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

December 24, 2020 / HypeFox / 1 Comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome back to the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2020! For Night One’s announcement trailer, click here. We built an Excalibur Themed Team with some new pieces on Night 2; Ninwashui finally released his SVC Top Ten on Night 3; he came back to talk Watchlist results on Night 4; and he came back once more to build an Apocalypse Prime army on Night 5! And we postulated that Bystander Generators are the new Duos on Night 6!]

[EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Why are you getting a Top Ten for a set that released in February?! Well, this article has been stuck in WordPress hell for the better part of a year. I normally write in the Classic Editor, but somehow, some way, WordPress decided to convert the entire article into their new Block format with, well, disastrous results. Still, we thought it would be neat to finally finish an article that was started before Covid was even a thing. Hope you guys and gals enjoy a look back at a time capsule from… well, still from 2020, but it feels like a lifetime ago!]

Let the new Clix year begin!!

Oh. Wait. It’s already begun.

Well then. Ninwashui already led off with his Top Ten figures from CAATV, so it’s time I got back on the saddle… to explain how wrong he was with his Captain America selections (well… a few of them, anyway)!

Sorry this has taken so long, but I’ve had a lot of personal things going on these past ~~two~~ ~~three~~ ~~nine~~ <ahem> ten months. But now I’m back!

But before we get to the CORRECT rankings, let’s look at…

SOME NOTES ABOUT THE SET:

Rhodey was best known for once bringing three guns to a knife fight.–Wow!! That was quite the lil’ power creepage, eh? How many pieces did we get in this set that get two attacks a turn? Yes, there are conditions for most of these pieces to make the second attack (Thor, War Machine), but those conditions (usually just, y’know, hit with the first attack) are fairly easy to meet and the benefits are ridiculous! Punisher War Machine just literally needs to have two tokens to unleash hell.

–Beyond that, there’s a higher than usual amount of figures that get two-for-one special abilities or Traits. Sharon Carter has a Perplex that grants Outwit to any friendly character she uses it on (provided they have the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword). SR Captain Marvel deals automatic penetrating damage AFTER she makes a Hypersonic Attack. Okay, she probably belongs in the list above. But still. The pieces in this set aren’t just strong; many are among the most versatile figures Wizkids has ever printed!

–Once again, we have a set of Marvel Chases that don’t have a strong thematic connection. In this case, they’re connection was actually material–as in, they are each the only pieces in the set that come with Clix FX, a previous mechanic making a welcome return here.

(Anytime I can see a visual representation of a mechanic on the map, I’m a happy camper. Makes it harder to forget elements during a match!)

So with that, let’s get on to five…

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

5. CAAV069 Namor — 75 Points — Chase:

This dial would probably crack the Top 10 of most other sets. Unfortunately, the King of Atlantis here is trapped in an absolutely stacked lineup, so he will have to settle for Honorable Mention.

Still, a 12 Attack top dial with a native 4 Damage for 75 points is always going to get some notice. But what I really love about this version of Namor is how his two Traits really open up Water Builds, a sub-genre of team building that’s never really been Meta but is always a ton of fun.

Namor comes with a Flood Marker Clix FX that counts a Water Terrain and works with his first Trait (AVENGING SON OF ATLANTIS: Namor starts the game with the Flood marker in his square. // The Flood marker is water terrain. // Smoke Cloud as FREE, but to generate water terrain markers instead of hindering terrain markers. // FREE: Place the Flood marker in Namor’s square.). So on any Map, he can literally flood seven squares every turn, which can activate Traits and Special Powers on a ton of other Dolphin-symbol characters (check out the aptly-named Dolphin from DC Rebirth, for example. If you can guarantee she starts her Charge in Water Terrain every time she attacks, she doesn’t halve her movement and suddenly she’s probably worth double her Point Cost).

His second Trait complements the first and helps other Dolphin characters hit their marks (MASTER OF THE SEVEN SEAS: (Dolphin symbol). // Friendly characters with (Dolphin symbol) or who share a keyword (with Namor) modify attack +1 if making a close attack while occupying water terrain.).

Losing Map Roll is always a big risk with Water Builds, but Namor mitigates that risk quite a bit!

4. CAAV065 Songbird — 60 Points — Super Rare:

As we’ll soon see, the Super Rare slot in this set is PACKED with heavy hitters!

So there’s nothing really tricky here. Songbird is just REALLY efficient for her points.

Top dial, she’s rocking a 10 Movement with Running Shot, an 11 Attack with Pulse Wave, 18 Defense with Super Senses and 3 Damage with Probability Control. That right there is about as packed as you can get for 60 Points!

She also has one of the set’s Theme-based token Traits (ASSEMBLED BOLTS AND MASTERS: Once per turn when Songbird hits, after resolutions you may roll a d6. 5-6: If your force has 3+ friendly characters with the Masters Of Evil or Thunderbolts keywords, remove an action token from Songbird -or- give an action token to a hit target. If your force has 6+, do both.), which is fine, but her second Trait (SOLID SOUND CONSTRUCTS: Barrier as FREE, but only to generate 1 marker then remove all other blocking terrain markers adjacent to the generated marker.) is borderline amazing!

Basically, she can put up one Barrier marker to make it difficult to target her, or you can use that Trait offensively to destroy opposing Barrier markers and open up strategic lines of fire!

This is the best version of Songbird they’ve ever made (and get used to that, because it’s going to be true for a bunch of different characters that we’re going to be covering!).

3. CAAV006 Sharon Carter — 35 Points — Common:

So, just in case you were thinking the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword would be gone from the Meta for awhile, here’s the first of MANY pieces with that keyword that we’ll be discussing today.

Sharon only has three clicks, but she’s ridiculously affordable, has great survival instincts with the recurring Espionage Trait (ESPIONAGE: Stealth, Improved Movement: Hindering, Improved Targeting: Hindering.), gives your squad some cheap Leadership AND comes packing with a Special Damage Power (STAND BY FOR UPDATES: Perplex. When Sharon Carter uses it to target another friendly character with the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword, that character can use Outwit until your next turn.) that can be gamechanging.

Her Leadership special works better when she’s teamed with any almost any version of Steve Rogers, but that Damage Special absolutely breaks a different soldier that we’ll be talking about when we get to the top of this list…

2. CAAV049 Taskmaster — 60 Points — Rare:

Yet another switchblade version of one of my favorite villains, this Taskmaster comes STACKED with powers and abilities!

He moves through Hindering Terrain, he has the Wildcard TA, starts with a 12 (TWELVE!!) Attack with B/C/F AND Perplex, and his pick-a-power Trait (YOU FORGET THAT I TOOK ON THE AVENGERS: FREE: Choose a standard speed or defense power printed on this card. Taskmaster can use that power until your next turn.) makes him extremely hard to KO. Heck, with Stealth up top, he’s hard to even touch!

The Black Widow Movie set gave us a bunch more Taskmasters, but I don’t know that it gave us anything (for the points) that’s better than this.

1. CAAV060 Blade — 50 Points — Super Rare:

A potentially neverending Charge (provided he offs an enemy with the Monster or Mystical keyword each time); Stealth; Improved Movement: Hindering; Improved Targeting: Hindering; Steal Energy (with the ability to heal past his starting line); Blades (of course) and a 17 Defense with Combat Reflexes.

Yes, he’s a bit chewy, but he recovers well and his offense could potentially swing the match. His subpar 10 Attack at this level is the only thing keeping him from the Top Ten.

And NOW…..

THE TOP TEN FIGURES IN CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE AVENGERS!!

10. CAAV053A War Machine — 100 Points — Super Rare:

Two Team Abilities. A Trait (MINI-GUN TARGET LOCK: When War Machine hits, after resolutions you may give a hit character a Target Lock token, then remove all other Target Lock tokens. // FREE: Make a range attack using War Machine’s printed attack and damage values, but only to target the character with his Target Lock token.) that allows up to a second ranged attack in one turn.

Plus Indomitable, Improved Targeting: Hindering, the ability to make ranged attacks while based and some pretty good stats. Also, this Preview set off a firestorm of anticipation among Heroclix fans for this set.

Hell, War Machine would be higher on this list if his B-Side wasn’t EVEN BETTER…

9. CAAV038 Steve Rogers — 50 Points — Rare:

Stats are aight. He has the recurring Living Legend Trait (LIVING LEGEND: The first time each game Steve Rogers would be KO’d, instead turn him to his last non-KO click, then roll a d6 and heal him equal to half the result. Protected: Pulse Wave.), so he’s a bit harder to put away than his point cost might suggest.

But his Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. Building Trait (WE’LL TAKE ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET, IF YOU’RE WORTHY: Leadership. During force construction, you may choose a standard character of 50 points or less. That character loses its printed keywords (for the entire game) and then gains either the Avengers –or– S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword (choose one).) is the main reason to play him.

This can even lead to some comic-ly ridiculous scenarios, like:

-Chase Ultron on his rookie dial can now suit up for S.H.I.E.L.D.!

-Valeria Von Doom can now be a child Avenger!

-Heck, if you want, you can take SR Q’s 50 point dial… and do nothing with it (as he’s not a standard character. Not all of these ideas were going to be winners.).

I don’t know who photoshopped this, but it’s pretty good!

8. CAAV075E Peggy Carter — Sideline Active (Aka “Free”) — Ultra Chase:

So you’re telling me that if I field the ridiculously good Steve Rogers I just ranked at #9, I can also back him up with a 50-Point Peggy that Charges, has Precision Strike, has Indomitable, sports Leadership AND generates a really good Bystander Token… and that I can do all that FOR FREE?

That Rogers is good enough on his own. He doesn’t need any more value packed in.

This Peggy is just kind of alright for her points on her normal dial, but her Sideline Active free dial is bananas!

7. CAAV008 Maria Hill — 45 Points — Common:

Why is a 45-Point Common all the way up at #7 in my Top Ten? Because she has an Omega-Level Movement Special Power (WELCOME TO PLEASANT HILL: Mind Control. Once per turn when a friendly character uses Mind Control to target a character that hasn’t been damaged this turn, after resolutions that targeted character can’t make attacks or be attacked until your next turn unless it’s the only character on its force.) that opens up all kinds of new Build possibilities!

I remember when Ninwashui and I thought Mind Control was one of the weaker powers in the game a few years ago; well… not anymore. Suddenly Mind Control is essentially a Maze of Ith (for non-MTG lifers, read “neutralizing force”) for your opponent’s best piece.

She also has Leadership coupled with the Espionage Trait and Shape Change for survivability. Even when she finally loses her special power, she gains Perplex and the ability to do Penetrating damage.

Truly a groundbreaking piece!

6. CAAV071 Ghost Rider — 70 Points — Chase:

His dial is great for his points (except for an average to low Attack across the dial), but he adds some wrinkles that really make him worthwhile.

First, his Special Ram ability (THE AVENGERS HAVE A SWEET NEW RIDE: Passenger: 3, but only to carry character who share a keyword regardless of [Wing symbol]. // Ram. When Ghost Rider uses it, he modifies speed +3 and does not take unavoidable damage from it.) is basically the best of its kind in the game.

Secondly, he has the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Mystical keywords… I mean, what team DOESN’T he fit on?

5. CAAV074(?) Ultron — (???) — Chase:

Yup! Another Chase from just a killer run of Chases (and we’re not done yet). I just threw question marks up there for his exact set number and Point cost because, honestly, each of his three point levels is just stupidly ridiculous.

For God’s sake, they even brought back his classic 14 Attack Value, which is honestly just stupid. If his dial was naked and you just had to make due with his native stats, he’d be a great value. Instead, you can pretty much just name a random great power, and he probably has it.

The second click on his 150-Point dial has a 13 Attack with Pen/Psy, 18 Defense with Impervious and 3 Damage with Perplex. Yeah. A 13 Attack Value. On his second click. #$%# off, Wizkids!

If your opponent places this guy in his Starting Area when forces are revealed, good luck.

4. CAAV058 Immortal Hulk — 100 Points — Super Rare:

At some point when designing this set, someone in charge at Wizkids looked at all the broken pieces they were already stuffing into this set and thought, “Hey… why don’t we make a Hulk piece where we combine the survivability of that “Ha-Ha Joker” from Joker’s Wild with, y’know, the offense of an enraged, uh, Hulk. That seems like it’d be a pretty fair figure to play against.”

That was a real thought that a real adult had.

This piece is just stupid. He’s already starting to put his stamp on the Meta.

I actually got to play against this guy in Sealed, and the only reason I beat him is because I miraculously pulled the #1 piece on this list.

3. CAAV070 Thor –– 125 Points — Chase:

Another piece that–like Ultron–is darn near broken at any of its point levels.

It must have come from the same design space as that Immortal Hulk we just talked about.

Designer One: “Uh… what if we designed the Quintessential Thor dial”

Designer Two: “Hmmm… okay, we could–

Designer One: “And then added Probability Control!”

Designer Two: “But… why though?”

Again: this was a real thought that a real adult had.

Thor’s Lightning Marker Trait (BRING THE LIGHTNING: Thor has PROTECTED: Energy Explosion. // Thor starts the game with the Lightning marker attached. // When Thor hits with an attack not using Energy Explosion, you may place the Lightning marker in the square of a hit character. If you do, after resolutions make a range attack using Energy Explosion at no cost targeting that character regardless of range or line of fire. At the beginning of your next turn, attach the Lightning marker to Thor.) alone will make sure you get your investment out of fielding this absolute Monster.

2. CAAV054 Captain Marvel — 95 Points — Super Rare:

Wizkids has been on a mission lately to make the perfect Carol Danvers version of Captain Marvel, and if there’s a better Captain Marvel to been had, I’ve not seen it.

Her top dial Movement Special Power (HIGHER!: Hypersonic Speed. When Captain Marvel uses it, after resolutions deal 1 penetrating damage to an opposing character she moved through. If that character is a vehicle, deal it 3 penetrating damage instead.) is among the best versions of Hypersonic Speed we’ve ever had.

And the Chewie Bystander Token she generates is also top notch.

Altogether, she is going to be a force until she rotates.

1. CAAV053B Punisher War Machine — 95 Points — Super Rare PRIME:

And now we circle back to the title of the article!

When you absolutely, positively have to KO everything in the room…

Here’s the best Colossal Stamina Trait you’ll ever see (THE WAR NEVER ENDS: Colossal Stamina. // If Punisher War Machine has two action tokens, he has “FREE: Make an attack.”).

He also has a great Attack Special Power (JUST NEED TO LIGHT THE FUSE: Energy Explosion, KNOCKBACK.).

By the way, he sees through Hindering and has a starting 12 Attack and 4 Damage.

He is a one-man army except he only costs 95 Points at most.

And he is the number one figure in this set!!

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the Comments below.

And we’ll see you here tomorrow night!!

12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2020… Night One?

December 13, 2020 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

*This feels like the appropriate Clix-Mas imagery for this year…*

It’s been a tough year, hasn’t it?

Putting aside the disruption to the normal Clix year, on a personal level I know at least two folks from my local venue who have suffered from Covid-19 (luckily, both seem to have come out the other side no worse for wear–albeit after some struggles).

Several extended family members too.

Now normally, we would have already started our 12 Nights of Clix-Mas coverage already. But honestly, we’ve faced a ton of personal and professional challenges this year (haven’t we all), and we just haven’t had time to write like we normally would.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: It hasn’t helped that WordPress has forced us into this weird new block format that has so far eaten at least one nearly complete Top 10 column. Sigh…. ]

But we’ve still got plenty of opinions about Heroclix specifically, and entertainment in general.

I’m gonna try to publish 12 articles between now and Christmas. This year I may fail more spectacularly than I ever have before.

But we’re gonna try.

So here we go with tonight’s Night One announcement!

Tomorrow… God willing… will be Night Two, where we’ll actually get into, like, some topics and stuff.

Stay Safe everybody!

We’ll see you soon.

By The Numbers: A Captain America and the Avengers Preview!!

January 26, 2020January 26, 2020 / HypeFox / Leave a comment

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Roberto Ty is back with a preview of the next set! Roberto’s already on to some other column ideas, so if you like what you see here, let him know in the Comments below!]

Pre-release events for Captain American and the Avengers began Wednesday, January 22nd. The set has been largely spoiled through various unboxing videos and retail store online previews. As with any new set, the anticipation is high for new figures that will impact the Metagame. Before looking at Meta construction, most players will have the chance to test run the new figures in Sealed Pre-release events. The Sealed format offers a more level playing field for casual and competitive players alike…if the set design is balanced. While I’m sure there will be primers written in the next few days that will do a deep dive, figure by figure analysis, I prepare by taking a broader view at the numbers.

Rarity Distribution

Rarity	# Figures
Common	17 plus 1 Prime
Uncommon	17 plus 1 Prime
Rare	17 plus 1 Prime
Super Rare	17 plus 1 Prime
Chase	6 with ClixFX base
Ultra Chase	1

The Numbers

The following numbers are based on what has been spoiled so far. We’re still missing a handful of figures, but this small number shouldn’t impact greatly our general analysis.

Point Value Distribution

Point Value	# Figures
150	2
125	2
100	7
95	1
90	5
85	7
75	17
70	2
65	7
60	8
55	1
50	21
45	5
40	3
35	1
30	4
25	3
20	2
15	1

The bulk point values for figures fall in these two values, 50 and 75 points, providing most builds the potential to field at least 3 figures on average. At the high-end is 150-point Captain Marvel and on the low-end a 15-point S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. As most experienced players know, a tentpole figure doesn’t always translate to success. Low-point support pieces are just as critical and this set has many low-point characters to fill out your teams. There are 16 figures under 50 points.

Keywords and Team Abilities

Keyword	# Figures
Avengers	29
Soldier	21
S.H.I.E.L.D.	19
Thunderbolts	19
Scientist	18
Spy	17
Masters of Evil	17
A.I.M.	11
Ruler	11

No surprise here, the dominant keyword for an Avengers set is Avengers, followed by Soldier, Scientist, S.H.I.E.L.D., Thunderbolts, Spy, Masters of Evil, and A.I.M. Since Probability Control is typically in short supply, making a Named Themed Team is another way for you to manipulate the dice in your favor. Look to build an Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Thunderbolts, Masters of Evil, or A.I.M. named theme team.

Team Ability	# Figures
No Affiliation	32
S.H.I.E.L.D.	10
Masters of Evil	10
Avengers	8
Team Player	6
Mystics	4
Underworld	3
Power Cosmic	2
Hydra	2
Defenders	1
Spider-Man	1

While the Avengers keyword dominated, the team ability doesn’t top the list. Instead, S.H.I.E.L.D. is prevalent, thanks to all the low-cost support agents and officers. Let’s review these team abilities. Knowing what they do will help you build your sealed team quicker.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Adjacent friendly characters modify range +1. POWER: Choose an adjacent friendly character. Once this turn, the chosen character modifies its damage +1 when making a ranged attack.

Masters of Evil. Colossal Stamina.

Avengers. When this character is given a MOVE action, modify speed +1.

Team Player. Wild Card. Uncopyable.

Of these team abilities, S.H.I.E.L.D can really have a great impact on your build, especially if your team has range. So let’s look at the range breakdown next.

Range and Improved Abilities

Range	# Figures
0	10
1-5	33
6	16
7	10
8	4
9	1

Expect the bulk of your team to have limited range. This means that if you do pull a figure with a range of 6+, set it in the pile for consideration to make your team. Characters with the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability can aid your team if your range is limited.

Improved Ability	# Figures
Movement: Hindering	27
Targeting: Hindering	19

Thanks to the Espionage trait, many characters have Stealth, Improved Movement: Hindering, and Improved Targeting: Hindering. Let’s look at the dominant traits next.

Traits

☆ Trait	# Figures
☆ Assembled Bolts and Masters	19
☆ Assembled Avengers	14
☆ Espionage	13

☆ Assembled Bolts and Masters. Once per turn when (name of character) hits, after resolutions you may roll a d6. 5-6: If your force has 3+ friendly characters with the Masters of Evil or Thunderbolts keywords, remove an action token from Ghost -or- give an action token to a hit target. If your force has 6+, do both.

☆ Espionage. Stealth, Improved Movement: Hindering, and Improved Targeting: Hindering.

☆ Assembled Avengers. Once per turn when (name of character) hits, after resolutions you may roll a d6. 5-6: If your force has 3+ friendly characters with the Avengers keyword, remove an action token from Iron Man -or- give an action token to a hit target. If your force has 6+, do both.

I think the most impactful Trait is Espionage, primarily as a Stealth-busting option. There is a large number of characters with Stealth, but thanks to this Trait I wouldn’t build around it.

Team Mobility: Flight and Telekinesis

Team Mobility	# Figures
Flight	19*
Telekinesis	3
*051 Moonstone has flight, but Passenger: 0.

The ability to move your team can often be the difference in a victory or a loss. In this set, there are 19 characters with flight, with only 18 being able to carry. I would, therefore, value flight characters and automatically put them in the pile for consideration when building my sealed team.

The other method for moving your teammates is Telekinesis. Unfortunately this power is in short supply with only 3 characters possessing the power.

Indomitable and Willpower

INDOMITABLE
Rarity	# Figures
Common	3
Uncommon	4
Rare	3
Super Rare	8
Chase	3
Ultra Chase	1
TOTAL	22
WILLPOWER
Rarity	# Figures
Common	3
Uncommon	1
Rare	1
Chase	1
TOTAL	6

The ability to perform an action in consecutive turns without taking pushing damage can be a difference maker. Indomitable is more prevalent in the Super Rare rarity while Willpower isn’t too common a special power at all. If you pull a Super Rare or higher, chances are you’re playing it. Therefore if you do find a lower rarity character with either Indomitable or Willpower, you just might put the figure in your consideration pile.

Powers

A little programming note before we breakdown the powers for movement, attack, defense, and damage. If a power is included in a special power, then I listed it as that power and not under the special power breakdown. For example, if a special damage power provided Shape Change then I listed it under Shape Change and not under the special. In evaluating the powers, I considered the starting clicks and not later clicks. While later-dial powers are a consideration when building your force, most of the time these are tiebreakers evaluations.

Movement

Power	# Figures
Running Shot	27
Stealth	25
Charge	21
Sidestep	17
Phasing / Teleport	5
Mind Control	3
Hypersonic Speed	2
Plasticity	2
Force Blast	2
Flurry	1
Leap / Climb	1
Earthbound / Neutralized	1

As discussed earlier, the Espionage trait provides many characters with Stealth, but they also neutralize that power through their Improved Targeting: Hindering. I wouldn’t build round Stealth in sealed.

Next is Running Shot. With the bulk of characters having 5 or less range, look for Running Shot characters that have 6+ range to include on your build.

Both Charge and Sidestep see a good representation in this set, coming in at 18 and 15 figures respectively.

Looking at the higher quantities is one way to evaluate the figures to include on your team. Another is to look at the small numbers on powerful abilities like Hypersonic Speed. With only 2 figures, pulling a Hypersonic Speed character for your team gives you a mobility advantage other players might not have.

Attack

Attack Value	# Figures
14	1
12	10
11	42
10	20
9	3
Attack Power	# Figures
Precision Strike	14
Penetrating / Psychic Blast	11
SPECIAL	10
Energy Explosion	10
Super Strength	7
Blades, Claws, and Fangs	7
Quake	7
Incapacitate	5
Telekinesis	3
Pulse Wave	1
Steal Energy	1

The majority of figures have an 11 or 10 attack, which is common in modern. Some of the attack powers like, Precision Strike, will be better evaluated when we look at the defensive powers. Certainly both Precision Strike and Penetrating/Psychic Blast will be strong against higher rarity tent poles that are more likely to have better defenses.

Defense

Defense Value	# Figures
19	1
18	39
17	35
16	2
Defense Power	# Figures
Toughness	13
Impervious	11
Invincible	11
SPECIAL	10
Energy Shield Deflection	9
Combat Reflexes	9
Invulnerability	9
Super Senses	8
Mastermind	7
Willpower	6
STOP	5
Defend	3
Barrier	3
Regeneration	1

18 and 17 defenses are the most common. With 11 being the most common attack value, there is a 58.3% chance of hitting. See the probability chart below.

PROBABILITY CHART*
	Defense
Attack	19	18	17	16
12	58.3	72.2	83.3	91.7
11	41.7	58.3	72.2	83.3
10	27.8	41.7	58.3	72.2
9	16.7	27.8	41.7	58.3
* Probability chart courtesy of Ninwashui

Damage

Damage Value	# Figures
5	1
4	18
3	41
2	12
1	6
Damage Power	# Figures
SPECIAL	17
Leadership	17
Outwit	16
Perplex	12
Shape Change	11
Probability Control	8
Exploit Weakness	5
Empower	5
Close Combat Expert	4
Battle Fury	3
Enhancement	3
Ranged Combat Expert	1

Because of the low-cost of many figures in this set, many teams will have 4 or more characters on their team. Leadership will be critical and thankfully there’s plenty of it. With few characters having PROTECTED: Outwit (either from a special trait/power or the Power Cosmic team ability), Outwit is a must include on your team. Other common support powers, like Perplex and Probability Control, will also be an auto-includes, but look for other less common powers that enhance damage, like Empower, Enhancement, or the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability to help your team to victory.

When Captain America Throws His Mighty Shield

Breaking the set down to numbers is allows you to look at the set broadly without studying every figure for your pre-release. We get a sense of what to expect and can quickly evaluate figures for our team builds. Some key takeaways are:

Leadership. Chances are you’ll have more than 3 characters on your team, you’ll need leadership to increase your action total by 1 in a standard 300-point build. Good chance you’ll pull a character with Leadership.
Mobility. You’ll want to have flyers. You’ll need to taxi your team, right?
Range. Ranges of 1-5 is common. Look for 6+ to gain an edge.
Move and Attack. Running Shot, Charge, and Sidestep dominate. Hypersonic Speed would give you the edge, but highly unlikely you’ll land 1 of the 2 characters with it.
Outwit. You’d better include it on your build. There’s a lot of it so you know your opponent will be doing the same.
Perplex. Not prevalent enough to guarantee that you’ll pull a character with it. Look for other means to modify your stats with powers like Empower, Enhancement, or the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability. But if you do manage to get a character with it, you better include it on your team. Just a look at the probability chart and you’ll easily see how modifying values will greatly increase your victory chances.
Probability Control. Always useful to have, just hard to come by. Look to build a named theme team to get access to it. Plenty of Avengers keyword in this set.
Precision Strike and Penetrating/Psychic Blast. These two powers are always good to have. So when you pull them, put these figures in the strong consideration pile for your team.

What’s Next?

While I would love to do a detailed breakdown of figures before the release in a few weeks, it’s unlikely I’ll have the time. However, look for more game recap articles that will hopefully give you insight into what’s really working in this set. After all, what’s good on paper isn’t always good in practice.

Good luck and have fun at your Pre-release and Release events!

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!!

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Critical Missives

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

Heroclix

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

12 Nights of Clix-Mas 2020… Night One?

By The Numbers: A Captain America and the Avengers Preview!!

Rarity Distribution

The Numbers

Point Value Distribution

Keywords and Team Abilities

Range and Improved Abilities

Traits

Team Mobility: Flight and Telekinesis

Indomitable and Willpower

Powers

Movement

Attack

Defense

Damage

When Captain America Throws His Mighty Shield

What’s Next?

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!!)

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Rarity Distribution

The Numbers

Point Value Distribution

Keywords and Team Abilities

Range and Improved Abilities

Traits

Team Mobility: Flight and Telekinesis

Indomitable and Willpower

Powers

Movement

Attack

Defense

Damage

When Captain America Throws His Mighty Shield

What’s Next?

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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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