too. I left her alone in favor of engaging the rest of Dave’s team.

TURNING POINT

• I did not notice Magik’s Pulse Wave.
• I DID notice the CRIT HIT Dave rolled using it.

Between them all being clumped together and getting knocked back into the edge of the map or blocking terrain, my team took a whopping 22 clicks of damage!

It was something of a last gasp, though. The Robins were all more than healthy enough to continue swarming Cable, Storm and Gambit to defeat — especially after 030 “Thrillkiller” Robin fell to the Mystics TA, KOing Magik and tokening up those remaining X-Men to ruin David’s tempo for a comeback.

———

MVP(s):

I spent a little too much money acquiring Batcycle Robin, but yo, he might be my favorite Boy Wonder right now. And of course Thrillkiller Robin (and No.10 and 37 Favorite of the 2017 and the Decade, respectively) always puts in work.

———

I have a much larger team of Robins planned for some future throwdown with a similar swarm, maybe with point costs capped at 100 or less. IDK 🙂

My longtime clix buddy Lenny and I periodically have big matches between themed forces — Avengers vs. JLA, Marvel Knights vs. The Hand, Asgard vs. enemies of the Golden Realm, what have you.

Anyway, he’s been keeping score, apparently, between these big matches. And he wanted a final deciding fight between his Inhumans and my Guardians of the Galaxy — the latter being an old favorite theme of mine to which Lenny is largely responsible for introducing me.

The Inhumans have gotten a LOT of new juice lately, while GOTG has waned a bit. So I loaded this team for the best Inhumanity could bring to bear. We played this a few months before Corona World began.

 

My GUARDIANS:

Adam Warlock [Galactic Guardians 004] 165 points

Aleta [Supernova 043] 51 points

Bug [Hammer of Thor 001] 44 points

Charlie-27 [Galactic Guardians 012] 92 points

Cosmo [Avengers Infinity 039] 70 points

Drax The Destroyer [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie 013] 94 points

Gamora [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Vol. 2 006] 65 points

Groot [Web of Spider-Man 049] 152 points

Major Victory [Guardians of the Galaxy 005] 95 points

Mantis [Avengers Infinity 030] 50 points

Martyr [Guardians of the Galaxy 040] 160 points

Nebula [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Vol. 2 015] 100 points

Nova [Avengers Infinity 032] 150 points

Rocket Raccoon [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie 018] 100 points

Star-Lord [Guardians of the Galaxy 030] 110 points

Yondu [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Vol 2 016] 100 points

The linchpins of my team are Star-Lord, who allows all GOTG figs to share the highest defense value of the team, which is Rocket Raccoon’s 19 DV.

 

Lenny’s INHUMANS:

Alpha Primitive [Guardians of the Galaxy 018] 30 points x2

Black Bolt [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 042] 145 points + Reality Gem 5 points

Black Knight [Earth X 032] 100 points

Crystal [Chaos War 044] 105 points

Gorgon[Guardians of the Galaxy Fast Forces 005] 150

Karnak [Guardians of the Galaxy Fast Forces 004] 100

Lockjaw [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 059] 40

Maelstrom [Captain America 049] 225 points

Maximus [Guardians of the Galaxy 038] 75 points

Medusa [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 030] 50

Ms. Marvel [The Mighty Thor 037] 90 points

Ronan The Accuser [Guardians of the Galaxy 020] 153

Talon  [Guardians of the Galaxy 022] 60 points

Thane [Guardians of the Galaxy 060] 115 points

Triton [Earth X 048] 100 points

This team is surprisingly … old. I expected a few more of the newer, better Inhumans like those seen in Earth X. But in truth, Lenny has the best of those on this force anyway, and he’s also using one of the strongest of the older days: Maelstrom, who delivers a -2 speed penalty to any of my force within 8 squares! His strategy will revolve around that huge debuff to my ability to attack with my mobile fighters.

———

I picked the Savage Land map from X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, an outdoor map with a mountain peak and hindering everywhere.

Lenny set up most of his force on the mountain, with Maelstrom positioned where he could limit nearly every one of my many Charge and Hypersonic figures from doing, well, much of anything. But in the process, he blocked most of his Probability Control. It’s a good thing for him because my first attacks were unsuccessful, leading to the first of the game’s

TURNING POINTS:

I built a Barrier to dissuade Lenny from counterattacking Nova after his miss … Thane could have otherwise REALLY messed him up. But he really didn’t have to. He was pretty secure in his spot … he thought.

But my goal was simply to clear a shot on Maelstrom. Then, once I could hit that piece to click 5, he becomes a giant and my whole ranged force could light him the absolute hell up before he could fight back effectively

And that’s what happened. With Maelstrom gone, the Guardians could really get into the fight proper.

Lenny also continued to play very conservatively, which played right to my game plan of going HAM.

And nowhere was that more exemplified that with Yondu and this SP:

WHISTLING ARROW ATTACK: Give Yondu a range combat action targeting a single opposing character. Each time he hits and the attack resolves, he may make a range attack targeting a single opposing character that has not yet been targeted this action, counting range and drawing lines of fire as if he occupied the square of the character most recently hit. Each hit character is dealt 2 damage instead of normal damage.

He shot an Alpha Primitive. Then another. Then Thane. Then Black Knight. Then Ms. Marvel. Then Black Bolt and finally Ronan, never rolling less than an 8! A combo of Barrier and TK kept Yondu safe from counterattacks for a turn.

THEN HE DID IT ALL OVER AGAIN. SAME SEQUENCE. SAME HITS.

This was by far the most success I’ve EVER had using this chase Yondu.

Started rolling badly toward the end, but the victory was well and truly mine. Lost only Bug, Charlie, Drax and Yondu.

Highlights

Bug, as always, served his role as tie-up sacrifice, delaying and distracting the dangerous Thane from going after bigger game.

Drax The Destroyer actually reached his chosen target, Ronan, in a F.U.N. bit of movie accuracy. Unfortunately, his proto-STOP clicks didn’t work once.

This was the first game I’ve ever used Martyr in where she didn’t end up living down to her unfortunate name. I think her getting to pair up with Nova as a fellow HSS hitter took heat off her for once.

This was also the first time I managed to get good use out of swapping Adam Warlock out for Magus and back again.

Despite being an old-school version, Groot was invaluable as a vector for Star-Lord to use his SP Outwit to nix powers from near total safety. And speaking of Star-Lord…

…him and that chase Rocket Raccoon are just a mean combo. 19 base DV for the whole team and Outwit anywhere. I expected a much stronger Inhumans team and so loaded for bear.

———

I think this wraps up our Guardians vs. Inhumans matches, with it in 2-1 the GOTG’s favor. I gifted Len a bunch of Inhumans pieces that were gathering dust and he didn’t have, so we both left happy.

Next match of ours will be either Asgard or mutant-based. But the when depends on what happens in Corona World…

 

At long last, the delayed-by-Corona World set Justice League Unlimited is out! Here’s a (hopefully) complete checklist for both the figures — main set and starter set — and the 120-ish Team Up Cards.

Above is a low res preview. You get two copies of the pocket checklist and one list for the Team Up Cards.

 

Download the PDF from this link:

JLUnlimitedCHECKLIST

 

Every year, a batch of clix heads off into Golden Age. And every year, Heroclixin’ feels some type of way.

Heroclix 2020 Modern Rotation

5-Figure Booster Sets (including Organized Play game elements and incentives associated with each set)

• DC Heroclix: Elseworlds … becomes ElseWHEN

• The hammer drops on … Marvel Heroclix: The Mighty Thor

• DC Heroclix: Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls … get dumped

• Star Trek Heroclix: Away Team: The Original Series … is canceled

• Marvel Heroclix: X-Men: Xavier’s School … closes its doors

• Marvel Heroclix: Avengers Infinity … is not infinite

 

Fast Forces Packs

• DC Heroclix: Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls Fast Forces

No one in Heroclixin’ bought any of this set. Rurouni KJS has thought about picking up some of them individually, but talked himself out of it every time.

• Marvel Heroclix: X-Men: Xavier’s School Fast Forces

In the height of X-Men ID card meta, I guess Rusty was usable? Or am I confusing him with the regular set version?

The Cyclops was a bargain basement option for the ID card(s), but that’s over. It’s canceled.

• Marvel Heroclix: Avengers Infinity Fast Forces

The Hawkeye was kinda OK and of course I love Black Panther. Otherwise there was not one damn thing apart from Giant-Girl that anyone cared for in this.

• TMNT Heroclix: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Unplugged – Fast Forces

I may have bought the Donatello as a single from this set. Maybe. I’m sure I played it once if I did. I think?

 

Starter Sets

Ah, the starter set, where many a new Heroclix player gets a shot at learning the game … or would if we vets didn’t buy up every one in search of new maps, a new rulebook and the possible meta piece in each one.

• DC Heroclix: Elseworlds starter set

Scant weeks before a fully revamped rulebook was set to release in late summer 2017, WizKids put out this, the second of TWO last-gasp starters with the old ruleset.

Kinda fitting that we never used one damn single piece from it.

(Well, OK, maybe Rurouni KJS used the Cyborg from it once maybe)

• Marvel Heroclix: The Mighty Thor starter set

Now THIS was the real thing: the new rules and all. And it included Hulk, a figure that would always be meta-adjacent at minimum.

• Star Trek Heroclix: Away Team: The Original Series starter set

Heroclixin’ only got one fig from this set, but webmaster pal Chadd loved the HELL out these pieces and put them to great use more than once.

 

Micro Sets

• Heroclix: Undead

A rare excursion by WizKids into non-license territory, this set was a lot of F.U.N. and almost entirely void of meta potential, so no great loss for it going Golden.

• Marvel Heroclix: Thor: Ragnarok

I liked getting black Valkyrie and Heimdall in this, but neither got much play in Modern.

• TMNT Heroclix: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Unplugged

A few of the Foot generics saw the meta field. It’ll be good to be able to officially play the chase Donatello in Golden Age even without the character card (that was missing from boosters more often than not due to WizKids’ famous Quality (out of) Control)

 

Convention Exclusive and Limited Edition Game Elements

Usually, con exclusives get a longer lease on Modern life and these releases from 2017 were no exception.

2017 Convention Exclusives and Limited Edition Game Elements:

• WK DP17-001 Sinestro
• WK DP17-002 Doomsday
• WK DP17-003 Superman
• WK DP17-004 Muhammad Ali 🙁
• WK DP17-005 Plastic Man
• WK DP17-006 Bat-Knight (Taylor is NOT SORRY to see this one go)
• WK DP17-007 Zeus
• WK DP17-008 Boxing Ring (a meta staple to this day. Its day is over)

• WK D17-V001 Invisible Plane
• WK D17-G001 Titano
• WK D17-B001 Ape Superman
• WK D17-B002 Ape The Flash
• WK D17-B003 Ape Green Lantern
• WK D17-B004 Ape Batman
• WK F17-001 Juggernaut
• WK MP17-001 Giant Man
• WK MP17-002 Spirit Of Vengeance Red Hulk
• WK MP17-003 Spider-Carnage
• WK MP17-004 Captain America
• WK MP17-005 Spider-Gwen
• WK MP17-006a Pym Particle Tank / MP17-006b Autopilot Pym Particle Tank
• WK MP17-007 Pym Pocket Tank (once a meta requirement, needed errata made it merely usefully optional)

• WK M17-G001 Dormammu
• WK M17-V001 Deadpool’s Merc Jet
• WK M17-B001 Serpent Spider-Man
• WK M17-B002 Serpent Punisher
• WK M17-B003 Serpent Moon Knight
• WK M17-B004 Serpent Daredevil
• WK MQS-001 Iron Man
• WK MQS-002 Thor
• WK MQS-003 Captain America
• WK TP17-001 Cyber Shredder
• WK TP17-002 Pizza Face
• WK TP17-003 Bebop and Rocksteady

2018 Convention Exclusives and Limited Edition Game Elements:

But WHOA. Here’s the exception: This stuff released months after even the most recent sets in this round of retirement:

• WK MP18-001 Blackbird
• WK MVID-011 Colossus
• WK MVID-012 Professor X
• WK MVID-013 Banshee
• WK MVID-014 Psylocke
• WK MVID-015 Rogue
• WK MVID-016 Angel
• WK MVID-017 Beast
• WK MVID-018 Cyclops
• WK MVID-019 Iceman
• WK MVID-020 Jean Grey

• WK DOFP-001 Wolverine
• WK DOFP-002 Kate Pryde
• WK DOFP-003 Colossus
• WK DOFP-004 Rachel Summers
• WK DOFP-005 Storm
• WK DOFP-006 Magneto

• WK DCID-008 Harley Quinn
• WK DCID-009 The Joker
• WK DCID-010 Mr. Freeze
• WK DCID-011 Poison Ivy
• WK DCID-012 Two Face

WizKids just decided that ID Card meta will no longer be a thing in HeroClix anymore. And we of Heroclixin’ are ALL FOR IT. Much like feat cards and resources did before, IDs reduced high-level play too much to fighting elements off the board with no counter apart from one or two silver bullets among hundreds of pieces available in Modern Age.

Good riddance!

Finally, there’s these departures:

Monthly Organized Play Sets

• March 2017 (M17-007 Falcon, M17-008 Kate Bishop, M17-009 Miss America)
• April 2017 (M17-004 Polaris, M17-005 Havok, M17-006 Banshee)
• May 2017 (D17-001 Huntress, D17-002 Power Girl, D17-003 The Flash)
• September 2017 (M17-010 Colossus, M17-011 Storm, M17-012 Blink)
• November 2017 (M17-001 Scarlet Spider, M17-002 Doctor Voodoo, M17-003 Synapse)

As hinted by the opening image, yours truly (Rurouni KJS) will miss … um … Miss America.

COVID-19 continues to disrupt our lives in America. Heroclixin’ is no exception. Ye olde webmaster Rurouni KJS is preoccupied with finding new employment, so I haven’t been thinking much about keeping this blog fresh. And it’s not like we’re able to get much in the way of tabletop F.U.N. with social distancing being a thing.

But I can’t abandon Heroclixin’ entirely, or even at all. So it’s time for me to spend a little of this extra time digging out some posts that have been languishing in draft status for A WHILE.

The first is an installment in a little series I INTENDED to publish in recognition of Heroclixin’s 10th anniversary last year: How yours truly and fellow board members Sceritz and Taylor even got started playing this great game.

So this is a mea culpa to Taylor, aka The Baker Tay, aka TBT, who answered the call early and I just sat on his writeup for a whole dang year.

———

Heroclix started in my life as a goal.

My first piece was Hypertime Aquaman #52. I grabbed him off a “free” table at my first anime/games/etc convention at Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland.

It was the coolest thing ever.

Jump ahead a few years, and I found the Watchmen Fast Forces at a local music and games shop. I loved that store, I was still interested about the game, and one day I knew I’d play it with someone. I picked it up. I still had no clue how to play.

It was the coolest thing ever.

I’m a mostly full-grown adult, moved a (literal) thousand miles away, and I took a vacation back to a convention with a bunch of friends that I missed dearly. In that con was my first game of Heroclix. In a sealed event of War of Light, It was me against another new player. The judge was probably the epitome of an enthusiast, and he got to me. I loved the game. I played the Lost Lanterns Arisia and Graf Toren with an Orange Lantern Construct, and I can’t remember what my opponent played. I didn’t care. It brought comic books to life. It was intoxicating, even with the loss I took that day. The judge gave me a Kyle Rayner LE (yes, THAT Kyle Rayner) as a thank-you for playing, and the Green Lantern Battery. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all vacation.

It was the coolest thing ever.

I go back home to the great “A”, with a determination to play this game more than once in ten years. Thanks to the internet, I find a local game store, play more consistently, meet Rurouni KJS and Sceritz… and it snowballed from there. I still love that stupid, very-strong Kyle Rayner. I also hope I find that guy who taught me how to play. I owe him a game or two.

 

Coolest. Thing. Ever.

———

And that was the coolest intro to HeroClix ever!

Though many of us don’t have much of the set due to Corona World, we’ve finally gotten all the figures revealed. So here’s a PDF download of the set.

 

JLUnlimitedCHECKLIST

Low res preview:

We also have a companion checklist in the works for the 100+ Team Up cards that are also included in the set, but about 10% of those cards are still undiscovered so no checklist yet. Here’s a preview:

 

So the U.S. is semi-paralyzed by coronavirus concerns at the moment. Guess I’ll spend some of this time publishing some Heroclixin’ stories and whatnot.

---

 

So I went to one of my favorite venues last year for some games. As usual, I brought multiple teams. And because the judge is chill and the turnout was small, he let me run each one.

 

1st F.U.N. fight:

Punisher Van vs. Nicos

The event:  Golden Age

My theme: Marvel Knights

My team:

Punisher [WizKids M19-011] 75

Punisher Van [WizKids MP16-004] 75

Elektra [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 037] 75

Daredevil [WizKids MP18-007] 50

SIDELINE: Elektra [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 030], Elektra [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 037]

I faced Bill’s team of Nicos: Nico Minoru [Hammer of Thor 047], Nico Minoru [What If 031], Nico Minoru [What If 106], Nico Minoru [Battleworld 045] and Sister Grimm [Battleworld 005] on my ROC Prison map.

I drove the Van up the stairs, giving Bill decent first shots. And, to use his words: “You never should’ve told me it exploded.”

You see, Bill loves a Kuriboh team that I’ve run afoul of before. He also plays aggressively with little heed to his own team’s survival sometimes, so he went full force with an Outwit and BCF and Penetrating Psychic Blast and succeeded in detonating the Van well before I could get Elektra or Daredevil out of range.

Punisher went on to fail every breakaway to Running Shot, so it was DD and Elektra who scored the KOs for the win.

 

2nd F.U.N. fight

Scarlets vs Brutes

Scarlet Spider [WizKids M19-009] 75

Scarlet Spider [Avengers Assemble ] 60 x 3

SIDELINE: equipped Jocasta [Age of Ultron 039]

I faced George’s Lobo [WizKids DP19-002] @125, Skurge [The Mighty Thor 029b], Grizzly [Deadpool & X-Force 012] with the Bloodaxe special object on my ROC prison map.

I began with nothing but Sidesteps. That gave George all the time he needed to get equipped. Nothing I could do about that.

TURNING POINT

Lobo dropped Dawg and I lost when I A) picked Outwit/Perplex from Jocasta (instead of Precision Strike) intending to save it for the Main Man and then Dawg got his Impervious roll. From there, any bit of damage dealt was healed either by Steal Energy (from the Bloodaxe) or Dawg as Skurge was unhittable, dealing mass range shots and even Grizzly took out my top Scarlet. Never had a chance.

Bill didn’t even want to play that team with his Nicos and dipped. But I’d brought one more team…

 

3rd F.U.N. fight:

Cyclops [Xavier’s School 052] @50

Lila Cheney [WizKids M17-015]

Dust [Xavier’s School 056]

Oya [Xavier’s School 031]

Kitty Pryde [Regenesis ]

Armor [Giant-Size X-Men ]

Prodigy ID 3

Jubilee ID 3

Wolverine Bounty ID 5

SIDELINE: Prodigy [Xavier’s School], Jubilee , Wolverine [Xavier’s School 053]

George dropped Skurge from his earlier team and boosted Lobo to full cost (200 points).

I got a Leadership early to take a token off Lila, so I decided to block George’s duo in the doorway. But I made my first error and put Armor in front and she got one-shot (Exploit). Bye 18 Defend.

Options were bad and worse: No LOF for Oya’s 2 targets, no shot for Cyke, only a single attack for Dust, and Lockheed’s EE would hurt me.

So I evac’d to another cell. With the team out of actions and her full of passengers, Lila had to leave the dragon, who died.

Lobo came out to the courtyard and that’s when I had a shot.

First, Dust Sidestepped out and took out a pillar of blocking to clear the LOF to Grizzly.

Then Kitty Sidestepped to be an Enhancement battery.

Then Cyke PPBlasted Lobo for 4.

Then Oya got her two-target double shot with 4 damage, plus 1 penetrating to Lobo.

Wore Lobo down to STOP, twice, then ID Wolverine got 7 on 2nd Flurry for the win.

———

This was the game where Oya vaulted from being a figure that just kinda barely made it onto my favorites of 2018 into being a Top 15 of the decade piece. 🙂

As is common for Heroclixin’, we’ve made a pocket checklist for the latest full-sized set. (Thanks, as always, to the crowdsourcing at HCRealms.com for the compiled advance info.)

The download includes FOUR checklists per download (printed on letter sized paper. I like card stock). I figure if I print them out that way at home, I ought to offer them that way to you as well.

Link below.

Cap&Avengerschecklist

So I thought some more about my countdown list.

There are a lot of figures on that list that simply have not aged well and, if I made their respective years’ lists today, might not have been considered a favorite. So I went to my checklists, looked at names and asked again as I did in 2016’s countdown:

“When I see this figure in my storage box, do I immediately wish I had a team it could be a good fit on?”

Hence this addendum to the Favorites countdown!

———

Alternate V (added 3/19/2022)

Dr. Claire Finn (The Orville 003) 2019

THEN: She came out so late in 2019 that she didn’t make that year’s top 10 list.

NOW: She’s a mainstay on my All-Black Everything team with her super Support skills and her blobby pal, Lt. Yaphit.

NEXT: She’ll be on any team I can reasonably fit her on, whether Hidden Figures (female Black scientist themed team) or a force that needs a healer.

———

Alternate U (added 10/21/2021)

Frenzy (X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga 027) 2019

THEN: She *almost* made it to my top 10 list proper. If Taylor hadn’t had any nominations back then, she’d have squeaked on.

NOW: Frenzy is one of those “I wish I had a team for you” pieces I look at longingly every time I come across it. I also realized that XDPS was completely unrepresented in the decade list and was the ONLY full set missing.

NEXT: Acolytes and Femizons she’ll always be on.

———

Alternate T (added 10/21/2021)

Storm (X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga 023b) 2019

THEN: One I had to have because I collect all the Black characters in HeroClix. She’s also quite good and when it came time for my decade bracket tournament and I found the 2019 squad sorely short on points, I added her without delay.

NOW: She’s a bit less potent with new rules but still very F.U.N.

NEXT: I’m still planning a big Storm vs. Cyclops throwdown.

————

Alternate S (added 4/16/2021)

Dee Jay (Street Fighter 010) 2011

THEN: A bit of a slow-burn fave but one who just got crowded off the highly competitive keyword teams fits, Celebrity and Martial Artist. But dang if I don’t want to play this piece EVERY time I see it. So here he is.

NOW: That 2 damage was never much good and less so at 75 points. But in the Golden Age games he plays well in? LUNGE. The Lunge feat all day, every day.

NEXT: He will see new life in HeroClix 3.0 (aka the 2021 rules overhaul).

————

Alternate R (added 3/16/2021)

Superman (Superman 055) 2011

THEN: An alternate-Earth version of Supes was notable for his ability to start with a heavy object already in hand and to deal penetrating when using it. This piece, more than probably any other, was responsible for my now-stalled drive to collect every distinct Superman/Clark Kent costume variation because I love “Super-Hoodie” here. I can’t believe it didn’t make my list of favorites that year!

NOW: With objects doing less damage these days and his stats having been fairly well power-crept past, he feels overcosted.

NEXT: It will not stop me from playing him — especially in the massive Lex Luthors vs. Supermen solo battle I might try after Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary comes out.

———

Alternate Q (added February 2017 and 3/16/2021)

Patriot (Civil War Storyline 021) 2016

THEN: So in 2017, when I needed to fill out some points to face off against Sceritz’s team of favorites from 2016, I added this Young Avenger:

“Once one of Heroclixin’s top needed remakes, this new version of the Young Avengers’ leader is just what we wanted. A Leadership figure for his team. A secondary attacker. Indomitable. A new favorite.”

NOW: Changes to Leadership made his SP version superfluous. And the 2021 changes might make nearly his whole existence superfluous. But he remains a favorite, if only an alternate, and should have been on the list a year ago. So here he is for posterity.

NEXT: He’s pretty much only for Young Avengers squads.

———

Alternate P (added 12/22/2020)

Thor (The Mighty Thor 061) 2017

THEN: This armored suit from late in Thor visionary creator Walter Simonson’s legendary 1980’s run made this a must-keep in my collection even though it was one of the most money figures in the game for a while thanks to his meta-as-hell Mjolnir equipment. But me, I insisted on only using the equip on its true owner even though I’m not a huge Asgard fan and rarely play the theme — or this piece.

NOW: Even now, I see this fig and just wanna put it on a team even though he’s a little un-F.U.N. and yet still too many points.

NEXT: He made an appearance during quarantine.

————

Alternate O (added 9/22/2020)

Faust [Superman/Wonder Woman 056] 2015

THEN: This was a top F.U.N. fig in 2015, one of the years when I split the FUN from my personal favorites. Soft and hard to play but with a then-unprecedented 3d6 attack roll skill and enhanced Sidestep SP.

NOW: But in going back over the faves list recently (for… reasons…) I was somewhat stunned that I’d not added him to this list of alternates. So here he is.

NEXT: I’ve been wanting to run an Outsiders theme and he’s a lock on any Golden Age build of that keyword I EVER play.

————

Alternate N

Impulse [DC75 Anniversary 104] 2010

THEN: I loved that annoying Shape Change SP that kept him from being the usual Hypersonic hit-and-run piece, though it was hard to fit him on teams without good keywords.

NOW: He’s cheap (49 points) but fragile. He’s also been lapped by newer Impulses.

NEXT: Don’t know when or how to play him, just that I want to

————

Alternate M

Nightshade [Captain America 027] 2011

THEN: She’s all about her SP to give an adjacent fig — friend or foe — Battle Fury and Blades at her turn’s start … neither of which can be used against her (she’s immune to that foe’s attacks their turn). She’s a lot of F.U.N. though her stats weren’t great.

NOW: She looks even worse today for 72 points — 9 AV or lower, only 5 clicks. But that SP still remains amazingly Useful.

NEXT: It’s been ages since I ran a M.O.D.O.K.’s 11 heist crew. Maybe need to get the gang back together for a job.

————

Alternate L

Bard the Bowman [The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug 009] 2013

THEN: There was a time I collected every archer in the game. But I was amazed at this one’s ability to shoot despite target defenses.

NOW: He costs 83 points — 3 more than Green Arrow [Elseworlds 049], who is better than Bard in every way except dial length. But that meta chase figure is also the reason I DON’T collect archers anymore.

NEXT: Every once in a while I play an archer squad and he’s always on it. And will be again.

————

Alternate K

Batman [Gotham City Strategy Game 001] 2013

THEN: His Utility Belt SP giving him access to damage powers not on his card made him my go-to Batman for years.

NOW: At 115 points, he’s too pricey to take the top Bat-spot from others in that price range, and his once-unique SP has been outdone by far.

NEXT: Yet he remains in the collection for another one of those massive Batman teams someday.

————

Alternate J

Hulk [Avengers Age of Ultron 105] 2015

THEN: This starter set piece (and its main set sculptmate) are the reason my 2012 No. 8 favorite and No. 79 piece of the decade doesn’t impress nearly as much anymore.

NOW: It’s a bit less overbearing than its sculptmate [Avengers Age of Ultron 008] in a timed game, so this one is my choice.

NEXT: He’s on the Hulk vs. Logan mega match.

————

Alternate I

Batroc [Avengers Defenders War 050] 2017

THEN: He was Taylor’s No. 4 F.U.N. fig of 2017 and could have easily been one of my faves that year as well.

NOW: I kinda wish I’d put him on one of my lists so here he is

NEXT: I have a Golden Age team of every Batroc figure.

————

Alternate H

Giganta [Legion of Doom 006] 2014

THEN: She flew under the radar a bit for a long time, but because I’ve always liked giants, I found a way to get her onto a truly F.U.N. meta team that surprised a lot of people. (If only I didn’t misplay it so dagum badly, over and over again)

NOW: I’ve retired her into Golden Age, but I still really like this figure

NEXT: Looking at an all-Giganta team someday. Points are funny, though

————

Alternate G

Falcon [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 041b] 2019

THEN: He’s pretty much the best Falcon they’ll ever make.

NEXT: It’ll be cool to run this with all these new Captains America we’re getting in a month.

————

Alternate F

Photon [Avengers Infinity 036] 2018

THEN: Sceritz picked her as one of his faves of 2018, and the whole Heroclixin’ Board selected her as a top F.U.N. fig that year. She just got crowded out of my already overstuffed top picks.

NOW: She deserves much more play from me. SO MUCH MORE.

NEXT: I wish she had the Nextwave keyword SO MUCH

————

Alternate E

Shang-Chi [Deadpool 047] 2014

THEN: Good representation of the character. Couldn’t wait to see him in action for me.

NOW: I look back on him failing for me nearly every time. But I still think he looks great and it’s just my luck that’s horrid

NEXT: It has been years since I ran an original lineup Secret Avengers squad, of which he was the first “new” member. It’s time to build the latest version

————

Alternate D

Mysterio [WizKids M16-003] 2016

THEN: He was less flat-out F.U.N. than his sculptmates from 2013 (my No. 1 fave that year and No. 21 fave of the decade). But dang if I didn’t come close to using him and his Mysterio Illusion pogs to surround an enemy Spider-Man just like this!

 

NOW: All Mysterios are golden age and that makes me sad.

NEXT: I must play this very F.U.N. fig soon alongside all the other F.U.N. Mysterios

————

Alternate C

Crazy Jane [World’s Finest 019] 2016

THEN: Her wild dial is not for planner-type players. But she’s great for F.U.N. players

NOW: I DO NOT PLAY THIS FIG NEARLY ENOUGH.

NEXT: I WILL PLAY THIS FIG A LOT MORE.

————

Alternate B

Doctor Octopus [Earth X 034] 2019

THEN: I dropped him from my decade-long look back, but I really do like this piece a lot

NEXT: On that “White Suits” team I talked so much about!

————

Alternate A

Silver Samurai [Wolverine and the X-Men 044] 2013

THEN: Love this piece to death. Sometimes literally, as I do his one-time FREE Phase into the heart of trouble that his 17 Invulnerability cannot handle. I do not understand how it did not make my extensive Honorable Mentions that year.

NOW: I will play this figure today on any team he fits. I did less than a month before this post.

NEXT: ANY. TEAM. HE FITS.

————

Just a handy reference for when one (probably me) simply wants to check the ranking without crawling through the five-part countdown. (Addendum: a list of 20 or so alternates/honorable mentions)

• 121. Animal Man [DC 75th Anniversary 036] 2010
• 120. Swamp Thing [War of Light 053] 2014
• 119. Martian Manhunter [The Brave and The Bold 036] 2010
• 118. Gimli [Lord of the Rings 005] 2011
• 117. Amadeus Cho [Incredible Hulk 027] 2011
• 116. Titano [Superman/Wonder Woman G005] 2015
• (tie) 115. Green Goblin [Web of Spider-Man 058] / Doctor Octopus [Web of Spider-Man 054] 2010
• 114. Giant-Man [Chaos War 200] 2012
• 113. Stranger [Galactic Guardians 043] 2012
• 112. Aquaman [War of Light 029] 2014
• 111. Lex Luthor [Superman Fast Forces 004] 2011
• 110. Crystal [Chaos War 044] 2012
• 109. Every Last HeroClix Figure with the “Morph: Many Identities” Trait in Age of Ultron: Hank Pym [Age of Ultron 001], Ant-Man [003], Yellowjacket [022], Goliath [043], Giant-Man [044], Hank Pym [201], Ant-Man [202], Goliath [203], Yellowjacket [204], Ant-Man [205], Wasp [206] and Giant-Man [G200]. 2015
• 108. Static [Teen Titans 045] 2013
• 107. All the reporters in Superman/Wonder Woman with their “The World Needs To Know” special powers and traits: Newsboy Legion [007], Investigative Reporter [006], Lana Lang [029], Jimmy Olsen [027], Lois Lane [047], Clark Kent [026] and Superman [100]. 2015
• 106. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold [The Brave and The Bold 052] 2010
• 105. Uhura [Star Trek: The Original Series 038] 2017
• 104. Peace Machine [What If 0043] 2017
• 103. Superior Spider-Man [Deadpool 060] 2014
• 102. Luke Cage [Captain America 014] 2011
• 101. Question [WizKids D-008] 2013
• 100. Black Widow [Captain America 006] 2011
• 99. Cyborg [New 52 Justice League 006] 2012
• 98. Aquaman [Superman 048] 2011
• 97. Madrox [Giant-Size X-Men 001] 2011
• 96. Chameleon Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 031] 2014
• 95. Cloak [Amazing Spider-Man 202] 2013
• 94. Mirage [Wolverine and the X-Men 004] 2013
• 93. Triplicate Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 206] 2014
• 92. Superman II [Superman/Wonder Woman 019a] 2015
• 91. Frog-Man [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 048] 2016
• 90. The Spot [Web of Spider-Man 051] 2010
• 89. Luke Cage [Civil War Storyline 011] 2016
• 88. Batman [Superman/Wonder Woman 061] 2015
• 87. Fitz [Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD 021] 2015
• 86. Element Man [World’s Finest 040] 2016
• 85. Baby Doll [Batman The Animated Series 049] 2018
• 84. Veil [Avengers Asemble 023] 2015
• 83. Goliath [Civil War Storyline 029] 2016
• 82. She-Hulk [Avengers Infinity 024] 2018
• 81. Molly Hayes [Hammer of Thor 041] 2010
• 80. Aquaman [Trinity War 201] 2015
• 79. Hulk [Avengers Movie 202] 2012
• 78. Superman II [Superman/Wonder Woman 6-001] 2015
• 77. Mysterio [Web of Spider-Man 056] 2010
• 76. Groot [Web of Spider-Man 049] 2010
• 75. 3-D Man [Avengers Assemble 013b] 2015
• 74. Magik [Wolverine and the X-Men 034] 2013
• 73. Miranda Tate [Dark Knight Rises 012] 2012
• (tie) 72. Crystal [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 012] 2019
  Silver Sable [Earth X 002] 2019
• 71. Nova Prime [Galactic Guardians 001] 2012
• 70. Clark Kent [Man of Steel 009] 2013
• 69. Sand [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 060] 2017
• 68. Deathlok [Wolverine and the X-Men 11b] 2013
• 67. Red Hood [Rebirth 046] 2019
• 66. Spider-Punk [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 062] 2016
• 65. Rocket Racer [Web of Spider-Man 044] 2010
• 64. Timber Wolf [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 013] 2014
• 63. Aquaman [New 52 Justice League 005] 2012
• 62. Black Adam [Rebirth 037b] 2019
• 61. Black Panther [Secret Wars Battleworld 061] 2018
• 60. The Captain [Giant-Size X-Men 054] 2011
• (tie) 59. Batman [DC 75th Anniversary 031] 2010
  Robin [The Brave and The Bold 042] 2010
• 58. Muhammad Ali [WizKids DP17-004] 2017
• 57. Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity G001] 2018
• 56. Vixen [Streets of Gotham 028] 2012
• 55. Dust [X-Men Xavier’s School 056] 2018
• 54. Black Widow [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 003] 2014
• 53. Jakeem Thunder [Joker’s Wild 053b] 2016
• 52. Captain America and Black Widow [Captain America: Winter Soldier 017] 2014
• 51. Captain America [Fear Itself 201] 2013
• 50. Black Rider/Ringwraith/Nazgul/One Of The Nine/Servant Of Sauron [Lord of the Rings 016/006/101/102/020] 2011
• 49. Wildfire [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 021] 2014
• 48. Alloy [World’s Finest 058] 2016
• 47. Ms. Marvel [Avengers Assemble 055] 2015
• 46. Wasp [Avengers Infinity 044] 2018
• 45. Captain America [Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD 049] 2015
• 44. Cyclops [Uncanny X-Men 033] 2016
• 43. The Atom [Superman/Wonder Woman G001] 2015
• 42. Hawkman & Hawkgirl [Batman The Animated Series 060] 2018
• 41. Dee Dee [Batman The Animated Series 015] 2018
• 40. Colleen Wing and Misty Knight [Amazing Spider-Man 044] 2013
• 39. Batman [Batman and His Greatest Foes Fast Forces 001] 2016
• 38. Black Lightning [Batman 045] 2012
• 37. Robin [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 030] 2017
• 36. Asuka [WWE 012] 2019
• 35. Apache Chief [Batman The Animated Series 070] 2018
• 34. Clayface [Batman The Animated Series 001b] 2018
• 33. Angel [Days of Future Past 005] 2014
• 32. Shade, The Changing Girl [Rebirth 044] 2019
• 31. Batman [Batman The Animated Series 040] 2018
• 30. Daredevil [WizKids MP18-007] 2018
• 29. Cyclops [Giant-Size X-Men 008] 2011
• 28. Magma [Wolverine and the X-Men 073] 2013
• 27. War Machine [Invincible Iron Man 029b] 2013
• 26. Nova [Avengers Infinity 032] 2018
• 25. Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006] 2014
• 24. Grace [Joker’s Wild 046] 2016
• 23. Elijah Snow [Elseworlds 046] 2017
• 22. Armor [Giant-Size X-Men 050] 2011
• 21. Mysterio [Amazing Spider-Man 026 and 206] 2013
• 20. Valkyrie [Fear Itself 005] 2013
• 19. Donatello [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Heroes In A Half-Shell 025] 2016
• (tie) 18. Okoye [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 038] 2019
  Okoye [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati FF006] 2019
• 17. Hulk [Avengers Defenders War 052] 2017
• 16. Multiple Man [Wolverine and the X-Men 013 and 205] 2013
• 15. Oya [X-Men Xavier’s School 031] 2018
• 14. Nova Corps Officer [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie 004] 2014
• 13. Wonder Woman [WizKids D-001] 2011
• 12. Captain Marvel [Captain Marvel 021] 2019
• 11. Bat-Knight [WizKids DP17-006] 2017
• 10. Troll [The Mighty Thor 039] 2017
• 9. Ant-Man and Wasp [Chaos War 053] 2012
• 8. Black Panther [Age of Ultron 045] 2015
• 7. Aquaman [Brightest Day 006] 2010
• 6. The Authority [016 Doctor, 017 Swift, 032 Jenny Quantum, 033 Jack Hawksmoor, 048 Apollo, 049 Midnighter, 060 Engineer and 061 Jenny Sparks, all from The Flash] 2014
• 5. Moon Knight [Avengers Defenders War 062] 2017
• 4. Drax The Destroyer [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie 013] 2014
• 3. Ambrose Chase [005] 2019
• 2. Miss America [WizKids M17-009] 2017
• 1. Power Girl [Rebirth 022] 2019

Alternates/HMs (chronologically):

• Impulse [DC75 Anniversary 104] 2010
• Dee Jay [Street Fighter 010] 2011
• Nightshade [Captain America 027] 2011
• Superman [Superman 055] 2011
• Bard the Bowman [The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug 009] 2013
• Silver Samurai [Wolverine and the X-Men 044] 2013
• Batman [Gotham City 001] 2013
• Giganta [Legion of Doom 006] 2014
• Shang-Chi [Deadpool 047] 2014
• Hulk [Avengers Age of Ultron 105] 2015
• Faust [Superman/Wonder Woman 056] 2015
• Mysterio [WizKids M16-003] 2016
• Crazy Jane [World’s Finest 019] 2016
• Patriot [Civil War Storyline 021] 2016
• Batroc [Avengers Defenders War 050] 2017
• Thor [The Mighty Thor 061] 2017
• Photon [Avengers Infinity 036] 2018
• Doctor Octopus [Earth X 034] 2019
• Falcon [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 041b] 2019
• Dr. Claire Finn (The Orville 003) 2019