“Fantastic Forces part Deux” (or a top ten set review of the Heroclix Future Foundation set)

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Some notes:

  • This set is awesome if you like the scientist keyword. All 7 of my top 7 figures are scientists.
  • The sidekicks/captains in the set just aren’t worth running on their own, but they may see some use when the Wonder Woman set is released.
  • The common prime figure in this set is very specialized and not like the awesome power houses that we’ve been used to seeing recently. Still good, but isn’t as good as Bishop, Leopard, or Blue Batman.

Honorable mentions:

5.  FFFF050 H.E.R.B.I.E. (30 Points) – There is one reason to use this guy and that’s if sidekicks really catch on as a thing. In the future foundation set alone I can’t imagine a really good sidekicks team. But with the Wonder Woman 80th anniversary set coming out this week, this guy could start to see competitive play if we start seeing teams with several characters that generate side kicks. He’ll break theme on those teams, but being able the prevent the death of a sidekick 50% of the time is worth it.

4. FFFF009 Thing Robot (20 points) – This guy in multiples is great with sidekicks, but even without them he’s worth playing. For 20 points he is the hardiest figure you can find at that point level and as a bonus he can attack for 4 damage if the opponent tries to ignore him.

3. FFFF006 She-Hulk (75 points) – There is only one thing to point out here that isn’t really obvious. On the surface she is just a tough figure with a long dial full of reducers for a relatively low point cost. But, she does have one trait that may catch an opponent by surprise. Its states, “THE FANTASTIC FOUR FOR FOUR MINUTES: Once per turn, you may reroll an attack roll that has a 4.” I did the math and that’s roughly 31% of all rolls AND it doesn’t mention anything about needing range or line of fire. So that’s actually a really strong trait that you might underestimate until you stop and think about it.

2. FFFF031BV Wizard (25 points) – When you absolutely positively need to SEE everybody in the room, accept no substitutes. So this is a subtle but powerful piece that can grant improved targeting to any friendly piece near them. If you are running one (or several) good ranged attackers that you want to make sure aren’t thwarted by something like stealth, this is your guy.

1. FFFF013BMad Thinker (40 points) – If you are playing a Robot theme, then you need to run this guy. He brings perplex, probability control for robots anywhere on the board, and as a nice bonus he is incredibly hard to kill considering he is only a tiny fraction of your build total. And if you aren’t running robots then spend your points elsewhere.

 Here’s the Top Ten:

10. FFFF048 Stardust (100 points) – One part Silver Surfer and on part Wolverine. This guy has only has 6 range and 3 damage value for his entire dial, but the pulse wave at the front and back of his dial really help negate that weakness. What really makes him special is his defense. His damage reducers and cosmic TA combine really nicely with his trait, “A BEING OF PURE ENERGY: At the beginning of your turn, you may heal Stardust 1 click. // The first time Stardust would be KO’d instead turn her to click #7. Protected: Pulse Wave.” 

9.  FFFF054 Silver Savage (100 points) – An exceptional close combat attacker that towards the end of his dial becomes a great ranged attacker with Hypersonic Speed. His biggest weakness is his starting Battle Fury that keeps him from being carried into battle. He’s also a figure that has a really good comic accurate/coolness factor.

8.  FFFF040 Human Torch (75 point) – This is the most effective Human Torch dial that they’ve ever printed. Usually the Human Torch is represented by a combination of energy explosion, running shot and energy shield/deflection and he tends to get KOed quickly whenever attention is focused on him. This Human Torch changes it up by featuring mastermind and toughness on defense to go along with a special Pulse Wave and knockback on offense. Normally Pulse Wave and Mastermind together is not ideal, but this time it works because this version of Pulse Wave does not target friendly characters.

7. FFFF059AV High Evolutionary (30 points) – Simply an exception efficient ranged attacker that features running shot, psychic blast, probability control, the cosmic energy TA, and a stop click. He’s expensive, but if that wasn’t a factor running multiples of him with a prime wizard would be a brutally effective team.

6. FFFF057 Psycho-Man(75 points)- Psycho-Man made this list almost entirely based on the power of his emotional  modifier and his ability to affect 8 squares in every direction with it’s chosen effect. The modifier states “EFFECT: FREE: Choose one of the following to last until you choose again: Fear: Opposing characters within 4 squares modify defense -1. Doubt: Opposing characters within 4 squares modify attack -1. Hate: Characters within 4 squares and line of fire can use Battle Fury. Light Object.” There are a lot of characters in the game that won’t be able to make a ranged attack the entire game if you set the modifier to battle fury and never change it.

5. FFF058 Puppet Master (40 points) – A  40 point character that has mind control with a 10 range that is capable of ignoring all terrain for targeting. That combines well with his excellent 12 attack and precision strike that helps to mitigate super senses. The really surprising part is how good his defense is. He has starting stealth, super senses, and shape change. Such good offense and defense at 40 a point cost is nuts.

4. FFFF055 Uatu (30 points) – Definitely my favorite mission point character of the set. If winning by mission points becomes a thing when Wonder Woman releases, he could see a lot of play. For 30 points he’s a great support character with long range probability control that is relatively tough to KO. And if your opponent chooses to attack him (or you mastermind damage to him) then he goes from defense to offense. His last click has a 12 attack and 4 damage that pairs nicely with his 12 range.

3. FFFF065V Dr. Doom the Sorcerer Supreme (75 points) – If you are running one Dr. Doom chase you are basically running them all and this is the chase that a lot of people run as their default go-to piece. What makes him so valuable is his damage special that states, “CHANGE THE FATES: Once per attack, you may reroll the attack roll of a character within range and line of fire.” That’s not once per turn like regular probability control, that’s once per attack. That’s an insane of amount of board control and your opponent faces a massive uphill battle if he tries to attack through that advantage.

2. FFFF044V Molecule Man (30 points) – This is probably the best barrier figure ever printed. If he wasn’t unique, you’d see swarms of him at tournaments and games would be ending in roll offs all the time because no one would ever be able to make any attacks. In addition to normal barrier he has a special barrier that states, “MOLECULAR MANIPULATION: Smoke Cloud as FREE. // FREE: Roll a d6 and choose a number of non-debris terrain markers within range up to the result. Replace those markers with any combination of hindering, water, or blocking terrain markers. At the beginning of your next turn, remove all markers placed this way.” That translates into him being able to create an average of 3.5 blocking terrain markers a turn as a free action. Basically a free use of the full barrier power each turn in addition to being able to use barrier normally. That’s crazy.

1. FFFF062V Dr. Doom (75 points) – The reason everyone wants him is his trait that says “I WANT THAT TREASURE!: FREE: Once per game, remove a FFFF #s010 Time Platform equipped to Dr. Doom from the game. If you do, equip Dr. Doom with an equipment of 10 points or less on an opponent’s force (on the map or equipped to one of their characters).” So basically you’re opponents best equipment suddenly becomes your best equipment and your opponent is out of luck. Even if it’s something they were depending on. Radioactive clay? It’s yours. Power Gem? That’s Doom’s Power Gem? Carnage Symbiote? Doom is the new Carnage. In a meta ruled by awesome equipment, that makes him the best character in this set.

That’s it for this set review. Leave a comment below to let me know what you thought of my picks.

“It’s Only a Flesh Wound” (or a top ten set review of the Heroclix House of X set)

/ ninwashui / Leave a comment

More than any set before it, this set lets Xmen figures treat any injury as merely a flesh wound.

Here are the honorable mentions:

5. HX016 Dr. Alia Gregor (20 points) – I’ve said this before about other pieces, but Dr. Gregor really is a one trick pony and it’s a heck of a trick. Giving bystander tokens +1 to all stats can be game breaking if you have a enough of them. Isaac, Red Ghost, Maggot, Jason Wyngarde, Stegron, and even Mary Jane are much more effective in her presence.

4. HX006 Cypher (35 points) – A perfect support charter except for his soft defense, but that may be offset by KRAKOAN REVIVAL. He has a special barrier, perplex, and my favorite combination of Sidestep/Telekinesis. Plus he’s got improved targeting that ignores opposing characters so he can do fun things like place a barrier all the way around someone.

3. HX018 Corsair (60 points) – His excellent team up card gives the core Starjammers willpower, which turns them into an excellent team. And when the rules for willpower change in April he’ll be even better. The figure himself won’t be used often without the other Starjammers until the rules for willpower change, but after that a 60 point figure with leadership, probability control, enhancement, and improved targetting: hindering might be seen on quite a few different teams.

2. HX066 Waldo (40 points) – Speaking of Starjammers that might see a lot of use after the rules change, Waldo will make an excellent taxi/medic for any team that chooses to field him. Whether that’s a robot team, pirate team (he’s the ultimate pirate ship), spider-man ally, or even a non-keyworded team – there is no better piece for carrying figures in the modern age. Throw in his perplex and his free medic bystander and he has skills that any team can use.

1. HX055 Kate Pryde (65 points) – She’s not quite as good of a taxi as Waldo (although still good). The reason I rated her higher than Waldo, is that she is one of the best pieces in the set that can use KRAKOAN REVIVAL. She’s relatively hard to kill, has full dial steal energy, transports her team, and has a chance to unequip opposing characters. I think KRAKOAN REVIVAL is a excellent trait and I have a number of teams I am planning with her.

 Here’s the Top Ten:

10 . HX052V Gambit (50 points) – If you are running KRAKOAN REVIVAL figures, then you know at some point the other team will have bystanders. With triple target energy explosion and free attacks against non standard characters, he’s one of the best figures in the game for dealing with opposing bystanders. Aside from that, he can see through stealth, has precision strike, and some late dial perplex. His defense isn’t that great, but that’s why you are running KRAKOAN REVIVAL in the first place.

9. HX044E Magneto (25 points) – He packs a lot into his 25 point value single click. He’s not delivering a lot of damage to a single target, but his 8 range and ability to ignore characters for targeting complements his triple target energy explosion nicely. You should be able to target the entire opposing team at once. Defensively, he features energy shield/deflection and mastermind. He might also gain probability control or Impervious from various team ups. And I haven’t even mentioned yet that his 25 point dial features Colossal Retaliation!

8. HX004 Wolverine (60 points)- Just a really good version of Wolverine that gives you the option of using charge with flurry or exploit weakness. And once Wonder Woman comes out the rules will change to allow him to use all three at once. But what really puts him on this list is his excellent team up card with Colossus. It reads “TEAM UP: COLOSSUS Listed friendly character can use Telekinesis, but only to place an adjacent Wolverine. When the listed friendly character uses it, after resolutions Wolverine may use Charge at no cost. (After revealing forces, you may replace character cards with their alternates. You can’t choose a Team Up card if your starting characters share a name).” It is essentially giving Wolverine 2 full sets of flurry attacks in a single turn.

7. HX059AV Apocalypse (75 points)- Where Wolverine make this list because of incredible offense, This version of Apocalypse is on this list because of his incredible defense. He has a full dial of steal energy, a better version of regeneration, damage reducers protected by the cosmic TA, and a trait that heals him the first time he would be KOed. On offense he does alternate between Psychic Blast and Flurry, but his low damage value makes him just an average attacker. 

6. HX059BV Apocalypse (150 points) – They don’t say that this is officially the Apocalypse of the Xmen Animated series, but he is. That just adds a whole bunch of coolness to this piece. Defensively this version of Apocalypse has PROTECTED: Mind Control, Outwit, and Penetrating/Psychic Blast. He also has the BEHIND THE SCENES trait that we’ve seen on other figures from the Xmen Animated set. On offense he starts with charge and exploit weakness which isn’t bad because with the behind the scenes trait opposing figures with have to be close to hurt him. Additionally, he can gain any power once per turn as a free action and gives himself and other Horsemen a full dial of Steal Energy. Lastly, he has the ability to create horsemen with his trait that states, “THE HORSEMEN OF APOCALYPSE: At the beginning of the game, you may choose up to 4 friendly characters each of 50 points or less and choose a different effect below for each. This game, the chosen characters gain the Horsemen keyword and their chosen effect. War: Super Strength. Pestilence: Poison. Famine: Adjacent opposing characters can’t be healed. Death: Exploit Weakness.“

5. HX063 Mother (35 points) – This is not a great character design as she will likely never be in position to attack on the opposing team and thus will always take damage when using her title character powers. I don’t play her like a character. I play her like she is equipment for my whole team. The way I play her she will only on the board for 4 total turns and she will likely never leave my starting area. Her second title character power states that when she dies each other figure on the team with the Xmen keyword gets to use perplex for the rest of the game and that’s my goal. I use her for that and let her die. Even under the new rules perplex is still very powerful and giving the power to 3 (or more) figures is well worth 35 points.

4. HX003B Bishop (40 points) – He’s a nice second or third string attacker, but the reason to run him is the shard bystander token he generates. She has a trait that reads, “ABSORB THE AMBIENT LIGHT: Opposing characters can only attack characters within 5 squares of themselves.” Ranged attacks are most of the attacks that get made in an average game and severely limiting the other teams ability to make ranged attacks is a huge bonus. This makes Bishop a great piece to base a team around and lets him be useful in almost any build.

3. HX037B Emperor Vulcan (175 points) – He’s super expensive at 175 points, but he is a killing machine with no weak spot. He’s got a full dial of Pulse Wave while being completely immune to it himself. He’s got a full dial of impervious and invulnerability protected by the Cosmic Energy TA and he also ignores penetrating damage. He’s also got a 10 click long dial and 2 stop clicks. With pulse wave, outwit, psychic blast, and exploit weakness all useless against him every click of damage you do to him you’ll have to do that hard way. There are no shortcuts to KOing this guy. 

2. HX067 Old Man Phoenix (160 points) – This is the most healing that we’ve ever gotten on on figure. His healing trait states, “MUTANT REGENERATION AND COSMIC RESURRECTION: At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 and heal Old Man Phoenix half the result.” That’s an average of  2 clicks healed at the start of every turn. So playing this guy really changes any game he’s fielded in. Your opponent will have to throw everything they can at this guy or he’ll just shrug it off and heal back to the top of his dial. Similarly, it’s your job to when playing him to do what ever you can to keep the opponent from focusing on him. Because if this version of Wolverine is allowed to survive long enough, he will kill the entire opposing team by himself. He’s got a full dial of charge, flurry, exploit weakness, and battle fury that will let him carve up anyone if he lives long enough to do it.

1. HX068V • ▪▪ịẬị▪▪ • (70 points) – This is the hardest character to KO in the set that has KRAKOAN REVIVAL and the power of that trait makes him the most powerful character in this set. What makes him so hard to kill is his last click. It has a special power that states, “MY POSITION ON THE QUIET COUNCIL GRANTS ME CERTAIN RIGHTS: STOP. Invulnerability, Mastermind. // When this click is first revealed, after resolutions roll a d6. Heal • ▪▪ịẬị▪▪ • a number of clicks equal to the result.” As long as Apocalypse is next to a character he can mastermind to it’s super hard to KO him. Outwit won’t work. Neither will pulse wave. And he’ll have a never ending supply of mastermind targets thanks to Krakoan Revival. There are ways to get past this stop click on Apoclypse, but your opponent might not be playing the right figures to do so. For more reasons why I like this guy so much, check out my Let’s Build An Excalibur Team!! article.

That’s it for this set review. Leave a comment below to let me know what you thought of my picks.

Let’s Build An Excalibur Team!!

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Here’s a keyword team with some meta implications. It’s based around two powerful team up cards. The first for Rachel Grey reads, “TEAM UP: EXCALIBUR THEMED TEAM  If 4+ friendly characters with the Excalibur keyword are on the map, they can’t be targeted by opposing characters 5+ squares away.” This is the same thing as the “Behind the Scenes” trait from the XDPS, but it will protect your entire team. It’s also superior to what Prime Bishop can do because he lets opponents target from 1 square further away and only prevents attacks instead of all targetting.

The second team up card is for Rogue. It states “TEAM UP: , CAPTAIN BRITAIN, GAMBIT, JUBILEE, RICTOR If 1+ listed friendly characters are on the map, Rogue and listed character’s Excalibur, Mystical Protectors trait also triggers with close attacks. If 3+ are on the map, when they hit, after resolutions heal the attacker 1 click.” With Rachel Grey forcing the other team into close quarters this team up is a must. Also, we’ll be using three of the listed characters, so they will heal a click whenever they hit any opposing character.

Here’s the team I had in mind:

  • Theme: Excalibur +6
  • HoX068-70 Apocalypse (Krakoan) (70 points)
  • SVACs002 Illusion Generator (10 points)
  • HoX036-60 Rogue (60 points) – with team up
  • HoX052-50 Gambit (50 points)
  • WKMP19-s107 Incandescence (Mandarin Ring) (5 points)
  • HoX001.01 Rachel Grey  (40 points) – with team up
  • HoX063 Mother (35 points)
  • HoX053-30 Captain Britain (35 points)
  • Total = 300 points.

Here’s what each piece brings to the team:

HoX068-70 Apocalypse (Krakoan) – This is an Excalibur keyword theme team, but each piece also has the Xmen keyword and is lower points than Apocalypse. That’s not an accident. It’s so that Apocalypse can use his Krakoan Revival trait. If your opponent wants to KO any of your pieces, he will need to KO Apocalypse first. That’s no easy task because of Apocalypse’s stop click that offers immediate healing the first time it’s revealed and when it shows up a again it has invulnerability and mastermind. Because these powers appear on the stop click they can’t be outwitted or bypassed via pulse wave. A single target pulse wave can be redirected via mastermind and a multi-target pulse wave will have it’s damage reduced to zero by invulnerability. Additionally Apocalypse can be healed easily with the Xmen TA and anyone he masterminds damage to that would be KOed can simply be revived. Also, every time he is hit activates his mystics TA. KOing him is not impossible, but it’s a puzzle that some teams may not have an answer for.

SVACs002 Illusion Generator – Since you know Apocalypse will be the prime target, you might as well give him as much protection as possible. This gives shape change (which can’t be outwitted due to Apocalypse’s cosmic energy) and every time he makes the roll an autonomous bystander is generated that you can put in the opponents line of fire. These bystanders will make opponents waste even more actions killing bystanders instead of what they are really after.

HoX036-60 Rogue – Aside from bringing her team up card to the team, she is a hypersonic harasser with battle fury and she brings a special trick that your opponent may not see coming. “TURNS OUT, I DON’T NEED THE GLOVES: FREE: Choose an adjacent character and a standard power they can use. Until your next turn, Rogue can use that power and has that character’s printed range value.” Also, like Apocalypse she has the mystics TA.

HoX052-50 Gambit – He’s the best character in the set for killing opposing bystanders and you know opponents are going to be running bystanders because you will be giving them bystanders with Krakoan Revival. Aside from KOing bystanders Gambit is just an excellent attacker whose triple target energy explosion will be able to target large numbers of enemies at the same time. He also has the mystics TA.

WKMP19-s107 Incandescence (Mandarin Ring) – Use this to super charge Gambit’s attacks. It turns him into a damage dealing machine.

HoX001.01 Rachel Grey – Aside from her excellent Team up card she can be a decent super figure with her Enhancement and Telekinesis. She’s also useful for healing with her Xmen Team Ability and on the latter half of her dial she can be a decent attacker.

HoX063 Mother (35 points) – Keep her in your starting area and just continuously use her first +1 title character ability.  Depending on what the other team is doing you will probably just use her -3 ability on turn 4 and let her be killed by damage at the end  of that turn. You’ll give your opponent 35 points and let them damage one of your figures and place it in your starting area, but the trade off is worth it. After turn 4 all of the remaining 5 figures on your team will be able to use perplex for the rest of the game. This will take your team with otherwise average attacking stats and just supercharge them. It’s just a ridiculous advantage. Thanks to Krakoan Revival, your opponent can’t do anything to stop this unless they KO Apocalypse first, and that’s just not going to happen by turn 4.

HoX053-30 Captain Britain – On a team with 6 people leadership is a must and her leadership can potentially remove 2 action tokens in a turn. Aside from that, she brings outwit, mystics TA, and could be a capable attacker if someone increases her attack value via perplex. Rachel Grey is already ensuring that opponents will be in charge range and that’s where she Captain Britain thrives.

That’s it for today.

Let’s Build An Old Man Phoenix Team!!

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Just like my previous article about Apocalypse Prime (and my article about Maggott that got debunked on Facebook), here’s another build about a top piece from House of X HoX067 Old Man Phoenix.

Here’s the team I had in mind:

  • Theme: Xmen +5
  • HoX067 Old Man Phoenix (160 points)
  • SVCS004 Carnage Symbiote (10 Points)
  • HoX003b Bishop (40 points)
  • HoX006 Cypher (35 points)
  • xdpG020p Dark Phoenix (30 points)
  • HoX044-25 Magneto w/ Xmen Team up HoX044.03 (25 points)
  • Total = 300 points.

Here’s what each piece brings to the team:

HoX067 Old Man Phoenix (160 points)– This is your primary attacker. He enjoys flurrying, using his claws, and healing whatever damage opponents throw at him. He’s powerful, but also very straight forward so not a ton to write about here.

SVCS004 Carnage Symbiote (10 Points) – Assign this to Old Man Phoenix. It grants him Shape Change (that can’t be outwitted) and even more healing because more healing is always a good thing. Also Plasticity means that when he says “I go where I want to go”, no one will argue.

HoX003b Bishop (40 points) – The last thing you want to do is get your Shiny new Wolverine shot full of holes from across the board. Bishop will make sure that opponents will have to stay close in order to hurt you and that’s exactly how Old Man Phoenix likes it. Plus he makes a good second attacker and his outwit could come in handy.

HoX006 Cypher (35 points) – So the combination of Cyber and Prime Bishop should hopefully let your Old Man Phoenix get the drop on on opponents despite having a zero range. The combo of sidestep and TK is perfect for firing your primary attacker into battle. As bonus the perplex is handy and the special barrier will remind you a little of Valaria Von Doom in her prime. What I mean by that is that since Cypher can see through characters he can literally put his barrier behind an opposing character and then automatically knock that opponent into it. He can also use barrier to surround an opponent on all four sides because of his improved targeting.

xdpG020p Dark Phoenix (30 points) – She’s a long range attacker and currently the games best retaliator in modern. You opponent is going to need a lot of hits on Old Man Phoenix to KO him, and Phoenix is a great (and thematic) distraction that will hopefully  give him time to heal some of his wounds. Also if you up her damage to 4 with Cypher she will heal if she does that amount of damage to (or KOs) an opposing figure, and that will be a huge headache for your opponent.

HoX044-25 Magneto w/ Xmen Team up HoX044.03 – Magneto brings a ton of options for a very low point cost. Like Phoenix he’s a long range attacker and retaliator at the same time. But when he retaliates he can be placed anywhere that he can make a ranged attack on his target. With his long range and improved targeting that’s almost anywhere on the board. He ignores characters for targeting so he can target the most vulnerable opposing character even if that figure is behind someone. Or he can target your opponents whole team at once with his triple target energy explosion. Additionally his teamup states, “When Magneto attacks only characters with the Ruler keyword or that can use Leadership, after resolutions remove an action token from him and give each hit character an action token. (After revealing forces, you may replace character cards with their alternates. You can’t choose a Team Up card if your starting characters share a name).” That can make him a tokening nightmare and combines well with his brotherhood TA.

That’s it for today.

Eaten by Maggotts!! (team build article)

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Note: Several problems were discovered with this article after printing. Voyager can only carry figures she shares a theme with. Also, bystanders created that turn can’t use poison.

Greeting fellow Clixers,

I (like a lot of people) have been looking over the previews for House of X and theory Crafting teams. One of the figures that I’ve been looking at is this:

Her special power states, “SCIENCE COMMANDER OF ORCHIS Leadership. // UNIQUE MODIFIER – Friendly bystanders within 5 squares modify their combat values +1.” So I’ve been looking at characters that generate bystanders like caa054e Captain Marvel, ABPI030 Medusa, WKMP19-105 I.S.A.A.C. and xdp048 Jason Wyngarde. But that’s not who I am going to use today. Today I’ve chosen to go with:

That’s right, it’s the 2018 Team Championship figure previewed on clixnexus.com, Maggott.

Here’s the team:

  • Name: Eaten by Maggotts!!
  • Theme: General Butt Kicking/General Icky-ness
  • Theme Map Bonus: We don’t need no stinking Map Bonus
  • ABPI017 Voyager (50 points)
  • ABPI017 Voyager (50 points)
  • HoX051 Maggott (40 points)
  • HoX051 Maggott (40 points)
  • HoX051 Maggott (40 points)
  • HoX051 Maggott (40 points)
  • HoX016 Dr. Alia Gregor (20 points)
  • SVAC014 Mary Jane Watson (15 points)
  • EAXLB-ST Iron Avengers, Assemble (5 points)
  • Total = 300 points

This team is heavily inspired by the team that won the “David Newmark open” (which had UC Thanos as the prize). That 400 point team was two voaygers, a bunch of medusas, and some red aim guys for empower. It just mobbed people with endless hair bystander tokens. So why am I switching Medusa to Maggott? 5 reasons:

  • He’s ten less points (which is important because I am trying to shrink the team from 400 to 300)
  • He’s got probability control (and his tokens are tiny so he can see over them to use it)
  • His tokens offer him options on what to use during his alpha strike as opposed to always just using the hair bystander
  • His tokens don’t weaken as he takes damage
  • His Meany token has poison. So you can carry the 4 Maggots across half the board and just melt anything that doesn’t have a damage reducer without rolling dice. Also, with two Voyagers on the team you can use her outwit to take away opposing damage reducers on a lot of figures.

So this team can make all the way across the board in 2 turns (even phasing through walls) and doesn’t need to equip items at the start of the game. The turn you move up to the opposing team you can use 2 outwits, drop 4 Meanys, use poison 4 times, and make four Meany attacks (boosted by Dr. Alia and backed up by 4 prob controls). Turn 2 you can pick the the Meanys up and put them down again so they can do it all again. But, then the 4 Maggots can also attack (possibly with boosted stats if their Meany hit) and Mary Jane can spawn her Paparazzi bystanders (who can also attack this turn). You can do all of that in the same turn because Mary Jane and every bystander you generate all have Autonomous and Dr. Alia has Leadership.

That’s it for today. Leave a comment and let me know what you think about this team.

 

When You Absolutely, Positively HAVE To KO Every $&*#(@! In The Room… Accept No Substitutes!! (Or, A Second Opinion On The Top Ten Figures in Captain America and the Avengers!!) (Or OR, The Seventh Night of Clix-Mas!!)

/ HypeFox / 1 Comment
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome back to the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2020! For Night One’s announcement trailer, click here. We built an Excalibur Themed Team with some new pieces on Night 2; Ninwashui finally released his SVC Top Ten on Night 3; he came back to talk Watchlist results on Night 4; and he came back once more to build an Apocalypse Prime army on Night 5! And we postulated that Bystander Generators are the new Duos on Night 6!] [EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Why are you getting a Top Ten for a set that released in February?! Well, this article has been stuck in WordPress hell for the better part of a year. I normally write in the Classic Editor, but somehow, some way, WordPress decided to convert the entire article into their new Block format with, well, disastrous results. Still, we thought it would be neat to finally finish an article that was started before Covid was even a thing. Hope you guys and gals enjoy a look back at a time capsule from… well, still from 2020, but it feels like a lifetime ago!] Cap and the Avengers 3 Let the new Clix year begin!! Oh. Wait. It’s already begun. Well then. Ninwashui already led off with his Top Ten figures from CAATV, so it’s time I got back on the saddle… to explain how wrong he was with his Captain America selections (well… a few of them, anyway)! Sorry this has taken so long, but I’ve had a lot of personal things going on these past two three nine <ahem> ten months. But now I’m back! But before we get to the CORRECT rankings, let’s look at… SOME NOTES ABOUT THE SET: War Machine dual Target Rhodey was best known for once bringing three guns to a knife fight.–Wow!! That was quite the lil’ power creepage, eh? How many pieces did we get in this set that get two attacks a turn? Yes, there are conditions for most of these pieces to make the second attack (Thor, War Machine), but those conditions (usually just, y’know, hit with the first attack) are fairly easy to meet and the benefits are ridiculous! Punisher War Machine just literally needs to have two tokens to unleash hell. Captain Marvel Busting Through –Beyond that, there’s a higher than usual amount of figures that get two-for-one special abilities or Traits. Sharon Carter has a Perplex that grants Outwit to any friendly character she uses it on (provided they have the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword). SR Captain Marvel deals automatic penetrating damage AFTER she makes a Hypersonic Attack. Okay, she probably belongs in the list above. But still. The pieces in this set aren’t just strong; many are among the most versatile figures Wizkids has ever printed! Ultron Chase –Once again, we have a set of Marvel Chases that don’t have a strong thematic connection. In this case, they’re connection was actually material–as in, they are each the only pieces in the set that come with Clix FX, a previous mechanic making a welcome return here. (Anytime I can see a visual representation of a mechanic on the map, I’m a happy camper. Makes it harder to forget elements during a match!) So with that, let’s get on to five… HONORABLE MENTIONS: Namor 2 5. CAAV069 Namor — 75 Points — Chase: This dial would probably crack the Top 10 of most other sets. Unfortunately, the King of Atlantis here is trapped in an absolutely stacked lineup, so he will have to settle for Honorable Mention. Still, a 12 Attack top dial with a native 4 Damage for 75 points is always going to get some notice. But what I really love about this version of Namor is how his two Traits really open up Water Builds, a sub-genre of team building that’s never really been Meta but is always a ton of fun. Namor comes with a Flood Marker Clix FX that counts a Water Terrain and works with his first Trait (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.). So on any Map, he can literally flood seven squares every turn, which can activate Traits and Special Powers on a ton of other Dolphin-symbol characters (check out the aptly-named Dolphin from DC Rebirth, for example. If you can guarantee she starts her Charge in Water Terrain every time she attacks, she doesn’t halve her movement and suddenly she’s probably worth double her Point Cost). His second Trait complements the first and helps other Dolphin characters hit their marks (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.). Losing Map Roll is always a big risk with Water Builds, but Namor mitigates that risk quite a bit! Songbird 4. CAAV065 Songbird — 60 Points — Super Rare: As we’ll soon see, the Super Rare slot in this set is PACKED with heavy hitters! So there’s nothing really tricky here. Songbird is just REALLY efficient for her points. Top dial, she’s rocking a 10 Movement with Running Shot, an 11 Attack with Pulse Wave, 18 Defense with Super Senses and 3 Damage with Probability Control. That right there is about as packed as you can get for 60 Points! She also has one of the set’s Theme-based token Traits (ASSEMBLED BOLTS AND MASTERS: Once per turn when Songbird hits, after resolutions you may roll a d6. 5-6: If your force has 3+ friendly characters with the Masters Of Evil or Thunderbolts keywords, remove an action token from Songbird -or- give an action token to a hit target. If your force has 6+, do both.), which is fine, but her second Trait (SOLID SOUND CONSTRUCTS: Barrier as FREE, but only to generate 1 marker then remove all other blocking terrain markers adjacent to the generated marker.) is borderline amazing! Basically, she can put up one Barrier marker to make it difficult to target her, or you can use that Trait offensively to destroy opposing Barrier markers and open up strategic lines of fire! This is the best version of Songbird they’ve ever made (and get used to that, because it’s going to be true for a bunch of different characters that we’re going to be covering!). Sharon Carter 3. CAAV006 Sharon Carter — 35 Points — Common: So, just in case you were thinking the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword would be gone from the Meta for awhile, here’s the first of MANY pieces with that keyword that we’ll be discussing today. Sharon only has three clicks, but she’s ridiculously affordable, has great survival instincts with the recurring Espionage Trait (ESPIONAGE: Stealth, Improved Movement: Hindering, Improved Targeting: Hindering.), gives your squad some cheap Leadership AND comes packing with a Special Damage Power (STAND BY FOR UPDATES: Perplex. When Sharon Carter uses it to target another friendly character with the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword, that character can use Outwit until your next turn.) that can be gamechanging. Her Leadership special works better when she’s teamed with any almost any version of Steve Rogers, but that Damage Special absolutely breaks a different soldier that we’ll be talking about when we get to the top of this list… Taskmaster2 2. CAAV049 Taskmaster — 60 Points — Rare: Yet another switchblade version of one of my favorite villains, this Taskmaster comes STACKED with powers and abilities! He moves through Hindering Terrain, he has the Wildcard TA, starts with a 12 (TWELVE!!) Attack with B/C/F AND Perplex, and his pick-a-power Trait (YOU FORGET THAT I TOOK ON THE AVENGERS: FREE: Choose a standard speed or defense power printed on this card. Taskmaster can use that power until your next turn.) makes him extremely hard to KO. Heck, with Stealth up top, he’s hard to even touch! The Black Widow Movie set gave us a bunch more Taskmasters, but I don’t know that it gave us anything (for the points) that’s better than this. 1. CAAV060 Blade — 50 Points — Super Rare:
A potentially neverending Charge (provided he offs an enemy with the Monster or Mystical keyword each time); Stealth; Improved Movement: Hindering; Improved Targeting: Hindering; Steal Energy (with the ability to heal past his starting line); Blades (of course) and a 17 Defense with Combat Reflexes.
Yes, he’s a bit chewy, but he recovers well and his offense could potentially swing the match. His subpar 10 Attack at this level is the only thing keeping him from the Top Ten.
And NOW…..
THE TOP TEN FIGURES IN CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE AVENGERS!! War Machine CAAV 10. CAAV053A War Machine — 100 Points — Super Rare: Two Team Abilities. A Trait (MINI-GUN TARGET LOCK: When War Machine hits, after resolutions you may give a hit character a Target Lock token, then remove all other Target Lock tokens. // FREE: Make a range attack using War Machine’s printed attack and damage values, but only to target the character with his Target Lock token.) that allows up to a second ranged attack in one turn. Plus Indomitable, Improved Targeting: Hindering, the ability to make ranged attacks while based and some pretty good stats. Also, this Preview set off a firestorm of anticipation among Heroclix fans for this set. Hell, War Machine would be higher on this list if his B-Side wasn’t EVEN BETTER… Old Steve Rogers 9. CAAV038 Steve Rogers — 50 Points — Rare: Stats are aight. He has the recurring Living Legend Trait (LIVING LEGEND: The first time each game Steve Rogers would be KO’d, instead turn him to his last non-KO click, then roll a d6 and heal him equal to half the result. Protected: Pulse Wave.), so he’s a bit harder to put away than his point cost might suggest. But his Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. Building Trait (WE’LL TAKE ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET, IF YOU’RE WORTHY: Leadership. During force construction, you may choose a standard character of 50 points or less. That character loses its printed keywords (for the entire game) and then gains either the Avengers –or– S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword (choose one).) is the main reason to play him. This can even lead to some comic-ly ridiculous scenarios, like:
-Chase Ultron on his rookie dial can now suit up for S.H.I.E.L.D.!
-Valeria Von Doom can now be a child Avenger!
-Heck, if you want, you can take SR Q’s 50 point dial… and do nothing with it (as he’s not a standard character. Not all of these ideas were going to be winners.).
Peggy Cap I don’t know who photoshopped this, but it’s pretty good!
8. CAAV075E Peggy Carter — Sideline Active (Aka “Free”) — Ultra Chase: 
So you’re telling me that if I field the ridiculously good Steve Rogers I just ranked at #9, I can also back him up with a 50-Point Peggy that Charges, has Precision Strike, has Indomitable, sports Leadership AND generates a really good Bystander Token… and that I can do all that FOR FREE?
That Rogers is good enough on his own. He doesn’t need any more value packed in.
This Peggy is just kind of alright for her points on her normal dial, but her Sideline Active free dial is bananas!
Maria Hill
7. CAAV008 Maria Hill — 45 Points — Common:
Why is a 45-Point Common all the way up at #7 in my Top Ten? Because she has an Omega-Level Movement Special Power (WELCOME TO PLEASANT HILL: Mind Control. Once per turn when a friendly character uses Mind Control to target a character that hasn’t been damaged this turn, after resolutions that targeted character can’t make attacks or be attacked until your next turn unless it’s the only character on its force.) that opens up all kinds of new Build possibilities!
I remember when Ninwashui and I thought Mind Control was one of the weaker powers in the game a few years ago; well… not anymore. Suddenly Mind Control is essentially a Maze of Ith (for non-MTG lifers, read “neutralizing force”) for your opponent’s best piece.
She also has Leadership coupled with the Espionage Trait and Shape Change for survivability. Even when she finally loses her special power, she gains Perplex and the ability to do Penetrating damage.
Truly a groundbreaking piece!
Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider
6. CAAV071 Ghost Rider — 70 Points — Chase:
His dial is great for his points (except for an average to low Attack across the dial), but he adds some wrinkles that really make him worthwhile.
First, his Special Ram ability (THE AVENGERS HAVE A SWEET NEW RIDE: Passenger: 3, but only to carry character who share a keyword regardless of [Wing symbol]. // Ram. When Ghost Rider uses it, he modifies speed +3 and does not take unavoidable damage from it.) is basically the best of its kind in the game.
Secondly, he has the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Mystical keywords… I mean, what team DOESN’T he fit on?
Ultron Age of Ultron
5. CAAV074(?) Ultron — (???) — Chase:
Yup! Another Chase from just a killer run of Chases (and we’re not done yet). I just threw question marks up there for his exact set number and Point cost because, honestly, each of his three point levels is just stupidly ridiculous.
For God’s sake, they even brought back his classic 14 Attack Value, which is honestly just stupid. If his dial was naked and you just had to make due with his native stats, he’d be a great value. Instead, you can pretty much just name a random great power, and he probably has it.
The second click on his 150-Point dial has a 13 Attack with Pen/Psy, 18 Defense with Impervious and 3 Damage with Perplex. Yeah. A 13 Attack Value. On his second click. #$%# off, Wizkids!
If your opponent places this guy in his Starting Area when forces are revealed, good luck.
Immortal Hulk
4. CAAV058 Immortal Hulk — 100 Points — Super Rare:
At some point when designing this set, someone in charge at Wizkids looked at all the broken pieces they were already stuffing into this set and thought, “Hey… why don’t we make a Hulk piece where we combine the survivability of that “Ha-Ha Joker” from Joker’s Wild with, y’know, the offense of an enraged, uh, Hulk. That seems like it’d be a pretty fair figure to play against.”
That was a real thought that a real adult had.
This piece is just stupid. He’s already starting to put his stamp on the Meta.
I actually got to play against this guy in Sealed, and the only reason I beat him is because I miraculously pulled the #1 piece on this list.
Thor Chase 2
3. CAAV070 Thor –– 125 Points — Chase:
Another piece that–like Ultron–is darn near broken at any of its point levels.
It must have come from the same design space as that Immortal Hulk we just talked about.
Designer One: “Uh… what if we designed the Quintessential Thor dial”
Designer Two: “Hmmm… okay, we could–
Designer One: “And then added Probability Control!”
Designer Two: “But… why though?”
Again: this was a real thought that a real adult had.
Thor’s Lightning Marker Trait (BRING THE LIGHTNING: Thor has PROTECTED: Energy Explosion. // Thor starts the game with the Lightning marker attached. // When Thor hits with an attack not using Energy Explosion, you may place the Lightning marker in the square of a hit character. If you do, after resolutions make a range attack using Energy Explosion at no cost targeting that character regardless of range or line of fire. At the beginning of your next turn, attach the Lightning marker to Thor.) alone will make sure you get your investment out of fielding this absolute Monster.
Captain Marvel Anime
2. CAAV054 Captain Marvel — 95 Points — Super Rare:
Wizkids has been on a mission lately to make the perfect Carol Danvers version of Captain Marvel, and if there’s a better Captain Marvel to been had, I’ve not seen it.
Her top dial Movement Special Power (HIGHER!: Hypersonic Speed. When Captain Marvel uses it, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to an opposing character she moved through. If that character is a vehicle, deal it 3 penetrating damage instead.) is among the best versions of Hypersonic Speed we’ve ever had.
And the Chewie Bystander Token she generates is also top notch.
Altogether, she is going to be a force until she rotates.
Punisher War Machine 2
1. CAAV053B Punisher War Machine — 95 Points — Super Rare PRIME:
And now we circle back to the title of the article!
When you absolutely, positively have to KO everything in the room…
Here’s the best Colossal Stamina Trait you’ll ever see (THE WAR NEVER ENDS: Colossal Stamina. // If Punisher War Machine has two action tokens, he has “FREE: Make an attack.”).
He also has a great Attack Special Power (JUST NEED TO LIGHT THE FUSE: Energy Explosion, KNOCKBACK.).
By the way, he sees through Hindering and has a starting 12 Attack and 4 Damage.
He is a one-man army except he only costs 95 Points at most.
And he is the number one figure in this set!!
Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the Comments below.
And we’ll see you here tomorrow night!!

The Best Modern Day Duo Figures… Or, The Sixth Night of Clix-Mas 2020!!

/ HypeFox / Leave a comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome back to the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2020! For Night One’s announcement trailer, click here. We built an Excalibur Themed Team with some new pieces on Night 2; Ninwashui finally released his SVC Top Ten on Night 3; he came back to talk Watchlist results on Night 4; and he came back once more to build an Apocalypse Prime army on Night 5!]

Y’know, back in the day (circa like 2012-2014-ish), some of my favorite figures to collect and play were Duo pieces that represented a sort-of team-up between two characters within one dial. My all-time favorites were probably Sentry and Void (which, actually, wasn’t TECHNICALLY a Duo fig, but whatever) from Chaos War and Captain America and Black Widow from the epic Captain America and the Winter Soldier Movie Set.

But a few years ago, Wizkids phased out the DUO symbol; no more Duos for us, it seemed…

[And no, I’m not talking about dial flipper pairs like Power Man & Iron Fist or Hawkman & Hawkgirl.]

And yet…

Over the last two years, a new sort of Duo figure paradigm has emerged. Instead of two heroes (Iron Man and War Machine) or two villains (Lex Luthor and Joker) or some mix thereof (Professor X and Magneto) plastered onto one dial, Wizkids has started taking prominent characters from the comics and given them one of their supporting (sidekick; pet; kid; sibling; love interest; TMZ; you get the idea…) characters as a Bystander Token!

And now, these pieces have started to take over even the Meta!

So let’s count down the 10 best pieces in Modern that generate Bystander Tokens!

Wait, are we living in Earth X right now?

10. EAX056 Iron Man (w/ Iron Avengers):

Okay, we’re starting with a bit of a cheat here, since Iron Man actually comes packing an entire Bystander Avengers, but this is one of the best Bystander generators they’ve ever made, helped in particular by a Map which was specifically made for him!

9. ABPI 041a Falcon (w/ Redwing):

Redwing brings Hypersonic Speed, Precision Strike, Super Senses, a Resurrection Trait (VAMPIRIC BIRD: Once per game, when Redwing would be KO’d, instead it isn’t. Protected: Pulse Wave.).

But to make this list, there needs to be some synergy between the Clix itself and the Pog it generates; well, Redwing’s second Trait (ALWAYS BY OUR SIDE: At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6. [4-6]: Remove an action token from a friendly adjacent character named Falcon or Captain America.) ensures a 50% chance to bring just that!

8. F4037 Dr. Fantastic (w/ Franklin Galactus):

Franklin Galactus is one of the most powerful tokens Wizkids has ever published; 10 Range, 12 Attack with Pulse Wave and a native 5 Damage.

The only reason this doesn’t end up higher is because Dr. Fantastic can’t generate him until the end of his dial.

7. HX055 Kate Pryde (w/ Lockheed):

Another Lockheed!! This version brings Energy Explosion and Perplex!! Perfectly complements Kate’s Probability Control and Precision Strike!

6. F4049 The Thing (w/ Chuck and Buzz):

What a design! This version of The Thing is actually a 4-click supporting character! And both of his sons are efficient close attackers; each of them are capable of serious damage when Thing uses his Empower with them!

5. F4047A Silver Surfer (w/ Dawn Greenwood):

Okay, first of all, this Surfer is practically Meta-Worthy. Next, Dawn Greenwood has the potential to completely enhance him. She can pull him to her from across the Map; she has both Enhancement and Perplex, although the latter only works on Surfer; and if your opponent bothers to KO her, all of Surfer’s stats get +1 for the rest of the game!

4. HX003 Bishop (w/ Shard):

Bishop on his own is good. But he also generates his sister Shard, who gives all friendly characters a “Behind the Scenes” type of Trait where they can’t be targeted unless their opponent is within 4 squares!

3. SVC014 Mary Jane Watson (w/ Paparazzi):

Mary Jane has turned up on so many WINNING teams of late you’d think she was the main attraction of SVC.

She can use her star power to generate up to three Paparazzi tokens who are all Autonomous and all have the power to Incapacitate your opponent’s best figures.

2. CAAV054 Captain Marvel (w/ Chewie):

Chewie is a Bystander Token that Carol generates for free whenever she wants. Chewie has Flurry, Plasticity, B/C/F AND Perplex. You literally cannot get more than that on a free Bystander Token. If your rolls are lucky enough, your 0 point Bystander here can deal up to 12 damage a turn!!

  1. ABPI074 Thanos (w/ Skreet):

Thanos is an awesome Meta-worthy piece. Skreet, his Bystander Token, has the best Perplex in the game. Plus she can deal Penetrating Damage on her own too.

Sometimes, it’s not that complicated…

What are your favorite Bystander Tokens? Sound off in the Comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Night 7 drops tomorrow!

Let’s Build An Apocalypse Prime Team!! Or… The Fifth Night of Clix-Mas 2020!!

/ ninwashui / Leave a comment

So now that all of the pieces from House of X are known I wanted to build a dream team around one of the top pieces from that set. This guy:

Specifically the 150 point version of him. I’ve been theory crafting teams based on his keywords and I believe using the Ruler keyword to add him to the Spiderman Family keyword creates the best team for him. Here’s the team I had in mind:

  • Theme: Spiderman Family +5
  • HX059BV Apocalypse (150 points)
  • SVCS004 Carnage Symbiote (10 Points)
  • SVC068 Spider-Pharaoh (60 points)
  • WKMP19-S101 Remaker (Mandarin Ring) (5 points)
  • SVC028 Flash Thompson (35 points)
  • SVC027 Gwen Stacy (25 points)
  • SVC014 Mary Jane Watson (15 points)
  • Total = 300 points.

Here’s what each piece brings to the team:

HX059BV Apocalypse (150 points) – This is your primary attacker. He gets to chose one power each turn via his CELESTIAL TECH and this gives him a wealth of options for both attack and defense. You’ll likely choose Hypersonic Speed when first closing with the enemy and then flurry or pulse wave when you are engaged with the enemy. Defensively he is Protected against both Outwit and Psychic Blast. He has full dial Steal energy and the BEHIND THE SCENES trait. And if he chooses to use his CELESTIAL TECH trait defensively he could chose Mastermind and shunt attacks to his secondary attackers or even better some of Mary Jane’s Paparazzi bystanders. He could also chose Regeneration if he’s taken damage.

SVCS004 Carnage Symbiote (10 Points) – Assign this to Apocalypse. It grants him Shape Change (that can’t be outwitted) and Healing to go along with the other defenses and healing I already mentioned. The plasticity will make sure that once he gets up to his target, they won’t get away.

SVC068 Spider-Pharaoh (60 points) – Group transportation and several support figures rolled into one. You’ll most often use her Leadership, Probability Control, and Empower to support the Close Combat attackers on your team, but don’t forget that she is a capable attacker herself with 4 starting damage. 

WKMP19-S101 Remaker (Mandarin Ring) (5 points) – Equip this to Spider-Pharaoh for the extra defense shape change offers and the poison may come in handy for close encounters.

SVC028 Flash Thompson (35 points) – Your secondary attacker. Grant him Exploit Weakness and steal energy by naming him the Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death. There are two awesome reasons to use him. He shuts down opposing shape change within 4 squares even if those figures can’t be outwitted. And the second reason is that if the Opponent KOs him, the Agent Venom he turns into is a super deadly close combat attacker with Flurry Blades/Claws/Fangs and Battle Fury.

SVC027 Gwen Stacy (25 points) – Another secondary attacker. Grant her Poison and steal energy by naming her the Apocalypse’s Horseman of Pestilence. Just like flash Thompson she can take away enemy defenses just by being near them, although she removes super senses instead of shape change. And while she does turn into a nice version of Ghost Spider, it’s not nearly as deadly a transformation as Flash Thompson’s.

SVC014 Mary Jane Watson (15 points) – There’s not much more I can say about Mary Jane that I didn’t already say in my Spiderman and Venom Absolute Carnage Top 10. You can assign her to be Apocalypse’s Horseman of Famine, but that won’t make much difference in most games.

That’s it for today. Stay Safe out there.

Let’s Talk Watchlist!! Or… The Fourth Night of Clix-Mas 2020!!

/ ninwashui / Leave a comment

So the 2020 3rd Quarter watch list results have come out and unlike previous watchlists, I think the meta has been drastically changed. You can see WizKids post here. Let’s Break it down.

WKMP18 G001 Tri-Sentinel AND XTAS G025 Iceman

These no longer have the extra effects of the retaliation (blowing up terrain, incap) without them actually targetting an opposing piece to retaliate on. This was a needed change as it was confusing and not what was originally intended.

F4 063 Valeria Von Doom AND SVC 058 Venom Groot

These 35 point characters are no longer able to damage opposing characters on their turn using effects like the spin ring to move opposing characters. This was another welcome change. No character at that point level should be able to damage an opposing character that has reducers without needing to roll dice. That effect is just too powerful.

SVC 067 Spider-Man 1776 – *NEW ADDITION*

Wow this was unexpected, but welcome. Wizkids has said before that limiting a teams actions is unfun and they promised not to do it again. Then they did it again. But they are sorry and they won’t do it again. Until the next time they do it again. At least 1776 is still a pretty good piece even with the nerf to it’s big trait.

BWM 017 Black Widow

This was an unexpected change, and a lot of people online were wondering if it was a necessary one. Black Widow is very good, but a nerf that basically just starts her with two less tradecraft tokens doesn’t seem to hurt her that much. If this was all they were going to do, I might have left her alone.

So where does this leave the Meta?

So they are still very powerful figures out there that weren’t altered by this watchlist. Captain Marvel, Jason Wyngarde, Prime Vulture, Prime Batman, Prime Leopard, Mary Jane, Marvella, God Emperor Doom, Punisher War Machine, and the danger room robots all come to mind immediately. Plus Black Widow wasn’t nerfed that badly and Soldier 1776 is still usable even without his trait. So expect to still see Prime Vulture teams, Avenger Teams, Multiple kinds of Spiderman teams (robots, soldiers, rulers, scientists, etc…), Hellfire Club teams, Latveria Teams, and X-men teams when the new set drops. But this also opens up some opportunity for teams that were almost meta, but held back by Valeria, Black Widow, or Soldier 1776. Monsters with Absolute Carnage and Onslaught? Maybe. Robot teams with Amazo? Probably. An all Skrull team with multiple Super Skrulls? It could happen.

When one top piece falls in Heroclix another always rises to take it’s place. And I’m excited to see what’s next.

Rolling Down the Street… Like a Turd in the Wind (or a top ten set review of the Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage set) (AKA The Third Night of Clix-Mas 2020!!)

/ ninwashui / Leave a comment

*Note: this is written after the 2020 Quarter 3 Watchlist changes to Venom Groot and Spiderman 1776.

Here are the honorable mentions:

5.SVC061 Spirit Spider (90 Points) – At 6 clicks he doesn’t have a very long dial and his stats aren’t especially good for his point cost, however he brings a lot of traits and special powers to the table. Offensively he has “PENANCE WEBS: Penetrating/Psychic Blast. // Incapacitate as FREE. When Spirit Spider uses it, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to each hit character that had attacked a friendly character since your last turn.” A free action dual target incap every turn is huge and there aren’t many ranged attackers with the Spider-Man keyword so his Psychic Blast will set him apart from the rest of his team. Defensively he’s got “SPIRIT SENSES: Super Senses. When Spirit Spider uses it and succeeds, after resolutions, deal the attacking character 1 penetrating damage.” So whether he hits super senses or he misses any attacker will take take one penetrating damage in return (via mystics TA). And if an opponent doesn’t go after him first, he gets more powerful via his trait “THE SPIRIT OF PETER LIVES: When another friendly character with the Spider-Man Family keyword is KO’d by an opponents attack, choose a standard power on that character’s card and note it. This game, Spirit Spider can use the noted power(s)”

4. SVC048 Shriek (45 points) – She’d not very tough, but for 45 points she has really good offensive abilities. She features the excellent Maximum Carnage trait that says, “MAXIMUM CARNAGE: Once per turn when Shriek hits, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to up to 2 opposing characters that weren’t hit but are adjacent to a hit character.” If she has no action tokens she also has Pulse Wave which pairs really nicely with her top dial running shot. She also features a special Psychic Blast which ignores Super-Senses and counters it for the remainder of the turn.

3. SVC057 Venom Dr. Strange (45 points) – At 45 points he’s a mean little support figure for several keywords that lack good support figures. (Monster and Codex) In the support category he brings leadership, prob, TK and outwit if he pushes. Defensively he has shape change, super senses, and the mystics/Defenders TA. Offensively he has running shot, 7 range and the ability to call in a venom Groot from the sideline if he misses. Unfortunately, his lack of willpower is glaring as he loses a lot moving past click 1. 

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2. SVC055 Superior Spider-Man (85 points) – Definitely a Superior piece on offense, but lacking a bit in defense. His charge/flurry/precision strike combo can be deadly especially if he uses his own perplex on his stats and his item gives you one of the results you are looking for. His equipment is what really ups his game. It states, “EQUIP: ANY. UNEQUIP: DROP. EFFECT: Giant Reach: 2. At the beginning of your turn, you may roll a d6. This character has the listed effect until your next turn. 1-2: Modify Attack and Defense +1. 3-4: Incapacitate as FREE. 5-6: FREE: Make a close attack. Heavy Object.” That’s a huge offensive bonus. Unfortunately, he’s 85 points and has an 18 defense with super senses as the only thing protecting him. Get your hits in quick with him because your opponent will be gunning for him first.

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1. SVC053B Doppelganger (65 points) – He has some great keywords: Codex, Cosmic, Maximum Carnage, Monster, Mystical. A movement power reminiscent of Prime Vulture, “PERFECT KILLING MACHINE: Charge, Flurry. // Once per turn when Doppelganger uses Flurry, if he hits with both attacks, after resolutions he can immediately use Charge at no cost, but only to target characters he has not attacked this turn” He also has two excellent traits SYMBIOTE CODEX HUNTER and MAXIMUM CARNAGE. So why isn’t he in the Top ten? Well, the Answer is that there have been a lot of good primes lately and you can only have one per team. With EAX019B Vulture, CAAV053B Punisher War Machine, JLU005B Batman, and F4013B Black Leopard all in modern right now there is a lot of competition with this piece. There’s also another prime in this set that I keep planning builds around more than Doppelganger.

Here’s the Top Ten:

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10. SVC028 Flash Thompson (35 points) – My second favorite Secret Identity character brings a unique trait to the table that reads “THE REAL “ANTI” VENOM: Opposing characters within 4 squares can’t use Shape Change.” In sealed for his set that power came in super handy, but it’s also great in constructed. Some of the best equipment grants shape change (carnage symbiote, remaker) and WizKids tends to give that power out a lot to a lot of powerful figures (Onslaught, Knull, Super Skrull, etc…) Beyond his trait he just a good close combat attacker for his points featuring close combat expert and poison. Unless, your opponent tries to KO him. Then he turns in the back half of Agent Venom’s dial which is arguably better than the front half of that dial. Defensively it features Shape Change, Super Senses, and Toughness. Offensively it features Flurry, Blades/Claws/Fangs, and Battle Fury. You do not want that showing up next to a figure you care about!

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9.  SVC007B Venom (80 points) – Defensively this guy has 7 clicks all with damage reducers, healing from the SYMBIOTE CODEX HUNTER trait, some steal energy, and a special stop click. But it’s special movement power that makes him great, “DRIVEN MAD BY KNULL: Charge, but do not halve speed. When Venom uses it, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to each adjacent character (friendly and opposing).” Don’t get me wrong full move charge is cool, but at the end of the day you just can’t beat automatic dealing damage without having to roll dice.

8. SVC054 Spider-Man (60 points) – Although a lot of people bag on this guy, I think he’s worth every point. Hypersonic speed, outwit, and 12 starting attack highlights this guy’s incredible opening click. But it’s his ridiculous attack power that really seals the deal. It reads “FOUR HOODLUMS AT ONCE!: When Spider-Man makes a close attack, he instead targets all adjacent opposing characters.” Beyond that he has a standard (but undercosted) Spider-man dial with 2 exceptions. The first is J. Jonah Jameson who is a bystander the other team gets with perplex that he can only use to target your team. The second is his Garbage can special object. The Garbage can states “This object can’t be added to your force (only generated). // When a friendly [SVC] #054 Spider-Man would be KO’d, if this object is unheld, instead you may replace that Spider-Man with [SVC] #016 Peter Parker on click #2 adjacent to this object. If you do, KO this object. Light Object.” I view it as point denial. Instead of scoring 60 for KOing Spiderman, your opponent will only score 10. They will only get the 60 points if they KO Peter Parker (who should be hiding in your starting area).

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7. SVC070E Steampunk Peni (45 points) – At 45 points she brings the ability to add robots to the Spiderman keyword along with a special perplex and… not much else. But robots are one of the strongest generic themes right now and that won’t change while the X-men Animated series is still in modern rotation.

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6. SVC067E Spider-Man 1776 (50 points) – Oh how the mighty have fallen. Two days ago this would have been the the best figure in the set because of his trait. It reads, “THE GENERAL THAT FOUNDED A NATION: Leadership, Super Senses. // Opposing forces have Action Total -1 (minimum 2). // Opposing characters within 6 squares can’t use Leadership or Autonomous.” But now that trait has been given errata so that opponents are only minus actions on turns where he hits opposing characters. Despite that he’s still a very well rounded character featuring perplex, a stop click, and traited leadership/super senses. And post watch list soldiers feature two of the strongest meta pieces in Punisher War Machine and Captain Marvel. Expect him to still be a top piece.

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5. SVC052E Knull (125 points) – At 125 points Knull features a ton of defense and tricks. He starts with stealth, free action smoke cloud, impervious, and shape change with a 50% success rate. And as a bonus he can straight up teleport within his own smoke cloud markers. On offense his starts with 4 damage, outwit, and his special equipment All-Black the Necrosword. It states “Indestructible. EQUIP: ANY. UNEQUIP: DROP. EFFECT: Giant Reach: 2. // When this character makes a close attack, opposing characters can’t use Shape Change or Super Senses and can’t reduce damage below 1. Heavy Object.” He doesn’t have penetrating damage so opposing characters with damage reducers will really slow down his damage output unless he can get by that with his outwit. However, any character relying on Shape Change or Super Senses will be completely defenseless against Knull.

4. SVC066 Spider-Hamurai (60 points) – At 60 points he adds martial artists to the Spiderman keyword. Which is not that big of a deal because you can get you Prime Batman, Karnak, and not many other pieces you’d actually care to add to your team. House of X will add some good options, but nothing meta defining. The real reason I put him so high on my list is that he’s the best attacker of all the chases. He’s worth running even if you don’t add martial artists to your team. His trait IT’S CROW-NIN HUNTING SEASON allows him to pick a character or TA and make free attack against those character (or characters) every turn. Beyond that he has traited Blades/Claws/Fangs, a full dial of precision strike, and exceptional attack values. Defensively he just has one power, but in the right circumstances it will be all he needs. It reads “BUSHEEPDO HONOR: Combat Reflexes. // If Spider-Hamurai is adjacent to exactly 1 opposing character and neither is adjacent to any other characters, other characters can’t be moved or placed adjacent to either of them and can’t target either of them.” This guy will get a lot more benefits from a symbiote equipment then your average piece will.

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3. SVC051R Absolute Carnage (60 points) – If you run a monster team this guy is a must play. If he had any generic keyword you could use to put him on Spiderman theme team, he’d be the best character in the set. Defensively he just has toughness along with healing and shape change from his equipment. That’s just fine at his point level. Offensively he’s just nuts for his points with two ridiculous traits. The first is the Maximum Carnage trait that I detailed previously. The second states “SPREADING MY SYMBIOTES ACROSS THE WORLD: Flurry, Giant Reach: 3. // When Absolute Carnage KO’s an opposing character of 25+ points, after resolutions you may generate a [SVC] #011 Carnage Minion in that character’s square.” With those traits, his Blades/Claws/Fangs, and Perplex he’s going to KO lots of stuff. And every time he does he heals (via his equipment) and makes a “mini-me”. For 60 points that’s insane!

2. SVC038 Marvella (15 Points) – She’s an extremely low point character that can use barrier. In fact, she’s the lowest point character ever to have barrier except for the worker spider bystander from the Hobbit starter set. Being that she is so cheap you know that someone is going to run 4 of her so they can just wall off their team every turn. And if you combine multiple copies of her with someone like SVC014 Mary Jane Watson, opposing teams may not have enough actions to attack you after dealing with the walls and bystanders you’re building each turn. It’s not a fun way to play, but it’s legal and a very viable strategy. When see tournament results of a team with Spiderman theme this is one of two characters that almost always sees play.

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1. SVC014 Mary Jane Watson (15 points) – I have a yet to see a tournament result of a Spiderman team that did not play Mary Jane. She can summon an average of two tie up bystanders at a time. Those bystanders can all use their incapacitate right when they are summoned. And none of that costs your team any actions because of autonomous. And just like Ben Kenobi when you strike her down she will become more powerful than you could ever imagine. Or, at least she will become an Iron man with Invulnerability and Perplex. Best 15 point character ever and a must play if you are even considering playing a Spiderman Team.

That’s it for this set review. Leave a comment below to let me know what you thought of my picks.