Let’s Be Lanterns!! (Or, Let’s Build an Army for Each Lantern Corps–PART 1 of 3!!)

August 17, 2014August 22, 2014 / HypeFox / 6 Comments

So, I’m at the theater a couple weeks ago, Guardians of the Galaxy is starting in a few minutes (FYI, Guardians is awesome–if you’re remotely interested in anything on this blog, you’ll love it and should just go see it right now! I’ll be here when you get back–I promise!), and the last trailer I see is for “Let’s Be Cops,” a new comedy starring Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans, Jr. It’s out now and it’s about a couple of buddies who go to a costume party dressed as cops, then decide to keep the charade going in their everyday lives when they become “neighborhood sensations.” Looks funny enough, but it also gave me an idea for today’s article. If two slackers can put on some uniforms and become cops, then, hey, what’s to stop us from collecting together some ‘Clix and becoming Space Cops?

That’s right!

Today…

Let’s Be Lanterns!!

Ninwashui and I are gonna come up with competitive Builds for each color of the emotional spectrum based off of the current Storyline OP War of Light set! But we’re also gonna add in a twist! Each Build has to be Theme (of course), and each build has to feature a character not traditionally associated with that color’s Corps.! Now this can be interpreted in a couple of different ways; sometimes, WizKids has taken care of this for us by printing an “off-color” version of a traditional Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, etc.) in the War of Light set (Indigo John Stewart, anyone?); other times, we’ll be getting a lil’ creative by inducting someone (or someONES) into a certain color’s Corps by Possessing them with an Entity!

Are these Builds gonna win multiple ROC’s? Uhhh… no, probably not. But you should be able to take these to a local tourney and stand a chance. That’s the goal, at least.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Many of these builds use Power Batteries and Constructs; WizKids has been real coy about exactly how you’ll get half the Constructs for each color. As such, many don’t yet have an official designation yet in terms of collector numbers, so occasionally you’ll see something like “WOL???” instead of a full designation for certain Constructs.)

With all that said, here we go!

SINESTRO CORPS (HypeFox Build)

Team Name: Pair ‘0 Smacks

Theme: Sinestro Corps

Character Not Normally Associated With the Sinestro Corps: Hal Jordan (normally a Green Lantern)

Roster:

WOL041 Parallax (Hal Jordan) – 250 Points

WOL099 Despotellis – 30

WOLR105 Power Battery (Yellow) – 2

WOLR305 Sinestro Corps Ring – 4

WOLR205.03 Sinestro Mallet – 4

WOLR205.09 Sinestro Nurse – 10

=300 (Woo-Hoo!)

How It Plays: Is anyone else annoyed that the Yellow Lanterns are referred to as the “Sinestro Corps?” You’re Yellow Lanterns. Just be Yellow Lanterns! It makes things soooo much easier. At least the Indigo Tribe still has “Indigo” in their name. Sigh…

Regardless, we’re gonna use someone who’s normally a Lantern, just not this color. Actually, if you subscribe to our Twitter feed (and if not, why not? It’s free!), you would have gotten this army a little bit earlier than everyone else who’s just reading about it now.

Basically, the goal with this army is to make Parallax Hal Jordan as close to un-hittable as possible. Hal Jordan’s base Defense is 18. He has Impervious (which means roughly 33% of the time you’re hit with a non-Precision Strike, non-penetrating attack, you’ll evade it altogether) with the Quintessence Team Ability (which means his powers can’t be countered). Once he gets a Construct on him from the Sinestro Corps Battery, all his stats except Damage get +1; so now his Defense is a 19 with un-Outwittable Impervious. But wait! There’s more!

The Sinestro Corps Power Battery gives every opposing figure with a point cost of 249 or less (roughly 90% of Meta figures, if not more) an additional -2 when attacking Parallax. Yes, this should work even against opposing Pulse Waves since the Battery isn’t a character (and thus could never have a line of fire drawn to it by Pulse Wave).

Let’s say, oh, I dunno, Bullseye (with a stat bump from an Entity) tries to shoot Hal. Normally, with a 12 Attack, he’d need a 7 to hit Hal’s 19 (native 18+1 from the Ring) Defense. But with the Sinestro Corps Power Battery, suddenly Bullseye needs a 9 just to touch Hal Jordan. And if he makes it…. Hal has Probability Control and a 9 Range!

So now, Bullseye–who, again, has a ridiculously good starting Attack Value–needs to hit a 9 or more TWICE! And that’s assuming that Bullseye’s not within Range of the Power Battery, which has the potential to make him Prob AGAIN if it’s on the right Click! Now, if your opponent can roll a 9 or better three times in a row… good luck to him (or her). They must be right with the Lord. Or be sitting on a horseshoe.

Now, you can go a few different ways with the Constructs; I’ve chosen the Nurse and the Mallet. The Nurse absolutely hoses Copycat strategies (and even though she’s 60 more points, I’d still rather keep my Despotellis, thank you veddy much) while the Mallet can be quite useful if the opposition is able to surround and swarm Hal. You could also go with some combination of the Net, Spotlight or Decoy. I just hate dealing with Copycat so much that I’d rather just nerf her with the Nurse Construct, but I’d suspect most folks would rather go with the Spotlight and Net.

BITTER Ninwashui Says: “I came up with this idea a few weeks ago and sent it to HypeFox, who promptly stole it, took credit for it and gave it away on Twitter. But yes, I was happy with this Build; Parallax Hal Jordan is a beast who cannot be reasoned with. He doesn’t fly, but he does everything else, drops 5-Damage bombs from 9 squares away and he can Carry Despotellis with no penalty to his Movement. And good luck trying to hit either of these yellow jackwagons. But the Nurse? I would definitely go with the spotlight and either the Net or Decoy. The Spotlight makes Hal especially disgusting, which, as always, means you should probably give it to him.”

"James Howlett, you have a great capacity for compassion. Welcome to--waaaaiiit, did you just stab the $#!t out of someone? I don't think you understand how this ring works. "

“James Howlett, you have a capacity for great compassion. Welcome to–waaaaiiit, is that blood? Hold on, did you just stab the $#!t out of someone? Unless you just used your claws to put down an injured horse, I don’t think you understand how this ring works!”

INDIGO TRIBE (Ninwashui Build)

Team Name: The Replacement Killers

Theme: The Hand

Character Not Normally Associated With the Indigo Tribe: Uh, all of them? Especially cuz they’re all Marvel characters? And stabby?

Roster:

DP103 Wolverine, Agent of Hydra – 90 Points

w/ The Hand ATA – 7

DP006 Hand Ninja – 43

w/ The Hand ATA – 7

WXM044 Silver Samurai – 100

w/ The Hand ATA – 7

WOLR104 Power Battery (Indig0) – 2

WOLR304 Indigo Tribe Ring – 4

WOLR204.01 Indigo Net– 8

WOLR204.03 Indigo Mallet – 4

WOLR204.04 Indigo Wall – 10

WOLR204.08 Indigo Scissors – 8

WOL204.09 Indigo Nurse – 10

=300 (Woo-Hoo! Again!!)

How It Plays: Waaaaay back in Season 2 of Friends, there was an episode where Monica is hired by a company to come up with recipes for a substance called Mockolate, a synthetic chocolate substitute. By the end of the episode, she returns to the company with a list of Mockolate recipes that are extremely light on actual Mockolate since it turns out that Mockolate is terrible (Phoebe, upon tasting one of Monica’s Mockolate recipes: “Oooohhhh, this is what evil must taste like!”).

Well, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, this Build is light on actual native Indigo Tribe members. They are, in a word, awful–it turns out that the Indigo Tribe is the Mockolate of War of Light. In fact, the Theme of this Build is actually The Hand. And that’s okay–even though these characters are all pretty evil, violent and mostly psychotic, they’re PERFECT for the color of compassion, and we’ll use the Indigo Power Battery to induct them!

Since none of them start with the Indigo Tribe keyword, they’ll all gain that keyword and the Support ability; just as important, when a non-adjacent friendly character within 6 squares takes 3 or more damage, after actions resolve, if that character hasn’t been healed this turn, you may place this character adjacent to that character and heal that character of 1 damage. That’s kind of a strange ability, but since this is a close combat team that will probably never NOT be within six squares of each other, it allows the team to swarm opposing figures when they get significant hits in on your team.

And that’s if they can find your team. One of the perils of close combat-based teams is advancing close enough to attack before your own characters get battered themselves. Well, The Hand ATA–which all three characters have–states that “When it is not your turn, lines of fire to a character using this team ability are blocked if this character is adjacent to a wall or blocking terrain.” Hmmm… if only there was a Construct that allowed a character to use Barrier every turn as a free action so that the team could continue its advance without wasting tokens. Oh wait, there is! It’s the Wall, and it’s part of this very force!

Once you make it to your opponent, you should be able to cut them to ribbons in short order. Wolverine’s Trait (MY KIND OF HYDRA: When friendly characters use the Hydra team ability, they can also affect close combat attacks and don’t need line of fire to the target.) makes it hard for Hand characters to miss, and the fact that both he and Silver Samurai have Leadership means that you should be able to keep up with your opponent on taking meaningful actions even though you only have three characters.

SURPRISED HypeFox Says: “Wow! I actually did not think of NOT using ANY Indigo Tribe characters at all. I guess we can allow it, since they’ll all get the keyword when they get a Construct. And technically it IS a Theme Team. When I assigned you Indigo Tribe, I thought you were screwed, since they all kind of blow chunks, but I have to say, you pulled a Kobayashi Maru and changed the parameters on me. Good job, sir. I’m pretty sure you cheated somehow, and I’m definitely sure you should be drummed out of Starfleet, but good job!! The fact that this team would be next to impossible to target with a ranged attack would make it downright frustrating to play against and would make me hate the game–the hallmark reaction of anyone who plays against a team designed by Ninwashui. Bravo!”

INTROSPECTIVE Ninwashui Responds: “Uh… thanks? I think I detected some sarcasm there. Either way, You’re Welcome! Also, have you noticed that we’ve completed two builds and not used even a single Entity?”

LEGO’D HypeFox Predicts: “Yeah, that’s about to change. Like now.”

ORANGE LANTERN CORPS (HypeFox Build)

Team Name: Orange Is the New Ultron

Theme: Sinestro Corps

Character Not Normally Associated With the Orange Lantern Corps: Secret Empire Number 9. I mean, he’s ninth–dude’s barely even associated with the Secret Empire, let’s be honest.

Roster:

WOL109 Larfleeze – 200 Points

DP204 Secret Empire Number 9 – 35

WOL063P Ophidian – 25 (Possessing Secret Empire Number 9)

WOLR103 Power Battery (Orange) – 2

WOLR303 Orange Lantern Ring – 6

WOLR203.04 Orange Wall – 10

WOLR203.05 Orange Crossbow – 10

WOLR203.12 Orange Spotlight – 6

WOLR203.14 Orange Sniper Rifle – 6

=300 (Woo-Hoo! Still got it!!)

How It Plays: Remember that scene in Aliens at the end when Ripley goes back for Newt and we finally see the Alien Queen for the first time, and she’s just chilling in her brood cave spawning gooey egg after gooey egg? Yeah, on this team, Larfleeze is that Alien Queen, constantly spawning sticky,Glomulus-shaped eggs.

Larfleeze is, himself, a brick, especially when you give him a Construct (like, say, the Spotlight or the Crossbow–in addition to their Relic effects, since Larfleeze is already an Orange Lantern, they pump up all his stats except Damage by +1), but the real fun in playing him is summoning the Orange Lantern Corps with his Attack Special (SUMMON THE ORANGE LANTERN CORPS: Give Larfleeze a free action to place a WOL #H001 Orange Lantern Absorbed into an adjacent square. Give Larfleeze a power action to place a WOL #001 Orange Lantern Construct into an adjacent square. Use these abilities only if no more than 3 total friendly characters, including tokens within stacks, with either name are on the map.).

Secret Empire Number 9 is there to provide support with his Hydra ATA, native Enhancement (if Larfleeze has the Crossbow and is adjacent to Secret Empire Number 9, he’s rocking a 12 Attack and 5 Damage BEFORE you divvy up your RCE bonus!) and a top dial Ophidian-granted Outwit Special (DESIRE OF GREED: Ophidian can use Outwit. When it does it can use the countered power or ability for as long as it’s countered.). With Ophidian Possessing him, S.E.M#9 (as all the cool kids call him) is even a half decent secondary attacker, since he alternates between Pen/Psy and Energy Explosion. Annnnnd, when you give him the Orange Sniper Rifle, things start to get scary. Suddenly he’s stealing powers FROM 10 SQUARES AWAY! He’s Pen/Psy’ing FROM 10 SQUARES AWAY! I mean, I’m’a chill on the capital letters for a minute, but you get the point! While all the lil’ Glomulus’s are swarming problem pieces, your freaking Secret Empire Number 9 can be taking pot shots–and doing pretty decent damage.

And if you win Map Roll and go first (or really, even if you don’t–it’s just more effective if you’re going first), you can even use the Battery’s Emotional Spectrum Power (EMOTIONAL SPECTRUM: GREED: If the Power Battery, attached Power Ring, and Constructs are all the same color, give the Power Battery a power action and choose a power, combat ability or team ability that a friendly Corps member can use. Opposing characters can’t use that power or ability until your next turn.) to pull a Shaman and keep your opponent from using basic abilities like Flight, which means they’ll take forever to get across the map, which means that Larfleeze’ll have all day to summon his army!

If you’re patient with this team, you’ll usually get what you want–a victory.

DRUNK RACCOON Ninwashui Says: “I thought Larfleeze’s whole deal was that he doesn’t share power. This seems thematically wrong. Having said that, this isn’t a bad way to go. If I were playing this team, Larfleeze’s lack of Willpower/Indomitable would worry me; you’d really have to be good at picking your spots with Larfleeze in terms of spitting out reinforcements, using his Barrier SP or just straight out attacking for a bazillion on one figure. I wasn’t wild about your choice of S.E.M.#9 at first; yes, he’s a great boon to Larfleeze, but you won’t always be attacking with Larfleeze, will you? But the more I think about it, the more I like the possibilities that he offers. You could theoretically throw a Sniper Rifle on an Orange Lantern Construct and–if he’s adjacent to Mr. Empire–the OLC (See? I can do acronyms too) will suddenly be rocking a 10 Attack (which equates to an 11 with Mr. Empire’s Hydra TA) and 3 Damage… from 10 SQUARES AWAY (See, I can hit Caps Lock too)!! That’s not bad. Off subject–um, is that Raccoon in the picture–”

INTERRUPTING HypeFox Says: “You mean you?”

DRUNK RACCOON Ninwashui Continues: “No, not me–fine me, you, whoever. <Sigh> I don’t even know where this bit is going–it’s so damn random. Nevertheless, can we even run that picture? I mean, isn’t that first raccoon a lil’… y’know… excited?”

DRUNK RACCOON Ninwashui: “Uh… hello?”

HypeFox Responds: “Look again. That’s his PAW.”

DRUNK RACCOON Ninwashui: “Ooooooooohhh, right.”

FRUSTRATED HypeFox Decrees: “Okay, you’re weirdly obsessed with raccoon paws and we’re officially off the rails. I’m ending this before you hurt yourself–or worse yet, me. Be ready next time with your Blue Lantern team–they’re kicking off Part 2 later this week!”

DRUNK, PLOTTING RACCOON Ninwashui Whispers: “Oooohhh, don’t worry. I’ll be ready… ”

The Price to Play!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 08/10/2014!!)

August 12, 2014August 12, 2014 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd… we’re back!

Sooooo much has happened in the last two weeks in the world of ‘Clix and sports. My Tigers traded at the deadline for one Mr. David Price! Yay! Then they squandered a pretty decent second outing from the Cy Young’er before going on to lose in 19 FREAKING INNINGS! Good gosh. To be honest, I can’t believe our bullpen held up that long. Even Joe Nathan came through.

Still, it was tense, especially with the Blue Jays constantly on the bases.

Noted Tigers fans Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield could barely stand to watch!

Noted Tigers fans Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield during Sunday’s 19-inning marathon.

What else… what else… Oh, yeah, THIS HAPPENED!!

Cars were floating away down streets. BUT THOSE STUPID ORANGE CONSTRUCTION CONES DIDN'T EVEN BUDGE. WHAAAA....????

During Michigan floods, orange construction barrels become road buoys.

THE RAIN APOCALYPSE CAME AND WENT!! My Lord, that was a lot of water. In the 35 years I’ve been on this Earth, I have never seen Southeastern Michigan flooded before like it was today. Dogs sleeping with cats, cars being swept along streets BY THE TIDE (BUT NOT THE HOLLOW ORANGE CONSTRUCTION BARRELS–OH NO!! APPARENTLY THOSE NEVER MOVE!!)!! Just total insanity!

Incidentally, this is what the Zombie Apocalypse will look like as well.

After a crazy day like this, I need something normal in my life. Something to restore the balance; something familiar, that’ll let me know life is getting back to normal. You know what? You know what I need? I could really use a…

WEEKLY ROUNDUP!!

(Whew! Okay! I can already feel things normalizing! Here we go!)

PODCASTS:

–As always, Dial H for Heroclix was new for the past two weeks! Episode 55 dealt with some Sealed advice for War of Light Wave 2, and Episode 56 is a sort of survival guide for anyone going to GenCon!

–Push to Regen is still stuck on Episode 2.5!! If you missed it, they discuss last month’s Nationals, work in some War of the Light talk and check in with some listeners!

–The Quarry’s latest episode is now… Episode 24!! It features an interview with ~~Patrick Yapjoco-slaye~~r recent ROC winner Kevin Afrooz as well as coverage of the Tulsa ROC.

–The ROC continues to streamline their system; they just offered a new breakdown (including costs and prize structure) to stores thinking about holding an ROC event.

–Weaponer of Qward has taken a ROC! Read all about the Bluegrass Mafia’s Super Qualifier (from Lexington, Kentucky) right here!

–A token team backed up by the Power Plant; Bill, Agent of A.I.M.; and a fistful of Weasels and Blind Als has taken the Tulsa Heroclix Group Road to DragonCon 2014 Super Qualifier!

–Speaking of, the full ROC/DragonCon announcement is here!

–Still no official Previews from WizKids, which, again, is weird since GotG releases THIS WEEK! Still, we know a few things:

-The Rares are great! Thanos, like Darkseid in SL0SH, is just a Rare (and he’s got a “Thanosi” Prime as well). Gorr the God-Butcher also looks pretty powerful from the Rare slot. You can see a pretty good list of the expected figures (including ANOTHER Squadron Supreme Super Rare Prime) in the Forums at HCRealms.com.

–The Zombie Chases are, well… SEVERELY UNDERWHELMING at this point. Magneto (who I thought was just murdered by the Zombie hordes in that storyline–I don’t recall him actually becoming a Zombie, but whatever) and Mole Man have me a lil’ excited (more on them in a sec), but not much else. Many of the Chases have been at least partially spoiled. You can find an eBay auction for Zombie Skrull (not Zombie Super-Skrull–just Zombie regular Skrull) that shows part of his card; the other Chases we know about (Zombie Mole Man, Zombie Red Skull, Zombie Gladiator, Zombie Magneto and Zombie Morbius) don’t really move the needle too much.

Zombie Magneto seems decently useful; I’ve heard Zombie Gladiator is, frankly, hot garbage–a (maybe) 150 point character that somehow costs you 250 to field. Zombie Morbius doesn’t seem a heck of a lot different from his ASM version–pretty weak for his points until you get him back to Click 1 via Steal Energy, if you can. Zombie Mole Man seems like an 80-Point Zombie Taxi, although it’s hard to tell exactly what he does from that eBay picture. Finally, Zombie Red Skull is a fairly effective (although slightly expensive) Close Combat piece with some decent supporting powers if his teammates are Zombies or Hydra agents.

–Speaking of GotG, (surprise, surprise) it may not release quite on schedule due to shipping delays from China. And stuff.

(Honestly, with GenCon going on this week as well as many venues running War of Light Month 3, a one-week delay shouldn’t raise nearly the amount of complaints as it would have had there been nothing else going on.)

–In case you missed it a couple weeks ago, WizKids has finally responded to the popularity of the ROC, and it’s THIS!! If any of those seven locations was within three hours of Detroit (Chicago is like 4 and 1/2 on a GOOD traffic day), I’d be a little more excited about this…

Army of the Week:

Okay, for this week’s Army of the Week, we’re gonna spotlight Joshua Earnest’s team from the Tulsa ROC we mentioned above.

Team Name: Call Us Whatever You Want, As Long As You Call Us Winners!

Theme: Agency X

Roster:

DP102 Bill, Agent of A.I.M. – 30 Points

DP020 Weasel – 27

DP018 Blind Al – 13

DOFPH002 Sentinel Sentry x 3 – 42

FIB002 Skadi’s Warbot – 30

FIH002 Warbot (Rocket) x3 – 45

FIH003 Warbot (Machine Gun) x3 – 45

IIMR100 Power Plant (everything but Ice Blast) – 28

=300 Points

What We Like: The creativity! Joshua constructed a team where all of his primary, secondary AND tertiary attackers are Horde Tokens/Stacks! The actual figures he chose are the support pieces, an inverse of what we often see. Skadi’s Warbot can be devastatingly effective, particularly with Weasel backing him up. Since he’s Carry ability would most likely kill Skadi’s Warbot, I assume Bill, Agent of A.I.M. is there to move all the support pieces and the other Warbots (who have Toughness) into place and then make sure that they can all open up on their target regardless of line of fire. Because it’s technically a Theme team, each of those support pieces could use Theme Prob as well.

This is an army that would require a Master’s Degree in Positioning and Action Management to run effectively, but clearly Joshua was up to the task! This is definitely one of the most unique ROC-winning teams I’ve ever seen, and I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of Bill and his High-Energy Finder Thing at the ROC or the Sentinel Sentry tokens, either. Well done, Joshua!

Hooray for Hollllllywooood!!

–Guardians of the Galaxy lived up to the hype! Great flick, even greater box office. Highly recommended, although why we didn’t get a [EDITOR’S NOTE: Name redacted.] Clix in the GotG Movie Set from his appearance at the end of the post-credits scene is beyond me! I mean, he’s a Marvel character, he’s carried his own movie before, and he’s popular enough that he’s already had SEVERAL Clix in the past. Oh well–missed opportunity!

–How successful was this movie? Successful enough that Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Electric Bugaloo already has a release date! By the way, if I could buy stock in Chris Pratt’s career or the popularity of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon, I would. Like, now.

Wait--it's already listing this post!! Huh?! Whaa?! Must be magic!!

Critical Missives:

–Okay, there was only one major article that dropped since the last Weekly Roundup, but it was a doozy! 4000+ words about ranking the Entity Chases from War of Light!

–As always, here’s another reminder that we’re finally on Twitter! You can follow us @criticalmissive to stay up to date on articles (think I’ve got the kinks worked out; it should Tweet the link every time there’s something new to read).

And that’s it for this week!! We’ll be back later this week with more and better coverage of War of Light (now that we’re knee deep in Wave 2), and we’ll be posting a Top 10 Review of Guardians of the Galaxy just a bit after that set releases!

Until then, stay safe (and DRY!!), and watch where you draw your lines of fire!

Straight, With CHASEr 2: Evaluating Legal Entities!! (Or, Ranking the War of Light Entities!!)

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 / HypeFox / 2 Comments

“Ummm… what’s the twist? The one African American dude? Wait, is this album cover inadvertently racist?”

Welcome Back!

A couple months ago, we evaluated all the Modern Age Chase-level rarity pieces and chose what we thought were the Top Ten, then came up with armies that included each figure as an example of what you could do with them. It was a fun exercise that allowed us to publish numerous pictures of Ninwashui as a drunk kitty, but it was also immediately invalidated within a week of its publication by the release of the War of Light Wave 1 spoilers and the coming of the Entities (Chase figures that basically act like resources without actually BEING a resource–sorry M10 Iron Man!).

Well, now that we’re on the cusp of Month 3 of War of Light, we finally have the spoiled dials for the second wave of Entities (so called because they all share the named “Entity” keyword), and we can actually evaluate each Entity against its peers! We’re not doing armies today, just because this article would easily top 6000 words if we did. Also, Ninwashui is now a drunk raccoon, so I have to dig up all new photos. Next time, I promise.

“This’ll be published in 3D, right? Otherwise we’re all just gonna look silly!”

A couple final notes before we get started:

–The Chases are extremely rare (seems to be roughly 2 Chases for every 3 Bricks of War of Light) which has only caused their value to skyrocket–most will run you $100 or more (as of this writing, that is). With Month 3 about to start at many venues, the Wave 2 boosters will be arriving this month–and with them, 5 new Entities (4 Chases and 1 Super Rare–more on that in a little bit though).

–What makes these figures so valuable is their shared Trait (ENTITY POSSESSION: When Proselyte would be KO’d or, if you pay 25 points when building your force, place Proselyte on another friendly character’s card if that character is 25 points or more, has the “fist” or “sharpshooter” symbol, the “shield” or “indomitable” symbol, and the “tiny” or “burst” symbol. That character has [Insert Entity’s name here]‘s keywords and can use the Possessed ability with this character as the Possessor. When that character is KO’d, Proselyte is removed from the game.).

That’s a lot of words, but I bolded the relevant points. What is the Possessed ability? Why, I have it right here (POSSESSED: Click the Possessor’s dial to the same click number as this character and change it during the game in the same way that this character’s dial changes. At the beginning of each of your turns or after this character takes or is healed of damage and actions resolve, you may choose 1 power showing on one Possessor’s dial and 1 combat value on one Possessor’s dial higher than this character’s printed combat value. This character can use that power and modifies that combat value by +1 until your next turn or until it is healed or takes damage. If the Possessor is turned to a KO click, it is removed from the game immediately.)!

Essentially what this means is that you can take virtually any substantial figure in the game (as long as it’s at least 25 points and, like, not a Duo, Giant or Colossal) and give them limited access each turn to a very powerful Entity dial–and this is in addition to any resources you might be playing. This can make even 2 or 3 star figures ridiculously good very quickly.

–Each Entity can be fielded as a figure on its own, but most are pretty middling when played normally. The cheapest is 150 (Entity). The most expensive is 250 (Parallax–which makes sense, given all the trouble he’s caused in the comics). Black Hand (expensive, but his dial is long and effective, and he has Running Shot–not all Entities have a top dial move-and-attack), Ophidian (at least starts with some Sidestep, decent Range, and his top dial Outwit Special is just about the best version of Outwit in Modern Age right now), Entity (because he’s cheap-ish) and Predator (10 Range 2 Bolt Energy Explosion; 18 with ES/D if your opponent wants to retaliate) are all, at the very least, INTERESTING if you’re looking to play an Entity normally. The rest are a tougher sell.

Ion’s Trait (I AM ION, INCARNATION OF THE CORPS: Characters using the Possessed ability while Ion is the Possessor may choose to modify 2 combat values from Ion instead of 1 and may use 2 powers from Ion instead of 1.) straight up tells you, “You’re an idiot if you don’t play Ion as a Possessor,” right there on his card. Parallax is solid from his second click on, but he costs 250 points–the same as Parallax Hal Jordan (which clearly means that there should be a 0-point Hal Jordan out there somewhere that I can play…), who’s easier to build an effective team around. Butcher is a great close combat piece; unfortunately he doesn’t get Quintessence until halfway down his dial, so a team that uses him as the focal point might get out-actioned pretty quickly–and that’s if he doesn’t get lit up on his approach, which is very possible considering he doesn’t really have any native attack avoidance (Stealth, Super Senses, Shape Change, etc.). Adara doesn’t have enough offense to justify being your main piece. And I’m sorry, but you’re not building a 300 point team around Proselyte. You’re just not.

For these reasons, we’re strictly going to be evaluating the Entity’s based on the usefulness while using the ENTITY POSSESSION power.

–Nekron IS an Entity–but he doesn’t have the Possession Trait (well, on one of his dials he can kinda sorta Possess himself–not at the table, Carlos!–by allowing himself access to the powers on his other dials). Therefore, we’ll not be discussing him here today, although I’m sure his time will come! Alrighty!

–As always, figures will be rated on a scale of 1-5 Oxygen Filtration Masks. Why Oxygen Filtration Masks? Because it worked so well for our Guardians of the Galaxy Movie set review, that’s why! But having said that, ALL the Entities are pretty damn good relative to other pieces. But, as stated before, we’re measuring the best of the best here, so those are some pretty high standards!

Okay! I think we’re done with the preliminaries. Here, then, is:

Straight, With CHASEr 2: ~~Electric Bugaloo!!~~ Evaluating Legal Entities!!

"If there's one thing in this universe that just screams 'Compassion,' it's gotta be an ethereal mass of pulsing tentacles!"

“If there’s one thing in this universe that just personifies ‘compassion,’ it’s gotta be an ethereal mass of pulsing purple tentacles!”

9. WOL064P Proselyte – Indigo Tribe Entity: You’re playing War of Light with Wave 2 boosters, you’ve never pulled an Entity before, and you’re just praying to all that’s holy that today is your lucky day. You pop open your first booster, pull it out, and discover that you’ve just gotten Proselyte. The good news? You now have an Entity! The bad news? You’ve got the worst one!

The biggest thing Proselyte gives you top dial is Perplex. Not a “only to increase combat values” type of Perplex but an honest to goodness actual Perplex. Outside of War of Light Sealed play, though, Perplex is, frankly, one of the easiest top dial abilities to give a character. For 5 more points, you can play a complete Book of the Skull (which starts out giving one of your Hammer wielders Perplex) or a complete Power Plant (which may not grant Perplex specifically, but is still a damn good resource and grants a ton of powers on its own!). Comparing Entities to Resources isn’t exactly a 1 t0 1 comparison, but if I’m investing 25 points to boost one of my figures, I want a little more than just access to Perplex and +1 Damage (the usefulness of the stat modifiers depends so heavily on which figure you’re Possessing, but frankly, all of Proselyte’s starting stats suck except for Damage and Movement. Even its Range–just a 5–is really poor).

If you don’t want Perplex, your other choices are Plasticity (useful occasionally), Super Strength (half the figures who’d benefit from Super Strength already have it!) or Toughness (the worst damage absorption power). On Click 2, Proselyte picks up a mildly interesting Movement Special (CHANNEL THE LIGHT OF THE OTHER CORPS: Give Proselyte a free action and choose a color that isn’t brown, black, grey or pink. Proselyte can use a standard power of the chosen color until your next turn.), but it’s not until you get to Click 3 and Proselyte’s Damage Special (HEART OF COMPASSION: Friendly figures that can use Support may do so even if an opposing figure is adjacent to the friendly figure or the target. When they do modify the result of the 2d6 roll by +2 and don’t subtract 2 from the d6 roll.) that you start to see what the developers intended for this piece: Healing.

But even this epiphany raises as many questions as it answers. First, Proselyte does not have a native Support power (look again–his Special reads “friendly figures that CAN USE SUPPORT… “); you can give the Possessed character Support with Channel the Light of the Other Corps… BUT THEN YOU CAN’T USE HEART OF COMPASSION! It’s a Catch 22, which leaves you with just two choices that I can think of to remedy the situation.

First, you can play A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUPPORT-POSSESSING FIGURE TO BE YOUR HEALER. This is the easiest way to go, although it’s also the most points-intensive way to go, since it involves adding a whole other figure to your force than you may have wished to field (and at this point you can almost throw Theme out the window, unless you want to pay ANOTHER 25 points for ANOTHER Entity to possess the healer you just added to your team, and dammit, before you know it, it’s Turtles all the way down).

Your second choice is to play Proselyte on a figure who already has Support. Easy enough, right? Nope–you have to make sure that the base figure has Support ON CLICK 3! Top dial or even second Click Support does you no good if you want to boost it with Heart of Compassion.

I mean, I suppose Proselyte is useful in supercharging a medic piece in a 400+ point game as long as you’re fielding a bunch of $100+ Entities; outside of that specific circumstance, I have to say, as Entities go, Proselyte is by far the worst.

GRADE: 1 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $103.50 to $149.99 (I’m not Nostradamus, but I guarantee you this will come down. You can practically get Parallax for $150. If you have a Proselyte and are thinking of selling, now would be the time, buckaroo!)

8. WOL066P Butcher – Red Lantern Corps Entity: The Red Lantern Entity has a top dial 5 Damage and 12 Attack Value, so right off the bat there will probably be a decent stat buff for most characters there. But he’s number 8 on this list because he offers almost nothing in terms of selectable powers–especially in the beginning. Butcher is one of the only Entities who doesn’t offer a power in all four slots top dial.

He starts off with Charge, Toughness and a Damage Special (HEAT OF RAGE: Once per turn, a friendly character may reroll the d6 roll for Blades/Claws/Fangs.) that really only works if you’ve built a whole team of B/C/F’ers. And if you’ve built a team of close combatants, I’m guessing most will already come equipped with Charge and/or Toughness (at least), so his Damage Special almost by default becomes the only power worth taking. I know there are some Red Lanterns out there with B/C/F, so army construction is key when using a piece like Butcher.

If you possess a character with a long dial (and/or if you have him possess the Rookie dial of a piece), Butcher starts to shine a little, offering Flurry, B/C/F, Combat Reflexes and Exploit Weakness. Unfortunately, you have to get to, like, click 9 for most of those powers to show up.

Butcher’s better than Proselyte, but that’s damning with faint praise.

GRADE: 2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $125-$185 (Again, I don’t think the Butcher is sustainable around that level, so I’d recommend trading him for a more useful Entity or selling him!)

“I am not a Yu-Gi-Oh!, mortal!”

7. WOL068P Predator – Star Sapphires Entity: Now we are starting to get into the truly useful Entities. Stats-wise, Predator’s top dial is top notch, offering (among other numbers) 10 Range, 18 Defense and 4 Damage. Most characters you’ll want to play with Predator should be able to buff ONE of those stats. And while Predator doesn’t offer any Specials at the beginning, it does give you the option of picking from 4 powers, all of them useful: Sidestep, Energy Explosion, Energy Shield/Deflection or Shape Change.

Further down Predator’s dial comes a Click 4 Movement Special (COSMIC LOVE: Predator can use Shape Change, the Quintessence and Mystics team ability.), and Click 6 brings a truly bonkers Damage Special (POWER OF LOVE: All characters within range can use Mind Control.), which is great if you’re trying to create mass chaos during endgame scenarios.

Predator is not as game-changing as some of the other Entities, but it offers solid options in every slot and is definitely worth the 25 points it takes to field it. Predator is also a great choice if you’re putting together a Meta team and need that second or third Entity to form a Theme Team.

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $150-$199 (All of these Wave 2 Entities will depreciate slightly, but I expect Predator to hold its value AT LEAST as well as Butcher and Proselyte)

“William Hand of Earth. Your mother is calling.”

6. WOL061P Entity – White Lantern Corps Entity: Top dial, Entity’s stats aren’t overwhelming; 8 Range, 10 Movement, 18 Defense and 4 Damage should let you pump up something. But Entity offers a couple EXTREMELY useful powers on Click 1. Probability Control is one of the best powers in the game, and Entity’s Movement Special (FLOW OF LIFE: At the beginning of your turn, you may heal one adjacent character without the Black Lantern Corps keyword 1 click.) is extraordinary in its ability to heal without a die roll. Sorta like Forge’s mechanical healing ability, but it works on everyone (well, everyone who’s not a Black Lantern).

Also of interest are Clicks 4 and 8, which grant a Special Stop Click (COSMIC LIFE: Entity can use Regeneration and the Quintessence team ability. When turning the dial, if this click is revealed due to damage taken from an opponent’s attack, stop turning the dial. This power can’t be ignored.). Unfortunately, the Stop part of the Stop Click won’t really do you any good, but being able to pick up Regeneration on Click 4 just might save the day. The fact that you ignore pushing damage and become un-Outwittable on the Click is also a bonus.

And, at the end of the day, Entity IS the White Lantern Entity, which really makes him a must play for White Lantern teams (that is, as with all of these pieces, assuming that you ever GET one, of course).

GRADE: 3 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $71-$130 (He may come down a little bit, at least until someone finds some way to completely abuse his healing power.)

“Do not fear, mortal, all is welllll–holy $#!#! Is that blood?! Oh hell no!! Adara out!”

5. WOL067P Adara – Blue Lantern Corps Entity: The ultimate support Entity! Top dial, Adara gives a character your choice of Telekinesis, Defend (with an 18 Defense that goes to 19 on the second Click) or Probability Control. Basically, with Adara, you get access to the full Scarlet.

Alright!

(Author’s Note: Nope! Not even a little bit what I meant by “access to the full Scarlet!” More than a little disturbing that you had THAT photo ready to go.)

(Author’s Note: There we go!)

Okay, sorry about that. My editor was a little quick on the “Scarlet” trigger there. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah–so Adara basically turns any eligible character you want in FFCW006 Scarlet Witch. Only for 25 points instead of 75. And you get Adara’s neat little Defend trick on top of everything else (which has already been put to Meta use in many recent ROC’s by having Adara Possess Despotellis). Adara’s early placement and defense shenanigans give way mid-dial to a Special Attack power (SURGE OF HOPE: Friendly characters who can use Empower or Enhancement treat other friendly characters within 3 squares and line of fire of that character as adjacent for the purposes of those powers.) that starts pumping up your team’s offensive capabilities too.

Adara’s only negative–and it’s really only a negative when compared to the other Entities–is that her best Special (COSMIC HOPE: Adora can use Perplex, but only to increase combat values. Adora can use the Quintessence team ability.) doesn’t show up until Click 7. Otherwise, Adara is a proven commodity that can boost the effectiveness of just about any character.

GRADE: 4 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $71.00 + (Despite Adara’s ROC success, the price tag has not moved much. Your guess is as good as mine, but if you’re saving up for an Entity, Adara for somewhere around $70-$90 certainly seems to make A LOT more sense than, say, $150 for Proselyte or $185 for Butcher.)

Creepy? Sure, but this would still be an average Tuesday night for the Joker. Just sayin'.

Creepy? Sure, but this would just be an average Tuesday night for the Joker. Just sayin’.

4. WOL060P Black Hand – Black Lantern Corps Entity: What?! An Entity that’s not a Chase? Sweet! Finally! Now I don’t have to pay $80 just to–what? He’s already going for like $120? Sigh…

Anyway, Black Hand here offers four great powers at the top of his dial for you to choose from. Got a big hitter who’s stuck with, say, no move-and-attack? Black Hand can give him Running Shot. Do you have a ranged attacker you like who just has Pulse Wave even though you need to reach out and touch someone with a full range attack? Black Hand can grant Penetrating/Psychic Blast! Hard to hit piece that has Super Senses or ES/D but no dampeners? Yup, Black Hand can enable Invulnerability. Or, if you’re just trying to counterattack after your opponent misses, try Black Hand’s Damage Special (DESPAIR OF THE BLACKEST NIGHT: When an opposing character misses an attack, choose an opposing character within 10 squares and line of fire and modify that character’s defense value by -1 until the end of your next turn.) on for size.

On his second Click (and every even Click thereafter), Black Hand turns into a Black Lantern Corps enabler. His Movement (OBLIVION OF DEATH: When a friendly character with the Black Lantern Corps keyword is healed because an opposing character is KO’d, increase the healing by 1.) and Attack (DEATH: Black Hand can use Steal Energy. When an opposing character is KO’d, heal Black Hand of 1 damage.) Specials puts the swarming and healing capabilities of every Black Lantern into overdrive. You can really start to turn the tide of a game when your entire army heals 2 Clicks every time you KO an opposing figure (“Okay, I just took out one of your Warbot POG’s, and I have four Black Lanterns, so that kill will net me… 8 clicks of healing! And, every character I have is back to top dial!“).

The final thing that must be noted about Black Hand: He himself can be Possessed! He’s the only Entity that doesn’t have the Giant Damage Symbol, so you can run him as a normal figure and have another Entity Possess him! None of the other Entities can do that. And with 10 Clicks of life, Black Hand can definitely get the most out of a Possessor’s dial!

GRADE: 4 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $82-$110 (As more become available, this price will drop some; as Black Hand is damn good, and an Entity, I don’t expect it to drop much.)

3. WOL063P Ophidian – Orange Lantern Corps Entity: And now we’re closing in on the best of the best. Top dial, Ophidian can grant you your choice of: Sidestep; Pulse Wave; Invulnerability; or a sick version of Outwit (DESIRE OF GREED: Ophidian can use Outwit. When it does it can use the countered power or ability for as long as it’s countered.). Click 2 brings (COSMIC GREED: Ophidian can use Barrier, Plasticity, and the Quintessence team ability.) and Shape Change (Shape Change! Good Lord, I love Shape Change. I have a Larfleeze because of the Shape Change Ophidian granted my Red Lantern Superboy Prime–y’know what? For more details about how I exchanged my moral compass and good manners for a WOL Month 1 tourney win, click here!).

When you get closer to the mid-dial, Ophidian also offers Hypersonic Speed. If you don’t know why that’s good, this may not be the blog for you! At the end of the day, Ophidian is another Entity who’s ROC-certified. Like DJ Khaled, all he does is win!

GRADE: 4 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks!

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $71-$130. (And worth every penny!)

"Obviously, the embodiment of Will is a floating space shark fish. With crazy, shimmery fins. What the $@#& were YOU expecting?"

“Obviously, the embodiment of Will is a floating space shark fish. In space. With crazy, shimmery fins. What the $@#& were YOU expecting?”

2. WOL062P Ion – Green Lantern Corps Entity: So, looking back over this list, I’ve been pretty critical of most of the Wave 2 Entities. But I can’t complain about Ion. Ion’s third Trait (and I think he’s the only Entity with 3 Traits, by the way) is, in a word, prettyf@#$ingsick (I AM ION, INCARNATION OF THE CORPS: Characters using the Possessed ability while Ion is the Possessor may choose to modify 2 combat values from Ion instead of 1 and may use 2 powers from Ion instead of 1.).

His combat values are a bit depressed compared to the rest of the Entities; that’s about his only downside, but you can kind of fix that with character choice; a lot of folks tend to pick the biggest and best character they can find and throw an Entity on it. But with Ion especially, you really want a character who will benefit from the double stat boost even before you start looking at the powers Ion can grant.

On Click 2, Ion also gains a Movement Special (FORCE OF WILL: Friendly characters can use Willpower. If they can already do so, increase their defense value by the number of action tokens on them.) that could be extremely useful, especially if you’ve constructed a team with this in mind.

But it all comes back to Ion’s Trait; it’s so powerful that you wonder how it can cost the same 25 points as the others.

GRADE: 5 Oxygen Filtration Masks

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $280 and climbing. (Good Gosh!!)

“Impurity restored. Y’know, in the balance of the game.”

1. WOL065P Parallax – Sinestro Corps Entity: So, one way to evaluate the Entities that I haven’t really touched on is to look at their point values. Each one cost 25 points to use, but they all grant access to different point level dials. Parallax here has the most expensive dial at 250. That’s means Parallax gives you access to a dial that costs 100 freaking points more than Entity’s dial. And access to either dial COSTS THE SAME AMOUNT OF POINTS!

Top dial is where Parallax shines the most. He grants your choice of: Stealth; Penetrating/Psychic Blast; Impervious or the ridiculously good Damage Special (COSMIC FEAR: Parallax can use Perplex, but only to decrease combat values. Parallax can use the Quintessence team ability.). That’s right–you can give a character top dial Quintessence. Just stupid. And if you can get Parallax to his second click, he’ll grant access to Hypersonic Speed too (just like Ophidian).

Out of all of the Entities, Parallax is the one you should chasing. Or CHASE’n, as the case may be. In Wave 1 (or any Wave, for that matter) you cannot and will not pull a better figure.

GRADE: 6 (out of 5) Oxygen Filtration Masks!

CURRENT VALUE ON EBAY: $120-$200 (The secret’s out. You are going to have to spend some cash if you want Parallax. Or any of these pieces for that matter, but especially Parallax.)

Okay! That’s all for the Entities. Agree with our rankings? Disagree? Sound off in the forums below!

And until next time, stay safe, and watch where you draw those lines of fire!

Preparing For Launch!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 07/27/2014!!)

July 29, 2014 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Another day, another dollar, another week, another… Wait, is it Tuesday already? Good Lord, nevermind the intro, before I lose my train of thought with another Tigers rant, let’s just get straight into the…

WEEKLY ROUNDUP!!

PODCASTS:

–As always, Dial H for Heroclix is back with another new episode! Episode 54 is an extended length podcast that delves into what the guys want/expect from Yu-Gi-Oh! Wave 2!

–Push to Regen’s newest episode is… still Episode 2.5!! If you missed it, they discuss last month’s Nationals, work in some War of the Light talk and check in with some listeners!

–The Quarry’s latest episode is still Episode 22!! It features some new Tryout Commentators analyzing the Oregon ROC!!… Hopefully we’ll get some more content soon, as no one covers the Meta like DarkLogos.

Welcome… to the ROC!

ROC:

-You can catch up with most of the recent ROC upcoming tourney announcements right here!

-Speaking of, the full ROC/DragonCon announcement is here!

-Still no official Previews from WizKids, which, again, is weird since GotG releases IN LESS THAN 3 WEEKS!! I mean, the title of this week’s Weekly Rounup is PREPARING FOR LAUNCH!! C’mon, WizKids!! For what it’s worth, the Gravity Feed dials are all up in the Units section of HCRealms.com, as are the dials from the Justice League Strategy Game that released earlier this month (Hint: They’re freaking good!!). And yes, all four of those Justice League dials are SwitchClix that can be put on the JLA Team Base.

-WizKids has finally responded to the popularity of the ROC, and it’s THIS!! If any of those seven locations was within three hours of Detroit (Chicago is like 4 and 1/2 on a GOOD traffic day), I’d be a little more excited about this…

-In case you missed it last week, there will be a 5-figure booster set next February, and it will be based on… DC’s Trinity War!! So we’ll be getting 2 DC sets in a row, and–in addition to normal Chases–there will be a new “Ultra-Chase” rarity (uh, yay?). With the set being based on Trinity War (and the Crime Syndicate), early bets on the identity of the Ultra-Chase all seem to be landing on either alt-Alfred Pennyworth or, more literally, Ultra-Man of the Crime Syndicate. There will also be TWO new Brick-Incentive Exclusive Resource Dials!! How will it all play?!

We shall see next February…

Army of the Week:

Okay, for this week’s Army of the Week, we’re gonna take a look at… the Army of the Week from 2 weeks ago. Why? Well, sometimes there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and sometimes, there’s more than one way to build an army! We’ll keep the same basic engine (Yondu and Rocket), but we’ll take out Star-Lord and sub in some Entities to go with the Resource, and see which army we like better!

"We may be the 18th team named Ravagers, but at least we're not Zombies."

“Once more… with FEELING!”

Team Name: Blam! Murdered You! AGAIN!!

Theme: Entity

Roster:

GOTGM018 Rocket Raccoon – 100 Points

WOL067P Adara – 25

GOTGM012 Yondu – 82

WOL065P Parallax – 25

WOLH002 Black Lantern Risen – 13

ATA098 Ravagers x2 – 8

The Phoenix Force – 12

All 5 Fragments – 15

Assigned Character x 2 – 6

=299 Points

What We Said Before: “So, in addition to their dials (which are all awesome!!), Rocket (Magik Frag) and Yondu (Cyke Frag) will get Running Shot, Energy Explosion, Defend and +1 to Damage from the Phoenix Force (and keep in mind that Rocket can be carried by either of his teammates WITH NO PENALTY TO MOVEMENT, since he’s got Tiny Size. I’d highly recommend Yondu though, for reasons I’m about to get into.). Now let’s look at the individual dials: Rocket has a native 19 Defense, which means whoever carries him also has a 19 Defense since Defend is granted by the Phoenix Force. Also, Rocket Raccoon’s Trait (HOW ABOUT “ROCKET RACCOON AND HIS HUMAN HANGERS-ON”?: Friendly characters adjacent to Rocket Raccoon with the Guardians of the Galaxy or Ravagers keyword modify their attack values by +1.) and Damage Special (SMARTEST MAMMAL IN THE D’AST GALAXY: Rocket Raccoon can use Enhancement and Outwit.) also boost Attack and Damage by +1 for whoever’s carrying the lil’ mammal. Now let’s look at Yondu. His Trait (HIGHER GROUND: Yondu can use Energy Shield/Deflection.) gives him a 21 FREAKING DEFENSE AGAINST RANGED ATTACKS (not counting any Hindering bonuses), and his Damage Special is great, too: ONE. LITTLE. WHISTLE.: When making a ranged combat attack against a single target, modify Yondu’s attack by +2.

So, to review: Just by having Yondu carry Rocket, Yondu’s top dial when attacking one opposing character at range becomes (in addition to the fact that he now flies and has Poison) 7 Movement (w/Running Shot), 13 Attack with Precision Strike AND Three Bolt Energy Explosion, 21 Defense (at least) against ranged retaliation and 5 Damage (3 Native Damage + Rocket’s Enhancement + 1 from the Phoenix Force). Annnnnnd you still have Star-Lord waiting in the wings (and if you push him just once, Star-Lord gets Empower, Enhancement and Perplex).

The only real flaw this team has is the lack of Willpower, but if you need to take that second or third action, you can (particularly if the Phoenix Force is still on its first click and the character that’s pushing is adjacent to Rocket, since his Defend would still be tough to overcome.). This team should be a lot of fun to play AND pretty competitive!!”

What the New Version Brings: All that and more! Star-Lord is great backup, but the fact is we now have 4 characters (6 if you include the Bystander Tokens, but they count towards Theme) instead of 3, so we have a slightly better chance to win Map Roll and choose where we fight.

With this team, you’ll be going around in a mini-Defense Ball with Yondu Carrying Rocket. Try to have the Black Lanterns stay close, so that they are just as hard to hit. There will be times when your opponent will need to hit a 22 to hit Yondu with a Ranged Attack (Remember, Rocket’s using Defend with a native 19, Yondu’s Trait gives him ES/D, and if he’s in Hindering and his assailant doesn’t see through that Terrain, they’ll need a 22).

As always, even Jerry Seinfeld thinks that’ll be unlikely:

Yondu can increase Damage or Range via Parallax every turn, and he’ll of course have Running Shot with both Precision Strike and 3 Bolt Energy Explosion (thanks to the Phoenix Force). If he’s targeting just one character (while he’s Carrying Rocket), when you add up all the buffs (and assuming he pumped up Damage with Parallax), Yondu would have a 13 Attack with 5 Damage, Precision Strike AND that 3 Bolt Energy Explosion. AND he can also choose every turn to gain a Yellow Lantern Perplex and the Quintessence Team Ability, which would solve his lack of Willpower dilemma.

Essentially, we’re taking 82 Point Yondu, who’s already pretty good, and giving him +3 to Attack and +2 to Damage at virtually all times. And we haven’t even gotten to the fact that the Phoenix Force can hook him up with the Magik Fragment, Poison, Flight, Invuln (since that’s what you’d choose every turn and much, much more if you can start turning that Resource Dial. With native Sharpshooter and the Ravagers TA which lets him automatically break away, basing him does almost no good at all. The only thing he fears even a little is Pulse Wave.

Rocket would get the Cyke Fragment and wreck face every other turn (if an opposing figure is within Rocket’s Range, he can nail them for 5 Damage!). Oh, and since–at least for the first few turns–Rocket gets Defend from the Phoenix Force, he’s free to choose Prob Control from Adara every turn. Y’know, just in case Yondu somehow misses with his 13 Attack.

There are two Meta figures who can mess this team up before it gets going.

The first, of course, is Copycat (God, this figure is going to wreck the game. Just ban it already!!). She can take either part of your engine; neither choice works out well for you. You would reeeeeeaaaaallly have to slow your roll and basically just send out Copycat as a solo attacker and hope she gets whacked quickly or that she can carve off some meaningful clicks from the other side (not likely, but not impossible either, since she’ll have access to both Adara and a Resource in this scenario).

And the second figure to look out for is Lydea Mallor, but only because she can take Colossus’s Fragment from the Phoenix Force. This wouldn’t be a game ender, but it would suddenly open up both of your engine parts to Poison.

Of the two, Copycat is FAR more lethal to your plans that Lydea Mallor, but both are annoying.

So go forth and try this army out; you’ll only need three expensive Chases, the Complete Phoenix Force Resource, and a hard to find Rare from a CTD set that’s all but sold out most places.

Good Luck!!

Hooray for Hollllllywooood!!

—Movie Wonder Woman is officially a thing!

–Guardians of the Galaxy opens on Friday (really Thursday night). As of Sunday night, over 25 reviews were in and it still had a 100% Fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.com. Color me “excited.” UPDATE: It is now at 97%, as something called Jeff Coyle (an AP critic) has decided the movie was not his cup of tea. And now, in keeping with tradition, I will now go on a brief but ill-informed rant against this Jeff Coyle guy, and how little he clearly knows about this film, even though he’s seen the movie and I haven’t. Screw you, random movie reviewer I’ve never met, let alone read, and your negative opinion about a movie I’ve yet to see but really want to! What do you know about anything, anyway, except that you will die alone, bitter and unloved?

Okay! Whew! Glad I got that off my chest… oh, yeah, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 already has a release date!

–Speaking of release dates, Gotham has a premiere date on FOX, and it is September 22nd!

Wait--it's already listing this post!! Huh?! Whaa?! Must be magic!!

–Critical Missives:

–Okay, there were a couple of articles that dropped since the last Weekly Roundup! First, we finished our look at the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set by diving into a Starter Set Review! Secondly, Ninwashui recapped War of Light Month 2 at our local venue in his Local Tournament Report!

–Finally, this site has actually been growing by leaps and bounds these past 2 months, so I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s stopped by to check us out!

And that’s it for this week!! I’ll be back next week with a deeper look at War of Light, and in a few weeks we’ll be back with a Top 10 Review of Guardians of the Galaxy once that set releases!

Guarding the Galaxy Part 2: The Starter Review!! (Or, Y’know, A Review of the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set Starter Pack!!)

July 25, 2014July 26, 2014 / HypeFox / 2 Comments

Annnnnnd we’re back! I swear, I haven’t been playing Hearthstone for three days straight! Honest!

(No, for reals–I mean, I would’ve spent the whole three days pulling my hair out trying to take on the Heroic versions of the Naxx Arachnid Quarter Bosses without Alexstrazsa–y’know what? Doesn’t matter right now.)

Okay! So, awhile ago, we published our take on the first 18 figures in the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set! But we promised we’d be back later with the back end of the review–namely, the six figures that come in the starter! Well, here we are!

As a whole, I highly recommend purchasing the Starter for the reasons we’re about to get into, but man, there’s not really a dud piece in the bunch! But before we get to the last six Clix in the set, I want to mention a few things.

First of all, the fact that you get an exclusive Map is just gravy on the cake (no, I’m not mixing metaphors–I just invented the greatest thing ever by combining the two FORMER greatest things ever. You’re Welcome. And yes, that was a reference to the film’s tagline. Ahem.). Yes, I know all Starters/Fast Forces come with a map, but it definitely adds to the value of the whole endeavor.

This particular map comes with two Indoor layouts–The Kyln (a space prison, I believe) and Nova Corps. headquarters. Let’s start with the last one first.

MAP: Nova Corps. Headquarters:

Yep–in all of InternetLand, this is the best image I could find for this map. For shame, cyberspace. For Shame!!

This map is a stay away for me. One side is fairly isolated, which can be gold if you’re playing an Iron Pharaoh or Fantomex (read: Stall Team) force, but you’ll never get to play there. If you win Map Roll, you get to choose what map you want, but then your opponent gets to pick what side he gets. And, since he’s seen what you’re playing at this point, if he has any idea how your team works, he’d never let you choose the isolated side. Plus, even if you were playing a Iron Pharaoh team, your Falcon would be neutered a tiny bit by not being able to see through Blocking Terrain (since you’re Indoors.). There’s a few teams that could work on a map like this, (The Hand, maybe, powered by Wolverine, Agent of Hydra?), but most of the teams that could work on this map could probably work even better on a different one.

Much more interesting, then, in my eyes at least, is:

MAP: The Kyln:

Ugh--this one's even worse, and I took it myself. Man, why doesn't HCRealms just catalog every map with a clean picture and document every last bit of Orange text and put it all into a nice, free and functional Search Engine? Man, it's like they're not even trying anymore...

Ugh–this one’s even worse, and I took it myself. Man, why doesn’t HCRealms just catalog every Clix map ever made with a clean picture AND document every last bit of Orange text and put it all into a nice, free and functional search engine on their site? Man, it’s like they’re not even trying anymore…

The Kyln has a ton of room to run and hide after striking for Hypersonic characters! Superboy Prime(s), Speed Demon, Whizzer–all would do well on this map! Very exploitable (reeeeeaaaalllly easy to sneak out, nail someone, then swing back around a corner and hide behind Walls!), and if you regularly play tourneys, at the very least, you’ll want this map for your toolbox.

And having said that, let’s move on to the Main Event! We’ll go right in order:

GOTGM101 Star-Lord – 75 Points – Starter Set: Point for point, the best Star-Lord in the set. Chris Pratt’s alter ego starts out with the Improved Movement power that you probably scoured the other versions’ cards for (CAN’T KEEP THIS UP, BUT I DON’T NEED TO: Improved Movement: Ignores Elevated Terrain, Ignores Hindering Terrain) only to find after much searching that it just wasn’t there. This dial is also interesting because it switches ROLES every other click! He alternates between being a pretty damn good Secondary Attacker in a 300 Point Modern Age game on his odd clicks to being the ultimate supporting figure (he gains Enhancement, Empower AND Perplex) on his even ones. Movie Peter Quill’s first three clicks all have a native 3 Damage, and he’s rocking a 6 Range with Running Shot and Penetrating/Psychic Blast top click (actually, he keeps that Pen/Psy for his first clicks!!). And while everything else is going on, his Trait (get used to seeing this–more than a few figures have it!) gives him a one-time, backstage pass to an improved version of Pulse Wave (HADRON ENFORCER: Once per game, give Star-Lord a free action and choose an unoccupied square of clear terrain within range and line of fire. When you do, Star-Lord can use Pulse Wave this turn as if he occupied that square.)!!

I can’t tell you off of the top of my head exactly how many figures for 75 Points or less have access to both Penetrating/Psychic Blast AND Pulse Wave of ANY kind–much less one that effectively DOUBLES your Range with it–without the benefit of a Resource, but I’m betting the number is EXTREMELY small. Like possibly just Starter Chris Pratt small. Remember, these are the two best Attack Slot powers IN THE GAME! His drawbacks are few. He only has five clicks of life (helped a tiny bit by Toughness on the first three clicks and Super Senses on the last two), and his Defense tops out at 17. Not terrible, but definitely hittable. Still, considering that he brings so many top tier standard powers to the table, he more than makes up for a questionable Defense. He even has decent keywords (GotG, Ravagers, Soldier, etc.). Good gosh, he’s only 75 Points!

GRADE: 4 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (he’s not a Chase Rocket Raccoon, but he ain’t far off!)

“It’s real!!”

GOTGM102 Rocket Raccoon – 75 Points – Starter Set: Again, a lot to love. This version ditches the Improved Movement for better targeting potential (INDISCRIMINATE? NO, INCOMPARABLE: Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores Characters). He’s Tiny, so he can still be Carried, and his Attack Special (TWO BIG GUNS: Give Rocket Raccoon a power action and he may then make 2 ranged combat attacks as free actions.) is REALLY GOOD if you can Outwit your opponent’s Defense first! His other assets include a 7 Range with two Bolts, top dial Stealth and the fact that he’s one of the only actual Guardians of the Galaxy to have top dial Willpower–that’s actually a difference between a lot of these figures versus they’re starter counterparts. The Starter figs tend to have it where the main set pieces don’t. His keywords are limited–just Animal and GotG–but he can still be a solid Secondary Attacker on the right team. Having said all that, this is the rare case (with this set at least) where the Starter set version is actually worse than the main set versions (of course, that bar is pretty high!). Still, I’d give him this:

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

“Eyes up, Star-Lord.”

GOTGM103 Gamora – 100/75 Points – Starter Set: Whoa!! There we go! On her first click of life, Gamora can use Charge, Precision Strike, Super Senses and a Special version of Close Combat Mastery that hoses any piece she hits. As I stated above with Rocket Raccoon, not many actual Guardians have Willpower, but Gamora here is rocking Indomitable. Plus, her Trait (DEADLIEST WOMAN IN THE WHOLE GALAXY: Give Gamora a free action and choose an opposing character. When Gamora attacks the chosen character, modify her attack and damage values by +1. Gamora can’t choose again until the chosen character has been KO’d.) potentially bumps her Attack Value to 12 and here Damage value to 4 when she attacks the chosen character! Her 75 Point dial is almost as good; I just prefer the top dial Charge of the 100 Point version to the Special Movement Power that grants Sidestep (among other things). She’s right up there with the rare Target exclusive Drax the Destroyer, although he was only like 94 Points. I gave that Drax 3 and 3/4 rating, which means I have to give this Gamora:

GRADE: 3 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM104 Drax the Destroyer – 125 Points – Starter Set: Hmmm… this piece is an odd duck. For 31 more points, Starter Drax has a solid 6 Range (up from 3), that same improved-range Pulse Wave Trait that Star-Lord had (HADRON ENFORCER: Once per game, Give Drax the Destroyer a free action and choose an unoccupied square of clear terrain within range and line of fire. When you do, Drax the Destroyer can use Pulse Wave this turn as if he occupied that square.), Indomitable (there’s that again!) and Impervious followed by Invincible instead of just straight Toughness followed by weird pseudo-Stop Clicks. But this Drax also has 1 less click of life, lower Defense (starts with a 17 versus the Mass Market Rare’s 18), slightly lower attack and Super Strength where his counterpart had Precision Strike. The Target-exclusive Drax had a clear role–take out any enemy pieces with Shape Change and/or Super Senses, since he ignores both of those powers. This Drax instead has Exploit Weakness and Close Combat Expert, so his damage dealing potential (if it gets through Super Senses and Shape Change) is a little higher, but not much. I’d personally stick with the Mass Market Rare and spend that extra 31 Points elsewhere.

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

“I… am… West Siiiide!”

GOTGM105 Groot – 100/75 Points – Starter Set: Another support figure, but this version will only cost you up to 100 Points and comes in two great flavors! The first (100 Point version) is rocking an 18 Defense with Invulnerability and the always useful Defend. He’s got Indomitable, so you don’t have to worry about pushing, and he’s also a giant like the main set version. His Movement Special (PHOSPHORESCENT FLOWERS: Lines of fire drawn to opposing characters within 6 squares of Groot ignore hindering terrain.) alternates with Charge (which the Rookie version starts with) and is a great way to open up lines of fire for any snipers on your side who don’t come with Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering Terrain. Having Experienced Starter Groot Carry his lil’ Raccoon buddy (either the Chase or the Common from the main set) is both movie-accurate and useful, and you’d still have 100 Points left!

His keywords are very narrow (just Brute and Guardians of the Galaxy), but Brute actually opens up a lot of builds (and makes him eligible for Duhg’s Army). I wish he had access to Plasticity or Exploit Weakness at some point to go with his Close Combat Expert or Charge, respectively, but there’s still a lot to like here, and at MUCH more reasonable costs than the main set Rare. GRADE: 4 Oxygen Filtration Masks (100 Point Dial); 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks (75 Point Dial)

“I’m told this is my best side.”

GOTGM106 Ronan – 300/200/100 Points – Starter Set: Like the main set version, Starter Ronan is a high risk/high reward brick who is meant to take up all–or most–of your points. Each version has an Improved Targeting Trait (YOU CANNOT EVADE ME: Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores Characters), and the Veteran also has 11 clicks of life and a Trait that makes Outwit useless (I WILL NOT BE DENIED: Ronan’s powers can’t be countered.). 10 Range with Running Shot/Pulse Wave top dial (and a 12 Attack Value) means that if you tried to field just Ronan here at, say, a ROC, you won’t be laughed off the table (I still wouldn’t recommend it, since you’ll be hideously out-actioned, but he’s by far NOT the worst figure you could try this with). I wish his damage stayed at 5 beyond top dial, but he comes with an Outwit of his own (again, with 10 Range!) and an 18 Defense with both Impervious AND Energy Shield/Deflection (which is, as mentioned, uncounterable, so the only major fear he has from range is–as always–Pulse Wave).

His Experienced version keeps the 18 Defense with Imperv and ES/D, but only top click, and he loses his move-and-attack power in favor of Flurry. Now, you’ll have an extra 100 Points to play with here, but as Ronan flies, he cannot be carried by most Taxis, which locks you into having to play a TK’er. His damage drops to 4 with Perplex (instead of Outwit), and his starting Attack Value is actually LOWER than the Rookie dial’s.

Rookie Ronan is five clicks of pain. He picks up Charge, an 11 Attack (that goes to 12 on Click 2), a 17 Defense with Invincible and 3 Damage with Close Combat Expert. His last two clicks have a Damage Special that lets him use Regeneration for free. At 100 points, he has a high damage output ceiling if you can get him in close.

GRADE: 4 Oxygen Filtration Masks (300 Point Dial); 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks (200 Point Dial); 3 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (1oo Point Dial)

There ya go! I hope you enjoyed this look at the back end of the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set. I know I’m pumped for this movie, and I’ll enjoy playing these figures for the next couple years.

I’ll see you guys next time; until then, if you need me, I’ll be here, opening Hearthstone packs… LIKE A BOSS!!

Guarding the Galaxy, For Starters!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 07/20/2014!!)

July 22, 2014 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Another week gone by, and another blown game by Tiger’s closer Joe Nathan! Bleh. At least my Tigers salvaged the last game of their four game series against the Indians at home. They’ve just been a much less effective team at home for whatever reason, even though they’re, like, +12 on the road. Weird.

Forget Mad Max–this is what real road warriors look like.

Still, the Tigs are well in first place, and at this point I’m expecting a nice, peaceful cruise into the Playoffs (yeah, right). Until then, however, we should probably get you caught up on the week that was in the world of Heroclix. Here, then, is…

THE WEEKLY ROUNDUP!!

PODCASTS:

–Dial H for Heroclix is back once again and podcasting into their second year with Episode 53! It’s a shorter length discussion that ranges from possible punishments for Austin for missing yet another podcast to replacement Modern Age maps for the best maps that have recently rotated out!

–Push to Regen’s newest episode is… still Episode 2.5!! If you missed it, they discuss last month’s Nationals, work in some War of the Light talk and check in with some listeners!

–The Quarry’s latest episode is still Episode 22!! It features some new Tryout Commentators analyzing the Oregon ROC!!…

Welcome… to the ROC!

ROC:

-You can catch up with most of the recent ROC upcoming tourney announcements right here!

-Speaking of, the full ROC/DragonCon announcement is here!

-The recent HCRealms.com contest to create ROC standard objects has come to an end! Click here for the winning Objects!

Again, no official Previews this week (Strange, considering GotG is less than a month away, no?), but check out the HCRealms.com Rumors section for some of the Gravity Feed Dials. As a lifelong Jim Starlin/Warlock and the Infinity Watch fan, the fact that the first two Gravity Feed characters are Infinity Watch-era Gamora and Drax means that this guy will be buying some GF packs!

-Yu-Gi-Oh! is getting a storyline event AND a resource dial!! Good lord. Will it be any good? Does this mean that I have to start playing Yu-Gi-Oh! ?

We shall see next February…

Army of the Week:

Team Name: You Have to Stay in the Sniper’s Nest

Theme: Spy

Roster:

DP018 Blind Al – 13 Points

WXM042 Fantomex– 142

CATWS008 Winter Soldier – 100

AVXR100 Phoenix Force – 12

2x Assigned Character – 6

All 5 Phoenix Fragments – 15

ATA020 X-Force (assigned to Fantomex) – 3

=291 Points

This is a simple team built around being hard to engage. Fantomex can simply stay in his Starting Zone with Blind Al and wreck face through E.V.A. while Winter Soldier snipes away from his nests. It’s really that simple; the Phoenix Force of course helps, but your goal here is to nail your opponent’s tentpoles before they ever even get to you. And if they do, you can use Blind Al to forcibly evict them!

Hooray for Hollllllywooood!!

–No big Hollywood news this week, but in a couple weeks we will have a Roundup Report on the statuses of Gotham (TV), Superman/Batman: Dawn of Justice (Film) and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)!!

Wait--it's already listing this post!! Huh?! Whaa?! Must be magic!!

–Critical Missives:

–Bunch of new articles in the last two weeks since we lasted ‘Rounded Up! We took a look at which pieces in the current Modern Age could replace the Meta staples that have recently gone Golden Age, we did a review of every figure (except those in the Starter) from the brand new Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set and, finally, Ninwashui took an in-depth look at Arnim Zola armies!!

–Once again… we’re finally on Twitter! You can follow us @criticalmissive to stay up to date on articles (think I’ve got the kinks worked out; it should Tweet the link every time there’s something new to read).

And that’s it for this week!! In the next few days (read: Thursday), we should finally get to the GotG Movie Starter figs (hint: it contains the best Star-Lord in the set!!) review as well as another couple Tourney Reports from WAR of Light Month 2, as that rolls at our venue tomorrow!

The Three Wars!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 07/13/2014!!)

July 16, 2014July 21, 2014 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Annnnnnd welcome to another week of Heroclix coverage!!

We’ve been busy these last couple weeks, and we actually had some Heroclix news break recently as well! That wait is partially why you’re getting another Mid-Weekly Roundup a couple days off from the normal release. So let’s just dive right in to…

THE WEEKLY ROUNDUP!!

PODCASTS:

–Dial H for Heroclix has finally released Episode 52!! Check their Podbean for details, but you can finally see the guys on YouTube in addition to downloading the audio version like normal! Congratulations to them on their first year anniversary show!

–Push to Regen’s newest episode is… still Episode 2.5!! If you missed it, they discuss last month’s Nationals, work in some War of the Light talk and check in with some listeners!

–The Quarry’s latest episode is Episode 22!! It features some new Tryout Commentators analyzing the Oregon ROC!!…

Welcome… to the ROC!

ROC:

-You can catch up with most of the recent ROC upcoming tourney announcements right here!

-The recent HCRealms.com contest to create ROC standard objects has come to an end! Click here for the winning Objects!

Again, no official Previews this week, but check out the WizKids section for some upcoming set news…

-There will be a 5-figure booster set next February, and it will be based on… DC’s Trinity War!! So we’ll be getting 2 DC sets in a row, and–in addition to normal Chases–there will be a new “Ultra-Chase” rarity (uh, yay?). With the set being based on Trinity War (and the Crime Syndicate), early bets on the identity of the Ultra-Chase all seem to be landing on either alt-Alfred Pennyworth or, more literally, Ultra-Man of the Crime Syndicate. There will also be TWO new Brick-Incentive Exclusive Resource Dials!! How will it all play?!

We shall see next February…

Army of the Week:

This week, in honor of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set, we’re going to build a Ravagers team!!

“At least we’re not Zombies.”

Team Name: Blam! Murdered You!

Theme: Ravagers

Roster:

GOTGM018 Rocket Raccoon – 100 Points

GOTGM012 Yondu – 82

GOTGM102 Star-Lord – 75

AVXR100 Phoenix Force – 12

2x Assigned Character – 6

All 5 Phoenix Fragments – 15

ATA011 Guardians of the Galaxy ATA x2 – 8

=298 Points

So, in addition to their dials (which are all awesome!!), Rocket (Magik Frag) and Yondu (Cyke Frag) will get Running Shot, Energy Explosion, Defend and +1 to Damage from the Phoenix Force (and keep in mind that Rocket can be carried by either of his teammates WITH NO PENALTY TO MOVEMENT, since he’s got Tiny Size. I’d highly recommend Yondu though, for reasons I’m about to get into.). Now let’s look at the individual dials: Rocket has a native 19 Defense, which means whoever carries him also has a 19 Defense since Defend is granted by the Phoenix Force. Also, Rocket Raccoon’s Trait (HOW ABOUT “ROCKET RACCOON AND HIS HUMAN HANGERS-ON”?: Friendly characters adjacent to Rocket Raccoon with the Guardians of the Galaxy or Ravagers keyword modify their attack values by +1.) and Damage Special (SMARTEST MAMMAL IN THE D’AST GALAXY: Rocket Raccoon can use Enhancement and Outwit.) also boost Attack and Damage by +1 for whoever’s carrying the lil’ mammal. Now let’s look at Yondu. His Trait (HIGHER GROUND: Yondu can use Energy Shield/Deflection.) gives him a 21 FREAKING DEFENSE AGAINST RANGED ATTACKS (not counting any Hindering bonuses), and his Damage Special is great, too: ONE. LITTLE. WHISTLE.: When making a ranged combat attack against a single target, modify Yondu’s attack by +2.

Hooray for Hollllllywooood!!

–No big Hollywood news this week, but next week will have a Roundup Report on the statuses of Gotham (TV), Superman/Batman: Dawn of Justice (Film) and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)!!

–Critical Missives:

And that’s it for this week!! Look for a review of the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Starter Set later this week!!

You’re Welcome!! (Or, A Look at the Best Pieces from the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set!!)

July 12, 2014July 25, 2014 / HypeFox / 5 Comments

Welcome back!

Today we’re taking a big look at the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Movie set that just released last week. Before we being, to get you in the right mood, let’s take a look at the poster for the movie:

This is how a movie poster is supposed to look if you want people to actually see the movie. Now, if you would rather have your stars look like they’re on the cover of a Betamax Porky’s rip-off from the mid-80’s, then by all means you should throw them in front of your movie’s crappy logo and set it all against a boring black background. I’m looking at you, Sex Tape.

Yup! These are our heroes! To see the just-dropped extended trailer, click right here!

Now that everyone’s caught up on where these pieces came from, let’s take a look at the figures themselves (EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re skipping the Starter Set for today–it’ll take us 4000+ words just to get through the Main Set! Look for a Starter Set review next week.)!!

(EDITOR’S NOTE: As promised, you can find the Starter Review right HERE!!)

We’ll go right in order, and at the end of each figure review we’ll grade each piece on a scale of 1-5 Oxygen Filtration Masks!!

“I make this look good.”

GOTGM001 Star-Lord – 95 Points – Common: A tricksy dial that has move-and-attack powers throughout, depending on how you choose to move. Confusing? Sort of, but it kind of captures the character, I think. His Trait (OXYGEN FILTRATION MASK: Star-Lord ignores damage dealt by Poison.) becomes a bit more interesting in a world where Despotellis is a thing, but his top dial Leadership is almost wasted unless your playing a couple of Guardians from the Movie Starter (more on them later) at their Rookie point level. That he possesses the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ravagers AND Soldier keywords is a definite plus.

GRADE: 2 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (EDITOR’S NOTE: Since this version of Peter Quill actually HAS a Trait called “Oxygen Filtration Mask,” his grade was bumped up by a 1/2 Filtration Mask.)

GOTGM002 Gamora – 73 Points – Common: Three Traits on a 73 Point figure! Yay! At least, “yay,” you know, until you actually read them. She starts with a great Improved Movement Trait (DEADLIEST WARRIOR IN THE GALAXY: Improved Movement: Ignores Hindering Terrain, May move through squares adjacent to opposing characters, but still needs to break away normally.) that’s immediately undone by the fact that her only native move-and-attack power is Sidestep, which alternates through her dial with Flurry. If you can get her hooked up with a Hammer or the Phoenix Force to provide her with Charge, then this dial starts to become very interesting. Her second Trait (SIBLING RIVALRY: When Gamora attacks an opposing character named Nebula, modify Gamora’s attack and damage values by +1. Opposing characters named Nebula can’t use Shape Change.) will never, ever come into play, because as colossally Meh as this Gamora is, Nebula is even worse. Her final Trait (WORKING BOTH SIDES: When a hindered line of fire is drawn to Gamora, she modifies her defense value by +2 instead of +1.) is moderately useful in keeping her alive against ranged attackers long enough to base them for an attack if you can find the right approach. Still, without any Charge, that’s gonna be a long hike. Now, if any of her Blades/Claws/Fangs slots matched up with her Flurry slots, I’d like her a lot more. Heh. Looking back on what I just wrote, I think I used the word “if” roughly 3021 times. Which probably means that as she stands, she needs A LOT of help to be effective.

GRADE: 2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM003 Nova Corpsman – 45 Points – Common: A bit expensive for their base stats, but on a Nova Corps team(for Magic: The Gathering fans, Nova Corps teams basically work like Sliver decks) , what they add to the Worldmind (SHARE THROUGH THE WORLDMIND: Friendly characters with the Nova Corps keyword and occupying hindering terrain modify their attack and range values by +1 unless already modified by this effect.) make these guys well worth it. Let’s do a quick Flash Build with ’em!

Team Name: Ain’t Nova But a Thing

Theme: None

Roster:

WOL053 Swamp Thing – 150 Points

GOTGM003 Nova Corpsman – 45

GOTGM014 Rhomann Dey – 75

R100C Power Plant – 30

=300 Points

White Lantern Swamp Thing is an awesome new piece from War of Light. Alongside his great stats and specials, his Trait (RESTORE THE GREEN: Give Swamp Thing a move action, after actions resolve, you may place hindering terrain markers in any clear squares he moved through and he may make a close combat attack targeting one opposing character occupying a hindering terrain marker Swamp Thing just placed. These markers aren’t removed when Swamp Thing is KO’d.) provides just what Nova Corpsman and Rhomann Dey need to gain the Corpsman’s Worldmind benefit, and mid-dial, Swamp Thing can also use those Hindering Terrain markers to keep the others alive with his Damage Special (RESURRECT THE FALLEN: When a friendly character within range and occupying hindering terrain would be KO’d, roll a d6. On a result of 5, instead click them to their last non-KO click, heal them 1 click, and they are now assigned 1 action token. On a result of 6, instead click them to their last non-KO click, heal them 2 clicks, and remove all action tokens they are assigned.). And if Dey does fall, Swamp Thing gets to join the Nova Corps and gains access to the Worldmind! This team won’t win you any tournaments, but it should be pretty fun to play.

There usefulness is pretty narrow, but if you intend on playing Nova Corps teams, either Modern or Golden Age, your gonna want a few of these guys.

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM004 Nova Corps Officer – 55 – Common: For 10 more points, you get a Trait that’s not nearly as good as the Officer’s subordinate (SHARE THROUGH THE WORLDMIND: Friendly characters with the Nova Corps keyword can use Improved Targeting: Ignores Friendly Characters) and a mid-dial Movement Special (PULL BACK!: Nova Corps Officer and adjacent friendly characters not on their first click and of a lower point value can use Improved Movement: Ignores Hindering Terrain.) that kind of lets you move you cheap characters around the board a little easier IF THEY’RE ALREADY HURT! Uh… thanks?

On second thought, no thanks.

GRADE: 1 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM005 Rocket Raccoon – 90 Points – Common: The breakout character from the movie is also going to be the breakout character from this set. All three versions of Rocket are pretty damn good. This particular Rocket is a straight nuisance from range with his Tiny Size (even if your attacker can see through Hindering, you’re gonna have to hit a 19 at least to touch him–and that’s assuming he’s using his Tactical Genius granted Perplex on Attack values), and with a 17 Defense base stat plus his Evasive Special (EVASIVE: When Rocket Raccoon is targeted with an attack, roll a d6 and subtract 3 (minimum 1). Increase his defense value by the result.), he’s not much easier to deal with up close, either. His damage dealing is fair to above average, and he’s best engaged with a heavy hitter who can deal 5 damage in one shot (cuz chances are you’re not hitting him twice unless you have Precision Strike or can get him in range of a full damage Pulse Wave–especially if he gets to click 4, where even if you somehow hit a 17-18 from range, you still have to get through Shape Change AND Super Senses. As always, let’s check in with Jerry Seinfeld to see if he has any thoughts on trying to hit Rocket with all those defensive abilities we just talked about:

GRADE: 4 Oxygen Filtration Masks (Highest grade so far! Silly Raccoon!)

GOTGM006 Sakaaran Soldier – 49 Points – Common: Let’s see… Dolphin Movement Symbol and Stealth. Um, okay. That’s solid I guess. 10 Attack with 3 damage top dial is not terrible for 49 Points, and they have the Minions of Thanos and Soldier keywords to go with the (so far at least) completely useless Sakaaran keyword. Their attack from the grave Trait sounds fun (UPON MY DEATH: DESTRUCTION: When Sakaaran Soldier is KO’d, before removing him from the map and even if he is adjacent to an opposing character, make a ranged combat attack with a locked attack value of 9 that can’t be rerolled. The area of effect for this attack is all opposing characters within 4 squares and each hit character is dealt 1 penetrating damage.), as it’s basically a free mini-Pulse Wave, but remember that you’re making that attack with a 9 Attack Value. Not the easiest thing in the world to do, but hey, if you roll a Critical Miss, you won’t have to worry about damaging your figure, since, y’know, they’ll be dead anyway.

GRADE: 2 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

Wait, “Sakaaran Commander,” or “Cobra Commander?” I’m confused…

GOTGM007 Sakaaran Commander – 74 Points – Common: This is a weird dial. He has Leadership (but only for adjacent characters that share a keyword with him like Minions of Thanos), his mere presence gives friendly Sakaaran Soldiers Running Shot, and he also comes with top dial Enhancement. Yes, WizKids finally designed a support figure that costs more than the attacker its meant to support! 74 Points is too much to pay for a guy you’re only using to prop up 49 point secondary attackers.

GRADE: 2 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM008 Ronan the Accuser – 275/200/150 Points – Common: The biggest beast in the set! That 275 Point dial is almost begging to be put together with an Entity (Parallax would probably work best, especially on Click 2), but keep in mind that Ronan inexplicably DOESN’T have the Cosmic keyword, so using an Entity with him would break Theme. I like his Veteran and Rookie dials the best; His 200 Point dial just doesn’t have enough “beef.” 3 damage? Pen/Psy or no, that’s not enough for a 200 Pointer. His Rookie dial gives you almost exactly what his 200 Point dial does, except it does it for 50 less points. His starting Defense goes down one, but to be honest, I’d rather have a 17 Invincible instead of an 18 Impervious any day of the week.

GRADE(S): 3 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (275 Point Dial); 2 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (200 Point Dial); 3 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (150 Point Dial)

GOTGM009 Groot – 198/90 Points – Core Hobby Rare: A close combat/tie-up nightmare, Groot is a fun character who unfortunately is extremely over-costed for what he does. At 198 Points, Groot is almost certainly going to be your primary attacker, and with an Attack Value that never bests 10 (save for 1 Click), that’s going to be an uphill climb. His Defense Special (I… AM…: When turning the dial, if this click is revealed due to damage taken from an opponent’s attack, stop turning the dial. Groot has Tiny Symbol, can’t be targeted by ranged combat attacks, and is considered smaller than all other characters. If Groot occupies water terrain or your starting area, you may give him a double power action and heal him of 3 damage. This power can’t be ignored.) is one of the best Stop Clicks in the game (can’t even be targeted by ranged attacks? Good Lord!), but his Damage Special is merely good, not great (since he just has the default Outwit Range of 6).

His Rookie dial is much more reasonably costed, and he can still blow up Blocking Terrain (Barrier buster) and tie opposing figures up very well. Plus, he starts with Invincible! He has an even lower Attack Value, but that’s much more easily overcome at 90 Points versus 198.

GRADE(S): 2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (198 Point Dial); 3 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (90)

GOTGM010 Nebula – 73 Points – Core Hobby Rare: Ugh. No move-and-attack and a Trait that’s useless (SIBLING RIVALRY: When Nebula attacks a character named Gamora, Nebula modifies her attack and damage values by +1. Opposing characters named Gamora can’t use Combat Reflexes.) unless your opponent is specifically playing Gamora. No reducers–just regular Mastermind, which means a character under 73 Points will have to tag along wherever she goes. Of course, chances are high that whatever fodder you choose to tag along with Nebula will be a better piece, so you probably won’t want to transfer damage off of Nebula anyway. Decent Attack Value, but when you consider how hard you’ll have to work just to get her based with someone (remember–outside of some down dial Sidesteop, no native move-and-attack!), it hardly seems worth it when she’s only doing 2-3 Damage before any reducers. No Blades/Claws/Fangs, which seems weird if you’ve seen her big moment in the trailer. Unless you are completely beholden to a Minions of Thanos movie Theme Team (and even then, you should still play GOTGM002 Gamora over Nebula, since Gamora has–SPOILER ALERT!–the Minions of Thanos keyword), stay away. Stay far, far away.

GRADE: 1 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (This hurts, since I’m a big Karen Gillan from her time on Doctor Who. But her agent clearly forgot to demand a decent Clix version of her character…)

“I’m not going to be ignored, Peter Quill.”

GOTGM011 Irani Rael – 60 Points – Core Hobby Rare: Glenn Close’s Alter Ego is the Maria Hill of Nova Corps teams. She’s very fragile and will just about never deal any damage. She basically stays in your starting area and offers an alternating Perplex or Outwit that she can use counting Range and Line of Fire from any friendly Nova Corps piece. That ability plus her dial is not worth 60 Points, but when you factor in what she brings to the Worldmind (SHARE THROUGH THE WORLDMIND: Friendly characters with the Nova Corps keyword ignore knock back and modify their defense values by +1.), she becomes a much better deal. I’d love her if she was 45 Points; 60 is a LOT to spend on a figure that will never deal any damage under any circumstances. Still, she is the best supporting figure option for Nova teams right now.

(On a side note, how great is this cast? John C. Reilly and Glenn Close as supporting Nova Corps characters? Lee Pace, Karen Gillan and Djimon Hounsou as the villains? Djimon Hounsou’s been nominated for an Oscar! Benecio Del Toro doing weird Benecio Del Toro things as the Collector? Michael Rooker as Blue Michael Rooker? And then you have your main cast, which includes Vin Diesel and 2-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper as supporting characters! Even Peter Serafinowicz (the “What a bunch of A-holes.” Nova Corps Officer from the first trailer) has been in a TON of stuff! I can’t wait for this movie!)

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM012 Yondu – 82 Points – Core Hobby Rare: The best Core Hobby Rare, Yondu is kind of like Chaos War Hawkeye-lite. His Keywords aren’t as good (although Ravagers is kind of a sneaky good one), and he’s got a 6 Range instead of 9, but top dial, he can Running Shot for 3 with a Damage Special (ONE. LITTLE. WHISTLE.: When making a ranged combat attack against a single target, modify Yondu’s attack by +2.) that can pump his Attack Value up to 12! Down dial, he has Energy Explosion to go with his 3 BOLTS! With the right support, he can become quite the death dealer.

GRADE: 4 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM013 Drax the Destroyer – 94 Points – Mass Market Exclusive Rare: A close combat nightmare without the shortcomings that hobbled Groot. Top dial, Drax features Charge, Flurry, Precision Strike, 18 Defense with Toughness and 3 Damage with Battle Fury. He also gets to choose an opposing figure at the beginning of the game and gets +1 while attacking that figure up close (which pumps his Attack Value to 12!). He even has a small Range of 3, which isn’t much, but isn’t 0 either. In one of the weirder Defense Specials I’ve ever seen, Drax has a chance to have 3 Stop Clicks (THERE WAS NOBODY IN IT I WANTED TO SEE: When this click is revealed while taking damage from an attack, roll a d6 and on a result of 5-6, stop turning the dial. Drax the Destroyer can use Regeneration and, if he has one or more action tokens, he can use it as a free action.) that also allows him to use Regeneration for free in certain circumstances.

In a world where Brother Voodoo and other Mind Controllers still run rampant, Drax should be able to carve out a meaningful place. The only thing holding him back is the lack of Indomitable or any Improved Movement, but something like the latter can quickly be fixed with Hammers or Phoenix Force Shards. Well worth his points.

GRADE: 3 and 3/4 Oxygen Filtration Masks

“PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE!!”

GOTGM014 Rhomann Dey – 75 Points – Mass Market Exclusive Rare: A perfectly average Nova Corps member, there are two things that stand out on Rhomann Dey. First, his keywords. He’s rocking Nova Corps, Cosmic (which is always very interesting in an environment with Entities) and Soldier. Second is his Trait (PASSING THE TORCH: When Rhomann Dey is KO’d, choose a friendly character for the rest of the game, that character can use Toughness, has a minimum range value of 6, and has the Nova Corps keyword.). Basically, if he dies, he becomes a bridge to inducting another figure into the Nova Corps, which is really only meaningful if you’re playing enough Nova Corps pieces to make granting access to the Worldmind worth it. Since he’s a Soldier (as are most of his brethren), you can include any piece with the Soldier keyword and pump them up mid-game if that’s the mechanic you’ve constructed your team around.

Having said that, banking on a strategy that includes one of your major pieces dying is almost never reliable–or a good idea. So while Rhomann’s Trait is intriguing, he really stands or falls based on his dial, which is… perfectly average, as I mentioned above. Two Bolt Energy Explosion is almost always useful (even with just a 6 Range), he has top dial Stealth and 3 Damage. Again, no Improved Movement or Targeting (unless you’re running him with other Nova Corps members who can share those powers through the Worldmind), so Stealth may not always be useful. I just have a sinking suspicion that Rhomann is another one of those pieces who will always SEEM more useful than he really is.

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

“Who?!”

GOTGM015 Korath the Pursuer – 100/50 Points – Mass Market Exclusive Rare: Finally, another Kree–although Korath isn’t blue like his brethren. Then again, their Supreme Intelligence is a giant green, blobby face, so it’s probably fictionally racist of me to assume that all Kree would be blue. Regardless, Korath here comes with a split dial that’ll either cost you 100 or 50 Points. His 50 Point dial is fine, but with only three clicks and a 16 Defense with Toughness, he’s not going to last long once the shooting starts. Most short dials like this are support pieces; Korath is still a secondary attacker at this point, so his dial doesn’t necessarily match his role. He’s really only useful here if you need a cheap(-ish) Outwitter for your Kree or Minions of Thanos team. Otherwise, stick to his 100 Point dial, which is much more worthwhile.

At 100 Points, Korath gets a really cool Trait (PURSUER TEMPLATES: During the beginning of the game, choose an opposing character. If that character moved and made an attack since your last turn, give Korath the Pursuer a free action and place him in a square adjacent to that character.), an Attack Special Power (AUGMENTED CYBERNETICS: Give Korath the Pursuer a power action and place an adjacent standard object on his card. Modify Korath the Pursuer’s attack and defense value by +1 for each of these objects on his card. When this power is lost, any objects on his card are removed from the game. This power can’t be countered or ignored.) and a Damage Special (SUBDUE THE TARGET: Korath the Pursuer can use Energy Explosion, Force Blast and Incapacitate.). All of which is to say, you can fairly easily get his Attack Value to 11 or 12 and his Defense to 18 or 19. Then, when you’re ready, you can unleash him on the target you chose for his Trait at the beginning of the game. Depending on the map you’re playing on, you’ll then have all sorts of options via that Damage Special. Is your quarry on Elevated Terrain? Force Blast him off! Is he a big’un with a lot of reducers? Incapacitate him! Does he have a Defense-ball going? Energy Explode it with your Augmented Attack Value! Korath is a versatile piece that requires patience and planning to play effectively, but he’s also a piece that can really punch above his weight class.

GRADE: 4 Oxygen Filtration Masks (100 Point Dial); 2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (50 Point Dial)

GOTGM016 The Collector – 150 Points – Mass Market Exclusive Rare: Finally, a figure with Power Cosmic! And a new Victory Condition Trait (I MUST POSSESS IT: During the beginning of the game, after characters have been placed, 1 Collectible token per 100 points of the game’s build total will be placed on the map. Each Collectible must be at least 3 squares away from each other and any starting area. An opponent places half of the Collectibles and you place the remainder. When a character occupies a square with a Collectible, give it a power action, roll a d6, and on a result of 4-6, place the Collectible on its card. If that character is KO’d, return each Collectible into a distinct adjacent square. When all friendly Collectibles are on friendly characters’ cards and those characters occupy your starting area, give the Collector a double power action and all opposing characters are KO’d.)!

That Trait is bonkers, but the Collector’s dial is pretty good for 150 Points. His un-Outwittable Phasing will help if you’re actually trying to collect the tokens, but he can also hold his own in a fight. 18 Invincible (which, again, can’t be countered because of his Power Cosmic TA) is a tough top dial nut to crack! His damage hovers between 3 and 4 for 2/3 of his dial, and the Collectible Token gimmick is just strange enough to distract an opponent from your real strategy, which should still be to wipe his characters off the board. Because the Collector is Cosmic, he’s also Theme Team-able with an Entity. And if all else fails, you can play him with characters who move freely like Despotellis or–in Silver/Golden Age games–Astral Dr. Strange and actually make a run for the Tokens. The point is, at a cost of only 150, you have plenty of options to fill out the rest of your team.

This is a cool addition to the game who scores highly just based on creativity alone!

GRADE: 4 and 1/2 Oxygen Filtration Masks (We have a new leader, ladies and gentlemen!)

GOTGM017 Star-Lord – 150 Points – Core Hobby Chase: The first Chase! Yay! I just wish… he was better. I like the sculpt (the only Star-Lord that really features Chris Pratt’s likeness), and Running Shot, 11 Attack with Sharpshooter and Energy Explosion (with 7 Range and Two Bolts) is all good. He’s one of the few figures in the set with Indomitable, he’s got an 18 Defense with Invulnerability top dial, and down dial, his Movement Special (ALL-OUT: Star-Lord can use Running Shot. Once per game when he does, modify his combat values by +2 until actions resolve and then deal him 1 unavoidable damage.) could help turn the tide late in the game if things aren’t going your way or provide that last killshot you need to finish off an opposing figure. And if you push him too far with that and leave him vulnerable, his Trait (SCREAM RIGHT BACK IN HIS FACE: When Star-Lord is KO’d due to an opposing character’s attack, deal that character 2 unavoidable damage.) might take his target with him. Finally, his Damage Special (BURST FIRE: When you make a ranged combat attack that deals damage, you may choose to deal Star-Lord’s printed damage value to hit targets instead of normal damage.) is GREAT… it’s just too bad he doesn’t get it ’til he’s down dial.

All in all though, this feels like a 130 Point dial; at 150, I don’t know if there’s enough room to surround him with what he needs to be effective. A decent Primary Attacker, but that’s about it. Might be more effective in higher point games.

GRADE: 3 Oxygen Filtration Masks

GOTGM018 Rocket Raccoon – 100 Points – Mass Market Exclusive Chase: 4 Clicks, all of which are awesome. Top dial, the little guy with the big gun gets: Improved Movement (Hindering and Elevated); 8 Movement with Running Shot; 11 Attack with Energy Explosion (with 7 Range and Two Bolts); 19 Defense (19!!) with Super Senses and Tiny Size (which means he’s a minimum 20 if you’re trying to snipe him!); and 3 native Damage with Outwit and Enhancement. His Trait (HOW ABOUT “ROCKET RACCOON AND HIS HUMAN HANGERS-ON”?: Friendly characters adjacent to Rocket Raccoon with the Guardians of the Galaxy or Ravagers keyword modify their attack values by +1.) also lets like-keyworded teammates pump up their Attack Values.

What we have here then is a support piece that makes a very effective secondary attacker. I mean, outside of Despotellis, Rocket doesn’t have a lot of natural predators. I’ve seen some chatter from peeps worrying about his short dial, but man, you still have to hit him first. Considering all that, I’d have to say that this… is the marquee piece in the set!

GRADE: 5 Oxygen Filtration Masks (Yes!! We have our dramatically timed winner for Best Figure in the Set!!)

There ya go! Join us next week for a discussion of the Starter Set!

Until then, Stay Safe, and Watch Your Lines of Fire!!

Modern Is the New Silver!! (Or, The Best Replacement Figures for Recently Retired Meta Staples!!)

July 8, 2014July 9, 2014 / HypeFox / 4 Comments

For some pieces, it’s just time to retire…

So, WizKids announced recently that they will be rotating (read: RETIRING) a whole chunk of recent sets from being Modern Age eligible. Why? For starters, they do it to promote the idea that we who play Heroclix need to keep buying new Clix products to compete in Modern Age games (although getting us to buy new Clix hasn’t been much of an issue so far, I’d wager…), and two, they need to keep new pieces away from unintended and possibly Meta-breaking interactions with older figures. Okay, there’s waaaay more reasons than that, but those are two big ones. Two other reasons, however, are a little bit more subtle.

Before we get into the meat of this article (the figure comparisons), we need some context, so we’re going to look at game design for just a few paragraphs here. Now, every time a game like Heroclix releases new products, it evolves just a little bit. And it does so in two interesting ways. First, collectible games of all types–if they stick around long enough–all go through phases where they deal with “Power Creep,” where each successive set release brings with it elements which, on average, are slightly more powerful than those released in the previous set or expansion, which in turn was just a little more powerful than its predecessor, and so on. For example, you can compare almost any Modern Age figure with a similar figure from Infinity Challenge, the first ever set, and see that things have changed drastically. Back then, an Attack Value of 8 was a fairly common top dial stat. Now, 8 AV’s are reserved for the deep end of cheap support figure dials. And so on and so on.

This should explain everything.

Power Creep is just a natural by-product of game designers trying new and different things with the intention of making their game better with each release. The very much missed WoW TCG from Cryptozoic was constantly dealing with Power Creep, and at one point they actively made it known that they were consciously lowering the power of Quests (a card type that’s kinda like Lands in Magic) in future sets because that particular card type had crept to absurdly powerful levels at that point in the game’s life cycle.

Sometimes, the opposite can also be true. Occasionally, the designers look back at some of the early cards/figures/whatever and realize that they drastically under costed certain tropes in the past. They may like a certain mechanic or effect of a particular piece, but there not about to reprint it as is, since they now know its effects to cost ratio is to high as is. To solve this, the designers basically create a new version of that element that contains almost the exact same effect yet costs slightly more to play. I call this “Cost Correction.” Magic: The Gathering is constantly doing this.

One of the famous early examples of Cost Correction in gaming was when Magic’s R&D department took a look at many of the staples from the early Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised era as they started preparing a rotating block of “Core” sets from which players could draw familiar cards to combine with the current expansion set inventory to create Type II (read “Modern Age”) decks. The folks in charge of balancing the game quickly decided that a card like Lightning Bolt, for example, was too powerful (3 Red Damage for 1 Red Mana) to stay in the Type II environment, so it was replaced with the Ice Age common Incinerate (3 Damage and the prevention of Regeneration for 1 Red Mana and 1 Colorless Mana) by the time Magic published its “Fifth Edition.”

This is great…

… but this is still pretty damn good!

This was awesome, because it allowed the folks in charge of Magic to fix an under costed staple (quick Red damage dealing) with something that would still effectively to the job for a little more cost. Incinerate was still a great card and was widely adopted. Problem solved (well, until it was deemed that Incinerate was too good, and it was replaced with a different staple, and so it goes).

The savvy tournament players in Magic weren’t just the players who came up with “killer combos” by exploiting certain card interactions; they were actually usually the ones who could spot both the Power Creep cards AND the Cost Correction cards that were still extremely efficient for their cost. See, a lot of times, players can smell Cost Correction pieces a mile away, and they don’t want any part of them. Incinerate wasn’t universally accepted when Fifth Edition rolled around.

Sometimes they’re right; but sometimes, the Cost Correction version of something is still really powerful and should still be used regardless of the cost.

"Back in my day, if you wanted to shoot a bolt o' lightning at a feller, it cost ya just 1 red mana, and if'n ya had a Mana Flare, ya got change!!"

“Back in my day, if you wanted to shoot a bolt o’ lightning at a feller, it cost ya just 1 red mana, and if’n ya had a Mana Flare out, ya got change!!”

Okay! Enough amateur game theory lecture! Let’s apply our discussion to Heroclix! We’re going to be looking at some of the retiring staples and theorize about which–if any–Modern Age piece can take the place of the retiring figure. Then after we review the replacement candidate, we’ll decide if the new figure is better than its forebear (Power Creep), worse (Cost Correction) or about the same (uh… Static?).

SUPERMAN:

“Fly away, Superman. Fly free.”

SM001R Superman – 150 Points – Common: Supes was a Meta staple waaaay back in the Dark Ages of 2011, because his base stats and mix of powers were so great. Flight, 9 Movement with Hypersonic, 11 Attack with Super Strength, 17 Defense with Impervious and 4 Damage with Outwit. One of the all-time great top clicks, especially for a Common 150 piece! Superman Team Ability means he can see through Stealth, too. Bonus! His keywords are quite pedestrian by today’s standards (no JLA?), but there was a time when Scientist teams were a thing!

Replacement Candidate:

IIM001AE Iron Man – 150 Points – Common: Hmmm, stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Flight, 9 Movement, 11 Attack, 17 Defense and 4 Damage with Outwit! His move-and-attack ability is Running Shot where Supes had Hypersonic; I’ll actually take Iron Man’s Precision Strike over Supes’s Super Strength, but whatever. You’re mileage may vary. Finally, Iron Man has Invuln where Supes has Impervious. But Iron Man can see through Hindering Terrain AND Blocking Terrain; Supes’s X-Ray vision doesn’t work on walls like Tony’s Thermal Imaging Array does, so Mr. Stark can get up to all sorts of see-through shenanigans. Kind of a bummer for Superman. Iron Man also has much better keywords (Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Scientist, Armor and Stark Industries are all great) and he has the S.H.I.E.L.D. TA, so he can help your support guys do damage in a pinch as well. With resources and Entities, Iron Man here gets pretty filthy pretty fast….

The Verdict: A Static replacement that features just a tiny touch of Power Creep. The Meta has become much more sophisticated since Supes was a major player, but Iron Man 001 is just as good; maybe even a lil’ better!

Pink is the new nuclear fallout.

SM035 Magog – 172 Points – Rare: A close combat beatstick who turns into a mid-dial mid-range sniper and a back dial healer (how’s that for a powers mix?), Magog left team builders enough points to still be an effective Primary Attacker; his lack of Willpower wasn’t great, but his Trait (EXCESSIVE FORCE: Once per turn, when Magog KO’s an opposing character, after actions resolve Magog may take one action as a free action.) meant that his teams were very tough to out-action, particularly if opposing teams ran several small support figures or Bystander tokens that Magog could snipe in one shot.

Replacement Candidate:

DP057 Tiamat – 255 Points – Super Rare: Tiamat cannot be stopped. He cannot be reasoned with. He’s a double-based son of a gun whose extra-action Trait (CHAMPION AND STEED: Once per turn, when an opposing character has taken damage from his attack, give Tiamat any action as a free action. When you do, after action resolve, remove an action token from Tiamat.) is as good as any they’ve ever made. With Power Cosmic, he’s all but impossible to Outwit, too, so the opposition will have to chew through his 4 clicks of Invincible–if they’re able to hit his 18 Defense!

The Verdict: Even with the dramatic increase in cost, there’s still some Power Creep going on with Tiamat. His Trait is just sick. Like Magog though, this is still more of a fringe Meta piece. But he’s a lot of fun to field.

An old movie poster for the 70’s exploitation flick “Black Adam… White Lighting!”

SM054E Black Adam – 200 Points – Super Rare: An out and out beast, Black Adam was nigh unstoppable. He had no Range, but he made up for that with a ridiculous Charge Special that let him move up to 10 spaces for a close combat attack, and when he lost that, he gained Hypersonic Speed! Not a bad backup plan! 18 Defense with a Special that lets him reduce 3 damage with his Imperious instead of 2 and an end 0f dial Regeneration that does 1 Penetrating damage to adjacent opposing figures!

Replacement Candidate:

IIM041BE Hyperion – 200 Points – Prime Super Rare: Top dial Hypersonic, same Attack (11) as Black Adam only with Precision Strike, 18 Defense with merely Invuln and 4 Damage instead of Black Adam’s 5. Also his keywords are fine (Avengers is very useful, Squadron Supreme is useless, as the only other Modern Ager with that keyword is also Prime), but Black Adam’s are great. Having said all that, Hyperion has two things going for him that Black Adam doesn’t. Power Cosmic TA and 8 Range! Also, Hyperion picks up almost every good Improved Targeting ability in the game on his second click, which actually makes the Marvel man more versatile than the heavy duty dude who sometimes runs with Captain Marvel.

The Verdict: Again, a fairly Static replacement with a hint of Power Creep. What you lose in top end damage, you more than make up for with the 8 Range and Power Cosmic TA. The Improved Targeting shenanigans are where the Power Creep creeps in.

INCREDIBLE HULK:

Now that… is a creeper ‘stache!

IH102 Major Glenn Talbot – 33 Points – LE: The good Major here powered up Soldier teams for the last couple of years. His top dial Enhancement for only 33 Points was a bigger deal pre-Fear Itself (Splitlip now gives you top dial Enhancement for a measly 20 #$#@ing points), but even post-FI, if you wanted to play a Soldier Theme Team and you wanted a top dial Enhancer, he was still your best option. The S.H.I.E.L.D. TA he carries also has proven to be quite useful in a pinch, and if you play him on the right team, his Mastermind top dial will keep him around for a while longer than he should.

Replacement Candidate:

DP204 Secret Empire Number 9 – 35 Points – Common (Gravity Feed): Stop laughing! This robed menace is the real deal, and one of the best figs in the Deadpool Gravity Feed assortment. Everyone so far has focused on the fact that he has the Secret Empire keyword, and how useless that is. Well, they’re right. You can’t do much with that. But look at his SECOND KEYWORD–that’s right, it’s “Soldier!” Which means you have your Soldier Theme Team support figure back–and he can even do some damage of him own if you get into trouble. A 9 Attack isn’t great, but Penetrating/Psychic Blast means that his two damage will get through. And while he has no S.H.I.E.L.D. TA, he does have the Hydra TA, which is almost as useful for ranged attacks.

The Verdict: Even at three more points, I’m still gonna classify SE#9 as a Power Creeper! He just gives you more bang for your buck, and you still have the one keyword you need to keep it Theme!

GALACTIC GUARDIANS:

Noted Detroit Pistons fan Mole Man watching the NBA Draft Lottery last month...

Noted Prince Oberyn Martell fan Mole Man immediately after watching the Trial By Combat scene on his DVR from the fourth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

GG026 Mole Man – 47 Points – Uncommon: Now, you want to talk about a Meta staple? Here is a Meta STAPLE!! Hans Moleman here was the engine that powered the Shuma-Gorath monstrosities that ruled the ROC for awhile at the end of last year and early this year. How important was his souped-up, I-can-Mind-Control-a-friendly-Monster Special Power? So important that everyone’s predicting the end of Shuma as a viable Meta piece, simply because Mole Man’s going Golden Age, which would imply that Mole Man was doing the heavy lifting all along. The fact that he was a top dial Outwitter and had some close combat applications down dial was just icing on the cake.

Replacement Candidate:

DP043 Black Talon – 60 Points – Rare: There really wasn’t a replacement candidate until Deadpool was released. Black Talon allows you to Mind Control a friendly character from up to 8 squares away, and he also lets you Mind Control opposing figures that have already been KO’d! Still… his keywords are incongruent with most of the teams with which you’d like to play him. I mean, Masters of Evil is okay, and Mystical has slipped a lil’ bit but is certainly still viable, but that’s it for useful keywords, unless you’re looking to dominate the Meta with a Lethal Legion team. And hey, if you are, good luck to you. Here’s the last guy to try that at a big tournament:

It takes a special kind of crazy to run Lethal Legion at a ROC...

It takes a special kind of crazy to run a Lethal Legion at a ROC…

The Verdict: This is a Cost Correction piece. But it’s a First Generation Cost Correction piece; you could argue that WizKids still is not valuing the ability to Mind Control your own characters highly enough (in one of the early episodes of The Quarry, one high level player who was an early Mole Man/Shuma adopter said that after playtesting those two together with his friends, they all came to the conclusion that the ability to Mind Control friendly characters–even with a keyword restriction–should not appear on pieces less than, like, 100 or 125 Points. Thus, Black Talon is still extremely good and he’s definitely Meta-worthy. He’s just not as balls to the wall insane as Mole Man. Jumping from 47 to 60 may not seem like much, but that 13 Point hike could possibly cost you the space you need for a resource or the exact right support piece. That’s another reason it was so key for Mole Man to be under 50 Points. He left you plenty of room to get creative–or to run a full Booklip, if you didn’t care about Theme. Black Talon, not so much…

CHAOS WAR:

“Go ahead. Try and look this good in purple. I dare you.”

CW039 Hawkeye – 98 Points – Rare: This is one of the most discussed pieces in the history of Critical Missives (NINWASHUI NOTE: Iron Pharaoh would beg to differ.), but we’re gonna have to talk about him at least one more time! His top dial 12 Attack with an INSANE 9 Range w/ 3 Bolts, Sharpshooter, Wildcard TA (and Thunderbolts keyword, which means that between the two you can give him almost any TA in the game), Stealth and Running Shot and 3 Damage with Leadership. If this dial cost 130 Points, it’d be worth it. He costs 98!! Insane. Great keywords (Thunderbolts, Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. with GLA just thrown in for fun). Just stupidly good.

Replacement Candidate:

DP036 Bullseye – 110 Points – Rare: Right down to rarity, Bullseye is almost a clone of that silly Hawkeye piece. Running Shot with 8 Range and 3 Bolts, 12 Attack with Precision Strike instead of Sharpshooter, 17 Defense with Combat Reflexes instead of Willpower, 3 Damage with Probability Control instead of Leadership (I’ll take that deal everyday!) and some okay keywords (Thunderbolts, Assassin) mean Bullseye is gonna show up in the Meta SOONER RATHER THAN LATER!! Oh, and his Improved Targeting: The Phone Book makes it really hard to hide from him…

The Verdict: Even with all the goodness on Bullseye’s dial, this is a Cost Correction dial. Just 12 Points more than Hawkeye, but you also lose the Avengers keyword, the Spidey (Wildcard) TA and 1 Range. I think WizKids knows that they undervalued that Hawkeye by a significant amount. Bullseye they only underestimated by a less significant amount. Which, as always, means you should play Bullseye as much as you can.

FAST FORCES: CHAOS WAR:

“Hey! My eyes are up here! What? You pig! You know what? No more mutants! There! I said it. I hope you’re happy.”

FFCW006R Scarlet Witch – 50 Points – Fast Forces (Fixed Rarity): You know what she does; Mystics TA, Pen/Psy, Barrier, Perplex and Prob Control with an 8 Range. With Avengers and Mystical keywords (among others). One of the most used figures in ROC history, I’m sure.

Replacement Candidate:

FFDP006R Mercy – 50 Points – Fast Forces (Fixed Rarity): 7 Range, Wing Symbol (so she can Carry!) with Phasing, TK, Barrier and Prob top dial with Support on her second click. Her lone keyword (Thunderbolts) is also where she’ll see the most play–on a Thunderbolts team.

The Verdict: Another Cost Correction piece. We won’t see the like of FFCW Scarlet Witch again, methinks. Mercy is missing the Mystics TA AND the Mystical keyword, but she is still very playable. Thunderbolts is probably the keyword that gained the most from this set, so if you’re fielding such a squad, pick up a Mercy for some support in a bottle!

There were also several other figures you could use in this role, but none of them were as good as Mercy (Sister Sercy, I’m looking at you with your 66 Point Cost and your measly lone keyword: Blue Lantern Corps. But hey, at least her name RHYMES with Mercy’s!).

Before we finish, one final note about keywords in general. We’re coming out of an era where Avengers, GCPD and S.H.I.E.L.D. were some of the dominant named keywords, and Mystical, Armor and Monster fueled some of the best generic keyworded teams. Those keywords still offer a lot of options, but Chaos War (an EXTREMELY Avengers-heavy set) rotating out does hurt Avengers teams a little bit. New keywords that have recently become a lot stronger include Thunderbolts, Heroes for Hire and Sinestro Corps. (with Guardians of the Galaxy about to get a double boost from the movie set that just dropped and the upcoming 5-figure booster full set in due in August!). Mystical and Armor are still great generics, but Martial Artist has gotten a big boost between AvX, Days of Future Past and Deadpool, and Cosmic is set to explode with the 4 Entities that have been released in War of Light already (with 4 more to come) and, again, the Guardians of the Galaxy set that’s just around the corner (and the Collector from the GotG Target Exclusive set already offers some intriguing possibilities for Cosmic teams with his unique win condition–but more about that set later this week!)!

“I know it’s hard to believe, but all I do is win! If, you know, several specific conditions are met, and I’ve collected my tokens–y’know what? We’ll talk about this later.”

So there ya go! What important retired figures do YOU think WizKids has already published replacements for? Sound of in the Comments section below!

Happy 4th of July!!

July 4, 2014 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Once again, a big thank you to our service men and women for all you do to keep us safe!

Back Sunday or Monday night with a look at some of the important pieces that just got retired and which Modern Age figures you’ll want to use to replace them!

Until then, enjoy a shot of the new Rocket Raccoon Chase figure getting ready to launch some fireworks of his own from his really big gun!!

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Critical Missives

News and opinions about gaming and pop culture filtered through a HeroClix lens!!

Author: HypeFox

Let’s Be Lanterns!! (Or, Let’s Build an Army for Each Lantern Corps–PART 1 of 3!!)

The Price to Play!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 08/10/2014!!)

Straight, With CHASEr 2: Evaluating Legal Entities!! (Or, Ranking the War of Light Entities!!)

Preparing For Launch!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 07/27/2014!!)

Guarding the Galaxy Part 2: The Starter Review!! (Or, Y’know, A Review of the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set Starter Pack!!)

Guarding the Galaxy, For Starters!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 07/20/2014!!)

The Three Wars!! (Or, The Weekly Roundup for 07/13/2014!!)

You’re Welcome!! (Or, A Look at the Best Pieces from the Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Set!!)

Modern Is the New Silver!! (Or, The Best Replacement Figures for Recently Retired Meta Staples!!)

Happy 4th of July!!

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