by ·0 Comments

SHINY.

Massive changes for Silver Age just happened. Let’s get into it.

Team-building changed

The 200-point cap on Modern Age legal game elements on the main force remains in force UNLESS you have no more than one Modern game element on the starting force. If that’s the case, you can field that 300-point Darkseid that would have been barred just a few days ago.

HOW F.U.N. IS THIS? We’re not sure (because yours truly was eyeing a Multiple Man squad that now is far too risky to try), but it seems balanced enough.

 

Sidelines changed

No more than 4 Sideline elements can be Modern Age.

HOW F.U.N. IS THIS? We like it. With more and more Modern Sideline Active stuff, it’s a good idea to keep it from overwhelming this eternal format.

 

Mission Points changed

In Silver Age, Mission Points immediately convert to 10 Victory Points each instead.

HOW F.U.N. IS THIS? We love it. MPs were so hard to get right; either they were so difficult to score that you almost never could even pressure with them, much less win, or they were in absolutely degenerate builds that ended in 2-3 turns without ever engaging the opponent. This way, though, I can get my beloved shady AI Miss Minutes — who’s been in the shadow realm of the ban list — back in play.

Speaking of ban lists:

 

Ban List(s) changed!

They added a Restricted List to the Temporary Ban List (aka The Bench) and the “Permanent” Ban List. Restricted figs effectively are like Primes: You can only use ONE fig from the whole list.

 

Restricted List

  • DCN 044 Nekron: Currently still banned in Pulp format, it’s not surprising to see him land here. The Black Lantern Corps do powerful things with enough Grave markers, and ol’ Nek is the most dependable source.
  • SMBA 062 Carnage Silver Surfer: Speaking of graves, I will go to mine solidly convinced that this fig was supposed to either A. have a 4-click life at his 50-point-cost line like every other Carnage chase in that set, or B. cost 75 points for his 6-click lower line, which would also have been appropriate. But likely a copy-paste mistake was made and the edit was never caught.
    Anyway, this is a good compromise, keeping him from being run in the degenerate multiples like he was in Modern Age during his reign.
  • HoX 051 Maggott: This piece always should have been Unique. This solves that oversight (not a mistake like CSS above).
  • WK23-001 Scott Porter and WK23-002 Scott Porter: I expected this OP duo to be completely benched for the next year. But this seems a great compromise to keep them from being the best 50 points you can spend in Heroclix. Best of all, I don’t have to stop shouting “POWERBOMB” when he Pulse Waves!

 

Temporary Ban List (benched)

  • SMBA 043b Spider-Man: Man, this comic-inaccurate piece (should not have Avengers keyword at this 1984 stage of his career, a full 7 years before he even got reservist status; nor should he have Impervious on defense because the symbiote never bonded to him like it did with the Venoms later on) definitely needs a rest.
  • All the MOE chases: I really really hope this is the last time we see this sort of “shifting focus” mechanic for a chase set.
  • WoV 042 Chthon: There’s SO many Mystical figs he can key off of in Silver and so much healing available, he’d just be on every team. Benched.
  • Every Stop Sign construct: If we’re gonna keep Scotts in Silver, we gotta lose this.
  • wkDP20-s005a Nifty Traffic Barrel: This is in the penalty box for the same reason as the Stop Signs. Nixing Improved Movement for so few points, just for existing, really shouldn’t be a thing.

 

Ban List

These have been on the list and remain:

  • All Special Terrain Dials
  • All ID Cards
  • WK MP-18 001 Blackbird resource dial
  • FFJW 004 The Penguin
  • ADW 067 Hawkeye
  • EAX 019b Vulture
  • XTAS 048 Jason Wyngarde
  • WW80 064 Scarab
  • XDPS 036b Legion
  • FFFF 044 Molecule Man
  • JLU 005b Batman
  • XMRF 024 Dr. Moira MacTaggart
  • WK WKN-M001 Search for Ammut’s Tomb (not legal in any official WizKids event)

But these are new, and a few are head-scratchers:

  • DCF4 001 Mr. Fantastic: Really? Like most Mr. F dials, this one seems weak and overcosted and certainly not worth banning. But then I remembered that his extra knock back trait can rack up Mission Points in certain interactions.
  • MSDP 049 Agatha Harkness: With no MSDP 050 The Scarlet Witch to steal her thunder, she made a splash in Silver this past season — enough of one that, rather than just see her Rune-nerfing any team that can’t field WoV 048 Ghost Rider, they’ve sent both to the shadow zone for the sins of using the Darkhold.
  • SVAC s005 All-Black the Necrosword: This equipment was bad enough in its time in Modern when it required a whole set of extra actions to equip it on Turn 1 (if the enemy couldn’t steal it somehow). Under current rules, it was gonna be too much. So BYE
  • XoS 053b Mad Jim Jaspers: Speaking of equipment, no more easy mode kitting up your giants and others you couldn’t assign stuff. There’s just wayyyy too much available in Silver Age for his level of chaos.
  • SFSM 005 Thug: He was on the temporary ban list for his ability to make most any theme a theme and trigger a lot of keyword-based shenanigans; now that ban is permanent.
  • ORVL 003 Dr. Claire Finn: Her benching is now indefinite. And I am sad about it even though I understand her FREE Support would be broken beyond all belief even WITHOUT her Lt. Yaphit’s Sidesteppery.
  • AI G023 Eternity: Another benching made permanent. In January, WK said they were concerned about him getting healed way past his start lines. I guess that concern remains.
  • FFAI Giant Girl: Being able to Colossal Retaliate in multiples and shrink the map with her size and low cost, she was a giant problem they’re solving by banning her.

 

Finally, they just up and banned a whole suite of characters who, when the are/would be KO’d, switch forces:

  • BTAS 013 Catwoman
  • A4E L017 Mockingbird
  • STRF 025 Ensign Ro Laren
  • WWE 006 Sasha Banks
  • WWE 018 Big Show
  • XDP 018 Senator Robert Kelly
  • XDP 037 Colossus
  • ABPI 011 Ant-Man
  • ABPI 016 Winter Soldier
  • ABPI 021 Ayo
  • RE 020 Terra
  • SWB 031 Alex Wilder

This opened up a bunch of degenerate Mission Points builds that could win in 1 or 2 turns with no recourse. So these traitors are outta here.

But while these bans may feel grievous, there’s a chance they’re not forever. Case in point:

Back in the light!

  • XOSSLOP209 Apocalypse and XOSSLOP210 Genesis: Now retired from Modern, the Grand Prize couple can be strong together again in Silver.
  • XDPS G020 Dark Phoenix – Her time on the bench is over. RISE, PHOENIX!
  • MSDP 029 Miss Minutes – As noted earlier, back in January she was banned, but with the shift in Mission Points, she’s no longer that sort of problem.
  • MSDP054 Sakaarian Iron Man – Bleh, I wish he’d have stayed gone. The break was nice.    
  • WW80 065 Sky Tyrant – Same here! But he’s not quite the same problem now that Quake and Exploit don’t combo.  
  • AFFE 069 Venom Magneto – The best of the “FREE-K” figs returns.   

They also finally have a long list of Silver-legal maps, where old-style long ones are the norm more than the smaller Modern variety. (Which means I have some actual use for some of those old maps!)

Gonna be a wild time.

UPDATE: And wild it is! Not 12 hours after I published this, additions to the ban list happened!

  • XoS L042 Unus the Untouchable: They said his ability to deny moving or placing anywhere within 4 squares of him might be too much (even though it never made even a ripple in Modern) so he’s banned.
  • And they added DWX Major Logan to the Watch List (which I didn’t bother mentioning here because the article was long enough already).