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

This new F.U.N. Focus (previous parts here) is a needed update to a far-too-long article reviewing all characters with the Atlantis keyword in much better bite-sized installments. And speaking of bite-sized, last installment looked at the cheapest members of the keyword. Now it’s time to take a gander at pieces that take a bigger bite of your team — and, hopefully, from your opponent’s force!

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51-75 points: barracudas
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Arthur Curry (Hypertime): The last of the Hypertime set, he spends 10 more points over the Vet’s 41 to add Willpower to his top-dial and Toughness/Close Combat Expert to his back half. The former makes him a tiny bit more likely to maybe get that first strike off. The latter makes him a tougher KO than he ought to be, lengthening his very long dial. Sadly, though, his CCE is wasted on a terrible AV — he’ll either need it to give himself a goldfish’s ghost of a chance of hitting with minimal damage — and his similarly weak DV means he will take fire before he can attack unless you can TK him in for that first attack. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 3 of 5 stars.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Justice League (Silver Age), Lunge, Opportunist

Speaking of Telekinesis:

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Mera [Justice League New 52]: For a long time, Atlantis lacked a TKer. Now there are a couple in the form of Aquaman’s squeeze Mera, and this one’s the cheapest and best. She starts with the power, a special version that grants +3 when moving a foe in water, and rocks a trait allowing her melee attacks against enemies in or next to water within 6 squares. Her damage is very light, and her DV is never stellar, but she’s only 51 points and you may not want her to survive anyhow, depending on if you’re running her paramour from the same set in the game. (More on him in future installments.) Regardless, she’s a must for the mobility-challenged Atlantis team. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 5 of 5. Unless it’s a Modern Age game, you don’t run an Atlantis team without her.

CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Armor Piercing, Justice League (Silver Age), Justice League Dark, Justice League: New 52, Justice League

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Experienced Aquaman (Icons): Leadership, 10 AV, JLA TA and 4 range make this 56-point figure a huge upgrade over the Icons Rookie, but less useful overall because of his general mediocrity. Keep him Submerged so he can potentially snipe from watery cover — or make a Contingency Plan with the 12-point Leadership-based feat of the same name. Not both, though, as his cheap cost is his main asset. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 2 of 5
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Justice League (Silver Age), Contingency Plan

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LE Garth (Crisis): For a massive 25-point increase over the 40-point Aqualad, you get two more clicks of life with Toughness, the same Stealth-plus SP, and, 2nd click in, a SP granting him an extra supply of light objects for 65 points. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance all standard light objects will be carried — if there are any at all in this Modern Age of special objects — and he won’t get to use this. Tough to recommend him over the ‘Lad. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 2 of 5
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, New Teen Titans

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Ocean Master [DC 75th Anniversary]: Bring on the bad guy. Orm here is the first villain on the Atlantis list, and he looks like crap with a lame 3 range and Mastermind in a theme full of characters who all cost more than him in Modern Age. Good thing he’s Golden Age now, where there are plenty of sub-65-pointers to dump damage onto.

It’s his perma-Prob Control in water that makes him worthy of running. Can’t tell you how many games were won or lost due to the presence or absence of Ocean Master’s PC. Run him with Mastermind fodder and some method of ensuring water terrain and make sure he’s close enough to the action to affect it with either rerolls or by drawing fire from the real fighters. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 3 of 5
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, The Society, Outsmart

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Aquaman (Justice League 101): Finally, an Aquaman that can first-strike without needing TK! His solid DV SP gives the Atlantis roster its cheapest (at 70 points) Invulnerability. The downside: It comes with an immediate downgrade to Toughness when out of water. But when he can Charge from 6 out from water (thanks to the Surge SP), it’s not so bad. Use him as a 1-2 punch with other pieces. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 3 of 5
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Justice League (Silver Age)

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Arthur Curry (Justice League 105): Similar to his sculpt-mate above (though with only normal Charge), A.C. offers, for the same cost, more Toughness after his Invulnerability-in-water SP runs out and, via his other SP, a shot at Regen or Close Combat Expert (but only in water) in lieu of the JLA TA. The boost to the latter power, and the Plasticity it’s paired with, really aid this version of the Sea King compared to when Heroclixin’ first looked at him in 2011. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 3 of 5

CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Lunge, Justice League (Silver Age), Automatic Regeneration

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Veteran Aquaman (Icons): the first real Invulnerability piece on the roster, he still lacks that vital ability to move and attack. Though offering both Regen and Support end-dial, he does so with such low AV and DV numbers that neither is very usable. Once the cream of the Aqua-crop, he’s now just so much mediocre flotsam. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 1 of 5
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Contingency Plan, Automatic Regeneration, Justice League (Silver Age), Justice League International, Justice League: Generation Lost, Invigorate

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Next time, Heroclixin’ looks at the next set of swimmers: 76-100 points. Be there! The water’s fine!

The Fish(men) Fight Back!!! AGAIN!!!!!

A few years back, I did a far-too-long article reviewing all characters with the Atlantis keyword. This series is a needed update in much better bite-sized installments.

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Below 50 points: shrimps and chum
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Rookie Aquaman (Hypertime): At 27 points, he’s by far the cheapest Atlantean in the game, and until last year was the only character in the whole game at that price point who could do 5 damage unaided by other characters. But his defense is a sad 15 or less with zero protection and he has no move and attack. With his long-for-the-cost 6-click dial, he’s best run as a blocker/tie-up/fodder for better figs. Cheap Leadership has its uses, too. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 2.5 of 5 stars. OK to squeeze on but hardly necessary.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Contingency Plan

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Atlantean Warrior (Secret Invasion): Cons are low numbers and a difficult-to-use SP that offers him +2 Speed, Charge and Stealth in water — trouble is, Stealth still needs hindering terrain, and water terrain doesn’t count as such. But Toughness makes him a decent meat shield and tie-up piece against enemy shooters. These 35-point blue guys make good filler and Mastermind/themed-PC fodder. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 2.5 of 5 stars. Run in multiples to block for better pieces.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Lunge

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Experienced Aquaman (Hypertime): Same story as the 27-point rookie, only you’re paying 9 more points — a full THIRD of the Rookie’s cost — to add JLA TA and a click of life, essentially. The extra life makes him more effective at the fodder role, though, so there’s that. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 1.5 of 5 stars. Least worthy of the HT Aquamen.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Justice League (Silver Age), Contingency Plan

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Rookie Aquaman (Icons): 39 points buys a lot more Toughness for a more survivable Atlantean, though you’re trading away the good AV of the Hypertime Aquamen. But of them all, he’s the best tie-up/fodder piece in this cost range; use him as such. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 2 of 5 stars. Add a star if he’s run with a Mastermind piece or Brightest Day Aquaman.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged

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Aqualad (Crisis): 40 points gives us another soft-shelled, short-lived swimmer. But his built-in super-Stealth in water — no Submerged needed — makes him absolutely invaluable for the Atlantean cause. He blocks LOF to more important pieces while his Willpower makes him ever-ready to Charge, with Super Strength, at any targets forced to approach. It’s a rare event that you wouldn’t have at least one on a Golden Age Atlantis team. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 3 of 5 stars.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, New Teen Titans

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Veteran Aquaman (Hypertime): The first Aquaman to top 10 AV, perhaps he’s worth running just for that in spite having of the same playability issues as the other Hypertime Sea Kings: no real defense, no move+attack. And at 41 points, he’s beginning to eat up some real points, compared to them. He totally needs help from Telekinesis to get that first strike. HEROCLIXIN’S VERDICT: 3 of 5 stars, esp. with TK.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: Atlantis, Submerged, Justice League (Silver Age)

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These fishmen are nice filler, but Atlantis needs more bite. Look to the next installment for the 51-75 point bracket for that.

The Fish(men) Fight Back!!! AGAIN!!!!!

A few years back, I did a far-too-long article reviewing all characters with the Atlantis keyword. This series is a needed update.

For example, the old article opens with a list of the problems an Atlantis team has: the weakness of the Swim ability on maps with little to no water, the dearth of supporting powers and a total lack of long range.

But a number of these weaknesses have been addressed in the past 2.5 years: Most dolphin Speed characters get water-based bonuses and there is more water terrain on maps — or ways to get it — than ever, the amount of “pit crew” powers has at least doubled and range values in the general game have been lowered even as the number of ranged Atlantis figures has grown.

Finally, Heroclixin’ is splitting up this update into much smaller slices and spreading them out a bit.

ATLANTIS BASICS
There are some things a F.U.N. ‘clixer needs to consider when running the fishmen.

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MAPS
Because it’s a named keyword, Atlantis has a good shot at map choice. So make sure you have some Watery maps. Many of these characters’ powers depend upon water.

Many maps offer some water, but the trouble with most is that the water is either so minimal (see, for example, the Graveyard [The Brave and the Bold]), remotely placed (as in The Lab (Armor Wars)) or both (re: the Axis Chemical Plant [Icons], the Training Complex and Institute Grounds [both Danger Room], The Crater [Brightest Day]) as to be tactically useless, or the water is so central that it becomes a fish-in-a-barrel shoot for elevated snipers and Hypersonic hit-and-runners (Centennial Park Zoo [Icons]).

MODERN AGE

• Killer Croc’s Lair (Streets of Gotham) has a healthy amount of water terrain, and much of it is behind walls so the swimmers won’t be completely vulnerable to ranged attacks.
• Dock (No Man’s Land) is about 40% water. Use the post-cataclysm side for best blocking terrain cover.
• Pacific Ocean (Fear Itself Month 5) is entirely water, and swimmers get a few extra movement bonuses on it. But beware: Objects on your force can’t be placed on this map!
• Flooded Wakanda [Avengers Vs. X-Men Month 2] is mostly water, with land islands. These islands have walls that help shield the swimmers from lines of fire outside their retaliation zone, making this one of the best maps of all for Atlantis.

GOLDEN AGE

• Aruna Temple (BPRD Action Pack), the original “water map.” While it’s gold for Atlantis teams, it’s also very open, offering excellent lines of fire for long-ranged shooters. Swim with care.
• The Dockyard (Starro Attacks) and The Bridge (Web of Spider-Man) are even worse in this regard, with every square of their copious water terrain visible from multiple elevated zones.
• The Dawn of Time (Crisis) has a large river running through it (and if you play its Time Zones, the Kooey Kooey Kooey and Camelot zones offer a lot and a little water, respectively). There’s a lot of hindering terrain to deal with, though.

But, of course, many maps have no water at all. There are some ways around this limitation, at least in Golden Age games.

SPECIAL OBJECTS

• Atlantis Rising. Save this Battlefield Condition for that eventuality and hope your opponent doesn’t have his themed-team ignore function to spend. But even if you’re not able to use this card, all is not lost.
• The Opened Hydrant special object gives you as much as 3 x 3 squares of water on any map. Place it carefully! Indoor maps are best, as the water effect isn’t blocked by walls. Note that it only works on clear grounded terrain.
• Bucket of Water. This light special grants a single square of portable water terrain. Super Strength’s ability to drop objects make it even more usable.
• The third object on your force needs to be either the Dumpster or the Generator — a 3D heavy object that’s not destroyed in an attack. Atlantis has a lot of Super Strength pieces, so it needs this to realize maximum damage potential.

A Golden Age Atlantis team is going to need feats. Here are the main two to look to.

• Submerged. Moving through water is OK. Hiding in water is pretty awesome. On a Golden Age team, this 5-point feat should be present on multiple characters. Note that it won’t fit on Dolphin Transporters.
• Rip It Up. Although it’s a double-edged sword that keeps you from picking up heavy items, it’s still a way to make certain this Super Strength-laden keyword always has extra damage and/or range attack! It’s also a way to get objects for use in the Pacific Ocean map.

In Modern Age, you’ll need to look to the Atlantis ATA, which gives characters a +1 DV bonus against ranged attacks while in water. This stacks with the hindering bonus, too. But note that depending on who else is on the team, you may wish to use a different ATA to boost those characters instead of this comparatively weak ability.

The Matter Rearranger ring and its attendant resource, the Power Plant, from Invincible Iron Man is the relic of choice for the Atlantis keyword, giving Modern Age teams a way of getting — one square at a time — water terrain even on maps that have none.

Enough basics. In future installments, Heroclixin’ reviews the characters by point cost: Under 50, 51-100 and so on. We’ll also recommend cards to help maximize each piece. Stay tuned.