No. 9 [tie]

Justice League [Teen Titans T002r]
Trinity of Sin [WizKids D-T001e]
Shi’ar Imperial Guard team base [WATX T005e]

Prior to the Watch List changes, these team bases were the nigh-unbeatable monsters of HeroClix; they simply couldn’t lose unless a team was built to beat them because they could deal more damage output than anything else in the game within 3 turns of game start.

Now they’re actually reasonable to face. And still quite good. Each, at their 200- to 300-build levels, still get two actions via Working Together, and each still has high damage. Each can still nearly double their effective team build total by mid-game via the Solo Adventure mechanic. And each bears an opening-click Asset Dial ability that’s worth never rolling from. Combined, these three still represent the best team bases of the lot.

The three are tied because each has a minor weakness that keeps it from standing above the other two.

• Justice League has the longest effective range of 10 with Sharpshooter, immunity to Outwit, Shape Change and Super Senses, team abilities granting Stealth and anti-Stealth, and the highest AV of all. BUT…the immunity to Outwit only works when the whole team’s on the base and is lost when Solo Adventure is used.
• Trinity of Sin has Quintessence, double-hurting Mystics, Mind Control, Poison, Outwit and Probability Control. A Solo Adventure only costs them the double Mystics damage-dealing and gains them the abilities of the removed member to nerf the enemies’ use of Outwit, Perplex or Prob, respectively. But TrinSin’s weakness is very thin armor in the form of just two clicks of Toughness and nothing else.
• Shi’ar Imerial Guard boasts the ability to alpha strike from almost anywhere on the map and deal out Flurry damage. It also has the  Power Cosmic TA, loses nothing with Solo Adventures and has the longest dial of the three. But its starting AV is also the lowest.

Each of these pieces is strong enough to handle almost any team it faces, even after losing much of their old power, and so share the No. 9 slot among the 10 best clix 2013 had to offer.

Honorable Mention

War Machine [IIM 029b], like the team bases, is a tentpole designed not to be utterly outactioned. First, it’s got its “Alpha Strike” SP that grants two actions for the price of two tokens — easy enough to swallow thanks to Indomitable. Better still is WM’s trait “Retaliatory Strike,” that allows a free action ranged shot when foes take shots at him in between his turns. So in effect, WM’s still getting about the same number of actions as 2 or 3 foes — and as many attacks/actions as the team bases at the same cost get. The piece suffers, though, from lacking their sheer amount of extras — the TAs, the extra life, etc.

New Mutants [WATX T004] also lacks the firepower of the big team bases, with only one action and not starting on a good Asset ability. But it’s better built for the Solo Adventure ability than most, and the power to force action tokens on foes with each KO can swing games its way.

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Next: Another x-citing entry!