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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.

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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?

BARREL ROLL OR WINGOVER?: Give Swift a free action and choose Combat Reflexes or Energy Shield/Deflection. She can use the chosen power until she chooses again.

 

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.

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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)

….

HUMANITY’S MY TRIBE TO PROTECT: Characters can’t use Mind Control as a free action or to target characters friendly to themselves. Characters using Mind Control are dealt 1 unavoidable damage after actions resolve.

 

….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

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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]:

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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:

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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. 

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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.

The new 84-point Vixen [Trinity War 035] fixes that right up. Next Golden Age game I play at 400 points may well feature this theme.
What are you most anticipating in Trinity War?

 

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No. 1

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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?

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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!