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One of my standing goals in my HeroClix hobby is this: to play every single piece in my collection at least once.

I mean, I bought ’em…so I oughta play ’em!

This was an easy goal to meet when I could get to 3-4 tournaments each week and the pace of releases weren’t so frenetic. But now, my modest tackle box dedicated to unfielded figures has overflowed by a factor of at least two.

Fortunately, I got a couple of extra friendly matches under my belt (thanks, Lenny!) the last couple of weeks to clear out a fair number of figures. First, I picked a green theme to the tune of 900 points:

Loki (Avengers Movie 015): The trickster wound up being the MVP of the match, thanks to his early-game TK to help the immobile team and his much-needed Outwit to soften up the opposition. I like that he never becomes useless, ever, being able to break heavy armor all the time. I never got his Mind Control to work, though, and I really wanted to. Result: I’ll play him again sometime.

Hulk (Avengers Movie 014): I used him horribly, completely forgetting his top-dial SP granting Flurry. When he starts with a fairly putrid-for-140-points 9 AV, you can’t neglect free attacks like that (and it probably cost me a sweet 1-2 KO of Ms. Marvel)! I still might’ve gotten some good use out of him if I could’ve made either of those breakaway rolls, but I got a 2 each time. Result: I’ll play him again sometime…I must redeem myself!

Skrull Infiltrator (Avengers Movie 207a): Double FAIL here. A) I picked the wrong dial, using the “A” version instead of the Stealthy “B” version. Consequently, I B) completely forgot the sweet SP guarding against range attacks. Still, this 40-pointer did well to tie up an enemy Thor for quite a few turns. Result: I’ll play him again in a Skrull team for sure, even using this inferior dial.

Vision (Chaos War 205): More double FAIL: He’d gotten knocked to his last click before I realized he was Indomitable, and I’d illegally used him as a flier (he’s not). I made up for it with a full Regen roll. Result: I’ll play him again on a Young Avengers team if the points work out.

Eowyn (Lord of the Rings 017): Though deservedly reviled as the worst HeroClix figure of 2011, the White Lady of Rohan proved that even terrible figures can be highly successful. On a large team like this one, she always had ample targets for her conditional Perplex. And she made more than one healing roll with her also-conditional Support. Finally, her Willpower gave her some actual attack opportunities in the endgame. It’s saying far too much to call her an MVP, but…well, she was in the running. Result: Far better than expected.

Merry & Pippin (Lord of the Rings 022): I’d intended to hold them back with Eowyn to maybe do some big-time triage healing tricks with their epic power. But it was awkward to try because they’d have to be healed first, and their top-dial Willpower and Shape Change make it less likely they’ll need healing. So I instead used them as a sacrificial tie-up piece to buy more important fighters some time. Result: a bit of a letdown for this chase. Say no to drugs, kids!

Super Skrull (Galactic Guardians 034): The heavy hitter of the team and one of its few taxis, SSkrull lasted until the last vestiges of the game. Result: I’ll always be torn between him, the 100-point version and the Supernova classic. 

Skrull Assassin (Galactic Guardians 202): Another one that held on through nearly the whole match (thanks mostly to a heal from Eowyn), Assassin did OK. Result: I probably won’t use her if I’ve got the AVM Infiltrators instead.

Ronan The Accuser (Galactic Guardians Fast Forces 006): The 100-point level was what I could fit on the team. He worked all right. Result: I’ll play him again with Inhumans.

Hulk (Infinity Challenge 199): His low, low stats relegated old Hulk to mere tie-up status in the vain hope that he could get hit into his powerful clicks. Once it happened, though, he was easily KO’d before he could even push to attack.  Result: I’ll never play him again unless I need a cheap Hulk — and the upcoming 10th Anniversary one will fill that bill soon enough!

Infected Marine (Halo 020): His poor 8 AV buffs up to a potential 11 when tokened enemies are nearby, making this Monster a bit of a push-ready terror (especially with a dialful of Steal Energy). Wound up being something of the secret weapon of the team.  Result: I’ll play him again sometime on a Monster team for sure, provided there are enough “Silver” Age games to do so.

About a week later, I was able to get in a 200-point match to finally field this Monster-ous little crew of Halo figs:

Infected Elite (Halo 021): Of the unofficial “Flood” theme, this one is the mobile attacker (Charge) and Stealth shield for the others. If only I’d used him as such. :( A surprisingly long dial for a trim 55 points means … Result: I’ll try it out again sometime.

Flood Carrier (Halo 025): Free attacks after melee attacks, hit or miss, was a lot of fun in spite of the minimal damage and attack values. Fortunately, my target was soft. In the future, Armor Piercing will make this putrid-looking dude dangerous. Result: I want to get a second one.

Flood Infection (Halo 011): They’re designed to move more or less in unison, so each attacking one can get +1 AV for each adjacent ally. So what’d I do? Each one of the two I was running was basically alone when they attacked. They died even before they could Poison anybody. Result: Far better than the way I played.

The team was rounded out by a final cheap Monster, Dinah Soar (Chaos War 012): A superb cheap taxi, even without being on an Avengers team.

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A problem with playing tons of unplayed characters is that I make a lot of errors simply based on not being aware of powers and whatnot. Whereas the powergamers who use the same stupid 20 overpowered characters over and over again have another advantage in knowing those same stupid 20 overpowered characters inside and out.

I mean, there’s thousands of figures to play with. THOUSANDS!!!!!!

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A few weeks ago, I shared Heroclixin’s Top Ten Needed Remakes. But similar how the list of 2011’s Worst inadvertently left out the truly #1 worst figure of last year, there’s one that should’ve made the list of remakes. And since we’ve now learned that a new Scarlet Witch is due to appear in today’s power leap era of clix, I think we can squeeze this guy on:

Hobgoblin (Infinity Challenge /  Universe)

Even by the standards of this earliest HeroClix set, the loaded-down-with-the-too-expensive-Incapacitate-power Hobby we saw in these sets was a worthless pile of garbage that didn’t come close to representing one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes.

Any new Hobgoblin dial ought to resemble the latest Green Goblin we got (Web of Spider-Man 058) — heck, a sculpt mod and repaint would be welcome! — with a trait reflecting original Hobgoblin Roderick Kingsley’s penchant for dumping off ringers dressed in spare Hobgoblin suits to evade capture and preserve his secret identity. Something like this:

“HOBGOBLIN UNMASKED…? At the beginning of the game, secretly choose a character with a lower point value than Hobgoblin (but more than half his value) and write its name on a piece of paper. Once per game, when Hobgoblin would be KO’d, if the chosen character is within 6 squares of Hobgoblin, reveal it, KO it instead and place Hobgoblin on his last non-KO click in the square it occupied. Hobgoblin can immediately use Regeneration as a free action.”

It’s been 10 years, WizKids. Time to do justice to this worker of INjustice. It’s one of Heroclixin’s most-needed remakes — so readers, feel free to replace the choice you disagreed with most with this one.

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I was torn between a highlander-friendly all-Batman and Robin (and Alfred) team, a nearly full complement of Runaways, and a Red Hulk/Leader-led Intelligencia squad for a recent 400-point tourney. Because the last team had the most never-before-played pieces, I went with it:

Red Hulk (Incredible Hulk 028) 187
The Leader (Incredible Hulk  014) 100
Humanoid (Incredible Hulk  001) 40 x 3

= 398 points. No room for an Additional Team Ability of any kind. So how’d this team do in the potentially ultra-competitive Infinity Gauntlet event?

FIRST ROUND was against Charlie’s Justice Society: Shazam and Black Adam, Wonder Woman (DC 75th Anniversary 051), Mr. Terrific (DC 75th Anniversary) and Dr. Fate (WizKids D-002) on the event-required Collector’s ship map. I made two critical mistakes of such degree that it reminded me of the “FAIL scale” I came up for on my all-Alter-Ego game played last summer:

  • Ran a Humanoid out to tie up his team or draw fire. It worked too well, costing me those 40 points immediately due to my forgetting Wonder Woman’s Exploit Weakness. Moreover, said Humanoid lost the light object he’d been holding as well. FAIL level: 2
  • Leapt Red Hulk 11 squares to make his free attack, completely forgetting that he could only do so for 6 squares and still do it. This is with Leader fully able to TK the brute within the needed range. This landed him next to Shazadam holding a heavy, so I’d depend on Red Hulk’s Toughness to help him survive the possible preemptive strike. But I’d inadvertently jumped in range of Wonder Woman’s Charge, and she punched right through Rulk’s defenses with my own light object dropped a couple turns earlier. One failed Impervious roll against Shazadam’s 7 damage the next action and my heavy hitter was gone in two actions. FAIL level 3.

The rest was just clean-up. Got skunked (wiped out with 0 victory points).

SECOND round, CC brought the Infinity Watch: Gamora (Galactic Guardians), Mole Man (Galactic Guardians), Drax (Galactic Guardians 011) and Adam Warlock (Galactic Guardians 032). This time I was actually doing OK, getting Drax tied down with a Humanoid and knocking Moley off Outwit. But Red Hulk continued to miss attacks, and I made my FAIL level 2: Even though I remembered to use the Humanoid’s Poison, I totally overlooked Red Hulk’s far better version of the power. (The only reason this isn’t a level 3 is because the Poison wouldn’t have saved me. Only actually landing an attack would.) Got skunked again, not even taking out the very wounded Mole Man or last-click Gamora.

FINALLY, Paul W. joined me on the loser table to see who the biggest loser would be: his Metropolis team of Eradicator, Superman (Superman 001), Mercy Graves and Fast Forces Lex Luthor, or my thus-far (un)Intelligencia.

I managed to draw out his deadly All-Star Superman out to Outwit my Leader from 10 out, out of Leader’s retaliation range and with Eradicator ready to make a deadly Psychic Blast, too. But I jumped Red Hulk out to Outwit A.S.Supes (and Poison Lex) and a pair of Humanoids to tie up all Superman’s buddies with Plasticity. Meanwhile, with Leader free to Outwit again, the little bighead deactivated A.S.S’s Hypersonic and Indomitable, stranding the Kryptonian for Rulk to  push to L/C with a heavy and one-shot him.

It would’ve worked if not for a FAIL level 1 dice roll that, in retrospect, was actually a massive FAIL level 3.

See, before getting Poisoned, Lex Luthor managed to punch Rulk for 1 damage, knocking him to a 10 Speed instead of 11. In my mind, for some reason, I seemed to think that meant he could only L/C 5 squares to clobber Superman instead of the 6-square limit his SP actually calls for. So I pushed Leader to TK Rulk out to jump the 5 squares, landing a solid hit…that A.S.S. Theme Probability Controlled into a miss. That completely unnecessary TK left Leader unable to Theme Probability Control that miss into a hit.

FAIL level 3. BIG TIME.

A.S.S. proceeded to immediately crithit Rulk into his AE clicks and too far away to even maybe get into the fight later. And though I wasn’t skunked this time — I got Lex and his girl Mercy, at least — the game was essentially over with that.

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Piece-by-piece:

Red Hulk: His very light defenses on opening click blunt his effectiveness a lot. It cost me in EVERY SINGLE MATCH as he was far too easily damaged by heavy and light hitters alike. But some more aware play on my part would certainly have alleviated that some. You can’t totally stop dice fails. You can stop stupid moves.

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The Leader: With Rulk failing miserably, he needed to be able to fight more. But with him either hurling big Red into the fray or support him with Outwit from the safety of hindering terrain, he never could provide the backup Rulk sorely needed. He’s no secondary attacker despite his solid AV.

___

Humanoids: Pulled a pair of regenerated ‘oids  in the first two games, resulting only in extra victory points. Too weak to be good cleanup (and lacking the object pool to make good use of their Super Strength beyond a single shot or so) and too slow to be great tieup, they’re a tad disappointing. On the other hand, they have that Strength, the Poison, the respawn ability (with the right Leader, of course) and the Willpower to make them a credible threat even as they tie down targets with Plasticity, and ALL of those qualities came into play. They just need more effective fighters for them to back up.

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All in all, the Intelligencia was, well…the UNintelligencia in my game. Not even the ATA could’ve helped me here. But maybe it’ll help the team in the next Battle Report in a couple of weeks. (Next is the monthly scheduled Top Ten.)

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A I wrote last Friday, I’ve been all about theme teams in HeroClix since I started in 2005. From attempting to run teams composed entirely of bug-people — Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Wasp, to name a few — to a “Bright Yellow Boots” squad of Unleashed Shazam, E Black Adam and Vet Power Man, it’s clear that “theme” has a broader meaning than just running a bunch of Scientist-keyworded fellows on a team. Case in point was the Luchador team I posted Friday.

Bane (DC 75th Anniversary) 140 + Secret Six ATA 3

Atom Smasher (Giants) 97 + Protected 8 + Not So Special 3

The Atom (DC 75th Anniversary) 50

Red Shift (Galactic Guardians) 106 

Juggernaut (Giant-Size X-Men) 193

= 600 points.

Each fit the Luchador archetype:

  • male
  • masked, with head fully covered
  • at least partially bare-armed

FIRST GAME was a loss to returning player Vic’s cosmic team of Lord Mar-Vell, Adam Warlock (Galactic Guardians 032), Red Shift and Rick Jones/Capt. Marvel. The Darkness BFC cut his range advantage on the Dawn of Time map and an early critmiss on Vic’s Hypersonic attack ceded the early momentum to me, but a round of total misses on my part in the mid-game coupled with Lord M’s dominance left the Luchadors in too deep to climb to victory. Lost Red Shift, Juggy and Atom while only taking Warlock and Red Shift.

SECOND GAME was versus occasional guest columnist Morrison, who made a surprise appearance (usually, this overachiever is too busy pursuing Eagle Scout status and earning early college credit to play with little plastic superheroes)! His Armor force of Iron Man (Secret Invasion and Supernova), Abner Jenkins, Doombot 5359 and Master Chief (Battle Rifle) was only made tougher by his choice of the Crater map. My Skyscrapers BFC was rendered utterly useless because it’s illegal on maps where the starting areas are on elevated terrain.

I made a decent fight of it, despite taking a fair amount of fire along the way, KOing both Iron Men and the ‘Bot. But my team was wiped completely.

FINAL GAME, I had the choice of facing the judge’s team of Frost Giants or a squad of Martial Artists. Of course the Lucha Libre vatos wanted to test the kickboxers! They were: Batman (Dark Knight Rises 201), Catwoman (Dark Knight Rises 203), Gamora (Galactic Guardians), Hawkeye (Avengers Movie 208), Diana Prince (Brave and the Bold 103) and The Question (Arkham Asylum) on the Graveyard.

Juggernaut again got pounded and sent running right off with a heavily boosted Legolas shot. I returned the favor with interest by one-shotting Batman with an Atom Smasher charge. From there, though, things went well south for me as Question began Outwitting (thanks to a FAIL level 3 on my part — I was playing the Resistance BFC and thoroughly neglected to use it!) and Legolas made multiple Super Senses rolls in between Sharpshooting first Juggernaut, then Bane and finally Atom Smasher into so many victory points. My only other KOs were Gamora and Hawkeye.

So the Luchadors went winless at 0-3. But they competed in every match. With a different strategy (and fewer mistakes) I might’ve come out on top anyway.

PIECE-BY-PIECE:

Bane (DC 75th Anniversary): I held this guy far too much in reserve due to his weak starting 16 DV with Toughness, instead waiting to Charge him in with a +2 Venom Pump to land on his Invulnerability 18 DV. The problem with this strat was that I needed his firepower sooner. Moreover, even a solid hit lands him on a long run of Outwit, which could’ve evened matters up for me a bit. Finally, if he goes down fighting early, he has a chance to use the Secret Six ATA to blow up an adjacent foe.

I never once remembered to use his Secret Six ATA. :(

—

Atom Smasher (Giants): Despite being a giant, somehow big Al here got a solid Charge and hit in every game. He also got hit back pretty solidly in every game, being a giant target, and that’s his weakness: his mid-dial sports the most mediocre stats imaginable on a piece of his 97 cost. The Not So Special feat is an absolute must in Golden Age games — it REALLY helped in these games — as is a fellow JSAer/wildcard to help his DV. Speaking of which…

—

The Atom (DC 75th Anniversary): The littlest luchador had the biggest impact. He serves as a much-needed DV sharer for Atom Smasher, a hard-t0-target meat shield for the bigger boys of the team, a tie-up piece and, not inconsequentially, a capable minor attacker to bat leadoff or cleanup as needed. My problem and regret with him is that too often he was the first gone and Atom Smasher was without his needed partner. But for 50 points, whaddaya expect?

—

Red Shift (Galactic Guardians): It seemed every game went like clockwork; he’d make  a HSS strike, would have to base a dangerous shooter to let the rest of the slow team advance, and take just enough damage to end up on his very soft ESD clicks. The extra mobility and range were quite welcome, though. And though he was a KO in each match, he gave the team a shot at victory every time.

—

Juggernaut (Giant-Size X-Men): Never truly was unstoppable in these games, as opponents invariably not only had little trouble hitting his 18 Impervious but seemed also to make it stick every time. I needed to use him and Bane as a total tag team, piling on foes together instead of Juggy trying so hard to get that first big hit in.

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0-3 record notwithstanding, I loved this team. I’d like to try it again sometime, this time using Bane more aggressively and remembering my much-needed features like BFCs and ATAs.

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I really wanted to try all my Nova Corps pieces in a single team.

Nova Corps Recruit (Galactic Guardian 00) 50
R Nova (Supernova 037) 56
Nova Corps Denarian  (Galactic Guardians 210) 80
V Nova (Supernova 039) 78
Nova Corps Centurion  (Galactic Guardians 015) 100
Nova (Galactic Guardians Fast Forces 001) 125
Super-Nova (Galactic Guardians 200) 142
Nova Prime  (Galactic Guardians 001) 150
Air-Walker (Hammer of Thor 044) 201

The “Share Through The Worldmind” trait gives all the team some interesting — but nerfed — powers. Moreover, most also allow an additional game effect activated by fellow Corpsmen’s power action which we’ll call STW (Share Thru Worldmind) actions.

  • The Recruit offers a one-way Defend for the cheapies on the team, making him (and, by extension, the Supernova Rookie) good meat shields for bigger pieces. He’s also the best piece to take STW actions.
  • The Denarian’s version of Super Senses (only on a 6) could literally be a lifesaver. There’s also his ability to make an attack reroll after a STW, but this isn’t super-useful over making a standard move or attack action with the other Nova.
  • Both the Centurion and Super-Nova up the team’s firepower with Ranged Combat Expert (which maybe begs the use of Trick Shot on, say, the 10-ranged Supernova Vet, who could then shoot from behind the Recruit he’s loaning his 18 DV to). But a STW can give a Nova +1 damage for that turn, in case you need the damage boost for a close attack or a Running Shot.
  • Nova (201) contributes Force Blast to the team — a power you’ll probably use almost never, as the action needed to knock the foe back will either be useless (against, say, giants or Charge) or better used to fight or pump up damage. A STW action allows this Nova to knock back both friend and foe 1 square. Can’t think of a single time this would be useful when Force Blast would not — especially since this Nova breaks away automatically.
  • Nova Prime offers nerfed Leadership for all, which could come in handy for all. His STW option is even better, as he gets action tokens removed.

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What sparked this interest in Nova Corps, aside from the fact that I reread much of the fine 36-issue series this week, is my frustration in either not being able to or neglecting to use the various “Shared Through the Worldmind” traits lately. The first time, I was using the Nova Corps ATA to fit Nova Prime on a team of 100-points-and-higher. The second, a half-constructed, half-sealed tourney, kept me from fitting on all the different traits to be had. But I had so much fun finessing the ones I did have available that I decided to scrap the Howling Commandos team I was going to play in a 900 Modern Age team in favor of this one, while I still had the chance in Modern Age:

Nova Corps Recruit (Galactic Guardians 002) 50
Nova Corps Recruit (Galactic Guardians 002) 50
Nova Corps Denarian (Galactic Guardians 210)  80
Nova Corps Centurion (Galactic Guardians 015)  100
Super-Nova  (Galactic Guardians 200) 142
Nova Prime  (Galactic Guardians 001) 150
Air-Walker (Hammer of Thor 044) 201
+ Infinity Gauntlet on Nova Prime 10
+ Soul Gem 5
+ Space Gem 5
+ Time Gem 5

= 898 points. This was a first outing using the Infinity Gauntlet, used on Nova Prime. It wound up in a 4-player battle royale against some Guardians of the Galaxy, a horde of Skrulls, and a hodgepodge team led by MODOK, Queen of Fables and Beta Ray Bill from Hammer of Thor.

I played it far too conservatively and scored only minimal points — namely, a generic Valkyrie and a Force Blasted-into-wall Space Phantom — before time ran out.

  • The Gauntlet was also highly useless on Prime, as it takes forEVER to get the dial moving. (I’m beginning to see that the Gauntlet is really only good on characters who can push freely. They don’t really need the help so much.)
  • Getting these “human rockets” going is an issue, as the team lacks both the swing and AV to get the first strikes, aside from Nova Prime.  Worse, the same Centurions that offer the extra TK boost are also the most reliable attackers of the rest of the team. What’s their real role?
  • Hard to figure out how to use Super-Nova. He’s well-armored with Impervious but his AV is a weak-for-the-cost 9. Pushing gets him to Running Shot and 10 AV but he’s down to Invulnerability, now.
  • Air-Walker remains the glass cannon of the team. Only a theme-team reroll saved me from a disastrous Hypersonic Speed critical miss stranding him in full view of multiple enemies.

I’m still highly dissatisfied. I need to run this crew soon in a full game or tournament — preferably with the Fast Forces Nova to pump up the team with his Perplex. Perhaps in the next 1000-point game?

Nova Corps Recruit (Galactic Guardians 002) 50
Nova Corps Recruit (Galactic Guardians 002) 50
Nova Corps Denarian (Galactic Guardians 210)  80
Nova Corps Centurion (Galactic Guardians 015)  100
Super-Nova  (Galactic Guardians 200) 142
Nova Prime  (Galactic Guardians 001) 150
Air-Walker (Hammer of Thor 044) 201
and
Nova (Galactic Guardians Fast Forces 001) 125
= 998 points. Throw in Mjolnir, the Black Lantern and a heavy for the Denarian…at least while the orange elements are still Modern Age through June!

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Finally, the top two figures that need a remake. These make people say: “Did you even read the actual comic?”

Lady Shiva

She’s the DCU’s premier martial artist, second to none. But when she was made way back in the second DC set, Cosmic Justice, she only rated a 9 Attack Value that sank to eights, sevens and even an unthinkable 6 AV.

Second to none? Maybe second to the worst.

If the character existed in the real world, the quite amoral Lady Shiva would probably kill the designer with a heart-stopping death palm just to make a statement.

Redesigning Shiva shouldn’t be hard. It’d be as simple as taking the best non-superpowered martial artist HeroClix figure in the game, giving her the same abilities and then juicing up the stats some. Think GG Gamora, but a little less super.

But there ought to be some aspect of Shiva’s “alpha-predator-of-the-martial-arts” ferocity in there, somehow. Perhaps a trait that A) forces -1 AV to all non-Martial Artist foes against her and B) forces her to attack or attempt to base the highest-point Martial Artist on the other team and scores extra points if she KOs it.

In any case, fixing Lady Shiva would correct the second greatest miss in HeroClix design history, making her Heroclixin’s #2 most needed remake.

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The #1 FAIL, though?

Marvel Boy The Uranian

This Agent of Atlas, as seen in Hammer of Thor, is as poorly made a figure as we’ve ever seen in HeroClix:

  • The name’s wrong. The character had stopped calling himself “Marvel Boy” decades ago. He goes by the code “The Uranian” now, in homage to his adopted homeworld of Uranus (…it’s a long story).
  • The sculpt’s wrong. Not only has he long stopped using his red-and-blue costume of the ’50s, but it also was bare-legged, not blue-trousered as in the HeroClix figure.
  • The powers are wrong. As Marvel Boy, he was kinda your basic flying brick via his energy- and gravity-manipulating wristbands. The HeroClix figure doesn’t reflect much of that at all. As The Uranian, he’s more of a psychic, with telepathic powers and strong illusion-casting abilities. The HeroClix figure doesn’t reflect much of that at all, either.

Uranian’s other chief contribution to the team is his mentally controlled spaceship that serves as their transport. If only there were a way to symbolize that in HeroClix.

Oh, there is, you say?

“LEAPFROG: Chase Stein can use Leap/Climb. Chase Stein can use the Carry ability to carry up to eight friendly characters that must have the Kid, Runaways, or Teen keyword. Chase Stein can carry friendly characters with the Runaways keyword regardless of their attack and speed symbols. Chase Stein’s speed value is not modified by the Carry ability.”

Wow. And it was in the VERY SAME SET. Instead, Marvel Boy got a horribad SP that does nothing but bloat his cost to an unusable 102 points of ineffectiveness — especially with his 9 and 8 AVs:

“TELEPATHIC PROJECTION: Marvel Boy can use Mind Control. After a successful attack by Marvel Boy using Mind Control, he can use Incapacitate as a free action targeting the same character.”

Really. Every other member of the team is a decent piece. How did this solitary one go so incredibly wrong in every way?

A proper Uranian would have some frontloaded Outwit or Perplex (or both), the ability to carry multiples of his Atlas teammates a la Chase Stein’s power above (complete with some damage reducers for the ship’s hull and Ranged Combat Expert for his ship’s big gun, the Meteor Smasher) and, of course, a more proper sculpt, as seen near the end of My Custom Mods series. In the comics, he’s very much the linchpin of the team as the backfield support figure.

For just plain comic accuracy AND game playability, Marvel Boy / The Uranian is Heroclixin’s number one needed remake.

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Patriot

Once a surprise hit of a team, the Young Avengers are rather thinned out these days, and Patriot’s actually left the team. He and his crew are a decent cautionary tale in HeroClix for “too much, too soon.” We got them too early in both their careers and in the Special Powers era of ‘Clix. The quintet introduced in 2007’s Avengers set are all underpowered and barely playable:

  • Giant-girl Stature is both in the wrong costume and lacks even the basic giant-size brick powers of damage reduction (ANY!) and her AV is possibly the worst overall in the game for 50 points. She does have some use as a giant taxi and Plasticity-boosted tie-up, and her dial is long.
  • Iron Lad is a design fail, too. While his AV is appropriately low, he ought to have much better damage numbers. That said, Invulnerability + Shape Change is a decent defense.
  • Hulking is a hulking mass of powers wasted on horrid combat values. But the Invulnerability + Shape Change is even better on him, allowing him to soak a lot of attacks, and he can deal a lot of damage.
  • His BF Wiccan is the useful one — Enhancement super-taxi that pushes to Prob Control (and how they need it) and Support) — but like his mom Scarlet Witch, he’s underpowered.

It’s  their leader Patriot who’s the most in need of a redo, though. His dial is a hot mess like the others’ but, as I’ve recounted above, each of them still brings a strength to the team.

Patriot?

He starts with Battle Fury, representing his short-lived addiction to the Mutant Growth Hormone drug to give himself powers. But the enhanced battle ability is nowhere apparent in the 8 Attack. Moreover, Energy Shield/Deflection on a 15 DV for a character with no range is unfortunate. He can’t even be carried to serve as a meatshield by any of the taxis. He has a single solid click in #2, with improved stats across the board — well, except for damage slipping from 3 to 2. The Leadership he gets is wasted on a team full of free-moving Avengers who also all cost more than him. His DV slides from a good 17 Toughness to a crap 15 and lower to 12 Combat Reflexes…blech.

So, to recap: he’s poor at tie-up. No range. Can’t be carried. Leadership too low. Short-lived with poor DV. Good at nothing, really.

By the end of the initial Young Avengers series, he’s gotten a transfusion of the Super Soldier Serum from his grandfather (Captain America (Secret Invasion 019)) and he’s a much more capable hero.

In fact, a dial a lot like his grandpa’s would be ideal. Toughness from the shield, Charge and Flurry for the fighting skill (the long run of 9 AV being solid, too), some Willpower later with the DV to make it work, and, most of all, some Leadership up front — perhaps a SP version that works better with Young Avengers, to make them the force they can be, and finish the job that Secret Invasion’s Hawkeye started (and to build on what upcoming member Speed in Chaos War may bring to the team).

Bettering the Young Avengers. It’s a worthy goal and is why Patriot is Heroclixin’s #4 Needed Remake.

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Flash’s Rogue’s Gallery just got a nifty anti-Hypersonic Speed ATA to show their ability to consistently challenge the Scarlet Speedster. But their dials could use some upgrading as well. And although the number one worst-dialed Rogue has got to be Weather Wizard, in Heroclixin’s opinion he must stand a close second in line for a redo behind the Rogues’ leader:

Captain Cold

I mean, Weather Wiz is a bit of a terror in the comics, and none of the others are pushovers, either. Yet all of them hold a healthy respect for Captain Cold, and it’s time he got a dial that shows why he’s the unquestioned, if unofficial, leader of the Rogues.

  • Leadership is a must. A boosted version for Rogues would be key.
  • He’s got to have the usual ice powers — Incapacitate, Barrier — but they need to be juiced somehow, or made cheaper. There are plenty of example Special Powers that could be lifted and applied to Mr. Snart here (such as Icicle (Justice League)’s “Copsicles” SP). If WizKids would just go ahead and make Incap worth its points by using my suggestion — that an Incapped character can’t make free actions — it’d be fine. But since they haven’t, maybe Cold should get the first shot at the Incap upgrade. Running Shot is also a must — and it’d be neat if he could use Barrier instead of shooting with it.
  • A representation of his “cold field,” a subtle use of his freeze gun that slows molecular movement (including the Flash’s super speed) that could make him a silver bullet to moving attack powers similar to Star Boy or Harry Leland. But it should to be connected to an action instead of being a passive power.
  • Finally, he needs excellent combat values. As he’s said, he’s a fellow who tangles with a guy who moves close to the speed of light. Normal-reflexed characters shouldn’t stand much of a chance.

He doesn’t play too well with non-Rogues, so it’s the only keyword he’d need. And no team symbol would save points for all the costly powers he needs to hover around 100 points. A Captain Cold that chills opponents’ hearts across the table is Heroclixin’s #3 Most Needed Remake.

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Next are a pair that sorta proxy for their whole crew but happen to be the one most in need of remake for one reason or another.

Chameleon Boy

The Legion of Super-Heroes roster somewhat resists calls for remakes, in that there are so many Legionnaires yet to be made at all (Ferro Lad, White Witch, Blok, Quislet, Chemical King, Comet Queen, to name just a few)!

Still, there have been a number of misfires on the team described as “The Justice League of the future.” The three founders — Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl — were little more than one-trick-pony wildcards in the set they appeared in, Cosmic Justice. That unfortunate trend extended to the next DC set, Unleashed, and its key Legionnaire representative, Chameleon.

Chameleon is a Durlan, an alien race of shapeshifters like Skrulls but even better at it. Cham is one of the most powerful and deserves a dial with the following abilities:

  • Shape Change, and a lot of it. Preferably, he’d have a double dip of it like many Skrulls do. Better yet, he ought to have a version that’s not actually called Shape Change to make him a minor silver bullet to Battle Fury and WoS Bullseye. :) Another idea: When targeted by the same character since last turn, he gets a +1 to one of his quasi-Shape Change rolls.
  • Chameleon Boy can transform to hulking brontopoids or miniscule alien insects. It’d be nice to see his extreme shapeshifting powers reflected in an ability to pick Great Size or Tiny Size for a round.
  • In fact, it might be interesting to see a new Cham with a “pick-the-click-you-want” ability like Xavin (Galactic Guardians 022). In any case, he ought to have a rainbow dial or one loaded with Special Powers to represent his extreme adaptability.

As leader of the Legion Espionage Squad, Cham would have the Spy keyword in addition to the usual Future, Legion of Super-Heroes, and maybe Teen keywords. He’s the #6 most-needed remake.

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It’s not just Marvel and DC where remakes are needed. In fact, just about EVERY Indy character could stand to have a new dial, as they have not aged well at all.

But truth be told, a majority of the Indy set characters aren’t even in print any more. CrossGen, 2000 A.D., Danger Girls are all in limbo to various degrees and reasons.

But one Indy line has continued for a good long run and could use a massive upgrade:

Invincible

The Mark Grayson we got back in 2007 was quite decent for the time and point in the rookie hero’s career. He was a lite Hypersonic brick who couldn’t put up much of a real fight against his much more powerful and seasoned dad, Omni-Man.

But now, Invincible has tangled with world-beaters on the same level as his father and come out on top (though always, ALWAYS the worse for wear). So Invincible deserves a proper upgrade around 200 points, with the following key design points:

  • A full-speed Charge rather than top-dial Hypersonic Speed. Better to bury the latter a few clicks in, IMO.
  • Battle Fury. It’s in his blood.

Of course, it wouldn’t make any sense to just redo ‘Vince when there’s a whole vibrant universe of great characters to share a set with. Whether a six- or seven-piece Fast Forces or a full-blown 60-figure set, Invincible ought to have friends (and foes). He’s the #5 most needed remake in Heroclixin’s book.

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Tomorrow, two more who top the list of characters in their keyword needing another look.

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Next round, goes to characters who’ve gotten some useful versions, but have evolved well past their  do-one-thing-well origins. Again, one from each of the Big Two:

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Captain Atom

The Legacy versions did one thing well: Running Shot while being Impervious. Just like, y’know, several other dials in the game. But that’s not what makes Captain Atom unique. In addition to being a flying, blasting machine, he has the ability to absorb the energy of, say, a detonating nuclear bomb, then later release it in a self-detonation of his own that tends to fling him through time. (There was a sort-of version of him as a villain, Monarch (Crisis 043), but the less said of that, the better.)

So give him a Trait that reflects that, something like this:

When Captain Atom is hit with Pulse Wave, or takes 3 or greater damage from a ranged attack, roll a d6 and subtract the damage he’d take from the result and put that many Detonation tokens on his card. At the beginning of each turn, remove a Detonation token; when the last is removed, he must immediately use Pulse Wave as a free action and is removed from the battlefield. Replace each of the Detonation tokens and place him on his card and remove a token at the end of each round. When the last token is removed, place him in his starting area. If the game ends before he returns, victory points are scored by the opponent.

Short version: When he takes a big blast, he explodes with the excess energy and is transported to the future.

Needed keywords: Justice League International, Soldier, Super Buddies. Because he’s a mainstay of those named keywords in particular and has never quite gotten a dial that really nails him, he’s Heroclixin’s #8 Most Needed Remake.

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Scarlet Witch

I had a nice long treatise written on how Scarlet Witch deserves to be more than a cheapo boot speed Probability Control specialist that might be able to toss up a Barrier sometimes. I also wrote about how powerful a flying, reality-warping Switchie would be… too powerful, probably, for the game even in today’s power creep leap atmosphere. I mean, how do you balance a character who can say a sentence and permanently counter a whole keyword?

Anyway, it was a great entry, until WordPress “No more mutants’d” it and it was lost forever. :(

Hence, this short version.

The Scarlet Witch we need is still a Prob specialist, but with a bit more offensive focus. Her version of PC should only work on enemies’ rolls, and when she forces a miss, she can counter a power or ability the attacker used during the action, including team abilities (and regardless of team abilities).

That accurately reflects her “hex-bolts” or “chaos magic” more than basic PC. Meanwhile, solid range and offensive numbers (at least 10 AV and 3 damage at range) should suffice for her skills on the battlefield.

Because this longtime Avenger needs a definitive version, she’s Heroclixin’s #7 Most Needed Remake. Maybe the soon-to-release Chaos War version(s?) will do justice to Marvel’s biggest sometime-chaos magician?

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Tomorrow and Thursday, the countdown moves to characters that sorta proxy for their whole crew but happen to be the one most in need of remake for one reason or another.

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These are characters that have at least one full dial (not counting bystanders) in the game but are somehow inadequate and need to be redone, STAT. We’re starting with a pair from both mainstream universes that have some dials that are playable, but are woefully outdated both power-wise and character/keyword/teamwise.

Moon Knight

The white-clad nocturnal crimefighter has gotten a pair of lightweight renditions (REV in Critical Mass and an Uncommon in 2007’s Avengers) that don’t properly represent his “Marvel’s Batman if he had Super Strength and was insane, sometimes” level of ability.  The 2007 Avengers version made a go at it, but severely failed due to a poorly written, three-fold Special Power that can only be 2/3 used. (He can use Close and Ranged Combat Expert or self-Perplex but takes a click of damage right after. The trouble is that Perplex’s effects go away after taking damage, so he could never — EVER! — use his Perplex.)

Moon Knight’s profile has also risen a little bit in the Marvel U. since his last clix incarnation, having helmed a pair of solo series and won a place in the Secret Avengers. So since his erroneous SP was never given an errata and he needs the Avengers keyword proper, Moon Knight is Heroclixin’s #10 Most Needed Remake.

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Power Girl

“Peegee” had a decent-for-the-time trio of versions made in 2005’s Legacy set, with the Vet starting with Charge, Quake and Impervious for  just 120 points. But like most every figure of the time as well, she dropped fast, sinking to sad lows by mid-dial. What good is Super Strength’s appearance with Attack Values of just 8 and 7 and no Charge or anything and utter dependence on the Justice Society team ability to prop up defenses of 15, 14 and 13?

2010’s Brave and the Bold set brought us a much beefier Power Girl at 199 points, sporting the same JSA team ability as the older REV (but with better DVs), the appearance of Hypersonic Speed, nonstop, uncounterable Super Strength and a nifty Special Power granting Exploit Weakness against non-Robot, non-Willpowered foes.

But in the end, this Power Girl is still not right.

  • Her Attack Values are almost exactly as bad as her Legacy incarnation. How does that happen in this stage of the game? She’s the most expensive Modern figure in the game to have a click of 7 AV on her dial — one of just nine costing 150 or more points — and one of the only three that have 2 clicks of it. The other two are human Ms. Marvel and Psycho-Man, both of Secret Invasion and costing 31 and 48 points less, respectively.
  • Her Super Strength trait had to be added via errata. Though I don’t doubt it’s built into her cost — how else to explain it? — one wonders if some of those points are again wasted on her inability to hit many targets literally half her weight class for literally half her dial.
  • Where’s the range? She’s a Kryptonian, with the heat-ray optics to match. I know she likes to tangle in close, but it’d be nice to have the option.

Add to it all her poor sculpt, which totally fails to capture the spirit of the cover art that inspired it, and you have a character who deserves much better. Let’s hope there’s a shot at the classic, pre-New-52 version of Power Girl, Heroclixin’s #9 Most Needed Remake.

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Next round, goes to characters who’ve gotten some useful versions, but have evolved well past their  do-one-thing-well origins.