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HeroClix_SpiderMan-BeyondAmazing_01_logo
Here we are again with another pocket checklist for the latest set:

Screen Shot 2023-03-28 at 9.37.54 PM

(Don’t download this. It’s just a tiny pic of the 10-inch-deep real one)

“But wait,” someone is saying. “Why are you bothering with this, now that WizKids actually made its own checklist again, at last?

SMBAofficialchecklist

It’s a nice little bonus for folks who buy a booster box (as are the hint cards for newer players or those who don’t think of combos)

But mine:

  1. are larger
  2. but still pocket-sized
  3. have space to check off pieces
  4. include point costs
  5. list more figures and elements

So I’m gonna keep doing them, even as I applaud WizKids’ efforts.

Now if we could just get that collation improved and quality control in place…

 

Here’s the link to the full-sized Heroclixin’ checklists:

 

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In the Before Times, I’d made a trip to HeroClix Worlds Championship in Memphis. Wrote about it here. But this one was for real, for all four days, with me entering actual events and things!

 

FIRST THING: BATTLE ROYALS

Some players get salty at pulling a nice figure in their draft but not getting to keep it. But man, I love these. It’s getting to PLAY that piece that I like best. And if I play well enough? I *do* get to keep it.

I also like being able to fight for the right to take that best-thing-on-the-board. And Worlds is THEEE BEST venue to do it, because WizKids adds lots to the prize pool.

I walked off with a chase Apocalypse. Totally worth skipping the Silver Age event I’d originally planned to play.

 

SECOND THING: TEAMS

I was there with a couple of other Georgia boys, Matthew and Phillip, me being the third and final member of the team. Here’s how Teams works:

The three of you pay for a brick. Build three 300-point forces from the contents.

Matt used the Cap Britain Rogue prime and Phil and I talked him into adding Monarch. Phillip made a S.W.O.R.D. team. I built this from our remaining X-Men:

Cyclops (X of Swords 021) 35. Recruiter, Leadership.
Dani Moonstar (X of Swords 009) 50. High AV triple Mind Control
Gorgon (X of Swords 014) @35 + Sword Bearer 5. I forget which sword, though. Outwit.
Hope Summers  (X of Swords 052) @100. Main attacker … in theory.
Peeper  (X of Swords 018) 25. For range boost and Empower.
Storm  (X of Swords 001) 45 + Sword Bearer 5. I forget which sword, though. Perplex and FREE Force Blast

= 300 points

with Recruiter trait sideliners Bishop, Cable, Colossus, Cypher, Honey Badger, Iceman, Lockheed and one other I can’t quite recall

We got off to a hot start, going 3-0. But I didn’t win another single game. I’d been so concerned with the Sideline that I didn’t realize Hope was seriously lacking the powers she needed to be the lead attacker instead of a 100-point support fig. (If I did it again, I’d drop Gorgon, Peeper and both sword equips to fit on Cable at full points. Now THAT pair could fight!)

 

THIRD THING: TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

So you had to have one character representing each.

Tinker = Scientist keyword. Phastos (Eternals 020).
Tailor = Celebrity keyword. Captain America (Disney Plus 056) @125
Soldier = Soldier keyword. Rikki Barnes (Empyre 072).
Spy = Spy keyword. WOTR chase Black Widow (War of the Realms 057).

Silly me, I actually stuck to just four characters. But the scenario was a requirement, not a limitation, so at 400 points, players were able to fit, say, legacy Thanos onto the TTSS minimums, sooo … I faced that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I still won a match. And none of the 3 rounds was a blowout, though the second saw the most 1’s I have EVER seen in a HeroClix game. Nearly every attack had a 1. A Plasticity character needed FOUR ROLLS (that’s three straight Probs) to get a breakaway. That’s how wild it was.

My Teams captain Matt wound up placing first. While others were cheesing it up with meta team + TTSS stuff, he won out with a much more in-the-spirit force.

 

FOURTH: Worlds!

So this year, Worlds Championship was an open event. No WKO points were required to play; just having them would earn you a bye from the first round.

Somehow, I actually had WKO points! (Probably left over from a top 16 finish from late 2019 or early 2020 … I forget.) But I was here to play, not win, so I skipped the bye.

See, I had a dream.

Because a thing I decided to do early on in this hobby was to build a competitive team composed solely of Black characters. When I started, back in 2005-2006, that was an impossibility. But by 2017, I totally did it. I would’ve taken that force to Worlds. I made my friends playtest their best squads against it.

Well, this time I was —AT— Worlds and this was my shot.

Captain America (Disney Plus ) @125. Hyperspeedy big hitter, Defender, anti-Stealth, plus Outwit pog.
Monica Rambeau (Empyre 041) @ 50. Range sniper and esp. Leadership.
Maggott (House of X 050). Prob Control and Eany/Meany alpha striker.
The Watcher (Disney Plus 101b) 40. TK, Defend and Outwit
Teen Lantern (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 035) @ 30. Mega taxi, free mini Barrier, Prob and, with Pumpkin Bombs, an attack role.
Emotional Modifier 10. Vital anti-Thanos tech
Pumpkin Bombs 5. For Teen Lantern.

= 300 POINTS OF BLACK CHARACTERS FOR ALL-BLACK-EVERYTHING SQUAD.

Round 1 I lost to a Thanos + Collector + Molecule Man + something else I can’t recall build in Round 1 on my Void map. I was always going to be at a disadvantage in this matchup, especially since this was before Thanos’ big errata. (He’d already gotten his Mind Gem errata.) But a fielder’s choice move on my part put me on my back foot almost immediately: Wanting to get in better position for attacks, I Sidestepped Maggott away from the squad and didn’t move Cap with him. But I’d overlooked the damage boost Thanos got from Collector and because Mag lost the Toughness from Cap, he was one-shot. That left me without the extra firepower I needed when, later, I easily broke the Barrier that Thanos hid behind and brought him to my team to pounce upon DESPITE his use of Doom’s Time Platform to try to escape Cap.

At least I scored the Time Platform! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Round 2: I faced the following X-men swap force on Otherworld:

Venom Magneto 35
Jubilee (House of X 054) 50
Venom Wolverine 75
Deadpool (X of Swords 048) 40
Cypher (X of Swords 002) 25
Hope Summers (X of Swords 052) 40
Multiple Man (Rise & Fall) x3 10
Lockheed and Jonathan pogs

This was a foreboding match, because that Jubilee has great advantages on that map. But this time, everything went right for me.

  1. My opponent made a minor error, not placing Deadpool in the center of his formation.
  2. That freed me to try being aggressive instead of just waiting for the Jubilee assault or needing to equip the Emotional Modifier (which was really just anti-Thanos tech tbh)
  3.  And here’s how one small change can make a big difference: After a playtest match ahead of Worlds, I got the idea of equipping Teen Lantern with the Pumpkin Bombs, giving her Energy Explosion and the ability to smash walls like Barrier. That latter skill had already paid off in the previous match vs. Thanos; this time it was the EE that showed its worth.
  4. Between all my force landing most of their attacks, I scored KOs of Wolvie, Mags, the pogs and at least a pair of Multiple Men for a decisive victory.

Got my one win in Worlds with this F.U.N. Black team — BUCKET LIST ITEM CHECKED. I dropped and went to do the next thing:

 

FIFTH THING: X of Swords Organized Play Worlds Event

This was an event where all three Months are played in a row.

First pod was F.U.N.! I drafted Captain Britain and managed a 2nd place win to walk away with her.

Second pod was wack; none of us opened a single SR. But I won a Mojo prize.

Third pod slipped away from me. I really wanted that Pestilence SR! But I placed high enough overall on the leaderboard to get the Genesis grand prize I wanted.

 

 

SIXTH THING: Pauper

I’d also wanted to go All Black Everything in this format, but the team was too weak. So I did this instead:

Blade (War of the Realms 013)
T’Challa Star-Lord (Disney Plus 025) @100
Skinny Steve Rogers  (Disney Plus 002)
Storm  (X of Swords 001) 
Summoner (X of Swords 110b) 
The Watcher (Disney Plus 101b)

= 300 points of PAUPER (almost) ALL-BLACK EVERYTHING

Round 1 was vs Dennis, a Mexican player (whose teammate went all the way to winning Worlds!) fielding Jean, Cyclops, Magik, Peepers x2, Roulette, Danger Room Mystique, Cypher and Dazzler. I had the worst luck, rolling snakes on a T’Challa PW and missing a needed Flurry with Blade later — both attacks that would have turned the game well in my favor against a strong opponent.

Round 2 I faced a GOTG theme of THREE Novas and Rocket Raccoon and one other I can’t recall on my Aunt Petunia map. The Novas put me on my heels fast, but Summoner’s ranged Poison turned the tables, scoring me the needed KOs.

Round 3, though, was my first-ever actual match against Phoenix Nest leader, ROC Hall of Famer and longtime long-distance clix pal Edward Shelton! We had a great time and I learned a lot just playing him, even as I dealt him a loss (though he’d decided to play aggro because we were both out of the running to win it all and it was time to have F.U.N. instead of him Barriering up). He surprised me with an easy one-shot of Summoner while I got him with Storm’s directional FREE knock back skills.

Afterward, he convinced me into swapping in a character so I could rebuild my pauper team into an All Black Everything version after all. But that’s a future post.

——

And that there is a summarized version of my Worlds 2022 trip. I had a blast and am definitely considering a return this year in 2023. Regarding that: This spring, WizKids announced it’s not doing its annual rotation of sets from Modern until after Worlds this year! So mayyyybe that means I might try out that All Black Everything team again — this time for a REAL run at a championship.

That would require a LOT MORE practice on my part. *ponders*

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Welcome back to a regular feature: looking at how legacy cards might be a F.U.N. way to bring some old pieces back into Modern/Silver play or rework some old figs that never really worked right before (or don’t anymore due to rule changes).

Or, possibly, ruin them.

Here’s the latest batch, from the first Marvel set of 2023 — and the first to rock the new 2023 rules — Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing. We’ll look at what the original figure did, then at what’s new, and wrap with our opinion on it all and whether it’s F.U.N. (Fair, Useful, Nifty) … or nah.

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L001 SPIDER-MAN
(Secret Invasion, 2008)

It's like a toy found in a "Happy Meal."

THEN: “McSpidey” had the silliest-looking sculpt for the character in history — one that yours truly had to adjust. But he was a pretty decent piece to play, with SP Flurry that, IF he hit both shots, could quasi-Incap the second attack instead of damaging — which was better when Incap could deal pushing damage and was an important way of getting around the Mystics team ability. But lacking Charge or other moving attack, he was really dependent on Telekinesis to get to use this SP. Being a wild card, he needed teammates for best effect, anyway.

NOW: Along with a point shaving from 50 to 40, he gets the Charge the old one needed via trait and part of his old SP is essentially moved into the trait as well — this time, simplified to give a hit target a token. BUT he loses Flurry entirely. His new SP is Super Strength and Precision Strike. And with the changes in the Spider-Man Ally team ability, he’s no longer a wild card. Same keywords as before: Avengers , Fantastic Four , Reporter , Scientist — but adds Spider-Man Family, which didn’t exist in 2008.

F.U.N.? This piece is iconic for all the wrong reasons, but it’s nice to see it return and made playable again, though the loss of Flurry is a blow for sure. Not meta by any stretch, it’s pure F.U.N.

———

L013 STILT-MAN
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man, 2016)

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THEN: One of the goofiest villains in Marvel clix, this piece brought some unique tricks to the field and ended up our top F.U.N. fig of 2016. What we said then:

At normal height, he’s a Quake+Force Blast piece that can take one solid hit for the team thanks to his trait that allows him to drop a Leg Extension and take a max of 1 damage (and maybe none). As a giant, he can survive such hits at least twice and gains Giant Reach to make his Quake power much more effective (and also become a taxi). But it’s as a colossal that he can use his Colossal Retaliation SP, making him a deterrent to enemy attacks along with even further Giant Reach range.

NOW: Instead of having to add Extensions in construction at a cost of +5 each to his old 50 price, he gets them free (as tokens) via Rally dice — though he starts with a couple anyway. Each Extension token can absorb a click of damage he would normally take; this even works against penetrating and unavoidable damage! Another trait makes him giant if he has 2 Extensions, colossal with 4, and 6+ boosts all his combat values. His new SP is a new version of his Colossal Retaliation (when he’s colossal) that, like the old version, isn’t barred if another pal retaliates or is placed first. Same keywords (Armor, Sinister Syndicate) and team ability as before.

F.U.N.? That Stilt-Man grows during the game rather than shrinks is a really F.U.N. and character accurate new approach to his design. It also serves to balance him a bit so he isn’t the usual Negative Play Experience retaliation piece and allows him to fit onto teams better. But … WHAT’S HIS ACTUAL POINT COST? Because 49 — a WHOLE SOLITARY POINT below before — seems like a typo. (As of the original 3/19/2023 publication of this article, no errata for Wilbur here was issued.)

———

L039a CLOAK & DAGGER
(Secret Invasion, 2008)

 

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THEN: The inseparable ebony and ivory couple were one of a number of duo figs from WK, starting with a Phasing+Stealth SP — neither of which worked well with their Transporter ability (Hypersonic Speed-lite and Passenger:1). Later in their 8-click dial, they traded opening Penetrating/Psychic Blast for penetrating Energy Explosion — which also didn’t work with Transporter. And anyway, Transporter was -2 attack, so it was marginally better to hang in hindering and shoot from 6 range and hope their 9 or 8 AV could land while their Energy Shield/Deflection or Super Senses or Willpower could hold defensively.

NOW: They get a lot of boosts. First, they swap Transporter symbol for Wing. Next, they get Improved Targeting: Hindering, which is key for their new trait “Light of Hope to the Innocent, Dark Justice to the Guilty.” It boosts their AV +2 when they attack targets hiding in hindering and boosts their own DV +2 when they’re in clear terrain. Their still-Stealthy speed SP swaps in Hypersonic Speed for the old Phasing, and if they hit a solo enemy in hindering, that enemy can’t be targeted by its allies — not for Perplex, Support, Prob, ANYTHING — for a turn. C+D’s later SP combos EE with Precision Strike, healing them 1 if they KO a foe (but only if the duo’s in clear terrain). Retaining their old wild card status via Team Player TA while keeping the new Spidey TA, they also add the keywordsDark X-Men, X-Men and, for some reason, Sinister Syndicate to their original Marvel Knights and New Warriors ones. All this with a point shaving from 109 points down to just 65.

F.U.N.? OK, I have to mention that this legacy card highlights one of the many flaws with the new card design, as it has THE ENTIRELY WRONG FIGURE in the illustration. But this is an otherwise perfectly F.U.N. pick for a legacy that takes an old classic that never quite worked right and makes it a little more viable.

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L039b PETER THE HUNTER
(What If, 2017)

 

 

wi039

THEN:  At the start of the game, this weird alternate version of Peter Parker could spawn four semi-autonomous Kraven family bystanders that carried each other and had a range of useful powers. For 90 points, he was interesting to play aggressively, since he could heal to top dial and avoid being KOed if he racked up his own KOs of enemies 50 points or higher. Or, alternately, you could stash him on the Sideline and replace an in-game Spider-Man or Kraven the Hunter.

NOW: Each of his pogs are generated one at a time as FREE, and they don’t get their semi-autonomy or Carry skills. He also drops his SIDELINE ACTIVE trait and his heal-via-KOs trait. All this loss leads to his cost plummeting to 50. His gains? He adds Spider-Man Ally and Sinister Syndicate TAs — where before he had none — and the Syndicate keyword as well to his original Animal, SpideyFam and Warrior keywords. And his new “Please End This” trait allows him to rack up Mission Points every turn equal to his Trophy tokens. But…

F.U.N.? …Oh, the new card design strikes again: Petey here is missing a whole trait that tells how he even GETS Trophy tokens. The designers got so concerned with non-essential stuff like the (too-large) picture and the WHOLLY UNNECESSARY DIAL on the (front of the) card (instead of the back where it belongs), they overlooked ACTUAL VITAL info like this.

(Errata that finally published 3/16/2023 reads: “KILLED MY GREATEST ENEMIES… AND CLOSE FRIENDS: When Peter the Hunter or a Kravinoff bystander KO’s an opposing character, after resolutions turn Peter the Hunter to click #1 and give him a Trophy token. // When Peter the Hunter would be KO’d, you may instead remove a Trophy token and turn him to his last non-KO click. Protected: Pulse Wave.” But it never should have been necessary … and it’s the worst errata this game has ever needed.)

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L040 SPIDER-MAN
(Ultimates, 2004)

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THEN: Leap/Climb used to be handed out like candy to Spider-Man figs — bad-tasting candy. But at least Backpack Spidey here was inexpensive: just 31 points! Super Senses could protect him while he waited to push and hit with the heavy object he was likely holding. Later, the 15-point Pounce feat made him a more potent threat.

NOW: They gave him the wild card status this Rookie version needed to be as playable as the Veteran from the set. He also gets a trait allowing him to gain one of a themed team’s keywords and join up to not break theme. Finally, he has trait Perplex that, if he targets an enemy, allows him to copy the target’s printed AV and DV until the next turn … soooo mayyyybe he can survive that turn waiting to hit with the object or terrain he’s holding.

F.U.N.? While it’s great that he can cheat onto themed teams with ease, since those themed teams aren’t as important anymore, he doesn’t seem super for being basically the same cost as before. (I wonder why they didn’t pick the 042 Veteran version, which was one of my favorites of 2004’s figures, instead.)

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L048 FROG-MAN
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man, 2016)

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THEN: An old favorite of this site. Here’s what we said about Froggy then:

His trait to deal himself free horizontal or vertical 4-square knock back can lengthen his already impressive 10 Leap/Climb, and careful positioning can enable him to deal free knock back to friend and foe alike. That enemy [shooter] perched on the roof turning the map into his personal killbox? Send Frog-Man next to him with L/C, then knock the sniper to the ground!

NOW: He gets Sidestep that lets him knock back an enemy in a direction of his choice afterward. Also, via the same trait, he and adjacent pals can’t be knocked back. A second trait gives him Force Blast, both normal and as FREE, along with a rider that lets him token up a character who didn’t get knocked the usual full 3 squares. He adds the Armor and Avengers keywords to his original Spider-Man Family and also gets the Spider-Man TA where he once had none. Now costs 30 points, down from 35.

F.U.N.? With knockback becoming dangerous again, this piece is suddenly meta again — and in a much more aggressive way than ever. We object to this on character grounds as well because there’s no way Eugene Patillo should be this good.

———

 

L058 MORLUN
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man, 2016)

 

sfsm058

THEN: Back in 2016, this big boy was a 200-point vampire piece, starting on click 4 of his -click life and Stealing Energy with attacks. But with only Charge to move and attack and no protection against Outwit or penetrating damage, all too often he’d get dropped before he could meaningfully inflict his Slash marker on a hit target — his not-top-dial SP allowing him to pursue Animal or Spider Family notwithstanding.

NOW:  The Slash mechanic is gone and he no longer gets extra healing from Animal or SpiderFam targets. Instead, he has Poison via trait and heals whenever he damages with it, similar to his Steal Energy. And he gives hit foes Imprint tokens, which allow him, via his rewritten SP, to be FREE placed next to that target. Said SP also has Phasing and Plasticity. But it’s still not top-dial and ideally, you’ll never see it. His keywords (Keywords: Animal, Brute, Cosmic, Monster, Mystical) are unchanged.

F.U.N.? It’s definitely a Fair piece, but Useful? Not really, even at his slimmed-down 150 points. With just Charge to start and no defense against Outwit or penetrating damage across most of his dial, he still might not ever work.

———

L087 CARNAGE
(Ultimates, 2004)

ul087

 

THEN: The very first iteration of Carnage was also the worst ever. At a fairly weighty 87 points, he lacked moving attack powers and depended on Leap/Climb to get in position — or the help of a Telekinesis ally (or the Pounce feat, a set later). At least he had BCF for solid damage potential, and his Toughness to take a light hit. (Back then, Perplex didn’t work on your own defense.) Later Incap did nothing but probably bloat his cost some 20 points, I reckon. No team ability, either.

NOW: Kletus here gets Spider-Man TA, to start. Trait #1, “Now It’s a Party!” gives him +1 AV and DV for each adjacent foe and he can attack them ALL at once — with separate Blades rolls if he’s using that power. His other trait gives Steal Energy that heals off each hurt character instead just a blanket 1 healing.

F.U.N.? That Incap in the middle still does him no favors, but at 50 points, he’s pretty OK to field on your Monster and Symbiote teams (though he loses his old Brute and Martial Artist keywords — neither of which quite fit him, IMO).

———

L088 SPIDER-MAN
(Clobbering’ Time, 2003)

 

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THEN: Uniques like this were the early game’s version of Super Rare figures. But they weren’t always very good. Even at the time, this six-armed Spider-Man was terrible: No moving attack, just Leap/Climb. Single-target Incap. A poor 4 range. Weak 16 or lower DV … without even Super Senses to help on the back half of his 8-click life. Flurry shows up there but his AV sinks to 8 and below, not even good for the lower stats of the day. Two clicks of Outwit wrap things up, but 6 AV and 12 DV — and lacking even the usual wild card TA to help him — make it nothing but a signal that his 67 points are ripe to take.

NOW: He gets a trait or two to make him playable at last. First is “Becoming More of a Monster,” which gives Steal Energy and allows him to roll FOUR dice instead of 2 in attacks, and use the best two for the result — AFTER Prob Controls and dice replacements.  Then he’s got “Don’t Look at Me!,” a Shape Change that allows him to place in an adjacent square after resolutions. Tops it all off with Improved Movement: Elevated and addition of the Spider-Man Ally TA to give him an extra layer of rollout potential.

F.U.N.? He’s still not good, but at just 40 points, he can afford to be just OK. Writing this convinced me to seek this old figure out — and add it to Monster and Spider-Man Family keyword teams.

———

L096 SPIDER-MAN
(Fantastic Forces, 2005)

ff096

THEN: Another Unique from the early game, this first iteration of Miguel O’Hara was not great: No moving attack, just Leap/Climb that wasn’t even good with the Pounce feat because he had Blades/Claws/Fangs, which wasn’t compatible.  A poor 4 range with Incap later, and without Super Senses to help on the back half of his 8-click life. Two clicks of Outwit wrap things up, but 7 AV and 14 DV make it a signal that his 92 points are ripe to take. But at least this time he had the usual wild card TA to maybe help him Outwit from 10 squares away — and the Willpower to help him run to cover.

NOW: No longer a wild card, this 65-point redo has a couple of new traits. First is one that gives him Vision tokens when he’s damaged by an enemy. He can spend them all the first time he faces KO and heal the amount. His other trait is Prob Control that he can use as many additional times as he has Vision tokens — and immediately boosts all his stats until his next turn, helping his poor old combat values. Keeps his old Exiles, Future and Scientist keywords and adds Spider-Man Family.

F.U.N.? This is a not-bad update. It’s a pure F.U.N. card for a deserving top-tier sculpt.

———

LG004 CARNAGE
(The Mighty Thor, 2017)

tmtG004

THEN: One of the set’s many colossal booster pulls, this retaliation piece became an absolute meta game staple. Forget his higher costs of 300 or 200 or 100* points: For just 10, he could FREE ‘port across the board via Colossal Retaliation and attack  opponents, then spawn a Symbiote pog just as annoying as he was for free, without condition. It was gross and made sightings of this huge piece in multiples commonplace at competitive events.

* (Well, OK, his 100+ point levels were also kinda playable because, unlike nearly every other retaliator, he also had Colossal Retaliation on his top dials instead of just the end. Again, gross. AND with “Planet of the Symbiotes” he could pay a few points extra in construction to START with the pog(s). SUPER gross.)

NOW:  “Planet of the Symbiotes” now nerfs enemy Super Senses -1 — even after he’s KO’d, if he’s 225, 125 or 75 points. But he still does it even at 10 points. Speaking of that price point — because it’s THE price point — his retaliation SP now gives Blades/Claws/Fangs — which he HAS to use during his retal maneuver now. But if he hits with it, he can HEAL HALF THE BCF ROLL PAST HIS START LINE. And his other SP, “Colossal Indifference,” is still a STOP click — but no longer prevents him from normal attacking smaller foes. He gains the new Symbiote keyword along with his old Monster and Maximum Carnage keywords.

F.U.N.? The one nod to possible balance is that he no longer generates a Symbiote during Colossal Retaliation. He’s good enough by himself. But Clixed Off podcaster Daniel Powell assured me that this new version is even better than the old, which is why the card and figure was commanding such high prices during prerelease. This Carnage is NOT F.U.N. He’s gonna be a problem.

———

Sigh. Legacy cards are always such a mixed bag.

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rock-lee-gifs

Back in 2021’s rules overhaul — less than two years ago! — we looked at each power and how each lost or won something. And we found that the streamlining back then felt like weights coming off.

Although this year’s version isn’t quite as massive, it’s still significant and no power will be unaffected. So let’s take a deeper look at each change.

kitty pryde

SPEED POWERS

FLURRY:

BUFFED in 2021, it neither gains nor loses much now other than possible interaction with Quake.

Still F.U.N.? Yes — and possibly more relevant in a more melee-focused game.

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LEAP/CLIMB:

NERFED in 2021 and still bad today. In fact, with the new elevation movement rules, it loses EVEN MORE of what little makes the power special.

Still F.U.N.? Nope. L/C continues to be one of the more unexciting PAC powers in existence, and really needs our F.U.N. Fix for it: “If this character attacks or is attacked, after resolutions you may place it in an adjacent square.”

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PHASING/TELEPORT:

It retains its minor boost from two years ago, where just having the power means easier breakaway from Plasticity, even if you’re not activating it.

Still F.U.N.? Yes. Phasing remains perfect — and with more cramped maps, it might be more important that ever.

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EARTHBOUND/NEUTRALIZED: No change.

Still F.U.N.? No,, it still needs our F.U.N. Fix — “Deal this character 1 unavoidable damage when it gets a 2nd action token” — but it remains what it it’s supposed to be: weakness.

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CHARGE:

BUFFED in 2021 by new combos and multi-targets but NERFED by loss of knockback immunity, it should get a lot better with smaller maps, elevation rules and new interactions with Super Strength. New Telekinesis ranges might hamper it, though.

Still F.U.N.?  It’s legit my favorite of the move and attack powers.

————————————

MIND CONTROL:

In 2021 it was BUFFED by minimum range increase from 4 to 6, but that’s been completely reversed. The controlled character also loses Quake as a potential power to use.

Still F.U.N.?  Every time I use this power and any of the 3+ rolls fail, I say “THIS IS WHY I HATE MIND CONTROL” but the power is actually OK as is.

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PLASTICITY:

It got a needed NERF in 2021, but a surprising, hidden boost against giants, who still need a 6 to break away from it instead of the normal 3-6 roll.

Still F.U.N.?  Plasticity is just about where it should be.

————————————

FORCE BLAST:

It got a big BUFF in 2021 by getting a new minimum range of 6 instead of adjacency; now it’s NERFED to just 4. But it gets a HUGE boost with the return of knockback damage.

Still F.U.N.?  I’m looking forward to using Force Blast more than ever. It’s still situational, but with knockback damage returning and few figs immune to knockback now, on smaller maps, this power is finally worth using.

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SIDESTEP:

New elevation rules make for a massive mobility BUFF in 2023.

Still F.U.N.? Still possibly the best standard power in game. But it loses some F.U.N. factor for us because while scaling a building wall as FREE (thanks to new movement rules) is semi-apropos for a superhero, it maybe ought not to be with a mere celeb like Mary Jane Watson. But there have been weirder things in HeroClix over the past 20 years… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

————————————

HYPERSONIC SPEED:

Though BUFFED in 2021 by a host of new power combos, it loses one of them — Quake — and it likes the extra reach granted by TK more than most powers.

Still F.U.N.? Yes, still one of the best. Just a little worse now.

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STEALTH:

It got NERFED in 2021 by green terrain changes and non-effect vs. adjacent foes. It’s also harder to use with heavy object terrain no longer hindering line of fire.

Still F.U.N.? Yeah, it’s OK. About in line with how it should be.

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RUNNING SHOT:

Mildly BUFFED in 2021 and tweaked to grant a basic attack option a while later, it gets some new interactions with Super Strength, of all things. It loses a bit with TK being reined in, but smaller maps mean it’s got better reach than ever.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Still one of the best powers.

 

Wolverine_Jackman

ATTACK POWERS

 

BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS:

It retains all the BUFFs it got in 2021. Also of course combos with Charge, which gains some prominence.

Still F.U.N.? Yup

————————————

ENERGY EXPLOSION:

In 2021, its new combos with Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Precision Strike made us nervous. In practice, the combos came up so infrequently that we think our worries were overblown.

Still F.U.N.? Sure

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PULSE WAVE:

Heavily NERFED in 2021 to only deal 1 damage ever, this year it gets a further streamlining: 4 range. Overall, this is a hefty boost to the power: low range PW gets more reach and Perplex, when used with care, can still modify it. Meanwhile, certain characters with SP “Pulse Wave with a range of X” can now use it at that full range, no more halving required!

We should also mention the unexpected BUFF PW got in ’21 that it keeps today: Any power cut off by being in range of the power — not hit, not targeted/targetable, just in range — has its duration ended. So a Pulse Waver can nullify a ton of Outwits just by using it.

Still F.U.N.? Heroclixin’ was split before, but I’m sold on the power as it is now. It would be nice to add our F.U.N. Fix to make it do 2 damage always, but it’s a low priority change — and might be too much, honestly.

————————————

QUAKE:

Last time, it was BUFFED by tons of new combos while it was NERFED by loss of knockback damage. Today, it gets a big BUFF by being a new way to wreck terrain —especially walls — and by the return of knock back damage. It loses a step as it returns to being a dedicated CLOSE action, so it no longer activates with any close attack, like those granted by Hypersonic Speed.

F.U.N. or nah? On balance, this is a big upgrade and looks more F.U.N. than ever.

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SUPER STRENGTH:

The victim of near-constant NERFING across the years since 2017, this power gets massively BUFFED this year.

  • Its KNOCKBACK matters much more with KB damage.
  • New terrain rules give it many more weapons at hand, and with much greater damage potential.
  • It is also a solid utility power with Telekinesis taking a step back.
  • It’s a needed hard counter to Barrier.

F.U.N. or nah? The worst standard attack power in HeroClix finally is looking good again.

————————————

INCAPACITATE:

It was heavily NERFED in 2021, and despite working in more combos…

…Nah. Just nah

————————————

PENETRATING/PSYCHIC BLAST:

BUFFED in 2021. No change.

Still F.U.N.? Still good.

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SMOKE CLOUD:

It was NERFED by the hindering movement removal in 2021. Now it loses the BUFF it got then with the general return to 4 minimum range.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Still situational unless it’s a FREE version. Hard power to balance.

————————————

PRECISION STRIKE:

BUFFED by loss of single target restriction in 2021

Still F.U.N. or nah? An important power to keep around, with Super Senses’ growing prominence.

————————————

POISON: No change in 2021. Still F.U.N. in 2023.

————————————

STEAL ENERGY:

No change in 2021, but it takes a mild hit in 2023 with the new rule on resolving simultaneous actions/effects. Before, the active player decided all the orders of those effects. But now the active player has to resolve theirs first. Specifically, now they can’t choose to take the Mystics damage first and then heal with Steal Energy, because as the active player they HAVE to use their effect (Steal Energy) before the other player resolves their effect (Mystics).

Still F.U.N. or nah? This loss of a workaround vs. Mystics is a mild disappointment.

————————————

TELEKINESIS:

NERFED in 2021, losing its attack options. This time, it gets some of its might back, with the return of RANGE attacks using terrain! But its reach is sharply curtailed, down to just 4, making it less useful for deployment. Also, with the single-row start zones, TK lanes are a little more difficult to easily get. BUT! The old “No TK after being TK’d” restriction is gone, so that could make up for the shorter reach.

Still F.U.N. or nah? I got my Darth Vader TK back.

 

WWdodgeSuperSenses

DEFENSE POWERS

SUPER SENSES:

It got NERFED by Precision Strike being usable with multiple targets again in 2021. This time it gets a mild boost, thanks to the new order of actions making it usable with Mastermind: Before, the active player — the attacker — got to force you, the defender, to choose either Senses or Mastermind if your fig had both. Now you can try your d6 roll before dumping the attack on a teammate.

Still F.U.N.? As ever!

————————————

TOUGHNESS:

NERFED two years ago, today it’s unchanged.

Still F.U.N. or nah? This armor power regains relevance as a defense against knockback harm.

————————————

DEFEND:

No change then or now — though we maybe should’ve noted in 2021 that increased frequency of knockback made it a little less reliable.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Knockback damage is a real potential counter to this power, though not a hard counter.

————————————

COMBAT REFLEXES:

It was NERFED by loss of knockback immunity in 2021. With the return of knockback damage, that’s a further ding to the power.

Still F.U.N. or nah?  I was glad the immunity was gone then and I feel OK about it now even though the power’s a little worse for it.

————————————

ENERGY SHIELD/DEFLECTION:

No change. But knockback damage makes it less reliable as a defense at range.

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BARRIER:

It got BUFFED in 2021 — maybe too much. This year, it’s mega-NERFED now that the minimum range is reeled back to 4 and it can be wrecked by Quake, Super Strength and Telekinesis.

Still F.U.N. or nah? In ’21, we thought Barrier would need a hard counter of some sort. This is a F.U.N. one that will make the power much less game-stopping.

————————————

MASTERMIND:

No change in 2021, but now it gets new interaction if you also have Super Senses, thanks to the order of resolutions.

Still F.U.N.? MM might need a hard counter again, eventually — other than Energy Explosion or Outwit or Pulse Wave. Actually, maybe that’s enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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WILLPOWER:

BUFFEDin ’21, it holds fast.

Still F.U.N.? Yes! Might be my fave of all the power upgrades from then.

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INVINCIBLE:

It got NERFED by the loss of the 3 damage cap and then benched. It’s back now.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Yep.

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IMPERVIOUS:

NERFED since 2021 because penetrating damage got so common that it might as well not exist.

Still F.U.N. or nah? With Invincible unbenched, this power can be great again.

————————————

REGENERATION:

BUFFED in 2021. No change today.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Yes!

————————————

INVULNERABILITY:See Impervious

F.U.N. or nah? See Impervious

 

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DAMAGE POWERS

 

RANGED COMBAT EXPERT:

BUFFED in 2021; unchanged today

Still F.U.N.

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BATTLE FURY:

BUFFED in 2021 by new immunity to anything similar to Incap, it now gets a massive upgrade by being able to make RANGE Terrain actions.

Still F.U.N.? For a power that classically was supposed to be a drawback, it’s gotten some wonderfully thematic boosts across the years.

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SUPPORT:

It got no change two years ago, but this year it’s COMPLETELY different, working on a single d6 roll like Regen. Gone is the quasi-attack roll (with its possibility of failure) and the requirements to not be adjacent to enemies. While all that represents a massive BUFF to the power, it’s NERFED in that the old minimum 2 healing is gone and the maximum is now capped at 3 instead of a possible 4

Still F.U.N.? Heck, more F.U.N. than ever.

————————————

EXPLOIT WEAKNESS:

In ’21, it was BUFFED by new combos with HSS and Quake and more. It retains them.

Still F.U.N. or nah?  It gains even more prominence with Charge getting more opportunities.

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ENHANCEMENT:

BUFFED in 2021 by change to Perplex and combos with Range Destroy actions.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Yep.

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PROBABILITY CONTROL:

It got no change in ’21, but today it’s NERFED by the minimum 4 range down from 6, making it riskier to use against enemies. But it gets an effective BUFF with the end of theme teams — it’s becoming a must-add to your team now.

Still F.U.N.? On balance, probably yes.

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SHAPE CHANGE:

No change to the power itself either last time or now. But it takes a hit with Battle Fury able to ignore it from range now via terrain actions.

Still F.U.N.? Yes. It’s a very effective attack and damage deterrent.

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CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT:

It got majorly BUFFED in 2021 and stays good.

Still F.U.N.? Indeed.

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EMPOWER:

BUFFED by change to Perplex and combos with Close Destroy actions in 2021.

Still F.U.N.? For sure.

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PERPLEX:

NERFED in 2021, now it’s further weakened by the minimum range rule.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Having to be much closer to the action could make life dangerous for Perplexers going forward. It remains my favorite support-style power, though … for now.

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OUTWIT:

Two years ago, it got BUFFED by the change in Stealth to be targetable by adjacent characters. Now it’s NERFED by the minimum 4 range.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Back in 2013, when Outwit, Prob. Control and Perplex got their former 10-square reach slashed to just 6, Outwit suffered the most. That’s about to repeat. It’s still a great power, but it’s SO much more dangerous to use unless you have good natural range.

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LEADERSHIP:

No change then or now.

Still F.U.N. or nah? Due to the slimmed-down starting areas, teams will need the extra actions to position.

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And some other PAC stuff:

INHERENT ABILITIES

 

CARRY: 

BUFFED in 2021. No real change today.

Still F.U.N. or nah?  Mega-Carry figs (3 or more passengers) get a little stymied by the slimmer start areas. Otherwise still OK.

————————————

OBJECT ACTIONS:

NERFED by loss of heavy damage in ’21, they’re rebranded as Terrain Actions and are much more powerful — and complicated. (They’re also nerfed by loss of default 6 range down to 4.)

F.U.N. or nah? TBH, it’s adding way too much complexity in a game they’re otherwise streamlining. We’re also concerned about the availability of terrain objects to include on the force. Will they be in boosters? Or only in $70+ starter sets? Prizes? Unknown. But the renewed relevance of Super Strength might make it worth it all.

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DESTROY ACTIONS:

NERFED because some terrain will require higher than 3 damage to wreck.

F.U.N. or nah? There’s that complexity again. We’ll see if it’s too much or just right.

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IMPROVED MOVEMENT: ELEVATED:

Not really a nerf to figs that can already use it, but a big boost to normal boot speed characters as a whole.

F.U.N. or nah? It’s kinda dumb on one level (hey … PUN!) that the likes of J. Jonah Jameson can suddenly scale walls. But … this is a SUPERHERO game and one less impediment to play is one less impediment to play.

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IMPROVED MOVEMENT: DESTROY BLOCKING:

BUFFED this year to function like you probably thought it should. Until now, the Rule of Occupancy kept characters with this IM from stopping in the blocking they were destroying..

F.U.N. or nah? I liked that there was one defense against IM:Destroy, but it was a bigger pain to explain why.

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SWIM:

In 2021, it was BUFFED to make them invisible to range beyond 4 squares when in water. Now, with so many minimum ranges shrinking, this may not be much of a boon after all.

F.U.N. or nah? Jury’s still out.

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TEAM ABILITIES

BUFFED

SPIDER-MAN: No longer a basic wild card team ability, so these characters aren’t dependent on teammates to use it.

S.H.I.E.L.D.: Though the TA gets no actual change, shorter maps and ranges in general will make its worth rise.

MYSTICS: The changed order of effects means sometimes Mystics will work better. But…

 

NERFED

MYSTICS: …sometimes, the changed order of effects means Mystics might work a little less effectively.

SPIDER-MAN: No longer a wild card team ability, so these characters lose their versatility.

SUPERMAN ENEMY: Because Outwit is worse, this is worse if you have less than 5 range.

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OTHER ABILITIES

THEMED TEAMS: They got a bunch of buffs in 2021. But now virtually ALL those boosts are gone: only a static +3 to map roll if you have a themed team. Moreover, winning the initiative no longer gains you map choice and going first.

F.U.N. or nah? We think they went way too far with this change. Themed Team Probability Control was popular and, IMO at least, finally somewhat in proper balance and streamlined. (I still recall a loss from the early days — we’re talking before this blog’s 2009 launch! — where a single, game-wrecking attack got theme probbed like 5 times into a hit.) And while the old map bonus roll was overcomplicated, it just needed to follow a version of the rule of three: +1 to the roll, up to a max of 3. Simple.

The upside?

Now my “BIG BRIGHT YELLOW BOOTS” themed team is JUST AS VIABLE as any keyword themed team!!!!!!

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After Part I, Part II and Part III, it’s time for the last part of these changes: the Comprehensive Rules. And they start with this new card design:

microsoftteams-image-71-471089-MUdosLWp

I’m not sure how much I like this change.

  • YES, having the Improved symbols next to everything else important is good.
  • But wait NO, the team symbol ISN’T next to everything else important. So what the heck
  • YES, the full sculpt image is kinda nice.
  • But NO, I do not like the wasted space on the back.
  • Especially because NO, I do not like the loss of flavor text.
  • YES, the lighter design is kinda nice-looking.
  • But NO the dial info is more cluttered and harder to read — AND on the front, which we didn’t like when they first proposed it in 2016 and we still don’t really like now. But…..¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But this isn’t a game changer. Actual game changes are game changers. And there are a few!

 

SPIDER-SENSE TA!

  • The Spider-Man team ability is no longer wild card but now Super Senses on a 6 or +1 if they already can use Senses. A welcome change even though some weird characters will suddenly get extra dodgy (Luke Cage).

 

KNOCK BACK PAIN

  • It’s confirmed: Hitting walls/blocking or falling off elevated deals 1 damage. With boosts to Quake, Force Blast and less immunity from knock back since the 2021 change, this could get wild. I’m here for it.

 

R.I.P. TEAM TEAMS

They’ve nerfed Themed Teams in two important ways.

  • Every themed team gets +3 to first player roll, regardless of team size, because the old “+3 to your opponent’s roll” language was very confusing. I think they SHOULD have made it exactly like the Rule of Three, but they didn’t ask me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (This game would be way better if they asked me)
  • Theme Team Prob is GONE. They said a lot of flimflam about it only really aiding alpha strikes which, like old-school Super Strength attacks, they’ve kinda been dialing back (while still making figs like Sky Tyrant ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). So they just removed it. I’m kinda very OK with this even though I kinda hate it.

 

WALL CLIMBING … SORTA

  • One change we saw coming in the look at the PAC last week but now is confirmed: Every character can climb elevation. They just have to immediately stop (like in the old hindering terrain movement rules) when they switch elevation unless they have the right improved movement or at the red diamond transition point. This stops easy tactics of bottlenecking rooftops against non-fliers, for instance. (There’s a related rule keeping you from setting terrain up at the transition points, too.)

This is a FANTASTIC change and we can’t wait to see how dynamic it makes gameplay.

 

ACTIVE PLAY

  • So this one is a little complicated. For ages, if two or more effects had simultaneous timing, the active player would decide the order of resolving those effects. Now, the players owning each effect, starting with the active player, will choose the order, sort of. It’s hard to explain without coming up with some corner case example, so I’m not gonna bother. The short version: The attacking player doesn’t get to just order stuff to their own advantage anymore.

 

SHRINKING SIDELINE

  • Old rule allowed you to pack 3 sideline pieces per 100 points of the build, MAX: 15. Now it’ll just be 2 per 100. But anything can go on the sideline, not just things with a specific interaction with a starting element. I like this change a lot — in the height of the ID card era, it was sooo common to see way more pieces off the field than on it. And that’s just wrong IMO.

 

That’s it! This is a much more substantive rule shift than they said at the outset. But overall they’re mostly positive in my opinion. What say you? Leave a comment!

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Screen Shot 2023-02-02 at 12.16.09 PM

PART III

We looked at new terrain changes and map sizes last post. Now let’s unpack the PAC!

 

SPEED

  • Flurry: No change
  • Leap/Climb: No change EVEN THOUGH IT NEEDS ONE
  • Phasing/Teleport: No change
  • Earthbound/Neutralized — no change (even though we still think it could use an update/reversion)
  • Charge : No change, but a few powers it interacts with make it more viable
  • MIND CONTROL: Its minimum RANGE option gets reeled from 6 to the previous 4. For longtime clix players, this feels very familiar. Personally, I thought the minimum for this power should have remained 4.
  • Plasticity: No change
  • FORCE BLAST gains a minimum range of 4 for its POWER action application, down from 6. This seems appropriate, since the classic version of the power used to be 0 range. More to the point, the return of knock back damage means this should be reeled in a bit.
  • Sidestep: No change
  • Hypersonic Speed: No change
  • Stealth: No change
  • Running Shot: No change, but read on. There’s a new power combo with Telekinesis that didn’t exist before.

ATTACK

  • Blades/Claws/Fangs: No change
  • Energy Explosion: No change
  • PULSE WAVE: It gets a big change — the halving of range values is OVER. Pulse Wave just has a 4 range now. This is a boost to characters who had 6 range or less (well, mostly, since sometimes you kinda wanted that really low range to not catch your friends in the wave). It’s a little bit of a nerf to figs with 8+ range. Though we still kinda want this power to be scarier, this is a pretty good fix.
  • QUAKE: Another big change. Quake now wrecks terrain within 1 square before hitting the target(s). On a F.U.N. level, we’re not sure how we like this; we’d gotten used to this power reflecting both the massive ground-pounding of, say, The Thing, but also Black Widow sweeping the legs out of a bunch of foes at once. But the ability to smash through a wall to attack someone hiding behind is actually pretty darn cool. We’ll get used to this fast. It’s also back to being a dedicated CLOSE action.
  • SUPER STRENGTH: It now can pick up non-object terrain, such as Barrier. Long one of the worst standard powers, Super Strength might have gotten its mojo back.
  • Incapacitate: No change, still InCRAP
  • Penetrating/Psychic Blast: No change
  • SMOKE CLOUD: It gets the minimum 4 range nerf — or, as we longtime clix players might feel, a proper correction to its prior state.
  • Precision Strike: No change
  • Poison: No change
  • Steal Energy: No change
  • TELEKINESIS: Not only does its minimum range drops from 6 to 4, but the distance of each TK placement is also slashed from 6 to 4, regardless of range value. That’s a HUMONGOUS nerf. But TK gets some boosts in being able to move terrain around — AND use it in RANGE attacks again! In fact, said attack now works with Running Shot, so that’s interesting.

DEFENSE

  • Super Senses: No change
  • Toughness:  No change
  • Defend: No change
  • Combat Reflexes: No change
  • Energy Shield/Deflection: No change
  • BARRIER: Minimum range drops to 4 and it’s vulnerable to Super Strength and more, making it MUCH easier to counter — probably a needed balance to this power. But it also gains the ability to effectively generate weapons for Super-Strong or Telekinetic members of your team as well. That’s a new offensive support for this formerly purely defensive power.
  • Mastermind: No change
  • Willpower: No change
  • Invincible: No change
  • Impervious: No change
  • Regeneration: No change
  • Invulnerability: No change

DAMAGE

  • Ranged Combat Expert: No change
  • BATTLE FURY: It now allows RANGE Terrain Actions as an exception to its barring of range attacks! That’s fantastic and sounds like great F.U.N.
  • SUPPORT: It’s basically Regen for other people, losing the guaranteed 2 healing (making it markedly less effective on STOP clicks) and possible 4, but also losing the extra “attack” roll and other limitations.
  • Exploit Weakness: No change
  • Enhancement: No change
  • PROBABILITY CONTROL: Drops to minimum 4 range. It’s going to be much more difficult to use this power as safely as before, especially on enemy turns.
  • Shape Change: No change
  • Close Combat Expert: No change
  • Empower: No change
  • PERPLEX: Drops to minimum 4 range. It’s riskier to use, requiring you to be much closer to buff friends or nerf enemies.
  • OUTWIT: Also drops to minimum 4 range. This is not good for Outwit, because unlike many of the other support-style powers, the Outwitter can’t hide in the back line.
  • Leadership: No change

ABILITIES

  • OBJECTS are replaced with terrain. Terrain has stats now governing how far it can be thrown, how much damage or reach it gives in attacks, and how much it takes to destroy it.
  • IMPROVED MOVEMENT: DESTROY BLOCKING is much better — I will no longer have to tell players they can’t stop in that blocking square they were in the process of running through.
  • KNOCKBACK: Deals 1 damage for falling or hitting certain terrain — a partial return to old rules. But the PAC is going to either require an errata/clarification or game terminology may be changing, due to this weird wording: “(A character that is knocked back onto a lower elevation or into terrain suffers 1 damage.)” Suffer isn’t a game term, soooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • IMPROVED MOVEMENT: ELEVATED: The language has changed to “This character does not have to end its movement when crossing a boundary of Elevated terrain” — characters can now climb up and down rooftops without using transition squares. (Much more about that in Part IV.)

 

OTHER CHANGES

  • INDESTRUCTIBLE: “This terrain marker can only be destroyed by using it in an attack or by its own effect.” It’s a new key phrase for these new terrain rules.

 ….that’s a lot, but not nearly as much as in 2021. They are leaning even more into melee. It’s looking like F.U.N.!
So far, all these changes are positive. Even the ones I was sure I hated at least a little are looking better by the moment. But there’s one more part WizKids is set to drop: New comprehensive rules. Hopefully they won’t ruin stuff.

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Screen Shot 2023-01-29 at 11.51.24 AM

What, AGAIN? We just DID this not even two years ago lol

PART I

Change of Terrain

WizKids said: “this specific rules update began with a single question: How do we make standard objects matter again? Standard light and heavy objects have long been overshadowed by equipment.”

I mean, that’s YOUR fault, WizKids. But instead of just giving a small tweak to Super Strength — say, making it deal +1 damage with ANY object attack, like we suggested in 2021, or allowing it to generate NEW objects — WizKids is getting rid of objects altogether.

Upon first reveal, I said “I’m not sure if I hate it a lot or just a little.” And this old quote from Heroclixin’ is why:

“There was once a time you needed a whole chart to figure out:

  • who could hold any of FOUR different kinds of objects and
  • how FAR you could throw each and
  • how much damage each could do in close
  • or at range because it was different based on what the object was
  • and if it was thrown or not …
  • GAAHHHH.”

Now they wanna bring all that back, but as terrain markers now. Instead of the old flow chart, each terrain will have the stats printed right on them:

  • How far it can be thrown
  • How much damage it adds in close or range attacks
  • How much damage to destroy it
  • How much Giant Reach it gives you
  • Gaahhhh. (But in lower case)

The REAL upside? There’s a couple.

  1. It looks like Super Strength will work with terrain markers, such as being able to grab, say a square of Barrier and hit someone with it!
  2. They’re also bringing falling damage back to the game. Hopefully this is a nice middle ground and not a wholesale return of knock back damage which could get silly with there being a ton more knockback in the game in general.

That’s exciting. We’re here for it.

 

PART II

Map quest

Screen Shot 2023-01-29 at 11.54.33 AM

They’re shrinking the standard map size from 2×3 to 2×2 — AND changing the startup/setup rules. Quoted from the article [with my additions in brackets]:

  • After rolling for First Player, whoever wins the roll chooses between being the First or Second Player.
  • Second Player chooses the map.
  • First Player chooses which edge they’ll use as their starting area [this is only on the 2×2 maps for 1v1 games … older 2×3 ones still use the purple start zones, I think] and places their force and terrain markers; Second Player uses the opposite edge as their starting area, and places their force and terrain markers.
  • Once setup is complete, First Player begins their first turn and the game begins!

This is a bigger deal than the terrain. For ages, first player’s been picking map and going first — both pretty huge advantages, especially with Telekinesis and mega-taxi pieces. Now, with the smaller field and ability to orient the map multiple ways and the single-line starting area, plus the addition of all kinds of special terrain, this game may feel really new.

But the real meat is always the new PAC. The next part’s all about that and they’ve already teased a pretty substantial change:

the minimum range for any standard power or team ability that has one is being changed from 6 to 4.

So that means Mind Control, Force Blast, Smoke Cloud, Telekinesis, Barrier, Probability Control, Perplex and Outwit probably all get their range slashed. They also said some powers would get “tweaks to give them greater interactivity with terrain” — such as Super Strength.

We can’t wait!

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So I guess this is a regular feature now: looking at how legacy cards might be a F.U.N. way to bring some old pieces back into Modern/Silver play or rework some old figs that never really worked right before (or don’t anymore due to rule changes).

Here’s the latest batch, from the first set of 2023, Batman Team-Up.

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L001 Batman
(Batman, 2012)

bm001

THEN: At 200 points, he had a “Team Leader” trait that gave Batman Ally TA to cheaper allies who share ONE keyword of his choice (Batman Family, Gotham City, Justice League, Justice League International, Outsiders). He also had a 100-point line without that trait, starting with his “I Will Not Fail Gotham” SP that gave him +1AV when he had 1 token. The main thing that made him special in 2012 was his then-new Improved Movement. Overall, he was kinda cool but overcosted, even with his long 10- or 6-click but barely armored dial(s).

NOW: He’s slashed to half his original price, completely losing the Team Leader trait and all his IM but upgraded to Flight, so not really much of a loss, especially since the new trait gives his passenger Bat Ally for a turn. He also gets Senses and Willpower from another trait. And his old SP now gives Precision and Smoke Cloud, with a rider allowing him to jump from hindering to hindering for FREE. Speaking of hindering, he can now see through it. And he has 60- and 30-point start lines for budget play.

F.U.N.? This is a pretty solid and definitive Batman, even if the Flight ability is bit much in our opinion.

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L011 Commissioner Gordon
(Batman The Animated Series, 2018)

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THEN: At 35 points, he was offensively a weak Incap Leadership piece with a chance at double-tokening if he hit. More useful was his Barrier.

NOW: He swaps the Incrap for the MUCH more useful Telekinesis instead — especially with the FREE version for fellow Gotham City, Detective and Police keywords.

F.U.N.? This piece will help Police swarm teams a lot. But it has meta potential as well. One to watch.

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L019 Crazy Jane
(World’s Finest, 2016)

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THEN: She snuck onto my faves lists that year with her literally random dial. From 2016’s writeup: “She has a great support-style click with TK and Perplex (click 2) but it’s unlikely to get to it to actually intentionally use it. Likewise, her great melee tie-up click is buried at no. 4 and she has the exact same chance of landing on the range-centric Click 6 — and near death. Her starting click, for its part, is completely weak, emphasizing attack avoidance with almost no real attack ability.
The key to Crazy Jane is to go crazy with her. Roll her die (it’s optional) and use what you get. Push her with impunity; she resets to her original click anyway at turn’s end (again, optional). Each of her non-starting clicks have some aspect that can potentially boost teammates even when she’s double-tokened. And even if she gets KO’d, she’s a low 2d6 roll away from dodging death.”

NOW: She’s even MORE random than before, since her d6 is no longer optional. And she also has no resurrection ability like the original. But she’s cut down to just 50 points instead of 75. Or 40. Or 30. Or 20 or 10, all via a new trait to pick her cost. Instead of taking damage, she loses life tokens until KO. So at 50 points, she has to be hit 5 times to get KO’d. Or just once at 10 points.

F.U.N.? This looks really nifty — but the random factor keeps her from being busted. We like it.

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L031a The Question
(Justice League Unlimited, 2020)

thequestion_file_1583443369

THEN: He was a 40-point die replacer; maybe the most balanced because he had to POWER to make his die, not starting the game with the d6 on his card. He also brought Outwit and could make his own Stealthy smoke to hide out. Finally, he had the Justice League Unlimited trait to have a 1/6 chance of taking a token off a fellow JLUer.

NOW: His die replacement gets a boost and a nerf at the same time. He no longer has to burn actions to get the d6, but must wait for the enemy to use Prob or Perplex or Outwit within 6 squares. That’s a nerf. But he no longer needs LOF to mess with the attack roll results. That’s a boost. Beyond that, he gets actual Smoke Cloud now (instead of the 1-square end-of-turn version from before) that he can also use FREE to drop in one square, usually his own. All for 10 points less!

F.U.N.? Good question. And he’s a good Question.

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L029 Nightwing
(Crisis, 2008)

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THEN: He had a Speed SP giving him Titans and Outsiders team abilities and symbols (instead of just, y’know, actually printing them alongside his natural Batman Ally. WizKids was weird about certain things) and a Defense SP granting Reflexes, ESD and Leap/Climb. Later he got a Flurry SP so he could have normal Leap/Climb. At the time we loved him because he was great for wild cards to copy two of his TAs, despite his slightly unwieldy 79 cost.

NOW: He no longer wastes SP space to temporarily get his dual memberships, instead gaining fight-ready Charge+Flurry+Leap/Climb. In defense, he gets Super Senses with the ESD and Reflexes. And his later SP boosts AV +1 if he’s on elevated terrain. Oh and he’s got traited CCE and Empower. All this for way LESS points: 50.

F.U.N.? He’s quite a bit more definitive but not overbearing.

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L037a Riddler
(Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 2014)

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THEN: Though only 55 points, pretty much all he brought to the table was Perplex versus enemies. Well, without needing range or LOF, too, so that’s pretty OK.

NOW: He drops 10 points and gains normal Perplex that ignores LOF (but not range anymore). Perplexed foes get Puzzled tokens, which another trait counts to rack up Mission Points.

F.U.N.? Mission Point characters are always on the F.U.N. end and this is no exception.

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L039 Joker
(Icons, 2005)

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THEN: Back when we looked at the legacy card for Lockjaw, we mentioned the LAMP strat. Joker here was often the Poisonous, Masterminding and Armor Piercing aspect of it. Even better: he had the Stealth and Outwit to REALLY make the combo work. Sure, it cost more than half your team (10 for Armor Piercing feat card — think Precision Strike but for damage only — 38 for Lockjaw, 107 for Joker) but this was a championship-worthy strategy.

NOW: He no longer needs the old feat card. He has a trait that does the same thing, with a second half that makes him heal when he lands a KO and use Poison even if he moved. Another trait keeps him from being multi targeted — making him immune to Energy Explosion, Mastermind’s hardest counter — and also gives him SAFEGUARD: Outwit, Mind Control and Poison

F.U.N.? He’s completely built to relight the LAMP in a modern game. Not sure how F.U.N. that’ll be, but we’ll see.

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L042 Atrocitus
(DC 75th Anniversary, 2010)

an042

THEN: He had a trait that nerfed Impervious into Invulnerability, and Invulnerability into Toughness. Later in his Charge+Super Strength/BCF and Battle Fury-laden dial, he got a SP that allowed him to move 1 square after landing a hit (with the equivalent of IM:Characters) and free attack a different target. At 202 points, he left a lot to be desired.

NOW: Slashed to 125 points, his new traits A) turn off STOP clicks and healing on adjacent enemies; and B) give him Close Combat Expert and Prob. The SP now is a retaliation-style power. He also has a new 75-point starting line.

F.U.N.? Very thematic and WAY more playable. We look forward to raging out with this guy.

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L051a The Chief
(World’s Finest, 2016)

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THEN: He could give Sidestep a single ally within 6 and LOF. He could Mastermind to any friendly adjacent character of any cost. He could use Outwit and Perplex from keyword-sharing pals’ square IF they were within 6 squares — or, if he didn’t use Outwit, he could pick a keyword ally and give them  SAFEGUARD: Outwit. And like his Crazy Jane teammate, the Weird Resurrection trait could save him from KO. Not bad for 50 points back then.

NOW:  He’s a keyword cheater who can turn Celebrity, Soldier or Robot pieces into Doom Patrol keyword with the normally uncopyable Outsiders TA via trait. He can now POWER to move an adjacent Doom Patrol up to 5 squares … kinda like a friendly mind control. he can now Mastermind within 4 range and LOF … but only with keyword pals. Finally, he has Leadership that can grant SAFEGUARD:Outwit … IF a friendly uses Outsiders TA on themselves. Oh, and he now actually HAS Outsiders TA himself this time. No more Weird Resurrection, though. But for 40 points, can’t have everything.

F.U.N.? We don’t like the idea of non-Doom Patrol characters just getting to become a Doom Patrol team at the expense of the actual team. But for said actual team, I like it.

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L051b Batman Beyond
(Justice League Unlimited, 2020)

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THEN: He was loaded with stuff: a once-per-game semi-FREE/teleport, immunity to range when next to blocking, SP granting Precision Strike plus a choice of range and close attack powers; another SP with Leadership and a choice of a number of damage powers. His 125 and 75 point costs were a little unwieldy, though, and realistically some of those pick-a-power options were pointless. What’s never pointless: IT Hindering.

NOW: He loses a lot: The teleport, the super-stealth, the array of standard attack and damage powers he could pick. He also lost a lot of points, now weighing only 75 or 50. Instead, his Attack SP keeps Precision with a FREE attack against an Outwitted target. His other SP grants that Outwit regardless of LOF (note that range is still needed) if he’s in hindering terrain. Finally, defensively he gets traited Super Senses with +1 if he Outwitted the attacker last turn.

F.U.N.? He’s now MUCH more like the Terry McGinnis of the show proper.

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L052a Hal Jordan and Sinestro
(War of Light, 2014)

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THEN: A full 300 points, this pair had the duo symbol — Duo Attack (POWER: Attack a single enemy, then attack a single enemy but -1 damage [Minimum 1]); a Speed SP with Running Shot + Duo Attack as RANGE but having to pick a different target from the first; and an Attack special to pick a power (but not the same two in a row).  At their lower 100-point price, they lost the duo symbol and both SPs, but both levels have a common trait granting Willpower and 66% chance of immunity to Outwit and Perplex.

NOW: In the wake of the duo symbol’s old — and overcomplicated — Split and Merge abilities, these legacies are doing something special in homage to it:

When Hal Jordan and Sinestro is KO’d by an attack, before removing them from the game, you may generate a character named Hal Jordan and/or a character named Sinestro from your Sideline on their last non-KO clicks, then heal them each 2 clicks. The total points of the generated characters must be equal to or less than Hal Jordan and Sinestro’s point value. If Hal Jordan and Sinestro is 75 points, only generate one of the two characters instead.

I like it. Meanwhile, their Speed SP gets upgraded to Hypersonic Speed plus an extra attack after resolutions, while their Attack SP now copies the standard printed attack and damage powers of adjacent pals — which could work VERY nicely given their new Green Lantern TA to carry 8 allies and their much, much cheaper 175 top price. They cost just 75 at their lower value and their Willpower-based trait is unchanged from before — except that it also works against enemy Prob.

F.U.N.? I never understood why they didn’t get the GL TA back then. For that alone, this seems like a F.U.N. fig. Time will tell if the upgrades are too competitive for our taste.

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L052b Batman
(DC 75th Anniversary, 2010)

an052

THEN: This true “year one” 1930s Batman had a trait allowing him to FREE move around or next to elevated terrain — IF he didn’t have tokens. Not bad. He was also a Transporter (an old symbol giving Passenger:1 and a nerfed version of Hypersonic Speed) and sported the usual Gotham City and Detective keywords along with the more niche All-Star Squadron and Justice Society keywords. Finally, he ended with a SP “I Used Guns … Once” that gave him 8 range. At 80 points, though, he was a little pricey for little impact on a team or game.

NOW: While his “Rooftop To Rooftop” trait still requires zero tokens and being on elevated terrain, now he’s not limited on his destination. It also blocks LOF to him when he’s on the rim of elevated while he has Stealth on his dial. He upgrades to the Wing symbol, allowing him to carry a pal with him as the sculpt suggests — a slight nerf from Transporter — and Batman Ally TA along with his original JSA TA. A final downgrade: His guns SP is only 6 range now. But it also grants RCE, so he’s better able to hit and hurt his target. All not bad for a much more reasonable 50 points.

F.U.N.? This is a right well-done legacy that fills a nigh-unforgivable problem of the original (not having Batman Ally).

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L058 Harley and Ivy
(Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls, 2017)

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THEN: These gals started with a Sidestep+Stealth SP and another that gave Incap, Smoke Cloud, and Poison (plus immunity to it) with a rider allowing FREE Incap to a target in their Smoke Cloud. They also had a later damage SP that boosted AV and damage against a solo target with action tokens. A Batman Enemy and wild card, they wrapped up their 125-point package with IM:Hindering.

NOW:  In return for shaving down to 75 points, they lost duo symbol along with Duo Attack. But upon KO, they can get replaced by a cheaper Harley or Ivy or combo of both. Their new Speed power is WAY more aggressive: Charge, Flurry, Stealth. The attack SP drops Incap entirely and offers a 2-square FREE Smoke option. It also spreads the SAFEGUARD: Poison around to all friendlies in their 6 range. That mid-dial SP now boosts attacks against multiple targets.

F.U.N.? Much better and straightforward piece. Can’t wait to try them!

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L059 Lex Luthor & The Joker
(World’s Finest, 2016)

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THEN: A 200-point duo fig, they had a Mastermind trait that granted the Underworld TA to friendlies 20 or higher. A Speed SP gave them double Sidestep (which unfortunately didn’t work with Underworld back then) and in the damage slot was SP Perplex and Outwit in addition to Superman Enemy TA Outwit. Finally, they couldn’t get Outwitted or their stats nerfed — and with 11 AV and 4 damage with Duo Attack, that was kinda OK. Their three-click 75-point line was focused on Poison and lacked the Speed SP (but still had Sidestep).

NOW: Trimmed down to 150 and 50 points, they lose the blanket immunity-to-Outwit/stat-nerfing trait (for a weaker SAFEGUARD:Outwit as long as no Superman Ally/Batman Ally enemies are in range+LOF) and the Outwit-plus SP (swapping it for one that has +/-2 Perplex and makes adjacent pals into Superman Enemies). Their old double Sidestep is gone, too; instead, when an adjacent pal non-free moves, they ride along and can attack afterward for free — and because it’s a placement and not carry, they can do a non-free action as well.  Finally, after getting KOed, this duo can be replaced by a cheaper Lex or Joker (or both, if you used the 150-point full dial) two clicks from KO.

F.U.N.? Clever reworking of the old duo abilities. We like it.

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L060 World’s Finest
(World’s Finest, 2016)

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THEN: They had three point costs: a big 300-point one which offered Colossal Stamina (but at 2 damage cost instead of 1), immunity to Outwit/stat-nerfing, and a free extra attack if they missed a non-Duo Attack attack. At 200, they lacked the Stamina trait, and the low 75 price didn’t get the bonus attack roll. All price points had a late dial DV SP of Combat Reflexes and Toughness and both the Bat and Superman TAs.

NOW: Like their archenemies above, upon KO this duo can be replaced by a cheaper combo of Batman or Superman (or just one if you used the 60-point dial) two clicks from KO. They lose the extra attack attempt trait for a much better FREE attack against a foe that made an attack or Outwit since last turn. And unless an enemy is more points, World’s Finest have a 50% chance of only taking 1 damage from hits. Finally, the DV SP is heavily upgraded to Invincible+Super Senses — the latter improving with their number of action tokens. That’s a lot better for a lot less points: 175, 125 and 60.

F.U.N.? The retaliation-style trait alone gives this piece competitive potential.

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L096 Green Lantern
(Legacy, 2005)

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THEN: With 10 range, RCE, 20 DV with Willpower, KC Alan Scott here was fearsome on those first two clicks — and difficult to knock off them, especially with him being a prime candidate for the old Trick Shot feat granting him Improved Targeting: Characters and Hindering. Basing him to stop him lighting up your force was tough, too, thanks to the Kingdom Come team ability (then functionally the same as today’s Hypertime TA). He also had TK, which was mostly useless on him because he was the main attacker and TK was for hurling main attackers out for fighting.

NOW: He gets slimmed down to 175 points but only makes gains: Traited Invincible and a choice of either BCF (that light sword is no longer for show) or Super Sense/2-square FREE Barrier. He also adds Justice Society TA and a ton of keywords to his original two generic Future and Politician ones: Armor, Gotham City, Green Lantern Corps, Herald, Justice League, Justice Society and Mystical. But in similar fashion to other Kingdom Come-themed figs, he has a lower price point that has a very different character and play style: At 20 points, he starts on his ending two Defend clicks with a trait giving him Leadership and the ability to use it or Defend or JSA TA up to his range and LOF. It also, once per turn, boost a friendly’s DV from +1 to +3 (based on a d6 roll).

F.U.N.? The low dial for sure. The top dial is just pricey enough that it’s not too unfriendly either.

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BTU

Hi there: It’s our usual checklist. And possibly our last: The old files and templates were lost in the latest computer crash. Unsure if we can get the old programs used to build them back.

That’s the bad news. The good news is my work computer has the software so I was able to rebuild the templates there for now. And thanks to the crowdsourcing done on HCRealms, Clix Nexus and several Facebook clix groups, we think we have the complete info for this set.

Downloadable PDF below contains two checklists apiece: one with the main set and miniature game and the other a list of the team-up cards, mystery cards, the ring equipments and constructs. It’s a lot to collect; keep track with this checklist.

BatmanTeamUp

 

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black watcher

2022 has been much more normal than either 2020 or 2021 were.

But with actual map time at a premium in 2021, there was one fig that could’ve made 2021’s favorite list but didn’t stand out immediately until it got play this past year — potential “late bloomer” faves.

So I introduce this year’s list with an addition to last year’s, again asking “Is this figure Fair, Useful and Nerdcore?” and “When I see this figure, do I immediately wish I had a team to fit it on?”

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Omega (House of X 056)

200 points

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What’s Fair: With the nerfing of Pulse Wave since spring 2021, ultimate Karima here is a lot less scary than she was upon her January 2021 release. And 200 points is like your whole team.

What’s Useful: But her potential 20 clicks of life tho. And Cosmic Energy. Not a truly bad click on her dial — and she can boost her stats on the few that are borderline.

What’s Nerdcore: Heroclixin’ board member Chadd knows how much I like Sentinels.

Folks think Nimrod is the baddest Sentinel, but it’s really her.

Omega smirks

——————

OK. On to the actual list, which is somewhat more than the usual top 10 but fewer than the 20 I picked for 2020.

Alphabetical order.

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Blue Marvel (Avengers Forever 031)

150 points / 50 points

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He’s Fair: Though he’s a Hypersonic Speeder at full, his value is pretty modest. He’s gonna put himself at some risk to extend across the board. And his traited PW doesn’t work with HSS.

And Useful: But TRAITED PW THO. And also Force Blast, which means he can pinball a whole squad through their defenses and ruin formations. He’s also difficult to snipe, as he heals from any range attacks on his person (hit or miss) and has a pair of STOPs. He’s Cosmic Energized, gets some Outwit down dial (or to start when at 50 points) and

How He’s Nerdcore:  He’s a member of the Ultimates with Black Panther, America Chavez, Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau. Can FINALLY play the squad again.

Back in 2015, WK made a first pass at this character which ranked as one of the worst of that year and HAS NOT AGED WELL. This version stands as an apology for that one. And it is heartily accepted. If I were ranking this year, he’d be likely in the top five.

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Captain America (Disney Plus 056)

125 points / 75 points / 50 points

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Is he Fair? Maybe on his lower dials, which lack the big damage and armor of the top. Otherwise, this figure is way OP for the character. If I were still doing pure F.U.N. factor ratings, he wouldn’t make it. This is a meta piece (if a lower-tier one, due to his unwieldy cost and so-so speed value while HyperSpeedy.)

But Very Useful: As I said, he’s OP for the character. Stealthy and anti-Stealthy (thanks to Avengers Initiative). 19 DV Invincible  plus the Energy Shield/Deflection from his no-cost Cap’s shield equipment. A HUGE 12 AV 4 damage first click — 13/5 in close! — and Defend+Toughness he can share with his pals. But of course what puts him over the top is his ability to drag a target he punched along with him:

YOU JUST EARNED THIS WHOOPIN’: Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Stealth. When Captain America uses Hypersonic Speed and hits with a close attack, after resolutions he may place a hit character adjacent to himself, then use Force Blast as FREE.

Add to that his Willpower and ability to generate a Redwing drone for an extra HSS Precision attack or Outwit — or both — and you see why he makes the meta list.

How He’s Nerdcore For Me: I first saw this piece about 7 months before release and bought it almost as soon as I could. No regrets. He’s now a fixture on my competitive Cookout team of all-Black characters. And he led that team to a win in WizKids’ World Championship — a bucket-list item for me! (And something I need to write about here.)

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Captain Carter (Disney Plus 041a)

95 points

 

msdp041a

Britain’s Fairest: She’s not nearly as busted as the prime variant, so she’s not going to make opponents quake after they notice she lacks the green ring. At 100 points (because you WILL play her with the shield), she’s a lot of a team and outdone by a lot of smaller pieces.

A Usefully Stiff Upper Lip: She really is good for smaller pieces, though, not only Defend-ing them via trait, but boosting the DV of friends NOT next to her if they’re within her 6 range. Speaking of which, she can punch or Quake at that 6 range (via SP Giant Reach:6) and knock back in any direction.

Nerdcore: A breakout star of the What If cartoon. She’s a nicely straightforward piece I didn’t expect to like so much.

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Falcon (Avengers Forever 006)

50 points

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Fair Flight: At just 50 points, this Charge piece isn’t frightening anyone, not even if playing with his team up card to get free attacks if a Captain America hit.

Useful in the Skies: But Improved Movement: Characters means he’s rarely getting tied up, giving his 50% Super Senses trait vs. range more of a chance. He mid-dials to Running Shot with Perplex and ends with a bit of Willpower+CCE.

How He’s Nerdcore For Me: In a year with Sam Wilson as the scale-tipping Disney Plus Cap America seen above (not to mention the SR Falcon from the same set), this one would seem a letdown. And yet, it’s this perfectly F.U.N. fig I’m always considering for teams when I need a more pure Falcon to run.

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Hulk (Avengers Forever 045)

200 points

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Hulk Fair! Giants are big ol’ targets, and Hulk here is no exception. He’s also 200 points and still not quite the total tentpole needed at that cost, especially without constant Outwit protection.

Hulk Useful! But Gamma Clap, though! It’s almost the perfect power for such a big target. It’s so good for friends, too, since it triggers when adjacent friendlies are targets. He also gets a few STOPs that do give him Safeguard:Outwit on those clicks. It’s a great balance that keeps him viable without the extra cost (and unF.U.N.ness) of being completely immune to the black damage power.

Puny Nerdcore!: Across the two decades of HeroClix, Hulk has rarely gotten definitive versions. This is one of them.

HULK CLAP

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Isca the Unbeaten (X-Men: X of Swords 031b)

45 points

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Fair? Kinda, For Someone Who Can’t Lose: Despite being a prime, she’s a Charge piece. Not scary on the outset and, being a Rally figure, it takes some time for her to ramp up.

Useful? Yeah. Her Mutant Power Is Inability To Lose: But when she does, though. Rally on any 4 means she could get them pretty fast, and then use them on her attacks, give herself critical hits, or make attackers miss her. She’s also got Invincible, Precision, Exploit and, later, Steal Energy and Empower. She’s a wild card and has a STOP click with +1 Super Senses if there’s a 4 in the attack. Finally, she’s a Sword Bearer, so for 5 points extra she can wield one of the Sword Equipments to give more ways to win. I prefer her story-accurate sword, Mercy (either version), which allow you, the player, to either reroll an attack on her or her attacks, respectively.

She’s So Nerdcore I Can’t Lose Playing Her: So none of the four (!) versions of her actually really represent her inability to lose. But man do I have F.U.N. trolling over it — whether I’m winning or losing. And as of this writing, I have not yet lost a game with her on the team.

Isca lounging

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Kurse (War of the Realms 035)

60 points

wotr035

She’s Fair: A 3-damage melee piece, even with Sidestep and a bit of Giant Reach, isn’t that rude to see.

She’s Useful: But she’s not that polite. Difficult to hurt from range, courtesy of an unOutwittable SP, she’s also smart and bears Outwit and Sidestep. So she can ‘Step around a corner, counter a defense and then Charge in with that Giant Reach. Later she gets Flurry, Steal Energy and Close Combat Expert. All for just 60 points!

How She’s Nerdcore For Me: I was surprised to learn this Kurse is a chick! That only makes her cooler in my book.

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Mindful One (Avengers Forever 030)

40 points / 25 points

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Fair-Minded: Super Strength is not good. And Charge figures die. So despite his Mystics TA, Mindful One alone isn’t going to be super-unF.U.N. to deal with.

Of A Mind To Be Useful: But he’s never alone, is he? At 40 points, he’s an 18 Defend piece who gives the Defended Mystics TA (not at 25 points, though). He spawns Mindless Ones with Rally dice (on friendly 1 rolls). And he’s a rare medic who can fight, either Charging in or shooting from 4 out.

How He’s Nerdcore For Me: I originally just wanted to team him with old Mindless Ones for mindless goodness. But actually fielding him won him this spot among the year’s best favorites.

———

Miss America (Avengers Forever 050)

50 points

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Young and Fair: Her 8 Hypersonic Speed is not much, and her best use of it doesn’t pair well with TK, the usual power combo. So Miss America isn’t an unfriendly sight to see.

Avenger Useful: She’s one of the only HSS figs able to take friends along, making her a great taxi — one who can attack on the way! Or, after the melee has begun, she can evacuate pals with HSS’s second move (though not far, thanks to her low-ish 8 Speed). She also brings Empower and later CCE to do her own punching.

Nerdcore: The original America was one of my all-time favorite clix pieces, but this one overshadows her in a number of ways. I can’t say I like this year’s model better, but I really really like it and honestly don’t know when I’ll reach for the 2017 version over it. But in any case, she’s a member of the Ultimates with Black Panther, America Chavez, Captain Marvel and Blue Marvel AND on the Young Avengers. She’s a fixture on both teams for me.

AmericaChavez

———

Miss Minutes (Disney Plus 029)

35 points

msdp029

“Time’s Up!”

Fair Timeline : No Incap piece is anything to be worried about.

Useful Timeline: But she’s a decent one, with 12 AV and 2 targets. She also brings Prob Control to the force, with the ability to “teleport” next to blocking terrain in her 6 range. She’s also a potential Mission Point threat if the other force has multiples of a same-named character in range+LOF.

Nerdcore Time: Taylor, there’s finally an Incap piece I love. This shady little robot AI just tickles me that she exists in clix.

———

Storm (X-Men: X of Swords 001)

45 points

xmxs001

Fair Weather:  For best results, she often has to put herself a bit in harm’s way. Still, with no moving attack, this Storm is not going to wreck anyone’s team with damage.

Uncannily Useful: But she’ll wreck formations with ease, being able to move and FREE Force Blast in any direction. She’s also Stealthy and Perplexing. And she’s a Sword Bearer, so +5 points can make her a Blades piece.

Nerdcore: Representing Storm stealing the sacred sword Skybreaker from Wakanda, this is an interesting take on the character. Not the perfect Storm we’ve still not gotten in clix — I want one who can make whole hurricanes — but more than OK.

———

Valkyrie (War of the Realms 042)

70 points

wotr042

Fair (not really a) Maiden: Very few Charge pieces should ever be a terror — not unless they have the full-Speed variety of the power — and Val here doesn’t. She’s also a pricey BCF figure, and weak to Exploit Weakness in particular.

Valhalla-level Useful: Where she shines is in damage reduction. She can weather penetrating damage from non-adjacent foes (that includes EW blows from Giant Reach!) and reduce +1 damage from adjacent ones (though not the aforementioned EW or other penetrating attack from them). But maybe she doesn’t mind fighting a crowd: Her SP allows her to use BCF against multiples.

Nerdcore: I’ve loved this Tessa Thompson-inspired version of Valkyrie since the Thor: Ragnarok film and it’s nice to get the comics analogue in clix. She’s got Exiles keyword — that’s how I played her during Games With Chadd this past summer — and she’s an addition to the The Cookout!

———

The Watcher (Disney Plus 101b)

40 points

msdp101b

He Sees All Is Fair: He starts with a 10 AV but just 1 damage. He ends with a 3 damage but just 8 AV. And with neither his Outwit nor his Perplex ever making him a credible offensive threat, he’s not a frightening presence on the other team.

But boy is this guy Useful. First of all, his line of fire is never blocked, so he is a supreme TK figure. With 8 range, he can be a surprising attacker (though again, not much of one) and an Outwit threat at all times. That’s because he can pick any of his clicks at the beginning of the turn — including a superb 20 Defend click at end dial. Add to that his bearing Mystics TA, and he’s worth most of his 40-point cost.

How He’s Nerdcore For Me: This is the What If version of Uatu, so he gets added to the Black Box of Black-themed characters. He was a key addition to that themed team I took to Worlds this year.

———

I didn’t rank ’em this year, same as last. But if I had to choose right now, my top 10 would be:

No. 10. Kurse

No. 9. Hulk

No. 8. Storm

No. 7. Miss Minutes

No. 6. Captain America

No. 5. Valkyrie

No. 4. Mindful One

No. 3. Miss America

No. 2. Blue Marvel

No. 1. Isca the Unbeaten

———

I might try a new version of something I did last year while still under quarantine: Play this year’s team of faves against the prior year’s.

150 AV4E031 Blue Marvel
125 MSDP056 Captain America
95 MSDP041A Captain Carter + shield 5
50 AV4E006 Falcon
200 AV4E045 Hulk
45 XMXS031B Isca the Unbeaten + sword 5
60 WOTR035 Kurse
40 AV4E030 Mindful One
50 AV4E050 Miss America
35 MSDP029 Miss Minutes
45 XMXS001 Storm + sword 5
40 MSDP101B The Watcher
70 WOTR042 Valkyrie

= 1020 points

versus

HoX053 Captain Britain 80
WW80067 The Commissioner 50
WW80045 Dr. Poison 40
WW80024 Harley Quinn 50
WW80054 Lex Luthor 50
A4E026 Loki 60
HoX051 Maggott 40
MP20-001a-200 Master Mold 200
A4E041 Monica Rambeau 150
XRF007 Multiple Man 40
XRF007 Multiple Man 40
XRF007 Multiple Man 10
A4E015 Onome 40
A4E072 Rikki Barnes 75
A4E047b T’Chaka II 45
XRF008 Sentinel 25
XRF008 Sentinel 25

= 1020 points.

I’ll let y’all know if it happens.