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Now that we’re back online, it’s time for some battle reports.

THE SCENARIO: One named fig is the team leader. The rest must be generics.

MY FORCE:

Owlman [Crime Syndicate Fast Forces 002] 150
Bizarro Police [Elseworlds 021] 50
Corrupt GCPD Cop [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls Fast Forces 006] 40 (her Boss: Owlman)
Hired Henchman [Batman 006a] 40 (his Boss: GCPD Officer)
Central City Police Captain [Flash 204] 40
GCPD Officer [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 013] 35 x 2
+ GCPD ATA 2 x 2
NYPD Officer [Superior Foes of Spider-Man 003a] 30 x 2
Henchman’s Goon [Batman V Superman 004] 20 x 2
= 494 points (Gotham City Underworld themed team)

This is a team of shifty mobility built to swarm and enable the tentpole alike.

FIRST FIGHT

vs. Paul’s Green Lantern Corps of Hal & Sinestro [War of Light ]@300 and Green Lantern Recruit [ ] x 4. I chose the old Negative Zone map (from  Chaos War?) to tighten lines of fire. It was worse for me, but I managed. Key Moment: Used Central Captain to lay down Smoke Cloud to get Owlman into position to get a successful triple-Enhancement shot on Halnestro. Though the broccoli-heads nailed my swarm with multiple Energy Explosions, Owlman was able to chase down the 300-point duo for the win.

SECOND FIGHT

Lenny had a World of Krypton led by Superman [Trinity War 050], Kryptonian Infiltrator [Superman 002], Kryptonian Soldier [Superman 002] and Kryptonian Rebel [Man of Steel 004]. I picked the United Nations because Owlman had a statement to make about taking the world for ransom or something. Of course Superman had a thing to say about it. But he’s not as smart as Owlman. Key Moments: Corrupt GCPD Cop was the first off the map, but she was only used to draw out Supes, who hid behind the Stealthy Infiltrator. A GCPD Officer called for backup and the swarm against the Infiltrator began. She went down, then the GCPD cops pulled the whole squad except Owlman and a respawned Corrupt Cop behind closed doors. Superman tried heat visioning Owlman, but he simply Masterminded to his underling. He was closing in on the Soldier when time ended for a 78-35 victory.

FINAL FIGHT

Sammy brought Steve Rogers [Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD ] with SHIELD Infiltrators, Elite Agents, Bodyguards, Paranormal Investigator,  and a SHIELD Cyborg. The Key Moments came when Steve got a narrow LOF over the elevated terrain I was on to Energy Explode my swarm, including my medic — but in doing so, Rogers was in the open and able to be Outwit by my Captain, then shot by Owlman. From there, attacks were focused until Rogers was gone for the decisive margin of victory.

BY PIECE:

bvs004

With Sidestep, Enhancement and Underworld TA, Henchman’s Goons are still top tier for a Gotham Underworld force.

ffhq006

But even better are the GCPD Officers, the true key to this enterprise. With the GCPD ATA, they could free move 4 squares at Beginning of Turn. Then one could use her POWER trait “I Need Backup!” to place two other Police within 4 squares next to her and thus extend their attack reach considerably — or evac fellow cops in trouble. Also sporting Sidestep and Enhancement, they were the engine that made this team go.

sfsm003a

NYPD Officers, by comparison, were only occasionally clutch. But as yet another source of Sidestep+Enhancement — as well as their trait allowing use of PD TA to aid fellow PD users from as far as 5 away — they were solid additions to the force.

bm006

Now with Hired Henchman, we’re getting to the specialist members of the team. Played on his “a” dial, he’s the medic who kept fellow mates on their best clicks with ease. Plus he selected one of the GCPD Officers as his Boss (guess he’s on parole, trying to go straight or something) and thus was able to wildcard her two team abilities: Police (never used) and GCPD ATA (used a lot). The latter, coupled with Underworld TA, gave him extra use as a taxi.

fl204

Aside from his conditional Leadership SP (works only on Police keyword for token drops) granting that oft-needed sixth action, the Central City Police Captain was the team’s sole source of Outwit. The GCPD Officers enabled him to get into position to use the POWER action in a couple of clutch moments.

ffhq006

Corrupt GCPD Cop’s inability to be scored as long as her Boss is alive makes her the best Mastermind fodder. Aside from that, her dual TAs of PD and Underworld also add to her utility. And she is SO apropos for the team’s theme.

ew021

Bizarro Police is the one nod to just plain playability I made for the force. Flight, Charge, Super Strength, and a DV SP that’s difficult to dig through makes it a great taxi, attacker and tieup for just 50 points.

 

Owlman

But of course, the raison d’etre for the whole team is Owlman, who grants all members who have either Police or Gotham City keywords the Gotham City Underworld keyword as well, making this a themed team that are ALL on his payroll. >:)  Moreover, he aids his own cause by giving him a whole team he can pick with Mastermind from 4 squares away (such as the aforementioned Corrupt cop) leaving him only vulnerable to Pulse Wave, really. And he has that trait “Into the Shadows” that extends his reach and gets him out of trouble with relative ease. Plus he’s a key source of Prob Control (CSA TA). Really, his only weakness is low damage for his huge (for this team) price point. Having six allies with Enhancement top dial covers that area.

I’ve wanted to run an Owlman-led team of bad cops and crooks ever since the Fast Forces piece came out, so this was a dream come true.

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jla-jsa-thanksgiving

It dawned on me that I’ve been playing this game for a solid decade now. And Thanksgiving seems a fine time for Heroclixin’ to mark my Top Ten moments in 10 years of, well, Heroclixin’.

 

FIRST MOMENT

Getting that V Skullbuster: It wasn’t the first HeroClix fig given to me — that was Cosmic Justice Penguin — but this was the one that caught my interest, being a relatively fringe character that was yet made in plastic form. WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: It accurately illustrated that in HeroClix, ANY character was fair game, and that as much as any reason, got and keeps me ‘clixin’.

Also, as Tim Cummings, the giver of the ‘Clix, quipped: “The first one’s free, my brutha!!”

 

SECOND MOMENT

Buying V Aquaman: It was my first HeroClix purchase, done on a trip to my cousin’s 2005 high school graduation in my old college town of Columbia, Mo. [Mizzou-RAH!!!!] WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: Remember that “first one’s free” quip? This sent me down the collector’s path of getting figs of characters I like.

 

THIRD MOMENT

Pete’s box ‘o ‘clix: My friend Peter was getting out of the game in July 2005 as I was getting in. For the low price of just $10 or $20, I got a double-sided tacklebox full of figures. WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: At the time, I had no pieces with which to make trades, and I still wasn’t buying boosters. This gave my collection a real infusion to allow me to get the pieces I really wanted.

 

FOURTH MOMENT

That Collateral Damage brick…and a half: Until now, I’d only bought on impulse or for sealed events here and there. But I was drawn in by the Giants Collector’s Set due the summer of 2006 and the only way to order it was to buy a brick of 8 boosters. I was already interested in the majority of the character selection, so I plunked down the money.

And then, when I didn’t see my No. 1 wanted fig in those boxes, I immediately ponied up for half a brick more. WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: I was all in, now.

 

FIFTH MOMENT

So I went to a big clix event in early 2006 with this team:

Superman [Icons ]
Jean Grey [Infinity Challenge ]
Joker [Icons ] + Armor Piercing
Lockjaw [Fantastic Force 003]
Ghost Widow [City of Villains]

…or somesuch. This team was built to win it all, or at least to place highly. I went 3-1, my only loss coming to a brilliant but shady young player running a similar team (who later wound up being disqualified for being shady). Out of a field of 20-something players, I placed something like fifth or sixth: just out of the running for the excellent top prizes such as Galactus but still possibly able to randomly draw a great LE such as a Dark Phoenix or Hal Jordan or one of the still-high-dollar Cosmic Justice pieces.

I got LE Hephzibah.

Even at the time, this would be a bad prize in a home venue, much less an event with the kind of swag STILL ON THE TABLE that would go to players who placed worse than me. At the time, I chalked up to God punishing me for my mean cheese team.

WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: I realized that building a team solely to win isn’t any fun when I DON’T win.

 

SIXTH MOMENT

tumblr_mdgdq70DYs1qfxwtoo1_500-2

In spring 2006, I built a pre-keywords theme team based on this graphic novel and, for the first time, went 3-0 at my venue.

Mr. Terrific [Legacy 018] 80
Batman [Legacy 084] 111
Power Girl [Legacy 027] 120
Shazam! [Unleashed 088] 166
Plastic Man [Hypertime 100] 40
Dr. Fate [Unleashed 071] 113
Green Lantern [Collateral Damage 051] 167

It may have certainly helped that a couple of the strongest players weren’t there. But I’ll take it!

WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: My first win, and one done on my as-yet-unnamed F.U.N. terms.

 

 

SEVENTH MOMENT

Judge a dead game: In autumn 2008, I’d just stepped up to take and pass the required judge test to become my venue’s new judge. And then, less than a month later, WizKids was closed and HeroClix effectively done. But I took the reins of our play group and we never stopped running events.

WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: I’d gone from merely an avid player to one actively involved in the game’s very survival.

 

EIGHTH MOMENT

Heroclixin’ launches in early 2009. 

WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: You’re reading it.

 

NINTH MOMENT

Dragon Con 2009: I was out of work due to the Great Recession and couldn’t afford to go to things like comic book conventions. But some friends suggested I sneak in and only pay for the gaming tickets I’d need to play. I don’t usually break rules like that, but I was persuaded, having not been to the huge Atlanta event since the early 1990s.

Oh, my. It was like coming home.

WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: HeroClix got me back into the con scene and, specifically, cosplay, a new hobby and introduced me to so many new people. It also got me involved with the folks who run the Realms Open Championship, which I am still a volunteer for.

 

TENTH MOMENT

In 2011, toward the end of my long layoff due to the Great Recession, I was gifted a Wonder Woman [WizKids D-001] by an HCRealms member I’ve never met, sometime after I lamented there that it was a highly desired figure that I had zero chance of acquiring in my financial state.

WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERED: Such kindness from a relative stranger. Part of it was Christian brotherhood, but this moment has been repeated in smaller fashion with non-theists, too. Heroclixers are the nicest gamers of all.

 

BONUS MOMENT

I had a few big event victories in 2014: A ROC top 8 finish in March, a shared first place in April, a win for an extra AvX grand prize package. It was nice to know that in between my usual FAIL moments, I can still bring some real game at times.

But, y’know…it’s more important to have F.U.N. Happy Thanksgiving, players!

 

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Secret_Avengers_05_pencil

The highlighted figures below retired to Golden Age on July 1, a Monday. I played this team on June 29, a Saturday, for

One.

Last.

Mission.

Steve Rogers (Captain America) 99
Sharon Carter (Chaos War) 45
Ant-Man (Chaos War 026) 43
Valkyrie (Fear Itself) 130
Black Widow (Captain America 006) 85
War Machine (Iron Man 3) 220
Moon Knight (Amazing Spider-Man) 109
Beast (Giant-Size X-Men) 95
Nova (Galactic Guardians) 125

While there are the Avengers Movie/Fear Itself versions of Black Widow and the Fast Forces release of Beast to keep those characters Modern, Steve Rogers as commander of SHIELD is highly unlikely to ever be remade. So the Secret Avengers, in its one truly great incarnation (on paper, at least — the actual team-up in the comic never lived up to its promise thanks to the virtual non-involvement of Nova before his being taken out) will never again grace a Modern Age game.

So how’d it do in its swan song?

MISSION: To beat Mark’s Adam Warlock (Galactic Guardians 032), Quasar (Captain America), Jor-El (Man of Steel 005), Cyborg (Teen Titans 025), Hawkeye (Chaos War), Alfred Pennyworth (Batman), Gizmo and Bruce Wayne (Batman 202a) x 3 on my choice of the Iron Man 3 docks map in a 1000-point, 5-action Modern Age event requiring at least one figure due for retirement July 1.

Key moment: Ant-Man and friends took early Energy Explosion damage from Cyborg, who got TK’d a bunch to get an object-enabled shot.
War Machine and friends took Cyborg down next. Then Valkyrie, warping to Cyborg’s last known spot, pushed to Charge-Flurry Hawkeye to immediate death for an extra margin of victory. Only lost Ant-Man in the end, despite two badly timed consecutive crit misses on my part.

BY PIECE:

Steve Rogers (Captain America) 99

CommanderRogers

True to his trait’s name, he was “The Focal Point” more than ever in these last few games. Giving fellow Avengers the SHIELD TA helped plenty. When I originally played Rogers, well before the TA’s more recent upgrades, his 7 range was a liability against further-reaching foes. But with the average range value dropping to about 6, he’s working out a lot better. More than a couple of Leadership roll successes kept certain teammates active.

Sharon Carter (Chaos War) 45

sharoncarter00
Naturally, her “Secret Avengers” trait granting Stealth to Avengers is a key point on this team. But she’s also great for her printed SHIELD TA and 2nd-click Perplex, too. SO much better than the original Sharon in Mutations & Monsters.

Ant-Man (Chaos War 026) 43

irredeemable ant-man
O’Grady’s lack of speed hurts his effectiveness as a good tie-up piece, but his unusual anti-Outwit/Perplex power can come in handy. Better still is his Tiny Size, which enables him to take a power action to use SHIELD and then hitch a ride with a Running Shot pal to boost said pal’s damage. His short dial is a boon to the following teammate as well…

Valkyrie (Fear Itself) 130

valkyrie
This team has needed a dedicated melee piece and, in her, gets one. So after she’s done clustering with cheaper allies to use her Leadership early on in the game, she either Charges in to Flurry or, more hopefully, warps in the spot of a fallen friend or foe to gain access to more targets. ‘Course, this can just as often lead her to her own early death. But the more fire on her, the less on the dangerous shooters of the team.

Black Widow (Captain America 006) 85

black-widow-jg-jones
Best used as Rogers’ left hand with his Leadership to take off her tokens. SHIELD helps extend her modest range, too. With traited, unOutwittable Stealth, she’s the one teammate who need not depend on Sharon Carter for cover. A single push gets her to Penetrating Psychic Blast if needed.

War Machine (Hammer of Thor) 137
Nova Prime (Galactic Guardians) 150

war-machineNovaPrimeIAmAnAvenger
 These two serves as leadoff or cleanup hitters alike on the team I played back in mid-June. War Machine’s long range proved key for a clutch TTPC, and both are my preferred choices to represent the characters.

War Machine (Iron Man 3) 220
Nova (Annihilators) 125
 This Modern Age pair worked differently, with Nova being more pure support through his Worldmind Surge SP granting Perplex to like-keyworded friends. It especially benefited his fellow Soldier, War Machine, who got a generally can’t-miss 13 AV.

Moon Knight (Amazing Spider-Man) 109

MoonKnight
He was a HUGE boon with his Perplex. Especially good in crowded environs thanks to his short range. The Full Moon trait makes him a bit of a wild card, as one never quite knows if he’ll be a quietly high-priced support piece or a dangerous threat they won’t see coming.

…even though he wears all white.

Beast (Giant-Size X-Men) 95

beast
Thanks to the Outwit nerf forcing him to get closer to the action, Beast is now a new melee threat and tie-up piece. At worst, he’ll draw fire away from the real offensive threats on the team before going down. And with his late-dial CCE, he WILL draw fire if he’s basing a foe with his natural 11 AV.

The difference couldn’t be greater in this truer incarnation of the Secret Avengers build than the initial one cobbled together in 2010 when the title was first released. And I couldn’t be gladder about it — a comic-accurate F.U.N. team!

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The final “piece” in this “Top Ten” list of figures Heroclixin’ will miss in retirement is a whole team:

#1

Nextwave

Aaron Stack, Elsa Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, The Captain, Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men)

Equaling a perfect 500-point named keyword team, the Nextwave squad never really got on the field the way I wanted it to. Maybe it was the lack of good top-dial moving attack options in a game which still boasted, at the time, plenty of ranges 8 or longer. A pity that almost as soon as the support powers Outwit and Perplex, which could easily nerf Nextwave before, were themselves nerfed, Nextwave gets relegated to the pasture. Speaking of which, Nextwave didn’t have any of those support powers, either — not without taking a lot of damage. And even though the crew had a decent ATA, it was unusable on a full-power Nextwave themed team in Modern Age unless one doubled up on the weakest member to make a 600-point team.

Nextwave: Not Getting Played In Force Since Q1 2011.

________

Retirement has a silver lining though, because this:

Nextwave

Aaron Stack, Elsa Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, The Captain, Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men)

The team with the Nextwave ATA added up to 525 points. Now that the team’s in Golden Age, we can throw on the full 50 points of Feats to make this a proper 600-point themed team at last!

First, spend 25 points on Warbound on all characters with the Nextwave keyword. This feat, which really kinda fits this close-knit team that’s more like a family, eliminates some of the movement/action challenges the squad has at this point level. The taxis, which are also the big hitters, can shunt tokens off to the cheaper passengers (only Tabby is too inexpensive for them to Warbound to). Or the cheaper ones, when finally in position to do something, can dump their tokens off to the others, as in this illustrative pic:

Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men 015) makes a close combat attack and uses Warbound to give the token to adjacent friendly character more than half her 58-point cost, Aaron Stack (Giant-Size X-Men 016). He then pushes to make a close combat attack of his own because he's Indomitable and can use Willpower. Tabby will be free next turn to act — say, setting her Timebombs in distant squares or just making a ranged attack, because no generic cop HeroClix figure is standing up after getting kicked for 3 damage twice in a row. (Dont' worry, it's OK, it's a BAD cop they're kicking.)

Tabitha Smith (Giant-Size X-Men 015) makes a close combat attack and uses Warbound to give the token to an adjacent friendly character more than half her 58-point cost, Aaron Stack (Giant-Size X-Men 016). He then pushes to make a close combat attack of his own because he’s Indomitable and can use Willpower. Tabby will be free next turn to act — say, setting her Timebombs in distant squares or just making a ranged attack, because no generic cop HeroClix figure is standing up after getting kicked for 3 damage twice in a row.
(Don’t worry, parents, it’s OK— it’s a BAD cop they’re kicking.)

That leaves 25 more points left for feats in the 10% allowed for feats. Each character’s gonna get one.

Monica!

Rambeau

Lacking Special Powers or Traits, she will microwave the buttocks off most of the newer figures in the game thanks to Not So Special giving her an AV boost against those that do have SPs. That’s 3 points. 22 to go.

Tabby!

TabbyCANwalk&chewgum

Her no-attack-roll-necessary SP only deals a low 1 or 2 damage. So feat her with Armor Piercing, which has always put teeth into multi-target Energy Explosion, which Tabitha (aka Boom Boom aka Meltdown) has in spades on her non-SP clicks to give foes the explodo with this clever use of 10 points.

Aaron!

aaronstack

The robotic hero full of useful devices and sock-drawer-organizing skills would have the Inside Information on other Avengers, Heavy Metal, Nextwave, Robot, S.H.I.E.L.D., and West Coast Avengers-keyworded foes for a healthy AV boost against them for just 4 more points. Play it!

Elsa!

Elsa

The English-accented monster hunter can further her monster hunting ways with the 3-point Monster Hunter feat.

The Captain!

captain-avenger

In an appropriately gonzo sort of way, Alias is actually a pretty fitting feat for a guy who’s called himself just about every Captain [insertwordhere] in the Marvel Universe. Gameplay-wise, as he’s liable to lead the charge with his Impervious hide and potential Outwit/Perplex immunity, it gives him a little protection.

Feat total comes to 48 points, 2 under the cap, bringing the team to 573.

So let’s put a Resource on Aaron Stack, who, as noted before, is full of very useful devices approximating the powers of a half-complete Infinity Gauntlet:

  • Soul Gem (or “Death to fleshy ones!”)
  • Power Gem (Close Combat Expert on early dial. Range Combat Expert on 2nd half)
  • Space Gem (using extendible arms to Carry pals and stride past foes with his extendible legs akin to giants)

And, of course, his time with the Celestials means he can access robot godhood … eventually.

The most useful aspect of a Gauntlet on Aaron is the early Telekinesis he offers the team. He is the pilot of Nextwave’s ship, the Shockwave Rider, after all.

Finally, some Battlefield Conditions will round things out:

  • Mistrust. Nextwave have no team symbols to share, so they’re unaffected by this card. (And, as noted before, Nextwave is Love.)
  • Overconfidence. There’s no Perplex on the team, either, unless Aaron picks it later via Gauntlet (Assuming he’s not actually complete and utter ****). Conversely (because I may not actually have the above card in my collection anymore) I could use White Noise because, again, I have virtually no Outwit on the team.
  • Extraordinary Day. This just fits Nextwave’s penchant for **** and **** and people getting kicked. ESPECIALLY PEOPLE GETTING KICKED.
  • There’s also Debris. The Captain and Aaron both start with Super Strength, so it might be worth having a bunch more objects to use.

598 points. Can’t wait to try this out!

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Next week: back to regular features.

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, again. Here we continue  the DC HeroClix 10th Anniversary roundup!

I mentioned yesterday that I observe All Saints Day (though I’m not a Catholic). Frankly, I only do so nominally, if at all. It’s still fitting that today’s photo is of the closest thing in comics to sainthood, Superman!

As you see, Superman (DC 10th Anniversary 021) has plenty of room in the booth for the object! One can also squeeze the older, thinner objects between his cape and the back of the booth.

Since it’s Thursday — formerly known as Thor’s Day — here’s a pic of Thor  (Marvel 10th Anniversary 005):

A token fits under his tricep, barely.

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Heroclixin’s taking a few days off in preparation for November’s Top Ten list, to begin either Monday or Tuesday.

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Some of you old heads out there might remember the above game. It certainly topped my wishlist that Christmas.

Anyway, it’s what I titled this recent scenario at my venue:

  • Colossal figures, old and new, are encouraged for this Golden Age event! No feats or resources are allowed for colossals, but they are encouraged for non-colossal figures. 1800 points, 7 actions.

I built my team to A) survive Ziran tests if anyone brought it and B) to play as many never-before-played colossal dials as possible:

Giganto, The Mole Monster  (Galactic Guardians) 300
Giant-Man  (Chaos War) 300
Uatu The Watcher  (Galactic Guardians) 400
Master Mold  (Galactic Guardians) 700
Mole Man (Galactic Guardians) 47
Donald Blake (Chaos War) 33
Jane Foster (X-Plosion)16
=1796 points.

Other teams on the tables included:

Vic’s Thanos (issue 5, I think) and Dormammu with Iron Man and Scarlet Witch;

Paul’s old-school Galactus;

G.O.’s Mark II Sentinel and Nemesis with smaller toughguys like Worldbreaker, Scarlet Witch/Wonder Man and Brainiac;

Bob’s colossal Dark Phoenix and Master Mold with a horde of Orcs and Warg Riders!

Young Sebastian’s all-Dr. Manhattan team, ranging from the 1200-point Jon Osterman to the 105-point giant;

and Bryce’s team with no colossals at all.

FIRST I faced Blue, a new guy who fielded a full-power Master Mold (1500 points) and Sentry & Void. I picked an indoor map and crushed Sentroid with little trouble. That left his Mold free to build Sentinels. But that only offered up free extra points for me to gain a slim 50-point advantage for the win (having lost my own 300-point fig in Giganto).

NEXT, despite being the lowest-point 1-0 non-bye player, I somehow had to deal with the one piece I thought would go 3-0: Cosmic Multiattack Galactus! Paul picked a wide-open map and that was practically my loss right there. I tried to use some strategy by blocking with Uatu, then Giganto, but I made two critical errors:

  • I was blocking for Master Mold, the only one on the team who could withstand the big G’s Psychic Blast. So I should’ve used him to block for the others;
  • I forgot JUST HOW LONG 16 range really is. Galactus could move 6 squares to one-shot my medic in the starting area — and did. Feh.

FINALLY, I had another overpowered cosmic dude to face: Jon Osterman Dr. Manhattan (1200 points), Dr. Manhattan 005, Dr. Manhattan 012 and Silk Spectre & Dr. Manhattan. I got map and used Ookaara. My young opponent, Sebastian, picked the elevated outdoor side.

He spent the first several rounds refusing to budge from his starting area, much less entering my killbox, and I spent those turns setting up said killbox.

Finally, I remembered that I had him trapped already. I busted a couple of squares of blocking terrain so that Giant-Man could start shoving the elevated side of the map over and over and over until the blue man group quit hiding and came to fight!

Unfortunately, that kid is a pretty savvy player. He waited just long enough for me to shove colossal Jon onto his Pulse Wave clicks, then Phased down and exploded me over and over while I futilely tried to counterattack a 21 DV. Impervious was rolled when I actually did hit. I was just fortunate to not lose any of the three-figure-cost pieces.

___________

Though the event was designed for colossals, I was very pleased that the eventual winner, having beaten both the original Galactus AND the above-mentioned Dr. M team, was Bryce’s colossal-free force including Iron Man / War Machine with the full Infinity Gauntlet, Captain America (Hammer of Thor), Iron Man (Secret Invasion), Dr. Strange (Secret Invasion), Professor X (Giant-Size X-Men), Immortus, Morgan Le Fay (Chaos War), Mr. Fantastic (Secret Invasion) with Brilliant Tactician, Alfred Pennyworth (Dark Knight Rises), The Wizard Shazam (Brave and Bold), Batman (Dark Knight Rises), and Namor (Secret Invasion). Truly, a force that could contend with colossals, and did!

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it. Me, I’m more of an All Saints’ Day fellow, which will be highlighted a bit with tomorrow’s Token Totin’ feature. See you then!

 

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Continuing Heroclixin’s photographic record of Super-Strong figs that can hold objects, again. Here we continue both the DC HeroClix 10th Anniversary roundup and wrap up the Halloweeny focus on the freakish with this most famous of comics monsters, the Hulk!

It’s kind of a tough hold. You’ve got to push the token as far into Hulk (Marvel 10th Anniversary 002)’s armpit or crook of the arm as possible, making certain it’s also against his right toe. Then sort of make it rest on his fist as well. It’s wobbly, but it seems to work!

The monstrosities aren’t finished. It’s a DC zombie!

 

Black Lantern Superman (022) can fit a token under the cape, barely.

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Tomorrow’s Halloween! Prepare for a most terrifying battle report — colossals unleashed!

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Ever since the Avengers movie, my longtime love for the Black Widow character has been freshly revived (even though Scarlet Johansson’s casting is my least favorite thing about the film. I’m so over it). So at first opportunity, I played a 400-point team composed soley of every single version of Black Widow in my collection:

Black Widow (Captain America 006) 85 + Thunderbolts ATA 8 + Inside Info 4

The Covert Avenger (Avengers Movie Starter 004) 75 + Lunge 5

Black Widow (Captain America 206) 60 + Nanoarmor 6

Black Widow  (Classics 2-08) 59 + Not So Special 3

Black Widow  (Avengers Movie 007) 50 + Vault 3 + Infiltrate 2

Black Widow (Avengers Movie 036) 35 + Lunge 5

And here’s how they wound up playing:

Black Widow (Captain America 006): The big gal of the crew, her Running Shot and 3 damage made her invaluable. I wasn’t scared to push her to get to Penetrating Psychic Blast, either. Being able to pick Mystics with Thunderbolts ATA — never run her without T-Bolts — served as a good deterrent against Hypersonic attackers like Supergirl. (Too bad I didn’t pick Mystics in the first round against Ms. Marvel.)

The Covert Avenger (Avengers Movie Starter 004): Really tried to make her defense-countering SP work, but the must-hit attacks failed. She did OK, but I feel like she should contribute more.

Black Widow (Captain America 206): This was a true linchpin of the team with her 2nd-click Perplex. This Widow also served well as a secondary sniper even with her paltry 4 range. Willpower helped.

Black Widow  (Classics 2-08): Mostly outclassed by more modern dials, the old Ultimates Widow still packs a mean punch with 3 damage and Willpower. Since she doesn’t have to front a team (in the sense of bringing anti-Stealth to the game), she can make some surprise shots.

Black Widow  (Avengers Movie 007) : Another who ignores enemy Stealth, though the 4 range makes that a fairly empty threat. I never got to use her Takedown power, either (chiefly due to her getting OHKO’d by a Blood Brother and thoroughly forgetting my Themed Team Probability Control to turn that improbable hit to a miss).

Black Widow (Avengers Movie 036): The littlest Widow sometimes made a big impact. From Lunging about (thanks, feats!) to using her SHIELD TA (with the 60-point Widow’s, too) to lengthen the swings of big Widow and Ult. Widow to just tying up enemies or blocking line of fire, she’s useful in a multitude of ways. And only 35 points!

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It’s the turn of the month, so it’s time for another Top Ten list from Heroclixin’. This time we’re looking at Barrier.

It’s one of those supporting-actor powers in Heroclix. Sexy marquee powers like Hypersonic Speed and Psychic Blast or Probability Control get all the paparazzi attention. But once in a while you see this background player step up and steal a scene right out from under those headliners. And sometimes, the right vehicle can make it a star in its own right. Anyone who’s ever been stymied by a double-Barrier team knows this.

What makes Barrier great?

  • It’s the supreme defensive power. Impervious may reduce damage to zero sometimes, but Barrier reduces it to zero all the time by preventing the attack in the first place. It also cuts off enemy lines of fire for support powers.
  • It’s flexible. Barrier only needs Line of Fire to its first square, allowing for some truly unexpected uses.
  • It’s “Construct”ible. The Feat card CONSTRUCT is a great boost to an already solid power, increasing its effectiveness especially against flying enemies outdoors in range by forcing them to breakaway from the barrier.

What’s not so great about it?

  • It’s a defense slot power that doesn’t help its owner when targeted…at ALL. A character with Barrier will take all the damage when hit unless you add cost by using the FORCE FIELD feat.
  • It’s really just a stalling technique. The best defense is good offense. Barrier is not offense at all, and thus is rather second-rate.
  • It’s restricted to clear terrain. You can’t place a barrier token on hindering terrain, so it’s sometimes difficult to build as airtight a defense as you would like.

Because of these weaknesses, you really want to get the most out of a character with the power. So…

What makes a great Barrier figure?

  1. A range of 8 or greater. Because a Barrier figure lacks damage reducers (barring any feats granting such), it is best kept well out of the fray; a range of 6 or less puts the Barrier fig within most characters’ Charge zone. This means that for its power to be of maximum use to the team, it needs to have a long range. More range also increases the power’s flexibility.
  2. Two or more starting consecutive clicks of the power. Simply put, the optimal Barrier figure has to be able to push to use the power, if necessary, since it’s not always advantageous to build in multiple-Barrier teams. And while many figs with Barrier have many late clicks of it, that is of little strategic use as those figs are also usually near KO and it may be better to push and run them away than to push and make walls.
  3. Ability to serve a secondary or supporting role. Yes, a good Barrier figure can be able to fight. But if it’s the main attacker, then the Barrier power is mostly wasted. Your first-stringer should be dealing damage, not trying to prevent it with barriers. The flip side is that Barrier is not always needed. So what does the figure offer besides wall-building? (This is another reason why long range is necessary.)
  4. Affordability. A secondary/supporting figure like this should not top 100 points. Preferably it would be far cheaper.
  5. Life after Barrier. Say you exhaust every click of the power to hold off that tentpole fig with the Meteorite on the other team. What can this figure do now? If the answer is pretty much, “nothing else but die,” it doesn’t belong on the list.

Be here Monday to see the #10 and #9 best Barrier specialists in the game!