Heroclixin' ...it's all about F.U.N.

Looking to improve these without adding a ton of new rules and wording. The game’s gotten more streamlined; let’s keep it that way.

1/29/2022 EDIT: I’ve decided to pin this post for a while. The more I think about these changes, the more I really, REALLY want to see them — ESPECIALLY the following:

LEAP/CLIMB

It’s currently slightly OK in tandem with other moving powers like Charge or Sidestep. But by itself? Nearly useless. The 2021 rules also stripped L/C of its breakaway bonuses. So let’s give the orange Speed power something quasi-movement-related.

• HEROCLIXIN’S CHANGE (in italics): Improved Movement: Elevated, Outdoor Blocking, Adjacency. When this character attacks or is attacked, after resolutions you may place it in an adjacent square.

Like a lo-fi version of the old Vault feat card pictured but useful for offense AND defense. And it sort of gives the breakaway ability back!

EARTHBOUND/NEUTRALIZED

This “power” used to be useful for designing figs who have to activate their powers. But now there are some older pieces that simply CAN’T activate. Also, E/N is supposed to be a character in a weakened state. But simply not being able to use Improved Targeting or Movement — which many figs don’t have at all — isn’t quite universal enough.

• HEROCLIXIN’S CHANGE: This character can’t use Improved Movement or Improved Targeting abilities. When this character is given a second action token, deal it 1 unavoidable damage.

This change gives it some bite back while allowing some Golden Age figs to be playable again and offering designers a tool for dial manipulation.

PULSE WAVE

So the yellow attack power was INTENDED to be an omni-directional blast that couldn’t be avoided, but essentially for light damage. However, it eventually became an “easy mode” way to do big damage. Now it’s nigh-useless for the risk.

• HEROCLIXIN’S CHANGE: RANGE: Halve range, Improved Targeting: Characters, Adjacency. 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. Each hit character is dealt 2 damage instead of normal damage.

This makes PW worth using even against a solo target without devolving it back to Easy Mode and makes it really worth the risk when using it against a swarm — while also extra-discouraging using it against your own people.

SUPER STRENGTH

This used to be a key power. Now it’s the worst, thanks to:

1. the loss of knock back damage
2. the loss of heavy object damage
3. the loss of the Hypersonic Speed + object attack combo

Honestly, all these losses are good for the game. There was once a time you needed a whole chart to figure out who could hold any of FOUR different kinds of objects and how FAR you could throw each and how much damage each could do in close or at range because it was different based on what the object was and if it was thrown or not … GAAHHHH.

But Super Strength, which is THE super power in comics, is now an utter shadow of its old self.

• HEROCLIXIN’S CHANGE: KNOCKBACK during close attacks. This character can pick up (and hold) heavy objects. +1 damage dealt during Object Actions.

Heroclixin’ also wouldn’t mind Super Strength allowing better carry abilities, but we’re looking to add as little as possible to the wording and mechanics.

INCAPACITATE

It was ALMOST good enough for its cost before. But the 2021 rules made it bad now with no pushing or ability to affect two-tokened targets. And although there are some powerful corner-case applications for Incap, we of Heroclixin’ still believe it needs this boost.

• HEROCLIXIN’S CHANGE: When this character makes an attack, instead of normal damage, you may give each hit character an action token. Those characters can’t be given FREE actions their next turn.

We’ve been pushing for this change for about a decade. It only makes sense!

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Hopefully in a year or two, we can see some or all of these changes in the game.

Originally slated for a June release, X-Men: Rise And Fall got caught up in the shipping delays that affected the whole world. (Long story. One to be told on a less F.U.N. website than ours.) But finally, it’s coming — maybe as early as today (Aug. 11, 2021)! And here’s a checklist!

XMenRiseAndFallchecklist

Download, print and enjoy!

After looking at how all my old favorites improve (or don’t) under the brand new ruleset, I decided to look more closely at some pieces I might actually realistically play this year compared to, say, Flashpoint Aquaman (No. 98 of 125-plus).

Absorbing Man (Captain America and the Avengers 073) 100 points

The Atom (Justice League Unlimited 059a) 40 points

Black Cat (Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage 005) 40 points

WHAT’S BETTER? No pushing! Her SP combining Leap/Climb and Sidestep really can improve her mobility as an Underworld taxi, as the former allows her to easily traverse elevations with the latter.

WHAT’S WORSE? Her Stealth is a little vulnerable to Outwit now.

WHAT’S NEXT? I tend to squeeze her on teams to fill out points because she’s a keyword cheater.

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Black Widow (Black Widow Movie 100) 75 points

Bombshell (Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage 009) 40 points

Bombshell (Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage 025) 60 points

WHAT’S BETTER? They both start with Willpower, which could be cool, and pushing is no longer a concern. Mama Shell (025) ends with RCE for a little boost there.

WHAT’S WORSE? Their tandem Pulse Wave, tho. And especially 009’s Perplex can’t boost her 2 damage.

WHAT’S NEXT? Probably putting them on a “Sinister Sixteen” theme I have brewing.

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Human Torch (Fantastic Four 038) 40 points

Ironheart (Captain America and the Avengers 056) 85 points

Jolt (Captain America and the Avengers 031a) 25 points

WHAT’S BETTER? She doesn’t push so she might actually get that Flurry off sometime.

WHAT’S WORSE? Losing Reflexes’ knockback immunity could make it harder to get that Flurry off sometimes.

WHAT’S NEXT? Trying to get her on a Thunderbolts team to Flurry sometime.

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Micron (Justice League Unlimited 059b) 50 points

Quake (Captain America and the Avengers 010) 65 points

WHAT’S BETTER? Look who’s not pushing anymore! Plus there’s middial CCE and late Willpower.

WHAT’S WORSE? Nothing. She’s great.

WHAT’S NEXT? I once had a Directors of SHIELD theme of her, the Furys, Coulson, Iron Man and a few others. I should rebuild it.

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Red Guardian (Black Widow Movie 016) 75 points

Reed Richards, Fixer Of Universes (Fantastic Four 056) 60 points

WHAT’S BETTER? Nothing.

WHAT’S WORSE? Perplex is nerfed.

WHAT’S NEXT?  I’ve had a standing “Council of Reeds” team build for the past eight years. Of course he’s on it.

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Spider-Hamurai (Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage 066) 60 points

Spider-Man (Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage 054) 60 points

WHAT’S BETTER? Perplex … on his J. Jonah Jameson pog that can’t target his damage values anymore.

WHAT’S WORSE? Until we got the Comprehensive Rulebook for the 2021 overhaul, I was afraid that his ability to multitarget a bunch of foes had gotten nerfed. But no, he still doesn’t have to split his damage the way multi-bolt attackers do. So he’s still fine.

WHAT’S NEXT? Unsure, but he’s the first Spidey I reach for when considering the character.

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Spot (Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage 042) 50 points

Sue Storm (Fantastic Four 062) 100 points

WHAT’S BETTER? Hey, she can plant her Barrier on terrain now and maybe Outwit a Stealther.

WHAT’S WORSE? But her Perplex, Telekinesis and Incap are all worse.

WHAT’S NEXT? That Sue team of all Sue Storm-Richardses that no one will see coming because she’s invisible.

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Superman (Justice League Unlimited 105) 125 points / 60 points

WHAT’S BETTER? Almost everything. He can now knock back most opponents, so he’ll get more attack opportunities with his opening HSS and traited Super Strength. On clicks 2-5, he has CCE for higher AV and damage with some Precision to boot. He just becomes fantastically more playable in 2021 than before.

WHAT’S WORSE? Invincible is a little worse, as is Super Strength.

WHAT’S NEXT? I had this pandemic-era plan to pit my collection of Lex Luthors against an equal build of Superman figs. So this’ll be on that squad for sure.

 

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Ultron (Avengers Vs. Masters of Evil Battlegrounds 110b) 100 points

Vixen (Justice League Unlimited 015) 75 points

WHAT’S BETTER? She can pick CCE for every turn on offense now to good effect, bolstering her EW on click 1 to a staggering 4 damage, her Flurry on clicks 3-4, her BCF on click 5.

WHAT’S WORSE? Her Willpower is thoroughly useless now. But she’d really rather select an actual defense anyway for her non-attacking rounds such as Invulnerability, Reflexes or Senses.

WHAT’S NEXT? Not sure, but I can’t wait for it.

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 What favorite figures of yours from 2020 or earlier got boosted or nerfed by the 2021 rules? Post in the comments!

My longtime clix buddy Lenny and I periodically have big matches between themed forces — Avengers vs. JLA, Guardians of the Galaxy vs. Inhumans, Marvel Knights vs. The Hand, Asgard vs. enemies of the Golden Realm, what have you.

But I pulled Dr. Thing and the Thing Legacy card, making my Thing team complete. And Lenny loves Hulks, so back in March …

Hulk (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati) 125 points…Professor Hulk.

Hulk (Earth X 055) 150 points…Big Baby Hulk.

Hulk (Fantastic Four Fast Forces 002) 75 points…Gray Hulk.

Hulk (Fantastic Four 056) 150 points…Cho Hulk.

Immortal Hulk (Captain America and The Avengers) 100 points.

Maestro (Secret Wars: Battleworld 028) 175 points.

Red Hulk ((Fantastic Four 010) 75 points.

She-Hulk (Future Foundation 006) 75 points

She-Hulk (Secret Wars: Battleworld 023a) 80 points

She-Hulk (Secret Wars: Battleworld 100) 90 points

Worldbreaker (Secret Wars: Battleworld 013) 100 points

VS. my

The Thing (Future Foundation 003) 30 points…Skrull

The Thing (Future Foundation Fast Forces 003) 50 points…Thing in a black jumper.

The Thing (Future Foundation 020) 60 points…Captain Thing

The Thing (Future Foundation L038) 140 points…Legacy Thing

The Thing (Fantastic Four 004) 40 points…OG Thing

The Thing (Fantastic Four 020) 50 points…Red Pants Thing

The Thing (Fantastic Four 036) 75 points…Married Thing

The Thing (Fantastic Four 049) 50 points…Dad Thing

The Thing (Fantastic Four Cosmic Clash 003) 100 points…Starter Thing

The Thing (Fantastic Four Deep Cuts 003) 75 points…Deep Cuts Thing

Ms. Thing (Future Foundation 022) 75 points

Blackbeard (Future Foundation 052) 90 points

Dr. Thing (Future Foundation 066) 150 points

She-Thing (Fantastic Four 012) 40 points

She-Thing (Fantastic Four 028) 75 points…of the Frightful Four

She-Thing (Fantastic Four Fast Forces 006) 75 points

Thing Robot (Future Foundation 009) 20 points

Both teams matched exactly 1195 points!!!

He won map: It was a ROC map. Little blocking, elevated with puddles of water to hinder. Sucked for me.

He split on two sides of the elevated, teaming Red, Gray and Professor Hulks on one and Big Baby Hulk, She-Hulk and Cho Hulk on the other. I avoided Baby, who was both too dangerous and would yield a lot of Vengeance for Immortal if I contended with him. So I set up a crowd to rush the multicolored Hulks, blocking access with Thing Robot.

…which got one-shot when Immortal Banner Outwit its defense and She-Hulk Charged in for 4. Gray Hulk also attacked but missed. Prof Hulk moved to an OK Outwit position and Red Hulk Charged in to protect him.

Granted these new targets, I began to counterattack, taking on both Red and Gray for decent damage — KOing the latter — and going around the end to punch up Professor Hulk with the black-suited Fast Forces Thing to get the Prof off his dangerous Outwit clicks, with Ms. Thing there to serve as bodyguard.

TEMPERS FLARE

Lenny got angry, as he often does, with my timely good rolls, saying, “You’re winning from luck, not skill!”

This was a rare time I snapped back: “Don’t disrespect my skill!” I had a plan and was putting it in action.

BUT… my boast aside, I was definitely was not playing my best game so far.

SMASHING FAILS

• I had no Prob Control apart from Ms. Thing’s “reroll a 4” trait that had already saved my orange bacon twice already. So why did I think it wise to march her where Immortal Hulk could Outwit her defense and get her one-turned by Amadeus, She-Hulk and Worldbreaker?
• I let black suit Thing (and, by extension, Ms. Thing) get Charged on multiple times without a roll because I forgot this trait:

• Based by two strong bruisers, he got KO’d in short order.
• A few turns later, Dr. Thing got some strong licks in. But I neglected to Sidestep him away, overconfident in his defenses, and almost got one-turned by Cho’s Flurry.
• And my dice rolls aren’t nearly as lucky as Lenny thinks. Legacy Thing failed every attack in the first half of the game, getting beaten off his shiny new version of “Had Enough Clobberin’ Yet?”
• Two crit misses against LE She-Hulk — without her even having to use Prob!
• And my setup had the field so crowded that I couldn’t truly swarm with my superior numbers just yet.

Despite all that failing and flailing … I’m a skilled player most days. And this was no exception, leading to these TURNING POINTS

CLOBBERIN’ TIMES

• Dad Thing’s Defend kept most of the front line Things safe from much of the counterattacks and his -2 suPerplex kept Baby Hulk well in check.
• I’d carefully held Newlywed Thing back until there were Hulks aplenty, then moved him forward to give nearly the whole team Empower, so although the Things missed as much as they hit, they were hitting HARD.
• Did I say they missed? Actually they often hit but Lenny landed EIGHT STRAIGHT IMPERVIOUS ROLLS with FFFF She-Hulk — with more than a couple of straight missed attacks to boot! The silver lining was that Immortal Hulk got no Vengeance at all out of it because I’d skillfully prevented him any LOF to targets when possible.
• Cosmic Clash Thing was also held back for an opportune moment to attack with his version of colossal retaliation. Even though he crit missed the attack against SWB She-Hulk, he served his secondary purpose of blocking her from using her Prob Control.
• All this took attention from my real plan: for Frightful Four She-Thing to make her L/C attack to KO the Bruce bystander and remove Big Baby as a threat (though, even so neutered, he was able to finish off Dr. Thing).
• From there, the rest of the game was contending with a fully activated but hopelessly outnumbered Immortal Hulk, who smashed a couple of Things before getting clobbered in COMPLETELY COMIC ACCURATE FASHION with this SP:

It was worth losing an additional 75 points to win like this.

Last Things standing:

By piece:

Hulk (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 014) 

As a Hulk with Outwit, this was one of the pieces I was worried about. He’s also got a dynamite 12 AV with 5 damage. I had to watch carefully: Would Lenny use him as a frontline SMASH piece, or hold him back to nix my defenses? He kinda chose neither and I made him pay for it, focusing much of my early efforts on the Professor’s vulnerabilities.

Hulk (Earth X 055) 

This was the Hulk I feared most. Not only was he the strongest on the board, but fighting the giant in the sight of Immortal Hulk would make that character much more dangerous later. So when Lenny split up his force, I opted to avoid Big Baby Hulk as long as possible while biding my time to threaten or eliminate Bruce in the starting area.

Hulk (Fantastic Four Fast Forces 002) 

With ol’ Fixit here having Underworld TA and only 10 AV, Lenny should have used Gray Hulk here more for his taxi skills than as an attacker.

Hulk (Fantastic Four 056)

I was relieved that Cho Hulk here was hanging around with Big Baby so I didn’t have to deal with his potential multi-Outwit. This is a scary piece whose line of fire I wanted to block as long as possible.

Immortal Hulk (Captain America and The Avengers) 

But of course the scariest piece on the board really is this one. I chose a lot of my targets to deny him LOF so he would not gain Vengeance tokens until it was too late. But just him as an Outwitter was enough to decimate Things in the early going.

Maestro (Secret Wars: Battleworld 028) 

Invincible and armed with his own Perplex, old Hulk here was Lenny’s choice as frontline fighter. Given his +2 Perplex on Battleworlders, it may have been better to use him as support instead and then as cleanup hitter. But it’s hard to fault the strategy he picked because it was absolutely working for several rounds.

Red Hulk ((Fantastic Four 010) 

Lenny made a good move Charging in and tying up my frontline Things with this Poison piece, forcing me to deal with him quickly and completely to get at my real target, Professor Hulk. But he pushed to do so and forgot he was a Team Player. Could’ve used Underworld, maybe, or copied Fantastic Four for potential healing.

She-Hulk (Future Foundation 006) 

EIGHT.

STRAIGHT.

IMPERVIOUS ROLLS.

She-Hulk (Secret Wars: Battleworld 023a) 

 Not only bringing Probability Control but range attack (SP Energy Explosion) to the field, this chick was a problem. Also a wild card, but she was not really played to those strengths … and didn’t need to be.

She-Hulk (Secret Wars: Battleworld 100) 

She was a rude surprise, Perplexing and punching for big damage. IIRC, she might’ve been able to finish Dr. Thing sooner had Lenny remembered to consider knockback.

Worldbreaker (Secret Wars: Battleworld 013) 

Put in work as a secondary fighter, but this was probably better suited for the Hulks’ front line, getting boosted by the above She-Hulk’s and Maestro’s Perplexes for only the risk of 100 points.

The Thing (Future Foundation 003) 

Skrull Thing’s chief purpose was to be Blackbeard’s bodyguard as Mastermind fodder. But he actually served more as a late-game fighter.

The Thing (Future Foundation Fast Forces 003) 

As noted in the battle report, I misplayed his 1-in-6 chance of denying close combat.

The Thing (Future Foundation 020)

With no Sidekicks, this Captain felt slightly superfluous. But these Captain pieces have very long dials for their cost.

The Thing (Future Foundation L038) 

I can’t believe I forgot to yell “What a revoltin’ development” at all the misses this piece made in the early going. But after getting some key Fantastic Four heals later to get back to his Clobberin’ SP, boy did he throw hands, spinning Immortal Hulk almost through one of his whole dials.

The Thing (Fantastic Four 004) 

So cheap but such good AV. Somehow he lived to the game’s end thanks to his low cost and his Shape Change. I should have used him as a frontline fighter more.

The Thing (Fantastic Four 020) 

I would not have thought his defense would actually hold up as well as it did. But between a successful Imperv roll here, a deterred attack there (because he deals penetrating on a good Imperv roll) and the F4 TA, he was one of the last standing despite being the first into the fray.

The Thing (Fantastic Four 036) 

One of the linchpins of the whole team, he not only brought wifey Alicia to be a potential (though never successful) medic for the wounded, but his Empower-granting to the other Fantastic Four Things (nearly all of them) made the Things a match for the more powerful Hulks.

The Thing (Fantastic Four 049)

The other team linchpin, Dad Thing was my sole support power of Perplex for the whole game. That 19 Defend really saved my bacon against Maestro’s 12 AV. His kids Chuck and Buzz also served well, even though the latter took an early KO.

The Thing (Fantastic Four Cosmic Clash 003) 

My secret weapon with his “clobberin’ retaliation.”

The Thing (Fantastic Four Deep Cuts 003)

With a simple, straightforward dial, he was quite the cleanup hitter when I finally got him into the mix.

Ms. Thing (Future Foundation 022) 

My one source of rerolls but a victim of overconfidence in her long dial — that and the fact that she was one of the only Things able to get past the hindering and water terrain to where I thought she needed to go.

Blackbeard (Future Foundation 052) 

I kinda used him just for his Leadership and nothing else for most of the game, trying to keep him in water. Kind of a waste. But the Leadership was nice.

Dr. Thing (Future Foundation 066) 

He did OK and would have done better had I been a little more careful.

She-Thing (Fantastic Four 012) 

I had a plan to use her “Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation” trait to reposition Maestro from his fairly well-protected spot, but she failed with her meager 10 AV. Still a neat trick.

She-Thing (Fantastic Four 028) 

My other secret weapon with her L/C attack. Hits surprisingly hard and shines on a force where she’s a secondary attacker.

She-Thing (Fantastic Four Fast Forces 006)

Though not terribly mobile with only Sidestep, she’s so resistant to damage that she was a natural choice to lead the front line — especially with her potential +3 to either attack or damage via SP CCE.

Thing Robot (Future Foundation 009) 

The poor first victim. Next time it needs to have help to at least serve as F4 TA healer when it falls. And speaking of F4 TA, that really was a big factor down the stretch.

We plan to do a rematch sometime (probably after Empyre gives us at least one more new Thing), which will shift a LOT of factors in this punch-up! For example, Big Baby Hulk, who previously had to concern himself with pushing damage, won’t have that problem. The hindering terrain that slowed many of the Things won’t be an issue. Perplex to damage will be impossible, forcing the Hulks to focus on other tactics to overwhelm the Things.

It’s gonna be another SMASH!

Longtime readers know that one of Heroclixin’s favorite themes is teams of all-Black characters and a standing goal of mine is to build a competitive one.

Ambrose Chase (WizKids DP19-005) @ 90 points. Support and range attacker.
Ayo (Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 021) @ 20 points. Leadership, equipper.
Dr. Claire Finn (The Orville 003) 25 points. Medic, mobility.
Duke Thomas (Rebirth 011a) 35 points. Support.
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.
Spectral (Mandarin Ring) (MP19-s104) 5 points
Spin (Mandarin Ring) (MP19-s103) 5 points

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

Yes, it’s All-Black Everything, with all starting and Sideline characters either African or African-descended. Only Dr. Finn’s frequent patient, the Lt. Yaphit pog, comes along to the cookout.

THE PLAN: Using Yaphit and Ayo, Ambrose gets Spectral since its Precision Strike now works with his multiple targeting “Probabalistic Bullet Swarm” while non-combatant Dr. Finn gets Spin. Beyond that, everything depends on my opponent because I am a reactive player by style. But Yaphit potentially giving the whole team Sidestep is pretty key.

I’d given an Ayo-less version of this team a bye-round test run against a solid Apocalypse (HoX 059b)-led Horseman themed force of Wolverine (HoX 022), Xorn (HoX 029a) and Rogue (HoX 036) to a victory. But on this Juneteenth at a different venue, I had a chance to play it under actual tourney conditions.

ROUND ONE opponent: returning player Luke
He had a hastily built team of WW80 Harley Quinn*, Ferdinand, and starter set versions of Wonder Girl, Medusa, Miss Martian and Circe (and maybe one other piece I can’t recall). I spent much of this game teaching Luke the basics again, suggesting moves for him and somewhat inadvertently hurting my own squad. But he also made moves that turned out to be very key counters to my efforts.

For example, using an Invulnerable Mystics character to block for softer teammates completely stymied my Maggott bystander attacks, forcing me to rely on a much less efficient Outwit+Poison tactic. I also misplaced Yaphit badly and lost him to an easy shot. But this was a also a chance for me to ease into my team’s workings and I still won with a KO of Miss Martian and her 40 points, losing none of my own. 1-0.

ROUND TWO opponent: Chris’s DEVOURER OF WORLDS

He brought Galactus (WizKids M-G001) at 250 points with Dr. Doom (Fantastic Four 021) at 45 points for Enhancement. He won the Utopia map, which gave me some indoor terrain in which to hide, but that wasn’t a long-term strat due to big G’s Elemental Converter making the edges deadly.

Ambrose took big damage early, forcing him to try for healing. Had to overextend to attack Galactus (missing probs) but started landing Empowered hits to wear him down with my action advantage to wipe with 295 points against a loss of just 30. Good result in a strong stress test of my team losing an attacker early on and still being able to bring the pain. 2-0. 
ROUND THREE opponent: JON’s Celebrity

Superman (JLU 035) with a Soul Gem led Blackbeard and Mary Jane Watson (SVAC) on my map of Latveria: A poor choice due to no elevated terrain that Ambrose could exploit. Jon trusted Blackbeard’s full complement of Paparazzi to Mastermind to while Superman staged for later.

Poison from Meany cleared the pogs, allowing short work on Blackbeard. Got lucky on an evasion from Supes when I burned a needed action and wasn’t able to effectively put him down. Still had the game in hand by last action, 90-25.

3-0 on the day, but only second place due to lower points scored in Round 1. The winner had a force that might have ruined mine: a Spider-Man Family theme with Spidey 1776, whose anti-Leadership and autonomous zone is a solid counter to my pogs, which I would need to deal with the Weapon H also on that force. I might need to call out that player for a match.

BY PIECE:

Ambrose Chase: Interestingly, though he’s a third of the team, he’s not really been a lead attacker in any of these games. Instead he hung back using Perplex or Outwit and, occasionally, his 3-square Prob. But he’s a favorite and way better on his top dial than his 60-point line, so until this squad needs 30-40 points of room, he remains this expensive 2nd shooter.

Ayo: Leadership was ABSOLUTELY NEEDED for this team, even though her Wakanda and Warrior keywords match NO ONE and she’s the cheapest on the force except the pogs. But she’s worth the risk for both that extra action and the extra ease of Turn 1 equipping.

Dr. Claire Finn: She proved her worth with the Round 2 heals of Ambrose, that got him back to the supporting clicks the team needed. Her equipping the Spin ring also made mobility simple at key moments. And of course, her Lt. Yaphit does so much by giving anyone Sidestep.

Duke Thomas: Probably the safer tactic would’ve been to keep him way in the back for the +1 AV for swarming melee, but adding his Empower to the front lines’ fighters was way too tempting and useful.

Maggott: Effectively the lead attacker, though he doesn’t actually do much attacking; it’s his pogs Eany (via Exploit Weakness) and Meany (Poison) who did all the work. Also Prob.

Micron: On a team full of key players, this prime was maybe the most key with his Empower to aid the other punchers, his Enhancement pumping the range shots and his own CCE making him the other lead attacker. So versatile, with his ability to attack after a quasi-carry or to retaliate when an ally is KOed.

Teen Lantern: Not only does she literally carry the whole team with Green Lantern TA and bring Prob and range to the table (though her puny 2 damage needs Micron’s Enhancement to work), but her PD TA came in handy, as did her FREE Barrier (when I remembered to use it).

SIDELINERS
I actually forgot to activate Black Manta’s “Let’s Cause Trouble!” trait. But I did NOT forget Black Vulcan’s TroubAlert, bringing him in to put in work (though he eventually self-KO’d on three straight rolls)

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Looking forward to trying this team out further in future competitive events.

That handy reference for my favorite 140-something figs of the 2010s had me wondering: How much better — or worse — would these get with the changes to HeroClix this year? Especially the No Pushing rule for the non-Indomitable crowd, Great Size Willpower for the big guys and gals, and No Hindered movement changes for all.

REPLACE THEN MODIFY

When the new rules replace the old, what’s the modification of these old favorites’ playability? Some get much better — as much as +3! Others drop due to the changes. A number end up with a net +0.

This review has been done for weeks, but I was waiting on some erratas to say how certain old wordings would proceed. I got … most of them. So let’s see what’s what.

• 121. Animal Man [DC 75th Anniversary 036] 2010: No more pushing damage and unhindered movement really help him out, but as usual he’ll depend a lot on what other Animal keywords are on the board. Barely better: +1 

• 120. Swamp Thing [War of Light 053] 2014: Didn’t improve one bit. In fact, both his Telekinesis and hindering terrain creation skills are actively WORSE. -2
• 119. Martian Manhunter [The Brave and The Bold 036] 2010: No pushing helps him a lot. Except … that’s the *only* thing that’s improved. At his 202-point cost, we’re calling this a +0.
• 118. Gimli [Lord of the Rings 005] 2011: None of the changes affect him except hindering terrain, which is significant due to his 6 Speed. (Short legs.) Still a net +0 thanks to his old Indomitable ability no longer being special at all.
• 117. Amadeus Cho [Incredible Hulk 027] 2011: No change other than the hindering one helps, oh, and he can maybe Outwit someone in Stealth. But he has Energy Shield/Deflection so why would he risk his life getting next to someone with his weak DV? +0

• 116. Titano [Superman/Wonder Woman G005] 2015: No longer pushing is a plus and Great Size’s improved Willpower even more so, with some Close Combat Expert down the stretch as well. Gorilla Warfare got better! +2.5

• (tie) 115. Green Goblin [Web of Spider-Man 058] / Doctor Octopus [Web of Spider-Man 054] 2010: Gobby benefits from No Pushing, but the loss of Perplex on damage nerfs him a little (+0) — but not NEARLY as much as Doc Ock, whose quadruPerplex is near-USELESS since he can’t modify his 1 damage anymore. -3!
• 114. Giant-Man [Chaos War 200] 2012: His old weakness, losing Indom at 75 points, is rectified! +1 for that dial. +0 at full cost. EDIT (10/20/2021): I forgot about Great Size Willpower. Add +0.5 to both.
• 113. Stranger [Galactic Guardians 043] 2012: Not being able to push to his pick-a-power clicks kinda kills him. Also: Opening Pulse Wave is not nearly as good. But a possible big boon is his ability to choose giant or colossal size at beginning of turn so he can get Giant Willpower instead of just the Power Cosmic version. That actually balances out the negatives to maybe a +0.5 for me. (EDIT (10/20/2021): It’s come to my attention/remembrance that he can’t get the giant Willpower due to trigger timing. So actually -0.5

• 112. Aquaman [War of Light 029] 2014: No Pushing works swimmingly for the zombie king of the sea. And the fact that he makes water terrain with every KO on the board means a solid +2.
• 111. Lex Luthor [Superman Fast Forces 004] 2011: No Pushing means he can freely move to whomever needs Enhancement — or who he wants to Mastermind to next turn. Also has some late Willpower that might help him stay active. His mid-life Perplex won’t help his minimal damage anymore. +1
• 110. Crystal [Chaos War 044] 2012: No Pushing is GREAT for her, so she can get more out of either her opening Penetrating/Psychic Blast or Barrier. +1
• 109. Every Last HeroClix Figure with the “Morph: Many Identities” Trait in Age of Ultron: Hank Pym [Age of Ultron 001], Ant-Man [003], Yellowjacket [022], Goliath [043], Giant-Man [044], Hank Pym [201], Ant-Man [202], Goliath [203], Yellowjacket [204], Ant-Man [205], Wasp [206] and Giant-Man [G200]. 2015: Even though their morphing didn’t cause pushing, it’s nice their other actions won’t harm them to take a second token. A number of these have power boosts as well. +1
• 108. Static [Teen Titans 045] 2013: No Pushing helps him, but his old bane, Precision Strike, gains a bit of a step as well. He may need all those Trashcan Lids at once. +0.5
• 107. All the reporters in Superman/Wonder Woman with their “The World Needs To Know” special powers and traits: Newsboy Legion [007], Investigative Reporter [006], Lana Lang [029], Jimmy Olsen [027], Lois Lane [047], Clark Kent [026] and Superman [100]. 2015: Because it’s so vital for each to get within 4 squares for their “TWNTK” skills, No Pushing is super welcome. +0.5
• 106. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold [The Brave and The Bold 052] 2010: They really needed their Perplex on their damage to be effective. No Pushing isn’t enough to balance the loss. No more playtime for these Super Buddies. -1
• 105. Uhura [Star Trek: The Original Series 038] 2017: No Pushing helps her better pick her targets for assassination — especially without hindering slowing her down from Stealth anymore. +1

• 104. Peace Machine [What If 0043] 2017: With the loss of both TK attacks and knockback damage, he has no offense. Even his ranged Force Blast SP is no longer so special. -2
• 103. Superior Spider-Man [Deadpool 060] 2014: His late dial Perplex is less welcome. Moreover, his Spider-Bots’ Incap and Plasticity both lost a step. -1.5
• 102. Luke Cage [Captain America 014] 2011: Between No Pushing and later Willpower, he’d be well improved if not for the general nerfing of Super Strength. +0.5
• 101. Question [WizKids D-008] 2013: Perplex’s nerfing means his utility drops a tad, but he has CCE on any click he wants so he still can pump his own damage in melee most times. +1
• 100. Black Widow [Captain America 006] 2011: The end of pushing helps her a lot. She also has a long run of late-dial Willpower, which could be handy. +1
• 99. Cyborg [New 52 Justice League 006] 2012: Pulse Wave got nerfed, so he’s taking a hit. -1

• 98. Aquaman [Superman 048] 2011: No Pushing helps him SO much. In fact, he improves some way on EVERY SINGLE CLICK: His double power action SP on clicks 1-6; CCE on four of those clicks; the improved Mind Control mid-dial; and Willpower on his last four clicks. Still overcosted but better now. +3
• 97. Madrox [Giant-Size X-Men 001] 2011: Although not pushing is a slight boon, losing that ability to push to click 2 with its Perplex is a bit of a blow. But Perplex isn’t what it was, either, so whatever. His late-dial Willpower will come in handier than ever. +0.5
• 96. Chameleon Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 031] 2014: No Pushing is great, but she also has a LOT of Perplex that’s no good on her mediocre-for-her-cost damage now. +0
• 95. Cloak [Amazing Spider-Man 202] 2013: Not pushing anymore is really key for his playability, as I used to chafe at the fact he never seemed to be in the right spot to attack when he had zero tokens. Otherwise has zero improvements. +0.5
• 94. Mirage [Wolverine and the X-Men 004] 2013: She starts with Willpower. Too bad she’s saddled with Incapacitate, which is worse than ever (QUIET, TAYLOR), especially with one target. We’ll give her a +1 because of the tempo-busting potential of constant Incap with good Willpower rolls.
• 93. Triplicate Girl [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 206] 2014: She doesn’t push anymore. Neither do her pog sisters, so you can’t easy-mode push one to death to give the survivors Willpower for rest of game. But … you can get Willpower for the rest of the game, which is much better than it was. +1.5
• 92. Superman II [Superman/Wonder Woman 019a] 2015: Pushing was his bane. But his SP Incap really takes it on the chin with both the light blue power’s nerfing and the end of pushing damage (his version specifically references it). -1

• 91. Frog-Man [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 048] 2016: So No Pushing WOULD help, as does the ability to finally affect Charge and Reflexes, but he has a whole trait based on knockback damage that’s just GONE now. -2, because it ruins him that badly (he actually still has uses to bust up formations, but…)
• 90. The Spot [Web of Spider-Man 051] 2010: No Pushing helps him a lot, but his low, unPerplexable damage makes it a wash. +0
• 89. Luke Cage [Civil War Storyline 011] 2016: He kinda liked pushing to his better DV click 2, but his Empower is newly relevant, as is his resistance to penetrating damage. Two late clicks of Willpower and CCE are cool. +1
• 88. Batman [Superman/Wonder Woman 061] 2015: Pushing and hindered movement, his old biggest weaknesses, are no longer problems. But he got no material improvements. +0.5.
• 87. Fitz [Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD 021] 2015: Opening Willpower could speed his production of Hoverbots. But no pushing means his clicks of Empower might as well not exist. +0.5

• 86. Element Man [World’s Finest 040] 2016: Pushing was his only weakness. Now he doesn’t have to pick Willpower to act with 1 token (indeed, he CAN’T use Willpower anymore), freeing him for better actions. +2
• 85. Baby Doll [Batman The Animated Series 049] 2018: NP is good. Loss of Perplex on damage doesn’t matter so much because she’s gonna use Energy Explosion anyway. +1
• 84. Veil [Avengers Asemble 023] 2015: Pushing was a big danger for her. That hindering terrain no longer slows movement makes it harder for her to trap opponents, though. -0.5
• 83. Goliath [Civil War Storyline 029] 2016: A mid-dial CCE run feels like a wash with the nerf to heavy objects. Another problem: the nerf to Invincible. But Giant Willpower could yield dividends before he goes down. +0.5

• 82. She-Hulk [Avengers Infinity 024] 2018: Dial-long Close Combat Expert is already great but because it works with her SP it is soooo improved for her — she will be FILING CASES EVERYWHERE +2
• 81. Molly Hayes [Hammer of Thor 041] 2010: One of my biggest regrets in my many years of Heroclixin’ is refusing to push her to try KOing a last-click Ares (who then improbably hit her 19 DV) so it’s nice that’s no longer a concern. Too bad Super Strength is so nerfed.  +0
• 80. Aquaman [Trinity War 201] 2015: Same for him, re: Super Strength. -0.5
• 79. Hulk [Avengers Movie 202] 2012: Giant Willpower might help. Super Strength won’t much. +0.5
• 78. Superman II [Superman/Wonder Woman 6-001] 2015: No pushing is a problem … he’s supposed to! He also gets the Indomitable symbol late dial … to no effect. He at least opens with CCE to give him decent AV and damage to start. On a themed team, the Wonders of the World ATA allows him to “push.” +1
• 77. Mysterio [Web of Spider-Man 056] 2010: Pushing was a big problem. NOW his problem is that his Smoke Cloud keys off Indomitable, which is gone and pretty much ALL figs now are effectively Indom. Still works against Willpower and Senses. +0.5

• 76. Groot [Web of Spider-Man 049] 2010: No pushing. He also gets Giant Willpower. +2
• 75. 3-D Man [Avengers Assemble 013b] 2015: No pushing makes him feel 3 times better. His triple-Plex effectively losing a third of its use is OK because he has a lot of it to spread across his values. And later: the new Hypersonic+Exploit combo! +1.5

• 74. Magik [Wolverine and the X-Men 034] 2013: No pushing! And she’s not slowed down by carry anymore! And she can quasi-push herself or a passenger! +3!
• 73. Miranda Tate [Dark Knight Rises 012] 2012: She starts with the superb Willpower … but can’t push to her CCE/Outwit SP on click 2! She’ll need a teammate to wildcard to be her best. +0
• (tie) 72. Crystal [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 012] 2019: She can’t push to click 2 Perplex anymore but … y’know … Perplex. Also, solo target Quake isn’t quite a thing anymore. And her Smoke Cloud isn’t as good. But hey, mid-dial CCE for the win, right? +0
  Silver Sable [Earth X 002] 2019: Late-dial RCE isn’t nothing. Also hated pushing and now doesn’t have to. Ever. +1
• 71. Nova Prime [Galactic Guardians 001] 2012: Aside from no pushing, he has the new combo of HSS and PenEtrating Blast a click. ONE WHOLE CLICK. Meanwhile, mid-dial Pulse Wave feels bad. +0.5

• 70. Clark Kent [Man of Steel 009] 2013: Heyyyy, opening Willpower! And a Leap/Climb trait so he can get the movement skills with his Charge and HSS — both with 2 targets. Even his Perplex feels better used on his AV. +3

• 69. Sand [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 060] 2017: RCE is better for him, and his Force Blast from range makes that MUCH stronger for defense. +2
• 68. Deathlok [Wolverine and the X-Men 11b] 2013: How does his RCE as CLOSE even work now? DOES it? -1
• 67. Red Hood [Rebirth 046] 2019: So he doesn’t have to push now, which is good. The only other upgrade is he can multi-target with his close attacks. +1

• 66. Spider-Punk [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 062] 2016: Heyyyy, look who doesn’t take pushing damage anymore! And has 2 targets for Charge+Flurry! And CCE to stay good end-dial! Only thing bad is Pulse Wave now on his back half. +2
• 65. Rocket Racer [Web of Spider-Man 044] 2010: He doesn’t push. Otherwise exactly the same. +1
• 64. Timber Wolf [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 013] 2014: Mid-dial Flurry combos with Exploit Weakness. But he was already Indomitable, sooooo… +0.5
• 63. Aquaman [New 52 Justice League 005] 2012: Him not pushing is a real improvement. He also gets some late-dial CCE that I don’t care about. +0.5
• 62. Black Adam [Rebirth 037b] 2019: Woooo! He gets Quintessence-fueled Willpower now, which makes up for all the Perplex that isn’t quite as good for his midlife and that Invincible no longer caps damage. +1
• 61. Black Panther [Secret Wars Battleworld 061] 2018: Willpower Cosmic! It’s just too bad about his Pulse Wave click with RCE, now. +1
• 60. The Captain [Giant-Size X-Men 054] 2011: Pushing is no longer a problem for him, true, but it was also one of the best ways for him to get unstuck from his bad “passing out” clicks. +0
• (tie) 59. Batman [DC 75th Anniversary 031] 2010: Boy does he like not having to fret about pushing once he finishes his smoke maneuvering. But boy does he hate that his late dial Perplex not help his weak damage. And Incap is also poor. +1. But his partner
  Robin [The Brave and The Bold 042] 2010: also likes the non-push and benefits from occasional CCE. +1
• 58. Muhammad Ali [WizKids DP17-004] 2017: Late dial his CCE+Flurry combo makes the rope-a-dope more effective than ever. +1

• 57. Giant-Girl [Avengers Infinity G001] 2018: In addition to improved Willpower, her frequent CCE clicks become VERY sweet spots. +2
• 56. Vixen [Streets of Gotham 028] 2012: On the one hand, not pushing will help. But her click 2 was pretty good and now she’ll almost never see it. Like Animal Man, she depends on what’s on the field to use any new combos. +0.5
• 55. Dust [X-Men Xavier’s School 056] 2018: So Smoke Cloud is not as good anymore; she can’t trap victims with her dust storms. Put at least she won’t push! Not that she was, much … given her Sidestep and FREE Smoke ability … sooo … +0.5
• 54. Black Widow [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 003] 2014: Hey, it’s a little easier for her to be on a themed team to do her stealing enemy theme probs thing! Yay! But the number of Probs is like half. Boo! Maybe we are glad for her late clicks of CCE and Incap-plus. +1

• 53. Jakeem Thunder [Joker’s Wild 053b] 2016: Wow, with no pushing, he no longer has to pick Willpower. But he still CAN pick Willpower when he has two tokens and maybe still get to act. And with pick-a-power and 2 targets, he can really weaponize the new multitarget ability in close. +2
• 52. Captain America and Black Widow [Captain America: Winter Soldier 017] 2014: Perplex on damage used to be great on duos like this one. USED TO. -1
• 51. Captain America [Fear Itself 201] 2013: Torn between being glad he doesn’t push and sad that he can’t push to his “Inspiring Defender” 2nd click. A late bit of CCE might be OK? +1
• 50. Black Rider/Ringwraith/Nazgul/One Of The Nine/Servant Of Sauron [Lord of the Rings 016/006/101/102/020] 2011: A key play with these 9 AV guys was to push to 10 AV click 2. That’s over. They’re canceled. -1
• 49. Wildfire [Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 021] 2014: His double power actions work better in a post-pushing game, but he’s also hurt by the fact that he can’t push to those healing clicks of his. At least he’s got RCE with PW on a couple of mid-clicks to help his flagging attack. +1
• 48. Alloy [World’s Finest 058] 2016: Giant Willpower could really make a big difference in his playability. And because his damage is so naturally high, his Perplex doesn’t feel nerfed as it seems better used on other stats. +1

• 47. Ms. Marvel [Avengers Assemble 055] 2015: Pushing was her biggest problem, so she’s better. In fact, she’s much better since she can choose to be giant at beginning of turn and gain Giant Willpower. (EDIT: Or so I thought at the time of this writing, but the timing is off, so no Willpower.) Actually, she’s much, MUCH better: She can choose colossal size and also get CCE for that +1 AV and damage. +3

• 46. Wasp [Avengers Infinity 044] 2018: While pushing held her back, she also has a great click 2 that she’ll never see again. And her puny 2 damage down dial can’t be helped by her Perplex. -2
• 45. Captain America [Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD 049] 2015: Starting with Willpower gives him that “self-Leadership” to make up for the fact that somehow he never got REAL Leadership. No Pushing makes his Redwing and Pigeon bystanders much more effective. +1.5
• 44. Cyclops [Uncanny X-Men 033] 2016: No Pushing is so vital to get more mileage from his opening click. He also has a significant run of Willpower down dial, which is better than the nearly-as-long Perplex on the stretch. +1.5

• 43. The Atom [Superman/Wonder Woman G001] 2015: Great Size is the main attraction, but at his 200 and 150 levels, he also starts with CCE. +2
• 42. Hawkman & Hawkgirl [Batman The Animated Series 060] 2018: Absolutely none of the changes improve this pair. +0
• 41. Dee Dee [Batman The Animated Series 015] 2018: No Pushing is the only net bonus. It’s enough. +1

• 40. Colleen Wing and Misty Knight [Amazing Spider-Man 044] 2013: The end of pushing is fabulous for them. Even better, Duo Attack now works with their Incap and BCF at various points in their dials. There’s a little bit of Willpower but a little more Perplex. Still a solid +2
• 39. Batman [Batman and His Greatest Foes Fast Forces 001] 2016: He starts with Willpower, and gets CCE and Flurry combo later, but Reflexes losing its knockback resistance could be a problem going foward. +1.5

• 38. Black Lightning [Batman 045] 2012: Early Willpower works. Even better: his SP granting EE now combos with his PPBlast, and it’s possible the 3-target Incap could combo with EE, too. (EDIT: It doesn’t, as both powers are “instead of normal damage” abilities — gotta pick one.) At minimum, he can use the multi-target Incap in close attack now. +2

• 37. Robin [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 030] 2017: On one hand, him not pushing makes him more a potent fighter. But on the other, he can’t push himself to KO and trigger the mass “incap” of enemies anymore. I’ll just have to settle for middial CCE and him having 2 bolts in melee. +2
• 36. Asuka [WWE 012] 2019: Opening with CCE means no one is ready for Asuka. +1

• 35. Apache Chief [Batman The Animated Series 070] 2018: He will be stomping so much more with no pushing to worry about and a 66% chance at Willpower. BIG MAN INDEED +2
• 34. Clayface [Batman The Animated Series 001b] 2018: Both his Smoke Cloud and Perplex got worse, so he gets worse. -1
• 33. Angel [Days of Future Past 005] 2014: No pushing is very good for him. But his Perplex on later clicks feels bad. +1
• 32. Shade, The Changing Girl [Rebirth 044] 2019: Willpower is great to start and no pushing works for her. But Plasticity and Perplex both lost out a little. +0.5
• 31. Batman [Batman The Animated Series 040] 2018: Him losing knockback protection is a bit of a problem. On his lower dial, not being able to Perplex damage is a BIG problem with him only having 2 damage, making his Batarang equipment much less effective. -1.5
• 30. Daredevil [WizKids MP18-007] 2018: His main issue wasn’t being sightless but pushless. And now that’s not an issue. He also has a nicely placed run of CCE. +1.5

• 29. Cyclops [Giant-Size X-Men 008] 2011: Starting with Willpower, he also gains a massive new trick middial with his Force Blast SP allowing him to do free damage under the right circumstances. Also he’s got RCE in places. +3
• 28. Magma [Wolverine and the X-Men 073] 2013: Pushing was a problem. Better now. +1
• 27. War Machine [Invincible Iron Man 029b] 2013: Not one thing improves for him, and Pulse Wave is markedly worse. Well, I suppose he gets 2 bolts for close combat, which, given that he was a Sharpshooter with Improved Targeting: Adjacency already, is kinda unneeded. +0
• 26. Nova [Avengers Infinity 032] 2018: Being Power Cosmic means he gets Willpower. Late dial RCE is welcome. +1.5
• 25. Falcon [Captain America: The Winter Soldier 006] 2014: He can fly high without pushing now. That feels good. But his mid-dial Perplex feels bad because his damage is low there. At least he ends with Willpower to maybe catch a second (tail)wind. +1
• 24. Grace [Joker’s Wild 046] 2016: She had lost a step when object attacks changed in 2017 and her top clicks are still not nearly as good as when she was new. But the back 2/3 of her dial with CCE makes her superb there. The loss of the Invincible damage cap means she could get blasted past her Impervious. +0.5
• 23. Elijah Snow [Elseworlds 046] 2017: The Perplex half of his SP is a downgrade. At least his Barrier gets a little better with terrain, though his Pulse Wave takes a hit. Markedly worse is his Big Chill, which no longer forces enemies to fear pushing damage. Hmm. -1

• 22. Armor [Giant-Size X-Men 050] 2011: No pushing means she’s stuck on a useless activation click until she can use X-Men TA to heal a pal or she gets hit. She’s almost unplayable. -2
• 21. Mysterio [Amazing Spider-Man 026 and 206] 2013: Being able to do his Smoke Clouding and switcherooing without pushing might make that newly viable. Too bad Smoke just isn’t very good anymore. +0
• 20. Valkyrie [Fear Itself 005] 2013: It was kinda ridiculous that she was subject to pushing damage, so it’s great that’s no longer an issue. +1
• 19. Donatello [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Heroes In A Half-Shell 025] 2016: Pushing was his weakness. Now he can use Support with abandon, should he choose — and he might, given that Perplex is less useful. +1
• (tie) 18. Okoye [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 038] 2019: Not that she ever did push to her second click for CCE, but now that she would, she can’t. Fortunate she has many clicks of the power so she’s sure to see it (+1), which is better than
  Okoye [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati FF006] 2019, who gets just a little CCE scattered down dial. +0.5
• 17. Hulk [Avengers Defenders War 052] 2017: Cho Hulk’s Perplex and Super Strength and Invincible all got nerfed and nothing about him improved. But at least he’s not actively worse. -1
• 16. Multiple Man [Wolverine and the X-Men 013] 2013: No More Pushing really helps him deploy more effectively. It’s a pity his Perplex + Flurry combo is so poor now. Late-dial CCE is only good on the real Madrox; +0. Multiple Man [Wolverine and the X-Men 205] probably benefits even more from the new no push rule, being able to keep his Mastermind protection, but his second click, with Willpower and Empower, might be more useful. Fortunately, this version of the character has X-Men TA so there’s a slim chance of getting to that second click without depending on the enemy hitting him for 1 damage. +1
• 15. Oya [X-Men Xavier’s School 031] 2018: It’s vital that she takes her shots at multiple targets while she can, so not worrying about push damage benefits her. But the end of push damage takes a weapon away from her as well, so … +0
• 14. Nova Corps Officer [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie 004] 2014: Hey, his IM:Hindering SP is completely useless now. At least he doesn’t push. +0.5
• 13. Wonder Woman [WizKids D-001] 2011: Absolutely nothing about her improved; her SP Perplex got worse. -1
• 12. Captain Marvel [Captain Marvel 021] 2019: Her late-dial RCE will help her attacks on those clicks. Pulse Wave on her mega click is actively a lot worse. -1

• 11. Bat-Knight [WizKids DP17-006] 2017: Multi-target Precision Strike is a huge upgrade, as is Giant Willpower. +2
• 10. Troll [The Mighty Thor 039] 2017: No pushing is both a boon and a bane; her click 2 is really good in melee defensively. +0.5

• 9. Ant-Man and Wasp [Chaos War 053] 2012: Pushing was the worst for this Tiny Size duo. Now Duo Attack works with Exploit Weakness! +2
• 8. Black Panther [Age of Ultron 045] 2015: His Perplex at dial’s end makes him more useless offensively on those two clicks than ever. -1

• 7. Aquaman [Brightest Day 006] 2010: Though it was nice to sometimes push to his higher click 2 DV, having his starting CCE available for both his Charge or Transporter Move & Attack along with no pushing is all good. His later Mind Control also improves a lot. +3

• 6. The Authority [017 Swift, 032 Jenny Quantum, 033 Jack Hawksmoor, 048 Apollo, 049 Midnighter, 060 Engineer and 061 Jenny Sparks] 2014: Most benefit from not pushing.
  • Doctor (016) levels up his Barrier and Force Blast, but loses on Pulse Wave; +1.
  • Swift (017) gets a bump from her CCE in the middle; +1.
  • Jenny Quantum (032) loses on Perplex AND Pulse Wave; -1.
  • Jack Hawksmoor (033) really used to get a lot out of his click 2, which he’ll now never see outside of some corner cases. At least he’s got more CCE to maybe land on; +0.5.
  • Before, you HAD to play Apollo (048) with Midnighter (049) for the Willpower just to play the big guy; now it’s a nice bonus. And oooo, look, RCE makes those clicks SO much better; +2.
  • Speaking of Midnighter, getting to combo Flurry and EW and his anti-CCE trait and his anti-movement SP equals +3.
  • Similarly, Engineer (060) gets to combo so much; +3.
  • Finally, Jenny Sparks (061) no longer fears pushing and doesn’t really care her late Perplex won’t boost damage. +1.5.
• 5. Moon Knight [Avengers Defenders War 062] 2017: Perplex is nerfed. But his middial CCE will help make those formerly weak clicks formidable. +0

• 4. Drax The Destroyer [Guardians of the Galaxy Movie 013] 2014: The end of pushing is very good to him. His mid-life CCE is even better. +2
• 3. Ambrose Chase [005] 2019: Not pushing is the good news. His Perplex option being nerfed is the bad. But still a net positive. +1

• 2. Miss America [WizKids M17-009] 2017: She REALLY does well to not push. Middial CCE keeps her much stronger down the stretch. +2
• 1. Power Girl [Rebirth 022] 2019: The blessing of No More Pushing is paired with the curse of no Colossal Stamina -OR- Giant Willpower (as Willpower is beginning of turn phase and her choice to size up is a FREE during the action phase). She also has a Perplex option that’s a little worse. +0

Alternates/HMs (chronologically):

• Impulse [DC75 Anniversary 104] 2010: Losing pushing is the only thing that improves. +0.5
• Nightshade [Captain America 027] 2011: No pushing means she can’t get to her click 2 with Mind Control very easily…boo-hoo. Late Incap is InCRAP. +0

• Dee Jay [Street Fighter 010] 2011: His opening CCE works SO WELL with the Street Fighter TA, which pairs well with his Leap/Climb. And there’s that one late click combining Flurry and Exploit. +2
• Superman [Superman 055] 2011: Though Super Strength gets a nerf with heavy objects no longer hitting very hard, at least his penetrating version keeps some bite in those attacks. Worse is that he could get stranded on his mediocre middle clicks. Ending with HSS and RCE is pretty strong, should he land there. +1
• Bard the Bowman [The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug 009] 2013: Doesn’t really improve until his late dial’s RCE and Willpower and can’t push there. On the upside, it’s easier to get his no-defense shots off with no pushing. +0.5
• Silver Samurai [Wolverine and the X-Men 044] 2013: Pushing was his weakness and why he always dies on me. But his new vulnerability to knockback might be exploited. +0.5
• Batman [Gotham City 001] 2013: The hard part is what power to pick for the game: CCE or RCE? The latter makes his free Incap work better, but … y’know … Incap. Opening Perplex feels bad with 2 damage. And his Indom isn’t special. +0.5
• Giganta [Legion of Doom 006] 2014: No pushing seems really good, until I remember how much mileage I got out of her click 2. +0.5
• Shang-Chi [Deadpool 047] 2014: Combined Charge and CCE are big improvements — especially since the latter works with his Counter Block ability. A weakness: knockback. +1.5
• Hulk [Avengers Age of Ultron 104] 2015: Giant Willpower. But Invincible is somewhat less so. +1.5
• Faust [Superman/Wonder Woman 056] 2015: Pushing was his bane. It’s no more. And nothing else he has got materially worse. +1
• Mysterio [WizKids M16-003] 2016: It’s good that he doesn’t push anymore, but bad that he starts with Perplex and Smoke Cloud, which both got a little worse. +0.5
• Crazy Jane [World’s Finest 019] 2016: She doesn’t push anymore, but that was only a concern on her last click due to her unusual pick-a-click mechanic. Clicks 1, 4 and 5 have no real change. Clicks 2 and 3 bear Perplex and Smoke Cloud, which feel bad. But her last click, No. 6, has Willpower, which she can now use at beginning of turn. +0.5
• Patriot [Civil War Storyline 021] 2016: His click 2 was his sweet spot, but can’t push to it anymore. Being formerly Indomitable and Improved Movement: Hindering means he gets no upgrade and even his traited Leadership was supplanted by the general boost to Leadership in 2017. -1
• Batroc [Avengers Defenders War 050] 2017: Zee leepair will no longer push! *laughs in French* +1
• Thor [The Mighty Thor 061] 2017: The change to heavy objects is a blow to his upfront effectiveness. But his end dial with CCE coupled with his Mjolnir equipment is superb. +1
• Photon [Avengers Infinity 036] 2018: Pushing used to be AWFUL for her, as she markedly degrades from her first click but needs to be able to keep on the move to be most effective. +1
• Doctor Octopus [Earth X 034] 2019: A push-free game will help him a lot. Before, the 4-square FREE move was usually the only good choice for his beginning of turn trait. Now any of them will work. +1
• Falcon [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 041b] 2019: He has a SP giving him Close Combat Expert as CLOSE, which no longer actually works since the purple standard damage power is now passive. -1 EDIT: He got an errata giving him CCE via the SP, so while he’s less special than before, he’s lost no actual playability. New rating: -0
• Frenzy [X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga 027] 2019: No real change, unless her no cost CCE after a Leap/Climb is ruled illegal. +0
• Storm [X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga G023b] 2019: With the loss of knock back damage and the nerfing of Pulse Wave, she gets a fair bit worse. But the improvements to Mind Control almost balance it out. -0.5
• Dr. Claire Finn [The Orville ] 2019: The end of pushing is great for her role as a medic. The nerf to Perplex holds her bystander Lt. Yaphit is a dolphin speed fig so that Swim buff will be OK. Her end clicks have the new, improved Force Blast, though her chances are slim of seeing those clicks on her slim 3-click life.  +1.5

In addition to new rules, there’s a new format. So here’s an assessment of Atlantis figs that we covered in earlier F.U.N. Focuses (in 2019 — twice!) that will be legal in Silver Age:

^^^^^ Below 50 points: shrimps and chum ^^^^^

Giganto & Namor [Avengers Infinity G017] 15 points: Only for Retaliation, though they might have some small use as a low Speed taxi thanks to Great Size Willpower.

———

King Aquaman [Elseworlds 045] 20 points: Water generation is more vital than ever and he’s very cheap.

———

Atlantean Warrior [Avengers Defenders War 016] 25 points: Dial-long CCE and No More Pushing makes this generic even better than before.

———

Dolphin [DC Rebirth 036] 30 points: Her Incap loses a step but NMP more than balances that out.

———

Aquaman [Batman The Animated Series 065] 30 points: His Mind Control has 6 range, but his water generation is still just 4 range so he will likely not be able to land that attack. Also note that smaller characters can’t knock back bigger ones, so don’t trust his Average Fish to Force Blast very often.

^^^^^^ 50-75 points: barracudas ^^^^^^

Aqualad [DC Rebirth 012] 50 points: One of his old strengths was pushing to his better-in-close second click after a Charge. Now he shifts to a TK focus until he’s hit. A bit of a wash.

———

Aquaman [DC Rebirth Fast Forces 001] 50 points: His FREE attack combos with BCF and he’s not wasting Perplex on damage anymore. Field with a taxi to take advantage of that ability.

———

Giganto & Namor [Avengers Infinity G017] 50 points: A better taxi than before and his post-move hindering terrain generation no longer bothers the rest of the team.

———

Aquaman [Batman The Animated Series 065] 50 points: No More Pushing™ makes him a better fighter but otherwise no different.

———

Namor [X-Men Regenesis 010] 70 points: A Swim character who’s also a flyer, he’s a rare taxi. New Carry rules means he can full-Speed Charge with a passenger.

———

Namor [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 044] 75 points: Already very expensive for four clicks, he’s now worse because he lacks the Swim keyphrase, so he’s easily shot. Also needs the Power Gem at an additional 5 points to be worth any of his points. BUT … with that gem, he now sports a staggering 13 AV for 5 damage — 6 when either holding an object or attacking a foe with 5+ range and penetrating in that latter case. So he STILL might be worth ALL his points in that case.

———

Tempest [DC Rebirth 028] 75 points: The best non-chase water generator in Silver Age now for Atlantis. Just plan on using him.

———

The Drowned [DC Rebirth 064] 75 points: Her Stealth in water can make her a shield for others even when the enemy draws close.

^^^^^^ 76-100 points: sharks ^^^^^^

Aquaman [DC Rebirth 045] 80 points: He’s still only OK even though his FREE 4-move in water maybe works a bit better now. His Super Strength is worse, though, and Indom is no longer an asset.

———

Namor [Earth X 033] 80 points: Lacks Swim so he doesn’t get the range immunity and his Poison doesn’t work in water. But he’s a taxi so that can work for you.

———

Namor [X-Men Regenesis 010] 100 points: A Swim character who’s also a flyer, he’s a rare taxi. New Carry rules means he can full-Speed Charge with a passenger. Late Close Combat Expert keeps him in the fight.

———

Aquaman [DC Rebirth Fast Forces 001] 100 points: Opening CCE gives him a hard strike in melee. With a taxi, he can get a 12 AV 4 damage attack for FREE thanks to his trait. A little pricey but possibly worth building around.

———

Giganto [Avengers Infinity G007] 100 points: If you can get enough water for him, the new Swim ability can keep him from being long-range-shot to death. But eventually he’s gotta close in and I don’t know if he’s quite enough. Bonus: Mid-dial he can combo his no-cost Quake with Exploit Weakness.

———

Namor [Secret Wars: Battleworld 062] 100 points: With no more Carry penalty, his mega taxi and heal skills make this chase one to look at.

———

Mera [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 035] 100 points: The end of pushing means she is stuck on her opening TK and may not ever see her Quake clicks — not that they’re great with only 9 AV. On the upside, without pushing she has more attack opportunities to get Bombshells to boost her armor.

———

Giganto & Namor [Avengers Infinity G017] 100 points: Twice the life for twice the points as the 50 pointer. Otherwise no more special than before.

^^^^^ 101-125 points: maneaters ^^^^^

King Aquaman [Elseworlds 045] 110 points: Unchanged except for the “loss” of Indomitable.

———

Namor [Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 044] 110 points: The Power Gem is better than ever for just 5 points more, granting him a blanket +2 to AV and damage. Empower is newly important as well.

^^^^ Above 125 points: apex predators ^^^^

Namor [Earth X 033] 130 points: Not a swimmer, so he’s not improved at all.

———

The Drowned [DC Rebirth 064] 150 points: As a Dark Knight, Bryce Wayne here gains a lot of DV bonuses even outside water, but beware: Her Stealth-in-water is newly vulnerable to Outwit and other LOF-based powers from adjacent foes. Not that they’re going to be anxious to base her Poisonous, penetrating-damage-dealing bod.

———

Giganto [Avengers Infinity G007] 200 points: At full cost, he just doubles his life. You almost WANT him to get hit before he starts Quake/Exploit attacks. Thanks to Great Size Willpower, he might get more opportunities to do just that.

———

Giganto & Namor [Avengers Infinity G017] 200 points: Double life but not really double value.

———

^^^^^MAPS FOR ATLANTIS^^^^^

The best maps for the theme are all Golden Age: ATLANTIS from Trinity War, PACIFIC OCEAN from Fear Itself and ARUNA TEMPLE from Hellboy And the BPRD.

But this is Silver Age — only from Superior Foes of Spider-Man and forward. So consider:

WEIRDWORLD (Secret Wars: Battleworld): A good 30 percent of the map is water, and with a lot of blocking terrain to grant extra cover from landlocked shooters who have to get close. Beware snipers on elevated terrain who stay far away from the water, forcing you to come to them.

NY HARBOR (Earth X): Like Weirdworld, there’s a lot of water here (even more) and strategically placed blocking terrain. This is also a map with a Location bonus that spawns extra objects, good for a Super Strength-laden keyword like Atlantis. Caution: Also like Weirdworld, there’s elevated terrain easy for snipers to shoot from and hard for swimmers to reach — but in turn, the snipers won’t be able to attack the swimmers in the water.

MUIR ISLAND (X-Men: Xavier’s School): Water on three sides of the map plus a lot of walls and blocking make this an OK field for Atlantis. The downside is that much of the fighting will likely be on dry land no matter what, so the sea is only really good for early defensive positioning.

RUNAWAYS BASE (What If): A long strip of water on one side of the map can keep Atlantis good and safe, forcing foes completely out into the open to engage. The downside is that the enemy can hunker down on elevated terrain to do the same.

WAKANDA X (Earth X): With bits of water and blocking all around,  swimmers might be able to advance semi-safely.

JEAN GREY SCHOOL FOR HIGHER LEARNING GROUNDS (X-Men Regenesis): Decent-sized bodies of water are positioned well away from the elevated portions giving Atlantis both a staging area and retreat zone — though none of it is great for the swimmers.

UTOPIA (X-Men Regenesis): Actually, scratch that map above. Use this one. It has the same problems but there’s just so much more water and blocking that it’s just better for a swim team.

Avoid these seemingly watery maps:

GJALLERBRU (The Mighty Thor): All the water is on Level 1 and there are few stairs to get to Level 2, making the water more like a shooting barrel except for fliers.

GOTHAM CITY WATERFRONT (Batman The Animated Series): Has all the drawbacks of NY Harbor and Weirdworld with much, much less of the blocking terrain to keep from being shot and a lot more land. Pass.

ARTHUR’S CASTLE -or- OTHERWORLD (What If/House of X): Though there’s a fair amount of water, ALL of it is next to elevated terrain, giving zero protection from shooters. Do NOT.

ICEBERG LOUNGE (Batman The Animated Series): There’s the moat of water in the central part of the map, but the blocking on top of the iceberg means there’s virtually no advantage to said moat. Pass.

It’s high-tide-time for a new Atlantis Attacks F.U.N. Focus — and it’s Heroclixin’ board member Chadd’s birthday and he specifically requested this.

First things first: Every Atlantis piece gets a massive upgrade with the 2021 rules overhaul. The Swim keyphrase bars enemies from drawing lines of fire to dolphin speed characters from beyond 4 squares if the swimmer’s in water.

That’s the good news. The bad: Water no longer hinders movement, so it won’t be hard for foes to get in a swim team’s face — which is not so bad, since most of Atlantis is melee-focused.

Let’s look at what characters are new in Modern Age since the most recent update in December 2019. Then, in part two, we’ll revisit older figs that are legal for the Silver Age play format.

^^^^^ Below 50 points: shrimps and chum ^^^^^

Vil (Future Foundation 012) 10 points

Now the cheapest piece in all Atlantis, Vil is great as point filler even without a proper Captain to give her Sidekick abilities. With Toughness and Close Combat Expert all dial long, she can serve as a shield or tie-up they can’t ignore. TEAM HER UP with Telekinesis for best results. Or a taxi…

Wu (Future Foundation 027) 15 points

…such as brother Wu, who can carry fellow Sidekicks (and ONLY such) and grants his sister Vil the same ability. Wu has Flurry instead of CCE and his damage is only 2. TEAM HIM UP with an Empower fig … or perhaps the next entry at his 35-point level …

Atlantean General (WizKids D19-011) 25 points / 35 points

This resculpt of the old Trinity War Atlantean boasts 3 clicks of Sidestep, Combat Reflexes and Leadership — the last which could be of some use on a big invasion squad. But his full cost at 35 points adds the SP “Water Tactics” that brings Leadership with +1 damage for adjacent dolphin symbol allies. He also has Charge, Precision Strike and Toughness.

Mera (WizKids D19-010) 45 points

In the same OP kit came this latest version of the sea queen. Like earlier renditions, she’s a TK piece for Atlantis. She also gives allies in water the Mystics TA if they’re attacked from outside the water, which runs a bit counter to the new Swim ability. She might be using the new Force Blast to keep knocking foes back. Energy Shield/Deflection and Shape Change are her only protections. Improved Targeting: Elevated with 6 range make a welcome surprise.

Namor (Captain America and the Avengers 069e) 50 points

Invulnerability, Charge, 11AV and Leadership for this cost would be good by itself, but this chase figure also brings the sea with him:

AVENGING SON OF ATLANTIS: Namor starts the game with the Flood marker in his square. // The Flood marker is water terrain. // Smoke Cloud as FREE, but to generate water terrain markers instead of hindering terrain markers. // FREE: Place the Flood marker in Namor’s square.

Your swimmers need never be on dry land again. He also grants a bonus to AV:

MASTER OF THE SEVEN SEAS: (Dolphin symbol). // Friendly characters with (Dolphin symbol) or who share a keyword (with Namor) modify attack +1 if making a close attack while occupying water terrain.

He rounds out his marine might with first Close Combat Expert and then Flurry down-dial along with a defense SP that grants Toughness and, when in water, Regeneration.

^^^^^^ 50-75 points: barracudas ^^^^^^

Aquaman (Justice League Unlimited 029) 60 points

Seven clicks for 60 points isn’t bad. His SP Charge can knock back all adjacent enemies for the price of hitting just one. Mid-dial CCE and late Flurry could yield dividends. His 17 Reflexes (with Defend traited) isn’t impressive but it ramps to 18 Toughness and he also has Regeneration as a trait, too.

Main reason to consider him as your Aquaman for Atlantis over others is if you’re playing a legal team for his Team Up Card:

THEMED TEAM UP: ATLANTIS: If Aquaman is part of the listed themed team, he can use Leadership. When he does and removes an action token from a character with the listed keyword, heal that character 1 click. (After revealing forces, you may replace a game element’s default card with an alternate card. You can’t choose a Team Up card if any characters on your starting force share a name).

It’s a kind of weak effect — especially for not being able to lead a horde of generics — but if you get the card, it’s worth trying out sometime.

Susan, Queen of Atlantis (Future Foundation 051) 70 points

A rare Atlantis figure without the Swim keyphrase, this version of Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four is both a Title Character — the first of the keyword — and an alternate win condition piece. The short version: She can win the game by earning Mission Points for generating water terrain on the opponent’s side of the board. But it takes a long time to get anywhere near the amount needed, requiring other allies to hit while occupying water. She’s better as a Sidestepping taxi, TK and Leadership for Atlantis, or for Barrier (which can be placed on water now), Empower, Outwit and Defend if she’s hit past her opening Invulnerability.

Namor (Captain America and the Avengers 069) 75 points

Everything he did at 50 points he does at full points, only with a printed 12 AV, Invincible to start (then TWO Invulnerability clicks instead just one) and 4 damage.

^^^^^ 101-125 points: maneaters ^^^^^

Namor (X-Men Deep Cuts 014) 125 points

Like Susan above, he lacks Swim. A Super-Strong, Impervious Charge piece is what he is. If hit to mid-dial, he gets a SP that keeps him from being targeted by enemies who start the turn beyond 3 squares from him. A bit overcosted but hey, you can paint him.

^^^^^ Over 125 points: apex predators ^^^^^

King Trench (WizKids D19-012) 200 points

Also overcosted but potentially effective is this Monster-keyworded monarch. He has traited Leadership and Mastermind — and the Leadership trait can generate his own MM fodder in the form of The Trench bystanders. But even if he flubs LS rolls, he can POWER generate a couple of pogs at a time. Then, later in his dial, he can eat one or more to boost his SP Regen roll.

He starts with 10 AV, Sidestep and Super Senses, so he’s not the best at offense despite a dial full of either Blades/Claws/Fangs or Steal Energy. And in this No More Pushing (NMP) era of the game, he can’t get to his click 2 SP granting Charge (or HSS in water) — which both combo with Exploit Weakness and BCF. So he’s a rather point-inefficient Outwitter for all practical purposes, sending waves of Trench bystanders Charging at enemies. But still pretty F.U.N.

^^^^^ Additional swimmers ^^^^^

As usual, there are a few figs that lack the Atlantis keyword but could be useful on non-keyword-yet-thematic builds featuring dolphin speed characters. Starting from the cheapest:

Triton (Fantastic Four 032) 40 points

He has this trait:

ALLY TO THE SEAS: When establishing themed teams, choose a friendly character with [Dolphin symbol]. Triton gains that character’s keywords.

So he can fit on most any Atlantis team as long as at least one ally has the dolphin symbol. He brings Probability Control to the team, a very rare support power for the theme.

Black Manta (Justice League Unlimited 068) 40 points / 10 points

When he hits, he can generate water in the target’s square. He also has a 3-6 roll to either token enemies in water or deal them 1 penetrating. That, along with his cheap cost, works well with…

Hydro-Man (Fantastic Four 043) 75 points

He makes water Smoke Cloud like a few other figs do. But unlike Crystal (ABPI 012) or Molecule Man (FFFF 036), he has the dolphin symbol, which is important to combo with Atlantis via:

Blackbeard (Future Foundation 052) 90 points

This alternate universe Thing makes dolphin speed characters into Pirate keyword figs. So you could fold non-Atlantis swimmers into a themed team if you like. But for the purposes of this series, we’re only considering how he works folded into an Atlantis team.

First, he allows any number of non-Atlantis swimmers to join (but be careful; EVERY member will need to be a dolphin speed fig during force construction; an Atlantis fig such as some of the Namors that are fliers instead of swimmers will end up breaking the theme).

Second, he gives Pirates in water +1 AV. So that’s a good boon to an Atlantis force-turned-pirate.

Third, he gets mega-Quake when in water.

Finally, he brings the Invincible-granting Stones of Merlin equipment to the team. However, he risks the enemy picking it up instead of you! So don’t plan your game around this unless you intend to force him to drop the Stones by having him equip another object instead.

———

Next installment: A look again at what’s available in Atlantis in Silver Age.