So I had some success last year with a Juneteenth-themed team of all-Black/African-phenotyped characters. I’m saddened that nearly all of it will retire this July.

But Silver Age tho.

The ROC announced it’s going 100% into the format, and WizKids is allowing all ID cards (except a few banned ones) to be played.

That got me rethinking the team, which I’d planned to run in a ROC practice event locally ahead of ROCmeister Howard Brock’s ROC regional in Huntsville.

I’m not going — it’s Easter weekend and a 3.5 hour drive each way — but I want to use my force as a stress test for my fellow locals who are. And to just run these pieces in a competitive tourney.

Ambrose Chase (WizKids DP19-005) @ 90 points. Support and range attacker.

Ayo (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 021) @ 30 points. Leadership, equipment facilitator.

Dr. Claire Finn (The Orville 003) 25 points. Medic, mobility.

Maggott (House of X 051) 40 points. Melee attacker and support.

Micron (Justice League Unlimited 059b) 40 points. Melee attacker and support.

Teen Lantern (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 035) @30 points. Taxi, support, range attacker.

SIDELINE: Black Manta (Justice League Unlimited 068), Black Vulcan (Justice League Unlimited 072)

TOTAL SO FAR: 265 points. Enough room for a full raft of ID Cards.

Originally, I was only going to run two IDs on the previous build of this squad that included the 35-point Duke Thomas. But as the ranks of potential ID Characters I could run grew as I acquired or dug up more of them, I opened up the roster to the full six.

Here are the ones that:

1. fit the all-Black theme;
2. are legal for Silver Age;
3. can be legally played on the above team, that already has a prime and
4. have options cheap enough to be called in:

Black Panther NFID-002

Cyborg WFID-015

Falcon AVID-003

Luke Cage AUID-004

M.   XID-013

Power Girl WFID-009

Prodigy XID-009

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1 NFID-008

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 NFID-007

Spider-Man MVID-009

Storm DOFP-005

Storm XID-024

Synch XID-015

Vixen WFID-023

ID Characters have some built-in restrictions, too, that limit their viability. They can’t:

• be carried (no carting them out of harm’s way)
• replace or be replaced (forget your Shifting Focus ideas)
• be equipped (this includes starting with the equips)
• do DOUBLE POWER actions.
• be called in by a cheaper character.
• outnumber the characters on your starting force.
• go more than 5 squares from the figure that called it in (but of course this is an actual advantage for some, being able to “poof” and not risk being KO’ed)

So this is a lot to sort through (and why I didn’t make it to the game at which I’d initially planned to try this out).

After IDing ( 😀 ) all the figs in the Black Box that could be used with this team, I had to figure which would be best for it.

———

One no-brainer — and thankfully so, because of the 20+ options available — was Black Panther (War of the Realms Fast Forces 003):

• PROS: Inspires Barrier/Stealth/Smoke Cloud (but mainly Barrier),  Outwit, can be called by entire starting force because only 25 points
• CONS: No offense, maybe an easy kill

But on to the rest:

Cyborg WFID-015: there are 5 options (2 via multiple start lines). I’m leaning toward Cyborg (Rebirth 013) at his low dial.

• PROS: Inspires Improved Targeting:Hindering and +1 AV for range attacks. Also has Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Enhancement for the team’s other shooters and Sidestep to maybe poof, Invulnerability if he can’t. Can be called in by my two highest-priced figs, Ambrose Chase and Micron.
• CONS: Doesn’t hit that hard for the cost.

Falcon AVID-003: The best option is a prime and can’t be used. So I looked back at WizKids M17-007 Falcon.

• PROS: Only 50 points so Micron can call him. Charge and Precision. Inspires +2 speed.
• CONS: His SP, which is based on a Leadership roll, doesn’t work. Also doesn’t hit hard enough or do enough and he’s soft.

Luke Cage AUID-004: 3 options. One busts walls but is pricey. Another  reduces penetrating. But the third, Luke Cage (WizKids M19-005), is who I’m considering.

• PROS: 11AV, 4 damage (and Super Strength). As a wild card, he can copy Teen Lantern’s Green Lantern TA to carry the team or X-Men to heal Maggott if needed. Inspires +1 attack. Gives adjacent team Toughness from range shots if he can see the shooter.
• CONS: He’s a Charge figure. At 60 points, only Ambrose can call him.

M.   XID-013: 2 options in M (XXS 042) via multiple start lines, 90 and 50.

• PROS: Student ID costs just 3 points. At full, she’s a Hypersonic flier and, as such, could poof easier than most. If not, she’s Invincible to survive attacks. At 50 points, she’s got Charge+Super Strength to hit a bit harder if she can get an object.
• CONS: No Inspiration. Her SP doesn’t function due to timing. HSS no longer has easy breakaway, so she could get stuck. Only Ambrose can call her at full cost and she doesn’t hit hard at all. At 50, she’s Invulnerable but risks getting KOed.

Power Girl WFID-009: 2 options, but I’m only looking at Heroclixin’s No. 1 favorite piece of the 2010s, Power Girl (Rebirth 022).

• PROS: She can become a giant or colossal to get +1 to all her stats, enabling her to Charge from the back line and Giant Reach to hit someone very hard (esp. with Super Strength). She also has Outwit or Perplex. She’s also a potential taxi. Finally, the card’s Inspiration offers +2AV in close attacks — good for the melee fighters on the squad.
• CONS: She’s 75 points so only Ambrose can call her. And as a giant, she is an easy target the next turn.

Prodigy XID-009: Prodigy from X-Men: Xavier’s School is the only candidate — and one I’ve used as an ID fig before. How about now?

• PROS: Student ID costs just 3 points. His X-Student trait might help an adjacent pal if they roll a 5? Has Outwit, can be called by most of the team. And the student ID is cheaper.
• CONS: No Inspiration. His Knowledge Sponge trait is really probably useless and he’s soft.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1 NFID-008: The S.H.I.E.L.D. Diplomat (ABPI 010) could maybe qualify. So let’s look at him.

• PROS: He’s only 20 points so everyone can call him in. 18 Defend and Perplex is OK. Inspiration gives S.H.I.E.L.D. TA and +1 speed.
• CONS: His friendly-only Perplex has to boost the same value on someone on the other force. Doesn’t make a great impact on the game for the opportunity cost of bringing him in.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 NFID-007: There are 9 options, including a pair of Captains America (Avengers Defenders War 069 and Captain America and the Avengers 039), who normally can’t be IDed due to the banning of the Cap ID card. But most of the options are … not great.

• Cape Killer (Superior Foes of Spider-Man 004) is 50 points and brings nothing special despite a SP.
• Captain America (Avengers Defenders War 069) is good after being carried but … can’t be carried as an ID character.
• Deathlok (Spider-Man Venom Carnage 008) can select any damage power and sees through characters and hindering. But he’s 75 points with only Toughness so he could die fast.
• Nick Fury (Avengers Infinity 017) has a Leadership boost that can’t work due to timing.

There are also a couple of Spider-Men, but we’ll come back to those two. That leaves two figs we’ll seriously consider for the team: Captain America (Captain America and the Avengers 039) and Nick Fury (Captain Marvel 004).

• PROS: Cap has the Living Legend trait so he will NOT be KOed if called in. Fury, who can be called in by two figs on the force, comes in with Tradecraft tokens that can give attacking pals SAFEGUARD: Opposing Prob Control for a turn. He can also see through hindering. Both characters would inspire S.H.I.E.L.D. TA and +1AV in range attacks.
• CONS: For 75 points, Cap does not hit hard at all. Nick Fury is an easy KO.

Spider-Man MVID-009: Three options are Mile Moraleses and so fit the theme. (An additional one is a prime we can’t consider for this team.) The oldest is 70 points and lacks good damage or dodging. The newest offers Super Senses to Avengers (none on this team) and adjacent pals — same as the card’s Inspiration, so even though he’s just 50 points he’s kind of a waste.

But the (Spider-Man and Venom: Carnage 021) version tho.

• PROS: He brings anti-Stealth Outwit and 11AV. But his best thing is his SP: When he MOVEs 5 squares or less — which is within the ID fig’s life zone anyway — he can RANGE Incap every enemy in his range, then Sidestep outside the 5-square zone
• CONS: That move doesn’t do any damage, though, and because ID figs can’t equip, he doesn’t get the Dimensional Watch to help him Phase into position. And only Ambrose can call him. Finally, his Outwit goes away with him if he poofs, so that’s something to think about.

Storm DOFP-005: Of the 12 options, most are so expensive only Ambrose can call them and they don’t have especially strong effects for this team. So I’m only considering the Legacy card Storm (X-Men Rise and Fall L003) here:

• PROS: Her mega Energy Explosion is perfect for an ID Call In (by Ambrose OR Micron), and her Stealth might shield her from attack after — but if so, she only gives up a healed click on the opposing team, not points. She also brings Perplex and shares a couple of keywords to carry those characters (Ayo and Maggott) if that sort of evac is needed. Finally, she might heal her caller.
• CONS: She’s a defenseless target if not Stealthed. Her Inspiration (Energy Explosion) is not that useful for this lowish to no-ish ranged team.

Storm XID-024 see above, but inspiring triple targets.

• PROS: See above, except for the below caveat.
• CONS: She could actually die if called via this card, so don’t use it.

Synch XID-015

• PROS: Synch (X-Men: Xavier’s School 011) can pick one friendly standard power within his 5 range. He also gains Perplex because a fellow Generation X member, Maggott, is on the team. Possibilities are wide — and situational. Can be called by two characters. And that Student ID discount!
• CONS: An easy KO if he’s not defended. Does not hit hard. No Inspiration.

Vixen WFID-023

• PROS: Like Synch, Vixen (Justice League Unlimited 015) can pick just the power (from her card) she needs. Unlike him, she can hit very hard (Exploit with Close Combat Expert or Flurry? YES MA’AM) and Inspires (Super Senses).
• CONS: She is an easy KO from range since she likely won’t pick a defense power that could save her.

———

SO! That was a lot of reviewing just to figure what’s going on the Sideline for this team. Of the 6 slots available, here’s what I’ve decided on for sure:

1. Black Panther (War of the Realms Fast Forces 003):

But which should be my other five picks? (Ruling out a few …  they’re just bad)

• Cyborg (Rebirth 013)
• Falcon (M17-007)
• Luke Cage (M19-005) 
• M (XXS 042)
• Power Girl (Rebirth 022)
• Prodigy (XXS 047)
• S.H.I.E.L.D. Diplomat (ABPI)
• Captain America (Captain America and the Avengers 039) —OR— Nick Fury (Captain Marvel 004)
• Spider-Man (SVC 018) 
• Storm (WOTR L003)
• Synch (XXS 011) 
• Vixen (JLU 015)

Tell me in the comments!

Legacy cards are clearly here to stay. So far they’ve been a way to:

• Bring some old pieces back into Modern/Silver play with a twist (L038 Thing, for example)
• Make some old figs that never really worked right work better (L056 Hawkeye, L052 Human Torch)
• Completely change the play style of some old figs (Ultimates Captain America)
• Bring some now-unplayable-due-to-game-changes pieces back into some sort of playability (X-Plosion Destiny)

And until now, they’ve been pure F.U.N.: Nothing too strong or possibly meta.

Until now.

L044 Air-Walker (Hammer of Thor, 2009)

L075 Dr. Doom (Clobberin’ Time, 2003)

L095 Dr. Doom (Fantastic Forces, 2005)

———

L138 Firelord (Infinity Challenge, 2002)

———

L003 Lockjaw (Fantastic Forces, 2005)

———

L026 Mole Man (Galactic Guardians, 2012)

———

L021 Red Shift (Galactic Guardians, 2012)

———

L141 Thanos (Infinity Challenge, 2002)

Friday, March 18, 2022, WizKids announced its 2022 rotation of sets to retire.

It’s the worst.

The following sets will be leaving Modern Age: 

5-Figure Booster Sets (including Organized Play game elements and incentives associated with each set 

• DC Comics HeroClix: Rebirth 
• Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Black Panther and the Illuminati 
• Marvel HeroClix: X-Men The Animated Series: The Dark Phoenix Saga 
• Marvel HeroClix: Captain America and the Avengers 
• DC Comics HeroClix: Justice League Unlimited 

Fast Forces Packs 

• DC Comics Heroclix: Rebirth 
• Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Black Panther and the Illuminati 
• Star Trek HeroClix Away Team: Resistance is Futile 
• Marvel HeroClix: X-Men The Animated Series: The Dark Phoenix Saga 
• Marvel HeroClix: Captain America and the Avengers

Starter Sets 

• WWE HeroClix: The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection 
• WWE HeroClix: Mixed Match Challenge 
• Orville HeroClix: The Orville Starter 
• DC Comics HeroClix: Justice League Unlimited 
• Marvel HeroClix: Fantastic Four Cosmic Clash 

Micro Sets (including Organized Play game elements and incentives associated with each set 

• Marvel HeroClix: Wolverine v Cyclops: X-Men Regenesis 
• Star Trek HeroClix Away Team: Resistance is Futile 
• Star Trek HeroClix Away Team: To Boldly Go 
• WWE HeroClix 
• Marvel HeroClix Deep Cuts: X-Men Primed 
• Marvel HeroClix: Black Widow Movie 

Convention Exclusives and Limited Edition Game Elements 

• WK MP19-001 Ghost Rider 
• WK MP19-002 Magneto 
• WK MP19-003 Rogue 
• WK MP19-004 Thane 
• WK MP19-005 Lilandra 
• WK MP19-006 Storm 
• WK MP19-007 Miles and Gwen 
• WK MP19-008 Doop 
• WK MP19-009 Weapon H 
• WK MP19-010 Hulk 
• WK MP19-101 Gladiator 
• WK MP19-102 Hussar 
• WK MP19-103 Manta 
• WK MP19-104 Black Dwarf 
• WK MP19-105 I.S.A.A.C. 
• WK MP19-106 Supergiant 
• WK MP19-s001 Exospex 
• WK MP19-s002 Corvus’ Glaive 
• WK MP19-s003 Proxima Midnight’s Spear 
• WK MP19-s101 Remaker (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s102 Influence (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s103 Spin (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s104 Spectral (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s105 Nightbringer (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s106 Daimonic (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s107 Incandescence (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s108 Lightning (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s109 The Liar (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK MP19-s110 Zero (Mandarin Ring) 
• WK DP19-001a Batmobile 
• WK DP19-001b Controlled Batmobile 
• WK DP19-002 Lobo 
• WK DP19-003 Kyle Rayner 
• WK DP19-004 Superman Prime 
• WK DP19-005 Ambrose Chase 
• WK DP19-006 Raven 
• WK DP19-007 Robby Reed 
• WK DP19-008 Static Shock 
• WK DP19-009 Robin 
• WK DP19-010 Batcycle 
• WK DP19-101 The Flash 
• WK DP19-102 Reverse-Flash 
• WK DP19-103 Steve Trevor 
• WK DP19-s001 The H-Dial 
• WK WP20-002 Ultimate Warrior 
• WK WP20-003 John Cena 

Monthly Organized Play Sets 

• January 2019 (M19-001 Negasonic Teenage Warhead, M19-002 Deadpool, M19-003 Wolverine) 
• March 2019 (M19-004 Misty Knight, M19-005 Luke Cage, M19-006 Iron Fist) 
• April 2019 (M19-007 Ai Apaec, M19-008 Spider-Man, M19-009 Scarlet Spider) 
• May 2019 (M19-010 Bullseye, M19-011 Punisher, M19-012 Daredevil) 
• June 2019 (M19-016 Queen Shuri, M19-017 Klaw, M19-018 M’Baku) 
• July 2019 (M19-013 Storm, M19-014 Rogue, M19-015 Phoenix) 
• November 2019 (M19-019 Dweller-In-Darkness, M19-020 Nightmare, M19-021 Baron Mordo) 
• December 2019 (D19-001 Kyle Rayner, D19-002 Guy Gardner, D19-003 John Stewart) 
• January 2020 (D19-004 Martian Manhunter, D19-005 Batman, D19-006 Despero) 
• February 2020 (D19-007 Black Canary, D19-008 Green Arrow, D19-009 Wildcat) 
• March 2020 (D19-010 Mera, D19-011 Atlantean General, D19-012 King Trench) 
• April 2020 (D19-013 Catwoman, D19-014 Batman, D19-015 Poison Ivy) 

What the what, WK??

See, last year, the rotation was slimmer than usual because the pandemic had kept much of the world from playing in 2020. Good decision by WizKids.

But the pandemic endures. And while more of the world has been able to play HeroClix, there have been zero official WizKids Open events or ROC events in that time.

That’s why I highlighted certain sets in orange (sets that had no appearance in a Worlds championship event) or red (sets that didn’t even get a single WizKids Open).

It’s outrageous to retire them under these circumstances.

It’s even worse, considering the scarcity of DC sets in general in recent years, that Justice League Unlimited is summarily retired as though its Modern Age wasn’t entirely subsumed by the pandemic.

Yes, there’s been some online play. (Which Black Widow ruled. And that set’s also exiting.) But it’s not the same and WK could have given JLU one proper season of WKO play.

What’s weirder is the inclusion of the Fantastic Four Cosmic Clash starter set in this cutoff.

I was legit pissed about it all. Was gonna start a hashtag “#JUSTICE FOR JLU!” and everything.

But Silver Age, though.

Silver Age, tho

ROC founder Howard Brock popped up early March to announce that the league’s events would be 100% Silver Age this year. It’s a much-needed shot in the arm for the new format, which hasn’t seen any action or support from WizKids since it was announced nearly a year ago.

I think that’s what this year’s too-aggressive Modern rotation is actually about: WK wants to put life into Silver Age. And shuffling some still-fresh, not-quite-expired stuff like JLU (and semi-problematic, maybe-expired licenses like WWE) to Silver might do that.

Speaking of Silver, WK also made real changes to the ban list and watch list for the format.

Ban List 

• All Special Terrain Dials 
• WK MP-18 001 Blackbird resource dial 
• FF JW 004 The Penguin 
• ADW 067 Hawkeye
• EAX 019b Vulture 
• XTAS 048 Jason Wyngarde 
• AOU AUID-103 Captain America 
• NFAOS NFID-009 U.S. Agent 
• WF WFID-103 Green Lantern 

The listed game elements are being banned due to their effects and/or abilities causing prolonged turns, if not games. In some cases, their ability to combo with other game elements greatly exceeds their strength from when they were Modern legal.

Changes from the previous ban list are in green. Interestingly, it appears that the Blackbird jet itself, previously banned, is Silver legal again and only the resource dial is barred from the format.

Special Terrains, too, are nixed. Heroclixin’ is perfectly fine with this because the idea of a force carrying around a boxing ring (EDIT: It’s actually allowed; only terrains with a dial are banned) for its fight is ridiculous even by the standards of the source material — to say nothing of the un-F.U.N. negative play experience of facing them.

We’re also seeing a trend in the other bans (which include a number of pieces that weren’t even on the Silver Age watchlist before): WK is barring effects that allow nigh-endless chains of attacks. So no Silver revival of Hawkguy, prime Vulture, Wyngarde or the Cap and GL ID cards’ Inspiration effects.

That leaves the U.S. Agent ID card as the head-scratcher here. I suppose WK didn’t want to completely nerf Stealth, Smoke Cloud or Barrier as a global effect, even for one turn. It’s a good move, though maybe not as necessary as the others.

Let’s see some IDs

Speaking of ID cards, WK is leaning HARD into them for Silver Age. Even cards from sets that pre-date Superior Foes of Spider-Man by a full year-plus are Silver legal.

I was not enthused at this news. While they were never as odious as resources, IDs certainly became absolutely ubiquitous and drove up the “pay to play” factor in HeroClix exponentially. There were whole decent pieces you COULD NOT PLAY competitively because a 3-point Cyclops call-in could one-shot them for 6 damage Penetrating Blast.

Worse, like resources were for more of their tenure, IDs have no counter outside of a single silver bullet of a figure … maybe two. And both are themselves chase figures.

Worst yet, they were very low risk and high reward. Sometimes ZERO risk, with the ID fig being able to exit the field if 6+ squares from the fig that generated it.

A couple of things have softened my opinion on this, though.

Loss of Perplex. For example, that Cyclops ID was always juiced to the max with the brown damage power in the past. It no longer affects damage, so to properly weaponize the cheapest Cyke, you’ll need multiple Enhancement/SHIELD TA — at minimum — and the chance to “poof” him and avoid counterattack is harder to do in that case.

Changes to Hypersonic Speed. The loss of easy breakaway for close attacks makes it MUCH harder to poof away with a HSS ID fig.

A more mixed meta. Maybe you don’t need to field a dedicated Barrier piece if you’re sure you only need it for a round. So that opens room for the team you REALLY wanna play.

A new rule banning multiple identical ID figs. Sorry to pick on Cyclops so much, but he was a HUGE problem when for 8 points (5-point Headmaster card and the 3-point Student version) you could KO a 12-click Impervious fig in two turns.

Even though we’re about F.U.N. here at Heroclixin’, a healthy meta contributes to that. So we’re here for it.

But watch (list) out now

I guess we shouldn’t get too attached to the IDs. They’re the first item on the updated Watch List.

Watch List 

ALL ID Cards

 

No Update, but remains on Watch List 

• JW 060 The Joker 

• FF HQGG 006 Corrupt GCPD Cop 

• EAX 054 Daredevil 

• AI G001 Giant-Girl  

• AI G025 Groot 

• FF AI G001 Giant-Girl 

• WK MP18 005 Lockjaw 

• XTAS G014 Proteus 

• XTAS G018 Wendigo 

• HOX 030 Moira X

It appears WK is questioning some of the “don’t-die” pieces out there and some of the retaliation pieces. (They also errata’d Mangog, Surtur and Carnage retaliations to match others so they have to make the attack to do the additional effect.)

But here’s some they decided were OK:

Removed from the Watch List 

• JW 053b Jakeem Thunder 

• TMT 058 Uni-Mind 

• TMNT3 Mini Shredder 

• SW:BW 061 Black Panther 

• XTAS 011b Magneto 

• XTAS 023b Sabretooth 

• XTAS 043b Mister Sinister 

• XTAS G020 Dark Phoenix 

• AI G017 Giganto & Namor 

• WK MP-18 G001 Tri-Sentinel 

Interesting there’s no mention of Goblin King, who was on the list before. But he was only gross with Special Terrain. With that gone, he’s a fair tentpole.

• JW 053b Jakeem Thunder: He never belonged here, IMO.
• TMT 058 Uni-Mind: Boy oh boy do I hate this piece. But he’s probably OK now that Perplex doesn’t work on damage.
• TMNT3 Mini Shredder: Probably should still be watched. Free damage like that doesn’t belong in the game. Not again.
• SW:BW 061 Black Panther: I suppose WK decided he’s not so deathless after all. 
• XTAS 011b Magneto, XTAS 023b Sabretooth, XTAS 043b Mister Sinister: Same for this holographic trio.
• XTAS G020 Dark Phoenix: has been in serious check for a WHILE now, even though she’s better in the 2021 rules.
• AI G017 Giganto & Namor: The Swim ability really isn’t as much an advantage in this melee-friendly meta we find ourselves in. 
• WK MP-18 G001 Tri-Sentinel: He got errata’d more than a year ago to actually have to Colossal Retaliate to get his second effect. So until WK does the right thing and retires/bans all CRs for good, I suppose he’s all right to stay on.

Whew! That was more than I planned to write. But I had feelings about it.

TL;DR: Silver Age is sort of the new Modern for ROC and could get interesting.

As always, thanks to the HeroClix massive, we got the setlist and set numbers and most of the point costs* early — and WizKids actually provided the needed errata to fill out and confirm those missing point costs. So here’s our customary pocket checklist for the set. Download, print and play.

WarOfTheRealmschecklist

(* the legacy card point total for Thor’s Mighty Chariot was missing.)

WK appears to be making these legacy cards a regular thing. It’s a neat idea.

So far WizKids has kept them balanced and F.U.N., never overbearing.

So far.

———

L064 Captain America (Ultimates, 2004)

L035 Daredevil, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (What If, 2017)

L056 Hawkeye (Avengers, 2007)

L039 Joe Fixit (Incredible Hulk, 2012)

L045 Namor (Secret Invasion, 2008)

L017 Mockingbird (Sinister, 2006)

L052 Scarlet Witch (Fantastic Forces, 2005)

So WK has been doing  these “legacy cards” that take old, retired HeroClix pieces and bring them back to Modern play with new traits and updated special powers.

So far they’ve all been perfectly F.U.N. — Friendly but Useful and definitely a Neato way to bring some old figures back into Modern and Silver play.

In a normal year, my favorites have all stood the test of time on a map and thus earned favored status.

But 2021 hasn’t been much more normal than 2020 was. Actual map time has STILL been at a premium. And with one of the year’s sets not arriving until the week of Christmas for me, there’s certainly no way to properly rank my faves this time around.

So again, in addition to the usual F.U.N. criteria — Is this figure Fair, Useful and Nerdcore? — I’m also falling back on this question?:

“When I see this figure, do I immediately wish I had a team to fit it on?”

——————

In alphabetical order:

Captain Britain (House of X 053)

80 points  / 30 points

Friendly/Fellowship: She’s a Charge piece. That’s never too scary at her cost. Her range is minimal, too.

Useful/Utility: But Exploit Weakness with Blades/Claws/Fangs is never bad, either. She brings more: Extra Leadership token removal for X-Men/Excalibur pals within 3 squares (her range). She can also tackle enemy Mystics without fear.

Nifty/Nerdcore: I just like the Captain Britain-y sculpt. I also love the SP, which only appears on her 80-cost:

PSIONIC ARMING SWORD Blades/Claws/Fangs. Once per turn, when Captain Britain uses it, you may choose to reduce the d6 roll by 1 or 2 (choose before rolling). If you do, decrease the target’s combat values by the same amount until your next turn.

This is the kind of tradeoff that makes for a great F.U.N. figure. And so she’s one of my favorites.

———

The Commissioner (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 067)

50 points / 25 points

Friendly/Fellowship: He’s pretty meta but really only peak mean on a Secret Six team. Way less so at my preferred full cost. And he himself does little damage.

Useful/Utility: But it’s Rookie (Stealthy giant with 11AV PPB and Prob) who does the damage, isn’t it? And Commissioner’s SP to give a keyworded pal (such as Rookie) an extra attack. And then there’s his Improved Targeting: Outwit through Stealth. And then there’s his Underworld team ability. And then there’s his Leadership (and Enhancement off his top dials). And his +1 AV attacking foes with his keyword(s). And Mastermind to cover it all.

Nifty/Nerdcore: So I have a Commissioner Gordon collection that I needed him to complete. Sculptwise, it’s the blowing tie for me. Playwise, it’s the whole package.

———

Dr. Poison (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 045)

40 points

Friendly/Fellowship: She’s a Stealth piece with no armor and OK range of 6. Aside from her Poison (natch), there’s nothing scary about her.

Useful/Utility: But she still brings a better-than-expected 3 damage. And there’s her ability to give Poison to a Sidekick for a turn. That would be pretty useless if she had to break theme to fit Sidekicks on board, but her Leadership (aside being useful in itself) generates the German Soldier, whose Toughness makes him an able deliveryman for the bad doctor’s poisonous experiments.

Nifty/Nerdcore: She’s a sneaky good little villainess and plays like one, with Mastermind and the power she’s named for.

———

Harley Quinn (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 024)

50 points / 25 points

Friendly/Fellowship: A 0-range Charge Toughness piece is never that terrifying, especially at her 50-point level. And at half-price, she’s just Sidestepping, though she’s extra evasive with Wonder Woman Super Senses and a better fighter with CCE.

Useful/Utility: But at full cost, she’s a Prob Controller. Harley also literally bring the boys to the yard with Underworld team ability (if they’re cheaper and share her keywords, of course). But her best assets are her dial-long Quake and her “Oopsie” trait, which quasi-Incapacitates targets she misses.

Nifty/Nerdcore: And that image, of her enemies’ jaws dropping because her boobs popped out of her ill-fitting borrowed Wonder Woman bustier, is what makes this figure so F.U.N., even for Harley. She’s a joy to play, hit or miss.

———

Lex Luthor (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 056)

50 points

Friendly/Fellowship: This was among 2021’s Worst list thanks to a rules change and other reasons. You can read there.

Useful/Utility: But Outwit is always useful, isn’t it? He’s also an Outwitter who, thanks to Mastermind —and— multiple STOP clicks, can’t be easily wiped off the map despite a short 4-click dial. Moreover, he brings in a pair of strong bystanders when he hits those STOPs: Bizarro (Impervious, 4 damage) then Green Light (Running Shot Penetrating Blast).

Nifty/Nerdcore: He’s the last major character from the classic Red Son Superman story to be clixed. And he’s well-designed to match those older (pre-Silver Age) figures while bringing something new to the map. It’s too bad about the rule change, but creative play can still call out his potential.

———

Loki (Empyre 026) 

60 points

Friendly/Fellowship: A no-move+attack Blades piece isn’t unfair at all. And with Stealth and Mystics, opponents can happily avoid him, probably, if they can tolerate his Probability Control.

Useful/Utility: There’s that Prob. And there’s also his Rally trait, which works on ALL attacks, for once. He can spend Rally dice to place himself 2 squares away and leave a doppelgänger Loki (also with BCF, also with Prob) where he was.

He’s also got a decently long dial, with Toughness on top and a Mind Control/Poison/Outwit stint mid-dial.

Nifty/Nerdcore: And then there’s that “Low Key” sculpt. This figure is pure F.U.N.

———

Maggott (House of X 051)

40 points

Friendly/Fellowship: He’s got no printed move+attack, a lowish 10 AV and zero armor to protect his slim 5-click dial. He really is a pretty fair figure on the surface.

Useful/Utility: But his three traits tho. The first FREE generates one of his autonomous pogs, both of which have Charge, giving him an effective 15-square attack range. The second FREEly absorbs the pot back, saving it from retaliation of any sort. The third gives Maggott healing or Charge and +1 stats if the pog he just absorbed hit its target — and again, all for FREE, so it can happen in a single turn.

This is a meta piece, plain and simple. Low cost, near-full map reach, Prob.

Nifty/Nerdcore: One of the weirdest X-Men ever, it was a good move for the 2018 Worlds Teams champs to create this character. He’s a welcome addition to my Black Box collection of African-descended and Black-coded characters.

———

Master Mold (WizKids MP20-001)

375 points / 200 points / 75 points / 25 points

Friendly/Fellowship: Though it has lots of armor and Outwit and the power to bring in more Sentinels, the lack of any real move+attack beyond Sidestep will leave opponents feeling relatively safe in the short term — especially if they don’t trigger his retaliation.

Useful/Utility: At top cost, he’s a lead attacker, of course, though the aforementioned lack of speed is a problem. 200 points is also strong, and at both those high point lines, it can turn its Factory Dial at will each turn to generate more Sentinel allies

That’s the real use of Master Mold: calling in more of the killer robots. Either the Leadership-generated mega 2×2 pogs it comes with or wait for the Factory to get to clicks 3 or higher to pop out Sentinels of wildly varied point costs. In turn, those Sentinels can advance the Factory dial to aid in generating ever more allies.

Nifty/Nerdcore: It’s a great update of the old Master Mold’s ability from 2012’s Galactic Guardians set. And I love things like this that make even older pieces work. My favorite level for him is 75 points for the best F.U.N. balance.

———

Monica Rambeau (Empyre 041)

 150 points / 50 points

Friendly/Fellowship: Despite her really cool SP, 150 is a LOT of points for a figure with just 3 printed damage on top, and at 50 she’s far from the most efficient. The SP also requires her to overextend more than the more traditional (and currently benched) Hypersonic Speed would’ve been. So she’s a fair piece.

Useful/Utility: Her SP is really good, though, giving her the power to phase through an enemy, then to safety, THEN roll to punch ’em in the face with CCE. She also has a trait giving a 50% chance at either flashing back to her original square or adding an action to the force whenever she uses Phasing or Running Shot. And neither can be Outwitted because she’s got Cosmic Energy.

Nifty/Nerdcore: I’m mad that once again, Monica hasn’t gotten either the Nextwave nor Ultimates keywords she deserves, keeping her from being played with those teams in proper theme. But she’s otherwise everything I want in the character.

———

Multiple Man (X-Men Rise & Fall 007)

40 points / 10 points

Friendly/Fellowship: 2 damage is nothing to worry about on his top point level. Close Combat Expert makes the cheaper one a little more potent but it’s so much less survivable. He also isn’t a standard character, so he can’t use equipment.

Useful/Utility: He brings Leadership and a much longer dial at 40 points thanks to both his Toughness and his trait capping his health loss at 2. And that in turn activates his Dupe creation of a 0-point Multiple Man on click 9, which has Empower and Plasticity.

Suddenly that 2 damage becomes a 3 or 4!

Nifty/Nerdcore: Longtime Heroclixin’ readers will recall that Madrox (Giant-Size X-Men) in 2011 and Multiple Man (Wolverine and the X-Men) in 2013 both topped my favorites but this version of the character may be the first to truly capture his powers.

———

Onome (Empyre 015)

40 points

Friendly/Fellowship: She’s just a fragile Outwitter. Easy enough to avoid.

Useful/Utility: But she can Outwit TWICE. Or, if she’s on a themed team, Prob twice a turn. And her fellow Sidekicks can as well. Or Perplex twice, if they’ve got that power. Pretty useful girl.

Nifty/Nerdcore: I read her in the very short-lived Future Foundation comic and have been hoping for her intro to clix since. Speaking of that team …

———

Rikki Barnes (Empyre 072)

 75 points

Friendly/Fellowship: Though she has a nice range and can throw out a lot of attacks, she’s not doing much damage without trading off on that reach and frequency. She’s a chase that won’t have foes quaking.

Useful/Utility: But she does bring Quake to start. More to the point, she brings her “Dream of a Soldier” Speed SP:

POWER: In any order: Move, Make a close attack, Make a range attack. If she attacks, she uses her printed damage value.

She also has IT:Adjacency. So she could move in close, Quake (but only for 2 damage because the lime attack power would override the SP), then point-blank shoot a target who maybe was left adjacent. Next turn, punch again, shoot another target, then try breaking away to move. So much flex in this power!

She’s also got ESD + Toughness SP that boost the DV of adjacent allies if they’re off top click. Some Leadership, then Enhancement and an end click of penetrating damage with a reappearance of the Dream SP.

Speaking of last click, she is a tough KO because she revives based on the number of team abilities on the field (including her Team Player TA). So: minimum 1 heal and possibly up to full. (But never onto that great final click, though — too bad the trait didn’t read “all other characters” and not hers.)

Nifty/Nerdcore: I like the character from the very short-lived Future Foundation comic. But I fell in love with that SP from the start: It’s F.U.N. perfection.

———

Sentinel (X-Men Rise & Fall 008)

25 points

Friendly/Fellowship: Even with Sidestep 6 range and Great Size, this 2 damage Incap piece isn’t going to trouble the other guy on sight.

Useful/Utility: But not having to build it on your force, is pretty useful. They can serve as extra taxis, too. And when KOed, they go to the Sideline to possibly respawn.

Nifty/Nerdcore: That trait wins it extra Nifty points.

———

Teen Lantern (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 035)

75 points / 30 points

Friendly/Fellowship: She’s a little poor offensively at either price and completely lacks defense abilities if anyone gets past her Barrier. She’s not scary.

Useful/Utility: But Prob through Barrier is pretty solid. She also carts teams with Green Lantern team ability and brings Police TA for some reason.

Nifty/Nerdcore: She kinda snuck onto this list by being a key member of the Juneteenth team and just being … adorable, kinda.

———

T’Chaka II (Empyre 047b)

 45 points

Friendly/Fellowship: Charge pieces aren’t usually terrifying.

Useful/Utility: But he’s also got Flurry, which is the MOST terrifying combo with Charge, especially with Blades/Claws/Fangs. Being Stealthy could keep him safe to get in position for a Charge, potentially. But his real use is to mess with enemy attack rolls:

DISTRACTING BANTER Once per turn, when an opposing character within range makes an attack, after all rerolls and die replacements, you may roll a d6 and subtract half the result before finalizing the attack roll.

Any hit less than +1 over the defense is gonna miss — and it needs to be +3 or more to guarantee a hit! T’Chaka also brings constant Leadership for a final bit of utility.

Nifty/Nerdcore: Thank goodness his trait is only once per turn. This is going to be the most hilariously annoying figure to play. I might need to track down the comics in which he appears so I can get his best jokes ready.

F.U.N.!

Another year has ended. And like the unprecedented one before it, 2021 has been … something.

These clix are also something … you probably don’t want to play.

———

10th worst

Rogue (Empyre 104a) 40 points

She’s not entirely terrible, just sooooooooo underwhelming compared to …

… well …

… ANY other 40-point piece in the game today. And especially with 30 points being the ridiculously meta price of the best figs in the game right now.

This “shugah” ain’t sweet.

 ———

9th worst

 

8th worst

German Soldier (Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 003) 20 points

9 AV Energy Explosion and Toughness. Ummm, OK. The best thing about him is he’s a Sidekick. I guess they didn’t want to design GOOD Nazi generics.

Speaking of Sidekicks…

———

I started to make this next slot a catchall for the Future Foundation set Sidekicks: They just can’t do anything, I thought. But that wasn’t really true across the board. Paying 20 points or less for dials full of

• Outwit (Leech) or
• TK (Franklin) or
• Perplex (Valeria) or
• Leadership (Bentley-23)
• or even Mind Control+Incap (Artie) are each useful, even aside from Captain-granted abilities.

These … are not.

7th worst (tie)

Mik (Future Foundation 011) 10 points

Stealth Exploit Weakness? Like, why?

Tong (Future Foundation 026) 15 points

Makes her sibs better but only for a fleeting moment, when all four are on the board (including the Turg bystander).

——

Korr (Future Foundation 038) 25 points

Utterly useless w/o Turg yet the costliest of them all.

Altogether, they’re just 50 points, but are you ever going to have the actions to use them? And let’s not forget you have to spend MORE points on Captains to make them minimally playable. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Leave them in the subterranean depths of your tackle box.

6th worst (tie)

• Alex: Force Blast and Telekinesis
• Julie: Hypersonic and Energy Shield/Deflection
• Jack: Sidestep and Close Combat Expert
• Katie: Energy Explosion and Exploit Weakness

4th worst

3rd worst

 

RALLY (5): Opposing Attack Rolls. When an adjacent friendly character would take damage from an attack, you may remove Darwin’s RALLY die to instead deal 1 unavoidable damage to Darwin.

2nd worst

WORST worst

 

Cardinal (House of X 043) 50 points

He’s bad in so many ways.

• He got hit by the loss of Perplexed damage in the 2021 rules rewrite.
• 0 damage.
• 0 range 9 AV Incapacitate.
• He also has an alternate dial that can actually fight. But…
• …he needs to watch his teammates take damage from attacks (i.e., losing) to MAYBE activate that dial.
• … because he has to build up tokens and then roll high enough with the free action.
• And if that weren’t bad enough, he self-harms once he activates unless he hits attacks every turn.
• And with him being a melee fighter who’s likely been hanging back, that might be hard to do.
• Did I mention he has old-style Colossal Stamina? So while he can push himself for those hits, he’s still damaging himself to do it.

It’s actually 100% accurate. But also kinda 100% bad.

After monthslong delay, EMPYRE is finally out there in the wild. So it’s time for our customary checklist. As a bonus, there’s a mini checklist for the recently released Eternals gravity feed set as well.

EmpyreCHECKLIST

Three copies of each checklist per letter-sized sheet. Download, print and enjoy.

So we’ve finally gotten a look at the new Powers and Abilities card coming with the Empyre mini game/starter set. WizKids made a few minor fixes after the overhaul earlier this year.

CHARGE

Now allows a CLOSE as FREE -or- a basic close attack. The global ban on any FREE action being done more than once made this simple power hard to use in certain cases. It’s now fixed.

RUNNING SHOT

See Charge but for RANGE and ranged attacks.

PULSE WAVE

The WW80 PAC version had some incomplete language that raised questions. Back in spring:

PULSE WAVE — RANGE: Halve range, [Improved Targeting: Characters, Adjacent]. Other characters within range can’t use powers or abilities (for this action). Make a range attack targeting all other characters within range and line of fire, including at least 1 opposing character, using printed defense values for each targeted character. If 1+ characters were targeted, each hit character is dealt 1 damage instead.

“Instead” … of WHAT? What is that word even DOING there if there’s no other condition where the power would do anything else “instead”?

Now it’s been properly worded to end with “instead of normal damage.”

Still really kinda bad now, but at least it makes proper sense.

QUAKE

It loses the ability to do a quasi-single-target attack, something that had kinda carried over from 2017 rules into 2021’s version.

PASSENGER: 0

This is a new rule blocking anyone with this from carrying.

———

There were a few other things, but they are simply changes in wording, same effect.