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Veteran Avalanche (Clobberin’ Time #033)
Range: 8
Starting clicks of Barrier: 4
32 points

His free-moving Brotherhood team ability, deep Barrier dial and dirt-cheapest cost of the list win him a spot despite A) his lack of effectiveness in his secondary role as a Pulse Waver/Energy Exploder and B) his general late-dial uselessness. He also shares a keyword with another inexpensive Barrier piece on the Top Ten…

 

5. Experienced Pyro (Infinity Challenge #092 / Universe #110)
Range: 8
Starting clicks of Barrier: 2
35 points

He doesn’t offer much Barrier and his life is all but over beyond those first two clicks. So why does he make the list? Three reasons:

  1. He has a free-move team ability in The Brotherhood. It’s not much, but it can help him get easily into prime position for
  2. his secondary role as a sniper. Sure his damage and AV aren’t so stellar, but what do you expect for
  3. the cheap price of 35 points?
Guess even villains like to be protected. See the cream of the Barrier crop starting tomorrow.

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A couple of blondes take these spots, starting with:

8. Experienced Aleta (SN)
Range: 10
Starting clicks of Barrier: 4
75 points

Very much on the high end for a Barrier specialist, and her attack values are middling for her cost and role as a sniper. But 10 range is great for the power. Better still is that, with Running Shot and Telekinesis appearing after Barrier’s gone, she has great utility in the mid- to late-game action. Her Defenders TA could be useful. Adding the Guardians of the Galaxy ATA protects her from Outwit.

 

7. Veteran Magma (AW)
Range: 8
Starting clicks of Barrier: 4
51 points

A very weak opening AV (7? Seriously?) completely wastes her early-dial ability to shoot for 4 damage through RCE, leaving her nothing else to do but Barrier-push (or trade clicks via X-Men TA) for four clicks, as her stats rise. It’s only after Barrier that she becomes a genuine late-game threat who, after stalling the enemy this long, can either score a KO herself or act as a sacrifice piece the enemy can’t afford to ignore.

Tomorrow is hump day and mid-point on the Barrier list. Things begin to grow more villainous…

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Happy Labor Day, U.S. readers!

The lowest spot on the list is actually a three-way tie:

10. (tie) V Trapster
Range: 8 x 2
Starting clicks of Barrier: 2
59 points

Trapster makes the list by being cheap, having a decent starting DV and mobility through Leap/Climb. Double Incap never hurts, either. He only has a short run of Barrier but phases into a 2nd role as a backfield Perplexer.


(tie) JL Dr. Light
Range: 8
Starting clicks of Barrier: 2
67 points

Otherwise a thoroughly mediocre piece, Dr. Light shines as a Barrier specialist. She can burn out her two clicks of the power and land directly on Pulse Wave and Support with a decent 9 AV, both pretty good powers for the mid- to late-game action. If she doesn’t have a need to use Barrier upfront, she can offer some mobile or stationary cover fire thanks to Running Shot and Ranged Combat Expert. (It’s just too bad her AV is only 8 at that top spot.)


(tie) Arcade
Range: 4
Starting clicks of Barrier: 4
86 points

Though he’s way on the high end of Barrier specialists, points-wise, his Special Power granting him 10-range Barrier in addition to Mastermind brings him into consideration. He’s a little different from most Barrier figs in that he’ll be using his other SPs more at first to move and detonate objects at first before moving to his Barrier skills.

———————————————-

#9 shares her spot with no one.

9. Experienced Atom Eve (Inv)
Range: 8
Starting clicks of Barrier: 4
73 points

Merely adequate offensively, Eve really is a Barrier specialist with several opening clicks of the power and a fairly push-friendly (or at least push-neutral) dial. Too bad she’s a bit too expensive for the role. Still, her AV never quite tanks after her Barriering is done and she remains a decent shooter to the end.

Tomorrow we climb the Barrier ranks for numbers 7 and 8.

 

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It’s the turn of the month, so it’s time for another Top Ten list from Heroclixin’. This time we’re looking at Barrier.

It’s one of those supporting-actor powers in Heroclix. Sexy marquee powers like Hypersonic Speed and Psychic Blast or Probability Control get all the paparazzi attention. But once in a while you see this background player step up and steal a scene right out from under those headliners. And sometimes, the right vehicle can make it a star in its own right. Anyone who’s ever been stymied by a double-Barrier team knows this.

What makes Barrier great?

  • It’s the supreme defensive power. Impervious may reduce damage to zero sometimes, but Barrier reduces it to zero all the time by preventing the attack in the first place. It also cuts off enemy lines of fire for support powers.
  • It’s flexible. Barrier only needs Line of Fire to its first square, allowing for some truly unexpected uses.
  • It’s “Construct”ible. The Feat card CONSTRUCT is a great boost to an already solid power, increasing its effectiveness especially against flying enemies outdoors in range by forcing them to breakaway from the barrier.

What’s not so great about it?

  • It’s a defense slot power that doesn’t help its owner when targeted…at ALL. A character with Barrier will take all the damage when hit unless you add cost by using the FORCE FIELD feat.
  • It’s really just a stalling technique. The best defense is good offense. Barrier is not offense at all, and thus is rather second-rate.
  • It’s restricted to clear terrain. You can’t place a barrier token on hindering terrain, so it’s sometimes difficult to build as airtight a defense as you would like.

Because of these weaknesses, you really want to get the most out of a character with the power. So…

What makes a great Barrier figure?

  1. A range of 8 or greater. Because a Barrier figure lacks damage reducers (barring any feats granting such), it is best kept well out of the fray; a range of 6 or less puts the Barrier fig within most characters’ Charge zone. This means that for its power to be of maximum use to the team, it needs to have a long range. More range also increases the power’s flexibility.
  2. Two or more starting consecutive clicks of the power. Simply put, the optimal Barrier figure has to be able to push to use the power, if necessary, since it’s not always advantageous to build in multiple-Barrier teams. And while many figs with Barrier have many late clicks of it, that is of little strategic use as those figs are also usually near KO and it may be better to push and run them away than to push and make walls.
  3. Ability to serve a secondary or supporting role. Yes, a good Barrier figure can be able to fight. But if it’s the main attacker, then the Barrier power is mostly wasted. Your first-stringer should be dealing damage, not trying to prevent it with barriers. The flip side is that Barrier is not always needed. So what does the figure offer besides wall-building? (This is another reason why long range is necessary.)
  4. Affordability. A secondary/supporting figure like this should not top 100 points. Preferably it would be far cheaper.
  5. Life after Barrier. Say you exhaust every click of the power to hold off that tentpole fig with the Meteorite on the other team. What can this figure do now? If the answer is pretty much, “nothing else but die,” it doesn’t belong on the list.

Be here Monday to see the #10 and #9 best Barrier specialists in the game!

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Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens continues! Let’s take a left turn and look at a rare Indy figure with Super Strength, Major Maxim:

 

The gas-masked, black-trenchcoated villain holds it easily in his arms.

Next edition of Token Totin’ is Sept. 13. Next week will be one of my monthly-ish Top Ten countdowns. Be there!

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Yep, I played this some weeks ago in a 100% Captain America set Golden Age tournament.

Nick Fury (Captain America #023) 109 + Inside Information 4 + Alias 3
Quake 67
Stonewall 62
Phobos 59
Slingshot 50
Hellfire 45
+ Kinetic Accelerator
+ Eleha’al Vine
+ Dynamostat
=399 points

My basic strategy: Use Fury’s SP to deploy the troops around Quake, whose Leadership might remove a token or grant an extra action. Slingshot uses the Accelerator to make hit&runs until Stonewall and Quake can get in Charge range.

FIRST ROUND vs. Conrad’s Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, Yelena Belova, and SHIELD Agent on the indoor Helicarrier map.
Conrad stayed in his enclosed starting area, giving me a decided deployment advantage.
Turning Point:

  • Probability Controlled a miss into a crithit on Rogers.

MVPs: Though Slingshot made that big hit, it was Quake who scattered the enemy like tenpins, sealing my win with authority.

SECOND ROUND vs. Sammy’s Baron Zemo, Stonewall, Doorman, Quake and Scorpion on Days of Future Past.
Sammy’s only about 7 and isn’t a great player at all, but he’s needing less and less coaching and made some surprisingly solid tactical moves.
Turning Point:

  • This was actually a very close game until Fury KOed Zemo.

MVPs: Quake and Fury.

THIRD ROUND vs. Paul’s Invisible Woman, Cage, Steve Rogers, Bucky Cap on Days of Future Past.
Paul’s the veteran player here, so this was going to be a challenge. I focused on Outwitting Sue’s TK, but her PC was the real annoyance.
Turning Point:

  • Though Stonewall took tons of fire, he blocked for Quake long enough for her to land a crippling hit on Cap and Steve through the walls.

MVPs: Quake and Fury, again. Her SP is gonna be a game-changer, and his Outwit enabled the team to actually deal damage.

The Secret Warriors don’t look like much, with only light-damage attackers surrounding one immobile leader, but they definitely equal to more than the sum of their parts. Probably the fact that A) they don’t absolutely depend on any one member to work (aside from the Stealth-and-Mastermind-protected Fury) yet B) any one of the members still have the ability to affect the game.

  • Stonewall’s the tough brick who can absorb damage and deal out plenty with Super Strength;
  • Slingshot’s cheaper version of HSS works well in the close quarters that the SWs thrive in;
  • Quake is doubly effective in said medium-to-close range;
  • Phobos functions well in the same zone and as a great bodyguard for Fury;
  • and Hellfire’s the blocker/tieup/bait piece who can’t be ignored.
Next week, I’ll be in the midst of another of my turn-of-the-month Top Ten lists. (If I were more on the ball, I’d do something on the New DC universe, debuting today. But…I dunno.) Until then, check tomorrow for another Token Totin’ pic, and try to get to Atlanta’s Dragon*Con for some sci-fi/fantasy fun this weekend!

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Continuing the photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens, today we’re looking at the twice-made robot with all the powers of the Justice League…Amazo! First, the JUSTICE LEAGUE Super Rare:

 

…then the original Unique from COSMIC JUSTICE:

Both barely hold the token. Really, the tokens just lean against the flight stand between the ankles. But it’s still better than the “are you holding that object or standing on it” confusion that might otherwise occur in a game!
Be back Thursday for another edition of Token Totin’!

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Continuing my new feature (replacing “My Custom Mods”) in which I talk a bit on how I selected artwork for feats and battlefield conditions that didn’t come with art, originally, let’s look at:

Again, I had to move the text up higher on the card considerably to make room for the art.

Choosing the art was a bit tougher. The card seemed to be inspired by this comic page:

…in which the Avengers apparently all get to remove their action tokens after Thor’s KO and gangpile Superman.

But one of my guidelines for this project was to only use DC art and illustrations, just as the official card would have. So this hybrid version was out.

Another guideline was that back in 2006, I was limited to only the comics I personally owned, and at the time that collection was at a near-all-time low.

Fortunately I was still reading JSA on occasion, and recalled this scene of the team tackling Black Adam. I can’t remember if the team was rallying to a fallen member’s side or rescue, but I think the excellent Rags Morales art gets the point across.

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Yep, yours truly is part of the judging staff for the HCRealms.com HeroClix tournaments at Dragon*Con, Atlanta’s gi-normous sci-fi/fantasy/comic/gaming convention this Labor Day Weekend.

Yes, you read that right: fellow HeroClix-related website HCRealms.com is sponsoring this year’s Dragon*Con HeroClix gaming. Check out this link for a full list of events, build your teams, and come on down to play! There are LEs, custom maps and HCRealms T-shirts (co-designed by yours truly) to be won!

Alas, Heroclixin’ proper won’t have any swag to hand out this year. Maybe next time. Worse, I won’t be there for the first day of festivities, Friday, due to work (that’s the downside of becoming gainfully employed. I was totally gonna bring out Diana’s Wardrobe for the win). But the rest of the weekend, you can find me in the bottom floor of the Hyatt hotel helping to make sure ‘clix games run smoothly and according to the rules.

Oh, and one more thing…I’ll be in costume at least one of those days. Nothing flashy, though. I wonder if you can guess what character I’ll be. HINT: In keeping with the Heroclixin’ site’s theme, it’ll be a character who’s been clixed. A few times, even!

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Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strength characters who can hold their own object tokens continues! Since we’re on a sort-of “captain” theme, here’s another you’ll almost never use: the Captain Britain from the Ultimates universe:

It’s not as secure as it looks! You have to jam the token between his head and his LEFT arm.

Be back next Tuesday for another edition of Token Totin’!