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In principle, legacy cards are a F.U.N. way to bring some old fan-favorites back into Modern/Silver play and rework some old figs that never really worked right before (or don’t anymore due to rule changes).

In practice? Well, let’s see.

By set number:

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L004 GHOST RIDER
(2099 Collector’s Set, 2006)

2099 GR 004

THEN: “Being a double-based (read: no TK on him) figure with middling range, AV and speed will make Ghost Rider a tough figure to win with. He’s a 3rd-line attacker/taxi best suited for 400 point games behind (or carrying) better fighters, nothing more. Fortunately, he’s not PRICED to be anything more.”

…Is what I wrote about him at the time, long before this blog was even started. 60 points for this was too much even then. Only Future and Robot keywords were retroactively given to him.

NOW: Adding Monster, Mystical and Police to his keywords, Kenshiro here can go on a lot more teams. More to the point, he’s gotten a Pilot trait to have access to a Future piece’s or another Ghost Rider on the Sideline’s attack or damage powers — very helpful for him since he has neither to start naturally. Another trait allows him to replace his terrible 9-or-worse AV with the Sideline piece’s AV. And if the Sideline fig’s chosen click has any of the same powers that’s showing on Ghost Rider 2099’s dial, all his stats are boosted. A final trait, Spirit of Vengeance, gives him penetrating damage if a foe triggered Mystics damage. Cost trims to 50 points.

F.U.N.? This is a good choice for a legacy card: taking a fairly terrible piece and making it at least workable.

AM I GETTING THIS? I got this figure in Heroclixin’ board member Tim’s collection. But it’s not a priority for me to find the card.

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L020a JACK O’LANTERN
(Civil War Storyline, 2016)

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THEN: He was an anti-Stealth Energy Explosion piece with decent 11 AV but poor 16 DV and got Earthbound/Neutralized late in his short 5-click dial, taking away even his targeting. Keywords of Pro-Registration, Sinister Syndicate (and TA), Skeleton Crew and Thunderbolts weren’t enough to make him any good outside of sealed. And not really there, either, if you had anything better.

NOW: His old 52-point cost drops to 40 and he swaps his Pro-Registration keyword for Monster. A new trait makes him effectively respawn instead of getting KO’d AND deal free damage to an enemy in range — no LOF needed.

F.U.N.? As bad as the original was, this new version redeems it a lot without making it too good.

AM I GETTING THIS? I have this figure and will make it my go-to version of the character.

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L034 SATANA HELLSTROM
(Amazing Spider-Man, 2013)

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THEN: For 82 points, you got a weak Charge fig (8 Speed, 10 AV, 17 DV, 2 damage) whose “Soul Collector” attack SP didn’t work on targets with anything better than Toughness (see the 2 damage) and she could never benefit from her damage SP “Soul Shrivel” that nerfed her hit target’s stats until her next turn. She got Prob Control and her SP’s Steal Energy rider could maybe come in handy (and is probably why she didn’t make my Worst of 2013 list), but she was never much good, not even for her Howling Commandos, Mystical, S.H.I.E.L.D. or Thunderbolts keywords.

NOW: She gets new mostly keywords of Heroes For Hire, Legion of Monsters, Monster, Ruler along with her old Mystical and Thunderbolts. Her attack SP is now Smoke Cloud that deals fire damage after a turn, friend or foe. Steal Energy is traited now; same trait also gives a 50% chance of making her Fire/Smoke token follow an opponent who tries to escape it. Her new damage SP is 4-6 Shape Change.

F.U.N.? Trimmed to a svelte 50 points, this Mystics character has some meta potential with her no-roll damage.

AM I GETTING THIS? I originally cycled her out of my collection in an attempt to purge it of “demonic” pieces. I reacquired the fig. We’ll see if the card finds its way to me.

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L042 JENNIFER KALE
(Secret Wars Battleworld, 2018)

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THEN: Mystics, Leadership, Support and the ability to give Regen to friendlies with “Man-Thing” in the name was what 40 or 33 points bought you. Well, that and her “Untamed Weirdness” trait that kept foes from getting stat boosts against her.

NOW: She gives the anti-stat boost to all teammates within 3 squares and her keywords (Battleworld: Weirdworld , Midnight Sons, Mystical, Ruler and one new one: Champions) to Man-Things. One of her traits also has this interesting wrinkle: she can effectively quasi-Mastermind to any allied Man-Thing, placing it next her from anywhere on the map and possibly making the whole attack null because unlike MM, it doesn’t make the Man-Thing the HIT target. So an attack that succeeded against her might fail against him/it. Her SP, which used to give her Leadership and Support, now lets her copy enemy bystanders when generated in her 6 range.

F.U.N.? This now 35- or 30-point fig is clearly made to work with Man-Things, which, in Modern, are a single Super Rare and a SR legacy fig. Looks like wild F.U.N. anyway.

AM I GETTING THIS? I own two of this fig. Eventually this card may come to me.

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L043 BLACK TALON
(Deadpool, 2014)

 dp043

THEN:  Black Talon had friendly Mind Control, a very powerful effect — and one even more potent if he was played with or pitted against Monster keyword figs cheaper than his 60 points, as he could triple target them. In addition to that SP, his trait could first pull a KO’d enemy next to him at full health and try the MC for a single action. Also had Charge+Blades for when MC was not feasible. Keywords: Lethal Legion, Masters of Evil, Mystical.

NOW: His trait and SP essentially swap: He has trait Mind Control (which now works with Charge; it didn’t back in 2014) and his SP can bring any fig, friend or foe, back to life for one move and one attack before dealing Black Talon 1 damage — no dicey MC attack needed. He gains no new keywords and costs just 45 points now.

F.U.N.? This piece is not very survivable — 16 Toughness is trash — so his meta presence may be low. OTOH, that is one hell of a trick.

AM I GETTING THIS? I’ll.be glad to try him in Modern again. And, of course, he’s a Black character, and I’ve aimed to get every single one.

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L046 GHOST RIDER
(Amazing Spider-Man, 2013)

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THEN: This piece topped Heroclixin’s Top 10 that year:

… sometimes, even within the limits of design, you still get that one nigh-perfect figure. And in 2013, Ghost Rider is that figure.

  • Well-armored with Invulnerability and 18 DV
  • Well-priced as a tentpole at 145 points, leaving ample room for a secondary fighter or supporter or both
  • Armed with lots of mobile attack options with good AV
  • Able to get in attacks and damage every turn via a) Indomitable, b) his Living Hellfire Chain SP and/or Poison and c) the Heroes For Hire ATA, if so equipped
  • Bearing the Mystics TA to deter a lot of attacks
  • Able to taxi his help as a Transporter.

This is a piece with no weakness. No blind spot. Nothing that requires a relic or resource to truly cover. And it’s deservedly the top piece of last year.

Time has left him behind in several respects — Transporter is no longer a thing, ATAs are history, his once-impressive stats would better fit a much cheaper dial. But it’s still one of the better Ghost Riders ever made.

NOW: It’s a much cheaper dial (80 points) with some key losses: No more IM: Elevated or Transporter Hypersonic Speed for this biker. He adds Vehicle to his original Champions, Heroes for Hire, Legion of Monsters, Midnight Sons and Mystical keywords for all the shenanigans that unshelved keyword can do now. His Attack SP, which now has Poison, still allows him to FREE damage a nearby target, but now THEY have to have 2 tokens instead of HIM. His damage SP later in his dial buffs his slackening AV with CCE and Prob. And no Heroes For Hire ATA to get a conditional one-time, no-cost attack anymore? No problem: his “Rider For Hire” trait is a FREE one-time attack.

F.U.N.? No longer the meta force at all, he’ll be in the back of the pack when the bikers roll out. But still able to keep pace.

AM I GETTING THIS? I never owned this and Ghost Rider’s never been a favorite of mine. So I skipped the Play At Home kit this card comes in.

———

L047 MAN-THING AND HOWARD THE DUCK
(Amazing Spider-Man, 2013)

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THEN: This duo was unwieldy even for duo standards. At a staggering 152 points, they had lowish damage (just 3), no moving attack until well into the dial, and once they did, their defenses flagged a LOT — and an attack SP barring them from being targeted from range came late dial and so was nearly useless except to maybe buy time to run and Regen. Having traited (and thus then unOutwittable) Perplex was nice, but an opening SP keeping even friendlies from modifying their stats meant … well … I am really wondering now how they didn’t make my Worst of 2013 list.

Oh, now I remember: They had Transporter, meaning they actually DID have moving attack ability — like, the LITERAL Move And Attack ability (When not adjacent to enemies, Hypersonic Speed but with -2 attack). At least they had Mystics TA. Still not good enough for any of their keyword themes: Animal, Brute, Defenders, Mystical, Politician. Waaaugh!

NOW: They get the byzantine-looking new Pilot trait, where a Sidelined Howard the Duck or other Animal keyword can give this fig one of their standard attack or damage powers and then drop onto the map for a single click of life if the duo is KO’d. This time, they really DON’T have starting moving offense. But they get Defenders TA now, and the opening SP is Prob Control that offers a free attack if a friendly fig missed the reroll. They also do penetrating damage on this SP.

F.U.N.? At 80 points, they’re no longer priced like a main attacker. And with extra keywords of Celebrity, Legion of Monsters, Midnight Sons, Monster and Vehicle on top of their original five, you’ll find a F.U.N. team for them somewhere.

AM I GETTING THIS? I used to own this but it’s not worth it to me to reclaim it.

———

L049 TWO-GUN KID
(Avengers, 2007)

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THEN: One of the first-ever SRs, his “Fanfare” attack SP — essentially ranged Flurry but only against different targets — looked good on paper but in practice … wasn’t good. It didn’t work with his old HSS-lite transporter ability and he didn’t have the Willpower he needed to use the SP. Later, a speed SP gave a +2 speed when not carrying. Avengers TA gave him Autonomous MOVE action and his keywords were Avengers and Past.

NOW: He gets the Vehicle keyword as well. That maligned attack SP is now “Two Pistols Or The Lariat” — heavily beefed up into TRUE ranged Flurry with Precision Strike and +1 damage (the pistols) OR a RANGE that deals 1 damage and a token to all foes in range and LOF (the lariat). His other SP is full-speed Running Shot with Flight and IM:Characters. Not bad for a shaving from 50 points to just 35 — or a very svelte 20-point line that actually STARTS with the speed power. AND he’s got traited Prob??

F.U.N.? This is how the West was won, clearly. Quite an upgrade.

AM I GETTING THIS? I have this dream of running all cowboys. So I was happy to get this card.

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L053a HELA
(The Mighty Thor, 2017)

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THEN: At 150 points, she was always a lot for what she did: Phase into position and, well, sit there until next turn while she get Outwitted and shot. Well, OK, she had a trait that healed her and created a Warrior Soul pog with Blades and stuff when non-pogs got KO’d. And a mid-life speed SP: 2-bolt Mind Control with 9 range (better than her printed one-target 6). And a late-dial Exploit Weakness+Shape Change SP that could auto-KO on a critical close hit. Mystics TA wasn’t enough to really help her.

NOW: With Monster added to her original Asgardian, Deity, Mystical, Ruler keywords, she’s only 95 points — no longer having to do tentpole work for a standard 300-point build. Her self-healing trait still triggers on KOs (of standard characters only) but now generates Grave markers instead. Then she can POWER generate a full-health Zombie (Wheels of Vengeance 006) on them. Her Mind Control SP no longer boosts her range but now deals 1 extra damage to every target hit in the whole MC action! Finally, her last SP is reworked to nix STOP clicks and deal the victim’s click number if it’s higher than her natural 3.

F.U.N.? That last SP could make her mean. And she could play well with other Grave marker makers like Black Lanterns or certain WoV pieces. But even at under 100 points, she’s still a little hard to use. So this is pure F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? Heroclixin’ board member Lenny keeps wanting to match his Asgard team against my Asgard enemies ones. So I will be saying Hello to Hela.

———

L054 DAREDEVIL
(Earth X, 2020)

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THEN: This was one of those “don’t die” pieces that was a difficult KO, with four dials you had to dig through one at a time — and he cheated death as long as 3 sixes weren’t rolled. With IM:Elevated, a Hypersonic dial, a Charging dial, a Blades dial and a Plasticity+Poison dial, he was a problem all his 60-point life. Good thing he was a unique and couldn’t be Masterminded. His keywords were limited to Celebrity, Earth X and Mystical.

NOW: They made him less “666”-ish and more the stuntman. Like before, he can pick his start line. But now he’s only 30 points … or 20 … or 10 … and can cheat KO once for each 10 points and sacrificing those 10 points, with a 1-in-6 risk of getting an action token (but much better odds of being Immune for a turn). Meanwhile, he’s still got those dials at his disposal, along with Super Senses now for defense. (Still no Masterminding onto him.)

F.U.N.? This whole review took a while because errata needed to clear up a NUMBER of issues. A) His new keywords are Asgardian, Deity, Monster, Mystical, Ruler? You mean HELA’S keywords?? This is clearly a mistake, one that was not cleared up with the errata that only arrived last week. Also, B) the legacy card lacks his old unique status, which seems like a another massive mistake because this piece could have been grossly meta as a point denial and/or don’t-die fig. But fortunately, C) the errata closed a loophole that could’ve allowed Daredevil to never surrender points, even on KO. So that lack of Unique status no longer seems so troublesome.

AM I GETTING THIS? I collect Daredevils so I’m glad to add this card to the roster.

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L059 WITCH QUEEN LE FAY
(Secret Wars Battleworld, 2018)

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THEN: This was a weirdly bipolar piece. At full cost, she had a speed SP granting EVERY standard speed power except Stealth and Earthbound. That offered some great combos like Charge+Flurry or Running Shot+Mind Control. The risk: She lost this power for good if she ever missed an attack. Even her Pulse Wave, traited Perplex and “Untamed Weirdness” trait that barred stat boosts against her weren’t always enough to help her land those must-hit shots. She needed to be more dependable at 150 points to not be totally dependent on her Mastermind to save her. Meanwhile, at her lower line of 100 points, she lacked that SP entirely, relegating her to weak Sidestep and then-middling 6 range but with the Prob Control and Impervious she really needed at top dial, too. At least she also had traited Leadership. Keywords were Battleworld: Weirdworld, Mystical, Ruler.

NOW: Slimmed down to 100 points, she keeps the same keywords and her anti-stat-boost trait but loses a trait that used to give +2 Perplex targeting “Battleworld: Weirdworld”-keyworded allies. Instead, the trait generates a Skulldugger pog (11AV Charge+Flurry with Skrulls TA) on Leadership rolls — useful for fighting and her Mastermind. And remember how her SP offered the potential RS+MC combo? Now, that’s all her new SP is, aside from a rider nerfing enemy Battle Fury in her range. Her 60-point line is better than ever thanks to smaller maps.

F.U.N.? This is a fine fix to a fig that never really worked before.

AM I GETTING THIS? I have had one for ages with a missing original card. Now I can finally play her!

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L059a HAMMER
(Deadpool & X-Force, 2017)

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THEN: This was one of those pieces that could deal mass damage to a clumped set of targets — especially bearing Ranged Combat Expert, which back then could +2 attack OR damage. More than made up for the fact that this flier couldn’t carry same-size pals. Very good for 50 points, he also offered SHIELD TA and Enhancement. Keywords: were only Six Pack, and Soldier.

NOW: For exactly the same price, he loses ANY carry ability and his old mass-damage attack SP. Gains? Pick an attack power. Traited Super Senses that ramps with each attack of the turn. Leadership+Outwit SP with the ability to Earthbound a target within 4. And the Vehicle keyword.

F.U.N.? This is a rare time when the old piece might be more playable. But the new one is more versatile and, consequently, more F.U.N. for us.

AM I GETTING THIS? I own every Black character in the game, so yeah.

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L062 IRON MAN
(Avengers Assemble, 2015)

avas062

THEN: Originally a whopping 270 points, this non-flying monstrosity’s worth was all in his durability. He had a trait that gave him (then) unOutwittable Invulnerability at worst and straight up damage nixing at best on a d6 roll. He also started with a Pulse Wave+Force Blast SP, a combo that’s still good today, and his damage SP “Give Me All The Cameras” that granted Outwit a lot of Improved Targeting. A late dial Speed SP offered a Flurry-but-range-attacks effect and he had Sharpshooter (a limited version of IT:Adjacent). A rare Iron Man that couldn’t fly, though.

NOW: Highly discounted to just 120 points now, he loses all that special damage reduction for mere traited Energy Shield/Deflection+Impervious, leaving him open to Outwit. But at least penetrating damage is no longer a problem, via the same trait. His starting attack SP makes a shift to EE and Penetrating/Psychic Blast (since PW isn’t big damaging anymore) and his damage SP offers the IT plus the choice of Outwit or RCE. That late speed SP switches to Leap/Climb, Sidestep and Force Blast. Same keywords: Armor, Avengers, Scientist, Stark Industries. One gain is the Avengers TA.

F.U.N.? This card, designed by Daniel Powell, takes an unwieldy old piece and brings it up to date. Not meta. Pure F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? I used to chase after every Iron Man suit variant, but I mostly quit after the TabApp sculpts were so dumb-looking. I still looked for this one, hoping to score it for a super rare price rather than a chase-level price tag. And I’m glad I did.

———

Whew, these reviews get harder and harder. And my hopes that WizKids fixes their QA problems remain unanswered.
But thankfully all these cards have been readily available. Nothing like the somehow super-scarce pair of cards in War of the Realms.
Next up: Top 10 of the year lists!

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.HeroClixWheelsVengenceLogo

Between Scott Porter’s unboxing vids, WizKids’ newly activated in-house PR reveals and prerelease season, we’ve gotten the full (and confirmed) list of pieces for Heroclixin’s customary pocket checklist earlier than ever!

So of course I forget to actually post this on time.

FINALLY download a four-copy PDF using the link below.

WheelsChecklist

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Now that WizKids has released its errata list for Notorious (more on that later), it’s time for our regular review of the set’s legacy cards: a F.U.N. way to bring some old fan-favorites back into Modern/Silver play and rework some old figs that never really worked right before (or don’t anymore due to rule changes).

By set number:

 

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L020a CALENDAR MAN
(Streets of Gotham, 2013)

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THEN: He was a bizarre piece with different SPs based on the actual days of the week. For example, if played Monday through Thursday, he got mega-Outwit that took the chosen power away from the whole enemy team. But on the weekends — y’know, when most clix games are held — he was stuck with just giving +1 AV to adjacent allies. On even-numbered days, he could halve an enemy’s speed as POWER, but on odd ones he could only give three adjacent pals Phasing. And a third SP was POWER: roll d6 and give a foe holding/next to an object an action token or 1 penetrating damage depending on if it was winter and spring or summer and fall, respectively.

The upside is that all three SPs respectively offered standard powers of Stealth, Energy Explosion and Probability Control all year long. Paired with Mastermind, he could maybe do something consistent despite his 4 range being very poor at the time.

NOW: His old 52-point cost cut down to 40, he gains “The Yearly Cycle,” a trait granting Probability Control and Regeneration. His old speed SP still offers Stealth, but now even-numbered days give him Improved Movement:Characters while odd-number dates give a FREE that nerfs a target enemy’s defense and d6 rolls -1 for a round. His attack SP drops Energy Explosion for Precision Strike — sort of. Because now, Sunday-Wednesday, he still gets EE — penetrating! The rest of the week, his attack and damage both shoot up +2. Finally, his damage SP triggers off even- or odd-numbered months instead, with the former giving a FREE to shut off a standard power for all foes within range (no LOF needed), while in January, March, May, July, September and November he sports double Prob Control regardless of range (but needing LOF). Oh, and he adds a ton of new keywords: Gothem City to his original Arkham Asylum

F.U.N.? As before, CM here is a bizarre piece. And IMO, his power is way out of scale with the character’s classic abilities. But after one of the more recent DCU reboots, he seems to have gained weird superpowers to be reborn each year? So this clix might be more in line with the current villain than I thought.

But is it meta, though? The date-reliant flavor probably makes it too random. Not having EE on the weekends is a blow to his effectiveness, for example. And in a multi-day event like Worlds Singles, he’d completely change his powers — and performance. So more F.U.N. than fearsome, I think.

AM I GETTING THIS? I have long liked this figure. Glad to see it get another season.

———

L020b DEATHSTROKE
(Justice League New 52, 2012)

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THEN: He was all about his “Precisely Timed Strike” SP which, along with Blades/Claws/Fangs, dealt free d6 damage to any foe who moved adjacent to him at all. Too bad even the lightest damage through Toughness killed both his Stealth and SP, leaving him with Running Shot and Penetrating/Psychic Blast. That’s not too terribly bad, especially with his 7 range. But his relative lack of mobility and hefty 120 point cost, which was very easy to collect once he fell off that Stealth, made him a little unwieldy. Keywords: Injustice League, Martial Artist, Society and Soldier.

NOW: This time he comes with two point costs: 100 and 40 (click 5). Along with added keywords Arkham Asylum, Assassin, Gotham City Underworld and Suicide Squad (but no more Society), both lines have the trait “I Killed The Teen Titans” — Charge, Sidestep and a FREE choice of Energy Shield/Deflection + Ranged Combat Expert or Combat Reflexes + Close Combat Expert. He also gets “The Target” trait that other Assassin keyword figs in Notorious have, to gain 25 extra points if any of them KO a designated enemy. His SP, renamed “Timed Strikes,” is functionally exactly the same except for adding Precision Strike to the mix. Improved Movement:Elevated is a big boost, as is Targeted:Hindering and Team Player TA.

F.U.N.? It’s upgraded in every way from the original. But it’s still not quite competitive. Strong, though, and definitely F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? I collect Deathstrokes and, before seeing the new card text, had never been happier to own two copies of this piece so I could play both the original and the new on a Golden Age all-Slade Wilson force someday. But as noted above, there’s absolutely no reason to ever again play the original.

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L021 LYSSA DRAK
(War of Light, 2014)

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THEN: She was a Probability Control piece (anywhere on map if a friendly with her Sinestro Corps, Monster or Black Lantern Corps keyword was attacked) who started also with enemy-only Perplex (that gave pals Precision against the target) before switching late dial to Steal Energy and Exploit, with Barrier and Sidestep interspersed throughout. Useful but kinda overcosted at her original 91 points.

NOW: She’s only 45 points, less than half, so that means she lost something: her Prob Control. Instead, she generates Grave markers like other BL Corps members in the set — in her case, wherever an enemy anywhere Outwits, Steals Energy or Regens. Enemies in Graves then lose -1 stats when in combat with BL Corps. She keeps her enemy-only Perplex, which now prevents the target from healing, too, when she uses it. She gains the Herald keyword this time.

F.U.N.? Priced like the supporting piece she always was, yet somehow not quite as good as before IMO, she’ll find her way onto some teams.

AM I GETTING THIS? I somehow do not have any copies of her anymore. I don’t regret it, really, as I am not much of a Lantern Corps fan. More for y’all!

———

L025 ULTRAMAN
(Trinity War, 2015)

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THEN: For 225 points, he was a pretty standard Hypersonic brick. The only things really special about him were A) his SAFEGUARD: Outwit when in hindering terrain and B) his Crime Syndicate team ability, giving him Prob Control as long as he could give himself or an ally an extra action token. His lower price at 125 started with Charge+Super Strength and RCE, which paired very well with anti-Stealth 8 range. He had Brute, Crime Syndicate and Ruler keywords.

NOW: He slims down A LOT to just 110 and 75 points. His losses? The Outwit protection, which trades down to Stealth and Willpower that both only works in hindering. He gains IM:Destroy Blocking and, IF there’s more tokens on his team than theirs, FREE Regen. With the CSA TA, those extra tokens could be easy to rack up. (He also appeared to have lost his Flight ability, but that’s an error WizKids has fixed by errata.)

F.U.N.? CSA is wildcard-friendly now instead of being uncopyable, which COULD be a competitive edge. But I feel like this piece is just OK and not meta. F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? I love the Crime Syndicate, so yeah.

———

L026 OWLMAN
(Trinity War, 2015)

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THEN: At his full 116 points, Oilman was chiefly a Stealthy Outwit piece who’s SP version of the power kept enemy Outwitters from countering higher-cost characters. With Combat Reflexes, Toughness and Willpower bundled in a defense SP, he was decently protected. But 4 range didn’t allow for much offense on his part. Fortunately, he had a cheaper 50-point line that also had both SPs. Unfortunately, it lacked the Stealth and was thus much easier to KO. Still, as one of the least expensive figs with the CSA TA, he was worth fielding for keyword themes Crime Syndicate, Detective and Scientist.

NOW: He’s 70 and 25 points now. A new trait gives twice-a-turn (IF his team has more tokens than the enemy) Sidestep for the mobility he really needs now that his defense SP lost its old Toughness. His damage SP now allows him to Outwit up to three powers if he’s full of tokens.

F.U.N.? He still has the old weaknesses, so he might not be as scary as he looks. But that 25-point line, starting with Flurry and him having possible double Sidestep, has some potential. F.U.N. times being bad!

AM I GETTING THIS? I love the Crime Syndicate and owl-themed characters, so heck yeah.

———

L027 SUPERWOMAN
(Trinity War, 2015)

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THEN: Though not as beefy as Ultraman, Earth-3 Lois Lane here actually hit a lot harder thanks to the Charge+Super Strength+Exploit Weakness combo. She also had a trait that nerfed enemy defenses if they were adjacent to each other and shared keywords. Not much else interesting about her for 142 points. She had a 100-point line that started with Empower instead of Exploit. CSA TA rounded out her offerings. Keywords: Crime Syndicate, Amazon.

NOW: She adds one trait giving FREE Mind Control of a hit character and a second granting +2AV if her squad has more action tokens. Cost basically halved to 75 and 50. (There’s also a couple of discrepancies in powers and values between her original correct dial and the erroneous card. Officially the dial is right.)

F.U.N.? The new CSA TA could help ensure these token bonuses, especially now that it’s wildcard-friendly.

AM I GETTING THIS? I love the Crime Syndicate and Amazons are a B-tier theme I collect. So yes.

———

L035 KILLER MOTH
(Joker’s Wild, 2016)

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THEN: He was one of Heroclixin’s worst of the year because he was 65 points for Running Shot, 9 AV single target Incap … and almost ANYTHING was a better use of 65 points, even for his sole keyword of Gotham City Underworld.

NOW: For a deep discount to just 35 points, he loses his flight ability but gains a few tricks from a brand-new trait that A) gives him two bolts, then B) +2 AV and, probably best, C) he forces his targets to break away to move, whether he hit or not. He also gains the Gotham City keyword

F.U.N.? Some believe the original was a troll piece, a cruel joke to make the character at last but also make him as terrible as possible. This remake actually redeems him a lot.

AM I GETTING THIS? I am, eventually.

———

L037a HUSH
(Batman, 2012)

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THEN: For 107 points, he was little but a Stealth 5-range Sharpshooter (which, back then, gave the equivalent of Improved Targeting: Opposing Characters and IT: Adjacent but ONLY Adjacent). Well, OK, he could shoot Batman Ally enemies despite their Stealth and he had a Support + Exploit Weakness SP and he got a +1 AV boost when using the Batman Enemy TA. But again, that poor 5 range and lack of Running Shot meant that despite his really cool sculpt and Mastermind+Shape Change SP defense, he just wasn’t very playable, not even for his Celebrity or Gotham City Underworld keywords.

NOW: He is a LOT cheaper: 60 points, losing all his Improved Targeting and anti-Stealth skills. But his all-new trait gives him Precision, Support and Regen — and he gets to move up to the d6 roll when he uses either of the latter. His defense SP keeps Mastermind but loses the Shape Change while gaining FREE placement of same-keyworded allies in his range and LOF next to him. That’s like no-cost TK but better.

His Shape Change moves to his damage SP, which loses the old Exploit Weakness and gains SAFEGUARD: Outwit for all his keyword buddies in range.

F.U.N.? This is a piece designed to play on theme above all else, which we at Heroclixin’ find very F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? I regret unloading this sculpt due to the unwieldy original dial. But I found it again at a premium, so I’m scoring this card.

———

L043 JOHNNY QUICK
(Trinity War, 2015)

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THEN: The Crime Syndicate version of The Flash looked similar to the heroic speedster: He had the Speed token trait (gain one when if you hit while moving) to modify his speed value, and ignored characters and hindering for movement — the last being a big deal back in 2015. But his real use was for his SP to juice up his stats +1 or +2 for a turn at the cost of clicks of life. A suddenly 14 HSS, 12 AV, 5 damage assassin could easily get to a backline character you THOUGHT was well protected — then use his enemies-only trait Perplex (if he had a Speed token to spend) to also sever that foe’s speed powers. Along with CSA TA, for 82 points, that wasn’t bad. Only keywords were Speedster and Crime Syndicate

NOW: No new keywords. Slashed to 45 points, he loses his juicing abilities, gaining IM:Elevated and a rewritten first trait: +2 undodgable attack against enemy Speedster keyword or figs with Hypersonic Speed. His SP allows him to steal and equip enemy equipment if his team has more tokens.

F.U.N.? Not as good as the last iteration, but CSA looks like a lot of F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? For sure.

———

L044 DARKSEID
(SLOSH, 2014)

slosh044

THEN: Weighing in a hefty 350 points, this rare started with SP Running Shot only when he was token-free. That sounds bad until you see that the same SP granted him Phasing/Teleport with a free attack if he had one token already. Pretty good with his 12 AV and 5 damage. He reduced penetrating damage, had SAFEGUARD: Outwit (conditional on him not using his own Outwit) and gave +1AV and damage to other Apokolips figs with one action token (back then, getting a second token caused self-damage). But probably the most fearsome thing about him was his 10 range IT:Everything except elevated and outdoor blocking terrain — deadly with his opening Outwit.

But better was his 300-point level with all that plus his damage SP that brought the Outwit PLUS Leadership that could remove 2 tokens by dealing damage to the subordinate. These powers also showed up on his low dial of 200 — which actually allowed room for other allies to use all his powers and abilities in a standard game. But he was a little short-dialed with only 6 clicks.

NOW: He adds Cosmic, Deity, New Gods, and Secret Society of Super-Villains to his original Apokolips, Ruler and Warrior keywords while dropping a full 100 points to 250. His chief losses: Improved Targeting is now only IT:Characters,Adjacent; his conditional Running Shot/Phasing+attack is gone; and now his penetrating damage protection is conditional on his non-use of Outwit. But he gains traited no-frills Leadership and Mastermind; his speed SP is Mind Control (FREE if the target has Anti-Life) and Phasing 3 squares FREE (or full speed normally). His damage SP is now just Outwit with extra effects if the targets have Anti-Life (either 2 powers nixed or the target takes damage if they miss their attack next turn).

Oh, you wanna know about Anti-Life? When Darkseid or allies hit, targets get an Anti-Life token that nerfs AV and damage -1 and are only removed via healing or by Darkseid himself.

His lower lines are 175 and 125 now, and he’s got the Cosmic Energy TA.

F.U.N.? The old one was one of the best Darkseids ever, but this one is a solid improvement. More F.U.N. than meta IMO but I also think competitive things could be done with him.

AM I GETTING THIS? I collect Darkseid, so yeah.

———

L049 QUEEN OF FABLES
(Superman, 2011)

sm049

THEN: For 164 points, she was an oddball giant with 7-range Mind Control and an attack SP giving her Perplex and Prob Control, though with natural 11 AV and 4 damage, she usually wouldn’t waste the action on MC. Dial-long 9 clicks of Shape Change helped protect her from object attacks, to which she had a traited vulnerability. Mystics TA served as a further deterrent. Mid-dial she became a Psychic Blaster, but it’s her last three clicks that bear her best SP: Willpower and able to best her target’s AV and damage despite her flagging values at that point. Only keywords were Mystical and Ruler.

NOW: She’s a completely different kind of piece. First, her price plummets to 100 points with a second line of 60 (click 5). Next, her trait now gives Perplex along with a game-start choice of either Prob or Outwit — or both if you weren’t Player 1. This frees up her attack SP to actually be an attack SP: EE, Penetrating/Psychic Blast plus KNOCKBACK. Her dial-ending speed SP, instead of giving her a second wind, instead literally shrinks her to tiny size, bars her from shooting and grants allies Support to heal only her.

F.U.N.? This redo is based on the wacky Harley Quinn animated show version, which gains her the Gotham City Underworld keyword. That’s a F.U.N. aspect — and maybe one that makes her more playable.

AM I GETTING THIS? Even if the TV show version wasn’t a Black version of the character, I’d want to score this card for the F.U.N. of it.

———

L051 THE PHANTASM
(BTAS, 2018)

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THEN: The Phantasm made Heroclixin’s Top F.U.N. figs list back in 2018. What seemed like disadvantages — 10 AV, 75 point cost — were actually strengths because that AV became 12 vs. cheaper foes — with Blades.  There was also a SP-Perplex against foes on clicks 2, 3, 4 and 6. And FREE move every turn with a FREE Smoke Cloud trait:

 

YOUR ANGEL OF DEATH AWAITS: Smoke Cloud as FREE // FREE: Move but only through squares with her smoke cloud markers. After resolutions, remove each of these markers she moved through.
Phantasm couldn’t park in Stealth with her own Smoke, though, and she had 0 range, meaning she usually only moved 3 squares, being careful to hide behind a 4th square still holding the Smoke. But Mystics TA rounded the Assassin- and Gotham City-keyworded package.

NOW: Her cost drops to 50. Her attack SP loses the AV bonus but she can make free attacks in hindering terrain — a perfect combo with her new, less clunky trait of Sidestep and FREE Smoke Cloud. Her damage SP becomes Shape Change with a bonus if the attacker’s in hindering or is her Target — because she has that shared trait as well to get bonus points for KOing a mark. Add Project Cadmus and Future to her keywords.

F.U.N.? This version seems easier to use. Getting to make a FREE attack every turn possible could be really good. Definitely F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? I loved the movie this was based on. So yeah.

———
L055 MAN-BAT
(Joker’s Wild, 2016)

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THEN: It was the most beautiful sculpt in the game. But the dial, though. Charge was paired with just 1 damage all dial so the Blades/Claws/Fangs (standard and SP version that added Steal Energy) was vital for his offense — and one Outwit made him lose it. He also had zero defense powers and his DV topped out at just 17. Like many others in the Joker’s Wild, he had a trait with which he could grant other Bat Enemies a power when copying his AV — in his case, Steal Energy and 10 or lower, respectively — but it wasn’t nearly enough to make him more than minimally playable for 55 points. Animal, Gotham City and Scientist were his keywords.

NOW: He’s trimmed to 45 points. A new trait, “Scent of Blood,” gives +1 damage dealt to a foe he’s bitten. “Swooping Dive,” his second trait, gives Super Senses and +2AV for moving and attacking (whether via Charge or Sidestep or even an allies’ Telekinesis). Finally, his attack SP’s Steal Energy gets boosted to heal equal to the victim’s taken damage instead of 1. No new keywords.

But … this winged wonder of a character now has BOOT SPEED? that seems like a classic case of WizKids quabity … quabity assuance.

quabbity

F.U.N.? And it got errata, so this is a dial worthy of the sculpt at last. Plenty of F.U.N.

AM I GETTING THIS? Because I missed out on getting the figure, which was sought out for its sheer beauty even before legacy status, I will probably skip it.

———
L056 MAZAHS!
(Trinity War, 2015)

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THEN: 210 points got you a Hypersonic brick who had to KO an enemy to be anything special: This alternate-universe Lex Luthor’s trait allowed him to take one of the victim’s powers. He also had Prob Control and a special Pulse Wave that forced hit targets to choose just ONE power they had; the rest got countered for a turn. But neither of those useful skills were top-dial and it wasn’t terribly hard to deal with his decidedly average stats. Only the one Mystical keyword.

NOW:  He still has the Mystics TA and adds Metropolis and Crime Syndicate keywords (even though he’s technically their enemy). He also still has to KO to activate his trait, but he has the option to boost one of his stats +1 for the rest of the game instead of picking the one of the victim’s powers — though he can choose both if the victim was more than his 150 points. His SP PW is now FREE if he moved this turn.

F.U.N.? This fig is pure F.U.N. with probably zero meta potential. Not having Outwit protection or Willpower is rough at his cost.

AM I GETTING THIS? I collect Lex Luthors so this was a lock to acquire even if it were bad.

 

———
L070 CHESHIRE
(Teen Titans, 2013)

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THEN: With pretty average stats for 97 points, her claim to playability was Poison that also nerfed defense -1 to its victims. She also had a SP to POWER action deal no-roll-needed 1 penetrating damage to an adjacent foe. Hopefully her Stealth, Reflexes and wild card ability would be enough to save her long enough to get either off — IF she could get in close in the first place. Keywords: Martial Artist, Titans, Villains For Hire.

NOW: Still a wildcard, the now-50-point Assassin, League of Assassins, Martial Artist, Secret Six, and Secret Society of Super-Villains keyword villainess has The Target trait, a new trait granting Sidestep and 2-damage Poison, and her SP for Precision and nixes damage reduction entirely for a round when she damages an opponent.

F.U.N.? She’s a 100% meta-level piece.

AM I GETTING THIS? I had no real affinity for the character to track this piece down when it was new. So probably no.

———
LG003 BRIMSTONE
(Superman Wonder Woman, 2015)

smwwG003

THEN: This colossal guy was most feared for his penetrating Poison. (Well, also for his Colossal Retaliation that could deal d6 damage to a bunch of characters.) At top dial (400 points) he started with a SP Pulse Wave that could blast around corners and away from friendlies. He also had Charge+Exploit-focused 275- and 150-point lines along with a rather weak 100-pointer. But the main event was usually the retal line at 20. Only keywords were Apokolips and Robot.

NOW: He’s playable at 290, 175, 90, 50 and 15 points. Cosmic Energy nixes his old Outwit vulnerability. His old PW SP is gone, rewritten so he just ignores Super Senses or enemy combat buffs. His old Poison SP is also gone; he just deals penetrating damage in general now, and at end of turn he burns every enemy within his printed damage value for 1 damage. His retal SP is virtually the same as before. UNLIKE before, he can normal-attack smaller characters at will.

F.U.N.? This is not a F.U.N. figure. This could be a meta figure, thanks to the myriad of playable start lines.

AM I GETTING THIS? I own the fig, so absolutely add the card to my collection if I buy the Poison Ivy home kit.

WhichIHave

———
Hopefully all these cards will be readily available. And I really, really hope WizKids figures out how to fix their QA problems. This round of errors is nearly on the level of those seen in the very FIRST set of legacy cards and we’re more than two years into the mechanic.

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Dice and tokens baggie

I was all set to fake-whine about going to Worlds this year. How I:

  • Started Thursday with a thud by missing out on the pulp events and placed third or worse in every BR
  • Failed on Friday by forgetting my clix supplies and led my Teams campaign to a sorry 1-2 finish before dropping but still missed the limited seating Silver event due to having to go back for the aforementioned clix supplies AND still got only third places in every BR — including the one with my only chase wish, Aquaman 😥 — and actually LOST my clix supplies at the end of the evening
  • Sucked it on Saturday, not equaling the “at least one win in singles” goal that I met in 2022 OR having a winning record in the Theme event later AND missing all the BRs of the day
  • And slipped up Sunday, just falling short of my goal to win a 209 Apocalypse in the X of Swords SLOP event.

 

And yeah, all that happened. But as the title said: I had a blast!

  • Got all the buyables I wanted — and more. I really have to exercise more discipline next time.
  • Even my one dead-last-place BR finish got me 2 SRs … I love Worlds.
  • Oh, and how awesome was getting the first play time with a brand-new set? Not to mention sneak peeks at upcoming figs from Wheels of Vengeance. (A Blade on a motorcycle is coming! I wish I’d gotten a photo 🙁 )

HeroClix Fan Appreciation 2023WoV glo bases

  • I was spared the grind of Pulp Worlds. I wasn’t ready at ALL.(Which meant more BRs)
  • Being a longtime Legion of Super-Heroes fan (see my first-in-competitive Top 8 ROC win in 2014 with the Legion or search “Legion” on this site) I was really really happy to run a comic-accurate Legion of Super-Villains team in Teams Sealed! Went 1-2 but this pulp force was competitive.
  • Speaking of Teams, here’s my roomie William K. Holland and my Georgia player friend Blant Archer!

Worlds Teams 2023

  • Someone found my troublesome dice+tokens baggie and I got it back!
  • I got to meet Heroclixin’ board member Tereso’s friend Curtis, who said that commonality took a lot of the sting out of the loss I’d just dealt him using my comic-accurate team of The Ultimates (Blue Marvel, Monica Rambeau, Captain Marvel, Black Panther and Miss America).

Curtis and me

  • In fact, I got to put faces and fist bumps to SO many names I’ve liked and respected over these clix years, such as Joe Pangrazio, Azarith Stryffe, Devin Owens, Simeon Bruce and Antonio Clark, just to name a very few!

Seriously, when the biggest disappointment is winning ANOTHER Genesis grand prize, that’s a good weekend!

 

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Years ago, I wrote a review of one of my favorite keywords:

Young_Avengers_-_Logo

You can read it here, if you like, but the game’s changed so much that most of those reviews don’t even apply anymore. In fact, I wrote and completed this article JUST before the 2023 rules shift, so I had to REwrite it, LOL. And THEN the Avengers team ability most of them share got rewritten. So it’s time for a new look — especially because nearly every one of the characters has been remade for Silver/Modern Age, with some additions.

———

HULKLING (Empyre 001) 50 points and (Empyre 050) 175 points / 60 points

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Though his Civil War incarnation is still one I’d reach for in a sufficiently sized Young Avengers force, at 80 points he’s just too costly. This new Teddy (Empyre 001) has a lot of what made that piece good in 2015 — protecting friends by giving them Mastermind, Charging hard with 11 AV (maybe 12 with Avengers TA), Shape Changing via Skrulls TA, Invulnerability — at a deep discount, just 50 points. And he thematically fits an earlier version of the character and team.

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But Hulkling (Empyre 050) might be what you REALLY want to play. At either a hulking 175 points or a svelte 60, he’s Leadership material and brings the Star Sword in play: a SP Blades/Claws/Fangs that transports either hit foe or adjacent friend. He also is protected by Mastermind (instead of the other way around) and can generate generic Kree or Skrull Sidekicks (now that he’s emperor of both peoples). He’s also Cosmic Energized and a flier.

At full cost, he massively bolsters his Skrulls TA with printed Shape Change and is armored with Impervious.

———
PATRIOT (Avengers Forever 009) 40 points

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Grandson of the first — and Black — Captain America, the previous version from Civil War lost a lot of what made it special in 2016, so this latest version shaves down to 40 points — very close to the low cost of the original model in 2007’s Avengers — with Avengers TA, Defend and Leadership. All useful but nothing to write about.

That is, until you consider his team-up card that makes each Young Avenger a don’t-die piece:

“If three or more friendly characters with the Young Avengers keyword are on the map, the first time each friendly character would be KO’d, instead turn them to their last non-KO click, then roll a d6 and heal them equal to half the result.

Hey, it’s the “Living Legend” ability seen on some earlier Cap pieces. It’s a must-play on this force — making Patriot a must-play as well.

———

STATURE (Avengers Forever 032) 50 points / 25 points

av4e032

Daughter of Scott Lang, Ant-Man, she’s got a 50- and 25-point level. Both have  2 bolts, starting with Charge+Plasticity and a trait to become Tiny with 4 range RCE or giant with CCE. But caution: Once she picks, she can’t go regular size again for the rest of the game, having to swap between the extremes. Still, it’s an improvement over her just being a huge target all the time in sets past — and this version melds the best aspects of the old pieces (the attacking power of the 2016 model and the tie-up ability of the 2007 original). Like most of the theme, she’s got Avengers TA, too.

But maybe you want a slightly more modern option for Cassie here in the Avengers 60 set: Stinger 009

 

hc_ma60_009

She’s always tiny, with Senses and traited Energy Shield/Deflection she can lend to other tiny figs.

*looks at other Young Avengers, who aren’t tiny*

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Beyond that, she’s just a weak Charge fig with some end-dial Pulse Wave, so there’s that.

———
IRON LAD (Avengers Forever 025) 75 points / 50 points and VISION (Avengers Forever 024) 45 points

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Iron Lad’s a young Kang from his pre-conquerer days, while Vision is “Jonas,” an AI copied from the memories of Iron Lad within the original Vision’s repaired body.

Where his earlier Vision incarnations were all overcosted and underpowered (and, being pre-card versions or from 2012’s Chaos War, technically not him), this one’s just 45 points, bringing Enhancement and, via a POWER action, two Empower-ing duplicates to aid the team. He’s still not offensively good, but you’re not paying for offense this time.

Previous Iron Lads ranged from terrible (2007’s) to just overpriced (and/or, again, not him in 2017). Today’s model is neither, showing up at either 75 or 50 points for Probability Control, Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Willpower, Invulnerability, Super Senses, and even a Follow Up trait that gives him a FREE attack after another YA hits.

Both sport Avengers TA for a possible AV bonus.

———

WICCAN (Empyre 021) 50 points

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Being somehow the son of Scarlet Witch, with her reality-warping magic powers, even Wiccan’s earliest dial from 2007 is still useful in today’s game (for Golden Age, of course), but the 50-point Empyre version offers the best balance of cost effect and utility overall — Prob, Mystics, +1 DV for adjacent pals (if he, a wildcard, is using their team ability — most likely Avengers, for the AV boost), Penetrating/Psychic Blast. (Though we still kinda love the 90-pointer from Civil War best.)

———

HAWKEYE (War of the Realms 012) 50 points

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This socialite-turned-self-taught super-heroine has alternatively been either too weak (2008’s Secret Invasion) or too bloated and complicated to field (the 2017 LE, whose trait didn’t really work with Running Shot back then) or somehow both (2015’s Avengers Assemble … 86 points for 2 damage? No thanks). But in War of the Realms, she showed up fit at a cheaper-than-ever 50 points with actual offense (12 AV Penetrating/Psychic Blast) and a nifty and useful Running Shot+Sidestep combo SP. Avengers TA is icing on this fierce cupcake.

But if you want to stretch the YA theme into true MCU territory, there are some extra Kates to consider:

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Kate Bishop (Marvel Studios Next Phase ) 40 points

Sporting little other than Stealth and Super Senses, she’s no good on a Young Avengers theme since there’s no other character on the team with the new Marksman keyword. But if you double up with another MSNP Kate, that doppelgänger gets Enhancement.

Kate Bishop (Marvel Studios Next Phase 203) 50 points

Also Stealthy, 10 more points and LE status buy this identically sculpted Ms. Bishop a lot more: IT:Characters, an attack SP allowing a no-cost range shot after she’s carried, and, late-dial, a damage SP granting her two of KNOCKBACK, EE or RCE. Oh and anti-Stealth Avengers Initiative TA, too!

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For a bit of doggo cuteness, the Kate and Lucky (Marvel Studios Next Phase 065) chase offers wild card TA, Stealthy Shape Change, and attacks that trigger off a goofy Pizza mechanic. Not really worth the 50 points for Young Avengers.

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But the real thing is SR Kate Bishop (Marvel Studios Next Phase 054). Another wild card, she sports a lot of Improved Targeting when she can station herself in a sniping spot to extend her already better-than-average 6 range to 8. A good 65 points by herself, she’s even better with Trick Arrows equipment she can add for 0 points. So even though this is properly a TV version of Kate, she’s actually closest to the comics version. If you can fit her on the force, do it.

———

SPEED (Avengers Forever 010) 45 points

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He’s speedy. And also somehow the son of Scarlet Witch. But his first run (in 2012’s Chaos War) was a stumble. Sure, he had the Hypersonic Speed, but with just 9 AV and 16 Super Senses and 2 damage, he didn’t do much with it or live long.

Now, though, he’s much more effective with 10AV (plus Avengers TA, which he didn’t have before) and 18DV Senses and 3 damage on his first and final clicks. The three in the middle aren’t so good, saddling him with a FREE place power but weaker defense (Willpower) and 2 damage. But at 45, he’s 10 points cheaper than the older model.

———

LOKI (Empyre 026) 60 points

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“Low Key” returns! He was an instant fave for Heroclixin‘ and we’re glad to see the de-aged trickster causing mischief again without the 115-point bloat of the first YA Loki or the Title Character intricacies of the second, also 60 points. Watch for those Rally dice rolls so you can multiply the Prob (and BCF) on the board for the team! He’s one of the few members without Avengers, sporting Mystics TA instead.

———
MISS AMERICA (Avengers Forever 050) 50 points

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I didn’t think they could top the old LE kicker of butts and the time-space fabric, and they haven’t — this one’s a much slimmer, simpler affair. At nearly halved cost, she literally hits only about half as hard. But she’s not the risk-it-all puncher anymore and is much more of a team player thanks to her Passenger:2 Hypersonic Speed. That could be super useful: Fly in carrying an Empower fig or two (like Vision’s dupes!), or evacuate an ally in trouble after she makes her (possibly Avengers TA-boosted) attack if she can break away. Or both!

———
NOH-VARR (Avengers Forever 034) 50 points

 

 

av4e034

A MUCH slimmed down redo of Web of Spider-Man’s original, he finally gets on the team. And he brings Perplex and Energy Explosion and Running Shot and later some Ranged Combat Expert and Regeneration.

But this last-click power, though:

 ALL ALONE ON AN ALIEN PLANET STOP. Invulnerability, Willpower. // After the resolution of any action, if Noh-Varr isn’t the only friendly character on the map, KO him. 

Wait what

Is that an auto-KO from a STOP click? (I was assured, yes it is)

Um OK

Wow

Noh-Varr might be the worst (which is in tune with the character, lore-wise.) BUT if played with the Patriot Team Up card, that suicidal STOP click won’t always kill him. So he might get some use out of it without being the last boy standing. He’s also a Team Player, so he can copy allies’ copyable TAs.

(Note: There’s also a discrepancy on his dial versus his card. Follow the dial, WizKids says.)

———

PRODIGY (Avengers Forever 033) 35 points

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Finally getting the keyword as well! He’s an Outwit or Perplex figure for the squad, but he needs to be really close to the action as the new, shorter minimum ranges for those powers make using them a little awkward. He has a die replacement Rally trait for friendlies’ d6 rolls (SSenses, Willpower, Impervious, BCF, to name a few) within 6 range and LOF (now that he’s gotten proper errata, because the printed card lacks the range number) he can copy a PAC power from an attacking enemy in the same LOF zone. Finally, in addition to Avengers TA, he has X-Men, which could aid his wildcard teammates Wiccan and Noh-Varr.

—————————
—————————

And then there are some unexpected Young Avengers beyond the core team. These next three don’t appear in the comics rosters ever. But somehow they get the keyword now, I guess  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

REPTIL (Avengers Forever 023) 40 points

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Sort of a remix of the Avengers Assemble original, but 30 points cheaper and with Avengers TA and the ability to switch forms on the fly (Flurry+Quake on 1, Charge+BCF on 2 and 3rd, HSS+Precision) instead of after KO. I like it, I guess.

———

MS. MARVEL (Avengers Forever 035) 70 points / 35 points

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I love Kamala Khan, so I’ll allow her on a new Young Avengers squad, I guess. And she’s actually a good piece: Impervious and Shape Changing with Rally dice replacement for enemies’ d6 rolls — no range needed, just LOF, and that Super Senses roll just FAILS — and the ability to change sizes, gaining certain powers or stats respectively, complete with the new Avengers TA. Just doesn’t quite fit thematically, yet.

———

And then there’s a different Kamala…

MS. KANG (Avengers Forever 061) 50 points

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She actually has better qualification for the YA keyword, being an alternate timeline amalgam of former member Kang The Conqueror — and anything can go in alternate timelines.

Playwise, she’s a F.U.N. TK, Prob and Outwit piece, able to make Coronal Echo pogs when she uses the blue damage power for even MORE Prob — pogs that also sacrifice to improve her Shape Change and help her avoid KO. She can’t be Outwitted because her TA is Cosmic Energy

Provisionally she could fit an “all timelines Young Avengers” team, thematically.

And then, in Marvel Studios Next Phase, there’s still MORE Kamala, this time the MCU version(s):

msnp004

Ms. Marvel (Marvel Studios Next Phase 004) 35 points

Sporting IM:Elevated and a SP Barrier that, in conjunction with her Telekinesis, can also allow her to FREE hurl a piece of her Barrier at a target. Still very tricky to use since the Barrier could block her LOF if not placed carefully. Maybe better to use her as a rare TK and Barrier piece for Young Avengers keyword.

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Ms. Marvel (Marvel Studios Next Phase 046), at 80 and 120 points, has the same ability as a trait, but it’s even harder for her to weaponize it. Probably too costly.

—————————
—————————

Now here are a few more YAs who get the keyword who HAVE briefly been on the team in some capacity but are neither young nor Avengers, anymore.

Mostly.

I guess.

Most are Silver Age, but here’s one Modern:

 

SCARLET WITCH (War of the Realms 004) 30 points

wotr004

Because she showed up in The Children’s Crusade YA series, she gets the keyword, I guess. Another Prob piece, but she also has TK and mega taxi for keyword pals, plus Avengers TA. Not a bad use of 30 points.

———

KANG, THE CONQUEROR (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 050) 80 points

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Wait what

Wasn’t he their first opponent?

But he did say “I loved being a Young Avenger,” so whatever

He’s another Running Shooter and Probber. He also sports Title Character privileges, making Time Portal markers he can use to teleport around and heal up.

No team affiliation. He’s for a weird time-twisted “every Young Avenger ever” kind of build.

———

Similarly, here’s ENCHANTRESS (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 046), who was really actually only on a sort-of “Young Masters of Evil” team but she got the keyword anyway:

abpi046

For the theme, play her on her lower dial, the 90-point one. She’s not actually Amora the Asgardian but … IDK … some human girl body swapping? It’s confusing. And anyway, she’s a very expensive Running Shot Mystics piece at 135 points, esp. since her SP Outwit/Prob/Perplex often only allows her to use one of those per turn.  Play her on an “every YA ever” squad and then only to fill points.

———

And then back in Earth X, we got the 50-point SPIDER-GIRL (Earth X 001a)

eax001a

…who ALSO isn’t a true YA, but instead a future timeline version from the M2 Avengers (a short-lived ’90s comic. She’s the only member to be clixed. Didn’t even get the Avengers TA, just the then-wildcard Spider-Man TA that now greatly boosts her Super Senses). She got mentioned among Heroclixin’s worst of her year because we dislike the Incapacitate power, but she got a boost with the 2021 ruleset.

Still, she should be the very last to add to the team because, as noted, she’s never been a member in any timeline.

—————————

Finally, here’s one more that’s good: Hawkeye and Hawkeye (WizKids M23-002)

wkM23-002

Technically only the Kate half is a Young Avenger. But they got the keyword and come with a ton of skills:

  • Leadership. Kate was often unofficial co-leader with Patriot in the team’s early days.
  • Starting Running Shot with 12 AV (plus Avengers and SHIELD TAs)
  • IT:Characters, Adjacent, Hindering
  • FREE elevation change within range and LOF via “Grapple Arrow” trait.
  • A “duo” attack trait that can instead make a Kate Bishop pog which can A) use the powers of any click on the main dial and B) can effectively serve as both meat shield and armor for the main dial.

—————————

One day I’ll run them in a Silver Age game and report how the team(s) did.

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NoMoreSWitch

The WORST worst was 2022’s, which saw a bunch of pandemic-era sets fade to Silver without ever seeing Worlds competition. But here we are a year and some months later, seeing one set phasing out the VERY NEXT YEAR after its release.

I’m speaking of Disney Plus, of course. (Well, War of the Realms, too. But DISNEY PLUS.) The fact that it will have gotten two Worlds appearances softens the blow somewhat. And to be sure, the set has some VERY problematic pieces that have dominated the meta since their release.

  • The Scarlet Witch 050. On the one hand, she’s the badass Wanda we’ve wanted since forever. On the other, that Rune is a major negative play experience for whoever faces her. And she’s already a top-notch piece without ever using it!
  • Sakarrian Iron Man. Another chase fig, and one that’s just way too damn good. Virtually unkillable, he’d be playable at twice his 50-point cost. At least then he’d be worth the effort to KO him.
  • The Vision 043b. A fearsome Super Rare prime that’s also overpowered even if costed accordingly at least.
  • Cape of Levitation. This equip granting Sidestep, Plasticity AND Flight makes so much else in the game better. It’s gotta go.
  • The Darkhold. Half the reason SWitch above is such a problem is this equip she gets for abso-FREAKING free.
  • Agatha Harkness. With higher cost and no armor, she almost seems fair compared to SWitch. Almost. But she packs the same Darkhold and makes the same Rune and has FREE movement on top of it. Hell, you can play them together.
  • Miss Minutes. OK I love her. But she can take Mission Points from a cute little gimmick to “You win/lose by Turn 3” so maybe it’s better she rotates now and becomes Silver Age’s problem to possibly ban.

So yeah. It’s the right move to shelve these after their two Worlds appearances. (This assumes rotation will be post-Worlds from now on. If WizKids switches back to midsummer retirement next year, Imma be upset.)

 

WHAT ALL’S LEAVING …

5-Figure Booster Sets (including Organized Play game elements and incentives associated with each set.)

  • Marvel HeroClix Fantastic Four. Released in the depths of the pandemic, this fantastically F.U.N. set is finally fading into the far-flung fields of Silver and Golden Age. More than any particular fig, it might be the map Aunt Petunia’s House that may be most missed from the meta … or maybe NOT because Door and Window terrain was confusing as heck.
  • Marvel HeroClix Spider-Man and Venom Absolute Carnage. The last of the small-scale fig sets swings off the Modern stage. All-Black The Necrosword is the meta staple that’s done for in Modern.
  • Marvel HeroClix House of X. The House has fallen. Maggott will have his last Modern meal.
  • Marvel HeroClix Fantastic Four Future Foundation. This one was really too much Fantastic Four too soon. Doomswap and Molecule Man are of note here, along with equipment like Emotional Modifier, Silver Surfboard and Radioactive Clay
  • DC Comics HeroClix Wonder Woman 80th. Between this and FFFF, was this when chase sets began grew to absolutely dominate the meta? The Commissioner, Scarab and especially Sky Tyrant just played havoc on competitive — not to mention the Lanterns and their constructs.
  • Marvel HeroClix X-Men Rise and Fall. THE FALL OF X IS HERE. There’s not much to miss aside from Moira MacTaggart cheating out Rally dice and Mimic prime.
  • Marvel HeroClix Avengers-Fantastic Four Empyre. All empires fade. And so Venom Magneto, the first mega-chase to hold sustained $200ish resell price and thus set off an ever-rising cost of competitive in clix, dips out of Modern.
  • Marvel HeroClix War of the Realms. All wars end as well. Not much on the ridiculous meta level is being lost here.
  • Marvel HeroClix Disney Plus. … gets minused. And we saw what was the reasons why, earlier.

Fast Forces Packs. Interestingly, there have been none of these made since. Could fast forces be facing a final retirement? Hopefully so? Because nothing has been very good in ANY of the following.

  • Marvel HeroClix Fantastic Four Fast Forces
  •  Marvel HeroClix Spider-Man and Venom Absolute Carnage Fast Forces
  • Marvel HeroClix House of X Fast Forces
  • Marvel HeroClix Fantastic Four Future Foundation Fast Forces
  • Marvel HeroClix X-Men Rise and Fall Fast Forces
  • Marvel HeroClix War of the Realms Fast Forces

Starter Sets. The deluxe miniature games starting with WW80 in 2021 aren’t listed here but are probably counted as part of their main set.

  • Marvel HeroClix Battlegrounds: Avengers vs Masters of Evil. This, the first of the new-style starters, was actually the best overall IMO. Price point was just right. And the figs, though kinda way overcosted in retrospect, were still kinda neat. If only that one Iron Man had been error-free.

Micro Sets (including Organized Play game elements and incentives associated with each set)

  • Marvel HeroClix Unpainted Deep Cuts: Fantastic Four. Geez. We’re losing a LOT of F4 in this rotation.
  • Marvel HeroClix Eternals Movie. The redheaded stepchild of all rotating sets. (Except for the actual redheaded child, Sprite 021, whose saw some play in competitive.)
  • Marvel HeroClix Fantastic Four Storyline OP. A LOT of F4. Like, this nixes nearly the whole keyword from Modern.

Convention Exclusives and Limited Edition Game Elements

  • WK20-s001 Tire Stack
  • WK20-s002 Barrel

These two are the only pre-pandemic things in this rotation.

But of course, Silver Age means there’s still a place in competitive for this stuff. Which means, maybe that much of it may continue to be problematic, since MAYBE none of it rises to the level of degeneracy seen in other banned elements in Silver.

We shall see…

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Heroclixin’ board member and longtime friend Chadd comes to various Atlanta conventions once a year lately and we have taken to rooming together for big games.

IMG_0608

GAME 1

RED & BLACK & BLUE: DEADPOOL VS. HARLEY QUINN

I forgot to take a full photo, so here’s the detailed 1000-point builds:

CHADD’S MAXIMUM EFFORT

  • Deadpool (X of Swords 048) 40 points
  • Deadpool (X-Men Rise and Fall 100) 60 points
  • Deadpool, Marc WIth A Mouth 70 points
  • Deadpool (Deadpool & X-Force 037a) 75 points
  • Evil Deadpool 100 points
  • Deadpool (Deadpool 101) 130 points
  • Deadpool (Deadpool 019a) 135 points
  • Deadpool (Empyre 063) 175 points
  • Deadpool and Bob 200 points
  • Mjolnir (Hammer of Thor s101) 0 points

 

vs. MY GANG OF HARLEYS

  • Harley Quinn (WW80) @ 50 points
  • Harley Quinn (DC21-004) 45 points
  • Harley Quinn (Batman The Animated Series 014) 65 points
  • Harley Quinn (Batman Team Up 008) 50 points
  • Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 017) 75 points
  • Dr. Holly Quinn (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 033) 35 points
  • The Harlequin (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 100) 40 points
  • Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 026) 40 points
  • Legacy Harley & Ivy (BTU L058) 75 points
  • Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 059a) 200 points
  • Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 043a) 50 points
  • Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 043b) 50 points
  • Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 049) 60 points
  • Harley Quinn (Batman The Animated Series ) 60 points
  • Harley Quinn (The Flash 046) @ 50 points
  • Location Bonus: My Babies Need Their Space 5 points

 

Chadd took an early lead because I neglected to use Harley & Ivy’s FREE Smoke Cloud to hide other Harleys from an alpha strike. Then Deadpool & Bob Super Sensed out of my counterattack. Then I completely failed a Pulse Wave attempt with prime Harley. I was losing pretty much the whole time until I finally got Red Lantern Harley and legacy Harley & Ivy into position while Title Harley called out her Gang of Harley pogs to finish off Bob and Evil DP for the win.

RESULT: HARLEY HAMMER TIME!

 

GAME 2

GANG WAR: GOTHAM UNDERWORLD VS. SINISTER SEVENTEEN

My team was made up of:

  • The original Sinister Six from the 1960s comics (Kraven, Doc Ock, Vulture, Mysterio, original Electro and Sandman)
  • Beetle’s Sinister Syndicate from the mid-1980s (with Rhino, Speed Demon, Boomerang and Hydro-Man)
  • Iron Spider’s 21st-century version of the Six (Davis plus Spot, Hobgoblin, chick Electro, mom Bombshell and Sandman doing double duty here)

all hired by the Kingpin for this GANG WAR

Got a photo for this one because I did.

SyndicateVSGotham

Chadd planned to rush me with Clayfaces (each kitted out with Entangle feats) and keep me futilely flailing at them. But PLOT TWIST! I had a lot of Improved Movement and immediately left the ‘Faces in the dust, setting them up for Electro’s repeated Pulse Waves while the others set up to get Joker, who was using the team-up card to give all Batman Enemy characters the Mystics team ability.

I still nearly lost the game when I forgot to use Spot’s Outwit to stop Killer Croc’s Charge. Also got lucky with a miss against Vulture.

Though I failed almost every single Leadership roll — despite having 5 figs with the power on the force, I maybe succeeded 3 times total all game — I finally got through various Barriers and outdoor blocking to one-turn Joker, after which Chadd conceded.

RESULT: SYNDICATE TAKES OVER GOTHAM

 

GAME 3

SCOOBY GANG MEETS BATMAN AND ROBIN TO SOLVE THE CASE OF SCOOBY MONSTERS

So I decided to get these chases because nostalgia:

ScoobyChases

Chadd remembers the Scooby Doo series better than I do and came up with a team of monsters inspired by the cartoon (JL King Shark for the shark god, Zzzax for the electric giant, Sabretooth for the cat people, etc.).

…and Chadd demanded I play the Scooby chases along with a Batman and Robin. I agreed with one condition: to add Ace The Bathound, which I’d finally gotten.

ScoobyVSMonsters

I thought the Scoobys would do OK, but I was not expecting the dominance that happened. Chadd did, though. We still had fun, especially with me playing classic Scooby background music as we went.

RESULT: DARN THOSE MEDDLING KIDS AND CAPED CRUSADERS

 

GAME 4:

HORSEMEN VS. THE HORDES OF ARRAKO

Now this one mattered to me a little more because

  1. I gifted Chadd with a Genesis 210 fig and it would be SOMEWHAT galling to lose to that fig and more importantly
  2. prime Isca the Unbeaten’s record was at stake — I’ve never lost a game with her.

I’d also tried out these Arrako pieces before and BOY are they awkward to field. I had to do a trial run on my kitchen table just to get a feel for how to play the squad I settled on:

  • Annihilation (X of Swords 059) 70 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Light of Galador)
  • Bei the Blood Moon (X of Swords 046) @ 75 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Mercy s001)
  • Famine  (X of Swords SLOP 041) @ 50 points
  • Genesis (X of Swords SLOP 210) @ 35 points +Sword Bearer 5 (Warlock)
  • Isca the Unbeaten (X of Swords 021b) +Sword Bearer 5 (Scarab)
  • Khora of the Burning Heart (X of Swords) 65 points
  • Pogg Ur-Pogg (X of Swords SLOP 208) @ 170 points + Starlight Sword (for free because it’s him)
  • Redroot the Forest (X of Swords 056) 60 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Pogg Ur-Pogg)
  • Solem (X of Swords SLOP 018) + Sword Bearer 5 (Muramasa Blade s002)
  • Summoner  (X of Swords 055) 120 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Godkiller)
  • Tarn the Uncaring (X of Swords SLOP 033) @125 points
  • The White Sword (X of Swords 058) 75 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Purity)

Chadd used Horsemen:

  • Apocalypse (X of Swords 057) 195 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Scarab)
  • Death (X of Swords 026) + Sword Bearer 5 (Black Bone of Amduat)
  • Famine (X of Swords SLOP 204) @ 75 points
  • Genesis (X of Swords SLOP 210) @ 295 points + Sword Bearer 5 (Mercy s001)
  • Mr. Sinister (X of Swords 044) + Protected 8
  • Mr. Sinister (X of Swords SLOP 030) + Entangle 8 + Camouflage 8
  • Pestilence (X of Swords SLOP 202) + Armor Piercing 10
  • War (X of Swords 025) + Sword Bearer 5 (Vermillion)

On the Fiefdom of Amenth map, I sent Annihilation’s Daemon pogs to start. But Pestilence’s Armor Piercing got through even their Invincible. However, there’s no end to the the Daemon horde, so I could keep flooding them out while keeping most of the squad, including the colossal Pogg who was shielded by a water terrain I added, safe and still offensive. When I ended War after her unsuccessful attack, Chadd conceded rather than get swarmed by my Arakkan horde.

RESULT: ARAKKO IS NOT FOR THE WEAK — OR THOSE WHO CONCEDE

 

GAME 5

CHADD’S OBSESSION vs. THE ULTIMATES

This one was personal. Years ago in the Before Times, I’d played Chadd with one of my favorite comic teams, the Ultimates:

Black Panther, Blue Marvel, Captain Marvel, Miss America and Monica Rambeau.

I can’t recall what Chadd played, but it was some force that had no business making short work of my Carol Danvers. And then Chadd RAN before we could finish the game!

He actually had a dinner appointment. But it FELT like he was running

Anyway, the characters had all been remade at least once, and nearly all were much better:

  • Black Panther (Captain America and the Avengers 037a) @ 85 points + Skybreaker sword 10 points
  • Blue Marvel (Avengers Forever) @ 150 points
  • Captain Marvel (Captain America and the Avengers 054) @ 150 points
  • Miss America (Avengers Forever) 50 points
  • Monica Rambeau (Empyre) @ 150 points

For his part, Chadd was playing favorites himself: Redheads!

  • Daphne (Batman Team Up 010) 50 points + Utility Belt 10
  • Hope Summers (X of Swords) @40 points
  • Jean Grey (X of Swords 029) — 35 points
  • Lady Phoenix @ 125 points
  • Mary Jane (War of the Realms) @ 60 points
  • Phoenix (WizKids MP21-001) @ 275 points
  • Mjolnir relic — 0 points

IMG_0583

I lost Monica really early after being drawn out to try KOing Mary Jane, who was rolling for the Mjolnir relic. But while Captain Marvel wore Phoenix down with free damage, Blue Marvel slipped to the back line to start wreaking havoc with his Pulse Wave. I was on the way to a big win when Chadd requested a do-over: He’d overlooked a token-removal trait that would have kept me from getting the momentum I’d needed. I agreed.

But Chadd made the same error of trying to give MJ Mjolnir and this time, I did NOT overextend.

RESULT: Chadd conceded too quickly when his attacks on Carol — who was already working on Phoenix — failed and he didn’t think to simply Outwit Carol’s speed power to stop me.

RESULT: ULTIMATE REDEMPTION

 

GAME 6

THE CHARLIE

This was the classic Charlie “Rockman” Cates scenario: Seven figs, all in differing point brackets, sit on the sideline. The cheapest fig starts first. When it heals or takes damage, immediately roll d6 and replace it with the corresponding fig on the sideline.

I brought two teams: one full of Sentinels and the other giant-woman-themed. Chadd used a team full of Jeans

  • Jean Grey (Empyre 010) 30 points
  • Jean Grey (Hellfire Gala) @45 points
  • Jean Grey (Xavier’s School 065) @90 points
  • Phoenix (WizKids M19-015) 100 points
  • Phoenix (Uncanny X-Men 053a) 140 points
  • Lady Phoenix @ 175 points
  • Phoenix (WizKids MP21-001) @ 275 points

and chose to face the giants.

  • Giganta (WW80 037b) @25 points
  • Stature (Avenger Forever) @ 50 points
  • Giganta (HQGG 052) @90 points
  • Giganta (WW80 037a) @100 points
  • Power Girl (Rebirth 022) @ 115 points
  • Giant-Girl (Avengers Infinity G001) @200 points
  • Ms. Marvel (The Mighty Thor G005) @250 points

It was a disaster … FOR ME

The plan he’d had for Con Phoenix, to sit and enjoy 22 DV with Prob Control forever, finally was foolproof in this 1v1 scenario. My giant women had no chance.

I should’ve gone with the Sentinels. Still probably would have lost but at least it woulda been a fight!

RESULT: FINALLY a win for Chadd in the end! 

———

It’s always a good time playing these games. Looking forward to his next visit, DragonCon 2024, for more. And yes, we’re already planning them.

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It’s taken me a while to write on this, but here we go. You can get all the meta news and who won elsewhere.

Tracy Brock

 

DAY ONE:

TRACY BROCK MEMORIAL EVENT

Tourney organizers came up with a wild sealed event.

Tracy Brock Memorial Team Sealed 2023

I was supposed to be on a team with ROC founder Howard Brock (Tracy was his wife) and Scott Porter himself. But our communications got screwed and I thought Howard had gotten Scott to take my slot in the team, not that I was the 2nd and Scott was the third member! I had already joined another team in the meantime.

Howard says, “You owe me a team-up!” Yes sir, that I do! But I feel like I would’ve dragged his team down this night, because I did not do well.

As one of the longest-term players of our team I took the old-school stuff:

  • Experienced Shadowcat (X-Plosion 035)
  • Experienced Iceman (X-Plosion 038)
  • Veteran Clayface (CD 039)
  • Spider-Man (TabApp M-008)
  • Calendar Man

Went 1-2. In Round 1, I completely overlooked Calendar Man’s Prob and that likely cost me the first game. I gave up the third round to Jay Major — our first time playing each other! — on a bad last-minute fielder’s choice of a move.

 

DAY TWO:

SCOTT PORTER VS THE WAREHOUSE

So it was supposed to start 11 a.m. but WizKids be WizKidsing and the product was late. Hung out with former ROC head judge and fast friend Jay Solomon and Emily “Queen of the North” Michele and our new friend Steven, with whom I did a sealed battle royal while waiting for the FedEx truck. I finished dead last place because somehow with three Leadership pieces on my team I only rolled it successfully once all game. (Had like 13 rally dice on Hobgoblin, though. Didn’t use any of them.)

Finally the Avengers60 boosters came. And I was one of the few people who did not mulligan my team, since I pulled SRs in both packs. My team:

Sealed 60th

But … I went just 1-4 in the Swiss rounds following. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

DAY THREE:

SILVER AGE

I fielded a new version of the Juneteenth team from 2021:

Silver Team Worlds

XOS Bishop @ 80 with SVAC Pumpkin Bombs 5

  • Dr. Claire Finn 25
  • Duke Thomas 35
  • Maggott 40
  • Micron 50
  • Teen Lantern @ 30 with Green Lantern Ring 0
  • Tempo 35

= 300 points.

  • Sideline: Black Manta, Black Vulcan, Sentinel, Skull Spy

Went 1-3. Barely lost the first round vs. prime Vision and Mud Man (maybe forgot my sideline TroubAlert), made an unfortunate fielder’s choice against an Agatha/Scarlet Witch team that was also very close to a victory, got a solid win vs. Otherworld Jubilee (opponent waited to transform her, so I closed in and kept her Outwitted while avoiding/healing from GP Apocalypse attacks and KOing his support) but was thoroughly trounced by Hulk and Mad Jim Jaspers shenanigans in the final round.

 

DAY FOUR:

SILVER WORLDS!

After the staggering lack of success this weekend, I questioned if I even wanted to play the final event. But I got talked into it.

There’s a degenerate Mission Point team in Silver Age involving LE Titano, legacy Leech, Miss Minutes and like 10 Ayos. I will never play such a team. But it was a starting place for a Mission-driven squad:

  • Titano (wkD17-G001p)
  • legacy Leech
  • Miss Minutes
  • Ayo (ABPI 021) @ 20 points x2
  • Indigo-1 (BTU ) 60
  • Red X
  • Kingpin (SMBA 037b) @ 35 points
  • Superman (JLU 018) @ 10 points

My goal, aside from winning, was to break my previous record of Mission Points scored: 13.

Went 0-5. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But I scored 18 MPs in the last round, and with literally 20 more seconds of time, I would have won the game outright.

——

The weekend wasn’t complete failure. I played a few Battle Royals and won a few, winning Scott pogs — both Porter and Cramton — and other prizes.

Oh, and of course I got to meet Scott Porter, who really is a friendly, regular kinda fella. Who’s nerdy enough to play HeroClix.

Rurouni and Scott Porter

“Hey, I have that shirt!” he said, pointing to my Final Fantasy VII-inspired garb, before going into a short speech about who’s the most important character in FF7.

MEGA-NERD.