8.

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Green Lantern [Joker’s Wild 052]

WHY IT’S ONE OF THE BEST: For just 35 points, you get an Indomitable taxi with 10 AV, 3 damage and Barrier at 7 range. That Barrier can be tossed up for free instead of the usual power action, though only one marker can be placed. But it can negate Stealth of foes next to it or any other Barrier markers. And, to top it all, he’s got ESD to guard from shooters that still manage to get a line on him past all these walls. That is a LOT of utility in a very cheap package.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FURY? Blocking terrain is one of the few absolute counters to Balls Fury, and GL can erect enough to severely limit the cosmic spymaster’s lines of fire. Moreover, he can light up Fury and deny him Stealth. Not bad.

WHY IT’S HERE ON THE LIST: He’s really short-lived — as expected for the cost — but so useful an addition to any squad that he’s got to be Heroclixin’s No. 8 Top Ten fig of 2016.

 

Sceritz is starting to annoy me by being so contrary:

8. Jean Grey [Uncanny X-Men Fast Forces 002]

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50 points. Free TK. The potential this brings to the table is terrifying. For 50 points you can send a character 8 squares out, and maintain beginning of the turn status. There is currently no other modern figure that can do this. Think. You can TK out 8 squares from line 2, placing an Ultron drone in line 10. Sidestep that drone to line 12, call an ID character in line 13, Running Shot to line 17, and shoot directly into an opponent’s starting area with 7 range. I am currently trying to figure out why she’s not higher on my list. You can TK two figures out. You can TK a figure out, let them attack, and TK them back. You can free TK a character previously sent out back and TK another forward. For 50 points, this is ASTOUNDING. I can’t say it enough. Certainly one of the best figures of the year.

I think I know why he held her at this point in his top ten. But SPOILER ALERT! you’ll have see where she lands on MY top ten. Will it be No. 7?

9. (tie)

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Bizarro Green Arrow  [Joker’s Wild 066]

WHY IT’S ONE OF THE BEST: He got this damage SP that saddles enemies targeting him with range -2 to either attack or damage, or -1 to both combat values. It’s literally “Bizarro Ranged Combat Expert,” guaranteeing no one willingly targets him from range. That’s where his trait comes in: “When an adjacent friendly character would be targeted by a ranged attack, Bizarro Green Arrow becomes the target instead even if he would be an illegal target.” So BGA camps behind the tentpole and effectively serves as preemptive Mastermind fodder for him/her.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FURY? He’s the strongest anti-Fury tech around, able to draw the spymaster’s fire from an adjacent friendly. Even though Balls can negate the Range Inexpert SP, the trait and STOP clicks will frustrate his efforts mightily.

WHY IT’S HERE ON THE LIST: Foes will try to close in to get around his talents, and his 1 damage isn’t going to cut it there despite an impressive 11 AV. But to the degree he can improve any force against shooters, he’s the No. 9 Top Ten figure in spite of almost no fighting contribution.

It’s bizarro, man.

But he’s not alone here. Behold Heroclixin’s first tie of 2016:

 

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The Joker (The Joker’s Wild 060)

WHY IT’S ONE OF THE BEST: Instead of traditional KO clicks, he has a weird Escape token mechanic where he only costs 30, 40 or 50 points for three, four or five tokens, respectively. The short version is that he’s got to take 18 to 25 clicks of damage in order to be KO’d. On top of that, he has the ability to heal every round. The risk is that if he heals too much, he also loses Escape tokens. But with steady 17 DV and a trait granting Sidestep and Super Senses as well, it’s very easy for a savvy player to dance around this weakness and make this Joker essentially immortal — or, at least, a much, much, MUCH harder KO than a sub-50-point character ought to be.

He also has solid powers peppering his dial: Outwit on click 1, Running Shot/RCE on click 2, Plasticity+Poison on #3, and so on to Blades+EW on click 6.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FURY? With Joker being so low cost, Fury can’t level his most fearsome abilities against Mr. J here. And unlike any other figure in the game now, the cosmic spymaster has no ability to take one shot and make Joker useless to any degree. Even if Fury uses his not-outwit power to deny Joker a power, the psycho only has to roll for his heal-or-damage to get a completely different set. He’s a near-perfect foil to Nick.

WHY IT’S HERE ON THE LIST: He’s only got 1 printed damage, so his offensive capabilities are minimal on most clicks. But at 30 points, he’s not the fighter. He’s the one who bases. The one who takes Mastermind and loves it. The one who Outwits, who Poisons, who springs traps and doesn’t care. And that’s why he’s also Heroclixin’s No. 9 top figure of 2016.

 

Sceritz has a different point of view on what should be the No. 9 Clix of the year:

9. Klarion [World’s Finest 046]

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“Did you build your team with all these awesome self-sufficient fighters and then remember the fact that your dice don’t always care how self-sufficient you think they are? For the low, low price of 70 pts., Klarion The Witch-Boy offers Prob, Perplex, and a Teekl familiar! Honestly, he’s an all-in-one package of combatant and support. He’s more than capable when it comes to positioning with Phasing, Stealth and Sidestep and furthermore, if you play your cards right, you have an effective attack range of 15 squares with Teekl who can use B/C/F with 11 attack and Klarion’s backup Prob! Deadly! On top of that, Teekl isn’t easy to kill. You get a Super Senses roll that basically succeeds on a 3-6, and not only is Klarion hard to deal with in stealth, his Mystics makes people think twice about trying to deal with it as opposed to one of those self-sufficient brawlers. This is 70 points you can’t go wrong with in any situation.”

Maybe we’ll agree on something in the No. 8 slot.

MAYBE

 

10.

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The Atom [Joker’s Wild 022]

WHY IT’S ONE OF THE BEST: Unaided by so much as an object, this mighty mite can hit for 5 damage with Close Combat Expert. He’s 25 points. He’s got Sidestep to get into position after taxi or TK. He’s 25 points. He can tie up well with 17 DV Reflexes and 4 clicks of life. HE’S 25 POINTS.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FURY? With an effective 11 speed, he can potentially start out of Fury’s sight and be basing the dude in one turn. And if he’s killed, he’s just 25 points.

WHY IT’S HERE ON THE LIST: Lacking Charge or Willpower makes him a little less scary. But he’s 25 points. And therefore Heroclixin’s No. 10 top fig of 2016 according to Heroclixin’ webmaster Rurouni KJS.

 

But Sceritz has a much different opinion as to what the No. 10 figure of the year should be (his words in italics):

 

10. Overdrive [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 029]

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My number 10 pick is a figure that I find it difficult not to put on every single team. Seriously, unless I’m going for a theme, I’m at loss for why he’s not there. Overdrive, from the Superior Foes of Spider-Man set, proved to be the sleeper piece that nobody saw coming. Worried about your close combat team? Don’t. At 35 points, He’s carrying 4 figures 11 squares across the map in a vehicle pog with sidestep and an 18 defense- toughness. On top of that he’s “Empower”-ing all your “red-on-speed” heroes for some serious unexpected damage. Need to reposition your team? Sidestep. Need to run for safety? Very little is stopping you. Oh, did someone waste an action, hoping to destroy your vehicle and actually succeed? Use the heavy object you put in its place to create ANOTHER Charged Up car and ride on! The versatility and potential this figure gives your team for 35 points is insane.

 

How much overlap will there be in our lists? Visit Heroclixin’ in the coming days to find out!

It’s year’s end and Christmas and that means it’s time for Heroclixin’s annual Top Ten lists. Here are the ground rules for the first countdown, the Top Ten HeroClix of 2016:

  • We’re looking at Modern Age only.
  • We’re considering the 300-point game, which filters out certain high-cost pieces that might otherwise dominate the list.
  • Figures only. Despite the overwhelming effect of resources and equipment and ID cards, they’re not being considered for a Top Ten Clix list.
  • By the same token, any fig that needs a resource or equipment to be strong isn’t making the list. And that goes for ID card characters as well.
  • But the top characters also need to be able to handle the presence of such tactics as resources or ID cards.

Enough talk. Let’s get to the list!

Or…not. Because as I and new contributor Sceritz began putting together our lists, an unwelcome question kept cropping up:

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“What about Nick Fury [Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD 056]?”

Heroclixin’s No. 1 Top Ten figure from 2015 has cast a shadow even longer than his cosmic sniper rifle over every piece since. Dark Angel [Uncanny X-Men 049] is an example of a figure that would have been a contender for top piece of the year. But at 200 points, he’s exactly the kind of power tentpole that Fury can eviscerate with little problem despite the vast 80-point gap between the two.  So even as we list our top selections, part of the criteria and discussion is how the piece can handle the Fury Effect.

Maybe it’s a little unfair to rate this year’s figs by his standard, but let’s face it: if it can’t hang with him, it’s likely not doing well against the Quinjet+Drone carrier teams, either — and the majority of those forces are going to have Nick on the sideline as an ID character. So for better or worse, Fury was the arbiter of quality this year.

Check back for the beginning of our two-fisted countdown!

For some time now, Heroclixin’ has used the royal “we” when referring to itself. But truth be told, it’s pretty much been a one-man show outside of a very few guest spots.

Until now.

Say hi to Sceritz, a young player who’s not been in the game as long as yours truly, but is every bit as passionate about HeroClix. He’s more ambitious than I am about the competitive end of things, one reason why I invited him to join on as a contributor.

Look for him to weigh in on Heroclixin’s Top 10 of 2016 and the Worst of the Year in the coming month. (I’ll be reserving the Top 10 F.U.N. figs list for myself, probably)

Check out his personal blog at IVWall.net.

So this character now has a HeroClix figure.

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And I ran him in a bye match during a sealed Superior Foes of Spider-Man side event at the Realms Open Championship World Cup. A player dropped and I had the following figures in my never-played box of HeroClix to approximate a sealed team:

COMMONS
Thug

UNCOMMONS
Scorpion
Vermin
Jackal

RARE
Frog-Man

SUPER RARE
Power Man and Iron Fist

Exactly 300 points. Jackal was definitely the MVP with his Perplex and Outwit. And Scorpion’s giant-reaching tail put in work, as did Luke Cage. (Seriously. Never did choose to swap to Fist’s dial.)

But it was Frog-Man who bounced Spider-Girl into walls for KO and nearly landed the deciding blow on Morlun, which would have led to me retiring my 12-figure-strong KO list for the Runaways’ Molly Hayes and started a new one for the fabulous Frog-Man! But it was not to be.

…..yet.

As I write this, I’m taking a breather from the awesome clixfest that is the ROC World Cup. Held in Atlanta each October, it’s the culmination of the Realms Open Championship series of tournaments.

But y’all should know by now: At Heroclixin’, it’s all about F.U.N.

So while scores of top-level players were competing for glory and a share of the thousands of dollars at stake in Friday’s quarterfinals, and Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s finals, I and other players tried out F.U.N. teams in less-serious side tournaments.

Did I mention? I’m a judge at ROC World Cup. So my stake in all the sturm and drang of min-max team building was minimal. I instead focused my gaming efforts on the most FUN for me and my opponents possible.

Visit again for reports on:

The New Mutant / New Warrior Question
The Most Multiple Mans You Ever Saw
The Black Panther Party
The Near-Birth of a New KO List

Continuing our photo documentation of how each character with the Super Strength power can hold its own object token. Below, all from the latest set, are: Power Man and Iron Fist [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 050], Puff Adder [035], Spider-Gwen [052], and Spider-Man [049]. (Not pictured, because his sculpt is nearly identical to Puff Adder’s, is Cottonmouth [024].)

 

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That completes our look at Superior Foes of Spider-Man’s token toters. Keep an eye on Heroclixin’ periodically for more photos to help you make Super Strength more and more F.U.N.

One of Heroclixin’s goals is to discover which figures with Super Strength can hold their own action tokens. Because boys’ toys hold their weapons.

 

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Spider-Man [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 001]

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Green Goblin [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 010]

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Toxin [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 018]

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Norman Osborn [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 028]

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Morlun [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 058]

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Spider-Man 2211 [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 059]

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Superior Spider-Man [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 060]