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Some of you old heads out there might remember the above game. It certainly topped my wishlist that Christmas.

Anyway, it’s what I titled this recent scenario at my venue:

  • Colossal figures, old and new, are encouraged for this Golden Age event! No feats or resources are allowed for colossals, but they are encouraged for non-colossal figures. 1800 points, 7 actions.

I built my team to A) survive Ziran tests if anyone brought it and B) to play as many never-before-played colossal dials as possible:

Giganto, The Mole Monster  (Galactic Guardians) 300
Giant-Man  (Chaos War) 300
Uatu The Watcher  (Galactic Guardians) 400
Master Mold  (Galactic Guardians) 700
Mole Man (Galactic Guardians) 47
Donald Blake (Chaos War) 33
Jane Foster (X-Plosion)16
=1796 points.

Other teams on the tables included:

Vic’s Thanos (issue 5, I think) and Dormammu with Iron Man and Scarlet Witch;

Paul’s old-school Galactus;

G.O.’s Mark II Sentinel and Nemesis with smaller toughguys like Worldbreaker, Scarlet Witch/Wonder Man and Brainiac;

Bob’s colossal Dark Phoenix and Master Mold with a horde of Orcs and Warg Riders!

Young Sebastian’s all-Dr. Manhattan team, ranging from the 1200-point Jon Osterman to the 105-point giant;

and Bryce’s team with no colossals at all.

FIRST I faced Blue, a new guy who fielded a full-power Master Mold (1500 points) and Sentry & Void. I picked an indoor map and crushed Sentroid with little trouble. That left his Mold free to build Sentinels. But that only offered up free extra points for me to gain a slim 50-point advantage for the win (having lost my own 300-point fig in Giganto).

NEXT, despite being the lowest-point 1-0 non-bye player, I somehow had to deal with the one piece I thought would go 3-0: Cosmic Multiattack Galactus! Paul picked a wide-open map and that was practically my loss right there. I tried to use some strategy by blocking with Uatu, then Giganto, but I made two critical errors:

  • I was blocking for Master Mold, the only one on the team who could withstand the big G’s Psychic Blast. So I should’ve used him to block for the others;
  • I forgot JUST HOW LONG 16 range really is. Galactus could move 6 squares to one-shot my medic in the starting area — and did. Feh.

FINALLY, I had another overpowered cosmic dude to face: Jon Osterman Dr. Manhattan (1200 points), Dr. Manhattan 005, Dr. Manhattan 012 and Silk Spectre & Dr. Manhattan. I got map and used Ookaara. My young opponent, Sebastian, picked the elevated outdoor side.

He spent the first several rounds refusing to budge from his starting area, much less entering my killbox, and I spent those turns setting up said killbox.

Finally, I remembered that I had him trapped already. I busted a couple of squares of blocking terrain so that Giant-Man could start shoving the elevated side of the map over and over and over until the blue man group quit hiding and came to fight!

Unfortunately, that kid is a pretty savvy player. He waited just long enough for me to shove colossal Jon onto his Pulse Wave clicks, then Phased down and exploded me over and over while I futilely tried to counterattack a 21 DV. Impervious was rolled when I actually did hit. I was just fortunate to not lose any of the three-figure-cost pieces.

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Though the event was designed for colossals, I was very pleased that the eventual winner, having beaten both the original Galactus AND the above-mentioned Dr. M team, was Bryce’s colossal-free force including Iron Man / War Machine with the full Infinity Gauntlet, Captain America (Hammer of Thor), Iron Man (Secret Invasion), Dr. Strange (Secret Invasion), Professor X (Giant-Size X-Men), Immortus, Morgan Le Fay (Chaos War), Mr. Fantastic (Secret Invasion) with Brilliant Tactician, Alfred Pennyworth (Dark Knight Rises), The Wizard Shazam (Brave and Bold), Batman (Dark Knight Rises), and Namor (Secret Invasion). Truly, a force that could contend with colossals, and did!

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it. Me, I’m more of an All Saints’ Day fellow, which will be highlighted a bit with tomorrow’s Token Totin’ feature. See you then!

 

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, again. Here we continue both the DC HeroClix 10th Anniversary roundup and wrap up the Halloweeny focus on the freakish with this most famous of comics monsters, the Hulk!

It’s kind of a tough hold. You’ve got to push the token as far into Hulk (Marvel 10th Anniversary 002)’s armpit or crook of the arm as possible, making certain it’s also against his right toe. Then sort of make it rest on his fist as well. It’s wobbly, but it seems to work!

The monstrosities aren’t finished. It’s a DC zombie!

 

Black Lantern Superman (022) can fit a token under the cape, barely.

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Tomorrow’s Halloween! Prepare for a most terrifying battle report — colossals unleashed!

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Heroclixin’ has a cute name for everything. F.U.N. Fridays. Card Arts. Token Totin’ whatever. “Battle Reports” just isn’t doing it for me.

‘Course, longtime readers may recall that I did have a cute name for this feature before I dropped it for being too long: “New Comic Day Battles.” Because it was scheduled for Wednesdays, right? Which is when new comics are released. And since this is a game that’s (mostly) based on comic books, I thought it was fitting.

But, as noted, it was too long. Especially since it was always followed by the name of the theme or scenario.

So I’m now seeking a proper new title for this usually weekly feature. Would love to get your suggestions. :)

 

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clockwise from top left: The Spot, Super-Adaptoid, Armadillo, Nightshade, Chameleon, Rocket Racer, Living Laser (Xed for lacking the keyword), Mentallo, Puma, Scientist Supreme. And, of course MODOK in the center.

Last summer I wrote about fielding this team en toto. I got a chance to run a truncated version of it soon after, but as it was lacking nearly half the members (500-point game), it wasn’t nearly satisfying.

Well, with a 900-point “last chance for Modern Age”  tourney a few months ago, I finally brought the whole (not-quite-comic-accurate) MODOK’s 11 to the map:

MODOK (Captain America #050) 160 + Intelliencia ATA 3
Super-Adaptoid (Captain America #020) 175
Scientist Supreme (Captain America #033) 97
Armadillo (Captain America #036) 89
Nightshade (Captain America #027) 72
Mentallo (Captain America #010) 71
Chameleon (Web of Spider-Man #019) 66
Rocket Racer (Web of Spider-Man #044) 60
Puma (Web of Spider-Man #012) 56
The Spot (Web of Spider-Man #051) 51
= 900 points.

As I wrote before, running this team is like planning a heist. Every piece has its role. But as you’ve seen in every heist movie ever, things never go exactly as planned. Piece-by-piece:
MODOK (Captain America #050) 160 + Intelligencia ATA 3
The PLAN: As the main perceived threat, MODOK was to hold his big brain back behind pals.

What really happened: With the last-minute addition of the Intelligencia ATA, he had razor-thin opportunities to take range-enhanced Running Shots. So MODOK really was more the tentpole than I intended, taking and landing crippling blasts on the opposition. It worked out pretty well, to say the least. The big brain was also the brawn. He’ll be back for the next caper.

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Super-Adaptoid (Captain America #020) 175
The PLAN: Use him as tie-up and blocker. His long dial would allow him to take multiple hits to land on his dangerous, Cosmic-powered clicks.
What really happened: His paltry 2 damage for his whole early dial made him a non-factor in fighting his weight class, while those foes simply murdered him past his best late-life clicks. Pushing was no help, either: he can’t afford the loss of his one opening click of Running Shot and his DV slides way too low for his price. Worst of all, his Attack-power-copying SP requires him to get way too close but the Intelligentsia ATA (and his inborn fragility) absolutely discourages that. Super Adaptoid will be the first I’ll drop for the sequel to this movie.
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Scientist Supreme (Captain America #033) 97

The PLAN: Wait for the right moment to unleash her Outwit-through-walls SP.

What really happened: It was a challenge to make sure she could keep fellow Scientists in her Perplex-vision — which was more useful than the SP Outwit at first — while staying close to her Mastermind fodder, too. But in both games, she indeed acted as the surprise weapon no one could see coming, or stop. I won’t field MODOK’s 11 without her in a build high enough.

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Armadillo (Captain America #036) 89

The PLAN: Use him as Mastermind fodder for Scientist Supreme.

What really happened: The guy just couldn’t keep up with her and never got used for her Mastermind. (It’s a real pity he can’t tunnel in ‘Clix like he can in the comics.) Instead, he worked OK as a cleanup hitter. Not bad, but feels a bit like deadweight. He’s only for the full squad.

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Nightshade (Captain America #027) 

The PLAN: In between occasional Running Shots, turn The Spot into a buzzsaw of a werewolf.

What really happened: She did just that. In fact, she also functioned well as a tie-up piece, being able to Battle Fury a foe (The Armored Avenger 003, specifically) but keep him from attacking her back! This hottie is no mere eye candy.

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Mentallo (Captain America #010)

The PLAN: Hydra TA and a bit of anti-Stealth shooting and, later, Outwitting.

What really happened: Well, at least he was able to loan Hydra to the wildcards. Moreover, he served as a Penetrating/Psychic Blast threat to draw fire. Any solid hit other than a KO made him an Outwit threat. Still and all, he’s hardly needed for future heists.

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Chameleon (Web of Spider-Man #019) 66

The PLAN: Block LOF or tie up someone. Also loan wildcards the Sinister Syndicate TA.

What really happened: He did perform the requisite Stealth blocking, but the real surprise was that he actually landed an Incapacitate attack that swung the team to a victory. I won’t make certain he’s on future jobs, but he’s not as useless as I’d figured on.

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Rocket Racer (Web of Spider-Man #044) 60

The PLAN: The advance striker, maybe? He needs the Sinister Syndicate TA to actually land attacks.

What really happened: The Intelligencia ATA truly made Racer effective at his intended role; a +2 range boost to his halved HSS attacks isn’t insignificant! He also excelled a bit at being another tie-up piece for the team thanks to his Combat Reflexes. Racer gets the call every time.

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Puma (Web of Spider-Man #012) 56

The PLAN: The close combat specialist.

What really happened: Despite Super Senses and Shape Change, he only ever took damage and never dealt it. At least he frequently got hit to his Outwit clicks. He’s so inexpensive that he should end up on any and all MODOK’s 11 teams, but it seems he ought to be more effective.

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The Spot (Web of Spider-Man #051) 51

The PLAN: The only taxi of the team and, possibly, a second melee fighter if Nightshade does her job.
What really happened: This part of the plan went entirely according to plan. Not bad for a screwup of a villain.

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Somehow this team managed a 2-0 victory over superior forces, proving that sometimes, crime does pay.

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, again. Here we continue both the DC HeroClix 10th Anniversary roundup and the Halloweeny focus on the freakish with Marvel’s greatest monster at his most monstrous — the Worldbreaker!

 

Worldbreaker (013) holds his token strong, like a boss.

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Tomorrow’ I’m highlighting a villain team, something I’m doing more of this month, leading up to Halloween.

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, again. Here we continue both the DC HeroClix 10th Anniversary roundup and the Halloweeny focus on the freakish with this zombified version of the Amazonian heroine:

Black Lantern Wonder Woman (022) holds her token at the knees, between them and the axe “swoosh.”

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Tomorrow’s Friday and I’m not sure if I’m continuing my “Fighting Fire with F.U.N.” series or highlighting a villain team I’d like to play (something I want to do more of this month). Maybe I’ll just take a little break. We’ll see.

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It took me a lonnnng time to play this team.

Black Bolt (Incredible Hulk 042) 193
Gorgon (Mutations & Monsters) 110
Crystal (Chaos War) + Fantastic Force 5
Medusa (Galactic Guardians) 82 + Fantastic Force 5
+ Kinetic Accelerator 0
+ Dynamostat 0
+ Eleha’al Vine 0
=500 points. It was for the “Turf Wars” scenario (as seen on the “scenarios” page on this site). I’ve been wanting to field Mr. Bolt with his wife for months, but the time or team or total points never seemed right until now.

FIRST VICTIM: Returning player G.O. fielded Sentinel Mark II (Giant-Size X-Men G01), Morgan Le Fay (Chaos War) and Daredevil (Incredible Hulk 021) on the Quinjet map. I had control of the game for the most part, but was unable to KO more than DD for the win. It came down to a final-round miss on a last-click Crystal to save the game for me, because time would’ve run out before I could add a last-click Morgan to my points.

SECOND MARK: Relative newbie Aaron, who ran a full-strength Black Adam (Superman 054), Wonder Woman (Justice League 003) and Batman (10th Anniversary 001) on the Realm of Death. Gorgon rushed in to tie down the threats; after he was KOed, the enemy was in prime position to take massive “Silent Scream” damage from Black Bolt. He’d do this more than once, as Aaron’s team was unable to escape or muster enough fight to stop me. This time I wiped.

FINAL FOE: Vic had a typically strong team of Metron, Brainiac (10th Anniversary 012), Lex Luthor (10th Anniversary 013), Calculator (Arkham Asylum) and (sadly denying Vic the wonderfully F.U.N. theme of an all-chair team) Batman (10th Anniversary 001) again on the Death map. This match swung back and forth a bit, but a crucial late game error killed my potential comeback — having broken walls to gain a single-target Pulse Wave on Metron, I missed the crucial attack. But the move I should have made was to move Crystal to base Metron first, JUST out of BB’s line of fire. That way, even missing wouldn’t have cost Bolt his chances of a followup shot. As it actually happened, though, he was knocked way off his fighting game and only running out of time saved me from a complete wipeout.

Piece-by-piece:

Black Bolt really needs TK and/or Barrier to be playable for his SP Pulse Wave. But as the only taxi for the team and being paired with his wife Medusa for the +1 to AV, it’s a little hard to pull off the mega-move. He’s pretty pushable, at least. In the future, I won’t run him without the Inhumans ATA to help maneuver him into position to explode.

Medusa benefits greatly from the +1 AV. In this game, her free melee Incap was useless about half the time, but

Crystal remained a solid figure, functioning first as the alpha strike that Black Bolt is sadly incapable of being for this team, then as the cleanup pitcher with her unorthodox line of attack via the “Tornado” trait.

Gorgon was nothing other than high-priced tie-up, because I forgot his Super Strength only works on standard objects.

  • + Kinetic Accelerator 0
  • + Dynamostat 0
  • + Eleha’al Vine 0

Nope, I didn’t play a single one. Additionally, as I’ve mentioned before, Super Strength is hobbled by the fact that opponents need not bring a single object to the field — and none of mine did.

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The darkness continues next week, with a long-awaited all-villain team report!

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Continuing the photographic record of just how each character with the Super Strength power can hold their object token somewhere on the sculpt unassisted.

After my buggy camera ate a nearly complete set of pix from both 10th Anniversary sets, I’ve been slowly trying to reassemble the record. Last time we looked at the unassuming John Jones. Now check out his true form, Martian Manhunter:


Left arm grips it perfectly.

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Tomorrow, a rather inhuman team report. Then, on Thursday, another freakish Token Totin’ pic.

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One of the least fun things to face in this game is the killbox: a zone of the map in which a player can lay down multiple attacks on a target before the target can counter or pre-empt it. In times past, it was Stealth- and range-heavy teams that could best use this strategy with proper map and positioning. But certain newer figures like Nightcrawler (Web of Spider-Man) have the ability to pull targets directly into said killbox. And two others have the ability to create a killbox from their own starting area!

Thanos (Galactic Guardians 049) is the worst of all.

His Speed SP, “Teleport My Greatest Enemies,” reads thusly:

“Thanos can use Plasticity. Give Thanos a power action and place the two highest point value target opposing characters in squares adjacent to Thanos.”

Um…WHAT? So much for positioning. There’s almost no way to beat this tactic, as Thanos is more than able to weather any counterattacks (assuming you can even mount one after his allies get first shot on you AND Thanos uses his OTHER SP to swap your Speed and AV around).

What can you do?

 

  • Pick the Shadowlands map.  Because Thanos’ power was errataed to target opponents (so that it couldn’t ignore first turn immunity), it became vulnerable to this map’s effect of preventing anyone from being targeted with any effect more than 6 squares away. This map will force Thanos players to actually leave the starting area or risk being swarmed by the time they can actually use the kidnapping power.
  • Run Mystics. At the very least, make ’em pay for janking and hitting your high-priced pieces.
  • Run Weapon X  (Captain America 059) or Captain America (Captain America 060). At least while they’re in their respective “stasis” states, they can’t be snatched. Gives you a chance to position.
  • Run a single figure. If there’s only one character on your force, he can’t use the power at all.
  • Finally, field deep-dialed top guns with speedy backups. Sometimes the Thanos player will screw himself over by hitting you to a sweet spot. (That’s what that stat-switching SP is for). Get your team over to back his targets up as quickly as you can.
‘Course, all this doesn’t help you against his sky-high stats or anything. But it might keep the game at least competitive.

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I can’t draw this out any longer. Here are the top four worst sculpts in HeroClix:

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4

Morgan Le Fay (Critical Mass)

Y’know, she’s supposed to be scary AND beautiful:

I don’t even need to write any more. Just do the side-by-side for yourself.

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3

Green Lantern (Origin)

It’s not an optical illusion. His left leg really is a good 20% shorter than his right. And his left arm is also shorter than the right as well. But, amazingly, from shoulder to fist, that left arm is actually almost as long as his left leg is from hip to heel.

More from the believe it or not department: this is based on an actual comic book panel. I’ve seen it. I wish to heaven I’d grabbed the shot from the blog I spotted it in.

Here’s the question I’d like to ask the sculptor: In a comics universe where you could pick Alex Ross’ or Carlos Pacheco’s or other A-list modern artists’ work as a reference, why would you use a janky bit of rushed Golden Age-era art as a reference?

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 2

Umar (Critical Mass)

Again, like Morgan Le Fay in the same set, she’s supposed to be beautiful, if rather scary, too.

 Critical Mass was more like a Crippled Mess where sculpts were concerned. And Umar here is the absolute poster child for the problem. Thankfully, sculpts have never gotten quite this bad again…except once.

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1

Captain America (Avengers 001)

I asked before why this sculptor didn’t use better reference art to do Green Lantern. But considering that the reference for the above monstrosity was this pretty nice splash page:

…well, I guess it wouldn’t have helped.

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Tomorrow: More fighting fire with F.U.N.