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I had a lot of unplayed pieces to run as usual and built this Robot-themed team:

Cyborg (52 Justice League 006) 100
Vision  (Chaos War 013) 27 + Secret Avengers ATA 5
Ultron (Chaos War 208e) 90
Masque (Chaos War 206) 50 + Secret Avengers ATA 5
Masque Duplicate (Chaos War 007 ) 27
Masque Duplicate (Chaos War 20 ) 27

= 399 points, plus replacement/sideline Iron Man Drone (Chaos War 002r) x3 and Ultron Drone (Chaos War 003r).

And boy, do those Drones make a difference.

FIRST I faced a duo of Thanos (Galactic Guardians 045) and Nova (Galactic Guardians 201). Here, I got a bit lucky when my opponent forgot Thanos’ stat boost upon KOing a foe, allowing me to barely land a clutch attack. But beyond that, I only needed a single break away roll to keep the mad Titan locked down for the KO and win.

In the SECOND round, I picked the lower decks of the Helicarrier to stymie the Hypersonic threat of Supergirl (Fast Forces) and Lucy Lane while blocking lines of fire for Batman (52 Justice League) and Zatanna (52 JL). Using the free action movement of the Drones to gain positioning superiority, I got enough first shots to wipe the board.

FINALLY, I faced Odin (Avengers Movie) and Larfleeze (Fast Forces) on the open Helicarrier map. It was tough to overcome the range disadvantage. But I benefited from a few key Turning Points:

  • Cyborg landed a light Pulse Wave to get them off top-click.
  • Odin missed a much-needed Running Shot, leaving him in range of my slowly encroaching force.
  • Cyborg GOT the heavy single-target Pulse Wave I was looking for.

From there, Anthony Hopkins couldn’t do enough damage to stop the full robotic army from winning.

Piece-by-piece:

  • Cyborg (52 Justice League 006): What an offensive threat this piece is! Running Shot and 6-range Pulse Wave, making it easy to get those single-target shots off. His dial never gets poor. I will play this piece often.
  • Vision (Chaos War 013): The team’s needed natural taxi. Being able to Indomitably break away and Charge targets came in big in the second game. This is my go-to Vision now.
  • Ultron (Chaos War 208e): The key to the team with her ability to pull in extra points and solid stats and powers. I want to try her 160-point dial more, though.
  • Masque (Chaos War 206): a surprising clutch backup fighter with 9 AV Psychic Blast, including Willpower on the 2nd click. Never got to use her sacrifice click.
  • Masque Duplicate (Chaos War 007 ): These actually made better tie-up and meat-shields than the Drone, freeing the latter for their more essential taxi duties. End-dial Support came into play, too. Never got to use their sacrifice clicks, either.

But as stated before, it was the Iron Man Drone swarm that made the team really work. With their ability to freely move 4 squares while in range of Ultron, they could:

  • move 4 for free, then move normally for 6 to gain a full 10-square shift or, if carrying, move 3 then 4 for 7 total;
  • or vice versa, spend the action to move 6 then free-action move a few more to, say, evacuate a pal from trouble;
  • Move up to 4 freely then use the normal action to make an attack.

 

Superb utility, yet not at all overbearing (for the Drones’ stats range from mediocre to dirt-poor at this point range). I was pretty surprised how well they helped my team adapt to anything.

 

 

 

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A few weeks ago, Heroclixin’ began analyzing how a street-level set like Dark Knight Rises is at least a little overpowered. Sometimes grossly so. We saw how the Common, Uncommon and Rare bits threaten to break the game with their Power Leap Factors of 1 through 5. Now let’s conclude with looks at the Power Leap Factor of the Marquee and DKR starter pieces (#s 100-106) and the mass market figures (#s 201-210).

Batman 100: As first glance, this version of Bats looks soft and underpowered and overcosted with only six clicks of life and a bit of Toughness. He doesn’t even start with Outwit. Then you note his trait that gives him hefty bonuses when played with the Gordon figures in the set (and we’ve already noted how great a Power Leap Factor one those guys has). And THEN you note his other trait giving him penetrating damage AND an effective 12 AV against his target as long as he’s attacking from Stealth or elevated (which, being Batman, is gonna be almost always). That’s ridiculously good, even for Bats. Power Leap Factor 4.

Batman 101: Meanwhile, the starter Batman is considerably less powerful for only 5 less points: one fewer target and range, worse defenses, a barely usable SP and no traits. He does start and finish with several clicks of Outwit and Perplex, respectively, across a long 8-click dial. But as Batman figures go, the Power Leap Factor here is just 0.

Catwoman 102: Her trait means she’ll almost never be attacked by any character lacking a moving attack or anti-Stealth ability, and Leap/Climb is always good on sneaky Outwitters like her. Power Leap Factor 4, easily.

Bane 103: Only two clicks of damage reduction is wholly outweighed by his A) effective +1 AV vs. teams/keywords for himself AND his team, B) Flurry + Super Strength-on-the-2nd-attack SP and C) Regen to Willpower combo. Power Leap Factor 3.

The Joker 104: Shape Change seems a bit odd, but Ledger Joker does tend to use disguises pretty often. Power Leap Factor 0

Harvey Two-Face 105: Prob Control? Penetrating Blast? Exploit Weakness? STEAL ENERGY? None of these powers make any sense on this character, really, except to make him playable. That rates Power Leap Factor 5.

Sgt. Gordon 106: Kinda silly that he just gets powers out of the blue from teammates. Power Leap Factor 3.

Batman 201: Unparalleled moving attack ability, Exploit Weakness and a sky-high 12 AV (cheapest fig to start the game with such in years) is balanced to Power Leap Factor 3 by his inability to be stat-boosted by allies.

Bruce Wayne 202: Leap/Climb, again, is thoroughly misplaced. Why’s he get range? SMH. Only his overall high cost holds his Power Leap Factor to a modest 2.

Catwoman 203: Another Selina boasting a high Power Leap Factor (3) due to her ability to steal objects, Flurry, Perplex, and push freely with Indomitable. The 3 range is what pushes her over the top.

Bane 204: Not too bad, actually. Perma-Toughness/Mastermind, RCE and Perplex are all held back by poor speed and mediocre AV. Power Leap Factor 0.

Rachel Dawes 205: Why does an assistant district attorney get Stealth? Or Mind Control? Answer: Power Leap Factor 1, just for the sake of a little playability. At least the anti-Poison/Incap trait is actually story-based.

John Blake 206: He’s definitely an exceptional cop in the film (hence the Indom.), but neither the Underworld TA nor the Sharpshooter is really backed up by the film. He’s also got that trait of Outwitting team abilities. Why? Power Leap Factor: 3

The Joker’s Henchman #3: Power Leap Factor 1, ’cause there’s little out of place with this piece other than the 17 Defend from a nameless mook. And that appears mid-dial, so it’s hardly a concern.

The Joker’s Henchman #4: Power Leap Factor 1 for his penetrating damage Energy Explosion. Why’s he rate that SP?

The Joker 209: What’s with the penetrating damage SP? It’s conditional enough to only call for a low Power Leap Factor rating by itself, but the lonnnnng run of Probability Control after click 1 is excessive enough to bump it to 2.

Arkham Asylum Escapee 210: Power Leap Factor 0…nothing overpowered here.

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For a street-level set, Dark Knight Rises sure brings the cheese in terms of scale.

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We had a recent 1200-point anything goes tournament. Promo pieces, feats, Star Trek ships, whatever — it was all legal.

Me, I had some pieces that’d languished in my unplayed fig box for nearly a year. Time to try ’em out.

Unfortunately, my fellow players brought out the velveeta (not cheese, but close). First, I faced a Brute team of Movie Hulk, Mighty Thorr, Wolverage, Big Figure surrounded by Thugs, all led by Sentry / Void. Then I had the “pleasure” of battling an all-Thanos team of the chase, the 150-pointer and the 800-point “Issue 1” colossal.

  • A-Bomb: Camouflage really helped him out, especially when chase Thanos snatched him but put him next to blocking terrain. His 19 DV also held up, even against the 12-13 AVs of the Thanosi. Too bad he wasn’t able to hit so much.
  • Arkham Asylum Inmate: Only good for resetting the Gamma Bomb. Otherwise completely overmatched.
  • Elite Zealot: Despite his starting with Leadership and Outwit, he was useless at both due to adjacency issues and immunity-to-Outwit opponents. Really needed to be more aggressive with him, but my team was very movement-challenged. (It didn’t help that Issue 1 Thanos knocked him off his sole movement click at game’s start.)
  • Gollum: Very useful for his support powers, but the little slinker took himself out via those very powers.
  • Hawkeye (Chaos War): The only piece of the team to perform well at ALL. Which, unfortunately, made him a victim of colossal  Thanos’ power to remove Hawkeye temporarily from the game when the archer managed to damage the mad Titan.
  • Master Chief (Battle Rifle): Disappointing. Lack of movement powers hobbles the Halo star. I pushed off his sole top click of Outwit to my regret.
  • Morg: Too glass-jawed. Perhaps on a team with TK, he’d have done better. As it was, he was just easy meat for first Sentry / Void and then chase Thanos. Seems like I’ve never seen this piece work.
  • Mouth of Sauron: If I had any chance in these games, it was because of this fellow. Being able to Demoralize and knock stats down -2 from behind cover is HUGE. In fact, I might have salvaged a win in the first game had I used him better. Unfortunately, I made most of my user errors with him, in A) his placement for Prob Control, B) opening him up to Outwit at a crucial moment and C) making a suicidal Mind Control of colossal Thanos (who missed BOTH his Multiattacks — it was that sort of game).
  • Nebula: her trait is so useless in these modern games where bringing objects is optional. If only she had more keywords to fit onto more teams! Or a slightly higher AV. Or damage. SOMETHING!
  • The Sharpshooting Avenger: Scored an early hit on 150-point Thanos and was useful for his SHIELD TA. Still pretty much the last version of Hawkeye I’ll ever pick for a team. Why did I trade for him, again?
  • Thor (Avengers Movie 201): Not bad, aside from the critical miss against Issue 1 Thanos that sealed my loss, big time.
  • U.S.S. Yeager: Worthless outside the Trek game thanks to single digit AV and 2 damage.

 

In fact, 2 damage was my problem across the board, as I lacked the ability to harm the Thanosi at all aside from a few characters. Had similar issues with the Brute squad.

In general, my unfamiliarity with pieces and the more highly competitive nature of the forces I tend to face these days make using untried characters a losing proposition. I think I’m going to resort to something I haven’t done in years: playing solo games on my dinner table.

Seriously, the last time I did that, the Olympics were being played in BEIJING. So maybe, as this article is published, yours truly will be watching the Games and playing a game simultaneously.

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Tomorrow, a new Token Totin’ figure. Then, on Friday, the wrap-up of my Dark Knight Power Creep Rises series.

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Now we’ve come down to the #1 duo in HeroClix:

Thor and Loki (Hammer of Thor 057)

Despite weighing in at an unmatched 362 points for a single-based figure, they’re clearly the choice.

  • They start with Running Shot and 10 range to get the carnage started. They bear Invulnerability through a trait so it can’t get countered and Shape Change to avoid attacks altogether.
  • They’re Mystic, so opponents won’t want to target them much, anyway.
  • They’re Indomitable, so they can push immediately next turn.
  • They’ve got Perplex to make their ensuing Duo Attack deal out a crippling 11 clicks, potentially.
  • They’re single-base fliers, so TK can yank ’em back or send ’em forth, depending, and they won’t have much problem maneuvering themselves.
  • Their AV never dips below 10. Their DV, 16. Damage is usually 4 or better.

Their only drawback is the DV SP, which saddles them with the range-killing Battle Fury. It also gives Exploit Weakness, so we’re over it.

Being a superb fig and one that certainly makes great use of the Duo symbol makes these oft-feuding half-brothers the single best Duo in HeroClix.

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“That’s all good and well, Heroclixin,'” someone is saying. “YOU can actually GET these Super Rare chase collector Buy-It-By-The-Brick-eight-sets-ago figures. How about the rest of us who want to use just regular duos that didn’t make the list?”

Glad you asked. Here are some tips on how to play all duos to the maximum degree.

Boost their damage. Just as powers like Energy Explosion or Incapacitate grow exponentially better with multiple arrows, so does Duo Attack benefit from higher damage. (You’ll note how many of the  characters on the list had great damage numbers as a plus.) So field some Perplex or Enhancement to easily increase Duo Attack’s output.

Telekinesis. If they can be moved with the mind, then do it. Most duos made prior to Brave & Bold were single-based.

Find ways to push duos safely. Most of the time, they’re going to have to get into position first. Therefore, the sooner the duo can start attacking in earnest, the better. There are some ways to grant Willpower or something like it to duos lacking it: Edward Nigma, Harvey Dent (Dark Knight Rises 017), Warbound or the new Asgardians ATA, to name a few. And, of course, just know the duo’s dial and be willing to push onto a new click.

Probability Control. The strength of Duo Attack is that it means more attack rolls. Might as well make ’em count. Similarly…

Outwit. It’ll take some dial memorization, but try to time your Duo Attack when you can hit a countered target both times with the defense power still countered (at least until WizKids actually fixes Outwit the way I’d like).

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The number 8 duo makes other duos better, remember? And as Super Rare figures go, this piece is easy to acquire.

And then there are duo-specific feats to consider:

Sidestep. The first duo feat, this 10-pointer grants 4 squares of movement in between Duo Attacks. The lack of free breakaway keeps it from being a must-use. But it can be really handy.

Show Off. When the first shot KOs a target, you can pass on making the 2nd attack and not give the duo an action token. Obviously, this one is pretty circumstantial, especially for lower-damage duos. Not worthless, but not really worth the 6 points if you have other options.

Power Barrage. Another 6-point feat, this one grants a free (but weaker) attack after one of a number of Attack powers are used. Another one that’s not remotely a slam dunk of a feat.

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That’s all, folks. Heroclixin’s taking a short vacation. On Wednesday, expect a new battle report, probably highlighting some more newly played pieces. We’ll pick up on the look at The Dark Knight Rises set in a week.   Until then, have F.U.N. Heroclixin’!

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Man, good duo figures are hard to come by. Numbers 10-8 were either Super Rares or part of a $100 collectors’ set. The next three? All chase figures. And it gets no easier from here:

#4 is actually the Big Three:

Avengers Prime (Chaos War 060)

At a staggering 400 points, this duo trio figure is by far the priciest on the list. That buys you a LOT of damage potential, much of it through Duo Attack. After an opening salvo with Running Shot thanks to the Iron Man-themed Speed SP, one best uses the same power to Perplex the trio’s damage  +1 to then deal out a possible 11 CLICKS in the followup Duo Attack.

Duo Attack is almost always a better play than using any of AVP’s regular powers if targets are available on the opening clicks of the 400-point dial. For the 300-pointer, it’s less of a slam dunk. For example on click 2 (or 5 on the full dial), do you opt for a single shot for 4 penetrating damage, or roll the duo dice to land a possible 7 that might get reduced? Do you Flurry for 8 or Duo for 4, hopefully KOing the target to follow up with a weaker ranged shot?

This dial has a lot of mostly wasted points on myriad abilities that can’t be used in combination, sometimes not even through the “Trio Attack” trait. And with such high cost, they’re gonna get swarmed heavily, especially since they have many of the usual peanut duo mobility issues (at least they fly, though). Nevertheless, their sheer power is enough to make them one of the best duo figs in Heroclixin’s estimation.

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#3 are the stars of New Avengers: The Reunion:

Hawkeye and Mockingbird (Chaos War 054)

Another star-crossed couple — literally, this time, as Mockingbird was once kidnapped for years by Skrulls — ranks high on the list of great duo figures. Why, especially with them having the same no-TK-no-taxi boot speed peanut base issues as so many others?

Transporter Move and Attack. This ability gives them a bit more flexibility than most for moving past enemies on the way to their real destination. The sky-high 12 AV also helps their cause in attacking.

Sharpshooter. Similarly, this gives them cleaner lines of fire for potential Duo Attacks.

Most of all, though, they’ve got a Duo-ready SP that allows ’em to replace ranged Duo Attacks with Smoke Cloud, Incapacitate or Energy Explosion. So Hawkeye can take a leading shot with Mockingbird following with Smoke Cloud to hide them from counterfire. Or they can opt to Incap a Mystic target and then Energy Explode a cluster elsewhere for much more cumulative damage than the usual -1 damage 2nd duo attack would net.

These birds’ weakness is that they have zero armor, so they will take any and all damage that gets past Super Senses. And although they start with Stealth, the peanut base prevents them from ever getting fully hidden into hindering terrain with a single move (since the “back” end of said figures must travel through the square the front end moved through — and hitting hindering terrain immediately stops movement). But with their offensive prowess and excellent Duo ability, they take the #3 spot among the top Duos of Heroclixin’.

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#2 are the stars of The Dark Knight Rises:

Batman and Catwoman (The Brave and the Bold 100)

Their AV is weaker than most others’ on the list. They’re peanut based and thus impossible to taxi or TK. They’ve got no armor, little range and a fairly hefty price point for all that weakness. Why are they the #2 Duo of Heroclixin’?

It’s all about the SP “Double Pounce.”

  1. It’s Leap/Climb. That circumvents any problems getting the big peanut base fully hidden to use their Batman Ally TA.
  2. It’s a free Duo Attack after using Leap/Climb. It’s better than Charge or Running Shot.

With Outwit to soften the target up and Willpower + Combat Reflexes to help press the attack or survive counterattacks, BatCat makes up for its weaknesses in a big way. And this is without even mentioning the ability at the start of the game to steal one of the enemy’s special objects. Batman and Catwoman earn this near-top spot of the list handily.

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Tomorrow: The number one duo figure in Heroclixin’s Top Ten and a bonus duo-related list.

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Man, good duo figures are hard to come by. Numbers 10-8 were either Super Rares or part of a $100 collectors’ set. The next three? All chase figures.

#7 is this emo couple:

Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man (Chaos War 059)

Weighing in at a hefty 225 points, this star-crossed pair makes the list almost purely because of Wanda’s contribution: her Chaos Magic SP:

With it, they can render even normally uncounterable opponents powerless in any given area. Sure, it’s a little too random to depend entirely upon it, but it’s a free action.

After they get into position with Running Shot, Scarlet Wonder will rely on Duo Attack to deal most of their damage. With Probability Control to better ensure either shot lands, and a hefty 4 damage to lead to potential 7 clicks, there’s ample reason to do so on the opening four clicks of life.

Late in their dial, they get a SP that causes them to deal penetrating damage to high-cost figures. Combined with Duo Attack, they can utterly decimate tentpoles.

They’ve got all the drawbacks of double-based duos: unCarryable, unTKable and, with only a modest 8 starting boot speed, they may find it tough to move around. They also don’t push well — it’s tough to leave that first Chaos War click in favor of Super Strength, even if they upgrade to 11AV and Impervious (and you’d rather force opponents to take Mystics damage digging through all that armor anyway).

Nevertheless, Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man are a solid enough figure on their own that’s only made better by having Duo Attack at their disposal. They rate #7.

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#6 is the smallest duo:

Ant-Man and Wasp (Chaos War 053)

These wee folk have a few tricks up their pint-sized sleeves. Most notable is their trait which, like a mirror version of the Mystics TA, deals unavoidable damage against adjacent foes for misses against them (either by those adjacent enemies or others shooting at the insect-size couple). This probably accounts for the bulk of their weighty 168-point cost.

They also have Poison and Exploit Weakness to further trouble folks in melee.

With that latter power, twinned with first Charge to get in close and then Plasticity to stay nearby, there doesn’t seem to be much call to use the Duo Attack ability.

But there is, because Ant-Man and Wasp can be TKed or effortlessly carried by almost ANY ally, thanks to their single base and Tiny Size ability. When a duo doesn’t have to burn actions getting into position to use the Duo Attack, the ability gets that much better. Against soft targets, it’s the preferred move.

With this better mobility than nearly any duo in the game along with their ability to deal lots of free and/or penetrating damage, Ant-Man and Wasp are the #6 duo in Heroclix.

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#5 :

Thor and Hercules (Chaos War 059)

This demigodly duo is all about massive damage, period. Once they complete their opening Charge + Exploit Weakness, this Indomitable, Impervious fig can deal out 7-8 clicks via Duo Attack.

And you’ll want to use the ability as often as possible, since missing the first attack means +1 to all their stats for the 2nd shot.

Once Impervious is lost, they get Invulnerability that can’t be countered and boosts DV each time they’re targeted in a turn. Decent defense against Outwitters and swarm attacks.

Boot speed and a big peanut base are the usual liabilities, and with only average 6 range and a sky-high 300-point price, Thorcules can still be overwhelmed and thus “only” rates #5 on the top duos list.

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Tomorrow, it’s 4, 3 and 2.

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#10 is the hardcore jailhouse duo of:

Larry and Mike (Watchmen 020)

The y make the Most Wanted Top Ten Duo list because they…

  • Are the cheapest duo fig in the game at 33 points. Of course, that means their stats are largely lacking. But they have a few things that help them, such as…
  • Probability Control when they use Duo Attack, which means the ability is key on them. They also…
  • Get a damage boost with higher-point Underworld figs on the board. And fortunately, there’s been an influx of those into the game lately. Speaking of the Underworld TA…
  • They’re an extra taxi for the team. The Brute keyword has few enough of those.
  • 6 range means that when all this is put together, they can potentially blast a target for 4 damage from relative safety (with a reroll in there). Not bad for 33 points.

So while they’re not going to carry a whole game for you, they’re a piece that actually benefits from being a duo more than it’s a drag. These inmates could be dangerous enough to rate #10 among the top duos.

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Iron Man / War Machine (Web of Spider-Man 059)

Compared to some of the high-cost duos we’ll see further into the list, these movie stars haven’t aged well in the era of power creep. They’re highly vulnerable to swarms, Outwit and just plain getting based by tie-up.

Ironically, those reasons are largely why they make the list.

  • After their initial Running Shot attack, IM/WM rely heavily on their Duo Attack to lay down heavy fire. Basing them usually doesn’t work for long because few tie-up pieces can take the 7 clicks of damage.
  • And with Indomitable ability, IM/WM will be shelling out the attacks.
  • If hit past their Pulse Wave clicks (the only ones you probably won’t use Duo Attack much on), they get a Special Power, “Adaptive Response Armor,” that replaces one or both ranged duo attacks with Incap, RCE or Psychic Blast. So again, they’re using Duo Attack.
  • So dangerous are they with Duo Attack, that it’s the power/ability that’s most scary on them and the one most frequently countered as a defensive maneuver (assuming, of course, that their Outwit has been accounted for already).
  • There are even some very decent Split opportunities in a Golden Age game, as all the War Machines so far are well under 150 points.

Being a duo makes this somewhat overcosted piece one that still very much commands respect. It’s  #9.

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#8 features the first tie of the list, in more ways than one! First we have those Super Buddies:

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold (The Brave and the Bold 052)

This duo, being both double-based and a flier, can’t be TKed or carried. Worse, their trait keeps them from using Carry themselves (guess Booster, the flying half of the pair, has his hands full with Beetle). And worst yet, you’ve got to push them to get to their best click. So how do they even make the duo list, much less over #s 10 and 9?

  • That trait also nixes the -1 penalty on the 2nd Duo Attack. This makes it a go-to ability over their Charge, even, and, combined with later clicks of Outwit or Perplex, enables them to lay down a lot of damage from 8 range.
  • If they do have to close in, the aforementioned Charge can make it happen, and they’ve got Toughness at least to help them survive.
  • They offer a +1 AV to adjacent fellows with their (limited) keywords and, more importantly, OTHER DUOS. Here, the double base helps them help others.

For just 82 points, this free-moving pair rates the #8 spot among the game’s top duos. They tie with the other 82-point duo in the game:

Nite Owl and Rorschach (Watchmen 024)

Nite Owl is actually based on Blue Beetle, too. But that’s not why the Watchmen are here. It’s all about their Attack special.

  • When using Duo Attack, they get a +1 to their AV for each adjacent foe. That’s incentive to use their Leap/Climb to get in close to a swarm, taking full advantage of their double base and Combat Reflexes (don’t forget they can take voluntary knockback if hit and you need to get out of adjacency).
  • Even better, the second, weaker attack is penetrating damage. So they can possibly tackle the big boys as well.
  • The Watchmen TA makes them immune to enemy modifiers. Mid-dial and on, they get their own modifier, Perplex, which is the best aid to Duo Attack that there is.

Unfortunately, they’re unable to Split into any figures. But if you can get them to survive long enough, this duo could get more use out of Duo Attack than many. Being Golden Age, fit them with Lunge for best results, and see why they handily share the #8 slot among the Top Ten Duos of Heroclixin’.

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Last week, Heroclixin’ began analyzing how street-level set like Dark Knight Rises is at least a little overpowered. Sometimes grossly so.

After seeing the film, some of my opinions are altered. For example, the Mercenary whose super-Support I criticized a week ago seems to actually sort of deserve it, a little.

Well, actually, no. There’s still no reason his Support should be so much better than normal characters’. But it at least doesn’t look so out of place now.

Bruce Wayne having Leap/Climb looks even MORE wrong after TDKR.

But I digress. On with the list proper, where we left off:

Miranda Tate 012: After seeing the film, I say yes, she absolutely deserves her dial. Great support piece that bulks up in power later on. Power Leap Factor: 0

Alfred Pennyworth 013: Wayne’s faithful butler, OTOH, rates a Power Leap Factor of 3 with his unconscionably high 17 Defend — he’s an aged butler, for goodness’ sake, I don’t care what he could do as a younger man. Especially paired with his Bat Ally TA.

Bane 014: The opening three clicks of Invulnerability trouble me. They’re only there because they gave the same three to The Dark Knight 001. In a more balanced-for-the-rest-of-HeroClix, accurate set, he’d top out at just two clicks of it, I say. Power Leap Factor: 2

Master Bruce Wayne 015: His dial looks well-balanced and character-accurate, until you realize that his 5-click dial is A) brim-full of powers, he’s got B) two team abilities and C) he’s just 50 points. Something smells, here. Power Leap Factor: 1

Salvatore Maroni 016: Here we’ve got a 60-point character that, unlike Bruce above, is highly powerless. But it still rates a Power Leap rating for bringing his no-line-of-fire boost to Mind Control. Only the fact that Mind Control is so bank-bustingly expensive and awkward to use keeps the Power Leap Factor a minimal 1.

Harvey Dent 017: Why does a mere district attorney get Probability Control as a core power? He’s not a reality-warper like Scarlet Witch. He’s not a technological genius like Mr. Terrific. He’s just an internal affairs cop who became a head prosecutor. And he gives adjacent allies free WILLPOWER? With not even any keyword restrictions? And how’s he rate Batman Ally? He’s not that sneaky as Dent. Not character-accurate. Overdone. Power Leap Factor of 4. He’d be higher if not for the stuff he pulls off later as Two-Face.

Rachel Dawes 018: His ladyfriend here is even more overpowered. She’s a lawyer/politician, not a cop — why’s she get PD TA? Perplex once would be a stretch for Maggie G, but TWO times a turn? And Plasticity for someone who’s always getting captured? And Incap, for a taser she stopped using after the first film? Where the dingdong are the multiple clicks of 17 DV coming from for this untrained-in-combat civilian? And all for just 45 points? Only her weak “activation click” keeps her from being even worse than Power Leap Factor 4.

The Joker’s Henchman #2: It’s nuts that this is a more sanely designed piece than the previous two. With very modest stats and a limited version of Prob, this only rates Power Leap Factor 1.

The Joker As Sgt. 020: This looks overpowered at first, but is actually pretty nifty. At a not-svelte cost of 78 points, yes, he gets very high AV and Penetrating/Psychic Blast to represent an unexpected close-range, can’t-miss shot, along with similarly disguised cronies to shuffle hits off onto. The 3 range keeps him from getting more than a mere Power Leap Factor 1.

Lt. Gordon 021: But now we’re getting stupid again. His stats and standard powers are modest; his SP is game-warping, giving multiple keywords a lot of extra movement for the cost of his single power action. To be both character-accurate and game-balanced, it should’ve been limited to less-expensive Police-keyworded characters. As is, though? Power Leap Factor 4.

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So far, we’ve only looked at the Common and Uncommon pieces. What of the rares? Well, Ra’s al Ghul isn’t so bad, dial-wise, though he’s got an interesting (and mostly character-accurate) switcheroo trait that’s a serious double-edge katana. His more expensive lieutenant/master Henri Ducard also makes sense for his 85-point cost (although 2 TAs AND Indomitable seems to push it a bit). Carmine Falcone is a pretty standard Leadership/Mastermind piece, and his low AV balances out his Incap-plus trait; the same goes for Scarecrow (though in Dr. Crane’s case, it’s a low, barenaked DV that’s the achilles heel). Lucius Fox is a genius with no powers other than the usual genius powers (Perplex, Outwit) and a dab of Leadership-plus. None of these rate above Power Leap Factor 1.

Commissioner Gordon is the first piece of the Rares with an actual Power Leap Factor worth considering. Like the common Bruce Wayne, his 18 Defend seems at least a point too high, and, again, the Leap/Climb is totally uncalled for. His high cost is enough to keep him down to Power Leap Factor 2, but still, he’s too good.

And then there’s The Joker 028. This 194-point monstrosity is a dial of might that one skinny psycho clown shouldn’t have — especially the ultra-healing SP on his end-dial — unless you look at it as a something more akin to a scenario dial that represents Joker and his gang and, most of all, his grandest scheme and gags all working together to cause maximum chaos. Even so: Power Leap Factor 3.

The final Rare piece is The Batman 029 — the Outwitting, Leap/Climbing, Charging, flying Batman. With a chunk of Invulnerability in mid-dial and Indomitable for a nearly staggering 8-click dial, this Bats is overdone in almost every way. Previous Batman dials generally had to compromise in various manners. Some could L/C and Charge, but were hindered using the latter. Some had a solid amount of Outwit but little or no armor to protect it. Only the fact that he’s the most expensive solo Batman ever made keeps him from rating a Power Leap Factor greater than 2.

The Power Creep Rises once more in a week with looks at the Power Leap Factor of the Marquee and DKR starter pieces (#s 100-106) and the mass market figures (#s 201-210). Monday through Thursday, though, get ready for the August Top Ten countdown of the top Duo figures in HeroClix!

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I played this team in the sealed Chaos War marquee:

Ares 199
Donald Blake 33
Tigra 57

=289 points. Went 1-1, losing to a Genis-Vell + Tony Stark + Speed team (amazing how badly one carelessly placed object token can kill your game) and wearing down a Sentry one-man-army.

The roundup:

Ares (Chaos War 034): Pretty tough, but in my loss he had to do too much alone (thanks to the aforementioned object placement). He can get stranded too easily. He’ll be best leading one or two more secondary attackers to take advantage of his AV-boosting SP in a larger game.

Tigra: Her DV is too low, but she’s a good example of a backup fighter to pair with Ares (too bad the aforementioned object placement prevented her from doing so in the loss by blocking her Charge path). She needs a pal with Defend for best results.

Donald Blake: not only the game’s best medic, but great for drawing fire. The Sentry player wasted both a Perplex and an action killing off Blake, which left the golden-haired Dark Avenger open to a 1-2 punch from Ares and Tigra that was the beginning of the end for him.

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The next day, I brought this team to a Chaos War/Galactic Guardians/Incredible Hulk-only 300-pointer:

Hawkeye & Mockingbird (Chaos War) 158
Spider-Woman (Chaos War 209) 55
Ant-Man (Chaos War 026) 43
Nick Fury (Chaos War) 45
+ Avengers Response Unit ATA 9

= 300 points. Went 2-1, and the loss was entirely due to my opponent choosing Krakoa and getting many Earthquake rolls.

Hawkeye & Mockingbird (Chaos War): Fantastic, versatile duo. Their sky-high 12 AV means they got some actual use out of the Transporter Move And Attack ability. For a surer attack, the Sharpshooting duo could just lightly blast foes twice from range or torch one for bigger damage with Ranged Combat Expert. Opening Stealth is pretty good for keeping them safe from range (though the double base makes them harder to manuever into hindering). Tying them up is no help, as they’ve got Combat Reflexes and Super Senses to defend themselves. The total lack of armor is their only drawback.

Nick Fury: a Stealthy and Willpowered Leader, Nick is best used as a SHIELD support piece, bumping up ranges and damages. But don’t mind pushing him (or, as in my game, shooting a Mystic) to get to his Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Outwit click(s). For only 45 points, this latest version of Samuel L. Fury isn’t bad.

Spider-Woman 209: Her Leap/Climb trait gets her in foes’ faces, Super Senses or Combat Reflexes and Stealth keep her safe, and her solid AV with powers like Incap and Flurry make her a threat. Very pushable, she’s also a good supporter for shooters thanks to her choice of SHIELD or Hydra TAs (I picked the latter because the entire rest of my team was SHIELD). Such an excellent tie-up piece.

Ant-Man: though blessed with a great “free move” trait, Eric O’Grady’s low damage makes it hard to capitalize on. His DV is too mediocre to use him well as tie-up, especially since his natural movement ability is so low. I got some use out of his anti-Outwit/Perplex SP, at least. And he’s still a lock for Secret Avengers themes.

I did not remember to use the ATA even once.

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A brief survey of Heroclixin’ (or clicking on the “About Heroclixin'” link above) shows that this website isn’t very focused on the meta aspects of this game. But darn if the metagame doesn’t make you anyway.

Lately there have been quite a few figures and mechanics release which go pretty counter to the F.U.N. aesthetic of Heroclixin’ and, even worse, sometimes against the very characters they represent.

Take, for example, Ziran the Tester. His “Testing” trait at all but his lowest point level can deal free automatic damage to any team that’s actually built to challenge a powerful colossal, while a team that can actually pass all his tests — in Modern Age, at least — wouldn’t have a prayer of winning. Taking damage just for building your team? On the Power Leap Factor scale of 1 to 5, this unprecedented mechanic rates the maximum.

But that’s a 600-1800-point colossal. You expect that sort of incredibly unfair and potentially un-fun stuff from that lot. But what about a street-level set like Dark Knight Rises?

Sadly, there’s a fair bit of power leap there, too. Almost every single piece is a bit overpowered somehow.

The Dark Knight 001: has 3 starting clicks of Invulnerability. Why’s he get to be more durable than many characters with the Armor keyword? This is on top of being permaStealthy and able to Outwit through walls. A more character-accurate balance would’ve been for him to have ONE click of Invulnerability on top. As is, this piece has a Power Leap Factor of 3.

Shadow Assassin 002a: for 3 fewer points, he has a longer dial and a much-improved version of Hand Ninja 003’s Special Power; this time, it works with Blades/Claws/Fangs. Only the fact that BCF isn’t top-dial keeps the Power Leap Factor from being more than a modest 1.

Bruce Wayne 003: somehow this billionaire playboy is able to rock a high 18 Defend and counteract Outwit while using the power himself. And all this is pretty well in keeping with Christian Bale Bruce Wayne’s out-of-uniform Bat-tricks, if a little too efficient in my opinion (I’d have nudged the DV down to 17, myself). What cranks the Power Leap Factor from 1 to 3 is the appearance of Leap/Climb. Bruce Wayne does not carry Bat-cables in his business suit! (Caveat: I haven’t seen Dark Knight Rises as of this writing.) Drop the L/C!

Arkham Asylum Inmate 004: Both dials are very efficient for 40 points. The “A” version’s ability to get either free breakaway or a second attack after a miss deserves a Power Leap Factor score of 2. 004b only gets better stats and Batman Enemy TA. Power Leap Factor: 1

GCPD Officer 005a: Why does a beat cop get the smartest power there is, Outwit? That’s ridiculous. Power Leap Factor: 5

Catwoman 006: her trait depends on both adjacency and the randomness of rolling doubles, so her Power Leap Factor is 0; she’s otherwise a perfectly character-accurate representation of Selina Kyle.

The Joker’s Henchman #1: Again, this is a dial thoroughly justified by the film, with low stats balancing out the useful bits. Power Leap Factor: 0

Mercenary 008: But now we’re getting a little ridiculous again. 45 points for Indomitable, solid stats and the ability to crack Invuln. on most clicks is enough to earn Power Leap Factor 3 for the A version — and that’s without a Bane to boost his AV or damage even higher! The B version somehow rates super Support (which better be a reference to Bane’s Venom Pump or something) though with lower stats. Only Power Leap Factor 1 here.

Two-Face 009: Indomitable makes sense for him. His SP giving him, occasionally, a free attack on a 2nd target, also makes sense. Having Super Senses does NOT. When did he get as nimble as Spider-Man or intangible/shielded like Zatanna? And how does flipping a coin rate Probability Control? Power Leap Factor: 3, not because he’s so effective — he’s not — but because he’s not accurate for the sake of a little extra playability.

Falcone Bodyguard 010b: This would be a great dial for the Shadow Assassin, or Shang Chi, the master of kung fu. NOT for a Mafia thug, even an elite one! When, in either of the first films, do you EVER see any of such get through Batman’s armor? Yet that’s what this piece does ALL DIAL LONG. The worst thing is the Leap/Climb for the first two clicks; he deserves it even less than Bruce Wayne earlier. Power Leap Factor 5.

GCPD Riot Officer 011a: Invulnerability on a 45-point cop? Sure, why not? It’s an arms race now, with Mafia goons able to punch through Iron Man’s armor like it isn’t there. Actually, this makes sense as representative of the bulletproof riot shield, and being followed by a couple of bare clicks balances it pretty nicely. Consequently, this is just Power Leap Factor 2.

Miranda Tate 012: Y’know, I think I’ll pick up here next week, after I’ve seen The Dark Knight Rises, to see if this click rates a Power Leap Factor. And, of course, we’re not even half done deconstructing this set. See you here next Friday!