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From left to right: Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Adam Warlock, Drax, Phyla-Vell. All coming to an 800-point HeroClix game near you.

This is a love story.
When Hammer of Thor’s release was still some weeks away, I barely had a clue who any of the Guardians of the Galaxy were (besides already-made members such as Mantis, V Drax and Gamora). And aside from Rocket Raccoon, I didn’t care one whit. I didn’t read Marvel’s “cosmic” titles and had no interest in starting.
But as more info on the set began to filter out, I found myself intrigued more and more by both previously unknown characters and the ones I knew.
Then I saw her.

Now I'm a believer!!!!

I was so impressed by the sculpt alone (let alone the solid dial) that I got interested in the Guardians of the Galaxy comic. And, in a scant six weeks or so (thanks in large part to my friend and fellow player Lenny loaning me the majority of the series for one of those weeks), I’ve become a big fan. All because of my love-at-first-sight with Miss Phyla-Vell above.
Anyway, I’ve been wanting to play this team for weeks but didn’t want to do it halfway. I also had to reacquire Vet Drax from Supernova first…

The dial is right...but the sculpt isn't.

and then I wanted to modifiy him to match his current look:

Better now.

Turned out great. One day, I’ll do a post or series of posts featuring all my mods. I’m hardly the best out there, but I like my work.
Here’s the team.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
V Drax 184 + Unstoppable 5
Adam Warlock (Secret Invasion) 160
Phyla-Vell 138 + Protected 8
Star-Lord 90
Gamora 73 + Protected 8
V Mantis 67
Rocket Raccoon 65
= 798 points.
FIRST MATCH vs. Charlie (RockMan on HCRealms) and his team full of classic Avengers:
Thor (Hammer of Thor) + Protected + Inside Info
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) + Protected
Giant-Man (Avengers)
Captain America (Hammer of Thor)
Hawkeye (Avengers)
Quicksilver (Avengers Super Rare)
Wasp (Avengers Super Rare)
Scarlet Witch  (Avengers Super Rare)

…and some other cards I can’t recall. He picked the Dawn of Time map. I picked the wrong side. Tons of hindering terrain forced my crew to assemble in a wide kill zone where Thor and Iron Man could take easy shots and get easy rerolls from Prob Controls. I’d have to hope my Kinetic Accelerator would give Gamora enough of a boost to get to someone. (An ideal build would’ve given me some way of double-teaming her with Drax. But no, not this team.)
Complicating that early-strike idea was Quicksilver swiftly moving to base Gamora and Mantis. Simply could not have that, so Drax Charged him to KO with the Meteorite. (Didn’t mind doing it because Drax has his own Exploit Weakness to work with.) Thus freed, Gamora got enough extra speed from the Accelerator to get to Iron Man. But her attack was Probability Controlled into a miss, and that’s all she wrote aside from tying up Tony for a while longer.
Mantis got healed by Adam Warlock after taking a hard shot from Iron Man but fell to Thor once she got back in the field while Drax pushed and utterly failed against Giant-Man. Stuck on Combat Reflexes and unable to Outwit any Avengers of note, he sucked massive damage straight to KO. Star-Lord took it even worse when a Perplexed Thor one-shot him.
EDIT (01/5/10): And now, as I recall, Charlie’s Earthquake BFC going off didn’t help much either!
Never quite got Star-Lord, Phyla-Vell or Rocket Raccoon into the fight for real…landed a shot on Iron Man but that was it. I lost Drax, Star-Lord, Gamora, Mantis and only got Quicksilver and a Protected feat. 0-1.


SECOND MATCH vs. Lenny
Thor (Hammer of Thor) + Fortitude + Protected + Alias
Beta Ray Bill (Hammer of Thor)
Heimdall
Sif
Spider-Man (Hammer of Thor)

Again I was forced onto the Dawn of Time map, but I picked a better side this round, giving me a little more cover and him only one direction of attack. Star-Lord again took an uru mallet to the face, but thankfully this was only for 5 damage, sending him to Adam Warlock’s healing ways.
This time Drax was the first to Accelerate to Thor, using Unstoppable to run through the water. But he was forced to waste his Meteorite on an adjacent Asgardian Warrior when Thor got his Alias roll.
Gamora came next (once the others cleared out the other A. Warriors shielding Thor) and the whole team began to work on Thor as Heimdall and Sif moved in to support him. Beta Ray Bill got some killing shots on Drax but gave Star-Lord something to try Galactic Marksmanship on so he could lay some big hurt on Thor (once Phyla and others got Spider-Man out of the way).
Thor whiffed a couple of key attacks and breakaways, sealing his fate. Got Thor, Spidey and both Asgardian Warriors (to my losses of Drax, Gamora and Mantis again) for a win. 1-1.


THIRD MATCH vs. Derek
Thor & Loki
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor Super Rare)
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor common)
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor common)
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor common)
Asgardian Warrior
Asgardian Warrior
Asgardian Warrior
V Hand Ninja (X-Plosion)
I won roll and picked the Space Map. Gamora got an early Charge on Thor & Loki but Shape Change thwarted her. Star-Lord got a much lighter shot on them.
Asgardians surrounded the big duo, forcing me to whittle them away. Poor Mantis, on the map’s rooftop, took down a generic Valkyrie but was woefully overmatched by SR Valkyrie. Rocket Raccoon tried to gain a rooftop vantage to PC, but only got Outwitted once Gamora actually got to hit Thor & Loki to that point in their dial.
Drax pushed and Charged in for a crit hit on Thor & Loki that was nullified when they made their Shape Change again (retroactively, because it’s non-optional). Drax was gone before the next turn, shot in the back by SR Valkyrie and Charged by Asgardian Warriors.
Gamora, on her Flurry+Blades click, rolled a 1 & 2 on the attacks. And then game was over after she was gone. I was incredibly mortified to realize that her base 3 damage would have KO’d Thor & Loki and won me the game instead of losing it — even with the Mystics feedback!
KO’d 2 Warriors and Valkyries each but lost Drax, Gamora and Drax…AGAIN.
These results were less than optimal: 1-2. Mantis and Gamora and Drax were casualties in every game. Gamora did her part despite her loss, but Drax really underperformed because I was just too reckless with him, pushing to make his attacks almost every time.
I kinda found a rhythm by the last game: taxi Gamora to the Kinetic Accelerator on turn one with Phyla, Charge on turn 2 then get Drax on the Accelerator for a push Charge with a Meteorite. I wasn’t able to do this plan of attack in round one and paid for it. Also flubbed it in round two. Almost pulled it off in the last one but Thor & Loki’s Shape Change is a killer and a half.
Even better would be to taxi Gamora first with Phyla, then Drax with Adam, hopefully scoring a 1-2-3 KO with 1) a push shot from Phyla, 2) an Accelerated Charge from Gamora, opening the Accelerator for Drax (hopefully) and 3) Drax coming in with a heavy a turn later.
I was now determined to win with this team, though, because they were still pretty competitive; it was more user error than anything that doomed me. I had a 1000-point game the next Friday and an 800-pointer Saturday. Both would be GotG builds…I SWORE IT*!!!!
*(not really. But I DID play a LOT more GotG teams. Watch this space for more on the space-farers!)

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M+M E005 CIVIL WAR
Based on the 2007 Marvel Comics crossover, this dial is, in my opinion, just north of unplayable in the current game environment. Why? Read on…
THE SETUP: Before the beginning of the first turn, each player must declare his or her force to be either Pro-Registration or Anti-Registration.
WHAT IT MEANS: You get to choose to be either handicapped (Pro) or advantaged (Anti). This will become clear. Note that nothing here prevents both sides from picking the same affiliation.
TURN THE DIAL: Immediately when any character is captured, and at the end of a round in which any character was knocked out.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is a slow-moving dial for players with defensive styles.
STAMFORD EXPLOSION (yellow, slot 1): At the end of each player’s turn, that player chooses one of his or her characters adjacent to an opposing character and rolls a d6. On a result of 1, that character must immediately use Pulse Wave as a free action as if it had a range value of 12.
WHAT IT MEANS: This effect can [I]never happen[/I] in the current game environment since Pulse Wave, a ranged combat action, cannot be used in adjacency! Even when the dial was released, only flying characters (or boot speed characters IF based by a flyer) could still use Pulse Wave in adjacency.
REGISTRATION ACT (red, slots 2-10): All characters on Pro-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability, and they can also use the Capture ability, but they can’t release captives.
WHAT IT MEANS: Pro-Registration side pretty much gets the shaft. Any team abilities that served well in the early game are gone and replaced by the SHIELD ability, which is practically useless for this game unless you field characters with some sort of anti-Stealth Traits, feats or Special Powers. Being able to Capture without getting the points for it is also largely pointless thanks to the later BREAKOUT condition. The upside is that an aggressive Pro-Reg team may be able to win the game early with a combination of Captures and KOs. It’s a risk-reward ratio that may be worth considering, so field characters with Willpower/Indomitable and who can ignore terrain to best chase down the rebels. Plasticity could also yield dividends for Capture attempts.
REBELLION (blue, slots 2-10): All characters on Anti-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use Stealth, and move actions given to them don’t count toward their controller’s available actions for the turn.
WHAT IT MEANS: Essentially, they get the Batman and Avengers TAs, making the Pros’ SHIELD TA utterly useless. The free move also enables the Antis to outmaneuver the Pros. Anti-Regs will want to field fliers and auto-breakaway powers to help movement through hindering terrain. Ranged attackers are also important since being based risks Capture — and Phasing/Teleport or Plasticity are good guards against that, as well. One more tip: cheap sacrifice pieces, such as pogs, can speed up the slow-turning dial if key pieces do get Captured.
BREAKOUT! (orange, slot 10): All captives are immediately released.
WHAT IT MEANS: Any Pros who Captured early in the game will find themselves instantly tied up and the Anti-side will gain a hefty second wind. One more reason not to go Pro.
DETENTE (black, slot 10): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a 2d6. On a result of 10-12; the game ends immediately.
WHAT IT MEANS: The game may suddenly end at any time.
SUMMING IT UP: Civil War simply doesn’t work so well under the game’s current rules. The STAMFORD EXPLOSION will never go off unless the rules are changed. Players will never pick Pro-Registration if given an informed choice (unless they just like a challenge). And if the teams are small enough, the final slot may never be reached. Overall, although Civil War is fairly easy to pick up and play, it can be terrifically UN-fun for the sucker who picks Pro-Registration. But if both pick Anti-Registration, the spirit of the dial is lost.

At LONG last, I continue this series. (See the other parts here.)

M+M E005 CIVIL WAR

For the record: my head was with Iron Man. My heart, with Cap. And my middle fingers were up at Marvel for writing both JUST out of character enough to all but ruin the otherwise interesting premise.

For the record: my head was with Iron Man. My heart, with Cap. And my middle fingers were up at Marvel for writing both JUST out of character enough to mess up an interesting premise.

Based on the 2007 Marvel Comics crossover, this dial is, in my opinion, just north of unplayable in the current game environment. Why? Read on…

–

THE SETUP: Before the beginning of the first turn, each player must declare his or her force to be either Pro-Registration or Anti-Registration.

WHAT IT MEANS: You get to choose to be either handicapped (Pro) or advantaged (Anti). This will become clear. Note that nothing here prevents both sides from picking the same affiliation.

–

TURN THE DIAL: Immediately when any character is captured, and at the end of a round in which any character was knocked out.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is a slow-moving dial for players with defensive styles.

–

STAMFORD EXPLOSION (yellow, slot A): At the end of each player’s turn, that player chooses one of his or her characters adjacent to an opposing character and rolls a d6. On a result of 1, that character must immediately use Pulse Wave as a free action as if it had a range value of 12.

WHAT IT MEANS: This effect can never ever happen in the current game environment since Pulse Wave, a ranged combat action, cannot be used in adjacency! Even when the dial was released, only flying characters (or boot speed characters IF based by a flyer) could still use Pulse Wave in adjacency.

–

REGISTRATION ACT (red, slots B-J): All characters on Pro-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability, and they can also use the Capture ability, but they can’t release captives.

WHAT IT MEANS: Pro-Registration side pretty much gets the shaft. Any team abilities that served well in the early game are gone and replaced by the SHIELD ability, which is practically useless for this game unless you field characters with some sort of anti-Stealth Traits, feats or Special Powers. Being able to Capture without getting the points for it is also largely pointless thanks to the later BREAKOUT condition. The upside is that an aggressive Pro-Reg team may be able to win the game early with a combination of Captures and KOs. It’s a risk-reward ratio that may be worth considering, so field characters with Willpower/Indomitable and who can ignore terrain to best chase down the rebels. Plasticity could also yield dividends for Capture attempts.

–

REBELLION (blue, slots B-J): All characters on Anti-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use Stealth, and move actions given to them don’t count toward their controller’s available actions for the turn.

WHAT IT MEANS: Essentially, they get the Batman and Avengers TAs, making the Pros’ SHIELD TA utterly useless (except in conjunction with a Special Power or Trait to draw lines of fire despite Stealth). The free move also enables the Antis to outmaneuver the Pros. Anti-Regs will want to field fliers and auto-breakaway powers to help movement through hindering terrain. Ranged attackers are also important since being based risks Capture — and Phasing/Teleport or Plasticity are good guards against that, as well. One more tip: cheap sacrifice pieces, such as pogs, can speed up the slow-turning dial if key pieces do get Captured.

–

BREAKOUT! (orange, slot J): All captives are immediately released.

WHAT IT MEANS: Any Pros who Captured early in the game will find themselves instantly tied up and the Anti-side will gain a hefty second wind. One more reason not to go Pro.

–

DETENTE (black, slot J): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a 2d6. On a result of 10-12; the game ends immediately.

WHAT IT MEANS: The game may suddenly end at any time.

–

SUMMING IT UP: Civil War simply doesn’t work so well under the game’s current rules. The STAMFORD EXPLOSION will never go off unless the rules are changed. Players will never pick Pro-Registration if given an informed choice (unless they just like a challenge). And if the teams are small enough, the final slot may never be reached. Overall, although Civil War is fairly easy to pick up and play, it can be terrifically UN-fun for the sucker who picks Pro-Registration. But if both pick Anti-Registration, the spirit of the dial is lost. Ultimately, like the storyline it’s based on, Civil War ends up being a self-contradictory mess.

EDIT (3/15/10): So at a friend’s suggestion, I played this event dial and picked Pro-Registration anyway as a challenge. Though the STAMFORD EXPLOSION condition was duly ignored (since neither of us were playing any Sharpshooter characters), a knockout came fairly early in the game to activate the REGISTRATION ACT and REBELLION effects. That’s when I learned the full power of even the nerfed Capture ability to instantly remove a heavy hitter from the board with a single hit. Because the Civil War dial is so long, a Pro-Registration can get a great deal of mileage from this ability. So this addendum to the article advises: Pro-Registrationers should field  Lunge-equipped Leap/Climb pieces with Combat Reflexes to act as captors. Anti-Registration forces should not tentpole.

–
Next in the series, I’ll get off the soapbox and show you how to set Time Bombs…the harmless kind found in HeroClix, of course. See you then!

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Clockwise from top left: Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, Nico Minoru, Gertrude Yorkes, and Chase Stein. (Not pictured: Old Lace the dinosaur)

So there we were, me and Paul (the longtime clix player who taught me), there for a 300-point sealed tournament with no one else showing. Most of the regulars had dropped everything to play a D&D campaign (since one of their key players is frequently out of town) or had pressing personal concerns, and the two newbie players we did get couldn’t afford the buy-in at all (and we certainly couldn’t float them).

But they could stay to play a battle royale, so we built 300-point teams. And as you can tell from the title and the art, I chose the Runaways.

Nico Minoru 84 + Contingency Plan 12
Karolina Dean 55
Gertrude Yorkes & Old Lace 54
Chase Stein 45 + Lunge 5
Molly Hayes 43
= 298 points. Basic intended strategy was to use Chase to get the team into attack range, then use Nico to TK pieces into battle.

I’m a bit of a purist concerning the new “print and play” policy on feats and battlefield conditions. If there’s a genuine copy available, I’ll play it…otherwise I just won’t (unless I really, REALLY need that 7th Submerged card for a massive Atlantis keyword force or something like that). For that reason, I didn’t play my printed copy of the Runaways alternate team ability feat card.

To my left, Paul fielded Thor (Hammer of Thor) and Bi-Beast. To his left was Donovan, a Yu-Gi-Oh player beginning to dabble in HeroClix; he used Taskmaster (Avengers), Stature, Guardsman, E Scarecrow (Icons) and Bucky. To my right was Linda, a returning player excited to try out this Asgard-heavy set: Heimdall, Malekith and Pip the Troll were her force. As the only themed team on the board, I easily won the map roll and chose the blocking-terrain-heavy Anti-Matter Fortress. It’d nerf Paul’s huge range advantage somewhat and had the least confusing terrain rules for the new players to worry about.

Despite what I thought was a careful map choice and character placement, Karolina was nearly an immediate victim of Thor’s first-turn Running Shot. Only her theme-team-granted Probability Control saved her. I was forced to use Nico to TK her out of harm’s way rather than set up a potential attack on Bi-Beast next turn.

Meanwhile, super-green Donovan moved his pieces up with little rhyme or reason, giving the slightly more seasoned Linda an easier time of positioning.

From here, there was a bit too much going on to do a proper play-by-play, so I’ll restrict it to individual characters’ performance and other highlights:

Donovan, dazzled by the potential of Taskmaster’s “Photographic Reflexes” Special Power, risked it and landed a solid shot on Heimdall. But he tried it one time too many and was the first KO of the game.

Linda’s Heimdall made an obscene amount of Super Senses rolls. But E Scarecrow, of all people, finally took him out.

On my end: Gert & Old Lace took the first damage of the game, getting blasted hard by Thor’s Running Shot and forcing Chase to pull them out of range so Nico could heal. That worked out well, as the duo got to Charge (and then free-attack via “Lend A Dino”) Pip the Troll and wear him down considerably. Later scored a crit-hit Charge on Bi-Beast that was a game-changer.

Chase’s “Leapfrog” was a key to the game, but I made one of my three awful mistakes of the game with him. I based Bi-Beast with him, trusting his Combat Reflexes to keep him safe…fool! Bi-Beast has no range! Once I’d Outwitted BB’s Super Strength with Nico — which I had planned to and did — Chase was utterly safe! Chase took a big attack and was forced to push and run the very next turn.

Molly Hayes totally underperformed against Pip the Troll, utterly wasting an object on the Super Sensing little brute. But she made up for it with a KO blow to Thor!

Karolina mostly missed her attacks but also forced a lot of misses thanks to her highest-of-the-Runaways defense at range. To the degree that she kept Thor occupied made her worth her cost.

Nico was, of course, the team linchpin and cornerstone. In addition to the early clutch TK to save Karolina from near-certain 2nd turn doom after the 1st turn near-miss, she used:

Support to get Gert & Old Lace back in to semi-fighting form;
Outwit to help low damage stick or Perplex to improve a stat here or there;
Energy Shield/Deflection to clutch-dodge  Thor’s attack;
Exploit Weakness to successfully soften Thor up;
Phasing/Teleport to escape Bi-Beast’s impending heavy-object+Willpower attack;
Willpower to run further out of BB’s reach for a while;
Regeneration in the late game to  get back to full;
Pulse Wave to painlessly blast the Mystics-teamed Malekith;
Poison to make the Willpowered Bi-Beast pay for basing her.

And, of course, Contingency Plan freed her and the rest from needing Perplex all the time to do anything. Though way expensive compared to the rest, Nico is worth every point. And, incidentally, was the last piece standing.

Final tally

Donovan KO’d Heimdall and Pip for 191 victory points.
Linda KO’d Taskmaster, Stature, Scarecrow, Guardsman and Bucky for 297 victory points.
Paul KO’d Karolina, Gert, Chase and Molly for 202 victory points.
I KO’d Thor, Malekith and Bi-Beast for 390 victory points.

Runaways: better than expected.


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Huh. Looks like this image from Thor #1 (2007) was the source art for Hammer of Thor's Rock Troll...!

The foes of the Golden Realm assault Asgard!
Ragnarok Surtur 233
Loki 208 + Protected 8
Hela 200
Enchantress 141
Fenris Wolf 140
Pluto 125
Kurse 121 + Lunge 5 + Auto Regen 12
Ulik 118
Malekith 91
Skurge 80
V Lorelei 62
Rock Troll 45
Rock Troll 45
Rock Troll 45
against my friend Lenny’s
Odin 295 + Protected 8 + In Contact With Oracle (ICWO) 10
Thor 226 + Fortitude 25 + ICWO 10
Heimdall 149 + ICWO 10
Balder 130 + ICWO 10
Sif 93 + ICWO 10
Beta Ray Bill 159 + ICWO 10
Volstagg 103 + ICWO 10
Fandral 101 + ICWO 10
Hogun 96 + ICWO 10
Karnilla 64 + ICWO 10
Asgardian Warrior 37
Valkyrie 38
I played, on my iPod, some appropriate tunes from the Lord of the Rings films (Minas Morgul, A Knife In The Dark, and especially The Fields of the Pelennor).
We played on a Realmsworx map, which may not have been the best idea. The quarters were very close, preventing Lenny from leveraging his range advantage and giving my Telekinesis-enhanced reach a lot of cover for its approach.
Thus, I got an easy first attack off on Odin; first a solid hit by Ulik that burned Protected and then a Meteorite strike with Raganarok Surtur that sent the All-Father fleeing for his life. But the first KO was Fenris Wolf, blasted into oblivion by Thor, who was subsequently (and appropriately) felled by his half-brother Loki.
It went on to a resounding victory for the foes of Asgard, losing Lorelei (whose Mind Control was a key boon to this team), Raganrok Surtur, Fenris Wolf, Ulik, and all 3 Rock Trolls but wiping the Asgardians. Lenny’s rolls were pretty poor despite high AVs, In Contact With Oracle, and theme PCs. The cramped map (his choice) cut off most lines of fire for the bonus.
So, in truth, for this game it was indeed Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods.
Then, more recently, I traveled to a new venue to play this comic-accurate team:
Thor #353

Immortalized by three respective quotes...Odin: "For ASGARD!" Thor: "For MIDGARD!" Loki: "For MYSELF!"

Thor & Loki 362
+ Sidestep 10
+ Damage Shield 10
+ Protected 8
+ Thunderbolts (Batman Ally) 5
Odin 295
+ Outsmart 10
+ Extended Range 10
+ Protected 8
+ Inside Information 4
Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor) 38
Asgardian Warrior 37
= 800 points.
It was a battle royale on the Arena map, with my opponents also playing pretty theme-ish teams:
Host Thomas (csi on HCRealms) Surtur, Ragnarok Surtur, Son of Surtur, and about 10 Fire Demons.
Andy (ghosta on HCRealms) played Ragnarok Surtur, Seth, Ultron (Hammer of Thor) , Ulik (Hammer of Thor), Rock Troll, Fire Demon, Phalanx Soldier and Valkyrie (Hammer of Thor).
A.B., the newest player on the field, ran Thor (Hammer of Thor), Heimdall, Malekith, Hela and 3 Asgardian Warriors.
Andy and Tom played Cosmic Radiation Interference and Poor Teamwork but both BFCs were theme-teamed away. :) I used the Mjolnir special object and the Dynamostat to give my team a little bit of cover on this wide-open map.
Thomas’s RagSurtur, holding Meteorite, was the big threat to me on the board. But it would take him some time to get to me, so I concentrated on stopping A.B.’s Thor. Didn’t take long, with both Thor & Loki and Odin laying down fire. Meanwhile, Andy mixed it up with the rest of A.B.’s force, keeping him good and occupied.
Thomas elected to leave me alone for the moment and slowly flew his Fire Demons and Surtur across the board to engage Andy’s Seth and company, burning theme team-granted Probability Controls to help mostly A.B.’s attacks on Andy’s force.
As they decimated one another, I eventually decided to bring the fight to Thomas’s RagSurtur with a Running Shot from 11 range (thanks to Perplex). Crit-missed, though. Realizing that I was still in a perfect spot to duo-attack-snipe at him indefinitely, Thomas brought RagS in Charging range, tying me up with a Fire Demon. I forced him to burn Protected with Odin and, a turn or so later, got rid of both the Fire Demon and the Charge+Meteorite threat with Thor & Loki’s duo attack. RagS was pretty much toast at this point (although we ruled incorrectly on a failed Sidestep breakaway roll that would have ended up dealing more damage to my team — but almost certainly not nearly enough to affect the final outcome).
Thus the royal bloodline of Asgard successfully stood against the multiplied hordes of Muspelheim!!! VICTORY!!!
This highly-tentpoled team did better than expected. Keys to the game:
–Not being effectively swarmed helped me a great deal, allowing me to cherry-pick my targets.
–The Valkyrie’s Carry ability kept Odin from wasting actions on movement.
–Using duo attack whenever possible.
–Extended Range on Odin is points well-spent.
–Inside Information should have been on Thor & Loki.

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Super scary robot.

Ultron (Hammer of Thor) 174
+ Automatic Regeneration 12
+ Nova Blast 10
+ Protected 8
Phalanx Soldier 31
Phalanx Soldier 31
Phalanx Soldier 31
= 297 points.
>BEGIN TRANSMISSION<
PLAN: Surrounded by my Phalanx Soldiers, I, Ultron, shall advance within Pulse Wave range and destroy any flesh that dares draw near. Or my minions shall surround a target and decimate it attack by attack. Thus shall the Phalanx transmode all flesh into efficient, unfeeling circuitry and order shall be brought to the cosmos. So says Ultron.
STAGE ONE OF THE ERADICATION OF ALL FLESH
Targets:
Mr. Fantastic (Secret Invasion) 100
The Thing (Secret Invasion) 100
Yellowjacket (Secret Invasion, Skrull) 100

LOCUS: A human junkyard, where the fleshlings discard our machine brethren.
ULTRON’S LOG: My minions advanced with care (and ease, due to the use of a Stepladder) but the sight of my hated father caused a curious dysfunction in my processing. Instead of adhering to the battle plan, I used a Kinetic Accelerator to Charge in almost blind with rage, only turning away from my “father” when I scanned him more closely and learned he was but a Skrull impostor of Henry Pym.
Striking at Mr. Fantastic instead, that nearly proved my undoing. Now somehow able to nullify my adamantium shell, Richards opened the way for the brutish Thing to damage some delicate circuits, forcing me to flee. My Soldiers stalled as well as they could, and had I been able to either self-repair or energy-blast Richards even once more, the Phalanx would have been triumphant.
RESULT: Loss of all Phalanx units and no flesh eliminated. DEFEAT.
—
STAGE TWO OF THE ERADICATION OF ALL FLESH
Targets:
none
LOCUS: none
ULTRON’S LOG: Utter defeat required a full round of rebuilding.
RESULT: Forces repaired for next stage of conquest.
—
STAGE THREE OF THE ERADICATION OF ALL FLESH
Targets:
Volstagg 103
Moondragon (Hammer of Thor) 134
M-11 59
LOCUS: Earthen Crash Site previously used by invading Skrull army (see “Secret Invasion”).
ULTRON’S LOG: On this sortie the original battle strategy was adhered to, forcing the enemy forces to advance closer. My first target was the human-built robot M-11. Unable to reprogram it to battle for us, I immediately eliminated it.
I had a golden opportunity to Nova Blast the remaining flesh into oblivion and so ordered as many minions out of range as possible. Unfortunately, my damage yield malfunctioned and was only successful in rendering inoperative the one Phalanx unit that could not escape the blast. It was not a total loss; the remaining units began to successfully engage the corpulent Volstagg.
I charged the human called Moondragon and was startled to see her transform before my eyes into a decidedly NON-human form. Nevertheless, flesh is still flesh and such suet must be eliminated completely. As my minions completed their destruction of the supposed god Volstagg, I used my perfectly logical intelligence to keep Moondragon a non-threat until I could finally destroy her.
RESULT: Loss of 2 Phalanx units and elimination of all targets. SUCCESS.
This venue proved a difficult battle, especially due to an unforseen glitch preventing use of protocols that might have shifted the Battlefield Conditions in our favor. The Phalanx therefore warped to another locale to seek greater success.
—
STAGE FOUR OF THE ERADICATION OF ALL FLESH
Targets:
Volstagg 103
Fandral 101
Hogun 96
LOCUS: Castle walls in ruins (like all other human achievements, with the singular exception of Ultron).
ULTRON’S LOG: Faced with more so-called “gods” — THERE IS NO GOD BUT THE GOD OF THE PHALANX — ULTRON!!!!! — I apparently flew into a jealous-god fit by selecting this locus for the battle. The cursed water moat prevented my minions from advancing with ease and, separated as they were, they no match for these “Warriors Three.” Rare failures on my own part also proved deleterious to the cause of the Phalanx.
Although I was able to forestall defeat for longer than expected, eventually 01001010110 1010101000…
RESULT: Loss of all units and the elimination of the Fandral fleshbag. FAIL.
—
STAGE FIVE OF THE ERADICATION OF ALL FLESH
Targets:
Ch’p 82
Batman (Arkham Asylum) 120
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
E SHIELD Sniper 22
LOCUS: Bifrost Bridge in the realm of the “gods.”
ULTRON’S LOG: A quick scan of this clever-for-fleshlings setup required some immediate battlefield shifting; a phased-array band of my Encephalo Ray prevented the enemy from using any of its disgustingly fleshy “team abilities.”
Thus hindered, the targets were easy to whittle down until the enemy made its boldest move by using Telekinesis (via power ring) to place the Batman in close quarters. But despite his strange gadget making my adamantium shell of no effect, the Batman failed both attacks and my 2 remaining minions eliminated him. From there, it was a simple matter to eradicate the rest.
RESULT: Loss of 2 Phalanx units and the elimination of all flesh. SUCCESS.
—
FINAL STAGE OF THE ERADICATION OF ALL FLESH
Targets:
Clint Barton (Ultimates) 75
Iron Man (Avengers) 154
V Scarlet Witch (Fantastic Forces) 62

LOCUS: A human junkyard, where the fleshlings discard our machine brethren.
ULTRON’S LOG: We attempted to assault these humans that so resembled, yet were not the hated Avengers with an Alpha Strike, but both sides nullified each other’s attempt to reframe the battle.
It would be the last stalemate of the contest. I and the Phalanx engaged the Scarlet Witch and survived Iron Man and Barton’s ultimately* futile attempts to save her. Breaking through Stark’s pathetic A.I. firewalls with contemptuous ease, I took command of his armor to fire on Barton with a Full Power blast. So weakened, the two of them easily fell to the Phalanx.
RESULT: Loss of 1 Phalanx unit and the elimination of all flesh. VICTORY!
* That appears to be a pun, or irony. I must run a full diagnostic purge of such human nonsense.
>end transmission<
Well, Ultron and the Phalanx Soldiers are a difficult team to run in 300 points (and its chances are not helped when one forgets to pull Battlefield Conditions like I did in the first tourney! Disbanded or Alpha Strike would have helped a bit against the Skrull TA in the first game). Does one use the movement-challenged Phalanx to tie up enemies for Ultron to shoot? Or is it better to use them as meat shields for the big bad robot, despite their woefully short lives?The balance was difficult to find, and with only three of them on the team, all too soon Ultron may well be swarmed to death.
I also made a choice between the reliable Fortitude feat and the more situational trio of Protected, Nova Blast and Automatic Regeneration. Although I don’t regret my choices, Protected would have cost me the first game even if I HAD landed that last-minute KO blow on Mr. Fantastic; the one Nova Blast I tried whiffed all but the friendly target; Automatic Regeneration failed every single roll.
I’d like to try Ultron + Phalanx in a larger-scaled game; I currently have enough to field a 400 point force.
So, what to blog about next? Infintiy Watch? Or Ragnarok (not the event dial)? Comment and place your vote by 12/12/09!

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And then it occurred to the crimelord: "Why should I pay for new landscaping and new security separately when I can get both in ONE?!?"

I got a phone call from my venue owner: two returning clixers were headed in for an impromptu gaming session. Having just scored a seasonal job after many months of total unemployment, I was enjoying my last free afternoon and evening for the next few weeks at least and decided to join them with a team I was planning to bring out to a Friday event but wouldn’t now due to the work schedule:

Marvel martial artists of Hell’s Kitchen.

Kingpin (Hammer of Thor) 78
+ Contingency Plan 12
Daredevil (Hammer of Thor) 81
+ Stunning Blow 10
+ Lunge 5
Elektra (Secret Invasion) 80 (Human)
+ Lunge 5
Tarantula (Secret Invasion) 51
+ Lunge 5
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor) 38
LE Elektra (X-Plosion) 19
V Hand Ninja (X-Plosion) 16
V Hand Ninja (X-Plosion) 16
V Hand Ninja (X-Plosion) 16
V Hand Ninja (X-Plosion) 16

Not only was this team intended to run nearly all the Hand Ninjas I’ve been slowly acquiring since early fall, but it was also born of my desire to play Tarantula, who’s under-appreciated because she’s just not as beastly-good as the 50-point  Spider-Man also seen in the same set. Finally, I’ve slowly been gaining respect for the new Kingpin figure and wanted to play him in a fairly comic-accurate team of him lording over a horde of hired ninjas (including the still-highly-mercenary Elektra and Tarantula) and Daredevil (presumably being manipulated somehow into working with his archenemy).
It was a battle royale starring, to my left going around:
Vic, who’s notorious for getting into the game, then selling out, then getting right back in:
Super-Skrull: Illuminati (Secret Invasion) 250 (borrowed from me)
Mr. Fantastic (Secret Invasion) 100
Yellowjacket (Secret Invasion) 100 (Skrull)
Rocket Raccoon (Hammer of Thor) 65
Nico Minoru (Hammer of Thor) 84

Tony, the venue owner and a diehard, old-school FF fan who plays them the few chances he gets to play a real game. To wit:
Dr. Doom (Secret Invasion) 200
Reed Richards (Secret Invasion) 100
The Thing (Secret Invasion) 100
Johnny Storm (Secret Invasion) 100
Invisible Woman (Secret Invasion) 100

and Therron:
Hela (Hammer of Thor) 200
Heimdall (Hammer of Thor) 149
+ Warbound 5 [Warrior]
+ Unstoppable 5
Fenris Wolf (Hammer of Thor) 140
Sif (Hammer of Thor) 93
+ Warbound 5 [Warrior]
He had an Asgardian themed team. But I had the umpteen-member Martial Artist theme and easily won map choice, putting us in the X:Men Danger Room indoor map. We decided to play until first team out.
I immediately marched as many of the red Ninjas into that map’s 2 x 10 area of hindering as possible:

No, REALLY. They're just a hedge.

…while keeping Kingpin in the rear (with a single black-clad Ninja as his Mastermind bodyguard) to build up Contingency Plan tokens.
Vic hid his team on the map’s 2 x 10 rooftop in mortal fear of Tony’s Telekinesis-fueled threat of sending either The Thing out to clobber someone with a heavy object or Johnny Storm to Pulse Wave an unwary target. But Tony just reshuffled his team in preparation for a much later strike. Then Theron got his quartet set to attack ninjas at the opportune moment.
I moved the rest of my Ninjas (including both Elektras) onto the remaining hindering terrain within reach, but made a key tactical error with the LE Elektra. Theron saw the threat and Charged her to swiftly KO her with Fenris Wolf’s big bite. And thanks to the big bad wolf’s giant size, none of my other Ninjas could retaliate with their swords.
That was all right with me; I had plenty of shuriken in the form of the Ninjas’ 8 range. And with the Hydra team ability boosting their Attack Values for range attacks, they began to whittle the big dog down.
Meanwhile, Vic decided to finally engage my Ninjas with Skrullowjacket, threatening to take out Kingpin. I took the opportunity to send  Tarantula in to occupy him. It proved a poor decision. She nearly took a crippling knockback punch until the players reminded me that I had tons of themed-team uses of Probability Control to burn. And so I did, forcing about 4 of my 7 available rerolls to save Tarantula from instant death. That proved fortuitous as Tarantula was later to use the Lunge feat to score a bit of real damage (yay BCF!) and hinder Vic’s attempts to take down Kingpin.
Elektra, on the other hand, did little but A) thoroughly miss Rocket Raccoon with her Flurry attacks and B) not get missed by Rocket Raccoon’s followup.
(Or Super-Skrull:Illuminati’s, which was the real trouble.) Daredevil, too, underachieved with big misses against Fenris Wolf. (Seems the critters were the ones giving me problems!)
Fortunately, I still had plenty of Ninjas. Hydra TA scored me lots of little shots on Skrullojacket, persuading Vic to try tying up the main Ninja culprits with Mr. Fantastic. With Mr. F using his SP to bump his DV to an impressive 19, it seemed a decent gamble, even against these two red-clad Ninjas’ free attacks.
It wasn’t. The Ninjas’ hits landed Mr. F onto late life.
As the game wore on, Daredevil at last pulled his weight by scoring a KO blow on the Wolf. With the other Ninjas mopping up the floor with all Vic’s team except Skrulluminati, I began creeping up on Tony and Therron’s respective teams. Therron was nearly all beaten up, with only Heimdall left and Tony wasn’t a whole lot healthier. I took the shots and actually scored two crit hits in a row to take out Therron’s last piece to end the game.
All game long, Tony kept warning that my Ninja Hedge would be a serious problem if Vic didn’t deal with them. But I honestly thought he was overstating things. In the end, though, he was right.

Watch out; that hedge has the nastiest thorns you EVER saw.

Kingpin worked just as I thought he would as the master plotter in the background. I actually never got to get him into full fight mode, as by the time he was actually threatened, the game was over.
Daredevil is a devil to use. His short range limits him and opens him up to retaliation. But he can dole out the pain.

She's better this way.

“Human” Secret Invasion Elektra (seen here in my repaint) is a real feast-or-famine piece for me. Sometimes she’s a total buzzsaw that shreds teams singlehandedly, but more often she takes a beating like a bowl of eggs and gets fried to boot. Tonight was the latter.
But she sure looked good doing it. 😀
I’ll have to run something like this again in the future. In the meantime, watch this space for an attack from space against all flesh…

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OK, so I went to my 5th 300-point sealed game of HoT so far, right? And there’s a decent turnout for a Sunday afternoon. Here’s what I pulled from my first booster:
Pluto
Marvel Boy
Sif
Bi-Beast
Malekith
Yeah, somewhat underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong; Sif is a winning piece, and Malekith’s Telekinesis is good, too. But he’s not worth much beyond that, and with this assortment of characters, I stood a chance of being out-ranged, out-maneuvered and underbuilt. So I opened the next booster:
Pluto
Marvel Boy
Sif
Bi-Beast
Malekith.
REALLY. So now I’ve got to build a team out of this duplicate crud, and the underbuilding concerns just got amplified. I decided to go for high AV’s and higher build total over TK mobility: Sif, Pluto, Bi-Beast. Basic strat: Sif carries Pluto to a building and he shoots next turn if possible while Bi-Beast slowly gets into the fight.
ROUND ONE against teenager Morrison’s Daredevil, Phalanx Soldier, Captain America, Namora and Hand Ninja went well. He’s a great player, but his team’s general lack of damage reduction made my eventual hits hurt. Wiped his team, losing none. 1-0.

ROUND TWO against Morrison’s neighbor Conrad’s Phyla-Vell, Rocket Raccoon, Pip the Troll, Spider-Man and Fire Demon*. I scored an early hit on Phyla-Vell when he unwisely moved within Pluto’s line of fire. Or, at least I would’ve, had not Rocket Raccoon seen it and forced the reroll, which she Super Sensed out of. I tried basing the team but he rocked me like a hair band in the 1980s. I got the Fire Demon but was wiped out. 1-1.

ROUND THREE was against Jay’s Balder, Venom and Star-Lord. He played the most cautious, not giving my Pluto that first shot. But he got just a little too close, and Sif was able to base Star-Lord (taxiing Pluto), who missed his counterattack and was gone a turn later. Wiped Jay’s team and lost none for a solid 2nd-place finish.

Sometimes a pig with lipstick will kick your...!

(*Yeah, for the second week in a row I played someone using a way-overbuilt team. I have GOT to start checking behind other peoples’ math!)

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M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE
Fast-moving, this E-dial is one of the simplest ones.
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which any character was knocked out, and at the end of each round.
TOUCHED BY THE ENIGMA FORCE (cyan, slots 2-4, 6): Once during your turn when you make an attack roll, if the result of either of the two dice is a 1, you can reroll one die before determining the attack roll result. You must use the rerolled result.
WHAT IT MEANS: This first condition (which won’t be in effect until turn two), is nothing more than the Lucky Break feat, available once per turn. There’s no way to build for this, so don’t fret it.
UNI-FORCE (red, slots 5,7): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player rolls 2d6 and subtracts from the result the number of of his or her KO’d figures that have point values of more than 20 points. If the result is a 4 or less, that player chooses one target character on his or her force. Until the end of that turn, the target ignores its team ability and powers, has a range value of 10, and can use the Power Cosmic team ability and the following powers: Energy Explosion, Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Incapacitate, Outwit, Phasing/Teleport, Steal Energy, and Super Strength.
WHAT IT MEANS: This condition gives you a shot at turning one of your team into Captain Universe for a turn, your team build will make a difference one way or another. Field cheap sacrifice pieces over 20 points in cost (NOT less), because not only will they tie-up or bait the other force(s), if they’re KOed they improve your chance of rolling low enough to become Captain Universe. When you DO make the roll, give the Captain Universe powerset to a fig with good stats to make best use of them. Also consider one with some sort of Stealth and the Wing symbol. The former will keep it safe until the Uni-Force is active (and possibly protect it from an opposing Captain Universe) and the latter will give it the mobility to move and attack freely as CU. Don’t run a pivotal offensive team ability on your preferred Captain Universe candidate, though because the printed TA will be replaced with the uncopyable Power Cosmic ability until the end of the turn.
SUMMING IT UP: As stated in the outset, this dial is easy to pick up and play, regardless of your team build.

M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

I always found this cover to be rather hilarious.

I always found this cover to be rather hilarious.

Fast-moving, this E-dial is one of the simplest ones.

–

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which any character was knocked out, and at the end of each round.

–

TOUCHED BY THE ENIGMA FORCE (cyan, slots B-D, F): Once during your turn when you make an attack roll, if the result of either of the two dice is a 1, you can reroll one die before determining the attack roll result. You must use the rerolled result.

WHAT IT MEANS: This first condition (which won’t be in effect until turn two), is nothing more than the Lucky Break feat, available once per turn. There’s no way to build for this, so don’t fret it.

–

UNI-FORCE (red, slots E, G): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player rolls 2d6 and subtracts from the result the number of of his or her KO’d figures that have point values of more than 20 points. If the result is a 4 or less, that player chooses one target character on his or her force. Until the end of that turn, the target ignores its team ability and powers, has a range value of 10, and can use the Power Cosmic team ability and the following powers: Energy Explosion, Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Incapacitate, Outwit, Phasing/Teleport, Steal Energy, and Super Strength.

WHAT IT MEANS: This condition gives you a shot at turning one of your team into Captain Universe for a turn. Your team build will make a difference one way or another. Field cheap sacrifice pieces over 20 points in cost (NOT less), because not only will they tie-up or bait the other force(s), if they’re KOed they improve your chance of rolling low enough to become Captain Universe. When you DO make the roll, give the Captain Universe powerset to a fig with good stats to make best use of them. Also consider one with some sort of Stealth and the Wing symbol. The former will keep it safe until the Uni-Force is active (and possibly protect it from an opposing Captain Universe) and the latter will give it the mobility to move and attack freely as Cap U. Don’t run a pivotal offensive team ability on your preferred Captain Universe candidate, though.  The printed TA will be replaced with the uncopyable Power Cosmic ability until the end of the turn.

–

SUMMING IT UP: As stated in the outset, this dial is easy to pick up and play, regardless of your team build.

–
Next, we’ll look at one that’s NOT pick-up-and-play. In fact, thanks to some rule changes since its debut, strictly speaking it’s not very playable at all…

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E003 UNLIMITED CLASS WRESTLING
Another nonstop dial, UCW, more than most, radically alters the usual HeroClix game with numerous extraordinary conditions.
WHAT TO BRING: a few extra Special tokens.
THE SETUP: Before objects are placed on the map, place four SPECIAL markers on the map so that they mark the outside corners of a 6-square by 6-square area containing as much clear terrain as possible as close to the center of the map as possible; this area is the Ring. Objects can’t be placed in the Ring.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is the main field of battle. Fighting can still go on outside the Ring, though, so don’t get complacent. Immobile objects might be good to play.
MORE SETUP: Each player chooses one friendly character and places it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring; this character is his or her wrestler. A wrestler can’t leave the Ring, and treats the edges of the Ring as if they are walls that can’t be destroyed. When a player’s wrestler is knocked out or eliminated, that player must choose a friendly character outside the Ring and place it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring as his or her new wrestler. If a character is carrying an object when it becomes a wrestler, it drops the object in the nearest unoccupied square before being placed in the Ring.
WHAT IT MEANS: Use Wrestlers with high natural damage value as opposed to reliance on Super Strength. No objects can be placed or brought in the ring.
MORE SETUP: No ranged attacks can be made by any character.
WHAT IT MEANS: Snipers should not be included on your team…you’ll only be wasting points!
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, turn the dial once or a number of times equal to the number of wrestlers knocked out or eliminated during the turn, whichever is more.
WHAT IT MEANS: This dial moves quickly if you have a lot of players or a lot of short-lived Wrestlers, so stay on your toes, especially if you’re trying to dodge the FAIR FIGHT and DISQUALIFIED! conditions.
FAIR FIGHT (cyan, slots 1-5, 10-12): If any character that isn’t a wrestler is given an action that would affect a wrestler, affect any square inside the Ring, or move the character into or through any square of the Ring, give the character an extra action token after the action resolves.
WHAT IT MEANS: This effect will be in play most of the time. Get around it by fielding non-Wrestler figs with some ability to avoid pushing damage in conjunction with Perplex, TK or Outwit. This way, a non-Wrestler can help his teammate in the Ring without penalty. Even better: use a non-Wrestler with Contingency Plan. It’s not an action, so the FAIR FIGHT condition won’t hurt, and your team is unlikely to use all its action allotment.
POWER BROKER (red, slots 4-11): A wrestler can use Exploit Weakness and Flurry if it does not already possess either or both of those powers. After the resolution of an action in which an wrestler uses a power from this effect, deal the wrestler 1 unavoidable damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: This phase can cause a lot of damage, either via unavoidable clicks from its bonuses or penetrating damage from the enemy. Pick a Wrestler with a pushable dial who stays strong well into the dial. Also consider Fortitude on your Wrestler because POWER BROKER grants Exploit Weakness. Otherwise, don’t rely on damage reducers above high defense values on your Wrestler.
DISQUALIFIED! (black, slots 3-5, 10-11): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a d6 for each character in the Ring who is not a wrestler and has two or more action tokens. On a result of 1 or 2, the character is immediately knocked out.
WHAT IT MEANS: Eventually, non-Wrestlers CAN enter the Ring to (illegally) aid the Wrestler. But it’s really risky. So try using a non-Wrestler with Hypersonic Speed or the Move and Attack ability. When someone can rush into the ring and get out in the same turn, there’s almost no risk of the instant KO condition of DISQUALIFIED!
SUMMING IT UP: While UCW is another dial that really rewards a prepared build, it’s one that tends to nerf most figures equally rather than targeting one group specifically. And anything that stacks the deck a bit more in close combat’s favor is a good thing in my book!

M+M E003 UNLIMITED CLASS WRESTLING

Another nonstop dial, Unlimited Classs Wrestling, more than most, radically alters the usual HeroClix game with numerous extraordinary conditions.

Yeah, it's clobberin' time, all right.

Yeah, it's clobberin' time, all right.

WHAT TO BRING: a few extra Special tokens.

–

THE SETUP: Before objects are placed on the map, place four SPECIAL markers on the map so that they mark the outside corners of a 6-square by 6-square area containing as much clear terrain as possible as close to the center of the map as possible; this area is the Ring. Objects can’t be placed in the Ring.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is the main field of battle. Fighting can still go on outside the Ring, though, so don’t get complacent. Immobile objects might be good to play.

–

MORE SETUP: Each player chooses one friendly character and places it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring; this character is his or her wrestler. A wrestler can’t leave the Ring, and treats the edges of the Ring as if they are walls that can’t be destroyed. When a player’s wrestler is knocked out or eliminated, that player must choose a friendly character outside the Ring and place it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring as his or her new wrestler. If a character is carrying an object when it becomes a wrestler, it drops the object in the nearest unoccupied square before being placed in the Ring.

WHAT IT MEANS: Try using Wrestlers with high natural damage value as opposed to reliance on Super Strength. No objects can be placed or brought in the ring except by special means.

–

STILL MORE SETUP: No ranged attacks can be made by any character.

WHAT IT MEANS: Snipers should not be included on your team…you’ll only be wasting points! One exception/loophole: The Laser Turret special object is not a character, so it may still make ranged attacks!

–

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, turn the dial once or a number of times equal to the number of wrestlers knocked out or eliminated during the turn, whichever is more.

WHAT IT MEANS: This dial moves quickly if you have a lot of players or a lot of short-lived Wrestlers, so stay on your toes, especially if you’re trying to dodge the FAIR FIGHT and DISQUALIFIED! conditions.

–

FAIR FIGHT (cyan, slots 1-5, 10-12): If any character that isn’t a wrestler is given an action that would affect a wrestler, affect any square inside the Ring, or move the character into or through any square of the Ring, give the character an extra action token after the action resolves.

WHAT IT MEANS: This effect will be in play most of the time. Get around it by fielding non-Wrestler figs with some ability to avoid pushing damage in conjunction with Perplex, Telekinesis or Outwit. This way, a non-Wrestler can help his teammate in the Ring without penalty. Even better: use a non-Wrestler with Contingency Plan. It’s not an action, so the FAIR FIGHT condition won’t hurt, and your team is unlikely to use all its action allotment. There may also be some Special Powers that might get around this condition.

–

POWER BROKER (red, slots 4-11): A wrestler can use Exploit Weakness and Flurry if it does not already possess either or both of those powers. After the resolution of an action in which an wrestler uses a power from this effect, deal the wrestler 1 unavoidable damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: This phase can cause a lot of damage, either via unavoidable clicks from its bonuses or penetrating damage from the enemy. Pick a Wrestler with a pushable dial who stays strong well into the dial. Also consider Fortitude on your Wrestler because POWER BROKER grants Exploit Weakness. Otherwise, don’t rely on damage reducers above high defense values on your Wrestler.

–

DISQUALIFIED! (black, slots 3-5, 10-11): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a d6 for each character in the Ring who is not a wrestler and has two or more action tokens. On a result of 1 or 2, the character is immediately knocked out.

WHAT IT MEANS: Eventually, non-Wrestlers CAN enter the Ring to (illegally) aid the Wrestler. But it’s really risky. So try using a non-Wrestler with Hypersonic Speed or the Move and Attack ability. When someone can rush into the ring and get out in the same turn, there’s almost no risk of the instant KO condition of DISQUALIFIED!

–

SUMMING IT UP: While UCW is another dial that really rewards a prepared build, it’s one that tends to nerf most figures equally rather than targeting one group specifically. And anything that stacks the deck a bit more in close combat’s favor is a good thing in my book!

Next, we’ll look at a much simpler dial. (Cosmic power tends to make problems go away.)