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

No. 4

Black Panther [Age of Ultron 045]

Though a favorite character of Heroclixin’s owner, Black Panther has rarely made our Top Ten anything in HeroClix. But the king of the Wakandas deserves this F.U.N. slot oh-so-much.

• For 140 points, he doesn’t deal a lot of damage top-dial [3] despite Outwit and Precision Strike. He’s thoroughly outdone in this weight class and opponents know it. FELLOWSHIP level: Moderately High
• But that Cloaking Tech tho: BP’s trait gives him perma-Toughness, Stealth and blocks LOF to him if he’s next to blocking terrain, meaning foes likely have to deal with his 17 DV Reflexes. Meanwhile, his speed SP has him Sidestepping when hidden in either of those ways and Outwitting at will. And oh yeah…Willpower. He’s the first BP to get it. This figure is so strong that you’ve got to restrain yourself from overextending him.  UTILITY level: Moderately High
• With seven keywords, he’s a fit for any number of themes. A Neato theme is to team him with other characters with multiple “afterimage” sculpts. And we’re just one unclixed character from getting the “all-new, all-different” Ultimates on a board. For all that, though, BP still remains a tad on the staid side, so his NIFTYNESS level is Moderately Low.

Nevertheless, being able to work a battlefield while never making a player feel like a jerk bag while doing it, the king reigns well over the F.U.N. fest.

No. 5

The Atom [Superman/Wonder Woman G001]

All the new colossals from this set are much more F.U.N. than most of the earlier ones. But The Atom here is the only one to make our Top Ten.

• Colossals are giant targets thanks to the new size rules that make it so only indoor blocking/walls and other colossals cut off lines of fire to them. And Atom’s zero range means he’s almost certainly getting Outwit or shot before he can make his attack move with 10 Charge. Of all these big figs, he’s the least broken, we think. FELLOWSHIP level: High
• But that Giant Reach tho: Colossals can melee attack 3 squares out now. So that means, assuming his Charge isn’t countered, he can clobber from 9 squares away. There’s also the Smothering Hold SP that grants Plasticity and Sidestep and penetrating damage like a super-Poison at start of turn. Finally, a stop click at the end can turn him into a sort of cruise missile. And all this doesn’t touch his use as a taxi for smaller characters that otherwise couldn’t be carried, or, on themed teams, his ability to heal an ally with the Wonders of the World ATA at the cost of just 5 extra points and a click of damage.  UTILITY level: Moderate
• As mentioned before, the Wonders are great F.U.N. We also have always liked giants in the game, and Atom here is much more akin to them than to colossals. But probably the most Nifty thing about him is that his full mask and bare arms make him a perfect fit for the “Los Luchadores” theme team! NIFTYNESS level: Moderate

The Atom is huge F.U.N. in HeroClix.

No. 6

Superman II [Superman/Wonder Woman 019a]

The Wonders of the World team gets a representative on the F.U.N. fig list in Val-Zod here.

• Dealing only 2 damage from 6 range for 150 points is GOING to give a piece a good Friendliness rating, especially with his very average 17 DV with 1 click of Impervious and no Willpower. FELLOWSHIP level: High
• But that Incap tho. He has a SP version that bypasses ability to ignore pushing damage. Combined with his Running Shot and staggering 12 AV, he can lock down an opponent pretty well. And if he’s based when using it, he can Incap the same target again for free. Add to that starting Outwit and Superman Ally TA, and you’ve got a great recipe for F.U.N. that only grows as he becomes a Perplexing Hypersonic beater mid-dial and a Battle Fury-driven brute at the end. Finally, on themed teams he can use the Wonders of the World ATA to heal adjacent friends at the cost of taking damage himself. UTILITY level: Moderate
• N: Wonders of the World is an eminently F.U.N. keyword even though it shares one of Heroclixin’s Top Ten meta figs of 2015, Red Tornado 021.  Super II also works on variant Superman squads. NIFTYNESS level: Moderately Low because being an alternate Superman isn’t THAT Neato.

No need to kneel before this Zod. Just have F.U.N. with him!

No. 7

Faust [Superman/Wonder Woman 056]

The figure designed by the 2014 Worlds Team champs, Faust scores high on the F.U.N.-ometer.

• Lacking a lick of armor or even the Mystics team ability or Stealth, Faust is so, soooo soft with only Energy Shield/Deflection to protect him at first. Players might be a little nervous about his attack and damage skills, but his low defense numbers nullify the fear factor. FELLOWSHIP level: Solid
• But those 3 dice tho: Getting to roll three dice and picking the best two for attacks via his Pocket Dimension special power is top tier! Even better is his Shadow Walk SP that allows him to Sidestep and warp from hindering to hindering before doing so. (That’s also a nice game balancing design that subtly encourages you to play him a certain way.) Mid-dial, he gains the ability to get no-attack-roll damage AND healing but forces him to be close — gotta hope Super Senses holds up. If not, maybe he can Regen from his last two clicks with the help of Prob Control…or you just use his regained Shadow Walk to Sidestep to relative safety. UTILITY level: Moderate.
• A rare Outsiders member — but one thankfully not saddled with the pricey team ability — he also fits on Shadowpact and Checkmate, of all things. Other than that, Heroclixin’ sees Faust a lot like Zatanna: NIFTYNESS level is Low due to most of the appeal coming from the dial.

Still, if it’s F.U.N. you’re wanting, this is a Faust to deal with!

No. 8

Zatanna [Trinity War 056]

The famous Justice Leaguer who does magic spells by speaking words backward is made into her best HeroClix version yet with a truly inventive bit of dial design that makes her one of the most F.U.N. figures of 2015:

At 120 points, she’s about 30 points too high to be so soft and short-lived for just 6 clicks. That keeps her pretty Friendly despite some hefty Utility with her Nifty dial. Played normally, she’s a solid — though, as mentioned, overcosted — mid-range shooter with Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Precision Strike with Outwit. But as you start the game, you can choose to swap her dial to click 6 and play her dial backwards, making her into a Sidestepping TK Defend piece with a SP offering a choice of Barrier+Perplex or Enhancement+ProbControl that pushes into Support. Middle clicks sport Pulse Wave and Toughness.

In addition to the sheer Niftyness of her dial, she’s a fixture on Shadowpact and Celebrity themes, as well as Justice League. We at Heroclixin’ are a little sad she doesn’t have the Seven Soldiers keyword, though that’s never going to stop us.

• FELLOWSHIP level: Moderate. Having the Mystics TA docks her a bit here.
• UTILITY level: Really High.
• NIFTYNESS level: Just OK in our estimation. It’s her dial more than anything else that we like, and that’s not worth as much on this scheme.

5102 fo sgif N.U.F. eht fo eno Ylurt!

No. 9

Batman [Superman/Wonder Woman 061]

This version of the vigilante is so unusual for the Batman variants that populate HeroClix — he’s not Bruce Wayne and he’s an actual terrorist. To be fair, he’s fighting against Red Son Superman and Josef Stalin’s totalitarian regimes and tends to give a few minutes’ warning before he blows stuff up, so he’s kind of a good-guy terrorist. But aside from being an interesting take on the Bat, he’s a F.U.N. fig, too.

• He starts with Sidestep and Stealth and only 4 range and 2 damage — and no starting Outwit, Willpower or Perplex on those early clicks, which is unusually Friendly for a Batman. FELLOWSHIP level: High
• That doesn’t mean he’s not rocking Useful stuff anyway. He ignores elevated terrain for movement and sports a trait that, 33% of the time, deals damage when blocking terrain is destroyed or an ally 25 points or more is KO’d. Later in his dial, he gets Outwit in a huge way, able to counter any or all a target’s powers! But at this point, he’s lost both his Stealth and ESD in favor of Charge and Reflexes, so he’s a lot more vulnerable and you really need to put him in harm’s way to truly get the best use of him. UTILITY level: Moderate [because the trait is so left to chance and he’s so soft]
• Aside from Red Son themes, this fig could be used on Russian themes or Elseworlds Batman themes. Overall, though, we rate his NIFTYNESS level fairly Low.

Still, it’s enough to be one of the most F.U.N. characters in HeroClix. So if you’re fortunate enough to obtain this chase figure, be a freedom fighter!

No. 10

Veil [Avengers Asemble 023]

This member of Avengers Academy with the power to turn to toxic gases was a reluctant hero, being more concerned with the danger of her body being unable to re-solidify. Her clix version makes our list of top F.U.N. figures. Here’s why:

• In keeping with the character’s non-interest in super heroics, light damage and no-passenger policy give Veil very high marks on not being a completely negative play experience. FELLOWSHIP level: High
• Being able to Smoke Cloud non-stop via her SP is pretty top tier, especially with its potential to deal damage. Aside from that, she makes an OK meat shield and tie-up fig. But she takes a hit by not being able to use the Carry ability due to a trait. UTILITY level: Moderately Low
• Veil’s Initiative keyword is her raison d’être. She’s a totally Nifty fit on an Avengers Academy team. It’s a shame that WK doesn’t really have a Teen keyword anymore, one that she’d be perfect for. It’s NOT a shame that there’s no Ginger keyword. But she fits that theme, too. NERDCORE level: Low

In years past, this has been where your friendly neighborhood webmaster has shared his personal favorites of the past year. But a friend rather bluntly told me: “Nobody cares about that list.”

It stung a bit, but I had to admit he was right. It might be entertaining — one could say Friendly and Nifty, to invoke the spirit of this blog — to some readers, but was it also Useful? No.

Not until now.

So this time, and going forward, Heroclixin’s last look back at the year will list the Top Ten F.U.N. figs of the year, not just our favorites, in accordance with the F.U.N. acrostic:

• Is the figure FRIENDLY and FELLOWSHIP-worthy? That is, if your opponents see this figure on your team, will their hearts utterly sink at the prospect of dealing with it? If so, it’s not F.U.N.
• Is this figure still USEFUL and full of UTILITY anyway? If so, it may be F.U.N. But it shouldn’t run TOO high on this scale, or it may overwhelm the Friendly portion!
• Does this figure have a NEATO or NIFTY or NERDCORE appeal that goes beyond its just having good stats and powers? Does it have a special place on a team outside of the usual keywords? And does this clix capture the character’s appeal? If so, it may be F.U.N. But the answer can’t JUST be, “I like this character.”

Let’s look at one of my unrecognized favorites from 2014 along this new F.U.N. scale:

Captain America and Black Widow [Captain America: Winter Soldier 017]

• At 130 points, lack of Running Shot and having just 3 damage isn’t THAT scary. The duo is also generally untaxiable, forcing them to move about on their own most of the time, and can’t equip a number of tactics that could make them broken. FELLOWSHIP level: Moderate
• That Duo Attack tho. Via Special Power[s], CapWidow’s damage output can ramp up exponentially with modifiers. Being a single-base duo also allows them to be TK’d. Sidestep with SHIELD TA make them a boon to other shooters on the force and Avengers Initiative helps both their targeting and movement case. Finally, there’s Indomitable, IM:Characters and treated Stealth to make one wonder how this fig loaded with Utility didn’t make 2014’s actual Top Ten. UTILITY level: High
• “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” remains the best of the Marvel Studios movies, and this fig is a Nifty representative in HeroClix.Also, good duos are rare in the game. But Black Widow is one of my favorites so that’s why she’s here, too. NIFTYNESS level: Low

According to the new FUN scale, this is a fig that would make my favorites list of past years but wouldn’t QUITE make the F.U.N. one. Keep visiting Heroclixin’ all week to see what 2015 proper had to offer as the most F.U.N. figs of the year!

No. 1

Vandal Savage [Trinity War 048] 

Back in the Top Ten of 2015 list, we looked at One Man Army figs and commented on how improved they have generally become.

Vandal is the proverbial exception to the trend.

At 250 points, he’s bringing just 10 AV and just 3 damage and just 17 DV Toughness and just 7 Charge to start — which doesn’t work with his SP Close Combat Expert. That means he’s completely depending on Shape Change to keep him safe until next turn. Better hope he doesn’t land on click 2, where the speed spikes to 9 — too late — while the AV drops to 9.

NINE. On click 2 of a 250-point figure. The mind reels.

He gets better stats and powers down dial, and his Leadership trait can boost his and allies’ AV. But look out: Just when you’ve landed on a sweet spot click like No. 3 (Flurry, 11 Super Strength), his other trait auto-heals him at turn’s end if he’s got two action tokens. Liked that Stealth + Outwit click you pushed to? Sorry, it’s gone and he’s open to shooters again…AND the power you just countered on the enemy came back ’cause you healed off Outwit.

This Neanderthal belongs in the annals of extinction.

No. 2

Cammi [Avengers Assemble 019]

At first glance, she looks OK. Self-Perplex, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, IT:Hindering. But that 5 range with no Willpower or Stealth or Running Shot are big problems in making any real use of her shooting prowess. She could well be based before ever getting a shot off — or KO’d outright through her short, 4-click dial guarded only by 16 DV Energy Shield/Deflection and her SP:

• ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES: Give Cammi a free action and place a Mine marker in an adjacent unoccupied clear square if there are two or less friendly Mine markers on the map. Even if this power is lost, whenever an opposing character moves through one or more squares containing Cammi’s Mine markers and actions resolve, remove those markers from the map and deal that character 3 damage.

Sounds nice…until one notices that with just two Mines allowed on the map, it’s really easy to get around any she’s planted — assuming she didn’t drop them way away from the action, or that she hasn’t gotten hit off the power before using it.

She also wastes points on her trait if she’s not on a team with Drax. And with her nearly useless keywords of Pilot and Pirate, she’s not going to be on many teams without Drax.

She’s OK with a Drax — sort of — but is otherwise a little piece of junk and so nearly tops Heroclixin’s list of crap figures of 2015.

“Stupid. Weak. Slow.”