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It’s the turn of the month, so it’s time for another Top Ten list from Heroclixin’. This time we’re looking at Barrier.

It’s one of those supporting-actor powers in Heroclix. Sexy marquee powers like Hypersonic Speed and Psychic Blast or Probability Control get all the paparazzi attention. But once in a while you see this background player step up and steal a scene right out from under those headliners. And sometimes, the right vehicle can make it a star in its own right. Anyone who’s ever been stymied by a double-Barrier team knows this.

What makes Barrier great?

  • It’s the supreme defensive power. Impervious may reduce damage to zero sometimes, but Barrier reduces it to zero all the time by preventing the attack in the first place. It also cuts off enemy lines of fire for support powers.
  • It’s flexible. Barrier only needs Line of Fire to its first square, allowing for some truly unexpected uses.
  • It’s “Construct”ible. The Feat card CONSTRUCT is a great boost to an already solid power, increasing its effectiveness especially against flying enemies outdoors in range by forcing them to breakaway from the barrier.

What’s not so great about it?

  • It’s a defense slot power that doesn’t help its owner when targeted…at ALL. A character with Barrier will take all the damage when hit unless you add cost by using the FORCE FIELD feat.
  • It’s really just a stalling technique. The best defense is good offense. Barrier is not offense at all, and thus is rather second-rate.
  • It’s restricted to clear terrain. You can’t place a barrier token on hindering terrain, so it’s sometimes difficult to build as airtight a defense as you would like.

Because of these weaknesses, you really want to get the most out of a character with the power. So…

What makes a great Barrier figure?

  1. A range of 8 or greater. Because a Barrier figure lacks damage reducers (barring any feats granting such), it is best kept well out of the fray; a range of 6 or less puts the Barrier fig within most characters’ Charge zone. This means that for its power to be of maximum use to the team, it needs to have a long range. More range also increases the power’s flexibility.
  2. Two or more starting consecutive clicks of the power. Simply put, the optimal Barrier figure has to be able to push to use the power, if necessary, since it’s not always advantageous to build in multiple-Barrier teams. And while many figs with Barrier have many late clicks of it, that is of little strategic use as those figs are also usually near KO and it may be better to push and run them away than to push and make walls.
  3. Ability to serve a secondary or supporting role. Yes, a good Barrier figure can be able to fight. But if it’s the main attacker, then the Barrier power is mostly wasted. Your first-stringer should be dealing damage, not trying to prevent it with barriers. The flip side is that Barrier is not always needed. So what does the figure offer besides wall-building? (This is another reason why long range is necessary.)
  4. Affordability. A secondary/supporting figure like this should not top 100 points. Preferably it would be far cheaper.
  5. Life after Barrier. Say you exhaust every click of the power to hold off that tentpole fig with the Meteorite on the other team. What can this figure do now? If the answer is pretty much, “nothing else but die,” it doesn’t belong on the list.

Be here Monday to see the #10 and #9 best Barrier specialists in the game!

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In an effort to more regularly update my blog, I’m adding 2.5 new features to the site!

I’m already doing My Custom Mods on Mondays, even though I’m currently running low with only 12 or so left in the can (which is one reason I wasn’t so gung-ho about getting the latest mod up yesterday). I don’t see many new mod projects coming up in the near future, so I may need to replace this feature with a new one soon. Any ideas?

Next is Token-Totin’ Tuesdays/Thursdays, which begs some explaining.

Ever been annoyed when an opponent Charges his boot speed brick in to smack your guy for 5 clicks with an object you thought he was standing on, not holding?

Yeah, me too. People forget that the game rules state that when a character picks up an object, the player must “Immediately place the object token someplace that indicates the character with Super Strength is carrying the object.”

It ought to be obvious when a Super-Strong character is hefting an engine block and not sitting on it. And, surprisingly, it easily can be!

These are toys, and anyone who was once a boy knows that action figures need to be able to hold their weapons. So I did a survey to see which sculpts, of the characters with Super Strength (or a Special Power granting use of same), can hold a standard object token somewhere — anywhere — on the sculpt. The only criteria is that the token should be able to stay on the model with minimal assistance while moving the figure on the board.

This new feature, then, is simply a once-or-twice-weekly photograph journal of how every character with Super-Strength can hold the standard HeroClix object token.

Some will be obvious. Some, surprising. Some, hilarious. All will make your little plastic superhero gaming that much more awesome.

First up: ATOM SMASHER from the DC Giants Collector Set!

Make sure you balance the token on his right hand’s knuckles and on the wrist band of his left arm.

————————————————————————————

Wednesdays will be battle report day. If I’ve had a HeroClix match the previous week (and I most likely have), that’s when it’ll be posted. Add it to your reading list along with your new comics! 🙂

Thursdays will add a new Token Totin’ pic (or possibly double up if I missed Tuesday). Then, on Friday, I’m starting a new feature: Friday Force-Building, where I’ll talk a bit about pre-built team ideas. Maybe they’ll inspire your teams for the weekend’s games — or you can inspire me and others with yours listed in the comments!

What do you think of these ideas? Comment below!

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Instead of “my first — and only — non-subtractive resculpt” that I teased last week, I’m taking a bit of a detour with this week’s mod…one that’s not even entirely mine but still marks an important point in my progress.

Rookie/Experienced JOLT (Fantastic Forces)

I always hated that the manufactured figure was of the character’s Veteran status.

EEEE-LEC-TRIC YOUTH!!!

…instead of the colorful Rookie and Experienced original look.
So I commissioned a fellow player named Donovan to do a custom repaint for me. At the time, some four years ago, I was beyond pleased. But it wasn’t perfect; Donovan had mis-painted both legs totally black. Plus, the electric bolts weren’t painted very well. Since my own modding skills have slowly grown over the years, I decided to do something about both on June 1 of this year.
Final repaint.

Final (blurry) repaint. I painted her left thigh yellow, painted in her red kneepads and added a new coat to the lightning bolts. The rest is all Donovan's work.

Original repaint: 2006. Completed mid-2010.
This is still about 95% Donovan’s work, so I can’t truly take credit for it as one of my mods. Instead, I give him credit not only for this repaint but for inspiring me to go on to do my own mods.
Thanks, Donovan.

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Over my years of HeroClix collection and play, I’ve dabbled in another aspect of the hobby — modifying existing sculpts into customized versions. Thus far, I’ve teased readers with a few pix in an article here and there, but rest assured I have plenty more to share, from barely-noticeable repaints to major reconstructions.

Each article will detail in brief my process in doing the mod, proving that you don’t have to be an expert sculptor or use a lot of Green Stuff to make your pieces your own!

I hope to make this a regular feature — perhaps weekly. What do you think?

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It’s been up for about a week now, but now it’s time to officially reveal my DC feat and battlefield condition cards with art added.

http://heroclixin.wordpress.com/pix-and-downloads/dc-cards-with-art/

Check ’em out and print ’em out!

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Read the introduction to the series here.

E003 INFINITE CRISIS

Based on the 2006-2007 miniseries of the same name.

WHAT TO BRING: four extra SPECIAL markers.
THE SETUP: Before the beginning of the game, put four SPECIAL markers in squares of clear terrain as close to the center of the battlefield as possible. These four markers are the Machine; they are considered to be blocking terrain, but can’t be destroyed.
WHAT IT MEANS: You’ll see.
—
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Nothing special. 🙂
—
BROTHER EYE IS WATCHING (Black, slots A-D): Once during a player’s turn, one of his or her characters can use Outwit if they cannot already use it.
WHAT IT MEANS: Unlike some event dials (I’m thinking of YOU, SECRET INVASION: ILLUMINATI), someone will actually get to use Outwit.
—
ALEX LUTHOR’S MACHINE (yellow, slots B-E): All characters gain the Capture ability, but all characters modify their defenses values by +1 when they are the target of a capture attempt. Standard rules for releasing captives are ignored. Captives can be released only into unoccupied squares adjacent to the Machine; released captives are bound to the Machine: They can’t be given actions, are not considered friendly or opposing to any player, and cannot be targeted or damaged by any effect. If the game ends while this event is in effect, bound characters are considered to be eliminated and belong to their owner’s force.
WHAT IT MEANS: You should avoid One Man Armies and tentpoled builds; a successful Capture could get you a loss in short order.
—
DESTRUCTION OF BLUDHAVEN (Lime, slots E-I): All elevated terrain is hindering terrain. If any character occupies hindering terrain at the end of its controller’s turn, deal that character 1 damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Stealth is a double-edged sword, since hindering is dangerous under this effect. Make sure any character in hindering has damage reducers. Also note that this effect is in force for the rest of the game.
—
SMALLVILLE THROWDOWN (Green, slots C-E): When the result of any successful attack roll is doubles (other than two 6s), deal 1 additional damage. Critical hits deal 1 additional unavoidable damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Doubles rule. No way to prepare for this. Just roll with it. (Get it? “Roll” with it?)
—
PROGRAM: EARTH SPAWN (Blue, slots E-I): Once during your turn, one of your characters can use one of the following powers: Barrier, Outwit, Poison, Probability Control, or Support.
WHAT IT MEANS: No way to plan or build for this, either. In fact, it’s liable to screw up any number of plans for the rest of the game!
—
DESTRUCTION OF THE MACHINE (orange, slot F): At the beginning of the round, all bound characters are immediately no longer bound and are immediately controlled by its owner and friendly to his or her force. Beginning with the second player’s characters, any characters that were bound to the Machine can immediately be given any action as a free action by their controller. After all formerly bound characters have been given an action (if any), remove the SPECIAL tokens of the Machine from the game and replace them with debris markers. The round then begins normally with the first player.
WHAT IT MEANS: Second wind! You may want to avoid building a big themed team so that you’re more likely to be the 2nd player and get the first free action here. But it’s only an issue if you get your character Captured.
—
BATTLE OF METROPOLIS (Red, slot I): All characters can use Willpower. When the result of any successful attack roll is doubles, after the attack is resolved, deal 1 damage to any opposing character.
WHAT IT MEANS: Stealth and high defense values won’t necessarily save a character. Doubles will deal it damage regardless of where it is on the map. This is also the end of the dial, so you’ll be dealing with this condition until game’s end.
—
SUMMING IT UP: Fairly straightforward dial. Just make SURE not to be too tentpole-heavy, lest it get Captured and force you to an early loss.
The next dial has the shortest name yet in HeroClix. Look for that entry late this week.

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Jimmy Woo 46
M-11 59
Gorilla-Man 61
Namora 76
Marvel Boy 102
Venus 125
+ Warbound (Agents of Atlas)
= 499 points.
Tried out this Warbound team in a friendly match against a tough trio:
Superman (Justice League) 226
The Sentry (Secret Invasion) 197
Venom (Hammer of Thor) 73
I all but lost the game on my map choice (BPRD) and wrong placement of the Kinetic Accelerator, preventing Namora from reaching the special object with M-11 in tow. When she got an immediate opportunity to attack Sentry with the Com Dish, but failed, she was easy sushi for Supes and Sentry. M-11 didn’t last long, either.
At this point, I only had Marvel Boy left who could deal damage to Superman or Sentry, but his AV wasn’t up to the task of hitting a pair of 18+ DVs. And the one who could, Venus, was too tied up by Venom to do so for most of the game.
Venus still dealt the most damage through a MC of Sentry (who pasted Supes with the Generator), but it cost her life as the feedback knocked her off MM & SC. Marvel Boy and Gorilla-Man double-teamed Vemon for a KO. Woo was the last to fall, only able to run from the HSS tag team.

FAIL.

I’m probably not using this Warbound build again. It just constrains the team’s flexibility too much. If only Venus could Warbound to Gorilla-Man instead of only Namora and Marvel Boy, who are too important as damage-dealers to take her tokens!

Not giving up, though. After the next installment of the Event Dial series, watch this space to see how the team does in a proper tournament!

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Read the introduction to the series here.

E002 IDENTITY CRISIS

Based on the depressing 2005 miniseries that broke up the happiest couple in comics. Figures it's one of the harder event dials to build for.

This event dial is one of the reasons this series was written, as it cannot be played with certain teams.
THE SETUP: All characters are Unique.
WHAT IT MEANS: The “highlander” rule is in FULL effect. Leave the generic swarms at home.
—
MORE SETUP: Before the beginning of the game, each player must choose one of his or her characters and secretly write the character’s name on a piece of paper.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is the Culprit, and this is why you can’t run multiples: it wouldn’t do to cheat and claim the Secret Invasion Spider-Man that got KO’d just happened not to be the one who’d make you lose on points. 🙂
—
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Straightforward progression.
—
WIN CONDITIONS: THE CULPRIT REVEALED: When victory points are being totaled, all players must reveal the name of the character they wrote down. If that character survived the battle, its player receives additional victory points based on the character’s point value.
1-49 = 100 victory points
50-99 =  75 victory points
100-149 = 50 victory points
150-199 =  25 victory points
200+ =  0 victory points
WHAT IT MEANS: Survival points make a comeback in HeroClix! Try fielding some mid-cost but survivable pieces to be the Culprit…or avoid the potential loss by making it the heavy.
—
MURDER! (Red, slot B): At the beginning of the round, each player (starting with the first player) chooses an opposing character. Deal the chosen character 2 penetrating damage. A character can be chosen and damaged by this effect only once.
WHAT IT MEANS: You’d better not field a character who’s too top-loaded with a power or powers you depend upon. By round 2, kiss those clicks bye-bye. (You may want to decoy opponents into hitting a character who gets BETTER on click three.)
—
VOTE TO MINDWIPE (Black, slots C-G): At the beginning of the round, each player receives a number of votes to the number of characters he or she currently has in the game and must vote for only one of the following options: 1) All team abilities are ignored; 2) all feats are ignored; or 3) all characters gain Earthbound. The option that receives the most votes is in effect until the end of the round. If multiple options have the most votes, all options with that number of votes are in effect.
WHAT IT MEANS: Having those cheap pieces on the board could pay off here. Just be careful not to mess yourself up; it wouldn’t do to expose your Batman Allies by voting for option 1. In fact, it may wise to not field such crucial TAs at all. Also note that this condition is present the rest of the game.
—
ONE AGAINST THE JLA (orange, slots D-F): If a character is attacked more than once in a round, modify that character’s defense value by +1 for each time it has previously been attacked during the round (+1 for the second attack, +2 for the third attack, etc.).
WHAT IT MEANS: Tentpoles probably get the most benefit from this effect, but it’s fine for anyone getting dogpiled.
—
SUMMING IT UP: This dial is one you absolutely have to plan a little for in advance, since you can’t run your cheeseburger multiple OOTS Batman squad. And as said above, running team abilities like Batman Ally might not be a good idea.
(In fact, maybe you just shouldn’t run Batman at all.)  🙂
You also have to be a little strategic in protecting your Culprit as well. You don’t want to telegraph its identity by playing too conservatively, but you don’t want to give up extra points either. What to do? WHAT TO DO?!?
Well, one thing to do is to watch this space this weekend for the next Crisis…an INFINITE Crisis. Between now and then, look for the 2nd part of a series of Agents of Atlas battle reports!

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300 points. Character-card sets only.

My take: Power Pack #6 “theme team”
Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
Energizer 35
Gee 40
SI Spider-Man 50
+ Lunge 5
+ Loner 5
SI Cloak & Dagger 109
= 299 points
See my blog, heroclixin.wordpress.com for this write-up!
Round ONE
Easton, 12-year-old from Huntsville, AL
On a shaved-down Indy map (the Evil Lab, I think), I took on his Stardust, SI Captain America, M+M Marvel Girl and AV Scarlet Witch. He played a great game, easily KOing first Gee, then Mass Master for an early lead. But Spidey and Cloak+Dagger began landing their respective double attacks, taking out Cap, Scarlet Witch and Marvel Girl. Stardust, still at full health, critmissed a big attack, enabling my two Phasers Lightspeed and C+D to run from the herald until Spidey could finally hit it — and then to run from it when it gained HSS. A 2nd critmiss spared Energizer’s life and the grownups finished the now-hittable Stardust for the wipeout. 1-0.
Round TWO
Clark, a 12-year-old former Atlanta kid now in Florida but back for Dragon*Con.
On the Crashed Spaceship map, this slightly spacey kid fielded a team of bi-coastal Avengers: Lionheart, U.S. Agent, Ronin, Moon Knight and AV Scarlet Witch. Not nearly as sharp a player as my last opponent, but much better than when I last played him, Clark took down Mass Master and Energizer and very, VERY nearly got Cloak & Dagger; a miss from a weakened Lionheart allowed the duo to Phase away and support a well-beaten-down Spidey from afar. Managed to hold on for a win despite frequent sniping from the hidden but nearby Moon Knight and Clark’s semi-secret weapon, Ronin. Got U.S. Agent and Lionheart. 2-0.
Round THREE
Nathan, a former S. Carolina player moved to Wisconsin back for Dragon*Con. On the HorrorClix Carnival map, he dealt me a vicious beating with a team lacking anything resembling a blind spot: SI Nick Fury + Contingency Plan with Skrully Ms. Marvel — both Warbound. And Lila Cheney just to round out. By not covering Gee in my initial move, a Kinetic-Accelerated Ms. Skrullvel took him, and any chance I had of winning, out in one shot. I retreated to force him to overextend a bit, though it cost me Mass Master in the next turn. And it worked some; by basing Lightspeed with Lila (outwitting her P/T to force Lightspeed to fight, he said) he’d left an opening for Spider-Man to Lunge-attack Lila (missing), then Nick Fury, hitting him and forcing a L.M.D. warp away from Ms. Skrullvel and thus negating the constant Warbound attacks. The team was actually able force a critmiss from her and knock Fury to hit late dial and even get KO points for Lila before getting wiped by this incredibly effective trio. 2-1.
Round FOUR
A guy whose name and hometown I’m blanking on. Did I ever ask?
I picked the Castle to face his Justice League of America: Starro Green Lantern, OOTS Batman, JL Zatanna and JL Black Canary. Again incautious with Gee placement, I got my TK first Outwitted, then lost outright to Green Lantern’s Running Shot off the bat. Fortunately, Cloak & Dagger would remain safely Stealthed on the Kinetic Accelerator, no matter what. Mass Master was my first casualty, blocking Batman’s fire for his brother. Energizer (via Lightspeed) proved her worth by disintegrating the object Bats sat on, leading to shots from Cloak & Dagger and a Spider-Lunge that took him to eventual KO. Both girls fell to enemy fire, but the Fantastic Four TA healed Gee back to TK, enabling him to push and move Cloak & Dagger forward to take out Zatanna. All four kids were lost but I wiped all but Green Lantern for the win.
Win/Loss: 3-1. I built this team just for kicks, being a great fan of the old-school ‘Pack. But it proved to be way more effective than I dreamed.
A couple of days later, we had a 200-point unrestricted game, and I saw a chance for another Power Pack-heavy team:
Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
Gee 40
R Shazam! 105
= 200 points. “Kid” keyword makes it a themed team. See my blog, heroclixin.wordpress.com for this write-up, too!
Round ONE
I was late, so I had to take a bye round. 🙁
Round TWO
A relatively new player whose name I can’t remember. He played, on a shaved-down old “Mall” map: Gamora, Spider-Man (Armor Wars) and The Question (Arkham Asylum). I was able to bunker my kids in an interior room to block nearly all line of fire from enemy fire and Outwit. Thus Shazam was able to easily beat down the whole team for a wipeout. But not without cost: Question crithit Gee into a wall for a one-hit-KO (OHKO). 1-0.
Round TWO
Now I faced Scott, a local player and friend. A master modder, he ran half of his Offenders team: an awesome Red Hulk (on the Hercules (Secret Invasion) dial) and Tiger Shark (Captain Mako repainted with a fin) on the Crashed Spaceship map. I used the terrain (and Mass Master’s Smoke Cloudform) to slow down the close-combat specialists. But they quickly based, then KO’d the boy when Shazam failed 4 attempts at hitting Rulk (burning both theme PCs and a push). Both fliers got the team away, forcing the Offenders to trudge back through hindering terrain. Shazam landed on his Billy clicks and hid in a corner with Gee blocking access to him. Gee fell, but it was enough time to get back to Captain Marvel power. One successful Impervious roll later, sole survivor R Shazam was able to chase down Rulk and then Shark for a come-from-behind win. 2-0.
Round THREE
Now in a battle for third place, I again faced young Easton’s nigh-unbeatable team of The Flash (Legacy) + Alias, V Spoiler + Loner and R Destiny. And when I neglected to block line of fire to Shazam and got his Hypersonic Speed countered, I was pretty screwed. Had to sacrifice nearly the whole Pack to block line of fire to try for additional attacks. It didn’t go well; failed the Kingdom Come roll and then the consolation attack on Destiny. Made a 2nd mistake when I neglected to move to my Telephone Booth to get off my Billy clicks. Only a successful Regen roll got me back in fighting shape. Constant Outwitting of KC’s Outwit kept me Invulnerable and safe from him, but unable to catch up to him to make an attack. So I pushed and rolled for the moon and failed due the Alias feat. Game Over! At least I got the other two. 2-1
TOTAL RECORD: 5-2. So OK, both Pack teams got utterly dragged by completely min-maxed builds played by master players, and certainly didn’t deal many KOs (only Gee got any, and it was a character half his points — R Destiny). They still well outperformed my and my opponents’ expectations.
Gee: As one of the game’s cheapest TK characters, he’s already a staple of teams worldwide. But he especially makes this team work, giving both my main attackers Spider-Man and Cloak & Dagger the reach they needed to use their respective Lunge-Flurry and duo attacks effectively. In the Kid team, Gee was instrumental in yanking Shazam out of harm’s way after a failed Charge attempt.
Lightspeed: The game’s most efficient taxi did the job here, too, getting Spidey or her brothers and sister in place over and over again.
Energizer: mostly served only as sacrificial tie-up but got that great move against Batman. She also scored an Exploit Weakness hit on U.S. Agent.
Mass Master: Also limited to tie-up, though he drew Outwitters’ ire away from more dangerous opponents.
And that’s really the Power Pack’s strength; while these swarming preadolescents are pretty weak on their own and even as a unit, they tend to make any grown-up figures on the team work better. For example, a Lunge-enabled Spider-Man, already beastly, is twice as effective when paired with cheap TK (Gee) or cheaper air taxi (Lightspeed). Shazam depended on the kids to block LOF from Question, Charge lanes from Gamora and to absorb the extra objects “Red Hulk” carried. And Energizer can be OOTS Batman’s worst nightmare.
The kids are INDEED all right.
One of the greatest comics Marvel's ever produced.

One of the greatest comics Marvel’s ever produced.

If I had to point to one comic that’s responsible for my near-lifelong love of comics, it’s this one: POWER PACK. Ever since I spied this promo ad in the spring of 1984, I knew this book could be something really special. I wasn’t disappointed: a deft melding of superheroics and the kids of the Narnia Chronicles, Power Pack was a comic well ahead of its time yet more innocent than most of  today’s fare.

Power Pack is also the reason I glommed onto HeroClix as both a game and as a collectible. Only the HeroClix line made room for not only the marquee characters like Superman or Spidey but also for Z-list characters largely unseen in comics for a decade or more like Ambush Bug or Zzzax. So I knew that if HeroClix lasted long enough, eventually I’d see my beloved superkids in playable, miniature plastic form.

Gee, Lightspeed, Mass Master, and Energizer. Aren't they cute.

Gee, Lightspeed, Mass Master, and Energizer. As ‘clix. Aren’t they cute.

Were they worth the wait? Well, yes and no. Yes, it was great to get them in ‘Clix and all at once…no waiting across different sets like fans of larger teams have had to. And given that HeroClix soon suffered a yearlong near-death experience mere months later, I’m glad they showed when they did.

But no. Not only are the sculpts a bit lacking, being influenced by the cute-but-inferior revamp of the 2000’s, but the dials aren’t right, either. Most of the problem is that it seems that the game designers couldn’t figure out which version of each character to emulate, leaving us with an oddly amalgamated Pack that doesn’t represent either very well.

I control gravity -- G POWER! Get it?"

“I control gravity — G POWER! Get it?”

Gee: Originally, the oldest Power kid (age 12.5, not 15 like his card says) could only affect the gravity of people and objects he touched, making some version of Super Strength and the Carry ability a shoo-in. But the current revamp recasts him as more of a standard telekinetic, and that’s the clix we got. It’s OK, but not accurate.

.

.

"I can fly -- so fast you can hardly see me! Is that the speed of light, Alex?"

“I can fly so fast you can hardly see me!”

Lightspeed: Also mis-aged on her character card, Julie only flew real fast at first. Much, MUCH later she learned to teleport, but that was never her main power. The current Lightspeed (in the kids’ books, not the teenaged runaway seen in recent years) has been treated as much as a speedster as anything, and even the original broke the sound barrier early in her career. Would it have been too much to give her at least ONE click of Hypersonic Speed, even with super-low attack and damage values?

.

"I'm MASS MASTER, punk! Don't you forget it!"

“I’m MASS MASTER, punk! Don’t you forget it!”

Mass Master: the greatest disappointment of the four, thanks to his way-too-low defense numbers. Think of it; he’s an intangible cloud most of the time (and a 5-inch-high, 60-pound “Jack Hammer” the rest). He should have 17 DV at minimum with Defend or something, not to mention Phasing/Teleport for his ability to slip through any crack in his cloud form. Drop his damage to 0 with Close Combat Expert.

.

.

"I just touched stuff and it disintegrated."

“I just touched stuff and it disintegrated.”

Energizer: the original Katie was considerably more destructive than the new incarnation that the ‘clix version seems based on. Always relied upon to either disintegrate or smash walls and such, the youngest deserves some 3 damage clicks.

Enough griping, though. The fact is, barring a sudden explosion in their popularity, the Pack we have is likely all the Pack we’ll get. And I’ve been hankering to run them in a team. I got the opportunity at Dragon*Con last weekend, the first big HeroClix tournament in many, many months.

SCENARIO/BUILD RULES: 300 points. Character-card sets only. This is only sets from summer 2007 and newer.

My take: Power Pack #6 “theme team” (both Spidey and Cloak & Dagger made cameos)

Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
Energizer 35
Gee 40
Spider-Man (Secret Invasion) 50
+ Lunge 5
+ Loner 5
SI Cloak & Dagger 109

= 299 points

Round ONE

Against Easton, 12-year-old from Huntsville, AL

On a shaved-down Indy map (the Evil Lab, I think), I took on his Stardust, Captain America (Secret Invasion), Marvel Girl (Mutations and Monsters) and Scarlet Witch (Avengers). He played a great game, easily KOing first Gee, then Mass Master for an early lead. But Spidey and Cloak+Dagger began landing their respective double attacks, taking out Cap, Scarlet Witch and Marvel Girl. Stardust, still at full health, critmissed a big attack, enabling my two Phasers Lightspeed and C+D to run from the herald until Spidey could finally hit it — and then to run from it when it gained HSS. A 2nd critmiss spared Energizer’s life and the grownups finished the now-hittable Stardust for the wipeout. 1-0.

Round TWO

Clark, a 12-year-old former Atlanta kid now in Florida but back for Dragon*Con.

On the Crashed Spaceship map, this slightly spacey kid fielded a team of bi-coastal Avengers: Lionheart, U.S. Agent, Ronin, Moon Knight and AV Scarlet Witch. Not nearly as sharp a player as my last opponent, but much better than when I last played him, Clark took down Mass Master and Energizer and very, VERY nearly got Cloak & Dagger; a miss from a weakened Lionheart allowed the duo to Phase away and support a well-beaten-down Spidey from afar. Managed to hold on for a win despite frequent sniping from the hidden but nearby Moon Knight and Clark’s semi-secret weapon, Ronin. Got U.S. Agent and Lionheart. 2-0.

Round THREE

Nathan, a former S. Carolina player moved to Wisconsin back for Dragon*Con. On the HorrorClix Carnival map, he dealt me a vicious beating with a team lacking anything resembling a blind spot: Nick Fury (Secret Invasion)+ Contingency Plan with Skrully Ms. Marvel (Secret Invasion) — both Warbound. And Lila Cheney just to round out. By not covering Gee in my initial move, a Kinetic-Accelerated Ms. Skrullvel took him, and any chance I had of winning, out in one shot. I retreated to force him to overextend a bit, though it cost me Mass Master in the next turn. And it worked some; by basing Lightspeed with Lila (outwitting her P/T to force Lightspeed to fight, he said) he’d left an opening for Spider-Man to Lunge-attack Lila (missing), then Nick Fury, hitting him and forcing a L.M.D. warp away from Ms. Skrullvel and thus negating the constant Warbound attacks. The team was actually able force a critmiss from her and knock Fury to hit late dial and even get KO points for Lila before getting wiped by this incredibly effective trio. 2-1.

Round FOUR

A guy whose name and hometown I’m blanking on. Did I ever ask?

I picked the Castle to face his Justice League of America: Starro Green Lantern, OOTS Batman, JL Zatanna and JL Black Canary. Again incautious with Gee placement, I got my TK first Outwitted, then lost outright to Green Lantern’s Running Shot off the bat. Fortunately, Cloak & Dagger would remain safely Stealthed on the Kinetic Accelerator, no matter what. Mass Master was my first casualty, blocking Batman’s fire for his brother. Energizer (via Lightspeed) proved her worth by disintegrating the object Bats sat on, leading to shots from Cloak & Dagger and a Spider-Lunge that took him to eventual KO. Both girls fell to enemy fire, but the Fantastic Four TA healed Gee back to TK, enabling him to push and move Cloak & Dagger forward to take out Zatanna. All four kids were lost but I wiped all but Green Lantern for the win.

Win/Loss: 3-1. I built this team just for kicks, being a great fan of the old-school ‘Pack. But it proved to be way more effective than I dreamed.

A couple of days later, we had a 200-point unrestricted game, and I saw a chance for another Power Pack-heavy team:

Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
 + Fantastic Four o
Gee 40
R Shazam! 105

= 200 points. “Kid” keyword makes it a themed team.

Round ONE

I was late, so I had to take a bye round. 🙁

Round TWO

A relatively new player whose name I can’t remember. He played, on a shaved-down old “Mall” map: Gamora, Spider-Man (Armor Wars) and The Question (Arkham Asylum). I was able to bunker my kids in an interior room to block nearly all line of fire from enemy fire and Outwit. Thus Shazam was able to easily beat down the whole team for a wipeout. But not without cost: Question crithit Gee into a wall for a one-hit-KO (OHKO). 1-0.

Round TWO

Now I faced Scott, a local player and friend. A master modder, he ran half of his Offenders team: an awesome Red Hulk (on the Hercules (Secret Invasion) dial) and Tiger Shark (Captain Mako repainted with a fin) on the Crashed Spaceship map. I used the terrain (and Mass Master’s Smoke Cloudform) to slow down the close-combat specialists. But they quickly based, then KO’d the boy when Shazam failed 4 attempts at hitting Rulk (burning both theme PCs and a push). Both fliers got the team away, forcing the Offenders to trudge back through hindering terrain. Shazam landed on his Billy clicks and hid in a corner with Gee blocking access to him. Gee fell, but it was enough time to get back to Captain Marvel power. One successful Impervious roll later, sole survivor R Shazam was able to chase down Rulk and then Shark for a come-from-behind win. 2-0.

Round THREE

Now in a battle for third place, I again faced young Easton’s nigh-unbeatable team of The Flash (Legacy) + Alias, V Spoiler + Loner and R Destiny. And when I neglected to block line of fire to Shazam and got his Hypersonic Speed countered, I was pretty screwed. Had to sacrifice nearly the whole Pack to block line of fire to try for additional attacks. It didn’t go well; failed the Kingdom Come roll and then the consolation attack on Destiny. Made a 2nd mistake when I neglected to move to my Telephone Booth to get off my Billy clicks. Only a successful Regen roll got me back in fighting shape. Constant Outwitting of KC’s Outwit kept me Invulnerable and safe from him, but unable to catch up to him to make an attack. So I pushed and rolled for the moon and failed due the Alias feat. Game Over! At least I got the other two. 2-1

TOTAL RECORD: 5-2. So OK, both Pack teams got utterly dragged by completely min-maxed builds played by master players, and certainly didn’t deal many KOs (only Gee got any, and it was a character half his points — R Destiny). They still well outperformed my and my opponents’ expectations.

I spent some lines writing about what’s wrong with the ‘Pack. But what’s right about them?

Gee: As one of the game’s cheapest TK characters, he’s already a staple of teams worldwide. But he especially makes this team work, giving both my main attackers Spider-Man and Cloak & Dagger the reach they needed to use their respective Lunge-Flurry and duo attacks effectively. In the Kid team, Gee was instrumental in yanking Shazam out of harm’s way after a failed Charge attempt.

Lightspeed: The game’s most efficient taxi did the job here, too, getting Spidey or her brothers and sister in place over and over again.

Energizer: mostly served only as sacrificial tie-up but got that great move against Batman. She also scored an Exploit Weakness hit on U.S. Agent.

Mass Master: Also limited to tie-up, though he drew Outwitters’ ire away from more dangerous opponents. That free Smoke Cloud occasionally helped, too. Finally, pushing to his 2nd click made him an actual threat worthy of the enemy’s attacks as a decoy.

And that’s really the Power Pack’s strength; while these swarming preadolescents are pretty weak on their own and even as a unit, they tend to make any grown-up figures on the team work better. For example, a Lunge-enabled Spider-Man, already beastly, is twice as effective when paired with cheap TK (Gee) or cheaper air taxi (Lightspeed). Shazam depended on the kids to block LOF from Question, deny Charge lanes to him from Gamora and to absorb the extra objects “Red Hulk” carried. And Energizer can be OOTS Batman’s worst nightmare.

The kids are INDEED all right.

OK. Enough postponing on the event dials articles…! Next time.