It’s a dark time for the Legion in comics. For the first time in its history, there appears to be NO Legion of Super-Heroes anything on the horizon. So imagine Legion fans’ surprise to see a whole set in HeroClix with the Legion brand coming in 2014. How’s it affect the goal of building the all-Legion force? Read on to see how the Legionnaires in the 10-figure CTD help the roster:
Cosmic Boy [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 201] adds another dimension to the bunker technique with his SP granting Toughness to adjacent friends when he’s in hindering terrain. Better still is his other SP bearing Perplex and Leadership that adds a bonus of token removal from any adjacent Legionnaire on a 6 roll. And like many other iterations of Cos, he’s got the Willpower+TK combo. Mid-dial, he’s a Running Shot + Pulse Wave piece, if only for a light 1 damage. Hidden Charm: Maybe you’d rather use his Enhancement, since he’s already surrounded by friends, likely. That he’s all this — and more, as we’ll see — for just 70 points is pretty awesome.

Saturn Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 202] gives the Legion another Prob Control piece at 102 points, which seems a little steep. But it’s not her only role; rather, she’s a 7-range, 11 AV Mind Control and Incap figure that transitions into a Penetrating/Psychic Blaster around midlife. She also gets a defense SP that allows her to choose Combat Reflexes or ESD for a round. Hidden Charm: She alternates to Outwit between PC clicks, so push her if you need to cut off enemy powers. She’s also got an important trait she shares with both the next and preceding figures...

Lightning Lad [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 203] is an Indomitable double-target Energy Explosion and Running Shot that switches to Running Shot Pulse Wave mid-dial and alternates between Ranged Combat Expert and Perplex throughout. Any questions? Hidden Charm: With a trait that he shares with the above two characters, Lightning Lad gets to invite a single 50-point character to gain the Legion of Super-Heroes keyword and Wing symbol to the team. This really opens wide the possibilities for the LSH — especially because if the others with this trait don’t use it, he can invite a 100-point character instead and still maintain a theme team. This is the ultimate game-changer for an all-Legion team, as it drastically reduces the chance that these mostly wild cards will be stuck without a TA to copy. He’s the costliest of the three, though, and with a more generic role.

The only fig in the game with double targets and 0 range, Ultra Boy [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 204] brings a combination of Hypersonic punching and soft Enhancement at first, before pushing to become the Invulnerable Super Strength piece he’s better known as. Then he gets Willpower and SP Penetrating/Psychic Blast at 6 range [so THAT’S what the 2 arrows are for) for most of his late dial. It’s an interesting, wild 100-point clix whose Hidden Charm is that he works well both as a front line fighter and as a bunker supporter based on where he’s landed on his dial.

Triplicate Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 206] gets the “play one, get multiples” treatment seen in various forms across the past few years in ‘Clix. She brings two bystanders with her powers, stats and team ability with her, essentially tripling her presence on the board for 87 points. Her 9 AV is low for the cost, but she brings the swarm action the Legion’s needed. Hidden Charm:She’s got three, actually.

• The sister pogs don’t possess her powers, so they can serve as an anti-Outwit shield for the main Trip.
• Losing one gives the remaining two perma-Willpower. Might be worth losing the 0 points for the action advantage.
• Her Empower SP works fine with the earlier Triplicate Girls from Origin to give them a much harder punch.

Shrinking Violet [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 207] is a surprising butt-kicker for one so small, for a few reasons:

• Charge. She’s got four squares of reach.
• Precision Strike. She doesn’t care about her low 1 damage because it’s getting through no matter what.
• Willpower. 18 DV is solid, too.
• Close Combat Expert. Combined with the above, she can deliver quite the one-two punch.

She transitions to a tie-up fig with Combat Reflexes+Shape Change and then Super Senses. At 75 points, she’s a little costly to be so short, but her Hidden Charm makes up it: She has the option of picking Tiny Size at the cost of -3 Speed in the beginning of her turn — which is no problem for her because she’s going to be hitching rides with her taller teammates anyhow, now being one of the few Legionnaires that can be carried by normal pals.

Phantom Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 208] is a lot like the original 2007 version, what with her Phasing/Teleport skills and SP to disrupt enemy tactics. This time she’s affecting Robot and Vehicle keywords rather than objects. At 80 points, she’s far too expensive for this silver bullet role, though. Better to focus on her Hidden Charm: She has Empower on her starting and middle clicks, the latter with Defend and Sidestep, too. She can back up some of the more fragile, lower-cost melee allies like Timber Wolf and Karate Kid nicely.

Next: At the time of this writing, the full roster of new Legion figures is unknown, so Heroclixin’ might take a short break from this F.U.N. Focus to await more spoilers. Long Live the Legion.

The Legion had a few more additions in their 21st Century members featured in the Smallville Fast Forces pack.

Superman (Battle for Smallville Fast Forces 001) 200 points buys one of the best starting AVs for the LSH. Better still is the Superman Ally TA he lends to the team for anti-Stealth action. But his 150-point level is a little better because of his starting Hypersonic Speed and Probability Control, both of which work best with the biggest he brings to the Legion: His ability to share his fine 18 DV with the vast number of sub-101-point Legionnaires to create a fine defensive bunker between attacks. Hidden Charm: Make sure he’s fielded with Starman to get the JSA TA to chain his DV to the Legionnaires over 100 points.

Supergirl (Battle for Smallville Fast Forces 002) is even better than her famous cousin. At just 100 points, she brings the same HSS + 11 AV Super Strength 4 damage as her twice-as-expensive main set version, only shedding the Impervious and a click of range. She’s less pushable, too, but she doesn’t have to carry nearly as much of the fighting load. Her Hidden Charm is that the rest of her dial deals some sort of penetrating damage, so pushing her may well be worth it.

Next: 

2011’s Superman set gave us the Legion motherlode with a whopping 11 choices to fill out the team with. Suddenly, building a formidable Legion team seemed within the realm of possibility.

Star Boy (Superman 007) adds another Telekinesis fig to get Legionnaires into position. With only the single opening click of the power, though, he’s instead best fielded for his Mass Increase trait that shuts down foes with 4 squares from starting Running Shot, Hypersonic Speed or Charge actions and halves their speed. He’s a short-lived and soft-skinned 78-point stall technique that might buy the rest of the Legion a chance to do something before he dies. A fairly essential member at this point. Hidden Charm: After pushing off TK, he’s got two-target Incap with Running Shot and an end-dial Pulse Wave, so he’s not all finesse.

Brainiac 5 (Superman 008) brought key supporting powers to the team courtesy of his SP bundling Outwit and either Perplex or part-time Probability Control. Better is that he was more survivable than most characters in his cost range with Invulnerability. Hidden Charm: He also can help an adjacent Legionnaire by granting it Toughness. Any number of soft-shelled LSHers could thus benefit.

Supergirl (Superman 010)
With 11 Speed and AV with HSS, she’s the flat-out best leading attacker for the team — and at 200 points, she ought to be. She also brings the Superman Ally TA for the wildcards. If only she were Indomitable, she’d be perfect. But with HSS on click #2 as well, she’s worth pushing in the right situation. She can lead a Legion team of any build. Her 100-point dial is much less imposing but still brings the best starting AV and damage for the cost. Hidden Charm: She could loan the either Kryptonian ATA to the wild cards, too, for a needed AV bonus on certain elevated terrain, or any one of three different Justice League ATAs granting, respectively, +1 AV against a team symbol, bonus to Leadership rolls, or +1 DV against enemy fliers/sharpshooters/giants/Indomitables.

Sun Boy (Superman 022) is that other mobile, mid-cost ranged attacker the Legion’s needed since 2007’s Lightning Lad. At 79 points, he brings Running Shot+ Penetrating/Psychic Blast + Pulse Wave to the game. Though he’s completely armor-free, he’s nonetheless a front-line must for any Legion team. Hidden Charm: Don’t be afraid to get in base with a Running Shot Pulse Wave. Mid-dial Poison makes him dangerous in close, and he’s got Willpower for his whole back end.

Earth Man (Superman 023) is an interesting piece to use. First, he’s a bit of a swiss army knife thanks to his Absorbancy SP allowing him to copy adjacent attack powers, friend or foe. Paired with his opening Running Shot, that offers a fair number of options likely to show on his Legion teammates:

• Telekinesis
• Pulse Wave
• Penetrating/Psychic Blast
• Incapacitate
• Energy Explosion, though with only one target, he’s not very good at it
• Super Strength. Surprise a foe by using Running Shot to throw a light object 8 squares. Or pick up and effectively drop an item in the same round.

He pushes off a good 18 Toughness click to 17 Invulnerability, so it may be apt to use him for his close combat prowess. Regardless, when Earth Man’s on the team, one may want to want to opt to Legion Lost a team ability that rewards adjacency, since he’s going to need to link up with teammates’ powers to get his 98 points’ worth.
Hidden Charm: He’s the cheaper option to bring in the Green Lantern Honor Guard ATA, which allows a swarm team like the Legion to not really waste a single attack as each one, hit or miss, improves the AV of each subsequent attacker. Also, enemy Cosmic keyword can’t use standard Speed powers when he’s on his first few clicks, making him a silver bullet against them.

Invisible Kid (Superman 024) is an essential new addition to aid the Legion’s bunker formation or to help its top fighters stay alive. He does it with his “Shared Invisibility” SP that grants Stealth to a single adjacent Legionnaire. He’s also got his own natural traited Stealth bundled in with his ability to not be seen at all when he’s token-free. ‘Course, this means he needs to be TK’d around to maintain his Full Invisibility, which may not be the way one wishes to burn TK actions. So he’s probably best sent out next to a patch of hindering terrain early on to serve as a later safe point for a Hypersonic or Running Shot pal who needs a hidey-hole. But don’t overlook his second-click Perplex, either, if it’s safe for him to push to get it. The Legion can always use another Perplexer, especially at his 53-point cost. Hidden Charm: Remember Colossal Boy, a potential Defend piece whose Great Size crippled his ability to do so safely on an all-Legion team? With I-Kid here giving him constant Stealth, the big guy can fulfill that role as effectively as Shadow Lass, with the added plus of using Perplex over peoples’ heads.

Matter-Eater Lad (Superman 025), despite the ridiculous name and powerset, is far from just being a points filler — though he excels at that role. He’s an invaluable addition to the Legion for these reasons:

• he’s dirt-stinkin’-cheap. Only 35 points and there’s just four characters out of 80+ that cost less.
• he’s a tie-up threat with Exploit Weakness and a steady 9 AV.
• …who Steals Energy to stick around after click 1.
• And he eats walls and objects, including relics. Need an unconventional attack vector on a cramped map? He’s your man. That indestructible hammer relic on the other force troubling you? Send him out to try and heft it, then just eat it if he fails the relic roll. Not enough hindering terrain to work with? Munch away some blocking and leave crumbs for a Legion bunker.

Hidden Charm: He can munch as a free action, so he could work together with Element Lad and Brainy at the beginning of a turn: Break a hole through blocking terrain, B5 Outwits or Perplexes, then E-Lad closes again. Almost as effective is for M-E-Lad to break the wall, move so Brainiac can see, then Element Lad plugs the hole with Barrier before repairing it permanently next turn.

Princess Projectra (Superman 038) made 2011’s list of worst pieces of the year, but she’s not completely worthless. First, like Brainiac and Invisible Kid, she grants a defensive ability to an adjacent Legionnaire — in her case, it’s Super Senses. Second, she’s a short-range Barrier fig that can help ward off enemy fire. Third, she’s pushable to Mind Control and, later down her dial, Smoke Cloud, Stealth and Prob Control. Her 70-point price is steep for her somewhat limited combat or support utility — she’s a back field piece without much effect on the front line game the way an Outwit or Perplex fig would have — but she can turn a game’s tide at the right moment. Hidden Charm: Along with the equally costed and not-so-efficient Element Lad, she can maintain constant Barrier for a Legion bunker to hide behind.

Wildfire (Superman 039) is all about firepower thanks to Energy Explosion and Ranged Combat Expert on his top dial, giving the Legion another heavy shooter. Unfortunately, he doesn’t start with Running Shot (that comes on click 2), so he’s going to need aid from TK to really pull his weight. His stats also aren’t super for his 132 cost. But he’s got a self-healing SP that could come in handy. And his end-dial clicks bear an SP granting Poison and Pulse Wave if someone chases him down to bypass his ESD. Hidden Charm: He’s the first (and only?) Sharpshooter for the Legion, so he’s key for sniping at those foes in the back row.

Starman (Superman 041) is the slightly more grown-up, much more mentally ill version of Star Boy. For 99 points, he mainly brings his JSA symbol and team ability to the team at large, enabling a Legion in proper formation to finally solve its history of low defense values by replacing them with Starman’s and a few others’ 18 DVs. He’s also a Perplexer and, with a push, an Invulnerable Running Shot fig (though you’ll have to give up his 18 DV to get it). Hidden Charm: His Speed SP gives him Phasing/Teleport and if he uses it to base enemies, he knocks their AV -1 for a turn, making him an unorthodox tie-up character.

Next: A fella from Smallville

The Legion wasted no time getting more members in the card era, but were they good members?

In the case of Dream Girl (Justice League 048), the answer is yes. She gave the team its first Probability Control piece to nudge the odds a little more toward success — important for the offense- and actions-challenged Legion. She shifts to Outwit on her late dial. Hidden Charm: It’s vital that she gets line of Fire for her PC, so consider the Coordination feat to ensure she can see from behind a wall of allies.

On the other hand, Bouncing Boy (Justice League 016) is NOT a good addition to the LSH, with a difficult-to-use SP and highly mediocre values. Hidden Charm: His Toughness makes him a decent tie-up piece with some endurance. Also, time his attacks against near-dead foes to best activate his SP for extra attacks.

How did the Legion respond to a Crisis? Answer: with some of its best figs to date.

Supergirl (Crisis 056) improved a bit on earlier bruisers, starting with several clicks of melee-only Hypersonic Speed for 178 points. But her 3 damage is much lower than either Vet M’onel’s or Vet Origin Supergirl’s, she’s still only wielding a 10 AV, and she’s not saving that much in cost. She is a source of the Superman Ally TA, though, for a Legion-only team. Hidden Charm: Get around her weaknesses by staying based with her initial target, where she can use Close Combat Expert, then Quake or Flurry as her dial progresses.

At 63 points, Karate Kid (Crisis 024) provides company for Timber Wolf in the low-cost melee fighting division. Though his AV begins a bit lower at 10, it ramps up to 12 by mid-dial. He needs to be shielded from shooters who’ll make short work of him. Hidden Charm: His 2nd click gains Plasticity and retains CR, so he becomes a mean tie-up piece.

Dawnstar (Crisis 022) added one of the game’s cheapest Hypersonic Speed figs and she also benefited the Legion’s cause with her SP “Quarry” that gives a +1 AV to the whole team against a certain target. Willpower rounds out the 60-point package. Hidden Charm: She excels at drawing fire from more vital members of the team, being relatively hittable with low DV and troublesome to the enemy due to her SP.

Was the Legion crazed enough to enter Arkham Asylum? Yes…barely. Fall 2008’s Arkham Asylum, the last set of the Topps-era WizKids, only added a solitary Legionnaire:

Element Lad (Arkham Asylum 037) was a disappointment. Based on the weakest iteration of the matter-transmuting character, the clix was even more underwhelming. Double-target Incapacitate isn’t good with only a 9 AV. Barrier at 6 range isn’t a whole lot better. The worst bit, though, is the relative uselessness of his Transmute SP: He can destroy 2 adjacent objects or remove hindering, blocking or debris marker within 4 squares and line of fire, but only at beginning of turn. For him to get that close to use it AND have the LOF, his 17 DV will likely have to weather attacks in the turn prior. He’s the first piece to go if you’re having trouble fitting characters on the build. Hidden Charm: Treat him as a Barrier piece, period, until you can’t anymore. This gives the actions-challenged Legion a breather.

The first DC set of the NECA era, Winter 2010’s Brave and the Bold, didn’t have a single Legion of Super-Heroes member. And the DC 75th Anniversary set in late 2010 only has one with the keyword:

Superboy (DC 75th Anniversary 026) provides the Teen Titans TA for an otherwise all-Legion team to copy and heal each other with, along with Superman Ally. He’s also a decent brawler with Charge, Super Strength and 4 damage, if rather expensive at his limited role. Hidden Charm: He can also contribute either the New Teen Titans ATA to give the high-point fig Leadership (possibly himself at 153 points) or the Young Justice ATA to prevent untimely KOs (works particularly well with the bunker formation).

Next: It seems the Legion needs a Superman to inspire them.

The start of the modern card era of figures was ushered in by the Legion, and the team got a true infusion of playability.

Lightning Lad (Legion of Super-Heroes 001)
A far cry from the lameness that was Live Wire, the 70-point LLad’s 10-range Running Shot + double-target Energy Explosion finally gave the LSH its first cost-efficient moving shooter. Hidden Charm: He benefits greatly from the “bunker formation,” covering a wide swath of map with his attacks while enjoying a potential 19-20 DV from range.

Cosmic Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes 003)
Leadership’s extra-actions and TK are important to the all-flier LSH, and with Cos the team got both in one Willpowered 70-point piece. Hidden Charm: What you see is what you get. Be sure to set him up with clear TK lanes AND keep cheapies next to him for best Leadership results.

Timber Wolf (Legion of Super-Heroes 004)
To this point, the LSH had a few high-cost fighters and a few cheap tie-ups but virtually no low- to mid-range brawlers. Enter T-Wolf at 60 points with Charge and 11 AV. His damage is too low for the former power but it might be worth pushing to use Close Combat Expert if he survives in base with his 16 DV+Super Senses. Find a way to bolster either his DV or damage for best results. He’s an easy KO but a scary one who’ll either take heat off the bigger boys or slip under the radar to deal some real hurt. Hidden Charm: Mid-dial, he gets Earthbound AND Battle Fury. Play accordingly.

Saturn Girl (Legion of Super-Heroes 002)
This 60-costing piece bears 8 range with 9 AV and Incapacitate and 16 DV Super Senses; she doesn’t look like much of an improvement over previous Legionnaires. But she is: She pushes to 10 AV, switches to Energy Shield/Deflection (though with a drop to 15 DV) and adds Mind Control to her skill set. It’s really her mid-dial that shows her Hidden Charm: A SP, “Telepathic Coordination,” that allows her to boost the AV or DV of an ally +2 for the turn. So Saturn Girl should either be used as a minor Incapper, then Mind Controller to push until she gets to her late dial to wield the SP and Outwit as well, or she should be dangled out as bait for the enemy. She absolutely REQUIRES the Legion bunker formation to work.

Phantom Girl (Legion of Super-Heroes 005)
Low DV is a systemic problem for the Legion. Phantom Girl goes a ways toward solving it with her natural, if bare, 18 DV. She has Phasing/Teleport for great freedom of movement, and her SP allows her to remove objects from the game, held or not, by moving through the square or ending up next to one. At only 40 points, she’s one of the team’s best tie-up pieces. Hidden Charm: She’s also one of the best taxis for the few carryable Legionnaires. Use the Legion Lost ATA to pick Justice Society to help her chain her 18 DV and really supercharge the bunker formation.

Ultra Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes 006)
At 130 points, U-Boy is by far the costliest of the set. But he’s the best brick of the entire Legion to this point, able to leverage opening Charge, Super Strength and Impervious with 4 damage to lead the attack of the melee figs. Later, he’s a light-damaging Hypersonic hitter and then switches to a block of Flurry and Penetrating/Psychic Blast. He’s got most of the damage potential of the two previous heavy hitters for more than 90 fewer points. Hidden Charm: Click #2 has Flurry+Super Strength+Battle Fury with his peak AV of 11 and still 17 Impervious.

Young Superman (Legion of Super-Heroes 007)
Superboy here is a straightforward Charging brick with high damage and great DV for a good price: 100 points. Hidden Charm: But don’t forget his 8 range, which might be a better option sometimes.

Shrinking Violet (Legion of Super-Heroes 008)
One of the only non-flying Legionnaires, Vi has natural starting Stealth to make her an inexpensive blocker for more important teammates. She predates Tiny Size. She’s also got Super Senses. Hidden Charm: Carry her to extend AV or DV chains via Batman Enemy or JSA TA team abilities.

Next: the Justice League of the future in the actual Justice League set

The final pre-card set, early 2007’s Origin, had a wealth of Legionnaires, including, finally, a few real heavy hitters, making the Legion of Super-Heroes a force to be reckoned with at last.

M’onel (Origin 075)
Long the second-most-expensive of the Legion at 223 points, he suffers from anemic AV that tops out at 10 but slides all the way down to 7. He also has Battle Fury to start which requires him to push if you want to get use out of his 10 range — though the same power gives him immunity to Incapacitate, Mind Control and Shape Change, so it’s not all bad. And Super-Strong Hypersonic Speed with 5 damage is nothing to sniff at. Hidden Charm: His long, 10-click dial makes him a surprisingly effective tie-up fig on those huge builds after his initial strike. Don’t use him as a tentpole but make sure he’s but one of a wave of attackers for best results.

Mon-El [Origin 073] is the Rookie version and this 118-costed fig might be superior to the Vet. He’s got the same 10 AV and 10 Hypersonic Speed, though with lower 16 DV and no Impervious to start. He’s a lot more disposable. And unfortunately, he has to be, because the Legion is almost devoid of healers. Hidden Charm: He’s an open book, really. Stick and move is his game until he gets knocked off that sole HSS slot. He’s the lightweight brick the LSH has needed up to this point.

The Experienced Valor [Origin 074] lacks the Legion of Super-Heroes keyword despite having the team ability. It’s a pity because his Running Shot would’ve helped.

Supergirl (Origin 057)
At 232 still the costliest member of the LSH at this writing, she boasts a long dial and one of the best starting AVs of the team. But her starting with Charge+Impervious and having to push to the superior HSS but downgrading to Invulnerability makes her unable to carry her weight in any build total anymore. She’s been thoroughly upstaged by the new bruisers of the keyword. Hidden Charm: Though she’s entirely too expensive to be solely a shooter, forget about her close combat skills in the early game and leverage her massive 10 range until enemies wander within her melee reach.

Triplicate Girl [Origin 052-054] and Duo Damsel [Origin 204]
She offers the Legion a few needed tools. First, the Rookie at 35 points is an improved Plasticity tie-up figure with a par-for-the-LSH 17 DV. Though her 8 AV isn’t threatening anyone of consequence, her five clicks of life will allow her to absorb a couple of shots — and her late Flurry+Willpower means she might go down fighting. But the fighting is better left to her big sis, the 50-point Exp. who starts with the Flurry to help that 8 AV. Too bad she has to push to Willpower and 10 AV on click 2, but you’re glad to see it. Later she shifts to Plasticity and Perplex. But why not pay 15 more for the Vet and her starting Charge and Perplex? The LSH needs the help. On the rest of her dial, she’s all Willpower along with the Flurry and Plasticity her little sisters feature. The 46-point LE Duo Damsel bolsters her starting Plasticity with 16 DV Combat Reflexes, but the rest of her dial is much less impressive than any of the others’. Hidden Charm: The REV should be played together on a big team. Know their roles. The Rookie is all tie-up. Expect to lose those points. The Exp. is sort of a fighting tie-up but not very good at it until she becomes a Perplexer. Expect to lose those points, too. The Vet should be just Perplexing.
Remember these girls because they’ll get some help down the line.

Next: The Legion is the future of HeroClix. Expect anything!…on Monday

In early 2006, Collateral Damage only added a solitary new Legionnaire to the roster. But it was a game-changer for the team, big time.

Shadow Lass (Collateral Damage 034-036)
Until now, no Legion of Super-Heroes member has had a DV greater than 16, a decidedly average number even then. But with the introduction of the 56-point Exp. Umbra and Vet Shadow Lass at 10 more (don’t bother with the 44-point Rookie on Legion teams), not only did the LSH get its first fig with 17 DV, but she also shared it with Defend! This was so key for LSH teams, which tended to be easy to hit thanks to low stats and easy to hurt due to lack of armor. Singlehandedly, she made some of those terrible old figures playable. Hidden Charm: Umbra is central to the Legion’s “bunker” formation, where she occupies a bit of hindering terrain and is surrounded by a set of ranged attackers who share her 17 DV perpetually. At need, she can toss out the now-more-useful-than-ever Smoke Cloud or an occasional 3-damage attack. But her role is covering the team.

Bonus: The DC Giants Collector’s Set featured a Legionnaire; in fact, his silhouette was used in the package’s branding!

Colossal Boy (Giants 003), at 115 points, is a rare non-flier for the squad, instead using Giant Stride and Leap/Climb to get around. He’s also the second fig that provides the “bunker” formation with his 17 Defend. Unfortunately, he’s not nearly as good at it as his immediate predecessor, Shadow Lass, due to his giant stature making him a big, soft target for enemy shooters. (Though there are ways to mitigate this weakness.) Hidden Charm: Colossal Boy is a rare Perplexer for the Legion, and thanks to his height, he can affect the battlefield over the heads of smaller figs. Find a way to protect his soft defense on those early clicks; future installments will show how.

Next: The Origin of the Legion swarm

The Legion got a couple more characters in 2005’s Legacy — but just got a little bit closer to being viable.

Wildfire (Legacy 043-045) and Drake Burroughs (Legacy 203)
This figure finally gives the Legion a decent starting AV of 10 for more than one click (on the Vet, at least) and Running Shot+4 damage on ALL FOUR versions, from the 89-point Rookie to the 123, 127 and 145 Experienced, LE and Vet, respectively. A long and well-armored dial full of Toughness and Energy Explosion rounds out the anti-matter package. Hidden Charm: When you see 12 DV on any of his versions, push with abandon because he’s only a click or two away from last-click Impervious and Phasing to make him a solid mid- to late-game tie-up/meat shield blocker, though with only 10 DV, so pair him with one of the Defend members.

Kid Quantum (Legacy 031-033)
She brings Incapacitate to the team with Running Shot and 3 targets. That’s all she does, though, aside from a bit of Leadership on the 80-point Vet. Her DV is a bare 16 and 6 range isn’t quite long enough to make her all that effective. Opponents will just see easy points to be scored. Don’t even bother with the 2-target, 4-range Rookie; her 8 AV and 4-click life is a waste of 49 points. Hidden Charm: use the 61-point Exp. on a high-build-total Legion team for best results. If she slows down the enemy even once, she’s gotten her value back. Try to bump up her 9 AV for the attack if at all possible.

Next: Did the Legion suffer Collateral Damage?

The Legion would reappear in the next DC set, Unleashed. But the same problems would persist: The characters’ combat values would still be subpar and they would still be all wild cards….mostly.

Brainiac 5 (Unleashed 019-021)
The smart kid of the Legion, Brainy is the team’s first and cheapest source of Outwit at just 40 points for the Rookie. And like his teammate Saturn Girl from the previous set rocked Perplex and little else, so too is his dial compLETEly bare apart from the Perplex he gets AFTER Outwit. Twelve more points buy a click each of Toughness and Mastermind on the Experienced — good luck finding fodder on a Legion team — and the 58-point Vet doubles up on both powers. The LE, Querl Dox, has a totally different powerset: Incap, Defend, Leadership and Exploit Weakness for 47. All are basically useless due to his terrible stats.  Hidden Charm: B5 has one role — to Outwit or Perplex ’til he’s dead. He’s gonna need help not dying with only 15 or lower DV and having to be within 6 squares to be of use. Fortunately, there’s a Legion maneuver that Heroclixin’ calls the “bunker formation” that he can benefit from, allowing him to help his team. We’ll discuss it more in future installments.

Chameleon (Unleashed 037-039)
Holy junk, what an awful opening click on the Rookie. 7 AV, 14 DV, 1 damage. And the AV goes DOWN from there. At least there’s a bit of Plasticity and a full dial of Shape Change to help save his 30 points. 44 and 58 get a 15 DV Toughness and a click of life on each level up. All have Blades/Claws/Fangs, Incap and Poison in some order in the Attack slot. Hidden Charm: The Rookie pushes straight onto Poison. So pair him with a higher DV ally with Defend and go tie up a soft target.

Supergirl (Unleashed 077)
She wasn’t a Legionnaire when this set first arrived; that would happen later, with the addition of keywords. Unfortunately, she still brings the same LSH problems of the era to the team: unconscionably low values for a 133-point figure, especially on defense. On the plus side, she brings the Superman Ally team ability for her wild card friends to copy at last. Kara Zor-El (Unleashed 218) is much like Supergirl, only rocking the LSH TA and losing opening Running Shot for Charge and an extra click each of Impervious and Super Strength for one point less. Hidden Charm: On a big enough LSH team where she’s not a main fighter — and I really hope a gal of her cost that only has one click of 10 AV and THREE TIMES more clicks of 8AV or worse than clicks of 9AV ISN’T a main fighter — either can be used to soak up shots for better pieces with her 9-click-long dial.

Shvaughn Erin (Unleashed 204)
She’s really only an honorary Legionnaire, being their liason on the Science Police force of their time. And she has the same rubbish stats. But she’s another cheap Leadership fig, and she actually has useful powers in Running Shot and Energy Shield/Deflection. Hidden Charm: A rare non-flyer on the Legion, she can be carted about for all manner of formations and setups.

Next: The Legacy of the Legion

The first appearance of the Legion in HeroClix were these lackluster teens cursed with low defenses in 2003’s Cosmic Justice set — we’re talking zero armor and peaks of 15 here —and a team ability that was useless to them unless one broke theme and ran them with non-wildcards. The addition of keywords to the game years later did little to help, as a Legion team still was almost all wild cards.

By piece:

Cosmic Boy (Cosmic Justice) is dial-long wild card Telekinesis. That’s really all that need be said. Neither the 45-point Rookie nor the 61-point Experienced figs have anything else of worth to offer. The Vet adds two starting clicks of Leadership for 68 — whoopee. The LE Rokk Krinn has a run of Force Blast for 8 points more. Hidden Charm: What you see is what you get. Cos is all TK. Push him to do it every turn he can — he can take it. Use the 45-point Rookie for best results, or if you really need the extra action sometimes afforded by Leadership, spring for the Vet.

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Saturn Girl (Cosmic Justice)
At least she starts with a 9 AV. With her long run of Perplex and opening click of 8-range Mind Control, this Rookie telepath actually has a bit of utility. The Exp and Vet both nudge up to 10 AV, a click each extra of MC and Perplex alike, but there’s really no call to spend the extra 15 and 32 more points over the Rookie’s 44 unless you just REALLY want the 10 range on the Vet. Don’t even THINK about spending 72 on the Imra Ardeen LE. Hidden Charm: The Rookie is still among the LSH’s cheapest Perplexers, and pushable in that role. Keep her in the back at all times, bumping those stats as needed. The other two have some potential as Mind Controllers.

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Live Wire (Cosmic Justice 046-048)
The rookie is the dirt-cheapest of all Legionnaires (22 points) and nigh-useless with only 7 AV and 0 damage Ranged Combat Expert. That’s right: base him and he’s nothing but low-DV, 4-click-long tie-up. Unless sacrificing him’s part of your strat — say, as part of using a Legion Lost ATA-gained TA — steer clear. The Exp. and Vet only pack on extra points and a click of life apiece but are similarly pointless. For more than double the rookie’s cost, the 50-point Vet STILL only has one click of 2 damage and AV over 8. Hidden Charm: The Rookie is the least expensive 8 range flier in the whole game. Equip him with the Spotter feat to aid better shooters. Using the Legion Lost ATA well could make Live Wire a surprise danger — by chaining a decent AV to him with Batman Enemy, for instance. 

Next installment: The Legion Unleashed…?