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M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE
Fast-moving, this E-dial is one of the simplest ones.
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which any character was knocked out, and at the end of each round.
TOUCHED BY THE ENIGMA FORCE (cyan, slots 2-4, 6): Once during your turn when you make an attack roll, if the result of either of the two dice is a 1, you can reroll one die before determining the attack roll result. You must use the rerolled result.
WHAT IT MEANS: This first condition (which won’t be in effect until turn two), is nothing more than the Lucky Break feat, available once per turn. There’s no way to build for this, so don’t fret it.
UNI-FORCE (red, slots 5,7): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player rolls 2d6 and subtracts from the result the number of of his or her KO’d figures that have point values of more than 20 points. If the result is a 4 or less, that player chooses one target character on his or her force. Until the end of that turn, the target ignores its team ability and powers, has a range value of 10, and can use the Power Cosmic team ability and the following powers: Energy Explosion, Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Incapacitate, Outwit, Phasing/Teleport, Steal Energy, and Super Strength.
WHAT IT MEANS: This condition gives you a shot at turning one of your team into Captain Universe for a turn, your team build will make a difference one way or another. Field cheap sacrifice pieces over 20 points in cost (NOT less), because not only will they tie-up or bait the other force(s), if they’re KOed they improve your chance of rolling low enough to become Captain Universe. When you DO make the roll, give the Captain Universe powerset to a fig with good stats to make best use of them. Also consider one with some sort of Stealth and the Wing symbol. The former will keep it safe until the Uni-Force is active (and possibly protect it from an opposing Captain Universe) and the latter will give it the mobility to move and attack freely as CU. Don’t run a pivotal offensive team ability on your preferred Captain Universe candidate, though because the printed TA will be replaced with the uncopyable Power Cosmic ability until the end of the turn.
SUMMING IT UP: As stated in the outset, this dial is easy to pick up and play, regardless of your team build.

M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

I always found this cover to be rather hilarious.

I always found this cover to be rather hilarious.

Fast-moving, this E-dial is one of the simplest ones.

–

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which any character was knocked out, and at the end of each round.

–

TOUCHED BY THE ENIGMA FORCE (cyan, slots B-D, F): Once during your turn when you make an attack roll, if the result of either of the two dice is a 1, you can reroll one die before determining the attack roll result. You must use the rerolled result.

WHAT IT MEANS: This first condition (which won’t be in effect until turn two), is nothing more than the Lucky Break feat, available once per turn. There’s no way to build for this, so don’t fret it.

–

UNI-FORCE (red, slots E, G): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player rolls 2d6 and subtracts from the result the number of of his or her KO’d figures that have point values of more than 20 points. If the result is a 4 or less, that player chooses one target character on his or her force. Until the end of that turn, the target ignores its team ability and powers, has a range value of 10, and can use the Power Cosmic team ability and the following powers: Energy Explosion, Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Incapacitate, Outwit, Phasing/Teleport, Steal Energy, and Super Strength.

WHAT IT MEANS: This condition gives you a shot at turning one of your team into Captain Universe for a turn. Your team build will make a difference one way or another. Field cheap sacrifice pieces over 20 points in cost (NOT less), because not only will they tie-up or bait the other force(s), if they’re KOed they improve your chance of rolling low enough to become Captain Universe. When you DO make the roll, give the Captain Universe powerset to a fig with good stats to make best use of them. Also consider one with some sort of Stealth and the Wing symbol. The former will keep it safe until the Uni-Force is active (and possibly protect it from an opposing Captain Universe) and the latter will give it the mobility to move and attack freely as Cap U. Don’t run a pivotal offensive team ability on your preferred Captain Universe candidate, though.  The printed TA will be replaced with the uncopyable Power Cosmic ability until the end of the turn.

–

SUMMING IT UP: As stated in the outset, this dial is easy to pick up and play, regardless of your team build.

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Next, we’ll look at one that’s NOT pick-up-and-play. In fact, thanks to some rule changes since its debut, strictly speaking it’s not very playable at all…

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Way back in December, I set about reacquiring a Dr. Psycho from 2005’s Collateral Damage set so I could play this team:
The Society
From left: Talia, Black Adam, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Dr. Psycho, Calculator.
Essentially the anti-Justice League, but worse than that, since each of these characters have been able to singlehandedly challenge entire teams with their machinations. Together as The Society’s inner circle? Nigh-unstoppable.
As an 800-point HeroClix team, though, they are somewhat less terrifying. Four of them — Luthor, Deathstroke, Calculator and Dr. Psycho — are wild cards with no team ability to copy from the team-less Talia and Black Adam. So immediately, I have to bend the theme somewhat to get any real playability from them.
Here’s my first take and my first match.
The Society
Black Adam (Crisis) 254
Lex Luthor (Justice League) 161
Deathstroke (Crisis) 156 + Outsmart 10
Dr. Psycho 100
Calculator 55 + Outsmart 10
Gotham City Detective 27
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20 + Loner 5
=798 points
vs. the Justice League of…well, Lenny.
Superman (Justice League) 226 + Fortitude 25 + ICWO 10
R Shazam 105
Green Arrow (Crisis) 104
Wonder Woman (Justice League) 94
Batman (Justice League) 75 + ICWO 10
Gamora 73
Cosmic Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes) 70
= 792 points
For shame, busting up a perfectly good DC team with that green cheesecake chick from Marvel. :)
Lenny won the roll and picked the Days of Future Past map. I holed up inside. No BFCs played.
Black Adam parked on the Kinetic Accelerator. Lenny TK’d Gamora to attack him, but she missed and got pounded for a quick KO. Superman snaked his subsequent attack, losing the Meteorite vs. Black Adam. Adam, Calculator and Deathstroke ganged up on R Shazam, keeping him Outwitted until he was done.
OOTS Batman sat on an object but lost it from an Enhanced attack from Talia. That didn’t save Dr. Psycho, who missed his Mind Controls and got pincushioned by Green Arrow. Lex Luthor also underperformed and fell to a double KO by Superman (which he Masterminded to the GCD) and Wonder Woman (no one left to MM to). At least Calculator got to the Vine to heal (dodging a shot from WW) as Black Adam, now on Hypersonic Speed, successfully took on Superman, Batman and Green Arrow with Deathstroke in tow. Cosmic Boy went down and WW was the last to fall. I had BA and Ds left.
Played the same team the next day against Scott’s semi-cosmic team:
Annihilus 126
Proteus 180
Magus 184
The Mighty Thor 286
= 776 points.
On the Junkyard map, I ran Infiltration and got Poor Teamwork’d. Deathstroke hunkered down safe in the map’s swath of hindering terrain, but Talia got OHKO’d by Thor right off. Psycho successfully Mind Controls Thor to attack Annihilus but the enthralled Asgardian fails. The bad Dr. takes 2 (and needn’t call anyone when he wakes from his impending KO). Lex Luthor gets tied by Magus. I return the favor, pushing Gotham City Detective  to cuff Annie and prevent the space buglord from Psychic Blasting Adam. GCD doesn’t last a turn.
Delay of game penalty.
Calculator takes Obsessive click (after lonnnnnng check on the computer to  check for common keywords on older figs), then takes a KO by TK’d Dumpsterator. Time’s up just before I can finish laying into Thor (due to that slooooooow-loading computer) so I take the time-limit loss, having KO’d no points to Scott’s 217.
We play on. Thor fails his Flurry and falls to combined Deathstroke/Black Adam assault as Dr. Psycho gets hit off board. Now Hypersonic and Super Strong, Adam starts beating down Magus and Proteus as Lex pushes to weaken, then KO Annihilus. Alas, the “Price” is not right and Lex goes down from his own Perplex. But now Black Adam and Deathstroke can’t be stopped and they again clear the board of all foes.
Because it takes a while to get KOs, this team isn’t very good in the time limit, but when played to the last, the two high-pointers tend to win out. I made an adjustment for a game played a few weeks later:
Black Adam (Crisis) 254 + Fortitude 25
Deathstroke (Crisis) 156 + Outsmart 10
Lex Luthor (Crisis) 113
Dr. Psycho 100
Calculator 55 + Outsmart 10
Gotham City Detective 27
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20 + Loner 5
R Ragman 25
=800 points. I just didn’t seem to be getting results from Lex, and since Alex was the REAL power behind the Society, having disguised himself as Lex, it fits.
Couldn’t resist the temptation to mutilate the theme by adding a conveniently brainwashed R Ragman to the team. :)
First, I played Mohammed, a very young player still very shaky on the rules. He had a cobbled-together team of borrowed figures:
Dr. Doom (Fantastic 4) 200
The Flash (Justice League) 114
Yellowjacket (Secret Invasion) 100
Yellowjacket (Skrull) (Secret Invasion) 100
Batman (Arkham Asylum) 64
Robin (Arkham Asylum) 66
The Caped Crusader 50
E Deathstroke (Cosmic Justice) 50
We played on the Dawn of Time map. My victory was never in doubt — the poor kid’s not a solid player yet — but my score wasn’t very high due to coaching him through the rules and Skrullojacket making too many Shape Change/Skrull rolls to KO him early enough to add more than that 100 points to my victory points.
Second round was against Lenny, who ran:
Silver Surfer (Avengers) 231 + Protected 8
Susan Richards (Fantastic 4) 120
Mr. Fantastic (Fantastic 4) 100 + Brilliant Tactician 20
Johnny Stom (Fantastic 4) 100
Benjamin J. Grimm (Fantastic 4) 100
Winter Soldier 70
Spider-Man (Secret Invasion) 50
Battlefield conditions: He Sabotaged me by tokening Black Adam (I missed my roll) while I tried to cause Telekinetic Strain. But he got to choose the Fantastic Four map, which played to his strengths and hurt many of mine.
I used the Sabotage to immediately push Adam to Hypersonic Speed and the Kinetic Accelerator, pretty much ensuring that he could reach any target on the map once he cleared. I also clustered the rest around him in case Surfer tried to alpha-strike my big gun. But Lenny was much more careful than that, positioning his whole team so that any Adam attack would leave him open to a massive counterattack.
I took the bait anyway, successfully hitting Winter Soldier within a click of his life. Nearly paid dearly for it when Sue TK’d Grimm a short distance  to try hitting with a Meteorite (missed), then Johnny Running Shot Adam for 5 clicks (hit) and Surfer tried a HSS driveby (crit-missed).
Psycho Mind-Controlled Surfer away to double target Winter Soldier and Sue (only hit him, though) then end up in easy range for Alex to Psychic Blast him (missed, though). More shots on Grimm landed but failed to KO. And somehow, time ran out before any more KOs could occur. Lost none.
Finally, I face Lord Timothy’s quartet of Deities:
Ares (Avengers) 275 + Protected 8
Thor (Ultimates) 186 + Protected 8
Hercules (Secret Invasion) 142 + Protected 8
Circe (Arkham Asylum) 149 + Alias 3
On the Dawn of Time map, I Infiltrated half my team into the bushes. Tim used no Battlefield Conditions, since the one he would have played — Skrull Kill Krew — would have hurt his Circe worse than me.
Using the Dynamostat to cover Adam on the Accelerator, I immediately tried Mind Controlled Herc to beat Thor. Thor got his Impervious, though. My backup plan to Psychic Blast Thor with Alex worked a bit better.
Tim ran Herc behind Thor, which opened the Norse thunder god to Dr. Psycho’s MC. He took 2 more clicks of damage into utter deadweight, but it was worth it: Circe took 5 clicks from the hammer and Thor took 1 from the Mystics.
Ares had just failed his Running Shot at Adam with a ridiculously low roll (13 on 19 missed? Really?) so it was time to return the favor. Only I did too well, with another ridiculously low roll into a miss. Feh. At least the taxied Talia managed to follow up with an actual solid hit…especially with Deathstroke countering Impervious. Too bad Protected swallowed it up, and Circe Outwit her sword next time. Black Adam, now on Flurry, landed another hit but was rapidly taken out by Herc and Ares. Talia didn’t last much longer. Neither did Circe…Alex took her down.
Now Ares closed in on my Detective and Calculator. While Calc took the defeat, Deathstroke, well-Perplexed, took on the god of war and came out on top while Herc was tied up by GCD’s Plasticity…I thought. Good thing I Outwit his Wrestler SP (was concerned about Charge and Flurry and had forgotten Herc’s Plasticity)! Herc couldn’t take on two Outwitters alone and fell.
3-0! Nice, but with Adam Fortituded, the Outsmarts were a waste. So in a later game, I swapped them out:
Black Adam (Crisis) 254 + Fortitude 25
Deathstroke (Crisis) 156
Lex Luthor (Crisis) 113
Dr. Psycho 100 + Compel 15
Calculator 55
Gotham City Detective 27
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20 + Loner 5
R Ragman 25
= 795 points.
There was weird format in this game…a special third die was rolled with every attack roll:
1=nothing
2=knockback x 2
3=heal after the attack (1d6-2, like Support)
4=automatic crit miss
5=automatic crit hit
6=nothing
FIRST match I faced John and his
Thanos 267
Trigon 263 + Protected 8
Darkseid 210
Doombot 5953 40
We were on the Crash Site map. I used the hindering to keep just out of range of that range-heavy team. Again Dr. Psycho did his thing, forcing Darkseid to punch Trigon in the shins and take Mystics feedback. But that just made Trigon start tossing Dopplegangers out and forced me to Outwit that so Psycho could get taxied to the Eleha’al Vine and start tokin…uh, I mean healing up.
My opponent was highly frustrated with my solid Stealth bunker, as I was with Black Adam’s inability to hit his lone lead man, Thanos. So he closed in on me. But it was too late as time ran out. I got the points for Protected for the win.
Then there was Christian’s cheese pizza:
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188 + Fortitude 25
Iron Man 154
Mr. Fantastic 100 + Brilliant Tactician 20
R Kang (Supernova) 87
Ant-Man (Infinity Challenge) 50
E Dr. Mid-Nite 43
R Mandroid Armor 28
R Black Panther  (Infinity Challenge) 27
V Lockjaw 38
R Destiny 20
R Paramedic 8
I stuck us on the Armor Wars map. I managed to get Lockjaw and then Kang. But a Compel, a pair of missed attacks, an untimely (for me) Impervious roll and a tactical failure to tie up AV Iron Man with Ragman left a pushed Black Adam way too open to a massive pair of Running Shots from the Tonys that dealt him 10 clicks when he could only take 8. That was the game.
So how’d this cadre of villainy wind up working?
Black Adam: the beater really has to pull his weight at this point level. In the first build, the Outsmart combos really encouraged me to hold him back, causing the rest of the team to take a lot of early fire and forcing him into a cleanup role too late in the game for timed matches. In the later builds, he was often the first to go into battle and usually paid for it by getting pounded by multiple counterstrikes. It’s hard to find a proper balance.
Lex Luthor: Key example of a piece forced to do too much in the first build. Great AV, but his defense always took that first hit into less usefulness. He’d probably do better in the Ragman build…if the points allowed! That 161 cost and my general insistence on sticking to the villain theme kept Rags out the first go ’rounds.
Deathstroke: Like Adam, he’s one of the main fight engines of the team. But he lacks the mobility to really get into it alongside Adam. Still one of the major keys to this team’s viability.
Alex Luthor: Quite the upgrade from Lex for nearly 50 points less. He made room for more TAs to copy and better feats. His upfront Perplex also made him more effective as a backrow type to boost the real fighters’ attacks or defenses. Still disappointed that I NEVER got to use his BFC-canceling SP!
Dr. Psycho: If not for this theme, I’d never play him again. He was highly, HIGHLY ineffective in the first build for want of decent die rolls. He simply can’t afford to miss those Mind Control rolls when he’s going to be taking the next attack thanks to that dismally low defense. With Bat-Stealth, though, he had new life. It was more than worth taking multiple clicks of self-damage from feedback and pushing to make the enemy do some of my work for me.
Calculator: Similarly, Calc is suspect as a piece. Sure, he’s got built-in Brilliant Tactician, sorta, and Outwit. But that Outwit is gimped by the keyword factor — he’s toast against themed teams — and losing his single Stealth click is really dangerous for him. And there’s not enough Mastermind fodder to help him AND Psycho. Maybe I need to invest in pogs…
Gotham City Detective: the corrupt cop on the villains’ take. Basically only there as Mastermind fodder and, more importantly, a source of TA for the four wildcards on the team, especially Dr. Psycho (who’s useless without a TA to copy). Also served well to tie-up thanks to 2nd-click Plasticity.
R Ragman: NOT a villain. Just conveniently “brainwashed” by Dr. Psycho into aiding them. :) Perma-Stealth for these wildcards, well, wildly increases their effectiveness. For the 25-40 points that the Alex Luthor build offers, there’s no better DC clix for the role he plays here. Maybe none in the game at all.
Talia: most of the time, she was just tie-up fodder. But sacrificing that 25 points wasn’t so bad if it meant Black Adam lived to fight another round or two. Which it usually did, to my benefit. And when enemy Outwit is focused on a 20-point piece instead of elsewhere, that’s pretty OK, too.

Taking a quick break from the Event Dials series to deliver some battle reports.

Way back in December, I set about reacquiring a Dr. Psycho from 2006’s Collateral Damage set so I could play this team:

The Society

From left: Talia, Black Adam, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Dr. Psycho, Calculator.

From left: Talia, Black Adam, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Dr. Psycho, Calculator. From Villains United #1.

Essentially the anti-Justice League, but worse than that, since each of these characters have been able to singlehandedly challenge entire teams with their machinations. Together as The Society’s inner circle? Nigh-unstoppable.

As an 800-point HeroClix team, though, they are somewhat less terrifying. Four of them — Luthor, Deathstroke, Calculator and Dr. Psycho — are wild cards with no team ability to copy from the team-less Talia and Black Adam. So immediately, I have to bend the theme somewhat to get any real playability from them.

Here’s my first take and my first match.

The Society

Black Adam (Crisis) 254
Lex Luthor (Justice League) 161
Deathstroke (Crisis) 156 + Outsmart 10
Dr. Psycho 100
Calculator 55 + Outsmart 10
Gotham City Detective 27
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20 + Loner 5

=798 points

vs. the Justice League of…well, Lenny.

Superman (Justice League) 226 + Fortitude 25 + ICWO 10
R Shazam (Origin) 105
Green Arrow (Crisis) 104
Wonder Woman (Justice League) 94
Batman (Justice League) 75 + ICWO 10
Gamora 73
Cosmic Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes) 70

= 792 points

For shame, busting up a perfectly good DC team with that green cheesecake chick from Marvel. :)

Lenny won the roll and picked the Days of Future Past map. I holed up inside. No BFCs played.

Black Adam parked on the Kinetic Accelerator. Lenny TK’d Gamora to attack him, but she missed and got pounded for a quick KO. Superman snaked his subsequent attack, losing the Meteorite vs. Black Adam. Adam, Calculator and Deathstroke ganged up on R Shazam, keeping him Outwitted until he was done.

OOTS Batman sat on an object but lost it from an Enhanced attack from Talia. That didn’t save Dr. Psycho, who missed his Mind Controls and got pincushioned by Green Arrow. Lex Luthor also underperformed and fell to a double KO by Superman (which he Masterminded to the GCD) and Wonder Woman (no one left to MM to). At least Calculator got to the Vine to heal (dodging a shot from WW) as Black Adam, now on Hypersonic Speed, successfully took on Superman, Batman and Green Arrow with Deathstroke in tow. Cosmic Boy went down and WW was the last to fall. I had BA and Ds left.

Played the same team the next day against Scott’s semi-cosmic team:

Annihilus 126
Proteus 180
Magus 184
The Mighty Thor 286

= 776 points.

On the Junkyard map, I ran Infiltration and got Poor Teamwork’d. Deathstroke hunkered down safe in the map’s swath of hindering terrain, but Talia got OHKO’d by Thor right off. Psycho successfully Mind Controls Thor to attack Annihilus but the enthralled Asgardian fails. The bad Dr. takes 2 (and needn’t call anyone when he wakes from his impending KO). Lex Luthor gets tied by Magus. I return the favor, pushing Gotham City Detective  to cuff Annie and prevent the space buglord from Psychic Blasting Adam. GCD doesn’t last a turn.

Calculator takes Obsessive click (after a lonnnnnng check on the computer to  check for common keywords on older figs), then takes a KO by TK’d Dumpsterator. Time’s up just before I can finish laying into Thor (due to that slooooooow-loading computer) so I take the time-limit loss, having KO’d 0 points to Scott’s 217.

We play on. Thor fails his Flurry and falls to combined Deathstroke/Black Adam assault as Dr. Psycho gets hit off board. Now Hypersonic and Super Strong, Adam starts beating down Magus and Proteus as Lex pushes to weaken, then KO Annihilus. Alas, the “Price” is not right and Lex goes down from his own Perplex. But now Black Adam and Deathstroke can’t be stopped and they again clear the board of all foes.

Because it takes a while to get KOs, this team isn’t very good in the time limit, but when played to the last, the two high-pointers tend to win out. I made an adjustment for a game played a few weeks later:

Black Adam (Crisis) 254 + Fortitude 25
Deathstroke (Crisis) 156 + Outsmart 10
Lex Luthor (Crisis) 113
Dr. Psycho 100
Calculator 55 + Outsmart 10
Gotham City Detective 27
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20 + Loner 5
R Ragman 25

=800 points. I just didn’t seem to be getting results from Lex, and since Alex was the REAL power behind the Society, having disguised himself as Lex, it fits.

Couldn’t resist the temptation to mutilate the theme by adding a conveniently brainwashed R Ragman to the team. :)

First, I played Mohammed, a very young player still very shaky on the rules. He had a cobbled-together team of borrowed figures:

Dr. Doom (Fantastic 4) 200
The Flash (Justice League) 114
Yellowjacket (Secret Invasion) 100
Yellowjacket (Skrull) (Secret Invasion) 100
Batman (Arkham Asylum) 64
Robin (Arkham Asylum) 66
The Caped Crusader 50
E Deathstroke (Cosmic Justice) 50

We played on the Dawn of Time map. My victory was never in doubt — the poor kid’s not a solid player yet — but my score wasn’t very high due to coaching him through the rules and Skrullojacket making too many Shape Change/Skrull rolls to KO him early enough to add more than that 100 points to my victory points.

Second round was against Lenny, who ran:

Silver Surfer (Avengers) 231 + Protected 8
Susan Richards (Fantastic 4) 120
Mr. Fantastic (Fantastic 4) 100 + Brilliant Tactician 20
Johnny Stom (Fantastic 4) 100
Benjamin J. Grimm (Fantastic 4) 100
Winter Soldier 70
Spider-Man (Secret Invasion) 50

Battlefield conditions: He Sabotaged me by tokening Black Adam (I missed my roll) while I tried to cause Telekinetic Strain. But he got to choose the Fantastic Four map, which played to his strengths and hurt many of mine.

I used the Sabotage to immediately push Adam to Hypersonic Speed and the Kinetic Accelerator, pretty much ensuring that he could reach any target on the map once he cleared. I also clustered the rest around him in case Surfer tried to alpha-strike my big gun. But Lenny was much more careful than that, positioning his whole team so that any Adam attack would leave him open to a massive counterattack.

I took the bait anyway, successfully hitting Winter Soldier within a click of his life. Nearly paid dearly for it when Sue TK’d Grimm a short distance  to try hitting with a Meteorite (missed), then Johnny Running Shot Adam for 5 clicks (hit) and Surfer tried a HSS driveby (crit-missed).

Psycho Mind-Controlled Surfer away to double target Winter Soldier and Sue (only KO’d him, though) then end up in easy range for Alex to Psychic Blast him (missed, though). More shots on Grimm landed but failed to KO. And somehow, time ran out before any more KOs could occur. Lost none.

Finally, I face Lord Timothy’s quartet of Deities:

Ares (Avengers) 275 + Protected 8
Thor (Ultimates) 186 + Protected 8
Hercules (Secret Invasion) 142 + Protected 8
Circe (Arkham Asylum) 149 + Alias 3

On the Dawn of Time map, I Infiltrated half my team into the bushes. Tim used no Battlefield Conditions, since the one he would have played — Skrull Kill Krew — would have hurt his Circe worse than me.

Using the Dynamostat to cover Adam on the Accelerator, I immediately Mind Controlled Herc to beat Thor. Thor got his Impervious, though. My backup plan to Psychic Blast Thor with Alex worked a bit better.

Tim ran Herc behind Thor, which opened the Norse thunder god to Dr. Psycho’s MC. He took 2 more clicks of damage into utter deadweight, but it was worth it: Circe took 5 clicks from the hammer and Thor took 1 from the Mystics.

Ares had just failed his Running Shot at Adam with a ridiculously low roll (13 on 19 missed? Really?) so it was time to return the favor. Only I did too well, with another ridiculously low roll into a miss. Feh. At least the taxied Talia managed to follow up with an actual solid hit…especially with Deathstroke countering Impervious. Too bad Protected swallowed it up, and Circe Outwit Talia’s little sword next time. Black Adam, now on Flurry, landed another hit but was rapidly taken out by Herc and Ares. Talia didn’t last much longer. Neither did Circe…Alex took her down.

Now Ares closed in on my Detective and Calculator. While Calc took the defeat, Deathstroke, well-Perplexed, took on the god of war and came out on top while Herc was tied up by GCD’s Plasticity…I thought. Good thing I Outwit his Wrestler SP (was concerned about Charge and Flurry and had forgotten Herc’s Plasticity)! Herc couldn’t take on two Outwitters alone and fell.

3-0! Nice, but with Adam Fortituded, the Outsmarts were a waste. So in a later game, I swapped them out:

Black Adam (Crisis) 254 + Fortitude 25
Deathstroke (Crisis) 156
Lex Luthor (Crisis) 113
Dr. Psycho 100 + Compel 15
Calculator 55
Gotham City Detective 27
Talia (Batman Alpha) 20 + Loner 5
R Ragman 25

= 795 points.

There was weird format in this game…a special third die was rolled with every attack roll:

1=nothing

2=knockback x 2

3=heal after the attack (1d6-2, like Support)

4=automatic crit miss

5=automatic crit hit

6=nothing

FIRST match I faced John and his:

Thanos 267
Trigon 263 + Protected 8
Darkseid 210
Doombot 5953 40

We were on the Crash Site map. I used the hindering to keep just out of range of that range-heavy team. Again Dr. Psycho did his thing, forcing Darkseid to punch Trigon in the shins and take Mystics feedback. But that just made Trigon start tossing Dopplegangers out and forced me to Outwit that so Psycho could get taxied to the Eleha’al Vine and start tokin…uh, I mean healing up.

My opponent was highly frustrated with my solid Stealth bunker, as I was with Black Adam’s inability to hit his lone lead man, Thanos. So he closed in on me. But it was too late as time ran out. I got the points for Protected for the win.

Then there was Christian’s team:

Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188 + Fortitude 25
Iron Man 154
Mr. Fantastic 100 + Brilliant Tactician 20
R Kang (Supernova) 87
Ant-Man (Infinity Challenge) 50
E Dr. Mid-Nite 43
R Mandroid Armor 28
R Black Panther  (Infinity Challenge) 27
V Lockjaw 38
R Destiny 20
R Paramedic 8
+ Thunderbolts 15 (Defenders)

Wow. That’s a full T.O.P.P.S.-style Pit Crew*, there. I actually got the taste for a pizza after seeing all that cheese.

I stuck us on the Armor Wars map. I managed to get Lockjaw and then Kang. But a Compel, a pair of missed attacks, an untimely (for me) Impervious roll and a tactical failure to tie up AV Iron Man with Ragman left a pushed Black Adam way too open to a massive pair of Running Shots from the Tonys that dealt him 10 clicks when he could only take 8. That was the game.

So how’d this cadre of villainy wind up working? Basically went 6-1 (technically 5-2, but the loss against Scott within the time limit would be invalidated had that keyword check taken 1 minute instead of 5). Piece-by-piece:

King of PAIN.

King of PAIN.

Black Adam: the beater really has to pull his weight at this point level. In the first build, the Outsmart combos really encouraged me to hold him back, causing the rest of the team to take a lot of early fire and forcing him into a cleanup role too late in the game for timed matches. In the later builds, he was often the first to go into battle and usually paid for it by getting pounded by multiple counterstrikes. It’s hard to find a proper balance.

Dunno what HE'S so happy about, getting KOed all the time.

Dunno what HE'S so happy about, getting KOed all the time.

Lex Luthor: Key example of a piece forced to do too much in the first build. Great AV, but his defense always took that first hit into less usefulness. He’d probably do better in the Ragman build…if the points allowed! That 161 cost and my general insistence on sticking to the villain theme kept Rags out the first go ’rounds.

He got his own series because he never got KO'd in any of these matches. :)

He got his own series because he never got KO'd in any of these matches. :)

Deathstroke: Like Adam, he’s one of the main fight engines of the team. But he lacks the mobility to really get into it alongside Adam. Still one of the major keys to this team’s viability.

Younger model. Smarter model. And dresses 100% fruitier. (Which is saying something. You SEE that purple & green getup?)

Younger model. Smarter model. And dresses 100% fruitier. (Which is saying something. You SEE that purple & green getup?)

Alex Luthor: Quite the upgrade from Lex for nearly 50 points less. He made room for more TAs to copy and better feats. His upfront Perplex also made him more effective as a backrow type to boost the real fighters’ attacks or defenses. (In fact, he’d be a great Brilliant Tactician for his fellow Calculators…something to consider in future runs.) Still disappointed that I NEVER got to use his BFC-canceling SP!

Short but slow.

Short but slow.

Dr. Psycho: If not for this theme, I’d never play him again. He was highly, HIGHLY ineffective in the first build for want of decent die rolls. He simply can’t afford to miss those Mind Control rolls when he’s going to be taking the next attack thanks to that dismally low defense. With Bat-Stealth, though, he had new life. It was more than worth taking multiple clicks of self-damage from feedback and pushing to make the enemy do some of my work for me. In any future runs, I may try using Mental Shields instead of Compel on him. In a build without Bat-Stealth, I think I’ll go with Contingency Plan and keep him well out of the fray.

Love the megalomania evident in this cover.

Love the megalomania evident in this cover.

Calculator: Similarly, Calc is suspect as a piece. Sure, he’s got built-in Brilliant Tactician, sorta, and Outwit. But that Outwit is gimped by the keyword factor — he’s toast against themed teams — and losing his single Stealth click is really dangerous for him. And there’s not enough Mastermind fodder to help him AND Psycho. Maybe I need to invest in pogs…

Gotham City Detective: the corrupt cop on the villains’ take. Basically only there as Mastermind fodder and, more importantly, a source of TA for the four wildcards on the team, especially Dr. Psycho (who’s useless without a TA to copy). Also served well to tie-up thanks to 2nd-click Plasticity.

R Ragman: NOT a villain. Just conveniently “brainwashed” by Dr. Psycho into aiding them. :) Perma-Stealth for these wildcards, well, wildly increases their effectiveness. For the 25-40 points that the Alex Luthor build offers, there’s no better DC clix for the role he plays here. Maybe none in the game at all. That said, I’d much rather run an Alfred pog in his place instead. Anyone want to sell me one? :)

Best 20 points in HeroClix?

Best 20 points in HeroClix?

Talia: most of the time, she was just tie-up fodder. But sacrificing that 25 points wasn’t so bad if it meant Black Adam lived to fight another round or two. Which it usually did, to my benefit. And when enemy Outwit is focused on a 20-point piece instead of elsewhere, that’s pretty OK, too.

So much for the bad guys! Next comic-accurate theme is likely to be the Inhumans Royal Family. But that’ll have to wait until I get another string of 800-point games to play. In the meantime, enjoy a return to the Event Dial series. Ciao!

* ( Telekinesis. Outwit. Perplex. Probability Control. Support. A “Pit Crew” contains figures whose sole purpose is to cheaply provide one of these powers.)

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E003 UNLIMITED CLASS WRESTLING
Another nonstop dial, UCW, more than most, radically alters the usual HeroClix game with numerous extraordinary conditions.
WHAT TO BRING: a few extra Special tokens.
THE SETUP: Before objects are placed on the map, place four SPECIAL markers on the map so that they mark the outside corners of a 6-square by 6-square area containing as much clear terrain as possible as close to the center of the map as possible; this area is the Ring. Objects can’t be placed in the Ring.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is the main field of battle. Fighting can still go on outside the Ring, though, so don’t get complacent. Immobile objects might be good to play.
MORE SETUP: Each player chooses one friendly character and places it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring; this character is his or her wrestler. A wrestler can’t leave the Ring, and treats the edges of the Ring as if they are walls that can’t be destroyed. When a player’s wrestler is knocked out or eliminated, that player must choose a friendly character outside the Ring and place it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring as his or her new wrestler. If a character is carrying an object when it becomes a wrestler, it drops the object in the nearest unoccupied square before being placed in the Ring.
WHAT IT MEANS: Use Wrestlers with high natural damage value as opposed to reliance on Super Strength. No objects can be placed or brought in the ring.
MORE SETUP: No ranged attacks can be made by any character.
WHAT IT MEANS: Snipers should not be included on your team…you’ll only be wasting points!
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, turn the dial once or a number of times equal to the number of wrestlers knocked out or eliminated during the turn, whichever is more.
WHAT IT MEANS: This dial moves quickly if you have a lot of players or a lot of short-lived Wrestlers, so stay on your toes, especially if you’re trying to dodge the FAIR FIGHT and DISQUALIFIED! conditions.
FAIR FIGHT (cyan, slots 1-5, 10-12): If any character that isn’t a wrestler is given an action that would affect a wrestler, affect any square inside the Ring, or move the character into or through any square of the Ring, give the character an extra action token after the action resolves.
WHAT IT MEANS: This effect will be in play most of the time. Get around it by fielding non-Wrestler figs with some ability to avoid pushing damage in conjunction with Perplex, TK or Outwit. This way, a non-Wrestler can help his teammate in the Ring without penalty. Even better: use a non-Wrestler with Contingency Plan. It’s not an action, so the FAIR FIGHT condition won’t hurt, and your team is unlikely to use all its action allotment.
POWER BROKER (red, slots 4-11): A wrestler can use Exploit Weakness and Flurry if it does not already possess either or both of those powers. After the resolution of an action in which an wrestler uses a power from this effect, deal the wrestler 1 unavoidable damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: This phase can cause a lot of damage, either via unavoidable clicks from its bonuses or penetrating damage from the enemy. Pick a Wrestler with a pushable dial who stays strong well into the dial. Also consider Fortitude on your Wrestler because POWER BROKER grants Exploit Weakness. Otherwise, don’t rely on damage reducers above high defense values on your Wrestler.
DISQUALIFIED! (black, slots 3-5, 10-11): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a d6 for each character in the Ring who is not a wrestler and has two or more action tokens. On a result of 1 or 2, the character is immediately knocked out.
WHAT IT MEANS: Eventually, non-Wrestlers CAN enter the Ring to (illegally) aid the Wrestler. But it’s really risky. So try using a non-Wrestler with Hypersonic Speed or the Move and Attack ability. When someone can rush into the ring and get out in the same turn, there’s almost no risk of the instant KO condition of DISQUALIFIED!
SUMMING IT UP: While UCW is another dial that really rewards a prepared build, it’s one that tends to nerf most figures equally rather than targeting one group specifically. And anything that stacks the deck a bit more in close combat’s favor is a good thing in my book!

M+M E003 UNLIMITED CLASS WRESTLING

Another nonstop dial, Unlimited Classs Wrestling, more than most, radically alters the usual HeroClix game with numerous extraordinary conditions.

Yeah, it's clobberin' time, all right.

Yeah, it's clobberin' time, all right.

WHAT TO BRING: a few extra Special tokens.

–

THE SETUP: Before objects are placed on the map, place four SPECIAL markers on the map so that they mark the outside corners of a 6-square by 6-square area containing as much clear terrain as possible as close to the center of the map as possible; this area is the Ring. Objects can’t be placed in the Ring.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is the main field of battle. Fighting can still go on outside the Ring, though, so don’t get complacent. Immobile objects might be good to play.

–

MORE SETUP: Each player chooses one friendly character and places it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring; this character is his or her wrestler. A wrestler can’t leave the Ring, and treats the edges of the Ring as if they are walls that can’t be destroyed. When a player’s wrestler is knocked out or eliminated, that player must choose a friendly character outside the Ring and place it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring as his or her new wrestler. If a character is carrying an object when it becomes a wrestler, it drops the object in the nearest unoccupied square before being placed in the Ring.

WHAT IT MEANS: Try using Wrestlers with high natural damage value as opposed to reliance on Super Strength. No objects can be placed or brought in the ring except by special means.

–

STILL MORE SETUP: No ranged attacks can be made by any character.

WHAT IT MEANS: Snipers should not be included on your team…you’ll only be wasting points! One exception/loophole: The Laser Turret special object is not a character, so it may still make ranged attacks!

–

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, turn the dial once or a number of times equal to the number of wrestlers knocked out or eliminated during the turn, whichever is more.

WHAT IT MEANS: This dial moves quickly if you have a lot of players or a lot of short-lived Wrestlers, so stay on your toes, especially if you’re trying to dodge the FAIR FIGHT and DISQUALIFIED! conditions.

–

FAIR FIGHT (cyan, slots 1-5, 10-12): If any character that isn’t a wrestler is given an action that would affect a wrestler, affect any square inside the Ring, or move the character into or through any square of the Ring, give the character an extra action token after the action resolves.

WHAT IT MEANS: This effect will be in play most of the time. Get around it by fielding non-Wrestler figs with some ability to avoid pushing damage in conjunction with Perplex, Telekinesis or Outwit. This way, a non-Wrestler can help his teammate in the Ring without penalty. Even better: use a non-Wrestler with Contingency Plan. It’s not an action, so the FAIR FIGHT condition won’t hurt, and your team is unlikely to use all its action allotment. There may also be some Special Powers that might get around this condition.

–

POWER BROKER (red, slots 4-11): A wrestler can use Exploit Weakness and Flurry if it does not already possess either or both of those powers. After the resolution of an action in which an wrestler uses a power from this effect, deal the wrestler 1 unavoidable damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: This phase can cause a lot of damage, either via unavoidable clicks from its bonuses or penetrating damage from the enemy. Pick a Wrestler with a pushable dial who stays strong well into the dial. Also consider Fortitude on your Wrestler because POWER BROKER grants Exploit Weakness. Otherwise, don’t rely on damage reducers above high defense values on your Wrestler.

–

DISQUALIFIED! (black, slots 3-5, 10-11): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a d6 for each character in the Ring who is not a wrestler and has two or more action tokens. On a result of 1 or 2, the character is immediately knocked out.

WHAT IT MEANS: Eventually, non-Wrestlers CAN enter the Ring to (illegally) aid the Wrestler. But it’s really risky. So try using a non-Wrestler with Hypersonic Speed or the Move and Attack ability. When someone can rush into the ring and get out in the same turn, there’s almost no risk of the instant KO condition of DISQUALIFIED!

–

SUMMING IT UP: While UCW is another dial that really rewards a prepared build, it’s one that tends to nerf most figures equally rather than targeting one group specifically. And anything that stacks the deck a bit more in close combat’s favor is a good thing in my book!

Next, we’ll look at a much simpler dial. (Cosmic power tends to make problems go away.)

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E002 EVOLUTIONARY WAR
This dial is nonstop; that is, it doesn’t have a red line to signify  an endpoint. So it can continue until the last KO or time is called.
WHAT TO BRING: A current Powers and Abilities Chart (PAC) is mandatory for the GENESIS CHAMBER effect later in the dial.
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Straightforward.
PURIFIERS (black, slots 1-5): At the beginning of each round, each player can declare a special or standard power. All declared powers are ignored until the end of the round.
WHAT IT MEANS: You want to be careful of fielding powers that are key to your early strategy, especially those shared by multiple characters. PURIFIERS will enable opponents to nix them entirely. And note that the powers are ignored, not countered. This means that even team abilities that grant use of certain powers aren’t immune; if a player chooses Stealth, then Batman Allies are suddenly left exposed. It also means you’ll want to pay attention to pure stats over powers when team building. Note, however, that Traits are immune to this effect.
RESTORATION (cyan, slots 4-7): At the beginning of each round, remove all debris tokens from the map. All destroyed walls are no longer destroyed. All clear, grounded, outdoor terrain is hindering terrain. Each player can choose a friendly character that occupies an opponent’s starting area and heal it of 2 damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Suddenly, there’ll be a lot of hindering terrain for Stealthy characters (assuming they survived the early game and the brief overlap with PURIFIERS isn’t still nerfing them) to hide in and fliers, Phase/Teleporters and Leap/Climbers to move freely over and through. High-speed characters might be a boon for this segment of the game for getting the free healing in enemy starting zones.
GENESIS CHAMBER (red. slots 8-12): Once at the beginning of each player’s turn, each player can choose a target friendly character and declare a combat value (other than range); if the target possesses a standard power of the chosen value, ignore that power until the end of the turn. Then each player who chose a target rolls a d6. On a result of 1-3, the target can use the standard power on that combat value on the PAC that occurs immediately before the ignored power, until the end of the turn. On a result of 4-6, the target can use the standard power of that combat value that occurs immediately after the ignored power, until the end of the turn. (The first standard power of a particular combat value on the PAC is considered to be immediately after the last standard power of that combat value.) At the end of the turn, deal the target 1 unavoidable damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is an entirely optional effect that you should be very careful about using! Basically, you get to swap a power on your dial for one before or after it on the Powers & Abilities Chart (PAC). But it’s 50/50 which you’ll get, and the character takes a click either way, so don’t give up a sweet click for this effect. Moreover, you can do this at the start of both YOUR and an OPPONENT’S turn.  Here’s a guide:
On YOUR turn
Never use GENESIS CHAMBER on:
Phasing/Teleport
Charge
Mind Control
Hypersonic Speed
These will stick you with useless (for offense) or far-inferior (for the circumstances) powers.
Always consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:
Earthbound
Stealth
In this circumstance, the powers you gain will be much more useful. Make sure it’s a click you can afford to lose, though!
Maybe consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:
Plasticity
Force Blast
Incapacitate
Smoke Cloud
Poison
Mastermind
Exploit Weakness
Perplex
Leadership
You might get a better power or one of equal worth. Again, beware of the self-damage you’ll take regardless.
On ANOTHER’S turn
Never use GENESIS CHAMBER on:
Phasing/Teleport
Charge
Plasticity
Force Blast
Hypersonic Speed
Stealth
Running Shot
any Attack power
Toughness
Mastermind
Impervious
Invulnerability
Battle Fury
Exploit Weakness
Perplex
Outwit
Leadership
Either the new power is useless on defense or simply not worth the click you’ll be sacrificing.
Maybe consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:
Earthbound (but ONLY to take the click and get OFF Earthbound at the end of the turn without taking a token)
Super Senses
Defend
Barrier
Willpower
Regeneration
Enhancement
…You might gain a power that could help avoid or reduce big damage. Check out the PAC carefully in relation to your current circumstances. (For example, choosing Barrier will land you either Energy Shield/Deflection or Mastermind, so checking if you have any potential fodder adjacent or are in danger of being shot is key before making the swap.)
Any power not listed here is probably not a good risk to use this effect on.
SUMMING IT UP: Evolutionary War is a simple, straightforward event dial. But the last condition, GENESIS CHAMBER, is so byzantine to figure out in mid-game that players may opt to ignore this optional element completely. This is a phenomenon that afflicts many event dials, as further installments of this series will demonstrate.

E002 EVOLUTIONARY WAR

I actually much prefer this image to the one actually used on the dial's card. More "MU-WHA-HA-HA" = much more awesomeness

I actually much prefer this image to the one actually used on the dial's card. More "MU-WHA-HA-HA" = much more awesomeness

WHAT TO BRING: A current Powers and Abilities Chart (PAC) is mandatory for the GENESIS CHAMBER effect later in the dial.

—

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.

WHAT IT MEANS: Straightforward. Note, though, that this dial is nonstop; that is, it doesn’t have a red line to signify  an endpoint. So it can continue until the last KO or time is called.

—

PURIFIERS (black, slots A-E): At the beginning of each round, each player can declare a special or standard power. All declared powers are ignored until the end of the round.

WHAT IT MEANS: You want to be careful of fielding powers that are key to your early strategy, especially those shared by multiple characters. PURIFIERS will enable opponents to nix them entirely. And note that the powers are ignored, not countered. This means that even team abilities that grant use of certain powers aren’t immune; if a player chooses Stealth, then Batman Allies are suddenly left exposed. It also means you’ll want to pay attention to pure stats over powers when team building. Note, however, that Traits are immune to this effect.

—

RESTORATION (cyan, slots D-G): At the beginning of each round, remove all debris tokens from the map. All destroyed walls are no longer destroyed. All clear, grounded, outdoor terrain is hindering terrain. Each player can choose a friendly character that occupies an opponent’s starting area and heal it of 2 damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: Suddenly, there’ll be a lot of hindering terrain for Stealthy characters (assuming they survived the early game and the brief overlap with PURIFIERS isn’t still nerfing them) to hide in and fliers, Phase/Teleporters and Leap/Climbers to move freely over and through. High-speed characters might be a boon for this segment of the game for getting the free healing in enemy starting zones.

—

GENESIS CHAMBER (red, slots H-L): Once at the beginning of each player’s turn, each player can choose a target friendly character and declare a combat value (other than range); if the target possesses a standard power of the chosen value, ignore that power until the end of the turn. Then each player who chose a target rolls a d6. On a result of 1-3, the target can use the standard power on that combat value on the PAC that occurs immediately before the ignored power, until the end of the turn. On a result of 4-6, the target can use the standard power of that combat value that occurs immediately after the ignored power, until the end of the turn. (The first standard power of a particular combat value on the PAC is considered to be immediately after the last standard power of that combat value.) At the end of the turn, deal the target 1 unavoidable damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is an entirely optional effect that you should be very careful about using! Basically, you get to swap a power on your dial for one before or after it on the Powers & Abilities Chart (PAC). But it’s 50/50 which you’ll get, and the character takes a click either way, so don’t give up a sweet click for this effect. Moreover, you can do this at the start of both YOUR and an OPPONENT’S turn.  Here’s a guide:

On YOUR turn:

Never use GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Phasing/Teleport
Charge
Mind Control
Hypersonic Speed

These will stick you with useless (for offense) or far-inferior (for the circumstances) powers.

Always consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Earthbound
Stealth

In this circumstance, the powers you gain will be much more useful. Make sure it’s a click you can afford to lose, though!

Maybe consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Plasticity
Force Blast
Incapacitate
Smoke Cloud
Poison
Mastermind
Exploit Weakness
Perplex
Leadership

You might get a better power or at least one of equal worth. Again, beware of the self-damage you’ll take regardless.

On ANOTHER’S turn:

Never use GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Phasing/Teleport
Charge
Plasticity
Force Blast
Hypersonic Speed
Stealth
Running Shot
any Attack power
Toughness
Mastermind
Impervious
Invulnerability
Battle Fury
Exploit Weakness
Perplex
Outwit
Leadership

Either the new power is useless on defense or simply not worth the click you’ll be sacrificing.

Maybe consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Earthbound (but ONLY to take the click and get OFF Earthbound at the end of the turn without taking a token)
Super Senses
Defend
Barrier
Willpower
Regeneration
Enhancement

…You might gain a power that could help avoid or reduce big damage. Check out the PAC carefully in relation to your current circumstances. (For example, choosing Barrier will land you either Energy Shield/Deflection or Mastermind, so checking if you have any potential fodder adjacent or are in danger of being shot is key before making the swap.)

Any power not listed here is probably not a good risk to use this effect on. And note that you absolutely can’t use it on Special Powers.

—

SUMMING IT UP: Evolutionary War is a simple, straightforward event dial…mostly. But the last condition, GENESIS CHAMBER, is so byzantine to figure out in mid-game that players may opt to ignore this optional element completely. This is a phenomenon that afflicts many event dials, as further installments of this series will demonstrate.

Whew! That write-up alone was enough to delay this column for months (I wrote it in March or April)! And the next one is no simpler in its way, being another that rewards a proper build and could punish a normal one. Get ready to rumble with Unlimited Class Wrestling!!!

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E001 MUTANT MASSACRE
Based on the classic X-Men crossover circa issue 210 or so of the Uncanny X-Men series.
BRING: Character cards (or an official keyword list).
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which a character that has a point value of more than 30 points is knocked out or eliminated.
WHAT IT MEANS: Unlike many other dials, which turn at the end of each round, Mutant Massacre only turns when characters leave the game. This means that various conditions can affect your game for a pretty long time, especially the first:
MASSACRE (Black, slots 1-8): Before the beginning of the first turn, each player declares a keyword. During the active player’s turn, if an opposing character that has the keyword named by the active player takes damage, after it takes damage deal that character 1 unavoidable damage. Critical hits to all characters deal an additional 1 damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Any character with a keyword could be a target for extra harm, and this condition lasts a LONG time. You’ll want to seriously consider fielding characters without keywords. They will not be as vulnerable to the MASSACRE condition. By the same token, you should avoid theme teams entirely.
HELP FROM ARTIE AND LEECH (red, slots 3-4, 7-9): At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6. On a result of 4-6, a single character on your force that can’t already use Outwit can use Outwit once during that turn. In addition, if the result was a 6, you can also give an action token to one opposing character that has zero action tokens.
WHAT IT MEANS: Consider fielding Power Cosmic/Quintessence figures. They’ll essentially be immune to this condition. Anti-Outwit feats/powers like The Society, Outsmart, Fortitude and Stealth will help as well. Willpower and Indomitable will be less vulnerable to the token dump, at least.
EMERGENCY TRIAGE (cyan, slots 5-6): At the beginning of your turn, all of your characters that have two action tokens are healed of 1 damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Another good reason to invest in characters who can push freely through Willpower or other means to gain free healing.
SUMMING IT UP: Mutant Massacre can truly make for a rough game for the unprepared. This is one dial that’s infinitely more fun when you can build for it. At the very least, avoid keyword themes.

Ugh. OK. So I said I’d have this installment up “some time this weekend?” Yeah. Didn’t happen. So I’m not making those kinds of promises anymore. Just look out for new posts, all right? All right. :)

E001 MUTANT MASSACRE

Based on the classic X-Men crossover circa issue 210 or so of the Uncanny X-Men series.

89071-4706-mutant-massacre_large

BRING: Character cards (and/or an official keyword list).

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which a character that has a point value of more than 30 points is knocked out or eliminated.

WHAT IT MEANS: Unlike many other dials, which turn at the end of each round, Mutant Massacre only turns when characters leave the game. This means that various conditions can affect your game for a pretty long time, especially the first:

MASSACRE (Black, slots A-H): Before the beginning of the first turn, each player declares a keyword. During the active player’s turn, if an opposing character that has the keyword named by the active player takes damage, after it takes damage deal that character 1 unavoidable damage. Critical hits to all characters deal an additional 1 damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: Any character with a keyword could be a target for extra harm, and this condition lasts a LONG time. You’ll want to seriously consider fielding characters without keywords. They will not be as vulnerable to the MASSACRE condition. By the same token, you should avoid theme teams entirely.

HELP FROM ARTIE AND LEECH (red, slots C-D, G-I): At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6. On a result of 4-6, a single character on your force that can’t already use Outwit can use Outwit once during that turn. In addition, if the result was a 6, you can also give an action token to one opposing character that has zero action tokens.

WHAT IT MEANS: Consider fielding Power Cosmic/Quintessence figures. They’ll essentially be immune to this condition. Anti-Outwit feats/powers like The Society, Outsmart, Fortitude and Stealth will help as well. Willpower and Indomitable will be less vulnerable to the token dump, at least.

EMERGENCY TRIAGE (cyan, slots E-F): At the beginning of your turn, all of your characters that have two action tokens are healed of 1 damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: Another good reason to invest in characters who can push freely through Willpower or other means to gain free healing.

SUMMING IT UP: Mutant Massacre can truly make for a rough game for the unprepared. This is one dial that’s infinitely more fun when you can build for it. At the very least, avoid keyword themes.

Next time, we’ll look at the next phase of event dial development: Evolutionary War.

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During this extended downtime between new sets and Approved Play tournaments, players may be seeking some new scenarios to play. Now is a perfect time to try out some of the event dials released each set since 2007’s Monsters and Mutations!
For those who’ve never played or seen an event dial before, here’s a primer: they’re like playing under ever-changing, multiple Battlefield Conditions. I’ve only played a few, but they can be a total blast…WHEN players are able to build a team for the dial beforehand.
Not all event dials are created equal in terms of team builds. More to the point, some have particular build restrictions that prevent you from simply playing any old team and expect to do well — or even be able to legally play it! And all of them can be confusing.
This series is designed to advise players on how to interpret the sometimes byzantine rules of the event dials, and what sort of team to build or avoid for each one. I’ll quote the rules and conditions (along with the color circle associated with it) found on the folding card that comes with each dial and then give a “WHAT IT MEANS” translation along with tips on what to field or not field when building a team for the chosen dial! Finally, I’ll sum up the event and list extra material players should pack in addition to the usual HeroClix gear.

E001

During this extended downtime between new sets and Approved Play tournaments, players may seek some new scenarios to play. Now, then, is a perfect time to try out some of the event dials released each set since 2007’s Monsters and Mutations!

For those who’ve never played or seen an event dial before, here’s a primer: they’re like playing under ever-changing, multiple Battlefield Conditions. I’ve only played a few, but they can be a total blast…WHEN players are able to build a team for the dial beforehand.

Not all event dials are created equal in terms of team builds. More to the point, some have particular build restrictions that prevent you from simply playing any old team and expect to do well — or even be able to legally play it! And all of them can be confusing.

This series is designed to advise players on how to interpret the sometimes byzantine rules of the event dials, and what sort of team to build or avoid for each one. I’m using the following format:

WHAT TO BRING: Any extra elements needed or recommended besides the usual items used in normal HeroClix games will be listed here.

THE SETUP: Here I quote the special rules for the event dial that are marked with the checked box on the event dial card. Then I give a “WHAT IT MEANS” translation along with tips on what to field or not field when building a team for the chosen dial! I also do the same for each condition that appears on the dial (along with the color circle representing it and which slots they appear on).

Update (01/11/10): Turned this into a prologue for newcomers to the blog and series.

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300 points. Character-card sets only.

My take: Power Pack #6 “theme team”
Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
Energizer 35
Gee 40
SI Spider-Man 50
+ Lunge 5
+ Loner 5
SI Cloak & Dagger 109
= 299 points
See my blog, heroclixin.wordpress.com for this write-up!
Round ONE
Easton, 12-year-old from Huntsville, AL
On a shaved-down Indy map (the Evil Lab, I think), I took on his Stardust, SI Captain America, M+M Marvel Girl and AV Scarlet Witch. He played a great game, easily KOing first Gee, then Mass Master for an early lead. But Spidey and Cloak+Dagger began landing their respective double attacks, taking out Cap, Scarlet Witch and Marvel Girl. Stardust, still at full health, critmissed a big attack, enabling my two Phasers Lightspeed and C+D to run from the herald until Spidey could finally hit it — and then to run from it when it gained HSS. A 2nd critmiss spared Energizer’s life and the grownups finished the now-hittable Stardust for the wipeout. 1-0.
Round TWO
Clark, a 12-year-old former Atlanta kid now in Florida but back for Dragon*Con.
On the Crashed Spaceship map, this slightly spacey kid fielded a team of bi-coastal Avengers: Lionheart, U.S. Agent, Ronin, Moon Knight and AV Scarlet Witch. Not nearly as sharp a player as my last opponent, but much better than when I last played him, Clark took down Mass Master and Energizer and very, VERY nearly got Cloak & Dagger; a miss from a weakened Lionheart allowed the duo to Phase away and support a well-beaten-down Spidey from afar. Managed to hold on for a win despite frequent sniping from the hidden but nearby Moon Knight and Clark’s semi-secret weapon, Ronin. Got U.S. Agent and Lionheart. 2-0.
Round THREE
Nathan, a former S. Carolina player moved to Wisconsin back for Dragon*Con. On the HorrorClix Carnival map, he dealt me a vicious beating with a team lacking anything resembling a blind spot: SI Nick Fury + Contingency Plan with Skrully Ms. Marvel — both Warbound. And Lila Cheney just to round out. By not covering Gee in my initial move, a Kinetic-Accelerated Ms. Skrullvel took him, and any chance I had of winning, out in one shot. I retreated to force him to overextend a bit, though it cost me Mass Master in the next turn. And it worked some; by basing Lightspeed with Lila (outwitting her P/T to force Lightspeed to fight, he said) he’d left an opening for Spider-Man to Lunge-attack Lila (missing), then Nick Fury, hitting him and forcing a L.M.D. warp away from Ms. Skrullvel and thus negating the constant Warbound attacks. The team was actually able force a critmiss from her and knock Fury to hit late dial and even get KO points for Lila before getting wiped by this incredibly effective trio. 2-1.
Round FOUR
A guy whose name and hometown I’m blanking on. Did I ever ask?
I picked the Castle to face his Justice League of America: Starro Green Lantern, OOTS Batman, JL Zatanna and JL Black Canary. Again incautious with Gee placement, I got my TK first Outwitted, then lost outright to Green Lantern’s Running Shot off the bat. Fortunately, Cloak & Dagger would remain safely Stealthed on the Kinetic Accelerator, no matter what. Mass Master was my first casualty, blocking Batman’s fire for his brother. Energizer (via Lightspeed) proved her worth by disintegrating the object Bats sat on, leading to shots from Cloak & Dagger and a Spider-Lunge that took him to eventual KO. Both girls fell to enemy fire, but the Fantastic Four TA healed Gee back to TK, enabling him to push and move Cloak & Dagger forward to take out Zatanna. All four kids were lost but I wiped all but Green Lantern for the win.
Win/Loss: 3-1. I built this team just for kicks, being a great fan of the old-school ‘Pack. But it proved to be way more effective than I dreamed.
A couple of days later, we had a 200-point unrestricted game, and I saw a chance for another Power Pack-heavy team:
Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
Gee 40
R Shazam! 105
= 200 points. “Kid” keyword makes it a themed team. See my blog, heroclixin.wordpress.com for this write-up, too!
Round ONE
I was late, so I had to take a bye round. :(
Round TWO
A relatively new player whose name I can’t remember. He played, on a shaved-down old “Mall” map: Gamora, Spider-Man (Armor Wars) and The Question (Arkham Asylum). I was able to bunker my kids in an interior room to block nearly all line of fire from enemy fire and Outwit. Thus Shazam was able to easily beat down the whole team for a wipeout. But not without cost: Question crithit Gee into a wall for a one-hit-KO (OHKO). 1-0.
Round TWO
Now I faced Scott, a local player and friend. A master modder, he ran half of his Offenders team: an awesome Red Hulk (on the Hercules (Secret Invasion) dial) and Tiger Shark (Captain Mako repainted with a fin) on the Crashed Spaceship map. I used the terrain (and Mass Master’s Smoke Cloudform) to slow down the close-combat specialists. But they quickly based, then KO’d the boy when Shazam failed 4 attempts at hitting Rulk (burning both theme PCs and a push). Both fliers got the team away, forcing the Offenders to trudge back through hindering terrain. Shazam landed on his Billy clicks and hid in a corner with Gee blocking access to him. Gee fell, but it was enough time to get back to Captain Marvel power. One successful Impervious roll later, sole survivor R Shazam was able to chase down Rulk and then Shark for a come-from-behind win. 2-0.
Round THREE
Now in a battle for third place, I again faced young Easton’s nigh-unbeatable team of The Flash (Legacy) + Alias, V Spoiler + Loner and R Destiny. And when I neglected to block line of fire to Shazam and got his Hypersonic Speed countered, I was pretty screwed. Had to sacrifice nearly the whole Pack to block line of fire to try for additional attacks. It didn’t go well; failed the Kingdom Come roll and then the consolation attack on Destiny. Made a 2nd mistake when I neglected to move to my Telephone Booth to get off my Billy clicks. Only a successful Regen roll got me back in fighting shape. Constant Outwitting of KC’s Outwit kept me Invulnerable and safe from him, but unable to catch up to him to make an attack. So I pushed and rolled for the moon and failed due the Alias feat. Game Over! At least I got the other two. 2-1
TOTAL RECORD: 5-2. So OK, both Pack teams got utterly dragged by completely min-maxed builds played by master players, and certainly didn’t deal many KOs (only Gee got any, and it was a character half his points — R Destiny). They still well outperformed my and my opponents’ expectations.
Gee: As one of the game’s cheapest TK characters, he’s already a staple of teams worldwide. But he especially makes this team work, giving both my main attackers Spider-Man and Cloak & Dagger the reach they needed to use their respective Lunge-Flurry and duo attacks effectively. In the Kid team, Gee was instrumental in yanking Shazam out of harm’s way after a failed Charge attempt.
Lightspeed: The game’s most efficient taxi did the job here, too, getting Spidey or her brothers and sister in place over and over again.
Energizer: mostly served only as sacrificial tie-up but got that great move against Batman. She also scored an Exploit Weakness hit on U.S. Agent.
Mass Master: Also limited to tie-up, though he drew Outwitters’ ire away from more dangerous opponents.
And that’s really the Power Pack’s strength; while these swarming preadolescents are pretty weak on their own and even as a unit, they tend to make any grown-up figures on the team work better. For example, a Lunge-enabled Spider-Man, already beastly, is twice as effective when paired with cheap TK (Gee) or cheaper air taxi (Lightspeed). Shazam depended on the kids to block LOF from Question, Charge lanes from Gamora and to absorb the extra objects “Red Hulk” carried. And Energizer can be OOTS Batman’s worst nightmare.
The kids are INDEED all right.
One of the greatest comics Marvel's ever produced.

One of the greatest comics Marvel’s ever produced.

If I had to point to one comic that’s responsible for my near-lifelong love of comics, it’s this one: POWER PACK. Ever since I spied this promo ad in the spring of 1984, I knew this book could be something really special. I wasn’t disappointed: a deft melding of superheroics and the kids of the Narnia Chronicles, Power Pack was a comic well ahead of its time yet more innocent than most of  today’s fare.

Power Pack is also the reason I glommed onto HeroClix as both a game and as a collectible. Only the HeroClix line made room for not only the marquee characters like Superman or Spidey but also for Z-list characters largely unseen in comics for a decade or more like Ambush Bug or Zzzax. So I knew that if HeroClix lasted long enough, eventually I’d see my beloved superkids in playable, miniature plastic form.

Gee, Lightspeed, Mass Master, and Energizer. Aren't they cute.

Gee, Lightspeed, Mass Master, and Energizer. As ‘clix. Aren’t they cute.

Were they worth the wait? Well, yes and no. Yes, it was great to get them in ‘Clix and all at once…no waiting across different sets like fans of larger teams have had to. And given that HeroClix soon suffered a yearlong near-death experience mere months later, I’m glad they showed when they did.

But no. Not only are the sculpts a bit lacking, being influenced by the cute-but-inferior revamp of the 2000’s, but the dials aren’t right, either. Most of the problem is that it seems that the game designers couldn’t figure out which version of each character to emulate, leaving us with an oddly amalgamated Pack that doesn’t represent either very well.

I control gravity -- G POWER! Get it?"

“I control gravity — G POWER! Get it?”

Gee: Originally, the oldest Power kid (age 12.5, not 15 like his card says) could only affect the gravity of people and objects he touched, making some version of Super Strength and the Carry ability a shoo-in. But the current revamp recasts him as more of a standard telekinetic, and that’s the clix we got. It’s OK, but not accurate.

.

.

"I can fly -- so fast you can hardly see me! Is that the speed of light, Alex?"

“I can fly so fast you can hardly see me!”

Lightspeed: Also mis-aged on her character card, Julie only flew real fast at first. Much, MUCH later she learned to teleport, but that was never her main power. The current Lightspeed (in the kids’ books, not the teenaged runaway seen in recent years) has been treated as much as a speedster as anything, and even the original broke the sound barrier early in her career. Would it have been too much to give her at least ONE click of Hypersonic Speed, even with super-low attack and damage values?

.

"I'm MASS MASTER, punk! Don't you forget it!"

“I’m MASS MASTER, punk! Don’t you forget it!”

Mass Master: the greatest disappointment of the four, thanks to his way-too-low defense numbers. Think of it; he’s an intangible cloud most of the time (and a 5-inch-high, 60-pound “Jack Hammer” the rest). He should have 17 DV at minimum with Defend or something, not to mention Phasing/Teleport for his ability to slip through any crack in his cloud form. Drop his damage to 0 with Close Combat Expert.

.

.

"I just touched stuff and it disintegrated."

“I just touched stuff and it disintegrated.”

Energizer: the original Katie was considerably more destructive than the new incarnation that the ‘clix version seems based on. Always relied upon to either disintegrate or smash walls and such, the youngest deserves some 3 damage clicks.

Enough griping, though. The fact is, barring a sudden explosion in their popularity, the Pack we have is likely all the Pack we’ll get. And I’ve been hankering to run them in a team. I got the opportunity at Dragon*Con last weekend, the first big HeroClix tournament in many, many months.

SCENARIO/BUILD RULES: 300 points. Character-card sets only. This is only sets from summer 2007 and newer.

My take: Power Pack #6 “theme team” (both Spidey and Cloak & Dagger made cameos)

Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
Energizer 35
Gee 40
Spider-Man (Secret Invasion) 50
+ Lunge 5
+ Loner 5
SI Cloak & Dagger 109

= 299 points

Round ONE

Against Easton, 12-year-old from Huntsville, AL

On a shaved-down Indy map (the Evil Lab, I think), I took on his Stardust, Captain America (Secret Invasion), Marvel Girl (Mutations and Monsters) and Scarlet Witch (Avengers). He played a great game, easily KOing first Gee, then Mass Master for an early lead. But Spidey and Cloak+Dagger began landing their respective double attacks, taking out Cap, Scarlet Witch and Marvel Girl. Stardust, still at full health, critmissed a big attack, enabling my two Phasers Lightspeed and C+D to run from the herald until Spidey could finally hit it — and then to run from it when it gained HSS. A 2nd critmiss spared Energizer’s life and the grownups finished the now-hittable Stardust for the wipeout. 1-0.

Round TWO

Clark, a 12-year-old former Atlanta kid now in Florida but back for Dragon*Con.

On the Crashed Spaceship map, this slightly spacey kid fielded a team of bi-coastal Avengers: Lionheart, U.S. Agent, Ronin, Moon Knight and AV Scarlet Witch. Not nearly as sharp a player as my last opponent, but much better than when I last played him, Clark took down Mass Master and Energizer and very, VERY nearly got Cloak & Dagger; a miss from a weakened Lionheart allowed the duo to Phase away and support a well-beaten-down Spidey from afar. Managed to hold on for a win despite frequent sniping from the hidden but nearby Moon Knight and Clark’s semi-secret weapon, Ronin. Got U.S. Agent and Lionheart. 2-0.

Round THREE

Nathan, a former S. Carolina player moved to Wisconsin back for Dragon*Con. On the HorrorClix Carnival map, he dealt me a vicious beating with a team lacking anything resembling a blind spot: Nick Fury (Secret Invasion)+ Contingency Plan with Skrully Ms. Marvel (Secret Invasion) — both Warbound. And Lila Cheney just to round out. By not covering Gee in my initial move, a Kinetic-Accelerated Ms. Skrullvel took him, and any chance I had of winning, out in one shot. I retreated to force him to overextend a bit, though it cost me Mass Master in the next turn. And it worked some; by basing Lightspeed with Lila (outwitting her P/T to force Lightspeed to fight, he said) he’d left an opening for Spider-Man to Lunge-attack Lila (missing), then Nick Fury, hitting him and forcing a L.M.D. warp away from Ms. Skrullvel and thus negating the constant Warbound attacks. The team was actually able force a critmiss from her and knock Fury to hit late dial and even get KO points for Lila before getting wiped by this incredibly effective trio. 2-1.

Round FOUR

A guy whose name and hometown I’m blanking on. Did I ever ask?

I picked the Castle to face his Justice League of America: Starro Green Lantern, OOTS Batman, JL Zatanna and JL Black Canary. Again incautious with Gee placement, I got my TK first Outwitted, then lost outright to Green Lantern’s Running Shot off the bat. Fortunately, Cloak & Dagger would remain safely Stealthed on the Kinetic Accelerator, no matter what. Mass Master was my first casualty, blocking Batman’s fire for his brother. Energizer (via Lightspeed) proved her worth by disintegrating the object Bats sat on, leading to shots from Cloak & Dagger and a Spider-Lunge that took him to eventual KO. Both girls fell to enemy fire, but the Fantastic Four TA healed Gee back to TK, enabling him to push and move Cloak & Dagger forward to take out Zatanna. All four kids were lost but I wiped all but Green Lantern for the win.

Win/Loss: 3-1. I built this team just for kicks, being a great fan of the old-school ‘Pack. But it proved to be way more effective than I dreamed.

A couple of days later, we had a 200-point unrestricted game, and I saw a chance for another Power Pack-heavy team:

Lightspeed 25
Mass Master 30
 + Fantastic Four o
Gee 40
R Shazam! 105

= 200 points. “Kid” keyword makes it a themed team.

Round ONE

I was late, so I had to take a bye round. :(

Round TWO

A relatively new player whose name I can’t remember. He played, on a shaved-down old “Mall” map: Gamora, Spider-Man (Armor Wars) and The Question (Arkham Asylum). I was able to bunker my kids in an interior room to block nearly all line of fire from enemy fire and Outwit. Thus Shazam was able to easily beat down the whole team for a wipeout. But not without cost: Question crithit Gee into a wall for a one-hit-KO (OHKO). 1-0.

Round TWO

Now I faced Scott, a local player and friend. A master modder, he ran half of his Offenders team: an awesome Red Hulk (on the Hercules (Secret Invasion) dial) and Tiger Shark (Captain Mako repainted with a fin) on the Crashed Spaceship map. I used the terrain (and Mass Master’s Smoke Cloudform) to slow down the close-combat specialists. But they quickly based, then KO’d the boy when Shazam failed 4 attempts at hitting Rulk (burning both theme PCs and a push). Both fliers got the team away, forcing the Offenders to trudge back through hindering terrain. Shazam landed on his Billy clicks and hid in a corner with Gee blocking access to him. Gee fell, but it was enough time to get back to Captain Marvel power. One successful Impervious roll later, sole survivor R Shazam was able to chase down Rulk and then Shark for a come-from-behind win. 2-0.

Round THREE

Now in a battle for third place, I again faced young Easton’s nigh-unbeatable team of The Flash (Legacy) + Alias, V Spoiler + Loner and R Destiny. And when I neglected to block line of fire to Shazam and got his Hypersonic Speed countered, I was pretty screwed. Had to sacrifice nearly the whole Pack to block line of fire to try for additional attacks. It didn’t go well; failed the Kingdom Come roll and then the consolation attack on Destiny. Made a 2nd mistake when I neglected to move to my Telephone Booth to get off my Billy clicks. Only a successful Regen roll got me back in fighting shape. Constant Outwitting of KC’s Outwit kept me Invulnerable and safe from him, but unable to catch up to him to make an attack. So I pushed and rolled for the moon and failed due the Alias feat. Game Over! At least I got the other two. 2-1

TOTAL RECORD: 5-2. So OK, both Pack teams got utterly dragged by completely min-maxed builds played by master players, and certainly didn’t deal many KOs (only Gee got any, and it was a character half his points — R Destiny). They still well outperformed my and my opponents’ expectations.

I spent some lines writing about what’s wrong with the ‘Pack. But what’s right about them?

Gee: As one of the game’s cheapest TK characters, he’s already a staple of teams worldwide. But he especially makes this team work, giving both my main attackers Spider-Man and Cloak & Dagger the reach they needed to use their respective Lunge-Flurry and duo attacks effectively. In the Kid team, Gee was instrumental in yanking Shazam out of harm’s way after a failed Charge attempt.

Lightspeed: The game’s most efficient taxi did the job here, too, getting Spidey or her brothers and sister in place over and over again.

Energizer: mostly served only as sacrificial tie-up but got that great move against Batman. She also scored an Exploit Weakness hit on U.S. Agent.

Mass Master: Also limited to tie-up, though he drew Outwitters’ ire away from more dangerous opponents. That free Smoke Cloud occasionally helped, too. Finally, pushing to his 2nd click made him an actual threat worthy of the enemy’s attacks as a decoy.

And that’s really the Power Pack’s strength; while these swarming preadolescents are pretty weak on their own and even as a unit, they tend to make any grown-up figures on the team work better. For example, a Lunge-enabled Spider-Man, already beastly, is twice as effective when paired with cheap TK (Gee) or cheaper air taxi (Lightspeed). Shazam depended on the kids to block LOF from Question, deny Charge lanes to him from Gamora and to absorb the extra objects “Red Hulk” carried. And Energizer can be OOTS Batman’s worst nightmare.

The kids are INDEED all right.

OK. Enough postponing on the event dials articles…! Next time.

by ·1 Comment
Sorry for the delay in this update and post-mortem on the Iron Campaign. But I just had to stick with the notion of finding and scanning all this artwork in addition to writing the text. :) From most to least expensive, I’ve done a mini-review of each Stark-designed piece of armor in the HeroClix game based on its usefulness as part of a Stark-themed scheme. I also list feats that work and give each a general rating and an “Iron” rating based on how well they work on an Iron-themed team.
V Iron Man (X-Plosion) 189
One of the earliest Iron Men and one of the worst. Tipping the scales at nearly 200 points, it looks like the points all went to range and Ranged Combat Expert. One click of 10 attack and a steady drop from there, though, makes his fairly impressive damage potential worthless. Which makes him fairly worthless. Don’t play him unless you have a huge team (think 1500 points and up) that you can hide him behind in the background. Feats that work: Trick Shot. With him safely in the background, he can actually be a highly effective sniper.
GENERAL RATING: 1.5 of 5
IRON RATING: 2 of 5.
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188
Great numbers on Attack (11), Defense (18) and Damage (4) almost make you not care how expensive he is. Then you see his Special Power “Extremis” granting him Perplex, Outwit and Super Senses all together for the first third of his dial. Quite simply the best Iron Man to date, SI Iron Man makes the Stark Industries theme build viable in an unprecedented fashion. Feats that work: Brilliant Tactician fits him, well, brilliantly. It’s hard to recommend much more on top of that, even though Outsmart, Coordination and the Avengers feats Thunderbolts and Alpha Flight are great fits as well.
GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5
IRON RATING: 5 of 5.
Veteran Iron Man (Armor Wars) 172
His high Attack Value, 10 range and Outwit are nice, but at a full 72 points less there’s another Iron Man that does all that save the Outwit. Attack values slack off too quickly and precipitously, and his damage is never that great (making his double targets mostly useless). Try to keep feats light: either Outsmart to guard against enemy Outwit or Nanobots to take advantage of all that 2 damage. Or stick with the minimally-costed Avengers alternate team abilities (ATAs) Thunderbolts or Alpha Flight for the very best bang per buck.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 3 of 5.
Hulkbuster (Mutations & Monsters) 165
Although his Attack and Damage stats are a bit lightweight for his cost, “Buffet” Iron Man brings a well-appreciated close combat expertise to the Iron team. His theme-best defense (18+Impervious) is also a boon to him. Feat him either with Unstoppable to allow him to bust open firing lanes for the others or with Lunge to grant some small move+attack ability on his post-“Flight Stabilizers” clicks.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 4 of 5.
Iron Man (Supernova) 160
As though Running Shot with 11 Attack and 4 damage weren’t enough, the Silver Centurion suit adds both Incapacitate (with 2 targets) and Outwit to the mix. That’s more than enough to make up for his less-than-optimal 8 range and to make him absolutely essential for any Iron Swarm greater than 400 points. One of the first truly good Iron Man figures. Feat him with Stunning Blow; it makes him expensive but also delivers a potentially crippling blow to the enemy and is worth dropping T-Bolts from the team to fit it on.
GENERAL RATING: 3.5 of 5
IRON RATING: 5 of 5.
Iron Man (Avengers) 154
The first alternate universe Iron Man of the list, this one isn’t bad with his high 10 range, high 4 damage and, best of all, his Stealth-busting Ultimates team ability. Starting with Impervious and spiking to 11 Attack Value is a great bonus, too. Sad that he’s got one of the bar-none worst Special Powers in the game, though. No feats.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.
Tony Stark (Armor Wars) 150
This Limited Edition version has great range + Perplex to help his other mediocre stats, but he’s a bit too costly for what you get, especially since he can’t push off that first click and keep the power. Only good for Brilliant Tactician if you can’t run the Secret Invasion version; feat him with such (and if running a lot of Avengers, use Coordination to ensure he can always keep line of fire open to them). The Avengers ATAs fit, too.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 3 of 5.
Iron Man (Ultimates) 144
8 range and lower defense numbers make him the inferior Ultimate Iron Man by far (despite double-target Energy Explosion and stuff). Only field him if running an Ultimates armor theme or as a point filler for a truly massive Stark team. Don’t bother with feats.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 2.5 of 5.
E Iron Man (Armor Wars) 135
Boasts Running Shot plus a great 10 range along with Perplex to help his other mediocre stats. Works wonderfully on this team as a sniper and support piece without costing a lot. No TA, though. Feat with Mercenary if you run one of the Ultimates along with him. Otherwise consider Improvise.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.
V War Machine (Armor Wars) 124
Mediocre damage and attack values are balanced by great defense. Not the first to reach for, though, especially with no team ability to add to the team. No feats needed.
GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5
IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.
Iron Widow (Avengers) 117
A 3rd alternate Iron Man. I didn’t run her at all during the campaign due to forgetting she actually counts as a Stark suit. If I had, I’d have found her an effective anti-Stealth solution that works well with the cheap SHIELD pieces used as fodder when she’s inevitably targeted and hit. No feats really needed, but Fortitude or Outsmart can make her a tough KO on her back end.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 3 of 5.
Spider-Man (Avengers) 111
For the Iron squad, he’s best employed as mobile (via Leap/Climb) Outwit and Super Strength (though he’s not the cheapest for the role). Survivable and taxiable, he’s the one of the first non-Iron Man pieces to consider when deviating from the theme. Feat him with Lunge sometimes.
GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5
IRON RATING: 4 of 5.
E War Machine (Armor Wars) 109
While a fairly stellar piece in its own right, for the Iron Man squad its  damage, attack and range values are all a bit too low for the points when compared with the cheaper Free Comic Book Day Iron Man. Still a fine piece, esp. with the Thunderbolts feat.
GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5
IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.
U Iron Man (Mutations & Monsters) 100
10-range and high AV make him good either as a relatively cheap first-striker or as deadly cleanup piece. The “Invincible” power isn’t a killer either. The SHIELD TA is ironically a bit wasted since he’s going to be attacking more than supporting, but try to plan to use it anyhow. Feat with Vendetta and maybe Protected to get the most out of “Invincible.”
GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5
IRON RATING: 4.5 of 5.
Anthony Stark (Armor Wars) 100
As the cheapest Outwit and Super Strength available to the team, this old-school-sculpted piece is a good roleplayer as such. Feat with Outsmart sometimes in addition to the Avengers ATAs.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.
Unique Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89
With weak stats and range, this figure is useful only as the tieup and Super Strength threat if Hulkbuster, Anthony Stark or Iron Spidey don’t fit the team. Pretty but empty. No feats aside from the ATAs.
GENERAL RATING: 2.5 of 5
IRON RATING: 2 of 5.
Rookie Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89
Terrible damage is only salvaged by 8 range + RS. He does get Ranged Combat Expert down the stretch, and his starting Invulnerability may just land him on those clicks after a hit. But this is one of the last Iron Men to pick in any case. Feat: Armor Piercing if anything beyond the ATAs.
GENERAL RATING: 2 of 5
IRON RATING: 2 of 5.
Guardsman (Avengers) 32
Normally, this piece is OK as a taxi…but on a team of flyers, like the Iron Men? Not so much. No, instead this cheap piece works great as tie-up…sacrificing these 32 points saved more than one game. And the SHIELD TA is SO good on a team full of shooters like this one. Always have as least one Guardsman on the team. No feats.
GENERAL RATING: 1.5 of 5
IRON RATING: 4 of 5.
Rookie Mandroid Armor (Clobberin’ Time) 28
This little guy revolutionized my efforts when I realized that the Mandroids count as Stark-built armor just as the Guardsman does. Telekinesis is a huge bonus, helping to both enhance and redress the Iron Man’s dependence on range. Hulkbuster needs to get within Charge range? Mandroid. V AW Iron Man need to take a shot this turn but not a hit the next? Running Shot with him, then yank him back with Mandroid. And even when his single click of TK is gone, he’s more than worth his points for the SHIELD TA or as a meat shield down the stretch. No feats needed.
GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5
IRON RATING: 5 of 5.
OTHER ESSENTIAL IRON SWARM TIPS:
If you use Thunderbolts, pick Ultimates, always. Just do it. This is a shooting team that works best from 10 squares or more out (thanks to Perplexed or SHIELD-boosted range values), so take the variant of hindering terrain out of the equation completely.
Sometimes you won’t have room for Thunderbolts with so many Avengers on the team and will have to settle for Alpha Flight. Bring a slip of paper to help keep track of who each piece selects as their target.
Battlefield Conditions to consider: Bright Lights, always; the only time it’ll ever hurt your team is if Hulkbuster takes a ton of damage (he’s got Stealth late-dial). Otherwise, this range-centric team can only benefit.
Atlantis Rising and Earthquake do little to hurt this team of nearly all fliers.
Isolation doesn’t affect your team in the slightest (unless you use the Kinetic Accelerator special object…more on that later), so stick it in your hand if you expect Blades/Claws/Fangs or JSA or something.
Finally, consider Wasteland to give your ranged fighters a wide field of vision to take shots. Be careful not to use this if you have problems dealing with Stealth, though.
Ones to avoid like the plague: Krakoa, The Living Island. This BFC denies you not only the cover of hindering terrain, but also the great sniper positions of rooftops. Never, ever play this.
Deep Shadows or Darkness or Shrunk: Again, these anti-range BFCs are absolutely no good for this team, taking away the Iron Man’s one great strength — ranged combat.
Alpha Strike: There are too many Avengers on the team. You’d only give the enemy more chances to rack up bonus points.
Armor Wars: The other strength of the Stark swarm is that nearly all the pieces start with Invulnerability or better. This BFC practically nullifies that. NEVER PLAY IT!!!!
Assembled: With all the Avengers on this theme, this seems like a great choice…until you realize most of them share the same name, “Iron Man,” disallowing the bonus.
Special Objects:
Dynamostat. Although wide-open maps serve the Iron Men well, this little bit of extra blocking terrain to Running Shot from behind can help a lot to set up your attacks…or prevent the enemy’s.
Kinetic Accelerator. If you have it, this is best for Hulkbuster to make him a threat even at long range.
Tombstone. Gives a Super-Strong tie-up piece like U Armor Wars Iron Man a little better shot at absorbing an attack for the bigger pieces on your team.
Meteorite. For Hulkbuster. Although he doesn’t NEED it, per se, thanks to his Exploit Weakness.
Thanks everyone for reading this record of my weeks-long indulgence of my Inner 12-Year-Old’s love of all things Iron Man. Upcoming at last will be the first parts of a series on team-building for the controversial Event Dials introduced in Mutations and Monsters back in Fall 2007. Look for it soon!

ironmanual

Sorry for the delay in this update and post-mortem on the Iron Campaign. But I just had to stick with the notion of finding and scanning all this artwork in addition to writing the text. :) From most to least expensive, I’ve done a mini-review of each Stark-designed piece of armor in the HeroClix game based on its usefulness as part of a Stark-themed scheme. I also list feats that work and give each a general rating and an “Iron” rating based on how well they work on an Iron-themed team.

V Iron Man (X-Plosion) 189

ironmanDoubleFeatureOne of the earliest Iron Men and one of the worst. Tipping the scales at nearly 200 points, it looks like the points all went to range and Ranged Combat Expert. One click of 10 attack and a steady drop from there, though, makes his fairly impressive damage potential worthless. Which makes him fairly worthless. Don’t play him unless you have a huge team (think 1500 points and up) that you can hide him behind in the background. Feats that work: Trick Shot. With him safely in the background, he can actually be a highly effective sniper.

GENERAL RATING: 1.5 of 5

IRON RATING: 2 of 5.

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Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188

Good 'n' sober.

Good 'n' sober.

Great numbers on Attack (11), Defense (18) and Damage (4) almost make you not care how expensive he is. Then you see his Special Power “Extremis” granting him Perplex, Outwit and Super Senses all together for the first third of his dial. Quite simply the best Iron Man to date, SI Iron Man makes the Stark Industries theme build viable in an unprecedented fashion. Feats that work: Brilliant Tactician fits him, well, brilliantly. It’s hard to recommend much more on top of that, even though Outsmart, Coordination and the Avengers feats Thunderbolts and Alpha Flight are great fits as well.

GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5

IRON RATING: 5 of 5.

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Veteran Iron Man (Armor Wars) 172

Sometimes sober.

Sometimes sober.

His high Attack Value, 10 range and Outwit are nice, but at a full 72 points less there’s another Iron Man that does all that save the Outwit. Attack values slack off too quickly and precipitously, and his damage is never that great (making his double targets mostly useless). Try to keep feats light: either Outsmart to guard against enemy Outwit or Nanobots to take advantage of all that 2 damage. Or stick with the minimally-costed Avengers alternate team abilities (ATAs) Thunderbolts or Alpha Flight for the very best bang per buck.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 3 of 5.

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Hulkbuster (Mutations & Monsters) 165

'Ey!! It's "Fat Tony!"

'Ey!! It's "Fat Tony!"

Although his Attack and Damage stats are a bit lightweight for his cost, “Buffet” Iron Man brings a well-appreciated close combat expertise to the Iron team. His theme-best defense (18+Impervious) is also a boon to him. Feat him either with Unstoppable to allow him to bust open firing lanes for the others or with Lunge to grant some small move+attack ability on his post-“Flight Stabilizers” clicks.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 4 of 5.

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Iron Man (Supernova) 160

SHINY.

SHINY.

As though Running Shot with 11 Attack and 4 damage weren’t enough, Silver Centurion suit adds both Incapacitate (with 2 targets) and Outwit to the mix. That’s more than enough to make up for his less-than-optimal 8 range and to make him absolutely essential for any Iron Swarm greater than 400 points. One of the first truly good Iron Man figures. Feat him with Stunning Blow; it makes him expensive but also delivers a potentially crippling blow to the enemy and is worth dropping T-Bolts from the team to fit it on.

GENERAL RATING: 3.5 of 5

IRON RATING: 5 of 5.

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Iron Man (Avengers) 154

The first alternate universe Iron Man of the list, this one isn’t bad with his high 10 range, high 4 damage and, best of all, his Stealth-busting Ultimates team ability. Starting with Impervious and spiking to 11 Attack Value is a great bonus, too. Sad that he’s got one of the bar-none worst Special Powers in the game, though you needn’t actually use it. No feats.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.

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Tony Stark (Armor Wars) 150

I THINK this is the right image for this suit...

I THINK this is the right image for this suit...

This Limited Edition version has great range + Perplex to help his other mediocre stats, but he’s a bit too costly for what you get, especially since he can’t push off that first click and keep the power. Only good for Brilliant Tactician if you can’t run the Secret Invasion version; feat him with such (and if running a lot of Avengers, use Coordination to ensure he can always keep line of fire open to them). The Avengers ATAs fit, too.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 3 of 5.

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Iron Man (Ultimates) 144

8 range and lower defense numbers make him the inferior Ultimate Iron Man by far (despite double-target Energy Explosion and stuff). Only field him if running an Ultimates armor theme or as a point filler for a truly massive Stark team. Don’t bother with feats.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 2.5 of 5.

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E Iron Man (Armor Wars) 135

Boasts Running Shot plus a great 10 range along with Perplex to help his other mediocre stats. Works wonderfully on this team as a sniper and support piece without costing a lot. No TA, though. Feat with Mercenary if you run one of the Ultimates along with him. Otherwise consider Improvise.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.

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V War Machine (Armor Wars) 124

BLACK (andsilver) POWER!!!!!

BLACK (andsilver) POWER!!!!!

Mediocre damage and attack values are balanced by great defense. Not the first to reach for, though, especially with no team ability to add to the team. No feats needed.

GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5

IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.

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Iron Widow (Avengers) 117

not bad for a suit with about 8 pages of panel time.

not bad for a suit with about 8 pages of panel time.

A 3rd alternate Iron Man. I didn’t run her at all during the campaign due to forgetting she actually counts as a Stark suit. If I had, I’d have found her an effective anti-Stealth solution that works well with the cheap SHIELD pieces used as fodder when she’s inevitably targeted and hit. No feats really needed, but Fortitude or Outsmart can make her a tough KO on her back end.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 3 of 5.

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Spider-Man (Avengers) 111

Iron Spidey

Iron Spidey

For the Iron squad, he’s best employed as mobile (via Leap/Climb) Outwit and Super Strength (though he’s not the cheapest for the role). Survivable and taxiable, he’s the one of the first non-Iron Man pieces to consider when deviating from the theme. Feat him with Lunge sometimes.

GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5

IRON RATING: 4 of 5.

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E War Machine (Armor Wars) 109

So wait, is this Rhodey, or Tony? I'm stumped

So wait, is this Rhodey, or Tony? I'm stumped

While a fairly stellar piece in its own right, for the Iron Man squad its  damage, attack and range values are all a bit too low for the points when compared with the cheaper Free Comic Book Day Iron Man. Still a fine piece, esp. with the Thunderbolts feat.

GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5

IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.

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U Iron Man (Mutations & Monsters) 100

I have this poster framed on my wall. :)

I have this poster framed on my wall. :)

10-range and high AV make him good either as a relatively cheap first-striker or as deadly cleanup piece. The “Invincible” power isn’t a killer either. The SHIELD TA is ironically a bit wasted since he’s going to be attacking more than supporting, but try to plan to use it anyhow. Feat with Vendetta and maybe Protected to get the most out of “Invincible.”

GENERAL RATING: 4 of 5

IRON RATING: 4.5 of 5.

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Anthony Stark (Armor Wars) 100

"Rehab" armor.

"Rehab" armor.

As the cheapest Outwit and Super Strength available to the team, this old-school-sculpted piece is a good roleplayer as such. Feat with Outsmart sometimes in addition to the Avengers ATAs.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 3.5 of 5.

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Unique Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89

Oldie but...well, not so good actually

Oldie but...well, not so good actually

With weak stats and range, this figure is useful only as the tieup and Super Strength threat if Hulkbuster, Anthony Stark or Iron Spidey don’t fit the team. Pretty but empty. No feats aside from the ATAs.

GENERAL RATING: 2.5 of 5

IRON RATING: 2 of 5.

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Rookie Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89

Terrible damage is only salvaged by 8 range + RS. He does get Ranged Combat Expert down the stretch, and his starting Invulnerability may just land him on those clicks after a hit. But this is one of the last Iron Men to pick in any case. Feat: Armor Piercing if anything beyond the ATAs.

GENERAL RATING: 2 of 5

IRON RATING: 2 of 5.

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Guardsman (Avengers) 32

Normally, this piece is OK as a taxi…but on a team of flyers, like the Iron Men? Not so much. No, instead this cheap piece works great as tie-up…sacrificing these 32 points saved more than one game. And the SHIELD TA is SO good on a team full of shooters like this one. Always have at least one Guardsman on the team. No feats.

GENERAL RATING: 1.5 of 5

IRON RATING: 4 of 5.

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Rookie Mandroid Armor (Clobberin’ Time) 28

The Wal-Mart version of Starktech.

The Wal-Mart version of Starktech.

This little guy revolutionized my efforts when I realized that the Mandroids count as Stark-built armor just as the Guardsman does. Telekinesis is a huge bonus, helping to both enhance and redress the Iron Man’s dependence on range. Hulkbuster needs to get within Charge range? Mandroid. V AW Iron Man need to take a shot this turn but not a hit the next? Running Shot with him, then yank him back with Mandroid. And even when his single click of TK is gone, he’s more than worth his points for the SHIELD TA or as a meat shield down the stretch. No feats needed.

GENERAL RATING: 3 of 5

IRON RATING: 5 of 5.

OTHER ESSENTIAL IRON SWARM TIPS:

If you use Thunderbolts, pick Ultimates, always. Just do it. This is a shooting team that works best from 10 squares or more out (thanks to Perplexed or SHIELD-boosted range values), so take the variant of hindering terrain out of the equation completely.

Sometimes you won’t have room for Thunderbolts with so many Avengers on the team and will have to settle for Alpha Flight. Bring a slip of paper to help keep track of who each piece selects as their target.

Battlefield Conditions

Consider: Bright Lights, always; the only time it’ll ever hurt your team is if Hulkbuster takes a ton of damage (he’s got Stealth late-dial). Otherwise, this range-centric team can only benefit.

Atlantis Rising and Earthquake do little to hurt this team of nearly all fliers.

Isolation doesn’t affect your team in the slightest (unless you use the Kinetic Accelerator special object…more on that later), so stick it in your hand if you expect Blades/Claws/Fangs or JSA or something.

Finally, consider Wasteland to give your ranged fighters a wide field of vision to take shots. Be careful not to use this if you have problems dealing with Stealth, though.

Avoid like the plague: Krakoa, The Living Island. This BFC denies you not only the cover of hindering terrain, but also the great sniper positions of rooftops. Never, ever play this.

Deep Shadows or Darkness or Shrunk: Again, these anti-range BFCs are absolutely no good for this team, taking away the Iron Man’s one great strength — ranged combat.

Alpha Strike: There are too many Avengers on the team. You’d only give the enemy more chances to rack up bonus points.

Armor Wars: The other strength of the Stark swarm is that nearly all the pieces start with Invulnerability or better. This BFC practically nullifies that. NEVER PLAY IT!!!!

Assembled: With all the Avengers on this theme, this seems like a great choice…until you realize most of them share the same name, “Iron Man,” disallowing the bonus.

Special Objects:

Dynamostat. Although wide-open maps serve the Iron Men well, this little bit of extra blocking terrain to Running Shot from behind can help a lot to set up your attacks…or prevent the enemy’s.

Kinetic Accelerator. If you have it, this is best for Hulkbuster to make him a threat even at long range.

Tombstone. Gives a Super-Strong tie-up piece like U Armor Wars Iron Man a little better shot at absorbing an attack for the bigger pieces on your team.

Meteorite. For Hulkbuster. Although he doesn’t NEED it, per se, thanks to his Exploit Weakness.

Thanks to everyone for reading this record of my weeks-long indulgence of my Inner 12-Year-Old’s love of all things Iron Man. Upcoming at last will be the first parts of a series on team-building for the controversial Event Dials introduced in Mutations and Monsters back in Fall 2007. Look for it soon!

by ·3 Comments
Q: What do these HeroClix figures have in common (besides all being Tony Stark-related characters)?

Q: What do these HeroClix figures have in common (besides all being Tony Stark-related characters)?

It was just me and 12-year-old Bryce this time, so we played a 1000-point game.  Although I wanted to wrap up my Iron Campaign, I actually decided to mix things up by not playing the best figures for the theme. So here’s my Iron team du jour:

V Iron Man (Armor Wars) 172
+ Inside Information 4
+ Alpha Flight 0
Tony Stark 150
+ Brilliant Tactician 20
+ Coordination 6
+ Alpha Flight 0
E Iron Man (Armor Wars) 135
V War Machine 124
E War Machine 109
+ Alpha Flight 0
Anthony Stark 100
+ Alpha Flight 0
R Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89
+ Alpha Flight 0
U Iron Man (Armor Wars) 89
+ Alpha Flight 0

= 998 points.

A: They're all from the Armor Wars set of Marvel HeroClix from Fall 2005.

A: They're all from the Armor Wars set of Marvel HeroClix from Fall 2005.

It’s all Armor Wars pieces, a theme I’d wanted to try some time ago once I realized I had all the Iron Men (and such) of that set. But it’s a much more fragile team than the other 1000-pointers I’ve played recently. With no natural damage above 3, only one click of AV higher than 10 and nothing better than Invulnerability on defense, I expected some problems against Bryce’s team:

The Mighty Thor 286
+ Thundering Blow 20
Magog 209
Dr. Doom (Fantastic 4) 200
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188
Batman (Icons promo) 102

…which I’m only now realizing was 5 points over. >:(

I win the map roll and pick the wide-open Rooftops map to give Doom and Batman little cover. Bryce plays Bizarro World while I Bright Lights up the field to completely nerf the Batman Ally ability.

First moves.
I start by moving out the old Iron Man suits to pick up objects. This is bad for Anthony Stark, who’s immediately hit hard for FIVE (thanks to SI Iron Man’s Outwit and Perplex via Extremis) by The Mighty Thor. Just like that, half my opening Outwit — and the heavy object A.Stark was holding — is GONE. And with the rest of Bryce’s team marching in for next turn, things look bleak already.

Not Going Out Alone.
Anthony Stark WILL be KO’d in another turn by Thor, who simply cannot miss his 15 DV. But Bryce has moved Batman in range of a Running Shot from one untokened Iron Man, so I take the shot. Then I call Alpha Flight and boost Anthony’s AV for a KO of Batman. This pushes Anthony to Outwit SI’s Extremis, forcing a “wasted” attack on Anthony to regain it. An early shot on Magog neuters him a little bit.

Things get worse.
I next get a couple of shots on The Mighty Thor, who wins the Impervious roll both times. Then my V AW Iron Man is hit for 4 down to his 8 AV click (which doesn’t belong on the middle of a dial this expensive). In an attempt to save the Vet, U AW bases bad Iron Man to stall him (and perhaps the fire of the still-free Dr. Doom) in a total sacrifice move. Fortunately, Iron Man missed his attack, enabling U AW Iron Man to survive that round and the Vet to retreat to the backfield.

One last push.
Meanwhile, R AW Iron Man tumbles under massive fire, but not before proving his worth by blocking for bigger guns and getting an Alpha Flight + Perplexed RCE hit on Thor. The Asgardian is KO’d after concentrated fire from both War Machines for the win within regulation time.

We play on. SI Iron Man & Doom hit E AW for a solid 3, but E AW busts back for 4 to get Doom off Perplex at last. Now I have two firing every turn. Doom flees too far to use PC so Iron Man starts taking heavy fire. Eventually, V AW Iron Man gets back in Outwit range and the War Machines finish off the rest of Bryce’s team. And, as it turned out, Thundering Blow never came into play, so the slight illegality of his team was never a concern.

Armor Wars set? We salute you.

Armor Wars set? We salute you.

Iron Campaign final record: 12-11.

Mission accomplished: I’ve taken the Stark Armory from a dismal 4-9 record to a winning one after about 5 weeks of focused play. It was especially gratifying to do so A) with a not-quite-optimized build (lacking the awesome 188-pointer and the oh-so-handy Mandroid Armor) that resembles the poorer teams I started with in 2008; and B) against Byrce, a young player who’s played in fewer than 8 tournaments since starting the game last summer but yet is a very sharp player who makes few mistakes.

Be here next time for a round-up of all the Iron Man/Stark Industries pieces I’ve used in this campaign. And as always, thanks for reading!

by ·0 Comments
A week after the previous post, I played Morrison again for a shot at ending the Iron Campaign at last with a winning record for my Stark armory teams. This time the build total was 600 points:
Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188 + Brilliant Tactician 20 + Alpha Flight 0
V Iron Man (Armor Wars) 172 + Alpha Flight 0
LE Iron Man (Supernova) 160 + Alpha Flight 0
Guardsman 32
R Mandroid Armor 28
= 600 points exactly.
and Morrison had a Soldier team of
Uncle Sam 140
The Thing (Secret Invasion) 100
August General in Iron 100
Captain America (Avengers) 95
The Punisher (Secret Invasion) 83
Dum Dum Dugan (Secret Invasion human) 75
and picked the Arkham map. He also played the game-changing Deep Shadows battlefield condition, rendering my vast range advantage completely moot. Both of us fielded Eleha’al Vines; I used a Kinetic Accelerator and he had a Tombstone.
He moved out first, hefting a Tombstone with Cap, and I saw a chance to take a free first strike despite the shorter range by doing a Running Shot with Vet Iron Man then TKing him back to the start area with Mandroid armor.
Here I made a horrible mistake. I sent V AW Iron Man to take his shot, boosting his Speed to do so, only to miss the target. But I’d wound up putting him JUST OUTSIDE Mandroid’s Deep Shadows-truncated Telekinesis range and so was forced to leave him a wide open target for Thing’s “Clobberin’ Time” attack.
From that point on I was completely on the defensive, again making a terrible error late in the game when I got V AW on the healing Vine but didn’t block the doorway with the Mandroid he’d taxied FOR THAT VERY PURPOSE and thus gave up easy, easy points to Uncle Sam’s Transporter move & attack. In the end, I’d KOed no one and lost all but Secret Invasion Iron Man and the Mandroid.
Attempt to end the Iron Campaign today with a winning record? FAIL.
With plenty of tournament time left, we played a second game, a rematch. This time Morrison picked the Sinister Prison map. My Wasteland got Ordinary Day’d. But with my full range powers back, I was able to blow down multiple walls to get early shots on his team and keep HIM on the defensive all game, losing no one and KOing Uncle Sam and Dugan.
So again the Iron Campaign holds at an even win/loss record: 11-11. The first match shows how truly range-dependent this team is. I rather wish I’d swapped out Vet Iron Man for Hulkbuster after all (if only to avoid making that disastrous first move). Similarly, the second game illustrates how dominant the team can be even on super-cramped field like the Prison.

A week after the last game, I played Morrison again for a shot at ending the Iron Campaign at last with a winning record for my Stark armory teams. This time the build total was 600 points:

Iron Man (Secret Invasion) 188 + Brilliant Tactician 20 + Alpha Flight 0
V Iron Man (Armor Wars) 172 + Alpha Flight 0
LE Iron Man (Supernova) 160 + Alpha Flight 0
Guardsman 32
R Mandroid Armor 28

= 600 points exactly.

Morrison had a Soldier team of

Uncle Sam 140
The Thing (Secret Invasion) 100
August General in Iron 100
Captain America (Avengers) 95
The Punisher (Secret Invasion) 83
Dum Dum Dugan (Secret Invasion human) 75

and picked the Arkham map. He also played the game-changing Deep Shadows battlefield condition, rendering my vast range advantage completely moot. Both of us fielded Eleha’al Vines; I used a Kinetic Accelerator and he had a Tombstone.

He moved out first, hefting a Tombstone with Cap, and I saw a chance to take a free first strike despite the shorter range by doing a Running Shot with Vet Iron Man then TKing him back to the start area with Mandroid armor.

Here I made a horrible mistake. I sent V AW Iron Man to take his shot, boosting his Speed to do so, only to miss the target. But I’d wound up putting him JUST OUTSIDE Mandroid’s Deep Shadows-truncated Telekinesis range and so was forced to leave him a wide open target for Thing’s “Clobberin’ Time” attack.

Which didn’t miss.

From that point on I was completely on the defensive, again making a terrible error late in the game when I got that same V AW Iron Man figure on the healing Vine but didn’t block the doorway with the Mandroid that he’d taxied FOR THAT VERY PURPOSE and thus gave up easy, easy points to Uncle Sam’s Transporter move & attack. In the end, I’d KOed no one and lost all but Secret Invasion Iron Man and the Mandroid.

ironmansmashed

Attempt to end the Iron Campaign today with a winning record? FAIL.

With plenty of tournament time left and no other players, we played a second game, a rematch. This time Morrison picked the Sinister Prison map. My Wasteland got Ordinary Day‘d. But with my full range powers back, I was able to blow down multiple walls to get early shots on his team and keep HIM on the defensive all game, losing no one and KOing Uncle Sam and Dugan.

So again the Iron Campaign holds at an even win/loss record: 11-11. The first match shows how truly range-dependent this team is. I rather wish I’d swapped out Vet Iron Man for Hulkbuster after all (if only to avoid making that disastrous first move). Similarly, the second game illustrates how dominant the team can be even on super-cramped field like the Prison.

Next post, early next week, will continue the coverage Iron Campaign endgame. Will the Stark Industries-inspired figures soar in triumph at last or stumble further into mediocrity?