Thanks to WizKids’ torrent of releases in 2012, my stable of unplayed figures has grown from the smallest of my cases to a lot of six leftover clamshells from Fast Forces and starter sets. But after adjusting the way I judge my venue, I’m able to get a lot more games in and no longer have to worry about building actual good teams to win.

I still want to play real people for real prizes or real fun, though. So I headed out later the same weekend to get a tournament AND a friendly match.

The tournament required half the team be from non-Modern Age elements. I chose Science:

Lex Luthor (Icons 051)
LE Thomas Oscar Morrow (Hypertime)
Researcher (Web of Spider-Man) x 3

Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man 024)
Hugo Strange (Batman 039)
Hugo Strange (Streets of Gotham 101)

and in a prior fun (but shortened) game, I ran this “themed” team: YA WANNA KATANA?!?!?

Katana (Batman 011), Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 004), Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 207), Psylocke (Giant-Size X-Men 024), Zealot (Batman 028), Gorgon (Captain America 046), Colleen Wing (Amazing Spider-Man 044)

And here’s my experience with each unplayed piece:

Lex Luthor (Icons 051): He was the main offensive threat on that science team, and he got maybe 4 attacks total off. VERY top-loaded, he pales next to his cheaper versions in just about every set since. Hard to say if I’ll ever play big Lex again.

Thomas Oscar Morrow (Hypertime), on the other hand, lives up to the hype I’ve heard for years. The 37-point, 10-ranged RCE piece is one of the very few Hypertime figs to hold up in modern day play. In addition to being a cheap Scientist team filler, he’ll be a fixture on any “labcoat” theme I formulate.

Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man 024) disappointed a bit, if only because his HSS didn’t seem to work so well for me due to A) user error like hitting a Mastermind figure or B) crit missing or C) going up against Sentry & Void. So yeah, I actually like this Spidey, just on a better team than this!

Hugo Strange (Batman 039) is tricky to play, as he nerfs the Outwit and Perplex of friend and foe alike. But he’s got to get so close to use that trait that he’s easy pickings for enemy attack (thanks to his near-total lack of defenses. I’ll use him on the aforementioned labcoat fun team and on other strange themes, but nowhere else.

Hugo Strange (Streets of Gotham 101) shaves 9 points compared to the above version to get Bat Ally TA as a defense technique. There’s also Outwit and Mind Control. I wasn’t able to get him into the fights very well with this team. I’ll use him again on a Strange team.

Katana (Batman 011) barely got into the fight in the time-shortened game she saw action; just long enough to miss her Charge and Outsider a Super-Strong target. Definitely worth running again!

Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 004) also only got a single Charge in on an opposing Franken-Castle, and unfortunately didn’t roll high enough to take the ex-Punisher down. Can’t complain; there was no way to one-shot that piece.

Blade (Amazing Spider-Man 207) DID score my only KO with a Running Shot on Johnny Blaze. Will have the toughest time deciding in the future which Blade to wield.

Zealot (Batman 028) only got a single attack (a miss) on Franken-Castle. Would like to try her on a WildCATs team later.

Colleen Wing (Amazing Spider-Man 044) was the sole disappointment, getting one-hit off the board by a Charging Franken-Castle before getting to do anything other than hide by the wall with the Hand ATA. Definitely won’t stop me from trying this cute lil’ samurai another time.

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So much for Figure Flush Week One. This was fun! Week Two is coming mid-week. In the meantime, see more Card Art on Monday and more Token Totin’ on Tuesday. And have F.U.N. Heroclixin’!