And now…

…at long last…

…the #1 HeroClix piece of 2010 is…

…

(drum roll…)

…

…

…

ROCKET RACER (Web of Spider-Man #044)

“What?!?” I can hear you saying (if you’re not spitting your cereal or losing your lunch all over your keyboards. I claim no responsibility for that. You shouldn’t be eating at the computer anyway), “Are you KIDDING me?!? Rocket-freaking-RACER?????!?

Yes. Rocket Racer. Here’s why:

• Hypersonic Speed is awesome.
• Ignoring all terrain except walls and indoor blocking is awesome. Ask Hammer of Thor Cap!
• (Except RR only ignores for movement. Still awesome.)
• He’s a wild card, which is awesome.
• He has Psychic Blast. Awesome.

OK, sure he tops out at 9 AV and only has 5 clicks of life for his 60 points and only has Combat Reflexes for defense even though he will try to not be adjacent to an enemy very often thanks to HSS and his keywords absolutely stink like the garbage can in the picture. And oh yeah…2 damage. For most of his dial.

But…c’mon! He’s on a rocket-powered skateboard!!!! That’s just awesome enough to be the best!!!!!

…

…OK, yeah. I am kidding you. Made a joke over at HCRealms and couldn’t resist taking it a little further.

The REAL number one most playable figure of 2010 is…

Cosmic Spider-Man (Web of Spider-Man #064)

This is the single most broken non-colossal figure in the game. Why?

• His line of fire is never blocked;
• By ANYTHING!!!
• He’s got 10 range…through walls.
• He’s got 14 Speed Hypersonic Speed that shoots past your meat shields and then hides back behind the wall he zipped out from behind.
• He’s also one of those five characters with double-digit AV all dial long. (The others: Venus, Bullseye, Thor & Loki, and Galactus.)
• He’s got Power Cosmic. You can’t counter his powers…or his ability to shoot past anything.
• He’s a wildcard. Meaning he can pal up with a Batman Ally to keep foes from easily targeting him.
• Impervious. Invulnerable.
• Even after he loses HSS, you can’t base him easily or for long because of his two SPs. The first SP grants Incap then a free shot at a Telekinesis attack; the second SP grants Force Blast then a free shot with Ranged Combat Expert right after for as much as 7 damage;
• Telekinesis makes him as solid a support piece as an attacker. And remember, his line of fire is never blocked, so he’s actually a better TKer than any other character in the game.

His one weakness, a very short dial for his highest-costed-standard-character-in-HeroClix 319 points, is more than mitigated by his superb defenses and ability to utterly avoid taking attacks in the first place.

(Really, a properly played CSM can really suck the fun out of a game — he either steamrolls the opposition, or the CSM player makes such terrible die rolls that he can’t hit the floor aiming down. Either way, someone’s not having fun.)

Still, I’ve seen CSM defeated; heck, I’ve done it myself (more from being saved by the bell than anything). That’s why we play the game. Superior tactics and decent die rolls can take down overpowered pieces with below-average rolls anytime!

Next week: Heroclixin’s Honorable Mentions of 2010 and then, my personal favorites of the year!