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

This is a hold that works for Red Wolf [Avengers Assemble 051] even when Lobo is off the base.

Last time we looked at the Atlantis newcomers costing under 100 points, as well as new water-heavy maps. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 101-125 points: maneaters ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ocean Master [Trinity War 029]: This latest version of Aquaman’s half-brother Orm brings the pain to the surface. At any time during the game, he can take a one-time double power action to permanently flood up to half the map. Now no Atlantis team need be left high and dry, ever. That’s not his only trick, though. He can also Penetrating/Psychic Blast an unlimited number of targets sitting in water within his 6 range — no LOF needed. With 11 Running Shot and 11 AV, he’s the shooter Atlantis has needed for a while. Sprinkled clicks of Prob round out this 115 point package.

Aquaman [Trinity War 201] is an Indomitable beater with 4 damage, Charge, Super Strength and Invincible, though his other stats are barely OK for his 122 points. But he’s likely being run for A) his trait to encourage foes to pick maps with at least 12 squares of water and B) his own free action ability to call up water in his own and an adjacent square. With his SP Empower and Leadership, it’s a decent combo.  

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Above 125 points: alpha predators ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sea King [Trinity War 014], the evil Earth-3 version of Aquaman, gets a decent dial. First, he gets to put 6 squares of water on the map so he’ll never be completely beached. Second, he’s an Indom Transporter with Super Strength and a respectable 11 AV. Finally, he’s got CSA TA, allowing him to use Prob and toss a token on any ally, even himself. At 135 points, he’s a little bit pricey for what he does, but again, getting that free water terrain can be worth it all for an Atlantis team that lost map choice.

Weighing in at a fairly massive 172 points, Aquaman [Trinity War 018] is not really based on any version of the character in comics. He’s closer to the guy featured in that one Justice League cartoon where he was shooting energy blasts at Lovecraftian monsters and making them run. (Or, maybe, he’s this guy, from Aquaman #41, released just last week. Did WizKids know something we didn’t when they designed this figure last year for this February’s Trinity War?) Anyhow, this Aquaman is a shooter instead of a melee brick, either using Leadership and Enhancement on allies one turn or picking Energy Explosion or PPB —both with Running Shot — on another. He also manages top dial to do the no-LOF Outwit/trick that his 60-point version must push for. Mid-dial, he gets some Sidestep and big damage potential via Close Combat Expert — no Super Strength needed — before shifting to the late Charge+BCF combo. He’s only 7 clicks, though, two LESS than the next most expensive Aquaman in the game, who’s 16 points cheaper. His fairly average DV can’t take much penetrating damage.

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That wraps our Atlantis update! Look for other F.U.N. Focus articles and updates in the future. Next up will be Legion of Super-Heroes.

Continuing our quest to photograph every Super-Strong ‘clix holding an object token, Heroclixin’ presents Yugioh Clix:

Sengenjin [Yugioh Series One 013]…

…Summoned Skull [048]…

…and Amphibian Beast [001].

We don’t really collect Yugioh clix (outside of Animal keyword) so it’s going to take a while to record all these. But it will be done, eventually, maybe. 🙂

So back in early 2014, we did a Focus on Atlantis: What figs were great for building the keyword, which weren’t, etc.  It’s 2015 and a few additions have come to stir up the water. First, let’s look at maps and objects and stuff:

MODERN AGE

• Atlantis [Trinity War]: The second all-water map in the game, this one is better than the first because it A) Allows objects and terrain markers so swimmers with Super Strength and Barrier aren’t hosed, B) it has much better placement of blocking terrain so that snipers aren’t as much of a problem, and, for a while, C) poor rules wording allowed maximum freedom of movement to swimmers and virtually none for boot speed characters. But later errata would clear that up.
• Thunderbolts Submarine [Deadpool Fast Forces]: This map offers great cover for the swim team, but even better are its goofy special rules that cause misses to break the outdoor walls and flood the map with water terrain. The trick is actually remembering this rule.
• Central City/Keystone City [The Flash]: Stuck on one side of the map and buried at level one on a mostly elevated map, the water terrain on these sister maps look fairly useless. But each represents a hidey-hole that swimmers can retreat to if things get troublesome, or a spot from which flying Atlantis pieces might make an ambush. A few figures can make fantastic use of this one.
• Odym [War of Light]: With tons of water on two elevations, this looks like a swimmer’s paradise, but don’t be fooled! With zero blocking terrain, firing lanes are quite open for long ranged snipers to shoot at most Atlantis figs before the fish men can ever close in.

GOLDEN AGE

Duelist Kingdom: Water [Yugioh]: This map, like Flooded Wakanda, is mostly water with islands of dry land all about. But there are no walls for the mostly unranged Atlantis team to use as cover, so pick this map with great care, swim teams!

Pacific Ocean [Fear Itself]: Wait. Wasn’t this featured LAST time? Yes, it was, but it had a caveat that because it was all water, objects couldn’t be placed at game’s start, ironically making it an impediment to the Super Strength-laden Atlantis team. Now it’s gotten an erratum to allow objects. Impediment removed. It’s also been retired.

OK, now for the new figures since last year:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Below 50 points: shrimps and chum ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Trench [Trinity War 204]: At 25 points, these monsters are the new champs of cheapness for Atlantis. But they’re more than just filler: With Charge, 10 AV, 17 Reflexes with 2 damage Exploit Weakness and Poison, they’re the best tie-up/melee in the theme. Sure, they’re only 2 clicks long, but at this price, who cares?

Atlantean [Trinity War 007]: The modest stats [9, 9, 16, 2] don’t look like much, even at 36 points. That is, until you note that ALL those stats go +1 when in water. 5 range, 10 AV Incap, 17 DV and 3 damage with Sidestep that pushes to 18 Reflexes make these guys a bargain as long as you keep ’em soaked.

Atlantean [Trinity War 203]: The Gravity Feed version is more of a support piece as he pushes to Empower and later Enhancement. He also boasts Charge to start and can deal knock back to all foes he hits if he’s on an Atlantis team. Five clicks of life aren’t bad, either, at 40 points, though the 3 range leaves much to be desired.

The Trench [Trinity War 008]: 45 points for this piece isn’t bad. Charge + BCF offers a lot of damage potential while the Hypersonic Speed he gets in water delivers light first strike capability. TEAM UP WITH: Other Trench, especially the 25-pointers, as this one heals when any adjacent dolphin speed ally is KO’d.

The Trench [Trinity War 204]: Full-power GF Trench costs 48 points and loses the moving attack ability the others start with. So why play this one? For the Speed special that grants both Sidestep and the ability to carry other Trench (well, any other character with both Atlantis and Monster…which so far only equals “other Trench”). Coupled with his Empower, this is a lethal team player well able to contribute to the fight himself with 10 BCF.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 51-75 points: barracudas ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Aquaman [Trinity War 018] is the only addition in this bracket, and at 60 points, you really want more than 3 clicks of life. That said, He’s bringing 9 Charge, 11 BCF, 2x bolt 6 range with IT:Hindering, Indom and Transporter. If you can get his Super Senses DV to hold up or push to his “look Ma, no-LOF” Outwit/Perplex for dolphins, he can maybe pull his weight.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 76-100 points: sharks ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  

As usual, Mera [Trinity War 028] is the latest TK figure for the Atlantis crowd. With Leadership and Sidestep, she’s extra adept at the role. But for her 84 cost, you don’t needn’t settle for her being just a mobility piece, especially on the water-laden maps an Atlantis team should be swimming in — she’s a shooter. Her trait gives her range equal to the number of water squares she’s in or next to, plus one. Yep, that’s a possible 10 range before any modifications. She’s also got a mid-dial SP that nerfs nearby foes’ stats when they take tokenable actions within 3 squares of her. And with her shooting from 10 squares out, someone’s going to want to get close to shut her down.

Not to be outdone, gravity feed Mera [Trinity War 202] also brings the Sidestep TK action, this time for two straight clicks. In addition, she provides the rare-for-Atlantis Probability Control and, when in water, free 2-square Barrier — all with IT: Elevated. She’s also a Mystic. At 98 points with a shorter dial than her sculpt twin above, she’s not a slam dunk to pick. But she’s plenty solid. FIELD HER ON: Any water map with some elevated terrain in her range. Makes her a frightening sniper.

Aqualad [WizKids D15-002] is, at 99 points, not exactly great with below-average 16 DV and so-so 7 speed and 10 AV — though both the latter get a traited +2 when he’s in water. Lack of Super Strength is another problem that effectively outweighs his potential with Transporter. So why play him? It’s due to his TWO end-dial stop clicks that give him both Perplex AND Prob that he can target any Atlantis, Mystical or Teen Titan on the map with. Could be useful.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Playing some more catch-up with pieces we missed documenting last year in Guardians of the Galaxy. Let’s take a look:

Spaceknight [Guardians of the Galaxy 204] and Ikon [009b] share this poor but effective hold on an object token.

Captain Marvel [019a and 207] shares this cosmic energy grip with their prime variant, Dr. Minerva [019b]. Speaking of primes…

Dr. Spectrum [059a and 059b] can grip an object this way, though since his special power only lasts for his turn, it’s unlikely he’ll actually be able to hold it for long.

Zombies Gladiator [065] and Super Skrull [062] have secure and lame holds, respectively.

It’s not much of a grab, but Alpha Primitive [018] has one.

Drax The Destroyer [002 and 202] has an unexpected behind-the-head hold.

“I AM GROOT [Guardians of the Galaxy 051]!”

The Beyonder [057] can use any standard power on the map, so…OBJECT.

_______

There are a couple pieces we’re missing pix of: Ronan The Accuser [208] and Morbius [064]. They’ll show in this space eventually, maybe.

So there was an event where no figure could be over 120 points. After writing the Retiring Figures articles, I threw away the team of black Avengers I’d built around Black Panther [Avengers Vs. X-Men 007] for the event and instead surrounded him with a number of pieces I’d never be able to play in Modern again:

Skitter [Teen Titans] 104
Storm [10th Anniversary 020] 98
The Question [Streets of Gotham] 55
Extremis Soldier [Iron Man 3] 30
and The Penguin resource [No Man’s Land] 10

= 397 points with BP. It ran in a battle royale on two Odym maps against:
David’s Spider-Man [Wizkids M15-008]+Black Hand, Loki [Avengers Assemble], 65-point Harley Quinn [Flash], Crimson Cowl and Blue Battery

Ed’s Whizzer [Deadpool], Red Wolf, Copycat, STAR Labs Technician and Despotellis, all with the full Phoenix Force

and Brian’s President Lex Luthor, Roy Harper [Trinity War], 85-point Batman [Trinity War], 65-point Harley Quinn [Flash] and autopilot Batcycle.

It was doomed from the start, when Copycat swapped with Storm. Losing my only taxi was a grievous blow to me on a map of mostly water and elevations. Worse, she was intended to work with Panther, getting Willpower and a DV boost from him. As it was, the other players were good and engaged before I even got into attack range. Poor Question took about 7 rounds to get close enough to use Probability Control on allies who WEREN’T attacking.

Still, the team made a decent showing:

• Skitter’s ability to run over hills and foes gave her KOs of Crimson Cowl — one-shot — and Loki. She also held down Whizzer with her super-Plasticity until Ed decided to quit running and just kill her with the Phoenix Force at full power.
• Extremis Soldier made a couple of shots. But lack of cover cost him.
• Panther was mostly just in a support role for much of the game. But he worked well with Copycat and scored a late-game one-shot KO blow of his own against Brian’s Harley Quinn.
• Speaking of Copycat, she succeeded at every single Shape Change roll I made except the last one, denying me the use of Storm, who was long gone before that happened. And that one missed roll got Copycat one-shotted by Dave’s fully-Battery-empowered Spider-Man.
• Question Prob-Controlled a failed Regen by Skitter into a MAX Regen, got the Batcycle and was my last piece standing against eventual winner David’s last man.
• The Penguin was clutch without being overpowered like every other resource in this game (for it was truly the other resources that made it unwinnable instead of merely difficult for me in the end). He gave Skitter a crucial couple of rounds of ESD to bolster her 18 DV while on her Cocoon clicks, allowed Copycat to easily shoot Luthor with +2 attack and knock him back from his Mastermind fodder, granted Outwit to help stall Whizzer, loaned Toughness to survive Phoenix Force Poison, and healed Copycat when I finally rolled a 1 on Penguin.

Still so sad about Storm. In retrospect, during that one turn that Ed let me run his team, I should not have been as nice as I was. I should’ve TKed Storm as close to my team as possible, then tied her up with Copycat on my next turn. Then maybe, just MAYBE, Black Panther gets his queen back.

It’s got me wanting more than ever to run this Avengers team in Golden Age:

Black Panther [Age of Ultron] 140 + Newer Fantastic Four 1
Storm [Wolverine And The X-Men] 107
Black Panther [Captain America] 128 + Newer Fantastic Four 1
Storm [10th Anniversary 020] 98 + Newer Fantastic Four 1
Black Panther [Avengers] 92 + Newer Fantastic Four 1
Black Panther [AvX] 100
Black Panther [Infinity Challenge] 27
=696 points

So more than a year late, here’s some more pieces from Deadpool that we missed the first time around. It’s an extra-large edition because in our inattention, we double-dipped on entries for “Thorpool, barely even a month apart!

Terrible.

The twin sculpts effect a hold fitting his name: Superior Spider-Man [Deadpool 060].

The cowgirl Outlaw [021]  has a surprisingly good hold under her hair as shown. Yee-haw!

She’s one of the game’s better tie-up pieces, true, but Anaconda [013] maintains a good grip on tokens, too.

Animus [016] only does the lame “lean on me” hold. Better than nothing, we guess.

Hammerhead [014 and 210] fares even worse. The token’s totally vertical. Lame as his haircut.

There seems to be a trend here with business-suited crime lords not holding their objects very well. Kingpin [059] barely stays north of FAIL-ville.

Finally, some actual token totin’ in the form of Juggernaut [068].

Weapon X [012] can just manage a poor hold.

Red Hulk [033] can balance the token in his mitts.

This mostly catches us up on Deadpool. Only T-Ray [056] is missing from our photographic record. EDIT: WE FOUND IT! Deep in the recesses of the image library:

The ponytail isn’t just fashionable! And then there’s this one chick:

Copycat [038] might gain Super Strength from a pal or the character she swapped with.

OK. With that, Deadpool is in the Token Totin’ books! DOCUMENTED.

IRON MAN 3’s Aldrich Killian was a surprise hit on a Soldier team that we’ll miss a lot in Modern Age. Meanwhile, good riddance to every one of those Iron Man Mk. “Two-Digit-Number” figures in the set. All were overpriced for their overall lack of field effectiveness. They deserved to be blown up!

We’re going to miss Superman [100] from MAN OF STEEL, whose day came and went long before now when Precision Strike became the go-to power in the game. We’re NOT going to miss Superman [001] and his out-of-character complete range combat focus and complete lack of Super Strength.

All Tab App + Tab App Elite releases can go get melted into a plasticized puddle because we hate those things. We can’t even bring ourselves to run the one we kinda liked, Lizard [M-009], because he was only there to run on an Animal team with Vixen. She’s gone, too, so…

The departure of FEAR ITSELF robs us of Titania from Modern Age Masters of Evil teams even as her beau Absorbing Man remains. This saddens us, especially when we think of running the now unSplit-able Absorbing Man and Titania duo fig. We’ve made no secret of our dislike of resources, and The Book of the Skull was possibly our least favorite. It and its facilitator, Splitlip, can’t be gone soon enough. Speaking of resources:

…The Penguin was our favorite resource that didnt get used nearly often enough. SO SAD. But we’re comforted in that the Utility Belt’s Convention Exclusive Items, which really tilted the resource arms race in favor of the rich players, are just so much Golden Age flotsam, now.

Farewell, old sets! Now bring on Nick Fury and Age of Ultron Wave Two!

It’s one of this site’s goals to photographically document how all Super-Strong characters’ sculpts can hold object tokens. This week we begin our look at AoU SLOP.

In order: She-Hulk, Machine Man, Goliath and Hulk each hold tokens with varying degrees of success.

With AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, we’re SAD to see Blade [004 and 207] go  —just when we got Ronin and a related ID card for him! — and GLAD to not have to deal with Brother Voodoo cheese anymore. Seriously, screw that guy and his Mind-Control-every-single-turn shenanigans.

From BATMAN, we never seemed able to give Godiva a proper workout on the map. So sad. But there is a certain gladness in our hearts at the exit of Arkham Asylum Guard’s dirt cheap Capture ability, particularly after running into him at States this past weekend

TEEN TITANS’ Skitter always got left on the shelf, sadly. The team bases, OTOH, especially Justice League, need to just remain pretty dust gatherers on the shelf. They are NOT F.U.N.

It occurs to us that we didn’t run The Question from STREETS OF GOTHAM nearly often enough. We’re happy to leave the Batcycle good and impounded, though.

Because her ex Black Panther rotated out in 2013 with Captain America, MARVEL 10th ANNIVERSARY’s Storm [020] was a queen without a king to get her DV boost — or to use Support via — and so she didn’t get run so much. And now it’s too late to reunite in Modern Age, and we’re sad. Sadder still: Thanks to Marvel’s secret war with Fox, with this set there will be NO MORE MODERN VERSIONS of the original Fantastic Four, Marvel’s First Family, as Thing [003 and 011] bows out. Never having to fret over Dark Phoenix again is cold comfort.

Blue Beetle [009] will be missed from DC 10th ANNIVERSARY. For Heroclixin’s money, though? Oracle [017] won’t, being that rare fig that fails hard on the “useful” portion of the F.U.N. factor.

we wrap up Wednesda