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Hey, there was a pre-release at my venue. Two of ’em, in fact. So Heroclixin’ got as many shots of figures with Super Strength holding object tokens as possible.

 

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yes, Jimmy Olsen [027] gets Super Strong when he turns into Turtle Boy. No lie

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Lord Satanus [046] has a devilish hold on his object tokens
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Superman II [019a] can only manage the ol’ chin-and-stat-window hold. Such a pacifist20151021_200138

The three main Wonder Woman pieces [002, 018 and 033] can’t do much better than to lean the object on their bodice.

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We should have gotten the photo from behind to show how his long ponytail is doing the heavy lifting here

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First Born [037] uses traited Super Strength.20151021_195959 20151021_195729

Steel [012] gets a hold on things with, as usual, his hammer

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yes, Amazon [005] is using her ponytail to hold the token

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We had a grand time at the Realms Open Championship as part of the judge staff. I was wondering how well I’d enjoy the ROC finals without the unparalleled experience that is DragonCon surrounding it.

The answer: Just fine. It’s actually a more purely HeroClix function and improved, not lessened!

Personal highlights:

  1. Meeting the Generation Clix trinity of Skyler, Chase and ROC participant Travis on Friday. I’m enjoying these guys’ semi-weekly podcast on all things HeroClix and they are very cool in person. (I may be featured in a little spot during a brief interview about becoming a ROC judge.)
  2. Winning Fellowship in former HeroClix Worlds champion Jeterey’s late-night Minions game format despite going 1-2 thanks to the worst error I have ever made in a HeroClix game in a long and humiliating tradition of making incredibly terrible errors in HeroClix games. More on that in a future post.
  3. Meeting my weekend roommate, Ryan of Glass Cabinet Hobbies. What a cool, friendly fellow! I need to eBay more clix from his store. If you got a chance to view any of the live stream from the event, that was his voice you were hearing most of the time.
  4. Re-encountering faces from previous ROC events and getting to recall their names with only a few embarrassed questions!
  5. Encountering familiar HCRealms screen names and getting to shake their hands and share war stories, techniques and smiles.
  6. As always, working with the ROC staff is an absolute pleasure!
  7. And, of course, seeing the ascent of the 2015 ROC World Cup champion, 10-year-old Isaac, who straight-up outplayed nearly all challengers — including the theretofore zero-loss Phillip, whose team was runner-up in Worlds as well (but against the grossly overpowered — and still banned from ROC — Felix Faust). I’d noted Isaac’s play earlier in a battle royale and thought at first that, while skilled, he was simply having fun tagging along with his dad. But no, he came to compete.

    When I heard how Isaac dealt with a new friend’s team, one that I thought was impressively outside the box compared to the rest of the meta, I remarked, not for the last time, that this kid was scary good.

  8. Seeing the last of the HCRealms “HeroClix is like chess with superpowers” T-shirts I conceptualized years ago. Made me feel nostalgic and a little proud.
  9. Last but not at all least, getting to meet the man behind the Starting Over podcast, Edward Shelton, aka Darklogos. Dude is even sharper than I knew from our previous encounters via interviews and correspondences. It was worth leaving the hotel much later than I intended to hear him school a newer player of my acquaintance onto the path to better play. Edward was talking to John, but yours truly was listening, too, and assessing his own deviance from the path that would lead to the top table.

    Part of it is Heroclixin’s commitment to F.U.N. play. It’s truly the path that suits me best. But Mr. Shelton made a driving point of encouraging our younger friend not to try so hard to netdeck the metagame or be so in awe of the best players, but to instead learn what his own actual style of play is and to grow excellent by being himself. Perhaps, then, I may be able to grow into an excellent HeroClix player in my own F.U.N. manner.

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Although such hyper-competitive gaming isn’t Heroclixin’s purview, we are going to be there as part of the judging staff this weekend in Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 16-18! Come say hey to me, Rurouni KJS! I’m the short black guy in the judge shirt and glasses. There’s an off chance I may even play in one of the side events.

Go to Hcrealms.com for further official details such as registering for the badge — it’s free — and learning about the events.

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Last week Several weeks ago, we wrote of a F.U.N. team of characters from April with the word “black” in their names. It worked out, so we tried another version in August:

Black Widow [Avengers Assemble 065] 200
Black Panther [Age of Ultron] 140
Black Knight [Age of Ultron] 115
Black Manta [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 039] 97
Black Lightning [Batman] 87
Black Canary [Streets of Gotham 003] 62
Black Talon [Deadpool] 60
Black Death [Kick-Ass 2] 35
= 769 points

The basic strat was to use Black Talon to Mind Control a teammate and jumpstart the offense that way, while using Black Death and Canary as timely tie-ups. But I was going to have little time to execute, as I had to go to work in a little over 2.5 hours.

FIRST, I faced Aaron’s DC team of Superman, Batman from Trinity War (Wait, didn’t we DO this already?), New 52 John Constantine, Cosmic Boy [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 001], Lucius Fox [Batman] and Aquaman [Trinity War 018] at 60 points.

Turning Points

  • The Canary in the Mine: Superman immediately used his X-ray eyes to KO Canary in a single shot when I misjudged Batman as the true threat instead of as the TKer of Supes. Oops.
  • Aquaman? Doesn’t He Just Talk to Fis—AH, MY SPLEEN!!!!! I got a tad too aggressive with Black Panther, leaving him within Charge range of the 60-point Aquaman, who got double-Perplexed to a 13 AV to rather easily hit BP for 6 after an aces Blades/Claws/Fangs roll. At least I later scored a KO of the sea king myself.
  • Carrying the Plague Almost Kills Me: Black Widow taxied Black Death to block one line of fire, but really I should have walked the 35-pointer to base Batman.

Superman escaped to consign me to a 60-62 loss for an 0-1 record.

 

SECOND was Lenny’s themed team of Justice League Dark: Frankenstein, Tim Hunter, John Constantine, I Vampire, Zatanna, Madame Xanadu, Black Orchid and Blue Devil, all from the main Trinity War set. This was exciting; I’d never seen them all played together before!

Turning Points Lessons Learned

  • Never overextend Black Panther. You’d think I’d have learned from last game. But his ability to hide from line of fire can lead to overconfidence in his effective 19 DV. He took a first critical hit blow from Black Orchid — after a rerolled crit miss! — and Frank cleaned up for the first score of the game. All because I wanted to Outwit the Vampire’s Charge to protect Black Widow, who’d roundly missed her attack on Blue Devil. I didn’t take into account all the other Charge characters who could and did attack.
  • Never gum up line of fire. I had a lot of range on my team. But my overaggressive Panther placement led to enemy melee forces and my own brawler Black Knight blocking my firing lanes. Thus I couldn’t effectively get Black Manta and Lightning into the fray…OR use Black Widow’s “smoke” trait to get cover where I needed.
  • Never Leap/Climb the Stealthy gal out in the open… right in the Outwit’s face. While I kinda needed to get Black Canary where she could do some good, I may have chosen a different spot. Speaking of choices:
  • Who to hit? Blue Devil? John? Or Xanadu? Canary had based all three. I chose the Devil. And missed. NEVER CHOOSE THE DEVIL.
  • Never say die. Things begin to turn around. At last, my shooters got a clear LOF to Zatanna, and thanks to the Outsiders TA, we take her. And then Tim Hunter, as well, followed by Constantine! Victory is at hand.
  • …until, at the last minute, Madame Xanadu shifts to successfully reroll a Charging Frankenstein’s miss into a 6 BCF one-shot kill of Black Lightning as time expires. Xanadu haunts me.

Xanadu dies in every game I see her in now.

 

FINALLY, Morrison’s Avengers on the old Cap Helicarrier map: Deadpool [Thunderbolts Fast Forces], Captain America [Avengers Age of Ultron 102], Iron Man [Mutations And Monsters 200], and 100-point versions each of Hank Pym [Age of Ultron], Spider-Man and Thor [Avengers Vs. X-Men], and Hulk and Iron Man [Original Avengers].

Turning Points

A Thor Too Far. Morrison overextended Thor and I took those points early on.

…Failing Even In Undeath. Using Black Talon to revive Thor, I tried to single Pulse Wave Spidey. But…crit miss.

HULK SMA…oh. A potentially Panther-crippling Charge was wasted on a bad attack roll, which left the rest of the game in little doubt. I lost Black Death, Manta and Talon but got Hulk, Iron Man and Pym for the margin of victory. 1-2.

This team suffered for a total lack of Probability Control. Wish I’d remembered Black Cat [Deadpool 023]! I also didn’t realize special objects were allowed; I would have included an Opened Hydrant for Black Manta’s benefit.

By piece:

Canary: Mostly dead weight. Black Cat takes her spot from now on.

Death: Still a superb tie-up blocker. He’s always on this team.

Lightning: Outsiders TA is solid, but he’s soooo soft. I like him too much to leave him off the team, though.

Manta: Another fixture on the team, able to serve as taxi, shooter, wildcard.

Panther: Much more of a finesse fig than I initially appreciated.

Talon: Again, the piece that makes this a surprisingly competitive F.U.N. team.

Widow: A beastick that this team usually lacks. The Smoke Cloud is clutch.

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No promises on the next article. That bit me last time.

 

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Please forgive us for Heroclixin’s long silence. Late August and September has us consumed with conventions DragonCon and Anime Weekend Atlanta in these parts. Let’s continue with our photographic record of figures holding object tokens.

 

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Thor [Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD 050] has a mighty hold via her lightning.

 

 

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Namor [054] is even better with a perfect grip under his right arm.

 

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Because they’re identical, sculpt-wise, this photo of the non-prime version can stand in for Union Jack [043b] holding a token with the stat slot and his chin and right wrist.

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Hulk [052] has to use his fingers to make this hold work. But when it works, it’s a smashing success.

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That’s just about all there is to show in Nick Fury. We’re missing Blazing Skull [038] and our not-quite-completed Hulkbuster MKII [G001]. We’ll get to them eventually.

Next Tuesday look for a slow catchup on Age of Ultron.

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The quest continues.

 

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He don’t hold it well, but SHIELD Cyborg [Nick Fury 020a] manages.

 

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Her face isn’t the only ugly thing about Man-Killer [029]: Her hold is sloppy, too.

 

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The stat slot and gun hand are the best U.S. Agent [037] can do.

 

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Miss America [039] has a surprisingly solid grip with a little effort.

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Longtime readers know that one of Heroclixin’s favorite themes is teams of all-black characters. But we did a cuter version of the team a few months ago:

Black Manta [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 039] 97

Black Widow [Avengers: Age of Ultron 105] 75

Black Adam [Trinity War] 270

Black Talon [Deadpool] 60

Black Mask [Arkham Origins] 100

Black Mask Thug [Arkham Origins] 40

Black Death [Kick-Ass 2] 35

Flock of Bats (Black) 13

=690 points.

It faced Robert’s John Constantine [Trinity War], Green Arrow [Trinity War 208], a pair of STAR Labs Technicians and full-points Batman [Trinity War] and Superman [Trinity War] on my brand-new Avengers Age of Ultron starter map.

I had to be very careful of Green Arrow. It was vital to keep at least one of the following between him and my force at all times:

  • Elevated Terrain
  • Blocking Terrain

to deny him any easy shots at me and force him, at minimum, to not be able to choose any of his extra-damaging options:

  • Energy Explosion
  • Incapacitate
  • Penetrating/Psychic Blast

 

TURNING POINTS

  • Black Talon sent Black Adam on a likely suicide run to successfully KO Constantine and tie up Green Arrow…
  • …long enough for Talon to send Black Widow out to ping Superman off his excellent top click and keep him tied up…
  • …and for Black Death to hold down Batman just long enough for Black Manta and the Thug to wear out Bats for the second KO.
  • Meanwhile, Widow and Adam survived via Shape Change and blind luck, respectively, to narrowly preserve the win.

 

By piece:

Black Adam was the proverbial “beastick” of the team. Though lacking in ranged ability, his immunity to non-Mysticals’ Outwit made him the best possible brick to hurl at the enemy team’s collective face.

Black Widow completely over-performed. Shape Change isn’t much of a defense. Once again, we’re glad that Hypersonic Speed is no longer an automatic breakaway.

Black Mask was played for the first time in this game. His main contribution was the free move he offered his Thug. This isn’t really the team for him.

Black Mask Thug, on the other hand, was more of a boss than, well, his boss. The Batman Enemy TA worked well with…

…Black Manta, whose wild card status, Sidestep, Penetrating/Psychic Blast and traited Carry makes him a lock for this theme just about every time. As is…

…Black Talon. His friendly Mind Control ability is straight-up meta. He’s the engine that makes this team work despite it not being anything close to optimized.

Flock of Bats (Black) tend to underperform due to their inability to either move quickly or be taxied. They’re purely filler.

Black Death, OTOH, is another one we’ll look at as more than filler. He’s a key meat shield — thanks to opening Shape Change — and tie-up piece, with his top clicks of Combat Reflexes and later Plasticity/Poison/Toughness combo.

This “black” team was F.U.N. and surprisingly effective, enough so that we planned to try it out again sometime.

That time came with a Eight Is Enough game for the first weekend of the eighth month: 800 points, exactly eight figures. We kept Black Manta, Death, and Talon while adding:

Black Widow [Avengers Assemble 06 ] 200
Black Panther [Age of Ultron] 140
Black Kinght [Age of Ultron] 115
Black Lightning [Batman] 87
Black Canary [Streets of Gotham ] 62
= 769 points

This time it’d go through a whole tournament. How would it do? See this space next week!

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A  while back there was this event:

600 points Modern Age, six figures. No more, no less.

That I built this force for [first mentioned last December]:

Nick Fury [Captain America: Winter Soldier 015] 98p + Avengers Response Unit ATA 3
Captain America [Captain America: Winter Soldier 001] 125p + Avengers Response Unit ATA 3
Black Widow [Captain America: Winter Soldier 003] 114p + Avengers Response Unit ATA 3
Agent 13 [Captain America: Winter Soldier 013] 55p
G.W. Bridge [Deadpool 041] 68
Falcon [Captain America: Winter Soldier 006] 105p

+ Power Plant 10

+ Matter Rearranger 2
+Black Light 2
+Vortex Ring 2
+Impact Beam 2
+Disintegration Beam 2
+Flame Blast 2

=596 points.

Here’s how this Six Pack fared. In each round, I note how well Cap’s, Widow’s, Fury’s and 13’s Espionage traits worked out.

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WHO IT FACED

The Flash [The Flash 202] 149
+ Predator entity 25

Krona [War of Light ]
+ Proselyte entity 25

Void [Streets of Gotham] 70

Captain Marvel [Guardians of the Galaxy 007b] 82

ESPIONAGE: Stephen’s Cosmic theme got no map bonus thanks to Cap, enabling me to choose the Fallen Asgard map for its very large central patch of special hindering terrain. But no objects were fielded for Fury to place, and my opponent had all the PC he’d need in Krona and Void, making Widow’s trait almost as useless. Agent 13 at least could hold the Cosmics to a single free action apiece.

I had an immediate problem; the map’s elevated terrain enabled Krona to shoot at will with 9 range. And Cap Marvel could safely give him a nearly unhittable 19 DV with Defend.

TURNING POINTS

  • Several improbable hits on 19 DV wore Krona down, sending him running after a parting shot on Fury, who LMD’d to survive the fatal shot.
  • Falcon hit Cap Marvel off top dial during a Move+Attack hit-and-run.
  • Flash crit missed as Falc and Cap went in pursuit deep in enemy territory.

But time ran out and I lost the roll off. Oh well! 0-1

ROUND TWO

Ms. Marvel [Fear Itself]
Tyr [Fear Itself]
Raizo Kodo [Fear Itself]
Monkey King
Speedball
and Jennifer Kale [ASM]

ESPIONAGE: No theme team or objects were fielded, so Cap and Fury were useless as spies and Black Widow had no enemy probs to steal — not that Thomas needed theme with J.Kale around to double PC. Agent 13 picked the Mystical keyword to hold back Raizo and Jenn and Monkey King, to little avail. It looked like Espionage was a big ‘ol waste, here. But…

TURNING POINTS

  • Fury drew fire again, from deadly Ms. Marvel.
  • GW held off Raizo just long enough for Cap to take him.
  • Agent 13 wreaked havoc with her defense-killing charms.
  • But the MVP this time — FINALLY — was Black Widow. Her ability to make TTPC without taking tokens was key and absolutely clutch!

KO’d Ms. Marvel, Raizo, Monkey King and Jenn, losing only Agent 13. 1-1

 

By piece:

Captain America [Captain America: Winter Soldier 001]: Map choice was vital for this team that needs lots of Stealth — not least of which, Cap himself — and open lines of fire. This Cap is swiftly growing to be one of my preferred versions.

Black Widow [Captain America: Winter Soldier 003]: Until now, this latest Widow had done little else but die hard and fast despite Stealth, 17 Reflexes AND Shape Change to protect her. But today her PC trait turned a tight match into a rout. Still costs a bit too much for what she does, but she’s more than F.U.N. enough to warrant a future outing.

Falcon [Captain America: Winter Soldier 006]: Once again, he makes this team work, alternately pumping damage via Empower/Enhancement and shifting formations with Sidestep+Carry for both himself and Cap

Nick Fury [Captain America: Winter Soldier 015]: As the “easy” target among the mostly Stealthed crew, Fury took a lot of early fire. But of course, his “Stop” click surprises.

G.W. Bridge [Deadpool 041]: Aside from inviting the essential Falcon to the team, he shone for his Outwit and cleanup hitting skills.

Agent 13 [Captain America: Winter Soldier 013]: A final secret weapon on a team loaded with them. Her trait slows down opponents to better match SHIELD’s pace of attack, and she works both as a great tie-up fig and as one that can open the way for the rest of the squad with her defense-canceling SP. Just superb here.

Oh, and that Power Plant resource? I almost entirely forgot to use it. That’s how well this team worked. 🙂

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Looking forward to what the new Nick Fury has to offer now.