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I really wanted to write about an all-monster theme team or something. But my new job has cut out a lot of the extra gaming I’ve gotten used to over the past several years, so I’ve had to settle for 2 out of 3:

Queen of Fables (Superman #049)

yeah, a chick with squid for legs? Pretty freakshow.

Zibarro (Superman #104)

Monster with the soul of a poet.

Star Boy (Superman #007)

That beard’s not scary at all.

300 points even once I added the 4-point Scorpio Key special object. Basic strat was to copy Queen’s Mystics TA and shut down enemy Speed powers with Star Boy’s wildcard and trait, respectively, carrying Zibarro.

FIRST MATCH was against Lenny’s 300-point All-Star Superman on the new Metropolis map. Oy.

Superman set up well beyond Star Boy’s speed range to kill his Hypersonic Speed and on this very wide open map I’d have no safe way of doing so. But I had to do something to keep Supes from  simply running the table. One mistake, and I was done. So here’s what I did:

  • Star Boy moved within 9 squares of Superman, carrying Zibarro within 10 to Outwit Superman’s Indomitable.
  • Moved Queen of Fables just in front of Superman to block Line of Fire to Zibarro to prevent the counter-Outwit.
  • Copied Mystics with Star Boy.

Now I waited. Lenny’s a sharp player and he saw what I’d done to give him a number of bad choices:

  • He’d have to push to hit either the Queen or Star Boy, and thus would take TWO clicks of damage for the effort.
  • He’d also have to overextend and would be stranded by Star Boy’s trait…
  • …even moreso if he tried instead to go after the non-Mystic target of Zibarro behind the others.

But it wasn’t great for me, either. Superman could easily KO Star Boy or Zibarro with one easy hit. And Queen of Fables would take EXTRA damage from the object Supes was carrying.

In the end, Superman Outwitted her Invulnerability and moved to HSS her with his heavy object. Shape Change failed and she got rocked for 8 unreduced clicks, landing her on her final click of life. Argh.

That move won me the game.

See, Queen of Fables gets a SP “I’m The Hero Of This Tale” where she gets Willpower and can copy an enemy’s attack and damage values + 1. With Superman stuck next to her, he was an easy, Outwitted target (after Zibarro scooted around her for LOF) to take 6 clicks in turn. So although Supes was able to take her out easily on his next opportunity, he was now weakened enough for Star Boy and Zibarro to knock him out.

SECOND MATCH was in the Fortress of Solitude against Paul’s Gangbuster, Lucy Lane and Cyborg Superman. This time I didn’t play quite as smart, moving Star Boy too close to Lucy and GB, who merely based him and beat him to KO.

Fortunately, I had Zibarro around to keep CyberSupes good and nerfed for Queen to pound. Between the two, I was able to emerge victorious for a wipeout, and the tournament win.

 

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Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens and the Halloween-y focus, today we’re looking at one of the first character-carded figures, Gargoyle of the Defenders:

 

He holds it pretty well between his arms and his chest. 

Be back Thursday for another spooky edition of Token Totin’!

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Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens and the Halloween-y focus, today we’re looking at a monster “born on a Monday,” SOLOMON GRUNDY. First, here’s the currently Modern Age version :

He holds it the way a lot of figs do: wedged upright between the stat slot and his chin. It makes seeing the powers a slight pain, but not much of one, in my book.

Still, the Golden Age-legal Grundy in Hypertime does it better:

And yeah, he holds it better still.

Be back tomorrow AND Thursday for more monstrous and spooky Token Totin’ this week!

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Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens, in keeping with the Halloween-y mini-theme we’re looking at the savage were-beast of the Canadian wild, Wendigo:

 

It’s easy to fit the token in his fingers. Be back next Tuesday for another monstrous edition of Token Totin’!

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Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens and the Halloween-y focus, today we’re looking at one…well…TWO characters…sort of. It’s the double-faced Bi-Beast and his later incarnation, Skull-Brother:

 

He/They holds/hold a token just dandy with his/their right hand/hands.

Be back Thursday for another spooky edition of Token Totin’!

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Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens and the Halloween-y focus, today we’re looking at a kid dressing up as Batman, sorta:

Cinch the token under his LEFT armpit…seems to work a little better.

Be back next week for another spooky edition of Token Totin’!

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I’ve long had a prickly relationship with the whole Halloween thing. On the one hand, its roots are dark, very dark, and celebration of such seems unbecoming.

On the other hand, I love the fun of it — the candy, the costuming, the disarming and lampooning of frightening things (the whole song “Thriller” is kind of the ultimate example of this — hence the pic). And, in the end, light always wins out over darkness.

To that end, Heroclixin’ will take a short tour on the “dark side” for the rest of October and focus on those misunderstood Monsters and Animals and the villains of clix. Hope you enjoy!

EXTRA!…the Halo pocket checklist is now available!

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As always, there are honorable mentions who didn’t quite make the Heroclixin’ cut. Let’s take a final look at those:

The Flash and Green Lantern (The Brave and The Bold #048): At 200 points with a max 10 AV, this duo was just too much of any given team to crack the top ten. But when teamed with a lot of smaller Police pieces, their double-Telekinesis SP can be of great use. And a trio of Gotham City Detectives make their ranged Duo Attacks lethal!

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DEO Agent (Unleashed #002): Sporting PD TA, Perplex and Support, this Experienced generic was considered for the list. her practically unusable AV with the latter power squeezed her out of consideration. Similarly, her LE version Cameron Chase (Unleashed #201) has problems with her numbers and takes too long to truly contribute to the Police themed team when compared with the cheaper and much more immediately useful GC Detectives or Mandroid Armor. But Stealthy, Impervious Outwit is great if you can get her there.

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Zoom (Arkham Asylum #036): Leaving aside his villainous tendencies, his high price and low damage kept him from cracking the top ten. Sure, Perplex helps the latter liability. But early Perplex is a rare power in the theme, requiring other expensive cops or really underpowered ones.

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Allen the Alien (Invincible #004): While an excellent melee threat, he’s completely soft-shelled and can’t take a hit at all.

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Detective John Jones (Origin #210): Although he’s the best of the Police-keyworded Martians, he’s far too expensive for his early supporting-style clicks and not beastly enough down the line to make Top Ten status.

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Boodikka (Green Lantern Gravity Feed #010): With decent stats, powers and a good balance of ranged and melee ability, she was cut down by low overall damage numbers.

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Jane Foster (X-Plosion #206): One of the game’s best healers just happens to have the Police keyword. If Support were still as big a factor in HeroClix as it used to be, she’d have been a shoo-in. But in the power’s current more-balanced state, Foster is merely an also-ran.

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Green Lantern (Green Lantern Fast Forces #001): Indomitable with TK, RCE and a long dial, this version of GL couldn’t make the cut due to his relatively high price and lack of moving attack to be more effective at that cost. Setmate Kilowog (Green Lantern Fast Forces #002) had many of the same issues, with his lack of Indom and shorter life and range offsetting his lower cost. Neither was quite impressive or unique enough to carve a place in Heroclixin’s Top Ten…but maybe they do on yours!

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Thanks for reading. Be back tomorrow for the first in a number of special Token Totin’ installments for the month of October.

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#2

Barry Allen  (DC 75th Anniversary #054)

Good cop:

  • Hypersonic Speed is the best power in the game. 
  • He’s got solid numbers backing it up.
  • Mid-dial Exploit Weakness with Combat Reflexes give him a reason to not just hit-and-run all the time.
  • If he does get hit to deep clicks, then he can Flurry with his SP…and Flurry anyone on the board. 
  • A little Outwit in the end can be a rude surprise for the enemy.

Bad cop:

  • His JLA TA is largely wasted on his 119-point cost.

Final report: Overall, he brings that extra little bit of close combat prowess that the Police are largely lacking, a bit of a tentpole’s effect on a game but without the tentpole’s high price tag. All this earns Barry the #2 spot among HeroClix’s cops.

#1

 

Hal Jordan (DC 75th Anniversary #053)

Good cop:

  • Running Shot + 8 range, 11 AV and 4 damage make him a solid first-string, first-strike piece for the Police.
  • Two targets is also good with that high damage. Hedge your bets and make it hurt!
  • He’s Indomitable,  so you don’t need to fear pushing. But if you do decide to take the pushing damage, on click #2…
  • …behold Penetrating/Psychic Blast for when you’ve got tough hides to crack. He’s got three straight clicks of this power.
  • Perplex shows up soon for a couple of slots, making him solid support during his mid-dial.
  • His SP “One-Man Justice League” allows use of any standard attack power not showing on your squad, giving him extreme flexibility even after taking big hurt.
  • It’s his trait that makes him great for fellow cops, though. “The Aviator” gives pals Flight when he makes move actions. 
  • And thanks to the JLA team ability, his move actions are free!

Bad cop:

  • He’s one of the most expensive Police keyword pieces out there. May not be able to get him on a proper team.
  • Most times, he’ll be making tentpole-style attacks rather than using his Aviator trait. 
  • For the same reasons, his JLA team ability is basically an utter waste most of the time.
  • He has a very soft mid-dial.

Final report: In the end, though HeroClix is a superhero game, and Hal’s a superhero cop. So it’s no surprise he’s the #1 Police keyword figure in the game.

Monday: Heroclixin’s honorable mentions the other top cops in ‘Clix!

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#4

Bishop (Mutations and Monsters #014)

Good cop:

  • Running Shot + 8 range, 11 AV and 3 damage make him a solid first-string, first-strike piece for the Police.
  • Leadership is also good, with many of his cohorts being cheaper than his 100-point cost.
  • Push easily to Outwit on click #2 in case you’ve got tough hides to crack. He’s got more clicks down-dial, too.
  • Mid- and late-dial Ranged Combat Expert keeps him a consistently dangerous shooter.
  • A couple of Regeneration clicks can get him back in great fighting shape.

Bad cop:

  • He’s pretty soft, defensively, starting with Energy Shield/Deflection instead of the Toughness scattered on his dial.
  • His X-Men team ability is wasted points on virtually all cop squads.

Final report: Bishop is an ideal leader of smaller friends and he needs the help.

#3

Gotham City Detective  (Arkham Asylum #006)

Good cop:

  • Enhancement is very good for a theme that does a lot of shooting. It also works hand-in-hand with his…
  • …PD team ability.
  • Pushes easily to Plasticity and Willpower, making him a good tie-up piece in a pinch and one who can act 2 of 3 turns.
  • All for a low 27 points.

Bad cop:

  • Not very strong on his own.

Final report: But come on! For that cost — same as the #10 piece on this list, R Mandroid Armor — he makes the whole team better. Run multiples.

Tomorrow: the top two cops in ‘Clix!