Kneeling in mid-air...?
I’ve never liked the “standing on the flight disk” pose in HeroClix. Ones like this are even worse. So when WizKids did away with the flight stands, I decided to do away with his.
Fits in my box better, too.
Completed late-2009.
NEXT WEEK: My first dial transplant.
No Friday Force-Building this week. We’ve all got brand-new clix to pull and try out! In that spirit, here’s a look at one of my favorite themes.
Several weeks ago, I posted a simply titanic article about the Atlantis keyword in HeroClix. Long a thoroughly uncompetitive keyword theme, it’s gotten some boosts in the past couple of years with the emergence of Namor in Secret Invasion, one of the most flat-out effective beasticks (not a typo; see the glossary) in the game and, more recently, Aquaman (Brightest Day) for his ability to make other Atlanteans quasi-Mystics and his own considerable offensive prowess.
Now there are three new Atlantis pieces in DC 75th Anniversary set. Let’s look at what they do for life under da sea:
The only reason he should be considered for an Atlantis team is his trait giving him Probability Control while in water. Because of this, and his super-short range, he should be feated with Submerged whenever possible. He’s purely a weak support piece, so you may want to spend the 65 points on other Atlanteans instead.
I don't yet own a Mera fig, but I got a shot of her at my venue. And, as you see, she can tote her token! (Barely. Squeeze it between her hair and shoulder.)
This one's standing on a BLUE tentacle.
Veteran Aquaman (DC75): Sharing a near-identical sculpt, near-identical cost and the dolphin-transporter symbol with Brightest Day Aquaman, this 106-point model has a very different dial. His Speed power is special “Sea Life Telepathy” Mind Control that’s +3 AV and zero feedback damage against the Atlantis keyword. Even better, his Attack SP “Rise From The Deep” allows him to warp in water terrain the way OOTS Batman does in hindering terrain.
No Wednesday battle report this week. Just, y’know, a whole new set of HeroClix releases today. Here’s a checklist for when you start cracking open your boosters, bricks and cases!
OK, I would MUCH rather have gotten this character in the grittier Sandman Mystery Theatre revamp as opposed to this “Darkwing Duck” look.
It's as though the sculptor couldn't choose between the original 1940s DC Comics depiction and the more realistic 1990s Vertigo revamp/retcon.
And I toyed with the idea of doing a more substantial modification. But instead I decided to try a simple fix first:
Completed late-2009.
Unbelievably better with just that one dab.
NEXT MONDAY: another JSA member made good.
Once in a while I try to give a shout to my Hebrew brothers and sisters and play a team of characters who are Jewish. Here’s my list of those made in the game so far (Modern Age in green):
The Atom (Jewish mom)
Atom Smasher
Colossal Boy
Doc Samson
Gertrude Yorkes & Old Lace
Iceman (Jewish mom)
Magneto
Dr. Manhattan (maybe. Has a common Jewish name (Osterman), at least)
Marvel Boy/Justice
Moon Knight (son of a rabbi)
Ragman
Sandman (Origin Unique. Jewish mom)
Shadowcat
Songbird
The Thing/Benjamin J. Grimm
Volcana
Not really much that’s kosher for Modern Age, which would be a problem this weekend for a 400-point Hanukah-themed game if I were going. But if I were going, I’d almost surely run something like this:
The Thing (Secret Invasion) 100
Benjamin J. Grimm (Secret Invasion) 100
Gert & Old Lace 54
Songbird (Hammer of Thor) 83 + Thunderbolts 8
Moon Knight (Avengers) 38
Thug (Avengers) 7
Thug (Avengers) 7
=397 points. Not a goyim in the lot.
Mazel tov? While this sure fits the bill for Friendly, I’m not certain it’s at all Useful. It’s definitely Neat, though. Just don’t play it on Saturday. It’ll lose. :p
With a new Narnia movie coming tomorrow, I’ve got Aslan the lion on my mind. Hence, Lionheart is today’s token-toter:
She easily holds between her legs, as her hands are full. 
So if you happen to use ol’ girl for any reason (and those reasons are few), now you know how she carries her rocks!
MY "kooky quartet" of Avengers.
Captain America (Hammer of Thor) 72
SR Hawkeye (Avengers) 56
SR Wasp (Avengers) 37
SR Scarlet Witch (Avengers) 35
+ Eleha’al Vine 0
+ Kinetic Accelerator 0
+ Dynamostat 0
=200 points.
FIRST MATCH: Charlie answered the question: “Who Watches the Watchmen?” by running Rorschach, Nite Owl, and the 83-point Comedian. I got to pick the Monument map, which is very good for Cap. Despite getting the first shots off, I made a crucial error by choosing to attack The Comedian with Scarlet Witch instead of running her away. The misogynist took her right out before taking down Hawkeye and Wasp. Cap was too much for Nite Owl to pin down, though, and he finished the rest of Charlie’s team. 1-0.
SECOND MATCH: Jessica attempted to blind me with Scientists Dr. Octopus (Secret Invasion), Beast (Mutations & Monsters) and Goliath (Secret Invasion). She’s a solid player but still a fairly recent one; she’d never seen Captain America in action before. Once Doc Ock was knocked off his Outwit, I had an easy time of it, losing only Hawkeye for the win. 2-0.
FINAL MATCH: Vic played an unofficial Black Lantern Corps theme of Nekron and Black Hand (Justice League). Vic decided to tie up only Cap instead of my whole team with Nekron, enabling Scarlet Witch to easily spirit Cap away. Clutch breakaway rolls in subsequent rounds also helped seal a victory as I whittled away at the dark villain.
UNDEFEATED! At 200 points, this Avengers team is very solid for a number of reasons. A) The Avengers team ability gives them an unparalleled action and positioning advantage, especially because B) two of them are dedicated taxis. C) Cap’s power enables the team to maintain great offensive pressure even when Hawkeye is hampered. But that doesn’t mean Hawkeye is useless, as D) he represents a 2nd source of 3 damage to deal with Invulnerability/Impervious. E) Wasp makes a good tie-up piece, too, and F) Cap’s Leadership allows that 3rd attack to really maintain the offensive or land a KO blow.
The man who broke the Bat can tote the token.
Wedge it upright under his right forearm.
And unlike the Clayface(s) highlighted a few weeks back, even the Modern Age dial from Batman Alpha has Super Strength.
The 1990s were a stupid time in comics, full of stupid revamps and stupid new directions and stupid new powers and and stupid new costumes. Daredevil’s briefly-worn “armor” costume was among the stupidest of all.
But, I must admit…it did look cool. And when I saw this Experienced Daredevil dial sporting Toughness where no previous Daredevil had any at all, I figured this one must be this costume. So I decided to modify mine to match:
Front...
...and back. Photos by Antonio Cade.
Completed late-2009. Yep. It does look pretty cool.
NEXT MONDAY: A much less extensive repaint.
Last Friday, I introduced this column and my Heroclixin’ philosophy: teams should be F.U.N.
With a 200-point game coming soon, I’m thinking of running this:
The Atom & Hawkman 120
Hawkgirl (Brightest Day) 71
Red Lantern 5
Kinetic Accelerator 0
=196 points. The 0 range keeps things friendly, but Hawkgirl is a frightfully useful piece, especially with those two Special Objects to boost her damage and speed, respectively. It’s neat that this is an almost perfectly comic accurate team. Not only did Atom and Hawkman share a title once, but I can’t imagine that the trio never shared an adventure.
Will I actually use it? Dunno. I passed it up for the Dark Avengers duo I ran a couple of weeks ago, and I have a great Avengers build I’ll probably highlight next week.
Happy clixing this weekend!