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GrumpyCatvsObama

number 6:

EVERY FIGURE WITH BOTH THE “GOTHAM CITY” KEYWORD AND THE BATMAN ENEMY TEAM OR CALCULATOR OR INJUSTICE LEAGUE TEAM ABILITIES GETS THE “GOTHAM UNDERWORLD” KEYWORD INSTEAD OF THE “GOTHAM CITY” KEYWORD

It was always ridiculous that Joker could “theme up” with Batman and Robin…JASON TODD Robin. It would be great if that stupidity were permanently reversed the way the old Thunderbolt feat abuse was. As far as I can tell, the only figure that would be adversely affected is Hitman no longer being able to theme up with the Bat Fam. Which would crush the playing dreams of no one ever.

_

number 5:

ALL ALTER EGO CHARACTERS IN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD AND WEB OF SPIDER-MAN GET AN ERRATA SO THEY DON’T TAKE PUSHING DAMAGE TO USE THE POWER — LIKE ALL THE ALTER EGOS AFTER THEM

Unlike 90% of all HeroClix players, I’ve actually tried to play these pieces and found that the inability to push to the AE figure made them highly unplayable. The new lot are much better.

So why not just make it a global change for Alter Ego powers? Sure, it’d be a big clustergropefest to errata all those character cards for the 10% of all HeroClix players who even care. But so what?

_

number 4:

“JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK” IS A KEYWORD

It somewhat incenses me that this super-niche team that most of the real Justice League don’t even know about is, for keyword purposes, practically invited to the satellite Watchtower for snacks. Conversely, how’s the glow-in-the-dark Green Lantern get to use the JL Dark ATA? It’s ridiculous. The team should be its own thing with its own ATA.

____

NEXT: The “never ever ever ever” wish list continues.

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We-Are-Never-Ever-Getting-Back-Together-Lyric-Video-YouTube….getting these changes in HeroClix.

number 9:

THE CONVENTION EXCLUSIVES OF 2012 WILL NEVER BE WIDELY AVAILABLE BEFORE THEY’RE RETIRED

This wish is lower on the list not because I don’t really really want it but because it’s not really THAT far outside the realms of possibility. But if nothing’s been announced by now, I don’t think it’s happening.

A sub-wish of mine is that the Con Exclusives from 2011-12 are NEVER retired. They’re so difficult to acquire that it’d be a shame to ever not be able to play them. And they’re not game-breaking at all, either. But I’m not expecting it.

_

number 8:

AUTOPILOT VEHICLES WILL NEVER BE DISALLOWED FROM USING FEATS, RESOURCES, RELICS AND THE LIKE

Vehicles already get a HUGE discount in the point formula, able to have long, long dials for very low cost. They can move freely, immune to tie-up. They can keep a key figure on your team safe as its pilot. They can carry multiple figures that usually can’t be carried, with no speed penalty.

And I know HeroClix doesn’t always make real-world or even comic-book world sense. But VEHICLES ARE NOT PEOPLE. They can’t pick up and wear a Nova Helmet. They can’t wield the Infinity Gems. They aren’t capable of superheroic feats.

They’re just dumb machines — with NO HANDS. Which leads to my sub-wish under this heading: That the Autopilot mechanic for Vehicles just goes away (except as a specific trait for certain “smart” vehicles like the Batmobile).

_

number 7:

NO NEW MECHANICS/SALES SCHEMES IN HEROCLIX FOR AT LEAST A FULL TWELVE MONTHS

Since January 2012, we’ve gotten:

Ships

Resource Dials

Relics on the dial (on the Infinity Gauntlet figures)

Replacement Figures

Team Packs

Mass Market Exclusive blind boosters

Characters only found in Fast Forces/Starter/Con Exclusive/Strategy Game form

Tab-Apps

Vehicles

Wild Dials

And now, the imminent introduction of Team Bases and the sealed-only Fear Itself set, all on top of expanded use of Alter Ego, Morph and Battlefield Promotion mechanics.

There are more than enough mechanics in the game. And there’s no need to do any more.

But I know I’m spitting in the wind, here.

____

NEXT: The “never ever ever ever” wish list continues.

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2006040418101823_20060404_Tuen Mun Trail Sunset-053
Easter Sunday is wrapping up as I write this. It’s a day when we Christians celebrate the greatest change point in human history: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It transformed disciples on the run into apostles who shook the world and began a faith that, among other things, ended the slave trade in its regions (eventually).
What’s it got to do with Heroclixin’? Well, it’s a change that was, humanly speaking, impossible. And there are some changes in HeroClix I’d like to see that are as impossible in their way, too.

I may want these changes in the game, but I will probably never, ever see them.

This is different from the Top Ten Needed Changes article from late 2011. Those are fixes that not only are simple and would enhance the game, but also have been at least partially implemented (see Outsiders TA and, to an extent, Event Dials).

I’m also not talking of things that aren’t quite right now that could easily — and likely will — be changed within the next few months, such as making “assassin” a generic keyword or a Heroes For Hire ATA or finally getting more clix versions of Generation X.

 

No, I’m talking stuff that’s pipe dream material, that would involve radical shifts in the point formula or wholesale errata on multiple character cards or entire keywords — things just short of the idea of one perfect man taking on the sin of the entire world.
In short, these changes in HeroClix would require no less than God Himself to make reality. And this game frankly isn’t that high on His priority list.

And here’s number 10:

MIND CONTROL WILL NEVER BE CHANGED TO A 3d6 ROLL.

This was a proposed fix in the Needed Changes article because, thanks to all the myriad ways that the expensive cyan speed power can fail, Mind Control is almost never a better choice to use instead of a standard attack unless the MCer is really weak on damage. The fact that so frequently, now, Mind Control is customized in special powers and traits only underscores the standard power’s uselessness.

But the emergence of prime figure Brother Voodoo puts the kibosh on this. Being able to attempt a MC every single turn is plenty good enough, especially as his brand of the power is the ONLY option he has to use it. The ability to roll three dice and then pick the best two would utterly break the character and, by extension, quite possibly the game.

____

NEXT: The “never ever ever ever” wish list grows.

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The_Breakfast_Club

Had a series of “Breakfast Club” games where no one could share keywords. By team:
————–
Captain America (Chaos War 203) rolled a lot of Leadership and made some attacks. Aside from the stellar Rare from 2011’s Captain America set, this piece might be the most Cap-like of them all and may well be my first choice to represent the character in future games.

Despite being a crook, Hired Goon (Batman 203) benefited greatly from Cap’s Leadership (“He was in ‘Nam” was the brilliantly F.U.N. explanation given by my opponent in the match) and scored some great shots with his Ranged Combat Expertise.

Blue Beetle (DC 10th Anniversary 009) was the Goon’s Boss, but he was better used for Running Shots to Pulse Wave, having ended up on that power combo thanks to Mystics damage. It worked. Never had to use his self Prob Control. I like this Reyes kid. Eventually I want to run a team of Hispanics like him…

…and fellow hero of the Latin persuasion, The Question (Streets 015b), who I used correctly this time. Her free little Smoke Cloud was super for the stealthy Hired Goon, and Probability Control is always welcome (on my team).

Ensign Anton Chekov (Star Trek Away Team 007b) supplied plenty of Telekinesis. I may have forgotten to use his Tricorder SP to expose a Stealthy target, though. Useful and Nifty enough to make my eventual Russian team.

Bofur the Dwarf (Hobbit 014) rounded out this force. With TK to help his low Speed, Bofur did his share of leadoff fighting. He’s better played in a crowd with his 17 Defend, though.

—

There was a shortened match in which I used some archers.
Arsenal (Streets 045) did nothing, really, as all targets were too far away to even so much as use Outsiders on. But I was prepared to do just that against a Utility Belt-equipped opponent. It’s the one thing he’s really good for.

Green Arrow (New 52 Justice League 007) also did nothing for the same reasons as Arsenal above, having to hide behind a League of Assassins member to avoid being possibly one-shot by ReMAC. It worked, but time ran out before I could force my opponent from his hiding spot with the long-range RCE of Manticore.

—

A third “Breakfast Club” team:
Frost Giant Champion (Avengers Movie 031) kept an enemy Psychic Blaster ineffective thanks to his Battle Fury-endowing SP, and dealt a great deal of the KOs of my game.

Frank Drake (Amazing Spider-Man 013a) also was able to fully nerf that target with his double Outwit against mystics and monsters. He happily fits two of the F.U.N. theme teams I’ll be highlighting in an upcoming regular feature.

Godiva (Batman 029) took so long to get into the action, the fight was basically over. I almost pushed her just to see what she’d do, but decided against it with only one target at the time.

Even without Thanos to give her Perplex, Terraxia (Infinity Gauntlet 009) works out as a solid brick. Can’t imagine playing her again without her “pa” though.

At first, I thought Batman (Batman 053a) was just a pale weak shadow of a certain Caped Crusader (his prime version). But in practice, using his Flock of Bats gave him some nice Poison tricks (during beginning phase, free action detach Grey Flock, free action Outwit defenses, then free action Poison = WINNING). He’s also a decently powered piece besides, and well-priced. This Batman’s gone from the “I’ma trade/sell him soon as I play him” to “I’d like to run this piece again!”

The next day, I played an even larger version of the Breakfast Club theme:

Ezio Auditore de Firenze (Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood 001) didn’t do a whole lot despite his solid stats and powers. Still, he’s the only one of the set I wanted, so I’ll try his out again. Sometime.

Catwoman (Batman 204) was part of my main offense. Too bad no one fielded a relic in this friendly little game. Despite the fact that I played her with the following piece to take advantage of her Support trait, it never came into play.

Batman (Streets of Gotham 052) anchored the team early on, but he wound up falling apart and leaving me in dead last place. The black BatGhost is too soft for his cost. But he’s destined for a future team for sure.

Rhino (Amazing Spider-Man 204) was played with the understanding that “along the path” meant he could hit squares adjacent to his path, but in retrospect, I see we played it wrong. But I still might consider him over the more costly (and effective) main set Rhino to save the 30-plus points because he’s Indomitable and can more easily set up his straight-line Charges.

Spider-Girl (Amazing Spider-Man 027) worked well to evacuate Rhino to heal him after his crit miss, then to draw fire from him. This is a good piece. I want to mod one into her original Araña costume.

Bifur The Dwarf (Hobbit 010), another rare Dwarf with range, managed to contribute a bit with Running Shot and Incap (though I really should have just used his 2 damage instead of pushing the target because A) The target only had Toughness so the net damage would be the same and B) I rolled a crit hit). Nothing really distinctive about him otherwise, though.

I was far too overconfident with Speed (Chaos War 021) and got him good and KO’d early on. He’s for Young Avengers teams only. And who knows when I’ll play them again? They need their leader Patriot redone.

Johnny Blaze (Amazing Spider-Man 007) was played even more recklessly. NEVER PUSH HIM, no matter how enticing that shotgun power seems, unless you’re guaranteed to get penetrating damage out a landed hit.

___

All right. There’s one more week of Figure Flush to go. But next week is the beginning of another month, meaning it’s time for another Top Ten. What’ll it be of? Stay tuned.

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Week six is done. Almost through. This time I’ll review these by team.

These barely got a workout in a shortened game:

Batman (DC 10th Anniversary 001) has Leap/Climb and Outwit and 12 AV and is only 63 points. He was about to wreck it. But time was up.

On the other hand, Batman (Streets of Gotham 032) got one-shot in round two. Such a great sculpt but possibly the worst Batman dial ever.

The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh (Batman 103) had only begun to fight. He has so many powers — Prob, Perplex, Super Strength, Toughness, anti-Super Senses/Mastermind/Shape Change — that it was hard to get a handle on how to use him. I’ll save him for my next big Batman team.

Captain America (DC 10th Anniversary 001) also was only getting started, missing his attempted KO of Dracula. I didn’t build a great force to use Leadership on.

Wonder Man (Chaos War 210) missed his attack and got absolutely pounded. Was just lucky that my opponent ran out of actions to finish him off — and that the game ended after round 3.

——-
This force of Monsters had me playing “Thriller”…
——-

Fimbul the Hunter (Hobbit 005) was the MVP of his Monster squad. (Landing 3 straight Super Senses rolls will do that.) A good leading attacker to soften up for others or to finish off weakened foes. Solid piece, though niche enough that I might not consider using later.

Grinnah the Goblin (Hobbit 008) is fearsome with his free-attack-on-his mark SP. Another piece that’s niche; needs a taxi or TK for best effect.

Being able to shamble from square to square helps Living Mummy (Amazing Spider-Man 011) ONCE he gets to Charge range. He can shift to a better point to use his Probability or Mind Control, perhaps.

Lurtz (Lord of the Rings 010), probably the longest-unplayed figure in my box, finally got his workout. Not bad, but certainly only reserved for Orc teams.

I kept forgetting Vampire (Amazing Spider-Man 012)’s speed gets a boost when the scent of blood is in the air. Might’ve gotten me better use from him as a taxi. Hilariously comic accurate moment: he crit-missed on a push to KO Dracula. WHO’S the king of vampires, here?

——-
Played an all-Dwarf team. It came up short.
——-
Dori The Dwarf (Hobbit 015) only got KO’d thanks to how long it takes dwarves to get in the action. I also forgot to keep him with his brothers Nori The Dwarf (Hobbit 025) and Ori The Dwarf (Hobbit 016) to possibly get his Duo Attack SP to work (though, again, I never got the chance anyway). Similarly, Nori couldn’t use his special Prob due to lines of fire being cut off. And Ori was so stuck in hindering that he could barely Perplex his bros, much less get off meaningful shots. I’ll try this trio again someday, but much more purposefully. Ori in particular is vital for the Dwarves for his top-dial Perplex.

Oin The Dwarf (Hobbit 013) had the same problem all dwarves do: Low Charge speed. I absolutely needed the Kinetic Accelerator I played in order to do ANYTHING with these guys, and it doesn’t help when that opening Charge misses. Oin’s a solid dwarf, but he may not be the first I consider on any force with Thorin (as there are two others that do the Charge thing when he’s around but with better AV).

Balin The Dwarf (Hobbit 026) is worth pushing with his excellent 11 AV (with Thorin) and CCE. He’s also some 20 points cheaper than the similarly SP’d 77-point Gloin.

Kili The Dwarf (Hobbit 011) was the indispensable shooter. Can’t imagine leaving him off a Thorin-led team, what with his late-dial SP boosting the king’s DV. And when foes feel Kili’s 4 damage from range, they WILL try to hit him onto his late dial…

Fili The Dwarf (Hobbit 009), once he was pushed, brought some much-needed Perplex to the dwarven swarm. Between that and his Defend, he helped make the team surprisingly competent despite its shortcomings.

(There I go with the short jokes again…)

_________
On Friday, part two. Signed, The Breakfast Club.

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Here’s what else I played past weekend and what my impressions were:

Both versions of Black Glove Demon (Streets of Gotham) were little more than easy points in their game. I think one needs to run at least three of them to really make them work.

Dwalin the Dwarf (The Hobbit 006) got overwhelmed in his game, cursed by dice rolls. Still, the dwarf put up a decent fight otherwise. He’ll be about the first dwarf I’ll consider for non-Tolkien teams (after Gimli).

I’m realizing now that I forgot Gloin the Dwarf (The Hobbit 019) gets an AV boost in addition to Charge when Thorin’s around. That’s what I get for trying to play a game while on a long-distance call with my brother. I’ll NEVER play him without Thorin.

Manphibian (Amazing Spider-Man 025) was fine even though he couldn’t use his water-boosted HSS early on due to an enemy Thor, Frog of Thunder equipped with Armor Piercing. For 60 points, the scaly alien is solid.

Martian Manhunter (DC  10th Anniversary 019) worked well…with a loaded Utility Belt. Though in actuality, I didn’t do much pushing until the game was well in hand. All that penetrating damage looks great, but I don’t know how well that 16 DV can hold up for his 100-point cost. Will have to try him out on a “My Favorite Martian” theme.

Skrull Commando (Avengers Movie 008), both versions, was basically relegated to tie-up, and not very effective tie-up at that. At least he’s cheap. But unless it’s a Modern Age game, this guy’s NOT taking the place of the old Supernova generics for a Skrull team.

On the other hand, the Skrull General (Avengers Movie 032) brings a lot to the HeroClix table: Leadership and super-taxi to start, giving way to some PB and Outwit later. A must for Skrull swarms.

Skrull Infiltrator (Avengers Movie 207) is similarly indispensable, especially the Smoke Clouding, Barrier-building, Stealthy Close Combat Expert. Only the Barrier came into play, though. Looking forward to running a pair in a future Skrull team.

Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit 004) is absolutely needed to get his pokey dwarf company mobile. Thorin also was decent in the end of the fight, coming very close to snatching an unlikely victory. I’ll have to consider him for future Ruler  or Warrior teams for his double-Carry trait.

Worldbreaker (Marvel 10th Anniversary 013) absolutely cleaned house at his 150 level. Want to run him at full strength!

____

OK. Just one or two more weeks to go, and I’ll have run almost every unplayed piece and can go back to playing stuff I just wanna play all the time, like that Mysterio team from the last Battle Report. 🙂

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this past Saturday’s game was green. All characters had to be wearing the color or BE the color.

Among two other teams I ran, I finally got to run a force composed entirely of that fishbowl-helmed master of illusion:

MYSTERIO!

Mysterio (Web of Spider-Man) 75 x2
Rookie Mysterio (Ultimates) 44
Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 026) 70
Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 026) 15 x4
Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 206) 62
+ Utility Belt 13

=399 points. Mysterio has used something like pretty much every item on the Utility Belt in his schemes, so it seems a fit. I put it on one of the 15-point Mysterios to mess with my opponent’s mind. He ran Immortus, Lizard (Amazing Spider-Man), Iron Fist (Secret Invasion) and Electro (Amazing Spider-Man 021).

We were on the Carnival map for the funhouse theme in keeping with Mysterio’s penchant for showmanship. I managed to block much of Immortus’ LOF to keep my Probability Control active, tossing up Smoke Clouds to keep folks Stealthed. Had WAY too much fun rolling Super Senses and Probability Controlling miss after miss, saying “You fool! That was merely one of my illusions!” Even when I lost a pair of Mysterios — both of them 15-pointers— toward the game’s end, I could still taunt “You still haven’t found the REAL Mysterio!” I even got the chance to pull off one of the 75-pointers’ “Grand Reveal” SP and swap the wounded one for another of the cheapies — a move that works well with their inability to use Outwit more than once a turn anyway.

This game might’ve been the most fun I’ve had in a single HeroClix game.

The show wasn’t done yet. The next day, I ran a St. Patrick’s Day green team of:

Sandman (Web of Spider-Man) 101
Lizard (Amazing Spider-Man) 88 + Animal ATA 4
Electro (Amazing Spider-Man 206) 72
Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 026) 70
Scorpion (Web of Spider-Man) 62
Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 206) 62
Vulture (Amazing Spider-Man) 61
Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 026) 15 x 5

=595 points. And there’s more than 250 more points of green that I could’ve got on this March 17-green team (Doc Ock, Gobby), but I needed to limit it somewhere and still have room for Mysterios. I faced Kai, a really young player, about 8, with a decent grasp of the game despite not quite getting all the rules yet. He definitely wasn’t a pushover with his LOTR team of Legolas, Aragorn, Ringwraith, Mouth of Sauron, Boromir, two Ugluks and Frodo with The One Ring on the Okaara map. Even though I was closing in on a potential wipeout when we ran out of time, I’d only KO’d one of the Ugluks and Mouth.

Piece-by-heretofore-unplayed-piece:

Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 026) is OK, I guess. I say this only because I never saw his later clicks and didn’t really experience how he’d work then, with the bull’s eye painted squarely on his bowl-head.
On the other hand, Mysterio (Amazing Spider-Man 026b) was a star of both teams. It was tricky to get them mobilized for maximum lines of fire for Outwit, but once there, they were bosses at it. Best trick was countering a foe’s power then swapping with a Smoke Cloud-using Mysterio 026 in the backfield to keep that use of Outwit safe for the turn. They’re also fantastic sources of 10 AV for Syndicate members.

Lizard (Amazing Spider-Man) ripped things up once he finally got in the fray. Was torn between keeping
Shape Change and pushing to Tail Whip. He’ll make a good bruiser for a Scientist team or a partner for Vixen.

Electro (Amazing Spider-Man 206), with his 9 AV and 2 damage would seem a Running Shot bust. But with Syndicates around to boost AV and Energy Explosion, he did more damage than expected.

Vulture (Amazing Spider-Man) was a sorely needed taxi for the team.

____

There’s a LOT more Figure Flush to share in Friday’s part 2 — probably skipping Token Totin’ to give myself more time to compile it all. See ya then!

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Continuing this series talking about DC feats and BFC cards that I went back and customized with artwork for fun. (Here’s a link back to the original concept.) Today, Card Arts begins with Origin’s Feat cards.

The first feat of the set is Mercenary, a confusing feat with too much text to possibly fit an image. So on to the next, a feat I forgot to include when I uploaded these cards to Heroclixin’:

Disintegrate

Element Lad is disintegrating a boulder into a gas. This was a difficult image to find; it’s not so common to see a character literally reduce an object to dust (at least not in my comics collection or easily on Google).

I’ve maybe used this feat once, ever. It could have some relevance today by being one of the few ways to “destroy” relics. But those things have been almost thoroughly sidelined by Resources, now. Disintegrate was never a great feat even in its day, anyway.

This bit of 2005 art by Barry Kitson is from his run on Mark Waid’s reimagined “threeboot” Legion of Super-Heroes series. It won’t be the last in this Card Arts series.

______

Next time, Card Arts continues with another feat in Origin that got missed in my first go-’round.

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The report of Figure Flush week four continues.

In alphabetical order again:
Alfred Pennyworth (Batman 031) was a boon to the Batman Fam team he backed. Not enough to actually WIN, but he’s OK. I’ll probably look to the 25-point Unique version instead, though, in the future.

Azrael (Batman 104) just comes off as weak, weak, weak. Weak AV. Weak damage. WeakSAUCE. I can’t definitively say I’ll NEVER play him again — “never” is a mighty long time and his being a black character puts him in my permanent collection — but MAY never play him again.

I thought Beast (Fast Forces 003) would simply be a pale shadow of the excellent GSX Common, but he worked better than expected. I may consider this piece if points are a problem.

Cloak (Amazing Spider-Man 022) is going for two things: Carry and Willpower. At 55 points, he’s a bit too pricey for JUST those things, though, and he’s got to take damage to get to his more useful Poison and Perplex clicks.

Dagger (Amazing Spider-Man 003) spent the game too tied up to use her range powers or heal. Will have to be careful of that, going forward. She’s the key to successful Split/Merge tricks with the C&D duo from Secret Invasion.

Daimon Hellstrom (Amazing Spider-Man 009r), played at the rookie level, is an OK 2nd stringer. Armored Mystics is never bad. Neither is Psychic Blast. He’ll see play on my Angry Mob team, for sure.

Unlike most of the figures in this Flush series, Dracula (Amazing Spider-Man 016) got the full workout in a three-round tournament. Fantastic monster who nevertheless won’t see much future play since I’m not a fan of the character and he won’t fit many of my goofball themes.

Hulk (Galactic Guardians 102) took too long to get into the fray and was quickly dispatched when he did. I played his Banner pog-self all wrong, too. This Hulk just doesn’t have the juice to hack it. Doubtful he’ll make any teams in my hands.

Iceman (Fast Forces 006) is, at last, a solid version of the character for a price that doesn’t seem like totally wasting points. Being able to “freeze” move-and-attack powers is key to using him well.

Magneto (Marvel 10th Anniversary 015) plays like what he is: a stripped-down House of M Magneto. Too point-and-click for me, and that costume was always ridiculous.

Man-Thing (Amazing Spider-Man 033r) is very glass-jawed at the 100-point level. If I ever run him again, it’ll be with the Thunderbolts ATA to help his defense somehow.

Morbius (Amazing Spider-Man 028) would’ve been fine if not for one of those absolute game-killing user errors I seem prone to making. See, he’s got this ability to double-Outwit a non-defense power that I forgot to use EVEN THOUGH I MOVED HIM THERE FOR THAT EXPRESS PURPOSE. So instead of neutering two dangerous enemies, he got KO’d in no time.

Sigh.

I’m not much for the character, so I don’t know when I’ll run Morbius again. But I want to use him correctly, at least.

 Nightwing and Batgirl (Batman 100) led a Batman Family team. Though this duo is highly dangerous with Duo Attack, getting that ability countered made the couple fail to win. I’m not enough of a fan of either to plan any more teams around this 176-point figure, though it’s nice to have.

Orc Swordsman (Hobbit 003b) has Perplex, which the Dracula-led Monster team he was on needed. A pity his damage is so low that he can’t contribute much else. Still, he’ll be on ANY orc team I play, and most Monster squads.

Rogue (Fast Forces 005) was the one who held off that Nightwing/Batgirl duo with her adjacency-based Outwit. I like her; she’s much more economical than the 128-point GSX Rogue. She’ll see the field again sometime.

Spider-Man (Galactic Guardians 104), like his fellow “Newer FF” teammate Hulk, doesn’t hack it in today’s game only a year since his introduction. There are so many better Spideys to pick from. This one’s inability to even so much as Leap/Climb into position to do his Outwitting was his problem in this game.

Werewolf By Night (Amazing Spider-Man 015) wastes his first two clicks in every game he’s in, which I hate about him because he’s prone to getting one-shot (and did). On the other hand, those “Full Moon” clicks are amazing, and even the Shape Change kept him in games longer than he should’ve. Fun piece.

Zuvembie (Amazing Spider-Man 006) wants braaaaains.

_____

Monday, Card Art returns after a brief hiatus, and maybe some more Token Totin’ on Tuesday or Thursday. Mid-week and Friday, look for Figure Flush week five.

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No characters could share keywords for this tournament.

Animal Man (DC 75th Anniversary W-5)
Bilbo Baggins (Hobbit 001)
Cloak (Amazing Spider-Man 202)
Emma Frost (Marvel 10th Anniversary 014)
False Facer (Streets of Gotham 007a)
Gardener (Infinity Gauntlet 004)
Hannibal King (Amazing Spider-Man 013b)
Howard Stark (Avengers Movie 021)
Knuckles (Infinity Challenge)
Wonder Woman (Streets of Gotham 034)

This 800-point team wasn’t exactly optimized, being thrown together solely from the Figure Flush roster of never-played pieces. It wilted like tissue paper in a fireplace under its first opposition: Darkseid, Big Figure, Saint Walker, a stack of Orc pogs and Nightcrawler with a Utility Belt. I’m not certain I’ve ever boned myself worse in a HeroClix match by giving up map choice…and then picking the absolute wrong starting area because I was worried about the wrong character. These are the kinds of games I hate: when I can only levy one or two attacks per turn while my opponent can answer with four or more.

It’s the price of trying to have F.U.N., I guess.

The 2nd round was so full of misses on both players’ part that I had to play sad violin music just about every roll.

Literally. I have a twelve-and-a-half minute-long track on my iPod — “String Quartet – Twilight of Heroes” from the Giant Robo anime — that’s just about the saddest violin music you ever heard during three of its four parts. It was hilarious.

The final round was more just a chance for the losing players to play a game to last man standing. It was characterized by both of us missing that one staggering blow that would irrevocably swing the game in his direction OVER and OVER.

Piece-by-piece:

I wrote this about Animal Man (DC 75th Anniversary W-5) for Pojo.com a couple of years ago:

His opening click is sad, offensively. He can’t copy Special Powers or the standard powers they grant access to. His DV is mediocre and, all too often, soft. “White Senses” could heal him out of his best clicks. And how good CAN the powers of character 82 points and less BE, really, without the stats to back them up?

Unfortunately, my every fear of those weaknesses were borne out (except the healing part, which he was never able to do). Thanks to my #1 favorite figure from 2012, I decided to get this White Lantern for Animal teams, but I’m having some buyer’s remorse. I’ll play him with Vixen and/or Alyosha Kraven or not at all…

Bilbo Baggins (Hobbit 001) was kinda the UNlucky piece, as it seemed that he was never in place to use his “The Lucky Number” SP Probability Control or nearly every reroll he allowed was a miss. The little hobbit will still have a spot on some future team, though…probably my Wee People theme of small-sculpt figures.

Cloak (Amazing Spider-Man 202) was surprisingly good despite not being the greatest threat on the board. All that Improved Movement makes his early Charge+Exploit combo really solid. This wildcard fig will see a lot of play from me.

Emma Frost (Marvel 10th Anniversary 014) was great. I opted to switch her to diamond form when she was hit hard. I’d like to try her again without shifting sometime.

False Facer (Streets of Gotham 007a), despite being mostly filler — I should have made sure to pair him with Cloak to get more attacks from him. But he still overachieved, landed both early and KO shots on the Collector.

Gardener (Infinity Gauntlet 004) was a glorified TK piece in most of the games. Not being able to fly and being a doublebase piece hurts his ability to use Stealth. I also completely forgot to use the attached Time Gem’s Super Senses. But the upside? Growing perma-hindering terrain for Stealthy folks isn’t shabby. Of all the Elders of the Universe, he’s the only one I might keep around.

Hannibal King (Amazing Spider-Man 013b) was a feast-or-famine piece. Either he gets one-shot by Darkseid or he tears enemy teams to shreds.

Howard Stark (Avengers Movie 021) was, frankly, the MVP of the team with his Outwit and Enhancement. If he weren’t limited to just two keywords, and actually had the SHIELD TA as well as the keyword, I might play him more often.

Knuckles (Infinity Challenge) was just temporary tie-up. It’s all he’ll EVER be!! And people wonder why he turns to crime.

Wonder Woman (Streets of Gotham 034) underperformed, getting killed in a single turn in the first two matches and the only character to die in all three. But that’s because her damage potential is so high and her stats/powers “hulk up” a little. So I’ll definitely run her on my next “Diana’s Wardrobe” team if the points work out.

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Much more Figure Flush on Friday.