Here Is Your Clix-Mas Checklist!! (Or, The Twelfth Night of Clix-Mas 2019 And Where We Want to Go From Here!!)

December 25, 2019December 25, 2019 / HypeFox / 1 Comment

Thank you for checking out our Clix-Mas 2019 extravaganza! Here is the final roll call for the other eleven entries in this year’s series:

Night One: We announced the kick-off of Clix-Mas 2019 and laid the ground rules for success or failure;

Night Two: Roberto Ty dropped by for an in-depth review of Call-In Cards and their current place in the Meta;

Night Three: HypeFox took a look at the 10 Best Chases of the Year;

Night Four: Ninwashui finally showed up to dissect his recently successful Brotherhood Pauper Build and create a Modern-competitive revision;

Night Five: HypeFox wrote a missive about the Five Things Wizkid Did Right This Year;

Night Six: HypeFox previewed everything we know about Heroclix’s 2020 releases;

Night Seven: We brought back our “Simply The Best” series! Look for Part Two, coming soon;

Night Eight: HypeFox picked three IP’s that he thought would make great Heroclix sets;

Night Nine: HypeFox briefly reviewed the history of MCU Heroclix sets and ranted about the one MCU figure we still need;

Night Ten: Roberto Ty returned for a comprehensive review of the current state of Colossal Retaliators;

Night Eleven: HypeFox returned with a brief shout-out to his favorite aspect of Heroclix;

Which brings us to tonight!

In looking back, I’m proud of what we accomplished. I think we actually brought more content (in terms of word count and article depth) than we ever have before in any prior Clix-Mas, and more writers contributed than ever before!

As always, we hope to bring you content on a more regular basis, including finishing up 2019’s “Simply the Best,” and releasing several more articles before the 2020 Clix year gets up and running in February!

Until then, thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a wish for a wonderful New Year to all of you.

See you soon!

Editorial: What I Love Most About Heroclix!! (Or, The Eleventh Night of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

December 25, 2019 / HypeFox / 3 Comments

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Night Five of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2019!! First, we reviewed the ground rules; for Night 2, we hit the ground running with an in-depth review of Call-In Cards from friend of the blog, Roberto Ty! Night Three brought us HypeFox’s look at the 10 best Chases of the year. And then we had a rare holiday appearance from writer/co-founder of the blog Ninwashui. It’s a Clix-Mas Miracle!! Then, we talked about the Five Things Wizkids Did Right This Year! Next, The Ghost of Clix-Mas Future took us through a preview of just about every Heroclix release that’s been announced for 2020 so far! We revisited our Simply The Best series for Night 7! Three nights ago we listed three licensed properties we’d love to see Clix’d! And two nights ago we tracked the history of MCU movie sets and the one piece from Marvel’s movie franchises that hasn’t been made yet! Last night, Roberto Ty came back with a comprehensive look at Colossal Retaliators in the Meta!]

So this Clix-Mas has been flying by for me. We’re already here on Night Eleven!

And as we wind down this Clix-Mas season, I wanted to take a minute to write about my favorite aspect of Heroclix.

Heroclix is one of the most customizable games that has ever been designed. The Point Value system allows for games at all points levels, from micro-battles at 100 Points to Epic, Mega-Colossal Brawls that top 3000 Points or more.

And Wizkids still supports those Epic Game formats, even though the standard game is still 300 Points. But the customization goes beyond that.

Heroclix is almost like Dungeons & Dragons in that you can really craft any Scenario that you’d like. Do you want to restrict games to Golden Age or Modern? That’s fine, but you can go much further than that, too.

Hell, a few years ago,I created a Scenario set entirely within the Magic: The Gathering Universe! And it actually kinda worked!

And one of the most popular games we run at our local venue was a Heroclix version of Super Smash Bros.that Ninwashui and I created!

So every now and then, when I see people complaining about how a certain piece “ruins the Meta” or how Heroclix is dying because of some random issue (and Lord knows I’ve done this myself), I just think “Hey, if you don’t like that format… make your own!”

It’s perfectly doable!

So that’s all I have for today. Just wanted to take a quick minute to reflect on the nearly infinite ways the game can be customized.

Have you played or created a fun new Heroclix Scenario? Let me know in the Comments below.

2019 Critical Review: Colossal Retaliators!! (Or, The Tenth Night of Clix-Mas!!)

December 24, 2019 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Night Five of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2019!! First, we reviewed the ground rules; for Night 2, we hit the ground running with an in-depth review of Call-In Cards from friend of the blog, Roberto Ty! Night Three brought us HypeFox’s look at the 10 best Chases of the year. And then we had a rare holiday appearance from writer/co-founder of the blog Ninwashui. It’s a Clix-Mas Miracle!! Then, we talked about the Five Things Wizkids Did Right This Year! Next, The Ghost of Clix-Mas Future took us through a preview of just about every Heroclix release that’s been announced for 2020 so far! We revisited our Simply The Best series for Night 7! Two nights ago we listed three licensed properties we’d love to see Clix’d! And yesterday we tracked the history of MCU movie setsand the one piece from Marvel’s movies that hasn’t been made yet… ]

Welcome to Night Ten of the Twelve Nights of Clix-Mas, 2019!

Once again… it’s Roberto Ty!

Having 2020 Vision

Time for another year end critical review. Like the previous article on call-in figures, we’re looking at retaliators that survives rotation. Previously, I suggested that the time to sell your was now and while that still holds true, the retaliators have fewer options going forward. You may have to keep them until just before Nationals.

The Colossal Retaliator Sequence

For newer players, a typical sequence for colossal retaliation looks like this:

Colossal Retaliators are played on their final retaliation click (the last click before KO). They are low-cost figures that add utility to teams.
An opponent damages a teammate or attacks a retaliator (assuming he doesn’t kill the retaliator) and this triggers a Colossal Retaliation.
On your turn, you can retaliate against the attacker through the Colossal Retaliation ability, provided that character is still on the map. The retaliation ability varies from figure to figure and may have additional benefits and conditions.

It’s Hard to Say Goodbye…Like Really, Really, Really Hard

The list of retiring retaliators are:

10-point AIG001-10 Giant-Girl
25-point AIG009P Jakar
15-point AIG017P Giganto & Namor
20-point AIG025P Groot
10-point FFAIG001P Giant-Girl
25-point TMTG001P Surtur
20-point TMTG003P Groot
10-point TMTG004P Carnage
15-point TMTG005P Ms. Marvel
30-point TMTG006P Mangog
20-point TMTG007P Frost Giant
10-point TMTG008P Flora Colossus
35-point WKM17-G001P Dormammu
15-point WKMP17-001P Giant-Man
30-point WKD17-G001P Titano
25-point WKDP17-001P Sinestro
20-point WKDP18-001P Starro
15-point EWG001P The Skyscraper Wonder Woman

We go from 26 colossal retaliators to 8. While it’s better to sell before rotation, can you make a deep run at Nationals without these retaliators?

The OG

With limited options going forward, we need to evaluate which retaliators to keep.

Value Factors

Keywords. Due to their low cost, multiple retaliators are used to increase the roll for map initiative on theme teams.

Bystanders. Retaliators that generate bystanders are valuable. Bystanders can be used to tie up an opponent or as fodder to trigger a retaliation.

Abilities. Beyond retaliation, does the character bring additional qualities like Leadership, Outwit, Perplex, Poison, Probability Control, or Telekinesis to a team?

Defense. Can the retaliator survive? Most retaliators have hittable defenses. The better retaliators have ways to evade or reduce damage.

Tier I (MVP)

20-POINT AIG025P GROOT

Hands down, Groot is the MVP of retaliators. His value isn’t solely from his retaliation, but from his other abilities. He has a 3 movement, COLOSSAL RETALIATION special power with 10 attack, COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE with 17 defense, and Leadership with 3 damage. On paper, his combat values seem average. So let’s look at his abilities:

(☆ TRAIT) ORIGIN: BEFORE THE GUARDIANS: If Groot is part of a Guardians of the Galaxy themed team, he has PROTECTED: Outwit this game. Otherwise, he modifies his attack and defense +1 this game.

(☆ TRAIT) PUNY MORTALS, WE WILL CRUSH YOU LIKE AN INSECT: At the beginning of the game, you may generate a Dr. Leslie Evans bystander in an opponent’s starting area that’s friendly to their force. If you do, generate two Walking Wood bystanders. // Whenever Groot hits one or more characters with an attack, after resolutions generate a Walking Wood bystander (maximum 5 on the map).

(SPECIAL ATTACK) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: FREE: If no other Colossal Retaliation power has been activated this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Groot or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Groot such that he can make a close attack targeting the chosen character, then do so.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: STOP. Toughness. If Groot began the game on the 20-point starting line, he can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

His value can be summed up as follows:

11 attack (10 printed +1 from his trait) and 18 defense (17 printed +1 from his trait).
Leadership.
Generates a Dr. Leslie Evans bystander for the opponent’s team and you get two Walking Woods.

When we survey the Cosmic-keyword characters that have Leadership, there are very few. It makes Groot that much more valuable to Cosmic theme teams. While giving your opponent a Dr. Leslie Evans can work against you, the trade off to get two Walking Woods is worth the exchange. Let’s look at these bystanders.

AIG025BTA Dr. Leslie Evans. The good doctor has Stealth with 5 movement, 8 attack, I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU, GROOT! special power with 15 defense, and Outwit with 1 damage. His special reads:

I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU, GROOT!: When attacked by a Groot or Walking Wood, Dr. Leslie Evans modifies his defense +3.

AIG025BTB Walking Wood. The Walking Wood has ALL TIMBER IS UNDER MY CONTROL special power with 4 movement, 10 attack, Toughness with 16 defense, and Shape Change with 3 damage. Its special reads:

ALL TIMBER IS UNDER MY CONTROL: Flurry, Plasticity, Sidestep.

You can see why the trade off is worth it. Walking Woods are formidable attackers and can tie up your opponents. If your opponent attacks and kills them, it would trigger a retaliation.

Tier II (The Real Retaliators)

1. 30-point TMTG006P Mangog

2. 30-POINT TMTG006P MANGOG

I rank Mangog slightly higher than Surtur because of his damage potential, higher defense, and the Cosmic keyword. He has the Power Cosmic team ability, Sidestep with 5 movement, Super Strength with 10 attack, IMPERVIOUS COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE special power with 19 defense, COLOSSAL RETALIATION: MULTI-POWERED TAIL special power with 4 damage. His trait and special powers read:

(☆ TRAIT) PULL THE ODINSWORD: POWER: Once per game, if Mangog completely occupies an opponent’s starting area and hasn’t been moved or placed by another friendly character this game, turn his dial to the next starting line higher than his current starting line, and that becomes his new starting line and point value.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) IMPERVIOUS COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: STOP. Impervious. If Mangog began the game on the 30-point starting line, he can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

(SPECIAL DAMAGE) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: MULTI-POWERED TAIL: FREE: If no other Colossal Retaliation power has been activated this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Mangog or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Mangog such that he can make a close attack targeting the chosen character and all other opposing characters within 3 squares and line of fire, then do so. Hit characters are each dealt 4 damage instead of normal damage. After resolutions, make a close attack targeting each opposing character within 2 squares and line of fire. Hit characters are each dealt 3 damage instead of normal damage.

Mangog’s playability is really high. I considered placing him in Tier I, but ultimately decided to keep the attackers together in Tier II. To breakdown his value:

With only a 10 printed attack, you’ll want to have Perplex handy before retaliating. Perplex his attack to an 11. Twelve would be better. You don’t want to miss so make sure you have Probability Control too.
When he hits, he deals 4 damage to the attacker and all other opposing characters within 3 squares and line of fire. After resolutions, he can make a close attack targeting each opposing character within 2 squares and line of fire. When he hits, he deals another 3 damage.
1. Be careful positioning Mangog for his retaliation. While he can use colossal reach 3 squares, you may want to actually be in closer because the second attack targets characters within 2 squares. Position him strategically for maximum carnage!
Power Cosmic team ability gives him Willpower and PROTECTED: Outwit.
A 19 defense with Impervious! Most retaliators don’t have values so good. This gives him survivability to pull off his trait.
Finally, don’t sleep on his trait. If he hasn’t been moved or placed by another friendly character this game, he can take a POWER action to PULL THE ODINSWORD when he fully occupies an opponent’s starting area. When he pulls the sword, he can be healed to his next starting line at 150 points. That’s value!

25-POINT TMTG001P SURTUR

Surtur has the following keywords: Asgardian, Deity, Monster, and Ruler. Because the monster keyword is strong right now, Surtur makes the list of retaliators to keep until rotation. He has the Power Cosmic team ability and has 8 range with a single target, COLOSSAL RETALIATION: WATCH THE WORLD BURN special power with 6 movement, 12 attack, COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE special power with 18 defense, and TWILIGHT, SWORD OF DOOM special power with 3 damage. His trait and special powers read:

(☆ TRAIT) VULNERABLE TO COLD: Characters that can use Incapacitate modify their damage by +1 when attacking Surtur.

(SPECIAL MOVEMENT) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: WATCH THE WORLD BURN: FREE: If no other Colossal Retaliation power has been activated this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Surtur or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Surtur such that he can make a close combat attack targeting the chosen character, then do so. After resolutions, deal 1 penetrating damage to each opposing character within 2 squares.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: STOP. Toughness. If Surtur began the game on the 25-point starting line, he can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

(SPECIAL DAMAGE) TWILIGHT, SWORD OF DOOM: Opposing characters can’t use defense powers if they are the only target of Surtur’s attack.

Most likely, you’ll find Surtur on Monster teams. If you provide him some protection, he’s a fierce retaliator:

He has the Power Cosmic team ability, which will give him PROTECTED: Outwit and Willpower.
He has a 12 attack.
Before retaliating, I would Perplex up damage. His first attack against the attacker deals his normal damage. His TWILIGHT, SWORD OF DOOM power will get around pesky defense powers.
After hitting, he deals 1 penetrating damage to each opposing character within 2 squares.
Like Mangog, you’ll want to pay attention to placement. Always retaliate from 2 squares away.

Tier III (Honorable Mentions)

The last tier, I won’t spend too review in-depth because I feel these are judgement calls and will depend more on your play preference. Notice that they all have the same point value.

1. 10-point TMTG004P Carnage

2. 10-point TMTG008P Flora Colossus

3. 10-point AIG001-10 Giant-Girl and 10-point FFAIG001P Giant-Girl

10-POINT TMTG004P CARNAGE

With the Monster-keyword, Carnage will see play. When he retaliates, after attacking he can generate a Symbiote bystander adjacent to the target. He doesn’t need to hit to produce the Symbiote.

TMTG004BT Symbiote. Plasticity with 6 movement. Blades/Claws/Fangs with an 11 attack, Super Senses with 16 defense, and Shape Change with 2 damage.

10-POINT TMTG008P FLORA COLOSSUS

Flora is a low-cost addition to cosmic theme teams and is used to increase your map roll. She can heal past her starting line. At the end of your turn, roll a d6. On a result of 5–6: Heal 1 click. If she occupyies water terrain, Heal 2 clicks.

10-POINT AIG001-10 GIANT-GIRL AND 10-POINT FFAIG001P GIANT-GIRL

Giant-Girl is low-cost retaliator that helps Avengers theme teams win map roll. She’ll be relevant in 2020 when we get more Avengers. The AIG001-10 Giant-Girl does not have Colossal Indifference and can attack smaller characters. When she KO’s an opposing character, roll a d6 and heal half the result. She can heal past her starting line. The FFAIG001P Giant-Girl has Colossal Indifference. Her value comes from her ability to use Colossal Retaliation even if another character used retaliated that turn. You’ll want to use her retaliation last.

New Year, New Wave

Heading into the new year, here’s the new wave of retaliators, post-rotation:

30-point WKMP18-G001P Tri-Sentinel
20-point XDPSG004P Proteus
25-point XDPSG010P Phoenix
25-point XDPSG015P Magneto
25-point XDPSG017BP Colossus
30-point XDPSG020P Dark Phoenix
25-point XDPSG023BP Storm
15-point XDPSG025P Iceman

It’s a short list. Let’s take a look at these eight.

Tier I

30-point XDPSG020P Dark Phoenix
30-point WKMP18-G001P Tri-Sentinel
25-point XDPSG017BP Colossus
25-point XDPSG023BP Storm

30-point XDPSG020P Dark Phoenix

I debated on who should be crowned number one in Tier I. Ultimately I gave the crown to the Hellfire Queen who later was infected by the Phoenix Force and became Dark Phoenix. Does she deserve top bill? Let’s find out.

Dark Phoenix has the Cosmic, Hellfire Club, Phoenix Force, and X-Men keywords. She has the Power Cosmic team ability and has 10 range with 3 targets, flight, Sidestep with 9 movement, COLOSSAL RETALIATION: CHILD OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS special power with 11 attack, SPECKS OF DUST TO ME special power with 17 defense, and 3 damage. Her abilities are:

(☆ TRAIT) FEEDING ON LIFE FORCES: When Dark Phoenix KO’s an opposing character, or an opposing character takes 4 or more damage from her attack, after resolutions heal her 1 click. She may heal past her starting lines this way but can’t be healed in any other way.

(SPECIAL ATTACK) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: CHILD OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS: FREE: If no friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Dark Phoenix or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Dark Phoenix such that she can make a close attack targeting the chosen character then do so also targeting all other characters (friendly or opposing) within 3 squares. Hit characters are given an action token and each dealt 2 penetrating damage instead of normal damage.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) SPECKS OF DUST TO ME: STOP. Impervious.

Why she’ll see play:

All her keywords are great to build around, specifically Cosmic and X-Men.
Power Cosmic team ability provides her Willpower and PROTECTED: Outwit.
Incredible 10 range with 3 targets.
11 attack value.
While her defense value is only 17, she has Impervious to help reduce damage to 0.
Her retaliation will target the attacker and all other characters (friendly or opposing) within 3 squares. So be careful placing her for retaliation! When she hits, she deals 2 penetrating damage instead of her normal damage.
She doesn’t have Colossal Indifference and can attack smaller characters.
Now for why she’s number one. When she KO’s an opposing character or when an opposing character takes 4 or more damage from her attack, she can heal 1 click and can heal past her starting line. Let me break this down:
1. Perplex her damage to 4 (she has 3 printed) before she retaliates. In many games, I also Perplex her defense.
2. Early in a match, the penetrating damage from her retaliation isn’t enough to heal unless you are targeting bystanders or other low-cost figures.
3. Finally it’s been ruled that Dark Phoenix heals 1 click when she deals 4 damage and another click for a KO’d character. So by Perplexing her damage to 4 before the retaliation, you can place her, attack, and deal penetrating damage. Then hit with a normal attack for 4 damage to heal 1 click. If you manage to KO a character then you can heal her 1 more click.
4. One other thing to consider is if you heal her 1 click, she loses her Colossal Retaliation power and Impervious (she gains Invulnerability). Her defense does go up to an 18, but if you paid attention to my advice, she’ll actually be a 19 defense if you Perplexed her up beforehand.

30-POINT WKMP18-G001P TRI-SENTINEL

As a 30-point investment, Tri-Sentinel brings a lot to a team. He has 9 range with 3 targets, flight, THE PRIME DIRECTIVE special power with 8 movement, COLOSSAL RETALIATION: WHEN NOTHING LESS THAN GENOCIDE WILL DO special power with a 10 attack, and COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE special power with 18 defense, and 3 damage. His abilities are:

(+) IMPROVED MOVEMENT: This character can move through Blocking terrain. Immediately after movement resolves, destroy all Blocking terrain moved through.

(☆ TRAIT) MYSTICAL WARDINGS: Energy Shield/Deflection. Tri-Sentinel has PROTECTED: Mind Control. When Tri-Sentinel is dealt penetrating damage by an opposing character, after resolutions heal it 1 click.

(SPECIAL MOVEMENT) THE PRIME DIRECTIVE: Plasticity, Sidestep. When Tri-Sentinel destroys one or more pieces of blocking terrain, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to each opposing character that was adjacent to one or more destroyed pieces.

(SPECIAL ATTACK) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: WHEN NOTHING LESS THAN GENOCIDE WILL DO: FREE: If no other Colossal Retaliation power has been activated this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Tri-Sentinel or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Tri-Sentinel such that it can target the chosen character using Pulse Wave at no cost, then do so. After resolutions, destroy all blocking terrain within 3 squares.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: STOP. Toughness. If Tri-Sentinel began the game on the 30-point starting line, it can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

Why he’ll see play:

Excellent keywords: Hellfire Club, Mystical, Robot, and Sentinel. We initially saw him on Mystical teams (alongside Sheriff Strange, Earth X Daredevil, Alex Wilder, and Black Adam), but thanks to the X-Men Animated Series set, we’ll see him on Robot or Sentinel teams.
Used strategically on a map with blocking terrain, he has IMPROVED MOVEMENT: This character can move through Blocking terrain. Immediately after movement resolves, destroy all Blocking terrain moved through.
Incredible reach. He can Sidestep and make a ranged attack of 9 squares—an 11-square reach.
MYSTICAL WARDINGS trait makes him worth his 30-points. Its benefits are:
1. Energy Shield/Deflection. He goes from an 18 defense to a 20 against ranged attacks.
2. PROTECTED: Mind Control.
3. But the most important part of this trait is that when he destroys one or more pieces of blocking terrain, after resolutions he deals 1 penetrating damage to each opposing character that is adjacent to one or more pieces he destroyed.

Let’s break down the final part of MYSTICAL WARDINGS. He deals 1 penetrating damage to opposing characters adjacent to one or more pieces of blocking terrain that he destroyed. He’s essentially doing damage to opposing characters by destroying blocking terrain through:

His Improved Movement.
A Range Destroy action.
His Colossal Retaliation special. The important thing to note is that he retaliates with a Pulse Wave that destroys all blocking squares within 3 squares. So first he deals his damage from Pulse Wave then after resolutions he’s dealing 1 penetrating to each opposing character that is adjacent to one of more of the destroyed pieces. Incredible!

You can see why he’ll be a major retaliator going forward, especially on a map with lots of blocking terrain. Commonly used maps with him are Star Trek’s Underground Map (though this will rotate out next year) and ROC Hedge Maze. The Underground map is indoors and provides him protection because of limited sight lines. The outdoor Hedge Maze map has lots of blocking terrain and is difficult to maneuver for non-flyers while he can target them with his great size.

25-POINT XDPSG017BP COLOSSUS

Juggernaut Colossus is a Giant with the X-Men team ability. He has Charge with 7 movement, Quake with 11 attack, Impervious with 18 defense, and COLOSSAL RETALIATION: NOW, YOU FACE WRATH special power with 3 damage. His abilities are:

(+) MOVEMENT: This character can move through Blocking terrain. Immediately after movement resolves, destroy all Blocking terrain moved through. This character can move through squares adjacent to or occupied by opposing characters without stopping, and automatically breaks away, even if adjacent to a character than can use Plasticity.

(☆ TRAIT) FLYING DEBRIS: When Colossus uses Charge, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to each opposing character that’s adjacent to one or more debris markers he created this turn.

COLOSSAL RETALIATION: NOW, YOU FACE WRATH: FREE: If no friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Colossus or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. If that character is within the same row or column as Colossus, place Colossus adjacent to that character and make a close combat attack targeting all characters in the rows or columns between where Colossus began this action and his current square, regardless of adjacency. Hit characters are each dealt 2 penetrating damage instead of normal damage.

Why he’ll see play:

As a call-in retaliator with either the 5-point WKMDOFP-003 Colossus Wanted Poster or 5-point WKMVID-011 Colossus headmaster ID card.
Colossus is a Giant, but can attack smaller characters because he doesn’t have Colossal Indifference.
He can use Charge, destroying blocking along the way, and for every character that is adjacent to a piece of terrain he destroyed, he deals them 1 penetrating damage.
He can Charge (moving 4 squares) and use Giant Reach to target characters within 2 squares, and then Quake on an 11 attack.
His retaliation can target several characters. When he hits, he deals 2 penetrating damage for each character.

25-POINT XDPSG023BP STORM

Ororo has been possessed by Shadow King and has the Deity, Monster, Ruler, and X-Men keywords. Since she is being controlled by Amahl Farouk, she doesn’t have the X-Men team ability. She has 8 range with two targets, Sidestep with 7 movement, Precision Strike with 11 attack, THIS NEW HOST PLEASE ME, I WOULDN’T WANT TO LOSE IT special power with an 18 defense, and 2 damage. Her abilities are:

(+) TARGETING: Lines of fire drawn by this character are not blocked by characters. This character can make ranged attacks while adjacent to opposing characters. (May target adjacent or nonadjacent opposing characters.)

(☆ TRAIT) SUMMON A VORTEX OF WIND: Energy Shield/Deflection. // FREE: Choose up to 3 opposing characters within 6 squares and line of fire, then roll a d6. Knock back each of the chosen characters a number of squares equal to the result.

(☆ TRAIT) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: MIND WARP: FREE: If no friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Storm or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Storm such that she can make a close attack targeting the chosen character then do so. If she hit, after resolutions she can use Mind Control at no cost as RANGE, modifying attack +3, to target the hit character and up to two others (within range and line of fire).

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) THIS NEW HOST PLEASES ME, I WOULDN’T WANT TO LOSE IT: STOP.

Why she’ll see play:

As a standard-size character with the Colossal Retaliation power, she can attack characters of any size since she doesn’t have Colossal Indifference.
Her attack value is 11 while her damage is only 2. The second part of her retaliation allows her to use Mind Control at no cost. When she does, her attack is modified by +3 and she can target the hit character along with two others that are within her range and line of fire.

Tier II (Call-In Help)

These Tier II retaliators may be included on the main force, but also as call-in figures. For more on call-in figures, read my earlier article 2019 Critical Review: Call-In Figures.

25-point XDPSG017BP Colossus
25-point XDPSG010P Phoenix
25-point XDPSG015P Magneto
15-point XDPSG025P Iceman

As we look at the Tier II list, I will only review the retaliators that have not been covered previously.

25-POINT XDPSG017BP COLOSSUS

See the Tier I Colossus review above.

25-POINT XDPSG010P PHOENIX

Phoenix’s keywords are Cosmic, Excalibur, Phoenix Force, Starjammers, and X-Men. Easy to include on Cosmic and X-Men teams, she has the Power Cosmic and X-Men team abilities. Her range is an incredible 10 with 3 targets and she has Phasing/Teleport with 10 movement, Telekinesis with 11 attack, COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE with 16 defense, and COLOSSAL RETALIATION: PSIONIC MAELSTROM with 3 damage. Her abilities are:

(☆ TRAIT) COSMIC ENTITY: Phoenix can’t be the target of an attack with more than one target.

(☆ TRAIT) ETERNAL FLAME OF DESTRUCTION AND REBIRTH: Energy Shield/Deflection, Poison. When Phoenix uses Poison and an opposing character took damage from it, after resolutions choose one: heal 1 click for each opposing character damaged this way -or- heal each adjacent friendly character 1 click.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: STOP. If Phoenix starts on the 25-point line, she can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

(SPECIAL DAMAGE) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: PSIONIC MAELSTROM: FREE: If no friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Phoenix or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Phoenix within 3 squares of the chosen character then make a ranged attack targeting that character and all other opposing characters within 3 squares, regardless of line of fire. Instead of normal damage, deal each hit character 1 penetrating damage for each action token they have. Hit targets that can use Incapacitate, Mind Control, Outwit, or Penetrating/Psychic Blast modify their combat values -1 until your next turn.

Why she’ll see play:

As a call-in retaliator. At 25-points she can be called in with either the 3-point WKMVID-020 Jean Grey student ID or the 5-point WKMDOFP-004 Rachel Summers Wanted Poster.
She has Cosmic and X-Men keywords, two of the most common keywords in modern.
Telekinesis. She can use Telekinesis to place a special object on another figure so that they can equip it on the first turn. Or she can use it to position another teammate.
Poison. As a call-in, she can be placed adjacent to an opponent and use her Poison before retaliating.
Her retaliation targets the attacker and all other opposing characters within 3 squares. When she hits, she does 1 penetrating damage for each action token on the hit target.

For an 8-point investment in two ID cards, I just might have two of her on the sideline.

25-POINT XDPSG015P MAGNETO

The leader of the mutant resistance will retaliate against his oppressors! While he’s a 2×2 base, Magneto is a standard-size character. He has the Brotherhood of Mutants team ability, an 8 range with a single target, Sidestep with 7 movement, Telekinesis with 10 attack, Toughness with an 18 defense, and COLOSSAL RETALIATION: MASTER OF MAGNETISM special power with 3 damage. His abilities are:

(☆ TRAIT) THE FORCE OF MAGNETISM IS AT MY COMMAND: Leadership. FREE: Choose a character within range and line of fire. Place that character in a square adjacent to its current square.

(SPECIAL DAMAGE) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: MASTER OF MAGNETISM: FREE: If no other friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Magneto or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Magneto such that he can make a ranged attack targeting the chosen character then do so.

Why he’ll see play:

As a call-in retaliator with the 5-point WKMDOFP-006 Magneto Wanted Poster.
Magneto can attack characters of any size. He doesn’t have Colossal Indifference.
Telekinesis. Like Phoenix, he will be used to TK equipment objects to teammates or place friendly characters.
Leadership.
The other significant part of his trait is that he can choose a character within his range and line of fire to move them into an adjacent square from its current square. Note that this works for friendly or opposing characters. You could use TK to place your teammate and then move them an additional square.
His keywords: Acolytes, Brotherhood of Mutants, Hellfire Club, and Ruler. Of these he’ll likely be included Brotherhood or Ruler theme teams.

15-POINT XDPSG025P ICEMAN

One of my favorite sculpts in Heroclix, Iceman has taken the ice form of Voltron! He is Colossal size and has 0 range, Charge with 5 movement, 11 attack, COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: ICE ROBOT! special power with 17 defense, and COLOSSAL RETALIATION: GLACIER FISTS special power with 3 damage. He has Armor, Champions, Defenders, X-Factor, and X-Men keywords along with the X-Men team ability. His abilities are:

(☆ TRAIT) CHILL, IT’S JUST A GIANT ICE SWORD: Blades/Claws/Fangs. When Iceman KO’s a [Giant symbol] or [Colossal symbol] character, after resolutions he can use Charge at no cost, but may only attack a character with [Giant symbol] or [Colossal symbol]. (He may repeat this.)

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: ICE ROBOT!: STOP. If Iceman started the game on the 15-point starting line, he can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

(SPECIAL DAMAGE) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: GLACIER FISTS: FREE: If no friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Iceman or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Iceman such that he can make a close attack targeting the chosen character then do so. After resolutions, he can immediately use Incapacitate at no cost, but may target smaller characters.

Why he’ll see play:

As a call-in retaliator with the 3-point WKMVID-019 Iceman student ID.
The first part of his trait gives him Blades/Claws/Fangs.
The second part of his trait is interesting, but will be difficult to pull off. When he KO’s a Giant or Colossal, after resolutions, he can use Charge at no cost but only to attack another Giant or Colossal. He only Charges 3 squares (half his 5 movement rounded up) and can attack using a Colossal reach of 3 squares. Effectively it’s only a 6-square reach (3 from Charging and 3 from Colossal reach).
His retaliation allows him to attack a target (don’t forget the Blades/Claws/Fangs) then after resolutions, he can use Incapacitate at no cost and can target smaller characters. What’s important to note is that he has 0 range. So the use of Incapacitate will be from a close attack.

Tier III

1. 20-point XDPSG004P Proteus

20-point XDPSG004P Proteus

Proteus is a straight-forward retaliator that will find his way onto a Monster theme team. He has the Brute keyword and the Power Cosmic team ability. He starts with Improved Movement: Blocking and a 4 movement value, COLOSSAL RETALIATION: A PARALYZING FEAR special power with a 10 attack, COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: I DON’T KNOW BETTER special power with an 18 defense, and Battle Fury with 3 damage. His abilities are:

(☆ TRAIT) WARPING REALITY: Barrier, Shape Change, Smoke Cloud. Once per turn, Proteus can use Barrier as FREE or Smoke Cloud as FREE, but only to generate 2 markers. // Other characters within 3 squares can’t use Improved abilities.

(SPECIAL ATTACK) COLOSSAL RETALIATION: A PARALYZING FEAR: FREE: If no friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Proteus or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Proteus such that he can make a close attack targeting the chosen character then do so. A hit character gets 2 Fear tokens. Even if this power is lost, characters with Fear tokens must roll a d6 when making an attack, and negatively modify their attack value by half the result, then remove one Fear token.

(SPECIAL DEFENSE) COLOSSAL INDIFFERENCE: I DON’T KNOW BETTER: STOP. If Proteus starts on the 20-point starting line, he can’t attack smaller characters except via Colossal Retaliation.

Proteus has average values, but his Battle Fury will help with pesky Shape Change figures. He becomes above average when you factor in his ability to use Barrier or Smoke Cloud as FREE to generate 2 markers. A fun pairing is to use two Proteus with XDPSG007E Juggernaut (who also has the Brute keyword). Juggernaut has Improved Movement: Blocking. After moving, Juggernaut can use Quake at no cost and destroys all adjacent squares of blocking. When Juggernaut destroys 3 or more squares of blocking terrain he gets to remove an action token. When he removes an action token from an effect other than clearing, he gets to heal 1 click. With two Proteus retaliators providing him barrier, Juggernaut is less dependent on a map with lots of blocking terrain and is a more effective tentpole.

Colossal Thoughts

A lot of teams employ an alpha strike strategy. If you plan on including retaliators on your main force, you’ll need to protect them from that first strike. That’s why I like the idea of using call-in retaliators. It’s better to concede points from the ID or Wanted Poster than the points of a retaliator.

Retaliators aren’t just used to attack, many are used for the initiative bonus (map roll) on theme teams. Typically these are low cost figures like the 10-point Flora or Giant-Girl. Post rotation, most of the retaliators will be around 20 points. Iceman is the lowest at 15 points. But at these point levels, it makes it difficult to include these on the main force just to win the map.

Keeping these thoughts in mind, I personally lean toward building teams without main force retaliators and plan on using call-in retaliators instead in 2020.

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Present Presents: Missing in Action!! (Or, The Ninth Night of Clix-Mas!!)

December 24, 2019December 24, 2019 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Night Five of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2019!! First, we reviewed the ground rules; for Night 2, we hit the ground running with an in-depth review of Call-In Cards from friend of the blog, Roberto Ty! Night Three brought us HypeFox’s look at the 10 best Chases of the year. And then we had a rare holiday appearance from writer/co-founder of the blog Ninwashui. It’s a Clix-Mas Miracle!! Then, we talked about the Five Things Wizkids Did Right This Year! Next, The Ghost of Clix-Mas Future took us through a preview of just about every Heroclix release that’s been announced for 2020 so far! We revisited our Simply The Best series for Night 7! And yesterday we listed three licensed properties we’d love to see Clix’d!]

This wouldn’t be a bad sculpt…

Welcome to Night Nine of the Twelve Nights of Clix-Mas 2019!!

Well, amid all the hoopla surrounding the announcement of the return of the Fantastic Four to Heroclix with the Cosmic Clash Starter coming out next year, there’s still been no movement on the gaping hole that still exists within the Marvel Heroclix lineup…

Where are our MCU Infinity Clix?

Things started off wonderfully in 2012 with an Avengers Movie Set that not only gave us some great exclusive Target Clix (who remembers that Chase MCU Loki?) from the film but also a Hobby exclusive side with Red Skull and Odin Chases and other figures that represented the breadth of the MCU up to that point.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2012 I bought a few of these on a whim from a Target in my area after not having played Heroclix in 5 or 6 years. I was just looking for some cool movie sculpts to put on my desk. Instead I pulled a Cap and a Loki Chase, and that re-hooked me back into the game!]

Then we got Iron Man 3 Clix, and Thor: The Dark World Clix, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Clix and even Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron Clix!!

This remains one of the greatest Starters ever produced!!

That’s six MCU movies in a row that all received the Clix treatment, including the first Guardians movie which was hardly a sure thing from a licensed tie-in perspective.

A lot of us were looking forward to seeing what the Ant-Man set would bring, only to discover that Wizkids skipped that movie altogether. For the first time in several years, an MCU movie came and went with no Clix adaptation.

MCU Clix came back strong with Captain America: Civil War in early 2016, although Wizkids neglected to include Chases for the first time ever in a MCU set for some reason.

Then Doctor Strange came and went with no Clix set (how sweet would that have been? Chase Dormammu? An MCU Night Nurse? MCU Karl Mordo? Ancient One? Sigh… ), and MCU Clix fans started to worry.

But 2017 brought us GotG 2 Clix (which included a now-legendary Yondu Chase) AND Thor: Ragnarok Clix, and all seemed right with the world again.

When 2018 came around, however, Wizkids sat out both Black Panther AND Infinity War, and we were denied the one piece we so richly deserved: MCU Chase Thanos!!

I mean, c’mon! From the moment Wizkids blew that first Avengers set out of the park, we have been patiently waiting for that piece! And we have be denied for 7 years now!

Outside of a Con LE, the only way we’ll ever get an MCU Thanos is if Wizkids decides to give us a full MCU 5-figure booster set which, despite the pitiful state of comic book sales today, still seems extremely unlikely.

The one bright note in all this is that Wizkids has announced an MCU Black Widow set that’ll drop in about 4 months from now. Will this usher in a new age of great movie sets?

Only time will tell.

What version of your favorite character are you still waiting for? Sound off in the Comments below!

And we’ll see you back here tomorrow night for the Tenth Night of Clix-Mas!

All I Want for Clix-Mas Is My New Licensed Clix!! (Or, The Eighth Night of Clix-Mas!!)

December 23, 2019 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Alright, we’ll get to Part 2 of this year’s Simply the Best feature towards the end of this year’s Clix-Mas, but tonight, we’re going to revisit a DIFFERENT previous Clix-Mas article!

Back on Night Six of Clix-Mas 2017, we looked at three media properties that we thought would make great Heroclix expansions/sets. We chose:

Transformers;

G.I. Joe;

and Stranger Things.

So this year, we can’t choose any of those, even though there’s been little to no movement on those properties as it relates to Heroclix (Wizkids did pick up a license to do Transformers minis, I believe, but I think they’ve already stated definitely that they’re not looking to do TF Clix at this time. Apparently because they hate money).

Instead, here are three more Pop Culture properties we think would excel as Heroclix!

WORLD OF WARCRAFT:

Why It’d Work: I know what you’re thinking. WoW minatures exist!! This has already been tried!

To that I say, “Nay.”

The miniatures market is slightly different from the Heroclix audience, and I think WOW Clix would be a massive hit.

Warcraft is a very specific universe that has already infiltrated the film and comic worlds. And it’s a franchise that would lend itself perfectly to Heroclix.

Hell, I could design a WOW 5-figure booster set in my sleep. There’s plenty of generics to draw from, and there’s a looooooong list of important characters to fill out Rare, SR and Chase slots.

I mean, if you make the Chases in the first set a Who’s Who of WoW villains, I guarantee you will sell out of the entire print run. If word got out that there was, say, a Chase Illidan or Chase Lich King, WoW fans would empty their wallets in record time.

Beyond that, if it succeeds as a 5-figure booster set, a Gravity Feed or even a non-blind shelf SKU (like WWE), Wizkids could release a set adapting each WoW expansion!

Finally, Warcraft is HUUUUUUUUGE in China. If Wizkids ever wanted to crack open the Chinese market for Clix, getting a license like this would go a long way in aiding those efforts!

Will We Ever See It?

Doubtful. Even though it seems like a perfect fit, I almost think Wizkids would prefer to try and resurrect Mage Knight again and give that a Heroclix makeover again before they’d fork over the cash necessary to make Warcraft Clix happen.

Still, it’s fun to dream…

MAGIC: THE GATHERING:

Why It’d Work: Because there’s millions of Magic players worldwide! This would have a ton of crossover appeal!

On a production level, Magic: The Gathering has everything you’d want for a great Heroclix set:

–Plenty of generic opportunities;

–Great individual characters (between Legends and Planewalkers, Magic has that in spades) with a bunch of backstory to draw from and strong, varied power sets to adapt;

–A plethora of diverse sizes and shapes, so that every booster isn’t just filled with 5 Standard sized characters.

This is another set that I think would sell like crazy and benefit both brands. If you’ve seen what Wizkids can do with something like, say, Phoenix Magneto’s sculpt, then you’ve got to be salivating at what they could do with a Chandra Nalaar piece.

Now this would make a great sculpt!

Will We Ever See It?

Again, doubtful. The same “Why don’t we just save the money and try Mage Knight for the umpteenth time?” objection for WoW still applies here.

Plus, Wizards of the Coast has already licensed several miniatures products, so it’s unclear if there’s even room for a licensed Heroclix Magic set in the market right now.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: AWAY TEAM:

Why It’d Work: Okay, yes, this is a bit of a cheat. Okay, a complete cheat, since we already have them. But there were 178 episodes of Next Gen, plus 4 movies!! There’s so much more material waiting to be adapted!

I want a true 5-figure booster set, or at least 3 or 4 more Gravity Feeds. But a 5-figure booster set would allow the inclusion of many of the artifacts/weapons seen on the show to make it into the game as Equipment!

I know a lot of folks want Wizkids to keep progressing on to DS9 and even Voyage Clix, and that’s fine, but there’s so much left to explore with TNG Clix!

Will We Ever See It?

Unclear, although I have to think there’s a decent chance after the way “Resistance Is Futile” was received!

Still, it’s a little strange that Wizkids hasn’t announced where they intend to take the Star Trek license next, so that doesn’t necessarily bode well. But it could be that they just have a lot of Marvel and DC stuff already in the pipeline and don’t want to announce anything Trek-related until they have more concrete plans.

The way the last set ended up migrating from 5-figure boosters to two separate Gravity Feeds shows that making TNG Clix was not the smoothest product development they’ve ever had.

Regardless, I can’t wait to see what Wizkids announces next. Just in the last couple years, we’ve gotten Classic Trek, Next Generation Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Orville and WWE Heroclix.

And they were all Modern Legal!

This seems pretty healthy to me for the game overall.

Alright! That’s all I have for tonight!

Which property do you think Wizkids should adapt next? Sound off in the Comments below, and I’ll see you right back here for Night 9 tomorrow!

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Past Presents… Simply the Best: 2019: Part One!! (Or, The Seventh Night of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

December 22, 2019 / HypeFox / 1 Comment

Welcome to Night Seven of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!!

Tonight, I thought it’d be fun to bring back one of our more popular features from a few years ago… the year end “Simply the Best” review!!

It goes like this: I come up with random (sometimes even arbitrary) categories and then tell you which piece or pieces were the best in category out of everything released this year!

We haven’t done it in awhile, because I used to try to cover everything–and I mean everything–in one column, which would then balloon to almost 4000 words.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: He’s not kidding. It’s been about 5 years since we tried this, and that feature came in at over 3300 words. We (sort of) revived the idea again at the end of 2016 for the Ninth Night of Clix-Mas that year in a two-part parody called “Simply the Rest,” wherein we talked about the worst Clix of the year.]

Well, we’re not going to get quite that in-depth tonight, and we’re actually gonna break this gimmick into a couple parts to make it more manageable.

So, without further ado, here was 2019’s…

SIMPLY THE BEST!!

Simply The Best… Primary Attacker of 2019:

1. ABPI074 Thanos — 160 Points — Ultra Chase:

Okay, I’ve devoted enough ink to how much I love this piece. But this was a weird year for Primary Attackers.

The whole role was almost rendered moot by the ubiquity of overpowered Call-Ins. I mean, you could make an argument that Kobik was a great Primary Attacker since she’s impossible to kill and can Call-In pieces to do her damage for her. But that would be a little too cynical, even for me.

Runners Up:

2. XDPSG007R Juggernaut — 100 Points — Uncommon

The best version of Mr. Unstoppable ever.

3. XDPSG006R Onslaught — 125 Points — Uncommon

4. CMM021 Captain Marvel — 150 Points — Chase

5. RE068 Barbatos — 200 Points — Chase

Simply The Best… Sub-Theme of 2019:

1. Elders of the Universe — Avengers Black Panther and the Illuminati

These pieces were better than they had any right to be. Collector, Astronomer, Trader… even Voyager and the freaking Gardener showed up in the Meta! Champion had a great dial and he wasn’t even one of the five best Elders in the set!

One of the most unexpected delights of the year!

Runners Up:

2. Brotherhood of Mutants — XDPS

This was a close one. Wizkids has done the Brotherhood so many times, and yet with this set, they reinvented so many of the key players that I was blown away. Best Juggernaut ever. Best Blob ever. The Danger Room constructs were creatively designed and were a big part of the new Pauper Meta.

3. Batman: Metal Chases — DC Rebirth

Barbatos is borderline Meta, Red Death and The Batman Who Laughs are both really good, but they’re most notable for their cool sculpts and cohesive theme.

Simply The Best… Supporting Characters of 2019:

Yep. Another article about Kobik…

1. ABPI069 Kobik — 115 Points — Chase:

Once again, I’ve talked her to death this Clix-Mas, but yeah, she’s that good. Mainstay of the current Meta.

Runners Up:

2. Q — 30 Points — Super Rare Prime:

There’s a reason he’s $300. The premier dice manipulator in the Meta right now.

3. Q –– 50 Points — Super Rare:

Same as the Prime, except he’s 20 more Points BUT he doesn’t take up your lone Prime spot.

4. RE052E Mister Oz — 40 Points — Super Rare:

The DC version of Unseen. TK plus Prob across most of the board. At the beginning of the year, I would have thought he’d have the #1 Supporting Piece spot locked up.

Nope.

Simply The Best… Sets of 2019:

1. Avengers Black Panther and the Illuminati:

Hands down, the best set of 2019. This set gave us Meta pieces at every rarity level:

Common: A.I.M. Red Squad, Voyager

Uncommon: A.I.M. White Squad, Medusa

Rare: Astronomer, Gardener

Super Rare: Taskmaster, Collector

Chase: Kobik

Ultra-Chase: Thanos

And that’s just pieces that have shown up in Top 8’s. I’ve probably even missed a few. There’s also a ton more pieces that are just plain fun to play.

Add in all the great Equipment like the Infinity Gems, Gauntlets and Cosmic Cubes, and you have a set for players, collectors and everyone in-between. Worked on every level.

Runners Up:

2. XDPS:

Nostalgia for the old cartoon meets really innovative Colossal Design. Pieces like Onslaught and Juggernaut are Meta-relevant while being really fun to play. The Danger Room Construct pieces (read: Primes) were a creative new paradigm. And Chase Jean Grey and Chase Jason Wyngarde were extremely memorable.

The only thing holding this set back is how forgettable most of the regular-sized pieces were.

3. Star Trek Away Team: Resistance is Futile:

Not just for the Q’s, but for the designers’ interpretation on the Bridge Crew of the Enterprise as well. Gets knocked down a few pegs for not fully fleshing out the Borg or Klingon factions.

4. Earth X:

Loved the comic; this set was a very faithful adaptation. The Venom Chases were memorable as well!

Okay That’s all I have for tonight! Tune back in to this space tomorrow for Part 2!

Until then… Merry Clix-Mas!

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Future Presents: Welcome to 2020!! (Or, The Sixth Night of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

December 21, 2019December 21, 2019 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

Sigh… I remember the 80’s, when Iron Man 2020 seemed so far away…

Happy Clix-Mas everyone!

Early December brought us a flurry of new release announcements, so tonight, we’re going to take a brief look at everything we know is coming in 2020 (so far, that is… )!!

JANUARY 2020:

Just one release in January, and it’s the DC Heroclix: The Green Arrow and the Justice Society Monthly OP Kit, which will give us a new LE Green Arrow, Black Canary and Wildcat (Those appear to be the Joker’s Wild sculpts for Green Arrow and Wildcat, which makes Black Canary your new sculpt)!

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: January 29th, 2020!

FEBRUARY 2020:

Very busy month! This is when Heroclix in 2020 will fully kick into gear!

First off, we have…

Marvel Heroclix: Fantastic Four: Cosmic Clash Starter Set!!

… the Fantastic Four have COME BACK… to Heroclix!!

Now that the Disney/Fox merger is complete, Wizkids apparently finally got the go-ahead to start printing more Fantastic Four Clix! Rather than making us wait for a specific set 5-figure booster set (which I’m sure is also probably being planned), they’ve sped out this new 6-figure Starter Set, and it looks gorgeous!

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: First week of February, 2020!

Marvel Heroclix: Captain America and the Avengers!!

We’re getting the 5-figure booster set, a Fast Forces and a Dice & Token Pack! Plus a release day OP kit featuring some kind of Baron Zemo piece.

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: First week of February, 2020!

And lastly, we’re getting the DC Heroclix: Queen Mera and the Atlantis Civil War OP Kit, which brings us King Trench, Mera and an Atlantean General (that King Trench sculpt looks a lil different than the Trinity War Trench pieces we got, so I’m assuming that’s the new sculpt. Mera and the Atlantean General sculpts both look like they were recycled from Trinity War, although one of Mera’s arms is in a different position, so who really knows?)!

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: February 26th, 2020!

MARCH 2020:

DC Heroclix: Batman and Catwoman: Everyone Loves Ivy Monthly OP Kit!

Looks like Catwoman is the new sculpt there.

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: Last week of March, 2020!

Marvel Heroclix: Deep Cuts Unpainted Minatures!!

All of the Regenesis pieces from last year are getting new, unpainted Switchclix dials that you can paint at home!

APRIL 2020:

Black Widow Movie Set!!

Yes!! I’m a huge fan of the MCU Heroclix sets, and after we didn’t get any Infinity War or Endgame clix, I was worried that Wizkids had somehow lost interest in movie Clix! So for me, this is an extremely welcome announcement (now go back and get me a Chase MCU Thanos please, Wizkids! Or a Con LE. SOMETHING!!)!

Plus, we’re also getting a MCU Black Widow and her Motorcycle special release as well!

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: Early April, 2020! (For both)

DC Heroclix: Justice League Unlimited!!

One of the most beloved cartoons of all time comes to Heroclix in April! Hot off the heels of the success of 2018’s Batman: The Animated Series release, JLU should take animated Clix to the next level. Expect this one to be really popular! Just like with every other set, we’re gonna get a Starter Set, Dice & Token Pack and a Hawkgirl Release Day OP Kit!

ESTIMATED IN-SHOP DATE: April 2020!

AND… BEYOND:

We also have seen recent a recent fan event announcement for Spiderman/Venom: Absolute Carnage. I haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere else, but it would make sense since Spidey is still in the MCU and the latest Spidey set has already rotated out.

Okay! So that’s all I have for tonight? Which announced 2020 Heroclix release has you the most excited? Sound off in the Comments below!

And come right back here for more content tomorrow as we continue the 12 Nights of Clix-mas!!

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Present Once Again… uh… PRESENTS: Five Things Wizkids Did Right This Year!! (Or, The Fifth Night of Clix-mas 2019!!)

December 19, 2019December 21, 2019 / HypeFox / 2 Comments

Welcome back to the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!!

Y’know, I spend a decent amount of time complaining about the state of the game in this space; but to be fair, there’s a lot Wizkids does right. I mean, we’re all still playing the damn game, aren’t we? So the designers have to be doing something right, I’d say.

And that’s what we’re going to talk about today! Things Wizkids did this year that I think should be called out as positive situations within the game.

So, without further ado, here are five things that I think Wizkids did right this year!

5. Sculpts!!!!!

Look, it’s an often overlooked part of the game since it’s primarily aesthetic, but once again, Wizkids took sculpts to the next level this year.

Wizkids has always produced great Colossal Sculpts, but I was blown away by some of the standard size looks this year.

2019 was a banner year for Wizkids on the Production side.

Speaking of…

4. Print Runs!!!!

Remember about two years ago when Wizkids came out with The Mighty Thor and filled it with crazy powerful Chases, Colossals and Equipment?

And then remember when they made, like, two cases of it and people practically had to fight each other just for packs?

I do.

Now, obviously everyone’s experience with product availability differs depending on their locale, but my Lord, people were fighting each other for Bricks just to try and resell them on eBay or Amazon for triple the price. Everyone was hunting Mjolnirs and Carnage Colossals!

Well, this summer, Wizkids released another Marvel Heroclix expansion chock full of insanely powerful pieces and Equipment, except this time there was enough to go around. Heck, my local store still has about a Brick or so in stock.

And many of the singles still hold a decent value!

Sometimes, like with “What If… ?” and Elseworlds, Wizkids seriously overestimates demand and/or cheaps out on production costs. But Earth X, ABPI and X-Men: The Animated Series all had great production value AND seemed to be right in the middle of the Supply/Demand curve.

I’ve complained about Wizkids screwing these things up in the past; this year, I thought they knocked it out of the park.

3. Star Trek Clix That People Actually Wanted!!!

Yes, I was just as bummed as everyone else that the Star Trek: TNG full booster set was broken into 2 Gravity Feeds. Not sure why that happened, but the first set, “Resistance Is Futile,” actually contains a bevy of interesting pieces that I’ve played several times already.

Q Prime is still like $300, and SR Q is still hovering around $50, so there’s still great value there at the high end. But there’s lots of great Federation Bridge Crew pieces (Uncommon Reginald Barclay, Rare Geordi La Forge, Rare Wesley Crusher, etc.) that I’ve taken into both fun and competitive games and won Matches with.

Rare William Riker is an interesting piece to play, the various Shifting Focus Datas are almost Meta and Lore is a brutally effective addition to any Robot or Borg team at only 60 Points!

Plus, Chase Mirror Beverly Crusher is quite useful also!

I didn’t find as much to love in the second ST: TNG release (“To Boldly Go”), but there’s still so much material to cover that I hope we get more future releases from this franchise!

2. Lemme See Your Cards!!

So… I still don’t love this new rule. But it really hasn’t turned into the disaster that I predicted it would be, either.

Also, the more I play games with this new stipulation, the more I’ve noticed that my opponent’s turns–and my turns–are going by slightly quicker (not a lot, but definitely slightly). I think it’s because decisions that we use to agonize and debate over are now much more clear cut.

It’s no longer “Hmmm… should I use RCE and add 1 to Attack, 1 to Damage? Or all on Damage? Damn, I can’t remember if his character has 6 or 7 Clicks. Hmmm… ”

Now you just politely ask to see your opponent’s card, and there’s no more guesswork, so you can make the correct decision much more often and much more quickly.

Also, some of the (relatively) newer players at my venue have in fact stated that getting to see opposing dials as the game progresses has made Heroclix easier to learn and play for them.

I still think there’s a strategy cost to this change that hasn’t been fully realized or appreciated yet, but I also have to admit it wasn’t the end of the world, either.

1. Pauper Steps Into the Heroclix Mainstream!

Okay, this is a little bit of a cheat, since Pauper was sort of developed outside of Wizkids’s purview, and it really emerged as an official tournament format at the ROC State Championships this Fall, which I guess isn’t strictly Wizkids, but there is a connection there now, so… I’m counting it.

Pauper was fun! It was probably the most fun I’ve had at a Constructed Meta event in quite some time. It helped I’m sure that I happened to be playing Ninwashui’s Brotherhood Build, which turned out to be one of the best Builds in the format, but still!

In addition to the Pauper tournament, I’ve used versions of that team in other formats and done pretty well.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: And Ninwashui himself just wrote about that on Night Four!!]

I never would have considered a team like that had I not played it in Pauper!

What about you? What do you think Wizkids did right this year? Sound off in the Comments below!

And stay tuned right here for more 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!!

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Present Presents: Team Ideas: From Pauper to Meta!! (Or, the Fourth Day of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

December 18, 2019December 21, 2019 / ninwashui / 1 Comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Night Four of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2019!! First, we reviewed the ground rules; yesterday, we hit the ground running with an in-depth review of Call-In Cards from friend of the blog, Roberto Ty! Night Three brought us HypeFox’s look at the 10 best Chases of the year. And now, here’s a rare holiday appearance from writer/co-founder Ninwashui. It’s a Clix-Mas Miracle!!]

If you don’t remember the Brotherhood team that Roberto and HypeFox ran at the ROC Pauper events in October, they looked like this:

100 XDPSG007R Juggernaut
50 XDPS011B Magneto
45 XDPS023B Sabretooth
60 XDPS021 Blob
45 XDPS019 Amelia Vought
300 points (Brotherhood of Mutants, +5 map initiative roll, +5 Theme Team Probability Control)

That team was run twice at that event and ended up taking 4th and 6th place that day. While it was not the only Juggernaut build, I am relatively certain it was the only Brotherhood build. In a world with colossal retaliation figures, location bonuses, and ID cards, The Brotherhood of Mutants just can’t compete in the Meta. I mean, none of them are Cosmic, so that should disqualify them right there.

I am the living embodiment of the meta…

But, what if the Brotherhood did try to compete? What would that team look like? My answer would be “largely the same as pauper”.

First lets keep what worked from the Pauper Team. That would be:

XDPSG007R Juggernaut (100 points)
XDPS011B Magneto (50 points)
XDPS019 Amelia Vought (45 points)
XDPS023B Sabretooth (45 points)

That gives us a total of 240 points. So what do we do with the other 60? Lets start off by adding some additional offense since that what’s it seemed to be lacking in the pauper tournament. Sabretooth and Magneto are hard to kill, but they are also are hard to get kills with. Since this is a Meta team we’ll add offense the same way every other meta team does it… with ID cards.

Now, I don’t see Juggernaut ever not attacking since he’s the Juggernaut and that’s what he does. And it’s all he does. Using a card never seems like the right move for him.

By the same token, though, Amelia Vought should be doing absolutely nothing and using cards hurts her effectiveness. That leaves 50 point Magneto and 45 point Sabretooth. I can add up to 4 cards with the team I have so far so I’ll choose:

WKMVID-017 Beast Student ID – 3 points (WCR005E Beast – 40 points) – He can come into play with 11 att and 4 dam and use his charge to attack, or come into play with one less att and dam and be the teams only source of Outwit.
Stone Cold Stunner
WKMVID-019 Iceman Student ID – 3 points (XDPSG025P Iceman – 15 points) – What’s this, A colossal retaliation piece as a call in? Iceman has 3 dam and 11 att for his Colossal Retaliation attack and regardless of whether he hits he can use incapacitate as a free action on any opposing figure within reach. From there Iceman can simply walk off into the sunset (more than 5 squares away from the piece that called him in) to deny the other team points. Alternatively, Iceman can OPEN A SIX PACK OF STUNNERS on opposing Colossal figures with his trait that states “CHILL, IT’S JUST A GIANT ICE SWORD: Blades/Claws/Fangs. When Iceman KO’s a [Giant symbol] or [Colossal symbol] character, after resolutions he can use Charge at no cost, but may only attack a character with [Giant symbol] or [Colossal symbol]. (He may repeat this.)” That’s huge upside for a 3 point investment.
WKMVID-020 Jean Grey Student ID – 3 points (XDPSG010P Phoenix – 25 points) – This is who you should summon if you are near 1 or more opposing figures that are vulnerable to poison. After using Poison, Phoenix can use her colossal retaliation to hopefully deal some penetrating damage and lower some combat values. Following that she can attack an opposing colossal figure, use her Telekinesis, or just walk off into the sunset.
WKMDOFP-005 Storm Wanted Poster – 5 points (XDPSG023BP Storm – 25 points) – Arguably the best sub 50 point call in and one of the best retaliation figures. Her colossal retaliation starts with an 11 att close combat attack. If you hit, then the fun begins and you get a free action triple target mind control at +3 att! Regardless of whether she hits she can then use her trait stating, “SUMMON A VORTEX OF WIND: FREE: Choose up to 3 opposing characters within 6 squares and line of fire, then roll a d6. Knock back each of the chosen characters a number of squares equal to the result.” And everything I just mentioned so far is just the free actions. From there she can she can still use a standard action to attack ANY opposing character, or walk off into the sunset.

Those 4 cards total 14 points which brings us to a total of 254. Let’s look at equipment next. Juggernaut can’t use equipment, and Amelia Vought doesn’t need it since she spends all her time doing nothing. That leaves Sabretooth and Magneto. I’ll put in the ABPIS002 Time Gem for Sabretooth and the ABPIS001 Reality Gem for Magneto. This will give the team some additional support powers it was lacking and help it deal with the inevitable dice altering powers it will face.

Those 2 gems total 20 points which brings us up to a total of 274. It looks like the only thing left to do is add another figure. Let’s add support figure XDPSG015P Magneto (25 points). The first thing you’ll notice about this Magneto is colossal retaliation and if you judge him like one of those pieces you will be sorely disappointed. What he really is, is a support figure with Telekenisis and Sidestep – which is a great combo. Compare him to TREKOS006 Lt. Kyle which is one of my favorite characters from the first trek set. This Magneto is there to position your figures, use theme team Prob Control and provide Leadership so that when you start calling in figures you aren’t short on actions. He can also take the occasional shot at the enemy via Colossal Retaliation (followed usually by running away).

Conclusion:

Can this team compete with the primarily Cosmic Meta? Maybe. With some testing, tweaking, and practice – this team could potentially place high at a future event. One thing’s for sure, though… your opponent definitely won’t see this coming.

Unless, you know, your opponent read this article. In that case then you are probably out of luck.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you thought about this team in the comments below!

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Past Presents: The Ten Best Chases of 2019!! (Or, the Third Day of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

December 17, 2019December 21, 2019 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Night Three of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2019!! First, we reviewed the ground rules; yesterday, we hit the ground running with an in-depth review of Call-In Cards from friend of the blog, Roberto Ty!]

Ironically NOT a Chase…

Every time a set is announced, the most intense speculation always surrounds the same question… What are the Chases going to be?

In some cases, the speculation is justified. Elseworlds’s DKR Chases were all great; the World’s Finest Kingdom Come Chases almost all ended up in the Modern Age Meta of their day. In other sets, though, the Chases end up being a huge letdown. And yes, I’m looking at you, Joker’s Wild, and your crappy, no-good Bizarro Chases. Even the best of the bunch, Bizarro Green Arrow, only showed up in the Meta to essentially make games take forever. And What If’s Chases only became moderately useful in Modern AFTER Earth X released earlier this year, nearly two years after they debuted!

With that said, let’s take a look at which Chases from this year’s sets hit the mark and etched a spot in Heroclix history!

These are the best 10 Chases from 2019!!

Kobik

Thanos

10. TREKRF033 Mirror Beverly Crusher — 100 Points — Chase: 100 Points is a lot to pay for a support piece. Like, a LOT a lot, which is why I can’t put her higher on this list than 10. But… if you ARE going to put 1/3 of your points into a supporting figure, you’re going to want that figure to have a Special Damage Power kind of like Bev’s (USE MY SON’S GENIUS TO ADVANCE MY CAREER: Outwit, Perplex, Probability Control, Support.)

That is literally EVERY support power you could ever want. And you can use them all, every turn. None of this Alex Wilder “I can only use two support powers at a time and my opponent gets to pick which two” horse puckey.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: You know Alex Wilder only costs, like, a fourth of what ol’ Bev costs, right?]

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: What?]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Yeah, he’s only like 25 points.]

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: Okay, but Mirror Beverly has more powers I haven’t mentioned yet.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Oh, please continue then.]

She’s also got Poison, Mystics (via her Mirror Universe TA), Sidestep and a not-insignificant 3 Damage showing top dial if an opposing fig tries to base her, and her special Shape Change Trait [MIRROR, MIRROR: Shape Change. When Mirror Beverly Crusher uses Shape Change and succeeds, give her a Mirror token, and if she fails, remove all Mirror tokens. When she uses Shape Change, increase the result by +1 for each Mirror token (a roll of 1 always fails).] makes her even harder to pin down. There’s actually a lot of risk associated in opposing characters targeting her.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: So Outwit, Perp, Prob, Sidestep, Shape Change… yeah, Alex Wilder has access to all of those powers. Plus, y’know, Stealth.]

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: Oh really? Well, Alex Wilder isn’t a Chase, so if you want me to ever finish this article and post it, I’m going to need you to get alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way off my back about this pick.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Well okay then! Lemme just go ahead and get off of that thing!]

9. EAX064 Venom Iron Man — 100 Points — Chase: Short 6-Clix dial. Only a 6 Range. Buuuuut… he’s also got a laundry list of powers a mile long on his top dial. To wit:

Running Shot; Pen/Psy; Invincible; Shape Change; Plasticity; he also Auto breaks AND sees through Hindering. Plus, if you’re attacking a piece with two action tokens, he’s a 12/4 on offense. If you can roll a 6, you can potentially one-shot a Meta support piece like Unseen.

8. ABPI072 Black Panther — 85 Points — Chase: Hypersonic Speed with sky-high Attack (12) and Defense (19) values. Plus, your opponent won’t even be able to target him if you play him on the right map due to his first Trait (THE PANTHER GOD: Stealth. Opposing lines of fire can’t be drawn to Black Panther if he occupies printed hindering terrain. Protected: Pulse Wave.).

His only downside is that his damage output is heavily dependent on Blades/Claws/Fangs, which is obviously unreliable.

PRO TIP: Pay the extra 30 points for Kobik’s Cosmic Cube and equip it on Black Panther for all sorts of fun shenanigans.

7. XDPS047 Jean Grey — 75 Points — Chase: There’s her normal dial, with Sidestep, a Pen/Psy, 11 Attack and 4 Damage top dial with a 7 Range–all in all, pretty solid for 75 Points. But when you dig into her Traits, a really cool, subversive shadow dial emerges that lets you play her in a totally different way.

Her first Trait [INNER CIRCLE CLUB: BLACK QUEEN: Outwit, but only to choose a black power or a special power. // Mind Control. When Jean Grey uses it as RANGE, modify attack +1 and she may instead target any number of characters of lower point value. (Must still be opposing and within range and line of fire.)] gives her the ability to mentally stomp the entire freaking yard with Mind Control and then Outwit your opponent’s most potent Special Power.

Jean’s Special Movement Power (JASON WYNGARDE HAS SHOWN US THE WAY: Sidestep. Other friendly characters can target Jean Grey when using Mind Control.) offers you a way to get her into position and make more attacks than she should normally be allowed to make.

Her dial finishes off with a Stop Click that gives you the opportunity to morph her into the Colossal Dark Phoenix, which is one of the best Colossals in the game.

This is one of those pieces that needs a really skilled player to maximize her effectiveness, but if you can master her abilities, she’ll be darn near broken!

6. RE068E Barbatos — 100 Points — Chase: Both of his dials are great, but for 100 Points, you get a piece with the Batman TA, Batman Enemy TA, 8 Range, Pen/Psy, Impervious and the ability to Phase 4 squares and still attack.

He also has the Quintessence TA and the ability to shut down Ranged Attacks by giving Battle Fury to opposing figures within six squares. Being able to shoot opposing characters while they can’t shoot you has ALWAYS been good in Heroclix.

All of these powers combine to give you a high-ceiling Secondary Attacker who can help you control your positioning on the board.

5. XDPS048 Jason Wyngarde — 75 Points — Chase: His stats aren’t as good as Jean Grey’s, but he does have two Traits that make up for that fact. First, his Mind Control Trait (DON’T LET THE DREAMS OF ANOTHER LIFE TROUBLE YOU: Mind Control. When Jason Wyngarde uses it as RANGE, he may count range and draw line of fire from any character he hit this turn and if he hits, after resolutions he can use Mind Control at no cost, but only to target a character he hasn’t targeted with Mind Control this turn. (He may repeat this.)] lets you potentially Mind Control the whole opposing team. Which, y’know, is pretty good. It’s the MC version of Chase Movie Yondu’s “Whistling Arrow Attack” or Chase HawkGuy’s “Rapid-Fire Trick Shooting.”

It’s just got a waaaaay cooler name.

Wyngarde’s Second Trait (PSIONIC ILLUSION: FREE: Choose a character on your sideline of 150 points or less (on their highest-point line). Generate a bystander printed on that character’s card. Each bystander generated this way has [MAX 1]. You may activate this ability only twice per game.) lets you pop out some of the best Bystander Tokens in the game as long as you had the foresight to put those pieces on your Sideline. Want some Iron Avengers on your Hellfire Club team? Now you can!

4. CMM021 Captain Marvel — 150 Points — Chase: When you absolutely have to murder the entire opposing team, accept no substitutes. Where to begin?

She’s got great stats, a high Threat Range (14 Squares before any Perplexes, plus the Avengers Initiative Team Ability lets her target through Hindering), a Special that lets her attack twice in one turn (STRAFING RUN: [Improved Movement: Characters], Running Shot. When Captain Marvel uses it, after resolutions she may use Charge at no cost, but can’t target the same character.) and a Trait that grants her and certain buddies both Prob AND an immunity to opposing Prob!

And if your opponent manages to deal her two or more damage, she supercharges into a Hypersonic, Pulse Wave, 12 Attack and 5 Damage demon-woman who can neither be stopped nor reasoned with.

The only reason she’s not Top 3 on this list is her vulnerability to Outwit in certain circumstances. In a Meta or tournament environment, 150 Points is a lot to sink into a piece that doesn’t have some form of “Protected: Outwit” for the entire dial, so it’s a little dicey building around her (although certainly not impossible).

But for friendly games, she’s a powerhouse!

3. EAX062E Captain Venom — 50 Points — Chase: Just a boatload of stats and powers for 50 Points. Top dial, we’re talking Charge, Quake, Combat Reflexes, Plasticity, Shape Change and a Special Leadership (READY TO SERVE MY SPECIES: Leadership. When another friendly character with the Monster keyword attacks, modify its attack +1 if Captain Venom attacked this turn.) that improves his entire team on offense WHETHER OR NOT HE ACTUALLY HITS THE LEADERSHIP!

He has the “Call in Help from the Venom-Verse” Trait and also ignores Hindering and Elevated Terrain on movement and Auto breaks from opposing characters.

But the craziest thing about him is that all those powers I just listed are really just icing on the cake! He’s almost completely earned his points before the game actually begins, thanks to his Build Trait (EDDIE, YOU’RE JUST THE MAN WE NEED: During game setup when establishing themed teams, you may treat the Monster keyword as a named keyword.).

Now, for 50 Points, you can group any amount of disparate Monster-keyworded characters together and get not just a Map bonus but also a bunch of free Themed Team Probs!

2. ABPI069 Kobik (w/”Hi, I’m Kobik) — 115 Points — Chase: Pretty much the best support character in the game, with Mind Control, Super Senses (with a 19 Defense) and a great Special Damage Power (DO YOU WANT TO PLAY?: Perplex, Probability Control, Shape Change.) that makes her a nightmare for opponents.

And then she adds in a pretty filthy Trait (REWRITE AFFILIATIONS: FREE: Choose both a friendly character and an opposing character with printed team abilities. Those characters can use the team abilities printed on the other character instead of their own printed team abilities until your next turn.) that lets you steal opposing Power Cosmic TA’s.

She also starts with one of the best Equipments in the game (ABPIS008 Cosmic Cube: FREE: Choose one: Place this character up to 3 squares away from its current square; -or- Until your next turn, [Improved Targeting: Elevated, Hindering] and modify range +2; -or- Give an action token to an adjacent opposing character. If you can’t, deal them 1 penetrating damage.)

And her 100 Point cost actually serves as an advantage in a Call-In Meta environment, since she can Call-In heavy hitters and still pull off her other tricks as Free Actions.

There’s a reason she’s shown up on so many Top 8 teams in pro tournaments already!

1. ABPI074 Thanos — 160 Points — Ultra-Chase: I mean, his 110 Point level is arguably even better, but holy cow! Hands down the best Ultra-Chase Wizkids has ever made.

His stats are great, he’s got one of the best Perplex Specials they’ve ever thought up (THE BIOLOGICAL APPLICATION OF COSMIC POWER: Perplex, but only to target other characters. When Thanos uses it to target a friendly character, that character can use [Power Cosmic] until your next turn. When Thanos uses it to target an opposing character, that character can’t use Willpower or PROTECTED: Outwit or Protected: Outwit until your next turn.), and then he spits out a Skreet Bystander Token that’s nearly impossible to kill (20 Defense with Impervious at Range) and who possesses arguably an EVEN BETTER Perplex (CHAOS MITE: Perplex, but only to target other characters. When Skreet uses it, she modifies a value +2 or -2 instead, then rolls a d6. [1-2]: The modifier becomes 0 instead.) than Thanos’s Perplex, which you just thought was the best Perp ever.

I mean, seriously, when else does Wizkids let you use a +2 Perp on Damage? Almost never.

And the Ego Gem he starts with is probably the second best piece of Equipment they’ve ever made, since it not only gives you a second Perplex-style source, but it allows Thanos to go out and collect more gems!

I could go on and on about how much I love this piece, but we’ve already passed 2000 words, so I just leave it right here.

Which were your favorite Chases? Let us know in the Comments below, and we’ll see your right here for the Fourth Night of Clix-Mas real soon!

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Critical Missives

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

Clix-Mas 2019

Here Is Your Clix-Mas Checklist!! (Or, The Twelfth Night of Clix-Mas 2019 And Where We Want to Go From Here!!)

Editorial: What I Love Most About Heroclix!! (Or, The Eleventh Night of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

2019 Critical Review: Colossal Retaliators!! (Or, The Tenth Night of Clix-Mas!!)

The Colossal Retaliator Sequence

It’s Hard to Say Goodbye…Like Really, Really, Really Hard

The OG

Value Factors

Tier I (MVP)

Tier II (The Real Retaliators)

Tier III (Honorable Mentions)

New Year, New Wave

Tier I

Tier II (Call-In Help)

Tier III

Colossal Thoughts

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Present Presents: Missing in Action!! (Or, The Ninth Night of Clix-Mas!!)

All I Want for Clix-Mas Is My New Licensed Clix!! (Or, The Eighth Night of Clix-Mas!!)

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Past Presents… Simply the Best: 2019: Part One!! (Or, The Seventh Night of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Future Presents: Welcome to 2020!! (Or, The Sixth Night of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Present Once Again… uh… PRESENTS: Five Things Wizkids Did Right This Year!! (Or, The Fifth Night of Clix-mas 2019!!)

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Present Presents: Team Ideas: From Pauper to Meta!! (Or, the Fourth Day of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

The Ghost of Clix-Mas Past Presents: The Ten Best Chases of 2019!! (Or, the Third Day of Clix-Mas 2019!!)

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The Colossal Retaliator Sequence

It’s Hard to Say Goodbye…Like Really, Really, Really Hard

The OG

Value Factors

Tier I (MVP)

Tier II (The Real Retaliators)

Tier III (Honorable Mentions)

New Year, New Wave

Tier I

Tier II (Call-In Help)

Tier III

Colossal Thoughts

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