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

OR_BF003_Mistrust

The fallout from DC’s Identity Crisis retcon was still fresh in early 2007, so it was an easy pick for this card (that was probably inspired by the storyline in the first place).

Art’s by Rags Morales, again. Man, that guy is good.

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Next time, Card Arts continues with the last BFC of Origin.

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Thanks to WizKids’ torrent of releases in 2012, my stable of unplayed figures has grown from the smallest of my cases to a lot of six leftover clamshells from Fast Forces and starter sets. But after adjusting the way I judge my venue, I’m able to get a lot more games in and no longer have to worry about building actual good teams to win.

I still want to play real people for real prizes or real fun, though. So I headed out later the same weekend to get a tournament AND a friendly match.

The tournament required half the team be from non-Modern Age elements. I chose Science:

Lex Luthor (Icons 051)
LE Thomas Oscar Morrow (Hypertime)
Researcher (Web of Spider-Man) x 3

Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man 024)
Hugo Strange (Batman 039)
Hugo Strange (Streets of Gotham 101)

and in a prior fun (but shortened) game, I ran this “themed” team: YA WANNA KATANA?!?!?

Katana (Batman 011), Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 004), Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 207), Psylocke (Giant-Size X-Men 024), Zealot (Batman 028), Gorgon (Captain America 046), Colleen Wing (Amazing Spider-Man 044)

And here’s my experience with each unplayed piece:

Lex Luthor (Icons 051): He was the main offensive threat on that science team, and he got maybe 4 attacks total off. VERY top-loaded, he pales next to his cheaper versions in just about every set since. Hard to say if I’ll ever play big Lex again.

Thomas Oscar Morrow (Hypertime), on the other hand, lives up to the hype I’ve heard for years. The 37-point, 10-ranged RCE piece is one of the very few Hypertime figs to hold up in modern day play. In addition to being a cheap Scientist team filler, he’ll be a fixture on any “labcoat” theme I formulate.

Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man 024) disappointed a bit, if only because his HSS didn’t seem to work so well for me due to A) user error like hitting a Mastermind figure or B) crit missing or C) going up against Sentry & Void. So yeah, I actually like this Spidey, just on a better team than this!

Hugo Strange (Batman 039) is tricky to play, as he nerfs the Outwit and Perplex of friend and foe alike. But he’s got to get so close to use that trait that he’s easy pickings for enemy attack (thanks to his near-total lack of defenses. I’ll use him on the aforementioned labcoat fun team and on other strange themes, but nowhere else.

Hugo Strange (Streets of Gotham 101) shaves 9 points compared to the above version to get Bat Ally TA as a defense technique. There’s also Outwit and Mind Control. I wasn’t able to get him into the fights very well with this team. I’ll use him again on a Strange team.

Katana (Batman 011) barely got into the fight in the time-shortened game she saw action; just long enough to miss her Charge and Outsider a Super-Strong target. Definitely worth running again!

Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 004) also only got a single Charge in on an opposing Franken-Castle, and unfortunately didn’t roll high enough to take the ex-Punisher down. Can’t complain; there was no way to one-shot that piece.

Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 207) DID score my only KO with a Running Shot on Johnny Blaze. Will have the toughest time deciding in the future which Blade to wield.

Zealot (Batman 028) only got a single attack (a miss) on Franken-Castle. Would like to try her on a WildCATs team later.

Colleen Wing (Amazing Spider-Man 044) was the sole disappointment, getting one-hit off the board by a Charging Franken-Castle before getting to do anything other than hide by the wall with the Hand ATA. Definitely won’t stop me from trying this cute lil’ samurai another time.

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So much for Figure Flush Week One. This was fun! Week Two is coming mid-week. In the meantime, see more Card Art on Monday and more Token Totin’ on Tuesday. And have F.U.N. Heroclixin’! 

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, we move on through the Amazing Spider-Man set with:

Wedging the token upright in the stat slot and wrist of Scarlet Spider (Amazing Spider-Man 001b & 209) works for him. Meanwhile, Rhino (020) tenuously grips his token where his left leg and torso meet.

The bigger half of Man-Thing and Howard The Duck (047) holds a token with solid ease in his right forearm.

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Tomorrow, Figure Flush continues.

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So thanks to WizKids’ torrent of releases in 2012, my stable of unplayed figures has grown from the smallest of my cases to a lot of six leftover clamshells from Fast Forces and starter sets.

So I’ve adjusted the way I judge my venue now. Instead of building a single team for playing the bye round or just sitting/standing around during the tournament, I’m building FOUR teams for the event and either playing three of them (a different one each round) or I’ll do a solo game against myself if there is no bye round.

The latter is how it fell out this past weekend. The scenario was a 400-point “Valentines Only” game in which only figures with a romantic history were allowed. Here were my teams:

Marvel Girl (10th Anniversary) 54
Cyclops (Fast Forces) 75
Storm 59 (10th Anniversary) 
Rookie Black Panther (Infinity Challenge) 27
Lyja the Lazerfist 80
Human Torch (Fantastic Four) 100
vs.
Oracle (Fast Forces) 50
Nightwing (Batman primer) 85
Dove (Fast Forces) 100
Hawk (Fast Forces) 100
Movie Star (Infinity Challenge) 3
Bruce Wayne (Batman) 60

and

Aquaman (Justice League New 52) 111
Mera (Crisis) 6
Bruce Wayne (Batman primer) 50
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20
August General In Iron (Batman) 142
Ghost Fox Killer 68
vs.
Green Lantern (10th Anniversary) 145
Star Sapphire (Fast Forces) 75
Joker (Batman primer) 125
Harley Quinn (Batman) 50

And here’s my experience with each unplayed piece:

August General In Iron fell victim to missed attacks, including the snake-eyed variety. Not really his fault, though, and he survived to the end of the game. Will definitely play him again because I’m a Great Ten fan, but he’s not the obvious choice over his 100-point precursor from 2007’s Justice League set.

Bruce Wayne (Batman primer) was super-useful for TK and Perplex. Will play him next on a “BRUUUCE” team for sure.

Bruce Wayne (Batman), on the other hand, was somewhat high-priced filler on his team. Still, Perplex for friends is never useless. Another lock for the “BRUUUCE” team.

Cyclops (Fast Forces) wasn’t bad. He comprised most of the effective offense for his team thanks to Running Shot + Willpower. But he really pales in comparison with the 110-pt. GSX model. Guess I’ll grab him as a bargain version if necessary — if I even keep the piece.

Dove (Fast Forces) was mostly useful for Prob and her synergy with partner Hawk. I’ll always pick the main set version over her, though.

Green Lantern (10th Anniversary) was better than I expected — that Barrier trait came in handy. He never fell off click #1. There are so many versions of Hal I can’t say this will be the first I consider, due to his expense, though.

Harley Quinn (Batman) Joker’s lil’ gal was OK, basically serving just as a trigger for his revenge trait.

Hawk (Fast Forces) IS the one I’ll be playing from now on; he’s the main reason I decided to go ahead and buy the Fast Forces. I like him SO much better than the main set Hawk (who I don’t even HAVE anymore). One-shotted Black Panther and survived to game’s end despite taking a fair amount of fire.

Joker (Batman primer) works better than the main set Joker. But I really need to be careful when playing him with a Harley. Using that trait got him away from any Mastermind fodder and, consequently, killed by Aquaman.

Lyja the Lazerfist was there to make Human Torch viable, and vice versa. But overall, I was unimpressed. There’s a reason she’s sat unplayed in my box for nearly a year.

Marvel Girl (10th Anniversary), you’ll recall, was the worst of 2012 in my reckoning. But TK is never useless. That’s all I can say. She’s gettin’ traded ASAP.

Nightwing (Batman primer) was a blunder to play, being a piece with starting Enhancement on a team with 0 zero besides him. Still, he has enough talents to have served as the other offensive engine of the team.

Oracle (Fast Forces) of course got that engine going with her piece-moving ability. She didn’t contribute any more than that. I kinda played her close to the action, being willing to use her as a decoy. But I didn’t take the bait due to her Stealth and Shape Change and the presence of other, more threatening targets. I imagine that can work out either way: lose 50 points and her mobilizing factor but leave the fighters still free to punish you (especially since at that point, they probably won’t need Oracle so much any more) or focus on the fighters while she continues putting pieces in place. Devil’s choice, and why she’ll come out the box more than once.

Star Sapphire (Fast Forces) did a similar thing in her game, keeping Aquaman and Green Lantern from fighting each other. But with Aquaman being a melee piece and thus unable to threaten GL, it served more to keep GL from shooting Aquaman, leaving the Sea King free to wreak mad havoc with my teammates. Despite Sapphire’s taxi skills and sniping powers,  I don’t think I’ll run her again.

Storm 59 (10th Anniversary) is every bit as effective as her 40-point Danger Room predeccessor. She landed one of her team’s only major shots. A good bargain Storm for the points…but one I’ll ONLY reach for if I’m short on points and need a Storm.

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Check back on F.U.N. Friday for the 2nd half of Figure Flush Week One. And more Token Totin’ on Thursday. 

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, again. It’s been a while.

>

Upright on the base of “Big Time” Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man 001b) and held — barely — by a loop of webbing.

Monsters are strong.

Manphibian (Amazing Spider-Man 025) holds a token in the crook of his left arm like so while Living Mummy (Amazing Spider-Man 011) grips it under his triceps.

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Tomorrow there MIGHT be  the start of a new series of battle reports/figure reviews. Stay tuned!

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Time to resume this series talking about DC feats and BFC cards that I went back and customized with artwork for fun. (Here’s a link back to the original concept.)

Continuing with the Origin set’s BFCs. Next up is Protect The Innocent:

OR_BF002_ProtectTheInnocent

The artist is Denys Cowan, from his run on the latter days of Steel’s self-titled solo series in the late 1990s. It was definitely the best illustration in my collection for this card.

I rarely used this BFC, though. Despite my love of building fun teams, I heavily leaned more toward BFCs that screwed with opponents’ game. This one’s almost completely innocuous. And in this modern age of clix, a BFC that messes with pogs isn’t all that useful.

Or IS IT? Horde tokens are bystanders. This BFC can sweep ’em off the board as soon as they base you! And with no shot as respawning, either, as they weren’t KO’d!

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Next time, Card Arts continues with more of Origin’s BFCs.

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Hey, it’s a Heroclixin’ anniversary: the 500th post!
Image

This will not be a double-sized installment, though. Sorry.

Finally done with my retrospective of 2012, which was more difficult than ever due to the sheer volume of ‘Clix released last year. We got almost 625 new figures in 2012 — and that’s not even accounting for the ones that had multiple dials and/or point costs. That’s nearly 175 more than 2011’s then-record 448 figures.

For perspective? In Topps’ only full year of production in the carded era, 2008, less than 250 pieces were released.

This torrent of ‘clix, then, has sorely tested my goal of playing every figure in my collection at least once. Where I used to be able to store unplayed pieces in my smallest tackle box and take them with me to a venue, I now need six leftover clamshell packs from Fast Forces/Starter Sets to hold the overflow.

For the first time ever, this year I’ve found myself selling or trading pieces I’ve never fielded. Me becoming the judge at my venue hasn’t helped either.

But perhaps now it CAN. If there’s an odd number of players, I can play the bye round. Better still, since I’m not in the running for the prize, I’ve decided to take a page from another judge in my area and play a different team in each bye round instead of using the same one. That’ll get THREE teams off the never-played rolls!

And if the players are even and I don’t get to play the bye? Not a problem.

See, several years back, I found myself recovering from an aggravated assault that kept me from tournaments for months. I kept myself playing by running solo playtests of my figures.

With that experience in mind, I’ll just set up an extra map and play two of my teams AGAINST each other myself in between answering judge questions.

My Wednesday battle reports in the near future, then, are probably going to detail the results of these F.U.N. figure trials more than my attempts at actually winning games that matter.

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It’s Valentine’s Day, that Hallmark holiday on which we express our love to significant others.

I do this blog, so it’s obvious that I DON’T HAVE a significant other. But at least I’ve got HeroClix, right?

Yeah. Play the sad violin music for me.

(OK, done now.)

Here’s my favorite piece of 2012.

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Number 1
Vixen

Vixen (Streets of Gotham 028)

WHY I WANT TO PLAY HER EVERY WEEK

It’s all about two words: “Tantu Totem,” her trait allowing her to use a standard power from fellow Animals, similar to Animal Man, my 2010 #8 fave.

Only I read it wrong. It says she can use ANY standard power possessed by a fellow Animal on the field, not just ONE. That means, if she’s teamed up with, say, Armadillo, Animal Man and Cosmo, she could Charge in using Animal Man’s BCF, then share Animal Man’s Combat Reflexes AND Cosmo’s Super Senses AND Armadillo’s Impervious on top of her inborn Energy Shield/Deflection to weather the counterattacks next turn.

EDIT: Or, at least, that’s how it WAS. Finally, more than six months after her release, her trait was clarified/got errata to read that she can use ONE power from ONE character.

Sure, there’s a 1-in-6 chance she might take a click for all this power. But late-dial Regen softens that potential blow. She’s a piece that literally can have a completely different dial every time you play. Her steady but mediocre stats keep her from being a mean piece.

One of the drawbacks of Animal Man in my 2010 list was that I wasn’t a big enough fan of the Animal keyword to play him and it often. But Vixen singlehandedly makes me want to play both him and other Animals all the more.

WHY I DON’T

Honestly, I don’t want to wear her out. She’s also a bit limited in keywords and I haven’t come up with other cute or goofy themes to run her in — the one I have just doesn’t work:

FOXEY LADIES

  • Vixen (Streets of Gotham 028) 74
  • Ghost Fox Killer 68
  • Crimson Fox 44
  • Vet Vixen (Collateral Damage) 44
  • Exp Vixen  (Collateral Damage) 38
  • Rookie Vixen  (Collateral Damage) 33

= 301 points! DAMMIT!!!!

EDIT: And, of course, her trait wasn’t intended to be as awesome as it looked. 

I’M PLAYING HER NEXT

Trying hard to build a black Animal team, but that’s gonna stick me with just her, Falcon (sans a Captain America to boost him) and maybe Killer Croc to work with in Modern Age. That’s not a great team.

But, as I alluded above, the real challenge is NOT running her every week with at least one other Animal-keyworded figure to leech powers from. Truly my favorite HeroClix figure of 2012.

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That does it for the annual look back! Very glad to wrap it up by Valentine’s Day this year instead of April. Looking forward to getting back to the old routine next week:

MONDAYS: Card Arts
TUESDAYS: Token Totin’
WEDNESDAYS: Battle reports
THURSDAYS: Token Totin’
FRIDAYS: Extra features

Thanks for reading!

 

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Number 4
Aquaman52

Aquaman (New 52 Justice League 005)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
Aquaman is my favorite superhero.

Well, there are other reasons, too.

Atlantis is one of my favorite themes to play. Also, this Aquaman is the first version that’s a straight-up effective bruiser. Others are either better held in reserve as secondary fighters due to their gimmicks (Brightest Day), are too dependent on water (DC75th, Justice League ’07) or are too expensive (Flashpoint). But New 52 Aquaman can lead the charge without breaking the bank even on a bone-dry map — especially if Mera’s around to take a fall to boost all his stats.

WHY I DON’T
Mera taking a fall is offensive to me. But it’s such a boon to Aquaman that I must consider the tactic. Either way, I can’t play Atlantis all the time.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On a Valentine’s Day team with Mera this weekend! Also on every Atlantis team, for sure. I also won’t play the Justice League without considering Aquaman. Finally, he’ll be a fixture on any Angry Mob* team I ever play.

* Angry Mob: a team consisting fully of sculpts toting pitchforks (or tridents) and torches.

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Number 3
Ant-Man+Wasp
Ant-Man and Wasp (Chaos War 053)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY THEM EVERY WEEK
When the existence of Chaos War’s chase pieces were first revealed with this fig’s preview, I knew it was the one I wanted. It’s near the top of my favorite pieces of the year for being the ultimate finesse piece: though very soft, this duo has great damage potential with careful tactics and positioning. Pretty pushable, too.

WHY I DON’T
One hundred sixty-eight points is a lot to pay for a piece as fragile as this. They also can’t Split into the best versions of themselves. Most of all, the points just never seem to work for the Pym-centric themes I want to run.

I’M PLAYING THEM NEXT
On one of those Pym themes, by hook or crook. I’ve also wanted to try a Small theme composed of hobbits, dwarves, Tiny Size figs and Cosmo. And one day I’ll do a rerun of a “Bug Avengers” team guest-starring Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Wasp and others.

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Number 2

Giant-man
Giant-Man (Chaos War 200)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
Well, for one thing, I spent all that money on the guy. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on a single HC figure.

But seriously, I like Henry Pym as a character, going so far as to purchase the Essential Ant-Man collection. In fact, Vet Yellowjacket was my first pull from a bought HeroClix booster back in the Fantastic Forces days. So it was time that a true colossal-sized version of Giant-Man was made. It didn’t disappoint, dial-wise, either. The Building Shove SP is great fun (for him) without being totally abusive. And then there’s the Morph trait to switch from identity to identity in mid-game. SO cool.

WHY I DON’T
Unfortunately, that 75-point dial isn’t so hot, and it is difficult to sink the 300 points into a character that’s not as strong as Sentroid or Thanos. So colossal Pym usually stays on the shelf at home.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On my “Big Pympin'” team of Giant-Men and Yellowjackets. Complete with Jay-Z theme music.

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Tomorrow, I give a Valentine to my favorite HeroClix piece of 2012.  

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Number 7
Crystal

Crystal (Chaos War 044)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HER EVERY WEEK
I wrote about Crystal last summer in my “Ginger Avengers” feature. It’s all still true; she’s a heck of a first-strike piece on top with a great deal of finesse in her super-fun “Tornado” trait and later-dial related SPs. Her modest combat values keep her from being broken.

WHY I DON’T
She’s a lock on Inhumans teams, but I don’t play that keyword very often. I also quickly get tired of Avengers. I haven’t figured out many other cute themes to work her onto.

I’M PLAYING HER NEXT
On an Inhumans team, of course, though who knows when THAT’ll be. And she’ll always be a Ginger Avenger.

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Number 6
cyborg

Cyborg (New 52 Justice League 006)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
I’m a completist where black characters are concerned, so I was glad to see Victor Stone well-represented in his third HeroClix iteration. I also like what’s been done with him in the New 52 JLA, making him a founding member for a needed extra dose of diversity in that team.

He’s also very playable, what with his anti-Stealth trait and Running Shot + Pulse Wave combo (which is very effective with his 6 range; it’s easy to get single-target blasts off). Following with Poison, Exploit Weakness and strong combat values, and it’s not hard to see why I think he’d have made my Top 10 list in a less torrid year.

WHY I DON’T
I’m trying to play all my figures at least once, and that hasn’t left much opportunity to run Vic more often with the sheer rate that WizKids is pumping out new figures and sets. Especially since I haven’t come up with any cute themes to run him in. The “Big 7” JLA is also a bit too points-heavy to run much.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
I have no idea. I just know I will, probably when I’ve whittled down my multiple cases of unplayed figs.

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Number 5
NovaPrimeIAmAnAvenger

Nova Prime (Galactic Guardians 001)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
After I became a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy (because of HeroClix, incidentally), I grew to become a fan of Nova as well, enjoying his rise in status from a mere ex-New Warrior into a heavy hitter of cosmic Marvel.

HeroClix didn’t really give him his due in its first take on him in Supernova. I mean, the Vet was fine for Rich as just a regular Nova Corps Centurion. But it wasn’t him as Nova Prime at all.

Even this figure isn’t really Rider with the full Worldmind and Nova Force in him. But then, he’s totally designed as the leader of fellow Novas, and no longer carrying the full load anymore. And this Nova Prime is still an excellent piece.

WHY I DON’T
He’s best played as part of a full corps of, well, Nova Corps pieces with the “Share Through the Worldmind” traits. But the points almost never seem to work right, due to my insistence on running multiples of all the Nova Corps generics, the Super-Nova marquee and the older REV pieces.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On a Secret Avengers team soon, now that that team’s original lineup is basically complete (only missing an Avengers-keyworded Valkyrie). And one day I’ll get that full-force Nova Corps team together.

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Nearing the top with numbers 4, 3 and 2, which range from the tall to the small; from the depths to the heights.