There were too many strong figures this year for us at Heroclixin’ to pare down anywhere near to the top 10. And there were even more F.U.N. figures. Almost every single one released could have scored well on our notoriously imprecise scale of Fairness, Utility and Niftyness.

So in a sense, during this 10th year anniversary of Heroclixin’, we’ve come full circle and are just focusing on our Top Ten Favorites again. Mostly they’re mine (Rurouni KJS) but The Baker Taylor weighed in as well to fill out the roster.

No. 10 (tie)

Crystal [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 012] 50 points

FREE Quake. That, along with 9 Sidestep, makes her a solid play as a taxi with teeth. Push her to Perplex on click 2 to make her even more useful. At just 50 points, you don’t mind if she’s got a short life.

She shares this slot with another lady…

Silver Sable [Earth X 002] 50 points

The mercenary is here for her ability to adopt any named keyword and make certain themes fill out on points. Her Leadership and wildcard TA also come in handy. Mastermind might end up harming some of those allies of convenience, but who cares?

No. 9

Black Adam [Rebirth 037b] 200 points / 100 points

Every time I see this fig in the box, I wish I could play it. His Quintessence giving first Willpower and then immunity to Outwit are the first two factors that make this Adam the pinnacle of Adam-ness. He also finally gets them along with 18 starting DV — he’d never gotten all three. His FREE d6 roll to move is a very F.U.N. random element that is Useful but Friendly and Nifty as hell. Super Senses also helps his staying power. Very good 200 points, which is also much cheaper than most other Adams of similar strength. At 100, he’s more glass-jawed but his Steal Energy can get him back on top.

No. 8 (tie)

Asuka [WWE 012] 80 points / 40 points

“Macho Man” Randy Savage [WWE 010] 100 points / 60 points

This tie is for my and Taylor’s respective choices among WWE figs. He liked “Macho Man” Randy Savage (“Because… he’s ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage”) while I decided I was ready for Asuka. I love how mega-aggressive she is, gaining one permanent stat bonus for each KO she makes. Meanwhile, Savage has his +2 self-Perplex (except damage). Or if he Perplexes an enemy, that foe can’t Perplex or Outwit while the Macho Man is talking!

Both wrestlers are Indomitable and, like all WWE figs, have the WWE team ability that gives them FREE move during Round 1, immunity to Outwit and range shots (when on click 1 or they’ve been shot at that turn or are on a blue click) and Bounce and Pin abilities. I like them both better at full cost for those reasons.

No. 7

Red Hood [Rebirth 046] 75 points

This former Robin was nominated by Taylor but I had considered him as well.

12 AV with Running Shot and Energy Explosion is strong and works well with his “Sometimes I Do Things to Annoy People” trait that, on a 4-5 d6 roll, knocks -2AV on a hit foe (and a 6 nerfs ALL hit targets’ AV).
Outsiders team ability is also strong (though you have to be carfeful not to combo it with the Annoy ability), and Batman TA allows him to get safely in range to use it.
But the reason he’s on both our lists is for his final trait “Strict Rule From Batman … No Killing.” He can’t KO unless he’s the last man standing, so he has to be a team player, setting up opponents for his allies to finish. That is F.U.N. to an extreme and we love it!

Did I mention his mid-dial Prob and Poison/Plasticity/Reflexes clicks? Because he’s got those as well. LOVE IT.

No. 6 (tie…sort of)

Okoye [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 038] 65 points and [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 006] 75 points / 50 points

This tie is because I can’t decide if I want the War Rhinos of the set version or the full-speed Charge of the Fast Forces option. Or if I like 038’s starting Leadership and 18 Toughness (and +1DV to adjacent Wakandans) over the other’s +1 damage (for all Wakandans) when on her side of the map and 18 Reflexes. Unsure whether the rare’s CCE from click 2 on are better than FF006’s longer life at 75 points or the 15 points savings for her lower point dial.

The truest solution is to run both at the same time for the many bonuses they offer each other: if FF006 dies, 038 Okoye potentially gets the Wakanda Forever boost. Her War Rhinos can tote Fast Forces Okoye just as easily, and she can give that +1DV to her sister, who increases both their damages on their half of the map. So many options for them!

No. 5

Doctor Octopus [Earth X 034] 75 points / 50 points

Taylor nominated this figure to fill out my faves and he had to convince me to include him here. He’s definitely a F.U.N. figure. But why was he a fave? I asked him over chat (along with my unspoken thoughts):

No. 4

Shade, The Changing Girl [Rebirth 044] 45 points

This Cosmic girl is a supreme tie-up figure with her Phasing, Plasticity and Shape Change — the last of which gives her the option to make foes target their own allies! Her SP to warp to any unheld object’s square is just gravy. Having only the sole keyword and 1 damage keeps her Friendly enough to be F.U.N. — barely. But this list isn’t entirely about F.U.N., it’s about being a Fave, and so she is.

No. 3

Captain Marvel [Captain Marvel 021] 150 points

I bought a whole gravity feed to ensure pulling this stellar representation of Carol Danvers. That Strafing Run SP (no breakaway necessary!) that gives Charge against a new target after her anti-Stealth Running Shot is top tier — especially since she doesn’t HAVE to attack with the Charge and instead just use it to get out of harm’s way, like a juiced up Hypersonic. She’s also immune to enemy Prob. But her scariest feature is her Energy Absorption that puts her on a goddess click for a turn. Despite all this strength, her regular dial is never overwhelming and keeps her surprisingly fair.

No. 2

Ambrose Chase [WizKids DP19-005] 90 points / 60 points

Having become a minor fan of Planetary after his three teammates The Drummer, Jakita Wagner, and 2017 Top Ten F.U.N. Fave Elijah Snow showed up in the Elseworlds set that year, Ambrose Chase was an immediate must to add both to that theme and the Black Box (my collection of black/African-descended clix) when he released this summer. But I also love the great Utility of his bullet swarm SP (SIX POSSIBLE ATTACKS!), his Prob (plus self-reroll!) and Outwit/Perplex SP — all of which is still Fair (he can’t attack any of those six more than once that turn, his Prob range is just 3, and he can’t choose both Perplex and Outwit). And how about that Nifty, accurate 0 speed, attack and damage Regen click at the end?

And No. 1 is:

Power Girl [Rebirth 022] 115 points / 75 points

I wrote about this lovely piece earlier this year, and knew she’d find a spot on both this list and the F.U.N. list (that we didn’t do after all) by the end of 2019. Here’s why:

• She’s giant. I love giants on principle ever since their introduction way back when I started playing in 2005. But she’s better than most because she can mitigate their weakness to range by not choosing to be a giant as a FREE action. I love being able to keep her safe behind cover like this. It also allows her to use Equipment.
• She gets giant bonuses. When she does go big, all her stats grow +1, giving her some extra DV against enemy attack and making her offensively fearsome. I love the boost
• She can be giant —or— colossal. So she has even more Giant Reach for a Charge if she chooses the larger size, and can keep attacking with two tokens. I love this ability to press the attack.
• She has some self-healing. When she hits but doesn’t KO a target, her “Remember, We’re The Good Guys” trait gives her a 66% chance of healing, which can pay dividends with her Colossal Stamina.
• She’s an Outwit/Perplex piece. Like No. 2 fave Ambrose Chase, she has the choice of these two FREE powers (but not both, which keeps her in the F.U.N. zone).

Add her traited Super Strength to all this, and it’s no wonder she’s topping my favorites of 2019. And I know Taylor appreciates her as well, as he texted me this note and photo back in July after he played her a tournament:

Yes, Taylor. Yes, she is.

———

That wraps up our Top Ten of 2019 pretty early. But Rurouni KJS is about to try tackling a countdown of his favorite clix of the DECADE, where I look back at all of Heroclixin’s top faves and F.U.N. figs since 2010. What’s aged well? What’s been power creeped into irrelevance? What’s even more beloved than the new hotness? Check in and see over the coming weeks (’cause I think it’s going to take that long).

Merry Christmas, Heroclixin’ readers! Hope you don’t see any of these under your tree.

Usually we rank these and count down to the baddest of the terrible. But honestly, none of these are useless. I can’t even drag them for their flaws like I have in years past. So we’ll just put them in order from cheapest points to highest.

Hydra 011 [Earth X 011] 25 points

Taylor gave me an argument on this one because he loves Incapacitate and I …….. do not. But this Hydra chick ranks among the worst because she’s so much less effective than her Hydra 010 counterpart.

With any held object, Hydra 010 can chuck an object 2 squares further than 011’s 4 range for more damage and for 5 points cheaper. He’s also better on the end dial with Plasticity because of the Close Combat Expert. Hers appearing with Range Combat Expert is a poor combo.

———

Spiders Man [Earth X 013] 30 points

— I rather like the SP. It’s half of what Incapacitate SHOULD be. But that short range and low DV and too-brief life are all problematic. Basing him makes his SP and defense much less effective. So it’s a no.

———

Winter Soldier [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 016] 45

While his opening stats are good, him being vulnerable to Mind Control from being based is doubly bad due to him being a range piece. Especially with the chance of it being permanent. He’s just not good enough with just 6 range to make running him worth the risk.

———

Spider-Girl [Earth X 001] 50 points

I hate Incap in general, and in particular when the range isn’t great and the Running Shot is missing. Maybe if she had Willpower to make up for the lack of first-strike capability, she wouldn’t be on this list, because the AV and 2x targets is what you want in an Incap piece and CCE thrives on pushability. But no, she’s comparatively garbage at this price.

———

Starfleet Admiral [Star Trek To Boldly Go 007] 50 points

Outwit puts her too close to the action while using Mastermind frankly hurts more valuable figs than her. Sure, she has Leadership-plus, but the conditions attached to it makes it not much of a bonus.

———

Jessica Cruz [Rebirth 056] 65 points

No move+attack and just 6 range both mean she’s just a taxi (and her “Leading the Charge” trait is likely wasted). But the no-cost TK is likely hindered by the fact that her lines of fire are blocked by her many passengers. Plus she’ll need to set up objects in prescient fashion to be able to use them well. Add the lack of armor and mediocre defense and you get this not-so-good wackness.

———

Bumblebee [Rebirth 039] 75 / 50 points 

She just doesn’t mesh together. Her SP offers a nice HSS option, but drops her damage to 2. Also, her 2 targets don’t work with Precision Strike and 10 AV is a little underwhelming at her full cost. So what about her 50 point line? Her AV jumps to 11 and she swaps the Precision for Incap, but her damage drops to 2 which means her HSS is wasted on the -1 damage penalty. Outwit isn’t on either top click. She’s fun but kind of a mess.

———

Deathstroke [Rebirth 017] 75 points

— Incap works well with his Defiance trait that lets him maybe heal after hitting. What’s wrong is that his first and second clicks should be swapped to make him actually useful for his cost. He’s just not worth anything outside the Defiance theme — one that’s already hobbled by not having a proper build total:

Deathstroke 75
Power Girl [Rebirth 022] 115
Jericho [Rebirth 002] 60
Rose Wilson [Rebirth 003] 60
Terra [Rebirth 004] 65
Kid Flash [Rebirth 021] 75
= 450 points

What the heck is that? And why didn’t Adeline Kane [Rebirth 008], the character who actually formed Defiance, get the keyword?

———

Maximus [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 060] 90 points

His plusses (mass Perplex of friendlies if you build same-name teams, incapacitating Mind Control, TK) are dragged down by his non-optional trait that has a 33% chance of Battle Fury-ing him (so much for that 6 range), or keeping him from costed actions (so much for his Indom). He belongs on such specific teams that he’s bad otherwise.

———

Professor X [X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga 035] 100 points

I want to like him (ranged Leadership and being able to shoot/Outwit through walls is good) but losing his Influence upon clearing hurts him too much in early game and his dial’s so short. Better than last year’s No. 1 Worst, Professor X, Dreamer [Xavier’s School 049] but that’s not saying much, esp. at 2x cost!

———

This is probably the most clix with 11 AV or better to ever end up on a Worst Of list. Just shows how good figures are this year … nothing is out-and-out terrible.

Well, except this Dishonorable Mention from the Orville starter set.

HM: Commander Kelly Grayson [The Orville 002] pre-errata

Aside from the Enhancement, this SP is supposed to function sort of as a Probability Control of normally unProbable rolls.

But

1. You can’t use Shape Change or Super Senses on your turn
2. You can’t use Leadership in the action phase, when you can activate FREE actions like this SP
3. Which makes this power 98% USELESS and UNWORKABLE (there’s a corner case where you might get caught in a friendly Energy Explosion and need to reroll Super Senses. WAYYYYY OVER INNA CORNER case). But even if it were usable…
4. …You could put the game into infinite rerolls because there’s no limit to the rerolls.
5. This is in a starter set for new fans
6. They had to issue errata for A STARTER SET
7. HOW IS A NEW FAN GONNA FIGURE WHERE ERRATA IS????

(Power now reads: “Enhancement. Once per turn, when a friendly character that’s adjacent or has the Planetary Union keyword rolls for Leadership, Shape Change, or Super Senses, you may reroll that roll.”)

———

That’s the trash out of the way. Next time Heroclixin’ reveals our favorite figures of the year 2019.

So ever since Heroclixin’ launched a decade ago, we’ve done a Top Ten list of the best figs (more or less) of the year.

Until now.

We’re giving up.

It’s just too hard this year.

There were a LOT of good dials. A partial list:

Medusa [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 030]: An uncommon so good that it changed the pauper format to highlander.

Astronomer [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 048]: Improved Targeting Elevated might be the most powerful of IT and he’s got it with ELEVEN RANGE and with PROB and DOUBLE TK and he gets any one gem for just +5 points.

Mister Oz [Rebirth 052]: Meta teams for me are 260 points because this 40-pointer is the first thing on every team for his TK manipulation and see-all Prob.

Vulture [Earth X 019b]: It got Watch Listed for good reason. Endless attacks on short-dialed foes is one thing but he’s easily juiced into a master killer for less than 100 points. Way less.

Kobik [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 069]: Swapping team abilities shouldn’t be a thing, yet here we are.

Jean Grey [047]: Mega Mind Control shenanigans — and an explosive finish.

Q [Star Trek Resistance Is Futile]: Die replacement remains a broken ability, no matter how WizKids tries to rein it in, bit-by-bit, every time it tries to keep it in the game.

Wendigo [X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga G018]: That ridiculous multiple attacks ability AND healing? Sheesh

Voyager [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 017]: Mega TKer. Mega taxi. Can’t Outwit her. Perplex. Might be the best 50 points one can spend.

Thanos [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 067]: So many positive modifiers. For a tentpole with virtually no move+Attack, he’s awfully effective.

Starfire [Rebirth 055]: HSS Energy Explosion! 50-point Pulse Wave! Quintessence! STOP click! Free healing with other Titans!

Billy Batson/Shazam [Rebirth 026/037a]: Cheap Perplex with a STOP and a great alter-ego mechanic.

Eddie Guerrero [WWE 017]: For his triple Flurry, STOP-plus, superProb.

Captain Venom [Earth X 062]: Gives Monster teams theme prob.

Dr. Claire Finn [The Orville 003]: Possibly the game’s best medic, with one of the game’s best pogs.

And that’s just more or less off the tops of our heads. I’m sure there are more.

So……. yeah. It’s just too much for me. And Sceritz, who’d normally help me figure out the meta stuff, has been pulled away from Heroclix to run his website Do You Even Comic Book and his creator-owned comic series, Scorpio. And Taylor has taken a step back as well.

So sorry, no Top Ten of 2019.

There’s not even going to be a Top Ten F.U.N. Figures of 2019 list from us.

The reason?

There’s just too many!!!!

2019 was a year where the vast majority of figures score well on our F.U.N. Factor:

• Is the figure FRIENDLY and FAIR? That is, if your opponents see this figure on your team, will their hearts utterly sink at the prospect of dealing with it? If so, it’s not F.U.N.
• Is this figure still USEFUL and full of UTILITY anyway? If so, it may be F.U.N. But it shouldn’t run TOO high on this scale, or it may overwhelm the Friendly portion!
• Does this figure have a NEATO or NIFTY or NICHE or NERDCORE appeal that goes beyond its just having good stats and powers? Does it have a special place on a team outside of the usual keywords? And does this clix capture the character’s appeal? If so, it may be F.U.N. But the answer can’t JUST be, “I like this character.”

Like, even a good portion of the candidates for best fig still feel kinda Friendly and Fair. Not all, but a LOT of them. But it’s hard to find figs this year that weren’t Useful somehow. And most all were pretty Nifty in some way. So it’s too difficult to even do the F.U.N. list this time around.

But we are still going to do a Top Ten WORST of the year. Stinkers do exist.

And I will still list my favorites, as will Taylor (maybe). So the Top Ten isn’t dead.

(I’m also considering a look back at Heroclixin’s Top Ten of the Decade, seeing how we’re still in our 10-year anniversary. It will be interesting — and probably mortifying — to revisit some of those original picks after the many changes and power leaps the game has undergone.)

Almost as soon as we updated our review of all Atlantis pieces, not one but TWO dropped into the game. Let’s take a look:

^^^^^^ 50-75 points: barracudas ^^^^^^

Namor [X-Men Regenesis 010] 70 points

Starting with the great Charge+Flurry combo with the possibility of full 8 Speed in a direct path is nice-looking. His 10 AV is just OK for the price, though, as is his 17 DV, and the lack of Super Strength or Indom is a problem. Still, he’s the absolute cheapest Namor in the game, and traited Regeneration in water can come in handy.

Namor [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 044] 75 points

Four short clicks of life seem, well, short for this cost. Indomitable 17 DV Invincible isn’t bad, but one Outwit can ruin his day. He sports a nifty trait that drops an action token from him if an enemy rolls 1-2 on Leadership, but that’s nothing to count on. And just ignore his damage SP; it’s unusable in this point range.

But don’t give up on him completely…

^^^^^^ 76-100 points: sharks ^^^^^^

Namor [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 044] 75 points*

… especially considering his actual price tag is 80 points to pay for the either of the Infinity Gems the figure is designed to use via this 5-point optional trait:

Namor starts the game with either the [ABPaI] Power Gem or [ABPaI] Time Gem equipped.

The Time Gem is tempting to use because it grants Probability Control, a very rare power on Atlantis teams. But the Power Gem is the way to go: It gives him Ranged Combat Expert (useless) and Close Combat Expert (highly useful) as well as a basic +1 damage modifier (and 1 extra penetrating damage on a 10 roll or higher). Charging and hitting for 4 even without an object is way better than the 75-pointer’s printed 3.

Moreover, a Power Gem’d Namor can use his damage SP:

MY FURY IS AS THE TEMPEST UNLEASHED: Battle Fury. When Namor attacks with the [ABPaI] Power Gem equipped and targets only characters with printed range values of 5 or more, modify his damage +1 and the damage dealt is penetrating.

Because his life is so short, he’s best on bigger teams that can fit Telekinesis on to get him in striking range of the long range shooters he likes to beat down or simply have bigger threats to draw fire.

Namor [X-Men Regenesis 010] 100 points

At full points, this Namor gains a bit of speed and a click of 11AV. But the same Strength-less 3 damage and lack of Willpower plague him. The good news is that his full-dial Regen-in-water could keep him alive even longer with 7 clicks. DO NOT PLAY HIM WITHOUT WATER.

^^^^^ 101-125 points: maneaters ^^^^^

Namor [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 044] 110 points*

Top dial, he starts with mostly the same numbers and powers as his 75-point level: 10 Charge, 11 Super Strength, 17 Invincible. 3 damage. This Namor is also a team player with Empower. Those are the basics. But like the cheaper version, you’re paying the extra 5 for one of the gems.

Time not only grants Prob Control, but gives him Flurry on his Charge SP. If he had his 4 damage on click 1 instead of click 2, this would be the ideal choice. But maybe the Power Gem is better because like most Charge figures, he’s going to get hit, and will likely get more use from the constant CCE and +1 damage the gem gives.

———

And we’re all caught up, finally! Going to be much better about this ongoing series from now on.