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Number 6 of the GLC  is:

Abin Sur (Green Lantern Fast Forces #006)

Why he’s a top piece:

  • Not only is he the cheapest-by-far source of the GL TA (for Carry-ready wildcards such as Dr. Strange to copy) at 50 points, but…
  • …his “Always Uses A Ship” SP makes him the first character in the game who can carry any single-based character regardless of combat symbols or keywords. So yes: he can carry a fellow GLC member despite the fact that they all fly.
  • High Speed value makes him very efficient in his taxi role.

Why he’s not higher on the list:

  • Weak overall AV and DV stats, especially compared with other top GL pieces. Despite Super Senses and 3 damage, he’s a relatively easy KO and not much of a fighter.

Still, his SP changes the game for the GLC and HeroClix alike, easily making him Heroclixin’s #6 GLC fig.

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The #5 GLC fig is:

Kilowog (Green Lantern Gravity Feed #003)

He makes the list because:

  • He’s a rare close combatant for the GLC thanks to Charge and Super Strength, and highly competent at it to boot. Dial-long Invulnerability or Toughness rounds out the package.
  • Enhancement and 8 range means he’s got something to do for others and himself until the enemy reaches Charge range.
  • Indomitable keeps him pushing painlessly.
  • When he takes damage, he bumps his nearby fellow Brute, GLC or Soldier allies’ AV via his “Tough Drill Instructor” SP from clicks 2-7.

He’d be higher on the list if not for:

  • His DV sinks mid-dial to an anemic 15. (Fortunately, he’s got Invulnerability to bolster that!)

His unique blend of frontline brawling, secondary shooting and support skills makes Kilowog the #5 best GLC figure so far in HeroClix.

Be back tomorrow for numbers 4 and 3!

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Number 8 is:

Green Lantern (Blackest Night #004)

Why he’s a top piece:

  • His opening slot of the grey powers of Running Shot, Telekinesis, Invulnerability and Leadership are all great for both him individually and for the team.
  • Good AV until final click.
  • “Green Willpower” SP makes him pretty push-friendly.

Why he’s not higher on the list:

  • He’s VERY soft down the dial if he falls off his first two clicks.
  • There are better Hal Jordans for the points, too.

If you can protect that top dial, though, BN Hal can indeed endure through blackest night. He’s the #8 best GL.

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The #7 GLC fig is:

Tomar Re (Green Lantern Corps #007)

He makes the list because:

  • He’s got the longest range of all Lanterns. 12 range plus…
  • …Perplex. And Running Shot. That gives him a potential unaided “swing” of a whopping 18 squares.
  • Great defense too at 18 + Toughness.
  • His “Scientist” keyword is quite versatile.
  • A push only increases his ranged defense to 17+ESD and gives him Enhancement for the pals he may be carrying with his GLC TA.

He’d be higher on the list if not for:

  • a sharp dropoff in stats and powers beyond his first clicks.

That long, long range for such economic price makes the original Tomar Re the #7 GL in the game.

Be back tomorrow  when the list hits the midpoint!

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Number 10 is:

Ch’p (Green Lantern Corps #002 )

Why he’s a top piece:

  • I’ll just quote from my old review from 2006, the year of his debut:
  • “Do you hear that? That squeaking, chattering sound? It’s the chipmunk-like voice of Ch’p here saying: ‘Push me. PUSH MEEEE!’

    Ch’p is made to be played on his 2nd click as one mother of a GL tank, able to lend his 18 defense to a full ring of carried figures.     Mid-dial he goes into alien squirrel battle rage when he gains RCE and a 10 attack value. His dial’s a bit short, but by the time the enemy digs through to hit him, the game’s likely over.”
  • In addition to his 18 Defend, on the same clicks he bears Running Shot and 3 damage, enabling him to be offensive as well. This makes him the best GL tank figure for the points by FAR.

Why he’s not higher on the list:

  • Short dial, that’s made even shorter by the necessity of pushing to click #2.
  • In fact, he’s ALL ABOUT that single click. Once off it, he’s mostly roadkill.
  • Just an OK fighter at best.

Still, this space critter packs enough utility to be one of the best GLs to build a team around, and thus makes the list.
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The #9 ?

TIE: Experienced Green Lantern (Unleashed #083) and Green Lantern (Green Lantern Fast Forces #001)

They make the list because:

  • Both can use Willpower to either TK pals into the fight or move themselves in range one turn and then push freely on the next to unleash Ranged Combat Expert hell upon a target.
  • Both bear a nice starting DV of 18.

They tie because:

  • While the newer GL is far tougher with better numbers down the line, the Unleashed GL is more combat-ready with Running Shot instead of Phasing and 10 range instead of 8 for the exact same price of 125 points. Neither are unnecessarily bloated with the costly GL TA, either.

They’d be higher on the list if not for:

  • Middling AV numbers down the line and no damage reducers on the older piece;
  • Lack of moving attack on the first click holds the FF GL back.

Nevertheless, when you’re looking for a budget GL that can deal premium effect on the game, these are your guys.

Be back tomorrow for the 8th and 7th on the list! Hint: they both wear green and black. 😉

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So the Green Lantern film is coming in a few weeks, and, more importantly, we just got a TRUCKLOAD of brand-new Corps members in ‘Clix. Heroclixin’ asks: what are the Top Ten Green Lantern Corps in the game?

First, some criteria:

  • We’re talking Green Lantern CORPS, not just characters named Green Lantern…they need to have the keyword and be able to use the ATA. (Sorry, Alan Scott. You may have been first, but for the most part you’re out.)

"Heroclixin' is AGEIST!"

  • I’m also only counting actual Green Lanterns. Sinestro from Crisis may have the keyword, but he’s dressed in his Sinestro Corps colors, using his Sinestro Corps “fear” powers, and quoting his Sinestro Corps oath (though his Legacy Rookie and LE still count). This rules out most versions of Ganthet and Guardian of the Universe as well.

"I didn't want to be in your stupid list anyway."

  • No duos. Though Flash, Green Arrow and Batman have all used a GL ring for a minute or ten, they ain’t Green Lanterns. (And the less said about Big Barda and Mister Miracle, the better. Blech.)

That still leaves about 55 figs to choose from. Be here Monday for numbers ten and nine of the Top Ten GLC figs in HeroClix.

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Finally at the end!

The #2 WINNER is:

BATTLE FURY

Battle Fury has long been little more than a detriment: it keeps one from making ranged attacks or being carried. Sure, it protected one from Mind Control, but how often does that help ya?

Well, it’s finally gotten a couple of upgrades. First, it now ignores that other light-blue power…Incapacitate. Second, it ignores Shape Change (including the variety used by the Skrulls/Danger Girl team abilities). And, of course, the power retains its other qualities, especially its discounting effect on point cost.

With a pair of completely positive changes and no drawbacks, Battle Fury is nearly the biggest winner of 2011’s ruleset.

The #2 LOSER?

GIANTS.

Otherwise known as Giant Walking Targets, these tall ones have always been magnets for ranged attacks, and the introduction of multiple elevations to the game does nothing to alleviate that weakness…it maybe makes it a little worse.

But the biggest harm they suffer has nothing to do with their own abilities, but rather a change to another. Friendly Giants can no longer be moved with Telekinesis. This used to be a nice little way of addressing Giants’ difficulty in getting into a fight without being shot to pieces first, or getting them out of trouble. It’s gone now.

Another game change is the removal of canceling. Until now, a character could cancel its powers/abilities during a turn. This was good for a few characters who possessed the Giant symbol via a Special Power, allowing them to “shrink” to normal size for a turn and avoid enemy lines of fire — something other Giants can’t do. Now these part-time Giants (Crisis Mordru, M+M Box and especially SI Yellowjacket Skrull) are just as vulnerable as the regular ones.

Giants do get a few new plusses: they can interact with higher elevations at will (though that works both ways for line of fire), or carry regardless of tokens (though only on move actions) and their Great Size and Giant Reach abilities can’t be countered. But their inherent positioning issues are still too big a liability, making them nearly the biggest losers of all.

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And the #1 WINNER after the 2011 rulebook kicks in May 1st is:

PULSE WAVE

It’s always been the ultimate answer to any power in HeroClix.

  • Stealth blocking LOF? Not to Pulse Wave.
  • Impervious target? Not to Pulse Wave?
  • Your opponent keeps forcing rerolls with Prob Control? Not if they’re Pulse Waved.

Basically the only defense against it was to hide behind blocking terrain or a Barrier. But when the 2008 rules shut down ranged attacks in adjacency, Pulse Wave got its own rock to its scissors — a tied-up PWer couldn’t use the power, as Pulse Wave is a ranged attack.

That’s no longer the case in 2011. Pulse Wave can now be used even when based. This is super for every single character with the power, ranging from the great (Hammer of Thor’s Odin and Ultron just got terrifyingly stronger still) to the small (Arkham Asylum’s Human Bomb and Johnny Sorrow are smiling now, even though you can’t see their faces). And the ever-frightening Nova Blast feat will certainly come back in vogue for Golden Age games.

This fantastically simple yet powerful improvement to one of the game’s strongest powers makes Pulse Wave the #1 winner of the 2011 rulebook!

The #1 biggest LOSER on May 1st?

TRANSPORTERS’ MOVE AND ATTACK

Apparently undercosted at its inception and even moreso once true Hypersonic Speed lost its second option, the powers that be decided to remove its ability to fire at full range. This doesn’t affect those with no range, but folks like GX Archangel and FF Hawkeye take a hit.

Um...Aquaman...? The new rules kill Manta enough. You don't need to kill him anymore.

(And, frankly, Brightest Day Aquaman’s latter-dial doesn’t dig this change so much, either.)

With a huge negative and no counterbalancing positives, Move And Attack is the biggest loser with the 2011 rules. But that won’t stop anyone from using it if they’ve got it!

Thanks for reading!

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The #4 WINNER(s):

MULTI-ATTACK / QUAKE / MIND CONTROL

Originally, I had saved this slot for Multi-Attack alone. The power action has gotten a hefty upgrade, allowing for ANY two actions rather than just two power actions that attack. (Thus, CD Spectre can, at last, Phase in and then Psychic Blast for massive damage. But note that he can’t get two of the same action, per the new “once-per-turn” global rule on free actions.) But, as I realized that the only characters with the ability were Colossals, I just chalked up this rule change along with the other boosts Colossals got.

Then I considered two other powers that got nothing but better, Quake and Mind Control. Instead of capping higher damage at 2, Quake now boosts even lower damage to 2 as well. And Mind Control’s minimum range is 4, instead of only granting the 4 range to 0-range figs with the power. Nice!…

…until I noted, like Multi-Attack, hardly any characters benefitted from either change. Only 20 of thousands of HC characters have Quake and under 2 damage. Meanwhile, only about TWO characters in the whole game have Mind Control and a range less than 4 but greater than 0.

Therefore, Multi-Attack, Quake, and Mind Control tie as #4 winners. All got simpler and more effective upgrades, but only a tiny handful of figs benefit from it.

Meanwhile, the #4 LOSER is:

"DAMN! Spotted me."

STEALTH

It’s long been an inexpensive power with a big impact, making its users practically invulnerable to range-based powers in this range-focused game. It was also a pain for friend and foe alike when trying to draw line of fire to use Perplex or Probability Control. If you forgot to cancel Stealth on your turn, you couldn’t PC that crit miss into something less injurious.

Now, though, it’s only effective on opponents’ turns, making it simple to Perplex Batman before taking that shot. But…the enemy also has no problem PCing that crit hit into something less injurious.

If the change to the power itself was the only issue Stealth had, it wouldn’t be this high on the losers’ list. But a couple of other rule changes negatively affect the black Speed power:

  1. Immobile objects no longer leave debris. Fielding the blue-ringed Special Objects used to be a way to guarantee a customized bit of permanent hindering terrain for the Stealthers, but this game-streamlining rule change removes that option.
  2. Telekinesis can use objects to attack targets in Stealth. The final ruling on this hasn’t been delivered, but the intent is plain; because TKing an object into a square is drawing line of fire to the square, not the character, it gets around Stealth’s usual blocking of said line and allows the ranged attack.

These are a couple of big knocks for Stealth. It’s still one of the most viable powers in the game, but it’s nevertheless one of the biggest losers of 2011’s rule changes.

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The #3 WINNER is:

LEADERSHIP

Wait…wasn’t this a loser? Yes, it is…

…if you use it the old way by putting just one little Leadership piece on the team (because successful rolls didn’t stack anyway) and using some feat like Contingency Plan or Inspiring Command. Adding more Leadership was rarely a good use of points (again, because of the non-stacking), and it was really wasted on higher-cost characters since you couldn’t use the extra actions anyway, usually (except, again, in the service of a feat like Contingency Plan). With the lower chance of Leadership even working, using the power in such a minimal fashion has become a losing proposition, making it the #9 loser.

But, as you see, it has placed very high on the winners’ list. Here’s why:

  • A cheaper adjacent ally gets to remove a token. This is new incentive to use the high-point Leadership pieces that were wasted on the power before.
  • The extra actions gained by additional Leadership rolls now stack. This makes fielding multiple Leadership characters beneficial instead of a near-total waste.

If not for the lower chances of a successful roll, this could’ve easily been the #1 winner of all the 2011 rulebook changes.

The #3 LOSER:

The THEME TEAM

First, generic themed teams got a little harder to build. Instead of needing 1 character for every 100 points, you now need 3 for every 300 points, 6 for 301-600, 9 for 601-900, and so on. Worse still, they only get ONE theme team Probability Control per 300 points; gone are the days of swarm teams loaded with “Probs.”

Named keywords (the new term for “non-generic”) didn’t get it quite as bad, only needing 2 characters and getting 2 uses of themeProb at each level. (Unfortunately, that makes certain 400-point themes impossible.)

Additionally, it’s the themeProb itself which has changed to the detriment of both:

  • it can’t be used by characters lacking the keyword. That excludes pogs or certain Alter-Ego-style variants brought into the game like DC75 Beast Boys or GX Jamie Madrox.
  • it can’t be used by actual Probability Control figures like Scarlet Witch or Rip Hunter.

It did get a slight boost in that only non-free actions keep one from using it. But yeah…theme teams lose pretty big in 2011.

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The #6 WINNER:

PHASING/TELEPORT

It’s become a move action, not a power action, so it works with “free move” team abilities like Avengers and Top Cow. And it’s GX Leech-proof, too! This simple change is nothing but positive and wins this super-mobile power a #6 berth.

The #6 LOSER:

WILD CARDS

Whereas wild cards used to be able to switch team abilities with every little action, they’ve gradually been scaled back from that extreme flexibility to their 2011 reality: now switching TAs is a free action. (Fortunately, it’s an exception to the new “once-per-turn” rule governing free actions.) That means there’ll be no switching from Batman Ally to JSA to Mystics during others’ turns…they’re stuck with the last one they picked on their turn! Pick carefully.

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The #5 WINNER?

CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT

It finally works alongside Super Strength now; if you’re holding an object and you use CCE, the object boosts your damage, too.

It’s gonna be pretty situational, since most characters with Super Strength+CCE will likely have used their object in a Charge or HSS maneuver already, and it’s subject to the Rule of Three. But in those instances when, say, BD Aquaman is based before he can move in (to prevent him from using Move And Attack, for example), he can hit ’em for 6 clicks — one more than he’d have done otherwise. Nice, simple upgrade.

The #5 LOSER?

TELEKINESIS

Wait…wasn’t this a winner, a few days back? Yes..but for all its boosts, TK got a lot of drawbacks as well.

  • The TKer needs line of fire to the destination…period! Before, the TK’d figure didn’t block LOF for the TKer, but now they can’t be in the way. This leaves the TKer more open than ever to getting the power countered, or simply being shot off the TK clicks.
  • Likewise, the TKee has to have line of fire to the destination. No more TKing from behind meat shields or blocking terrain/walls, again making it easier for enemy Outwitters or shooters to mess up your catapult plans.
  • And, like always, the line of fire between the TKer and TKee must be clear.

This triangle of clear LOF makes many current TK maneuvers impossible. No more TKing around corners or from the middle of a rooftop to the ground below; it’s got to be a straight-line shot like every other LOF-based ability. Positioning and placement will be more important than ever.

This extreme loss of flexibility makes TK the mid-point loser of 2011.

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The #8 WINNER is:

SHAPE CHANGE

In the past, SC was a great line of defense against attack. But if the character was the only possible target and won the roll, the attacker still sometimes had the option to attempt a different action, such as a break away attempt or a simple move action.

No more. The 2011 wording now requires you to choose a different target for your attack. If you don’t have another legal target, you just wasted an action; take your token.

This is a simple yet fantastic upgrade for Shape Change.

The #8 LOSER is:

also SHAPE CHANGE

Battle Fury now ignores Shape Change. They’re so angry they don’t care who you look like! Fortunately, BF is rare enough that you won’t face it terribly often. But it’s still enough to make Shape Change a mild loser in this Top Ten.

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The #7 WINNER:

COLOSSALS

It was annoying that Colossals, aside from being able to shoot out of adjacency while based, were
completely outclassed by the mere Giants at being, well, big. Now that’s changed. They break away automatically and share Giants’ ability to ignore smaller characters for movement, whereas before they had no break away or movement bonuses. Along with their already-implemented ability to act with 2 action tokens, Colossals just got better and better.

And it’s all because of GROOT.

"I AM GROOT!!!"

No, seriously.

Groot, being the first character to have a Special Power making him a Colossal piece, had to have made the designers realize that being Colossal did practically nothing for him in and of itself other than make him a colossal, immobile bull’s-eye for shooters beyond his paltry 4 range. Remember, virtually every other Colossal character until him had come with a half-ton of special rules and immunities to half the PAC, masking the inherent lameness of Colossal Size.

So thank Groot. :)

(One more thing: Multi-Attack also got a big upgrade/simplification in that it now allows any two actions instead of just any-two-power-actions-that-lead-to-an-attack-ONLY. But because there are only a handful of characters with the ability and all of them are Colossals, this is just one more way that these biggest of the big get a win in 2011.)

The #7 LOSER?

INCAPACITATE

It also got the “no damage” treatment that Energy Explosion received, making it crit-miss-proof. So why is it a loser?

  • it lost the critical hit potential (which was always a bit of a double-edge sword, given that Incap was a way to damage Mystics without hitting them directly. So this isn’t really a huge downgrade) and;
  • It’s now 100% less effective against Battle Fury, just like Shape Change. Also, the new aspects of Leadership can potentially render a successful Incap completely useless.

The combo of both these drawbacks puts Incap a slot lower on the list of the lame than SC. (At least Stunning Blow still works.)

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With each new spring or summer in Heroclix, there comes a new rulebook massaging and sometimes warping the game we enjoy. And with every change, there are winners and losers. For the next four days, Heroclixin’ will highlight two winners and two losers.

#10 WINNER is:

TELEKINESIS

TK got a hefty upgrade in 2008’s rulebook and PAC by gaining an 8-square range of effect as opposed to its prior ability to only sling adjacent characters away. But to balance the new flexibility, the moved characters had to break away from foes and then be carefully moved around other foes. It was a hot mess to explain to players both new and old.

Now, with characters no longer being moved but instead placed, pals can be grabbed from enemy tie-up with ease. And that’s not the only upgrade: now a TKer can use their own TK after being TK’d — something expressly prohibited before. Players can set up some crazy TK chains with this maneuver!

With all this going for the Grey* attack power, you may wonder why it ranks only #10. Well…you’ll see, as we climb (descend?) the ladder on the 2011 rules losers.

*(Get it? Grey? As in…Jean Gr…never mind…)

Meanwhile, the #10 LOSER is:

FREE ACTIONS

It used to be that you could take a potentially unlimited number of free actions if the power or ability allowed. But I guess the powers that be realized that almost every type of free action was pretty much already limited to once per turn somehow and decided to just make it a global rule.

So why is this a loss? Perhaps for its effect on the SHIELD team ability and a few other things. So Nanobots can only ever be used once to heal a couple of clicks per turn. Big deal! That’s why the reining-in of Free Actions is the least of the Top Ten Losers of the 2011 rules.

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The #9 WINNER is:

ENERGY EXPLOSION

It’s now a no damage attack, which prevents critical misses or critical hit rolls from dealing self-damage or extra damage, respectively. (Think of a critmiss being a dud grenade, for example.)

This would be a wash, then, if not for EE’s extra line stating that crit hits still deal the extra damage. A purely positive change makes for a modest win for Energy Explosion.

and the #9 LOSER is:

LEADERSHIP

Specifically because, now that its 50% chance of success is now reduced to 33%, it’s really not much good as it’s traditionally been used: on a lone, inexpensive character (usually feated with Contingency Plan) on a swarm team of other inexpensive characters that needs the extra actions.

And yes, Im thinking mainly of YOU, Sidewinder.

But as you’ll see in the coming days, this isn’t the bottom line on Leadership. Not by half.

Tune in tomorrow for numbers 8 and 7 in both categories!

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Wrapping up our Black History Month-themed countdown of the Top Ten Black Characters in ‘Clix with the #2 piece:

Gotham City Detective (#006 Arkham Asylum)

Cheap Enhancement is always good, and this is the best value for the power  thanks in part to the PD Team Ability allowing him to also boost his Enhanced partner’s chances of hitting as long as he can see the target, too. Starting 9 AV is good for the 27-point cost.

Push GCD a bit to gain Plasticity to be one mother of a tie-up piece with Willpower, or stay put to keep Enhancing shooters while throwing out a ranged attack himself.

So many roles almost make this mere generic the best black piece in the game.

And the #1 Black fig is:

Bronze Tiger (#032 Justice League)

He’s got the Charge and 11 AV to move in for immediate attack; he’s got the DV to survive the counterattack and the Willpower to push to deal extra damage with Close Combat Expert; he’s got self-healing potential with his Suicide Squade TA and the ability to hide from shooters with the League of Assassins ATA (thus addressing his lone weakness against ranged attacks. Lunge and/or Loner are two feats that make him a lot better for minimal extra cost.

For just 60 points, Bronze Tiger is one of the better characters in the game. And so he takes Heroclixin’s top spot among the best Black Characters in ‘Clix.

Hope you enjoyed this month’s Top Ten countdown. Be here Monday for another Custom Mod. Until then, happy heroclixin’ this weekend!