Armor - 300pts

For everyone who knows me, I am a big collector of Captain America heroclix pieces. So, when they make a piece that has Steve Rogers in the Stark Industries armor that he was canonically intended for, they make it in such patriotic splendor. Not only can this version of the Captain be versatile in a few teams, but the little known facet of the generic Armor keyword can have a diverse combination of pieces. Most game pieces with the armor keyword are usually thought of as "tanks" that hit hard with a high attack and defense value. So, lets take a look at this small combination of an armor team that is sure to wreck any other team in 1v1 or battle royale format.

Armor - 300pts

Lets first take a look at the Captain Ironmerica as it's named on the dial and card. It will take up about 58% of your build total if you're building a competitive team. However, this piece is well worth the 175 points for what it can do and for how long the dial is. There isn't as much diversity in the powers that Captain America usually does, but his dial is mostly white special powers that are designated on the card. He is capable of both ranged and close combat expert as well as his defense that makes him valued to both Energy Shield/Deflection and Combat Reflexes. Unless you have some bad luck with the dice, it's easy to hit an opponent with it and make it stick. It's also great to have a free action attack when one of the offensive powers have been used.There is also two clicks of outwit on his dial that can make each attack cut even deeper.

The Mr. Freeze is another great piece to have on any Armor team or ANY team at all. His 90 points are fitting for the new era of the competitive game play. In the golden age era a piece like this would have to be worth well over 110. The Ice barrier marker should be utilized to the fullest on this team so that Captain Ironmerica or others can hit him additionally for more damage. This piece can slow down your opponents attack so it can be chipped away at by the other teammates. The best thing about it is that the ice wall causes a halt on that character for at least one round. Mr. Freeze also has a great defense that leaves him invulnerable right away, then when he gets to the end, he can regenerate to extend playing time further. On this team, he is even deadlier because of the extra help from the next piece in Proteus.

The last character on this team is the pesky Proteus. For 35 points, this character can act like a possessing entity like the golden age pieces, but in this case he gets to do a little more in addition. Proteus gives +1 to all point values. He doesn't strengthen Mr. Freeze all that much with additional colors on his dial or increases in combat values, but the +1 to all stats is the boost that he needs to make his attacks that much more easier to land. If Mr. Freeze were to die before the end of the game, then Proteus can stay in the game on his last click of life and only be damaged by close combat attacks.

HYDRA - 600pts

One of the few teams that are never really done and can't quite literally get wiped off the grid, is the HYDRA theme team. There are a number of things installed within the team itself. Loaded up with the HYDRA team ability, it's also a great benefit for the team to benefit from having a -1 defense value. They are a formidable team that can work at range with a max of eight and a min of four. Then there is the probability control dispenser through theme team and from the Red Skull.

It's a shame that this team has gone into Golden Age, it's a team worth repeating a couple of times at either the 500 or 600 point value.

HYDRA - 600pts

Let's get started with the first cornerstone piece, Red Skull, armed with the Cosmic Cube, is the most expensive piece in the team and the most valuable. But for a real weapon, his stats aren't really as beefy for the value. He can't be perplexed by his own teammates or his opponents in the game due to his Power Cosmic team ability. His eight range should be used to keep everyone within line of sight. The two clicks of stealth can keep him protected for a while.

The next valuable piece is a Duo character with Sin and Crossbones. They can copy the HYDRA team ability and able to make their hits easier and easier to snipe with the additional attack. Their next biggest benefit to use is to play chaos with the opponents action tokens. If the opponents attackers are all grouped adjacently, then there is the chance to assign the action tokens to non-indomitable pieces or to prevent future attacks. They have a huge dose of perplex and outwit and because they also have stealth on their first click, they are probably waiting in the Hindering Terrain where they can also take advantage of their trait which allows them to use ranged combat expert and also ignore other hindering terrain. Of course free actions are always pretty useful when needed. 

The next heavy hitter is Baron Strucker. With six range and two targets to hit, he is also formidable in a close range battle or having someone to mastermind the damage to. As long as he can stay in the game, he can do serious damage in close combat formations. He allows a +1 for every HYDRA member on the team that gets left over. I really think they did this character right in the game while getting comic accuracy. That is where the Section Chief comes in. He accompanies the Baron and when he eventually dies, it's death serves the HYDRA cause. Or if it is switched out for the Imperial HYDRA, that character can create infinite soldiers fifty points to continue to take all the damage instead of Baron.

The last piece on the team is a throw-in support character boosting the build total another even one hundred points. Viper gives all the additional boosts like perplex to her teammates and serves as another HYDRA team ability to decrease defensive stats. Like the Baron, she has a faux-mystics team ability that serves as a kickback to anyone brave enough to take them on. 

Rotation:
nfaos046 Imperial Hydra

Green Lantern Corps - 800pts

There are Green Lanterns and then there are the elite Green Lanterns that everyone has their favorite, can relate to or prefer as the Lantern of sector 2814. So, what would happen if the Heroclix player brought all of the Green Lanterns of Earth together for a giant force of a team. How exactly would this work?

Green Lantern Corps. - 800pts

First of all, the Green Lantern with the Green Lantern team ability is the Hal Jordan Limited Edition replacement to the one found in the War of Light event package. The Green Lantern TA allows for Hal to carry the team (up to eight characters) across the board. It would be as if he taxi'd up the team on his own in a big green bubble. Because the map roll would most likely go in my favor due to the theme team bonus, I am going to have to break out first and hide behind a level if I was outdoors or behind blocking terrain if I were to be indoors. His trait willpower is very strong to keep him in the attack mode where indomitable would be preferable. The second trait would be really helpful to choose super strength or any other light or dark green power for that turn.  He has decent range and two targets. The LE Green Lantern is the leader that the Green Lantern Corps need.

But if it weren't for the improved Hal Jordan LE, the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern is a force to be recon with. Kyle would be the piece that was most used on competitive meta-teams and exploited for his STOP click. He becomes a near hit-able nineteen defense and twelve attack and a five damage that outwits their defense. Among the other players this is nicknamed the "god click". As an opponent, you can't avoid it under the current rules. His offense is ridiculous after the third click were he then can choose to duo attack, which means he can make two attacks in the same turn. (but at a cost of -1 to the damage value in the second attack) If he wasn't absurdly overpowered yet, I could choose to place the nurse on him to have a healing regeneration roll while not waiting for the last click of the dial.

However, if I needed some healing, I would have to bring along the medical surgeon on the Green Lantern Corps and an ex-Girlfriend of Kyle Rayner. The standout trait for her is lending a +1 to Kyle if she is right next to him. She's a strong attack, but better as a healer where her main focus should be to use her telekinesis/support power when another teammate would take a click of damage. Of course, veteran players know how she works and what her purpose is. So, take care of her by keeping her back of the front lines or just out of range from your opponent.

Jon Stewart, a military man in the comic books, is a cannon that can find those opponents who are hiding in the hindering terrain or behind other characters. He is a user of a particular set of skills that can be a nightmare for opponents who play cowardly hiding in stealth mode. Plus, his range combat expert can help him find people across the map. If you have the rifle construct, attach it to him, but if not, he would need the nurse construct the most. His toughness can slow things down, but not for very long.

The tank on this team is Kilowog having a short range talent and a strength to withstand a few attacks to tie up the other team's long range experts. Kilowog can ignore outwit or perplex on a 4-6 roll, but also supports his fellow Green Lantern Corps with perplex on anyone else with that very same keyword.

Lastly, the most underappreciated Green Lantern is Guy Gardner. He has to get to be the first taxi player that can carry just like the Green Lantern Corps Team Ability. But it's only for the first turn! He's a fairly decent attack piece or secondary attack piece that can do the mop-up KO where the others do all the hard work.

St. Patrick's Day Theme Team 2017

In what is understood not to be in the normal Heroclix rules, house rules are an acceptable alternative to the game to embrace a deeper enjoyment of the game. I've played in a few games last season that adapted rules to the holidays, so this St. Patrick's Day, I was going to enjoy a team that could very well be "lucky" for sure.

The supplemental house rule is that if all game piece characters were either green or wearing green, then the player is also granted a theme team probability control. It's a pretty unique rule for the "luck" that the holiday and Irish culture symbolizes. So, this year, let's look at the team.

NorwinKnight's St. Paddy's Day Build - 400pts

The first piece to go on the team is the green spirit of vengeance, The Spectre, is a probability control dispenser when left to his 35pt dial. His special power is to grant probability control to his teammates regardless of line of fire. It will surely come in handy when I fail another dice roll or compensate for another re-roll by another player. His value is certainly cheap, so that also is going to help out and leave room for bigger heavy hitters.

Namor may look like he's just lounging around disinterested, but the green robe on the Atlantis ocean throne counts as wearing of the green. His biggest ability to this team is making soldier tokens that spawn out for eternity. As long as they are on the map, they can be "assigned" to keep guard blocking a Spectre from enemy fire. Surely, Spectre is going to be the first target on the map for enemy players, so keeping him entrenched behind a legion of Atlantean soldiers is the best protection for him. Players would be forced to kill the soldiers first, using up a turn to then be replaced by another soldier the next round. Namor is also pretty sound offensively and defensively by being able to be re-positioned in a sidestep, have an 11 attack value and an 18 defense.

So, while the soldiers keep watch over the KC Spectre, the Bizzaro Green Arrow is another great piece to keep in the game. He would more likely be a guard for Namor or another valuable piece under attack. Since he's a Bizzaro, he has a special power that reverses a ranged combat expert. Adjacent targets are ignored and the ranged enemy attacker is assigned a -2 to their attack dice roll. Even if the attack is successful, it still keeps harm away from bigger, more important pieces.

With the remaining points to fill on this team, Jean Grey's 100pt New X-Men from the Uncanny X-Men set (or her 50pt counterpart in the fast forces set) can bring Telekinesis to the team to be used when a piece is in dire need of rescuing. As long as the target is in range and line of sight, there can be a free movement to another point on the map.

Mary Jane is a cheap 25 point figure that brings a perplexing power value to the team. She's going to be watched carefully and hopefully stays out of danger. She's not very deep with her dial, but has perplex on every click of life. She will come in handy helping out the last two players on the team who's attacks aren't that strong.

Rounding out the team are the Riddler and Scrambler. They might not be in the best attacking mode, but they do counter a lot of the other team's offense. The Riddler has a special defense that allows the player to predict a dice roll number. If it's guessed correctly, then damage or dice roll value is reduced effectively making that attack wasteful. Scrambler is the outwitting machine that makes all visible powers null and void. He has a short dial like Mary Jane, but can be a real annoyance for any opposing player's plans.

Atlantis - 500 points

Today's team build is a team based around the Atlantis keyword. It's a generic keyword despite it being a proper noun. In my opinion, I don't think it should be a generic keyword. The main goal of this build was to combine a represent both the DC and Marvel underwater kingdoms. There is one major key to this - remembering to bring an water terrain map.

Offensively, the immediate hope is to win the map roll. As long as you bring the Trinity War "Atlantis Throne Room", you practically have the game won. Most popular meta game builds do not include the dolphin speed symbol. So, your opponent will be slowed down with the reduction in movement while your team is uninhibited. But with the main king of the seas, he doesn't need to do much of anything but stay out of the way. The Namor LE prize for the Civil War event creates a whole host of tokens that don't use up a move action on the team. So, if the opponents team is a ranged team, start calling on the Atlantean Guard to tie up pieces. They are only done after one click of life, but with Namor it's free to call in an unlimited amount of side characters. It completely removes the risk in pushing attack actions with them. Once they are tied up, Aquaman, his wife Mera and AquaLad can start swarming with the shark to feast on the pieces.

Aquaman has a few clicks of damage reducers that and Mera has the mystics team ability. This can insulate against any up close attacks by your opponent. Especially if they choose to attack Mera, they are weekend further with the mystics team ability. There is only one piece on the team that doesn't have the dolphin speed symbol is Namorita in her blue New Warriors form. She'll be slowed down in the water. I recommend her to stay put near the Namor throne to intercept any possible opponents that managed to make it across the map to make an attack. Her poison power can help reduce and break through some of the bigger defensive damage reducers.

Rotation:
smww022 Mermaid and smww042 Lori Lemaris and jltw007 Atlantean

Michael's Fantasic Four - 500 points

I was playing around with the HC Realms and wanted to come up with a team build that was exclusively with only 4 characters. It only just so happens that they are my 4 favorite characters in comics literature. It may or may not work within the competitive meta game community, but with a few mental plays and patience, it can be an effective team.

Michael's Fantastic Four [Golden Age] - 500pts

The team is based around an attack that must be in a perpetual rotation. The trait leadership on Captain America is critical to keeping pace with an attack that can do so at every turn. He's 200 points here, so he is able to remove action tokens from all other members. But he doesn't share any Avengers keywords, so it has to be a close grouped attack. This lets me be susceptible to quake and energy explosion.

The best offense I have is the range with both Punisher and Captain America to keep the other team at bay. Captain has five spaces to Punisher's six. I am also fond of Punisher's ammo tokens that amps up both a dual attack or a special attack where I can use more than two dice. It increases my probability of a successful attack. I also have the Ghost Rider who can use the hypersonic speed to clip any opposing characters that would be getting too close. Wonder Woman can also take a close attack while slicing and dicing her way through. Her best method of attack is to make sure her trait prevents any attacks with outwit, probability control or perplex. If I can't redo my rolls, I have to prevent other players from doing so. I also have super strength, so I must bring on a few heavy tokens to increase the damage.

Defensively, I have to make perfect use of my impervious rolls or at least minimize them to where other damage reducers can prolong my team's elimination. I don't have any theme team probability control, so I have to hope on my opponent having a bad roll day.

There are a few variations on this team, but this team takes the most advantage of Cap's leadership skills. A Wonder Woman who could use mystics team ability can share it with Punisher who is a wild card.

Replacement:
avx001e Captain America and dp032 Punisher and ssww033 Wonder Woman

Deadpool Pre-Release Event in Altoona, Pennsylvania

Since none of the places near my home was going to do a pre-release event, I wanted to find out just what the set was going to look like before I play the regular people back home. So, I made the 88 mile trek to Altoona, PA to spend the day there and play in a special evening event. Usually, I will meet with them on a Sunday afternoon. I have never attended a pre-release event before, so I looked forward to getting an advance look at the pieces that were due to be sold the very next day.

The community of hobby players in the central and Blair county Pennsylvania are very nice to me welcoming me each time I play in one of their events. So, this time around, I chose to treat them to a little pizza party and brought them two small pies.

I received an email the week before and found it on the Wizkids Event System. I didn't know what to expect so I kept up the hope that I was going to be the one lucky player to find the hyped up Deadpool ultra chase that was already offered on the secondary market for well over two hundred or just under three hundred dollars. The Event System described it as a sealed event with the expectations of a two booster 300 point event. But when I got there, the judge in charge told the group that it was a battle royale event. Purchasing the boosters, I wanted to rip into them almost immediately believing that it was a little more heavy than the others. Could it have been the ultra chase that I wanted?

But the unexpected twist was that the boosters once opened were going to be draft style rotating them among the other two royale players in front of me. The heavy box produced a large purple monster named Shiklah. So, I claimed that for my own and waited to get the others. The remaining team comprised of a Foolkiller, a Deadpool common, Massacre and a Bedlam. My performance in this round was on the average to poor. I was only able to score a minimum amount of points to come in last place. The pieces were then put in the middle to be divided up in order of point winnings.

However, since we were all amazed at how the Shiklah performed so well and that there was two of them on the map, both the first place and second place people swiped those up. It left me to then choose the remaining pieces with Squirrel Girl and the LE named Horror. Who else can say they can get the LE and still come in last place?

The second game, I was feeling a little more confident, but again it was all dependent upon what everyone else brought to the table. I was able to first select an Ajax character which after a brief moment of study, I saw he had potential - and a great looking sculpt model. Then, I chose to pick up a U-Go-Girl, a Fantomex, and a few others. The way this game played out was that I used U-Go as a taxi to move Fantomex straight across the map. I was only able to use an attack once on the opponent in front of me who had stationed a stealth Wolverine. But my Fantomex and U-Go were a little soft defensively and were eliminated right away in the game. But that was when my Ajax was getting into his stride with a truly effective attack with choosing a hyper sonic speed attack. He was one of the last few remaining on the board as I made sure to refer to him only as his real name Francis. The best part in the game was when I was able to capture the Mercenary generic piece that scored my team 35 points, but also brought him onto my team to finish off some of the remaining characters. I won with 300 points exactly. So, I chose to pick up the Ajax-Francis character to be sure that I had it in case I wouldn't find any in the local games.