In principle, legacy cards have been a F.U.N. way to bring some old fan-favorites back into Modern/Silver play and rework some old figs that never really worked right before (or don’t anymore due to rule changes).
In practice? These reviews get harder and harder. And my hopes that WizKids fixes their QA problems remain unanswered. But I’m going to try a much easier short version look at these cards this go-’round.
By set number:
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L001 COSMIC BOY
(Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 2014)
THEN: He had SP Leadership that worked on even the most expensive Legionnaires, double TK (and FREE once more if he had two tokens). He also had a Legion Founder keyword and its associated traited Additional Team Ability that boosted attack rolls.
NOW: His attack SP is just normal TK but he gets +3 AV when attacking with it. His old SP Leadership is just pretty much normal Leadership these days, so the SP is reworked entirely to nerf one of his targets’ DV -1 for the whole turn — and an additional -1 if he hits.
Oh, and he gets this new “LONG LIVE THE LEGION!” trait:
Sidestep. // Once per turn for all characters with this trait, when a friendly character with the Legion of Super Heroes keyword is damaged by an opposing game effect, roll a d6 and friendly characters with the Legion of Super Heroes keyword modify the listed combat values by the listed amount until the end of your next turn:
[1–3]: Modify defense +1; [4–5]: Modify attack +1; [6]: Modify all combat values +1.
F.U.N.? So the downside is that Legionnaires have to be getting beat up to get this temporary and unreliable buff. That’s not very weaponizable, which puts this high on the pure F.U.N. scale.
AM I GETTING THIS? Absolutely. Longtime readers will recall I did a weeks-long series reviewing every Legion keyworded piece in HeroClix — one that could use an update 10 years later.
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L002 SATURN GIRL
(Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 2014)
THEN: She had Penetrating/Psychic Blast to start and, starting with click 2, SP Mind Control that was free when she was untokened, gave her +1AV for tokens on her target, and didn’t have the old self-damage that MC used to cause. She also had the Legion Founder ATA mentioned above. Pricey at 94 points, but everything cost too much back then.
NOW: Pushing damage is a thing of the past, so how does she get to her SP goodness? A new trait “Self-Sacrifice for the Legion” that makes her a Mastermind target if her ally is in her great 8 range and LOF (but takes max 3 damage). A light hit lands her on her speed SP: Stealth+Mind Control.
F.U.N.? But a big hit strands her in the middle of her dial WITHOUT the SP. So she’s kinda terrible unless you have a healer handy. At least she’s only 50 points. And she has the same Long Live the Legion trait as Cosmic Boy above.
AM I GETTING THIS? Of course! The Legion being bad has never stopped me.
L003 LIGHTNING LAD
(Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 2014)
THEN: A 104-point cannon of a piece with Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Ranged Combat Expert, by mid-dial, he had an “Arc Lightning” SP that allowed him to get multiple attacks
NOW: He gains Energy tokens with hits, allowing him to spend them to get Energy Explosion as FREE or extend his SP Poison reach by the amount of Energy. Plus the Legion trait.
F.U.N.? Much more effective at his new 50-point price.
AM I GETTING THIS? Naturally.
L019 AMETHYST
(Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 2014)
THEN: There was NOTHING special about her except a once-per-game trait to hit a foe and choose to force that foe to attack only her, and vice-versa. With only 10 AV, that was a tall order and definitely not worth 80 points! I’m wondering how she never ended up on my worst of 2014 list.
NOW: She’s only 50 points, gets actual TAs (Cosmic, Mystics), and three traits to replace her old kinda bad one: 1) Force Blast+Phasing; 2) Close Combat Expert+Leadership and giving other Young Justice the Mystics TA; 3) POWER to build up to 6 mostly permanent blocking markers, 2 at a time.
F.U.N.? She’s better than OK now.
AM I GETTING THIS? I would be passing, as I have no liking for the character or much affinity for Young Justice keyword. But as fate would have it, she was the first card I’ve gotten.
L025 MATTER-EATER LAD
(Superman, 2011)
THEN: Another Legionnaire! He had some good points: a dirt-cheap 35 points with Exploit Weakness, a then-steady 9 AV Steal Energy, and FREE removal of adjacent blocking or terrain markers. Plus wildcard and flight.
NOW: A slightly lighter 30 points and sporting the “Long Live The Legion” trait seen above, he has IM:Destroy and two more traits: 1) Stealth+Super Senses, and 2) Poison with FREE removal of adjacent terrain markers —and— FREE removal of equipped equipment in close.
F.U.N.? Yes, sort of, but he has meta potential, being a hard counter to problematic equipment if he can just fly up to his target.
AM I GETTING THIS? Oh, absolutely.
L047a WHITE WITCH
(Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, 2014)
THEN: One heck of a nerf piece, she could either POWER: bar a whole enemy team’s modifiers for a turn, or cap enemies’ free actions at one for FREE. She also ignored the Mystics TA and, most blessedly for the Legion, was the team’s first healer starting on click 2, which also had a stacked DV special (Energy Shield/Deflection, Super Senses, Barrier).
NOW: Down 37 points to just 50, she adds Mystics TA to herself AND her Legion pals AND shares the Mystics immunity she had before. Her new speed SP is Phasing with Prob Control — and the ability to lock attack rolls within her considerable 7 range. DV SP still has ESD and Senses (no Barrier, though). All this and the Long Live the Legion trait.
F.U.N.? Not quite the tech piece she was, but she could find a niche home in the meta.
AM I GETTING THIS? YEP. LONG LIVE THE LEGION
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L047b RAGMAN
(World’s Finest, 2016)
THEN: 70 points for Leap/Climb and Stealth with no range? And 2 damage? Sure, he gets a potential +1 to his stats if an enemy is KO’d, but at a quarter of your team, he likely wasn’t racking them KOs up.
NOW: Shaved to 50 points and much much better: His stat-boosting trait triggers on damaged foes instead of only KOs, he can shed those stat bonuses to either heal or FREE damage adjacent foes. Meanwhile, his SP upgrades to Sidestep+Plasticity with the Stealth — plus the ability to place next to an enemy within 4.
F.U.N.? He’ll probably take some ramping up to be at all competitive, so more F.U.N. than foul.
AM I GETTING THIS? Hope to.
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L048 VIGILANTE
(Justice League Unlimited, 2020)
THEN: A 40 point cowboy, he could no-damage hit a target and IMMOBILE-ize it and all its neighbors via the Lasso-themed attack SP. Later dial, a “Trick Shooting” SP allowed a 1/3 chance of attacking twice at range.
NOW: 10 points cheaper, he’s a flying 2-person taxi with Toughness, a Quickdraw trait that drops his action token if he shoots first and hits, Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Knockback, and Ranged Combat Expert with self-Prob.
F.U.N.? No meta, pure F.U.N.
AM I GETTING THIS? For the cowboy posse, yes.
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L055 TIM HUNTER
(World’s Finest, 2016)
THEN: Sort of a proto-Harry Potter, at 55 points he (and any adjacent JL Dark pal) was immune to enemy prob, and they essentially got Defend but only for him (via his defense SP). With his damage SP, as FREE he could use an adjacent Mystical ally’s powers for a round of play. You really had to build around him because his final, superpowered click (Running Shot, SP Energy Shield/Deflection+Probability Control+Pulse Wave+Super Senses+Willpower, Impervious and Perplex — all Outwittable) was not a STOP so he could easily get KOed past it.
NOW: A new trait gives him Prob outright — twice on enemy turns. With natural 6 range, that alone is worth his 40 points. But he also takes just 1 damage if a higher point Mystical pal is in range (thanks to new Protected Outwit defense SP). His damage SP is Enhancement and +2 speed to pals when carrying him. And his formerly scary attack SP now gives Cosmic Energy TA, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Mystics TA, Flight, IT:Characters,Hindering, and IMMUNE for a round. He’s almost guaranteed to see this click now.
F.U.N.? Yes, but also possibly meta. The prob. THE PROB!!!
AM I GETTING THIS? Trying to.
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LG001 STARRO
(WizKids, 2018)
THEN: Once a meta threat at 100 points because the conqueror could effectively Colossal Retaliate Mind Control across the map via its autonomous Starrophyte pogs, spawning more pogs, healing all the while. It was also made to be played with “(Starro’s Minion)” variants of the Justice League, but no one ever did despite the FREE attacks they could level.
NOW: No more Starro’s Minion(s) but it still generates autonomous pogs next to hit targets and heals. But now he works with the non-pog Starrophytes (Notorious 030 and WizKids DC23-100) so he doesn’t HAVE to spawn pogs to work. No longer a retaliator, his STOP click now has a wild POWER to KO all his Starrophytes and heal for each one, possibly up to his 260-point starting line, even if he actually started on his lowly 20 point one.
F.U.N.? Depends how many Starrophytes you can field. I like it.
AM I GETTING THIS? Probably not, since I’m skipping the Detective Chimp box it comes in and I lack the fig.
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LG004 SOLARIS
(Superman/Wonder Woman, 201X)
THEN: Pretty poor at most of its values despite Quintessence TA, due to attack values too low to be effective and lack of moving attack to use its SP Pulse Wave. Only the 25-point Retaliation click was good, with 10 range, Outwit and 12 AV. (The retal was not great, amounting to little more than mass Incap.)
NOW: The evil robot-sun gets a severe point reduction from 800(!) to an actual playable 300. The PW SP is now “Sickening Radiation” a Unique Modifier that not only nerfs enemy AV and DV in range, but Solaris can FREE damage 2 targets within its 10 range LOF. And the Retal no longer even requires an attack roll. It just burns every foe within 3 squares.
F.U.N.? Thankfully, the Radiation power isn’t on his 25-point click. But this thing could still be playable.
AM I GETTING THIS? Yes, since I got the Batman kit it comes with. But I no longer own the fig (sold in the lean years).