It’s Valentine’s Day, that Hallmark holiday on which we express our love to significant others.

I do this blog, so it’s obvious that I DON’T HAVE a significant other. But at least I’ve got HeroClix, right?

Yeah. Play the sad violin music for me.

(OK, done now.)

Here’s my favorite piece of 2012.

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Number 1

Vixen (Streets of Gotham 028)

WHY I WANT TO PLAY HER EVERY WEEK

It’s all about two words: “Tantu Totem,” her trait allowing her to use a standard power from fellow Animals, similar to Animal Man, my 2010 #8 fave.

Only I read it wrong. It says she can use ANY standard power possessed by a fellow Animal on the field, not just ONE. That means, if she’s teamed up with, say, Armadillo, Animal Man and Cosmo, she could Charge in using Animal Man’s BCF, then share Animal Man’s Combat Reflexes AND Cosmo’s Super Senses AND Armadillo’s Impervious on top of her inborn Energy Shield/Deflection to weather the counterattacks next turn.

EDIT: Or, at least, that’s how it WAS. Finally, more than six months after her release, her trait was clarified/got errata to read that she can use ONE power from ONE character.

Sure, there’s a 1-in-6 chance she might take a click for all this power. But late-dial Regen softens that potential blow. She’s a piece that literally can have a completely different dial every time you play. Her steady but mediocre stats keep her from being a mean piece.

One of the drawbacks of Animal Man in my 2010 list was that I wasn’t a big enough fan of the Animal keyword to play him and it often. But Vixen singlehandedly makes me want to play both him and other Animals all the more.

WHY I DON’T

Honestly, I don’t want to wear her out. She’s also a bit limited in keywords and I haven’t come up with other cute or goofy themes to run her in — the one I have just doesn’t work:

FOXEY LADIES

• Vixen (Streets of Gotham 028) 74
• Ghost Fox Killer 68
• Crimson Fox 44
• Vet Vixen (Collateral Damage) 44
• Exp Vixen  (Collateral Damage) 38
• Rookie Vixen  (Collateral Damage) 33

= 301 points! DAMMIT!!!!

EDIT: And, of course, her trait wasn’t intended to be as awesome as it looked. 

I’M PLAYING HER NEXT

Trying hard to build a black Animal team, but that’s gonna stick me with just her, Falcon (sans a Captain America to boost him) and maybe Killer Croc to work with in Modern Age. That’s not a great team.

But, as I alluded above, the real challenge is NOT running her every week with at least one other Animal-keyworded figure to leech powers from. Truly my favorite HeroClix figure of 2012.

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That does it for the annual look back! Very glad to wrap it up by Valentine’s Day this year instead of April. Looking forward to getting back to the old routine next week:

MONDAYS: Card Arts
TUESDAYS: Token Totin’
WEDNESDAYS: Battle reports
THURSDAYS: Token Totin’
FRIDAYS: Extra features

Thanks for reading!

Number 4

Aquaman (New 52 Justice League 005)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
Aquaman is my favorite superhero.

Well, there are other reasons, too.

Atlantis is one of my favorite themes to play. Also, this Aquaman is the first version that’s a straight-up effective bruiser. Others are either better held in reserve as secondary fighters due to their gimmicks (Brightest Day), are too dependent on water (DC75th, Justice League ’07) or are too expensive (Flashpoint). But New 52 Aquaman can lead the charge without breaking the bank even on a bone-dry map — especially if Mera’s around to take a fall to boost all his stats.

WHY I DON’T
Mera taking a fall is offensive to me. But it’s such a boon to Aquaman that I must consider the tactic. Either way, I can’t play Atlantis all the time.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On a Valentine’s Day team with Mera this weekend! Also on every Atlantis team, for sure. I also won’t play the Justice League without considering Aquaman. Finally, he’ll be a fixture on any Angry Mob* team I ever play.

* Angry Mob: a team consisting fully of sculpts toting pitchforks (or tridents) and torches.

Number 3

Ant-Man and Wasp (Chaos War 053)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY THEM EVERY WEEK
When the existence of Chaos War’s chase pieces were first revealed with this fig’s preview, I knew it was the one I wanted. It’s near the top of my favorite pieces of the year for being the ultimate finesse piece: though very soft, this duo has great damage potential with careful tactics and positioning. Pretty pushable, too.

WHY I DON’T
One hundred sixty-eight points is a lot to pay for a piece as fragile as this. They also can’t Split into the best versions of themselves. Most of all, the points just never seem to work for the Pym-centric themes I want to run.

I’M PLAYING THEM NEXT
On one of those Pym themes, by hook or crook. I’ve also wanted to try a Small theme composed of hobbits, dwarves, Tiny Size figs and Cosmo. And one day I’ll do a rerun of a “Bug Avengers” team guest-starring Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Wasp and others.

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Number 2

Giant-Man (Chaos War 200)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
Well, for one thing, I spent all that money on the guy. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on a single HC figure.

But seriously, I like Henry Pym as a character, going so far as to purchase the Essential Ant-Man collection. In fact, Vet Yellowjacket was my first pull from a bought HeroClix booster back in the Fantastic Forces days. So it was time that a true colossal-sized version of Giant-Man was made. It didn’t disappoint, dial-wise, either. The Building Shove SP is great fun (for him) without being totally abusive. And then there’s the Morph trait to switch from identity to identity in mid-game. SO cool.

WHY I DON’T
Unfortunately, that 75-point dial isn’t so hot, and it is difficult to sink the 300 points into a character that’s not as strong as Sentroid or Thanos. So colossal Pym usually stays on the shelf at home.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On my “Big Pympin'” team of Giant-Men and Yellowjackets. Complete with Jay-Z theme music.

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Tomorrow, I give a Valentine to my favorite HeroClix piece of 2012.  

Number 7

Crystal (Chaos War 044)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HER EVERY WEEK
I wrote about Crystal last summer in my “Ginger Avengers” feature. It’s all still true; she’s a heck of a first-strike piece on top with a great deal of finesse in her super-fun “Tornado” trait and later-dial related SPs. Her modest combat values keep her from being broken.

WHY I DON’T
She’s a lock on Inhumans teams, but I don’t play that keyword very often. I also quickly get tired of Avengers. I haven’t figured out many other cute themes to work her onto.

I’M PLAYING HER NEXT
On an Inhumans team, of course, though who knows when THAT’ll be. And she’ll always be a Ginger Avenger.

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Number 6

Cyborg (New 52 Justice League 006)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
I’m a completist where black characters are concerned, so I was glad to see Victor Stone well-represented in his third HeroClix iteration. I also like what’s been done with him in the New 52 JLA, making him a founding member for a needed extra dose of diversity in that team.

He’s also very playable, what with his anti-Stealth trait and Running Shot + Pulse Wave combo (which is very effective with his 6 range; it’s easy to get single-target blasts off). Following with Poison, Exploit Weakness and strong combat values, and it’s not hard to see why I think he’d have made my Top 10 list in a less torrid year.

WHY I DON’T
I’m trying to play all my figures at least once, and that hasn’t left much opportunity to run Vic more often with the sheer rate that WizKids is pumping out new figures and sets. Especially since I haven’t come up with any cute themes to run him in. The “Big 7” JLA is also a bit too points-heavy to run much.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
I have no idea. I just know I will, probably when I’ve whittled down my multiple cases of unplayed figs.

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Number 5

Nova Prime (Galactic Guardians 001)
WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
After I became a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy (because of HeroClix, incidentally), I grew to become a fan of Nova as well, enjoying his rise in status from a mere ex-New Warrior into a heavy hitter of cosmic Marvel.

HeroClix didn’t really give him his due in its first take on him in Supernova. I mean, the Vet was fine for Rich as just a regular Nova Corps Centurion. But it wasn’t him as Nova Prime at all.

Even this figure isn’t really Rider with the full Worldmind and Nova Force in him. But then, he’s totally designed as the leader of fellow Novas, and no longer carrying the full load anymore. And this Nova Prime is still an excellent piece.

WHY I DON’T
He’s best played as part of a full corps of, well, Nova Corps pieces with the “Share Through the Worldmind” traits. But the points almost never seem to work right, due to my insistence on running multiples of all the Nova Corps generics, the Super-Nova marquee and the older REV pieces.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On a Secret Avengers team soon, now that that team’s original lineup is basically complete (only missing an Avengers-keyworded Valkyrie). And one day I’ll get that full-force Nova Corps team together.

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Nearing the top with numbers 4, 3 and 2, which range from the tall to the small; from the depths to the heights.

Number 10

Miranda Tate (Dark Knight Rises 012)

WHY I WANT TO PLAY HER EVERY WEEK

I don’t, actually.

Let me explain. As I was thinking on this list, I found myself having trouble with the #10 piece. There were so many candidates: Black Lightning, John Blake, Taskmaster, Agent Coulson, Thing, Cosmo.

But aside from the first, none of those leap to mind to play, ever, unless a specific keyword of theme calls for them. And even if I spot them in the tackle box while pawing for another figure, none make me stop and consider it the way Ms. Tate does.

I like Miranda Tate because, like the character, the piece is all finesse and positioning. The ability to wildcard adjacent enemy TAs (via her “A Secret Agenda” trait) is novel but requires careful play. Fortunately, she’s got solid combat values plus Perplex to help. She’s not a point-and-click figure but can have an outsize effect on a game.

And hey…Marion Cotillard.

WHY I DON’T
Her keywords are limited to Martial Artist and Spy — neither are favorites. Her 70 points are also a bit hefty for her fragile dial. It’s also tough to come up with cute F.U.N. themes to include her on. (Business Suits, maybe?)

I’M PLAYING HER NEXT
My venue’s having a “Breakfast Club” scenario where no one can share keywords. She’s on the team…with her secret agenda.

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Number 9

Stranger (Galactic Guardians 043)

WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
When the Infinity Gauntlet finals came around, I used him. With only average combat values ill-fitting his high price, one may wonder why I tried him against the likes of Sentroid and Chanos.

The fact that I came close to maybe beating both is testament to the unique strengths of The Stranger.

• See, I picked him against Chanos because even though the mad Titan’s starting-area killbox WOULD get first shot on Stranger, it couldn’t possibly KO him. Instead, Stranger would almost surely land on his Attack SP, allowing him to pick any PAC power for the turn, such as Hypersonic Speed to hit the key foe and run out of the killbox.

  And if not for the critical miss I rolled in the process, I might’ve had a decent shot at beating that team, what with Stranger’s ability to heal up by picking Regen or ensure the best defenses for the situation.

• Stranger also has a great trait allowing him to become either giant or colossal-sized at the beginning of turn. The former ability, one of my favorites anyway, gives him extra LOF when needed and the latter permits him to act via the Colossal Stamina ability while double-tokened to press the attack.

  And if I’d remembered to pick the Colossal symbol when I had Sentroid on his LAST TWO CLICKS, I might’ve easily taken him down for the win instead of getting wiped out the next three turns.

Though these losses to two of the most ultra-meta teams of late summer/early fall by mischance and user error were unfortunate, they underscore why Stranger is a favorite:

1. He’s not a point-and-click-your-opponent’s-dial by any means. Makes him Friendly for a 200+ point Power Cosmic tentpole.
2. But he’s super Useful with that Special Power.
3. And he fits my Nifty “This Team Is Strange” theme. (The rest of the above IG team: Both GG Dr. Stranges and a trio of Astral Stranges.)

WHY I DON’T
I typically only bring out the Stranger for big-point, higher stakes games that usual. He’s about as close as I ever get to powergaming.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On the next high-point Strange and Stranger team, this time adding Hugo Strange, Adam Strange and the new ASM Dr. Strange. Should be……………………………………strange.

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Number 8

Hulk (Avengers Movie 202)

WHY I WANT TO PLAY HIM EVERY WEEK
After a decade of Hulk figures that mostly disappointed (being zero-range figs in a game weighted in favor of shooters), this movie-inspired one finally got the jade giant right. Fantastically powered AND balanced, Hulk is character-accurate fun without being broken.

WHY I DON’T
Unfortunately, he’s so strong enough that he’s not enough F.U.N. to break out on a regular basis — don’t want to be That Guy. He’s also so many points that he eats up the points room for his non-Avengers keywords (Brute and Monster), and I’m not that big a fan of the Avengers keyword. In a bit of a blow to his ability to run with fellow Monsters, his Battle Fury keeps him from working with Mole Man’s special Mind Control. Finally, he’s been a bit overshadowed by the Worldbreaker version of Hulk released last fall.

I’M PLAYING HIM NEXT
On an Avengers Movie team. Would also like to run an all-Hulk squad sometime, if I can ever get the points to work out.

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Tomorrow, numbers 7, 6 and 5 of Heroclixin’s favorites.