Cornerstones aren’t tentpoles, exactly. They’re pieces that lack the sheer output to be a tentpole but can nevertheless approximate what a big bruiser brings to the fight. More importantly, these figs do a fair bit to aid other figures on the team, bringing up the effectiveness of the whole force. Here’s what Heroclixin’ liked in this category.

Superboy [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 046]

At 175 points, he’s a solid if unremarkable tentpole with 8-range 11AV Running Shot 2-target Energy Explosion and 18 DV Invincible. What pulls him from good to nearly great is his trait granting Leadership to him and Willpower to cheaper adjacent allies — which works excellently with his top-dial Enhancement or his later Empower. He’s like a battery of actions for the rest of the team. The Boy of Steel also has a 100-point level that functions similarly for a team of swarming fighters. And don’t forget: he’s a wildcard in addition to bringing Superman Ally TA to the force. Truly a figure that deserves to be built around.

Captain Marvel [Guardians of the Galaxy 007b]

Another cornerstone fig. He’s a bit soft with only Defend and Super Senses via an uncounterable SP to guard him, but he’s not a front line fig anyway. He’s going to be right behind, loaning his 18 DV AND boosting adjacent non-Kree teammates +1 DV in addition. He’s also a fine fighter in his own right with 11 AV Running Shot Penetrating/Psychic Blast that bans hit foes from shooting back for a turn, too. And he’s just 82 points? This fellow is bound for a lot of top-flight teams and heartily carves a place on Heroclixin’s top spots.

 

Then there’s this continuing trend of pieces that can choose powers that don’t appear on their dials, one that started back with the Infinity Gauntlet resource and The Stranger [Galactic Guardians 043]. Heroclixin’ calls these “pick-a-power” clix Swissblades and two in particular broke the trend wide open:

Super Skrull [Guardians of the Galaxy 062] weighs a lot at 170 points. But his trait to gain one each of any Speed, Attack, Defense or Damage power on the PAC can make him completely worth it, especially given his other advantages as a Marvel Zombie to gain allies or self-revive upon respective KOs. He does have a significant drawback in that he runs a 33% chance of self-damage for getting an extra power, and the chance of injury rises exponentially for each extra one. But it’s only one click at a time on an 8-click dial. It’s probably worth the risk just to get needed damage reduction on his otherwise unarmored dial.

Engineer [The Flash 060] can select any Speed, Attack or Damage power at no risk. Her very light armor of Toughness then Super Senses is really her only drawback. At 175 points she can be run as a modest tentpole with decent starting stats (10, 11, 18, 3) that can be molded by a myriad of power selections. She really makes the list, though, for her 90 price that still starts with double-digit AV and leaves so much more room for pals to help.

Both of these Swissblade figs are weak against free-action silver bullets such as White Witch or the Green Lantern power battery, so they wouldn’t top the top ten. But mark Heroclixin’s words: One or both of these are going to leave its mark in high-level competition in 2015.

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Heroclixin’ wraps up its look at the most playable figs of the year next time with a final category.