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

A new HeroClix set dropped into our laps almost by surprise. Here’s a PDF checklist for you.

AvengersAoUchecklist

More pix of Super Strengthers holding their objects.

It fits well under his cape.

Somehow the human Batman [Trinity War 051] can be super strong by wearing his utility belt. Heroclixin’ kinda hates this figure.

More pix on Token Totin’ THURSDAY!

Some time ago, I complained about the Avalanche Effect, where small, minor decisions I’ve made in Clix game snowball into massive setbacks and/or game loss. At the time I said it was preferable to the usual straight-up mental pratfalls I’ve documented in this blog over the years.

Unfortunately, I’ve started making THOSE again, too.

FAIL No. 1: Here’s a +2 AV Handicap You Don’t Really Need

So I was faced with Bill’s swarm of Kuribohs in a Golden Age event. These adorable little death bombs are deadliest in close combat, where their Blades/Claws/Fangs can do the worst damage. So what do I forget to use with Swift once she’s surrounded?

You got it. Both she and her passenger Midnighter went down in one turn because I couldn’t be bothered to remember to use her stupid SP. Granted, there was almost no chance I survive this game, but I didn’t have to make it so blamed EASY.

FAIL No. 2: Just Let the Other Team Completely Cheat

My full roster Authority team got completely steam-ironed in the first round by a Yugioh-based team using the friendly-mind-control piece Black Talon to destroy me without having to do a single attack roll against me. (I don’t want to talk about it. Suffice to say that it involved a way of getting two WATX Magnetos into my starting area by turn 2)

….

….yeah. I flipped out after the tournament was over and I saw that I’d allowed a totally illegal action wreck my whole tournament. Neither of us had noticed.

(We replayed the match, leading to Fail No. 1)

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That’s all I have stomach for today. But there’s more FAIL in our future. SO MUCH FAIL

The mighty Black Adam [Trinity War 058] gets the spotlight today.

So, here we continue, a week late: How characters in Trinity War with Super Strength can hold their object tokens.

Clockwise from top left are Blue Devil [Trinity War 046], Shaggy Man [047], Wrath [067] and Bizarro [017].

It’s been a while, but it’s time for Heroclixin’ to resume its photographic record of how every character using Super Strength can (if at all possible) hold its own object token. 

Compared to the weaklings that populated The Flash set a few months back, Trinity War is loaded with strong guys and gals. It’s going to take more than a couple of installments this time. 

We’ll start with the first letter of the alphabet. “A” is for Aquaman [Trinity War 201]:

His lady Mera [TW 202] also has Atlantis-born strength and a sculpt that offers a great hold on the token.

Back on land, Black Orchid [TW 005 and 207] can only lamely lean the object on her as shown:

Battle-suited Lex Luthor [TW 033], on the other hand, manages to wedge it just so under his outstretched arm.

Look for more Trinity War Token Totin’ on Tuesday. 

As is Heroclixin’s custom, here’s a slim pocket checklist download for the new Trinity War set about to drop February 25, along with the Crime Syndicate Fast Forces.

TrinityWarchecklists

Welcome back. We took a little break after all that counting down of last year’s Best and Worst and Fave figs.

Heroclixin’ is now looking ahead in this new occasional feature, where we share what upcoming HeroClix events, figures and changes we’re anticipating (or dreading).

First up is Trinity War, the primer of which has fallen into our hands already

Heroclixin’s love for Atlantis figures is well documented. So we’re looking forward to a flood of pieces: a new Aquaman and Mera, and a pair of generics: Atlantean and the monstrous Trench. Look for a F.U.N. Focus soon, now that the main set’s versions and additional Atlantis villain figs Sea King and Ocean Master have also been revealed.

Other figs we’re wanting are Parademon (to go with Darkseid), Green Arrow (to join our collection of archers) and Lex Luthor (to at last run that team of all Lex Luthors). Similarly, we look forward to trying a force of wall-to-wall Vic Stones — better known as Cyborg.

Lower on the Heroclixin’ wish list are the Crime Syndicate pieces. We’ll try to get them all, but we can take our sweet time doing it.

But the MOST exciting piece for us is a remake, because there was this Jimi Hendrix-inspired team of FOXEY LADIES we wanted to run:

• Vixen (Streets of Gotham 028) 74
• Ghost Fox Killer 68
• Crimson Fox 44
• Vet Vixen (Collateral Damage) 44
• Exp Vixen  (Collateral Damage) 38
• Rookie Vixen  (Collateral Damage) 33

…that came out to 301 dang points.

No. 1

Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006]

This was a frontrunner for this slot for a long time, though the Authority nearly took it. But I recently ran a Falcon team that once again cemented his position as Heroclixin’s No. 1 Favorite Clix of 2014.

This is Heroclixin’s favorite because it’s the ultimate F.U.N. fig:

• It’s Friendly: Just has 10 AV. Just has Toughness for armor. And it’s so expensive to field, relatively speaking (Why couldn’t he be 100 or less?).
• But it’s still quite Useful: Most think he needs a Captain America to be effective. But no: He can still be a great Sidestep taxi. Or provide Enhancement or Empower to other allies. He’s so good for any team. But that’s not all. He’s Hypersonic! OK, it’s just Move And Attack, so basing him takes it away. But he doesn’t get the usual -2 AV dock. He’s also got Running Shot + EE for other ranged options. Later, he gets Perplex. He’s just sneaky good.
• He’s Nifty, ’cause he’s Falcon, an unexpected hit character from the movie (which is at least partly why he’s Captain America now).

“I’m more of a soldier than a spy.” 

Soldier, Spy are his only keywords; neither are teams I hanker to play. And it really is better that he be played with a Captain America, so he tends to stay on the sidelines when I can’t squeeze the old soldier on — which leaves him off the Spy teams that could use his services.

When and how I’m planning to play it next

I actually have a couple of high-stakes teams I’m trying him on. I really don’t know if he’s good enough to work in top tier competition. But I’m play testing now, and he’s been the secret linchpin of the teams that opponents have mostly overlooked.

And wouldn’t it be wild if he gets to be played alongside his comics-based self as the all-new Captain America in the just-announced Nick Fury set this summer?

______

Thus concludes our look back at 2014’s highs and lows in clix. Next on the docket is an addendum to the F.U.N. Focus we did on the Legion of Super-Heroes almost a year ago; there have been a few new Legionnaires made!

You’ll note that the headline above has the number two in quotation marks. That’s because the figures that tied for the “No. 2” slot are closer to 10 than two.

No. 2

[tie] The Authority

Yes, the whole team.

Let me explain.

I was barely intrigued by the Authority as a comic or concept. I had read one of the trades and it was OK. When the whole team showed in The Flash set in November, I was glad for their fans, little more.

Then I got a chance during the sealed Marquee to briefly, for a half-round, play a couple of them: Apollo and Swift. He was a nice Superman analogue while she had an interesting trait that benefited from enemy fliers doing what fliers usually do: attack and carry. Then I saw that Apollo messed with enemy TK.

Then a fellow player showed other members of the Authority and how THEY mess with the usual meta tricks:

• Doctor > Mind Control, especially the friendly MC variety
• Jenny Sparks > Special powers in general and stop clicks in particular
• Jack Hawksmoor > Starting area campers
• Engineer > Super-Poison
• Jenny Quantum > Multiple Prob Rolls and +3 stat boosts
• Midnighter > Combat Reflexes and CCE and high DV and more

…in addition to the aforementioned Swift’s middle finger to enemy fliers and Apollo’s anti-TK gaze.

Suddenly, I needed to get them ALL. And to read up on the comics. It turns out that the team is pretty Nifty overall, at least in its early incarnation.

What was most surprising, though, is how much F.U.N. each piece wound up being for me.

• Apollo: Like a Friendlier version of Superman, lacking the Super Strength at his 200 level and the HSS at 125 to be really mean but still Useful thanks to great damage skills and that no-TK-in-his-sight trait. A Neato addition to potential “This Team So Gay” and “Not-Superman, but…” themes. He’s got to run with Midnighter for best results, though, so that could squeeze him off my builds.
• Doctor: More F.U.N. AND meta at 50, where he’s a sneaky good fig with Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Barrier and Prob Control with a lot of team aid options. Lowish AV makes him Friendly while his Utility is plain to see above and at 110 points where he’s a Pulse Waver, too. He’ll be key for a “There a doctor in the house?” themes.
• Engineer: Lack of strong defense makes her as Friendly as a Top Ten of 2014 Swissblade can be. She’ll find a way onto such Nerdcore themes as “metallic paint jobs” and “Latin Quarter.” She’s going to make one of my meta builds I’m play testing for competitive events.
• Jack Hawksmoor: Soft and Friendly by not being super-aggressive, Jack scores highly on the Utility portion with TK, Prob, and a later SP to add semi-permanent blocking terrain to the map. He’s going to fit well on my “plainclothes” teams going forward, as will…
• …Jenny Quantum. She’s a double-edged sword, restricting extra Probs of both friend and foe, so she’s fairly Friendly for a Pulse Wave fig. Early Perplex and late Outwit round out her Utility quotient.
• Jenny Sparks is NOT all that Friendly with her trait that just doesn’t care about SPs upon hitting. Then again, she’s a completely unarmored character dependent on the notoriously fickle Super Senses and Regeneration to stay alive. When I’m running “plainclothes” themes, she’s the piece I’ll pick if I wanna WIN.
• Midnighter is Friendlier than he would appear. He’s not always Stealthy, his DV is surprisingly low and he’s got to be in melee to bring out his full Useful quality: the ability to soften up a target for the rest of the team. He’s a Nifty addition to the “trenchcoat brigade” theme I run every so often. He might be a little bit too vulnerable for true meta play. We’ll see.
• Swift is another really soft member of the Authority, so that makes her a little bit Friendly. But not much: She lightly hoses over teams dependent on Wing Symbol characters to carry non-fliers. Her Utility comes into play as she gains Air Tokens for free action movement all over. She’s another sneaky good fig. I’ll love her on Nifty “Wings” teams.

As much as I look forward to using each on those sub-themes mentioned above, it’s really been all about running the Authority as a keyword theme. Literally not a single ‘Clix event has gone by since I got the last piece in late November that I haven’t at least planned to either field an Authority team or to add one to a non-themed team. And that’s why they share the nearly top spot for all of 2014.

Asked to rank them in order of Favoritism:

8. Doctor
7. Jenny Q
6. Apollo
5. Jack
4. Swift
3. Engineer
2. Midnighter
1. Jenny S

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This went a little long, so we’ll postpone Heroclixin’s favorite of 2014 for next time. [No ties, promise].