Oct.13-19 - More Returns and Changes

New Recruits

Recently, while I was hunting around for some items my wife wanted me to look into on eBay, and then waiting for them to come down to the final moments so I could bid, I did some (mostly) LE hunting for inexpensive bits and pieces to add to the Heroclix collection. In one case it snowballed as I ended up buying 10 from one seller, knowing that I was diluting the core shipping charges as I went. I ended up buying from three different people over the past few weeks, and while some of them are less than gems -- more in the line of niche pieces -- new options are good to add.

Most of these haven't arrived yet, but that won't top me from looking at each of the unhatched chickens.

An odd bit from 2003's Indy set that hadn't landed in my collection was Hecate. Finding her for $1.26 made it tempting enough to go for.
A grounded, magical creature, it's an interesting sculpt and a potentially useful piece.

Definitely an artifact of the game at a much earlier stage, while the piece has 9 clicks of life the first four are really where all the value is. After that, it's perhaps a tie-up piece but if she gets down that far she's likely going to eventually be 120 points for an opponent. However, she starts off with Stealth and Invulnerability to protect her, Outwit to either protect her or give her or an ally the edge, and Blades/Claws/Fangs, the last of which she keeps for her entire dial. So, close up, with good rolls she has the capacity to deal damage to anyone.

On the second through fourth clicks she gains Mind Control, which she can wield over a range of 4 squares (that's a built-in default range for Mind Controllers with 0 range), which gives her an option if the opportunity's right. On her third and fourth clicks Outwit gives way to Probabilty Control, which (like Outwit) reaches out over up to 10 spaces and is a free action.

As I'm looking at a game which is (informally at least) blending in Horrorclix pieces, Hecate struck me as a fun addition.

Next is one of those low-point utility pieces: Clarice Ferguson.

Clarice is from Mutant Mayhem, and is the LE for the mutant Blink -- one of the menagerie of mutants that cropped up during the years where I was all but ignoring Marvel's increasingly un-merry mutants.
A teleporting telekinetic character, the LE is one point less expensive than the rookie, has some improved stats and a leading click of Super Senses that the rookie lacks. The only thing the rookie has that the LE lacks is the X-Men TA, which is likely a small loss.

As my pool of clix occasionally provide teams for multiple other players, one of which is an X-Men fan for whom Blink is a significant character, having another, useful version that takes up less space on a team could easily be a good thing. For $1.46 it was an easy addition. (Update: The seller's contacted me to say that the one she had met its demise at the hands of one of her children, but she's trying to trade for a replacement. So, this one will either be coming along later or we'll come to a new arrangement. So... I shouldn't build any teams including her just yet.)

Next is one from Sinister, a variant of an Avengers piece, the female Captain Marvel: Monica Rambeau.
One of those characters with energy- (in this case light-) based powers, I objected to her on principle. My problem with characters who can turn into energy, move and function at such speeds, they should be vastly more powerful than any of these stories would accommodate. Even just for reconnaissance and research purposes the edge this should give her is almost immeasurable. The mere fact that one can function in energy form indicates the ability to think at light speed -- presuming she's moving just slightly under that speed -- should have her functioning brilliantly unless she's brain-damaged.

Still, it's just a comic book character, and so we imagine some other mechanics that slow her down greatly and keep her more on the physical plane, and we move on.

At 79 points she's three points higher than the experienced level - Photon - and for those three points and not starting with a click of Hypersonic Speed, Monica comes with better stats in several areas, an extra click of life, two more clicks of Hypersonic Speed (one of them on the last click), better Damage values, late-dial upswings in Defense and Speed, and three clicks of Willpower at the end.

The combination brings us an Avenger who's highly mobile, able to accomplish a great deal, and able to have a great shot at remaining active late in her dial and avoiding being KOed. That last click -- with a 13 Speed with Hypersonic and a a 17 Defense with Willpower should allow her to not only keep safe but even have a shot at doing some damage. Not a shabby addition for $3.25.

Reaching back, back, back to Infinity Challenge, the very first set back in May of 2002, there's the next piece on this list: Operative 128.

A Hydra team member, the main reason for picking him up is for, at 16 points, the cheapest Leadership on this team. Sure, for 8 points more I could simply use the 24 pt Hydra Officer from Sinister, but sometimes one doesn't have those 8 points. Now that Tactics is in the game, to bring both an increased likelihood of making a Leadership roll but also adding a second extra action for the team for 20 points. This also gives me another inexpensive piece with a different name to help make sure the team qualifies for the bonus of Assembled.

Fragile as all get out? Certainly. Still, even if I've speny 36 points on him and the card in a team build, if I get a few extra actions out of it and an opponent bothers to waste the actions going after him it'll have been well worth the points.

Skipping over to the second set -- DC's Hypertime -- another LE I've thought of picking up, and finally did, is Thomas Oscar Morrow.

For 9 points more than the veteran, this LE provides a better range, more Energy Explosion, an extra click of Super Senses, a single click of late-dial Force Blast and two of Support. Sure, with Attack Values of 5 & 4 those Support clicks are unlikely to succeed, but they're an option the REV version doesn't have.

Never a must-have piece, it'll still be a welcome addition. I tagged it when no one else was looking... for 6 cents.

Next is an odd choice to pick up, as it's less defensible a choice given how good the REV pieces are: Teth-Adam.
For 110 points he's a flying, Charging brick with five clicks of Super Strength split to each side of three clicks of Quake. For 8 points more than the rookie he skips the activation click and has slightly better Defense, Attack and Damage Values, and better Speeds for most of his dial. Still, since the rookie has a couple clicks of Hypersonic Speed while the LE lacks that power... this addition was a rash pick-up, and stands a chance of not getting any time in a game. Still, it's about points and options, and this could be a fun 110 pt pieces to build around.

One LE I'd wanted in the mix for a while -- indeed, it was the only case so far where one of my players had asked for a piece as part of a build and I didn't have it - is from the Ultimates set. It's the LE of the Black Widow: Natasha Romanova.
This is a version of the Russian super-spy from the Ultimates universe, but I won't hold that against her. One of those delayed Ellis Island type affairs, Romanova/Romanoff -- I know what it's supposed to be.

She's reasonably mobile with four leading clicks of Leap/Climb and the Ultimates TA that will allow her to ignore hindering terrain no matter what, including denying targets a hindering terrain bonus to their Defenses and let her see anyone in Stealth - and the same goes for any wildcard pieces on her team. Two targets, three leading clicks of Incapacitate, four of Willpower, two of Leadership and four closing clicks of Enhancement, so that on her final four clicks she can boost the damage of range-hitting allies who are adjacent to her. A nice addition to the troops.

Hopping back to DC and Unleashed, I picked up another JSA-affiliated version of Hawkgirl: Kendra Saunders.
Compared to the 39 pt experienced version, we get one less click of Charge, a shorter dial, and a more rapid drop in Attack Value. On the plus side, we get an extra click of Willpower, and two clicks each of powers not seen on the experienced: Close Combat Expert and Outwit. So, she can potentially harm even someone with Impervious on that first click and could be very useful even after taking a hit for two or three clicks. Not a powerhouse by any means, and if someone wants to take her down they're going to do it, but she's another member for a JSA team and since a new Hawkman is coming in Origin I'm interested in having more options for the most complementary team-up.

Next, moving up to Mutant Mayhem, we have the LE of the super-swift, light in the loafers, mutant -- Northstar: Jean-Paul Beaubier.


This is one of those cases where it was a rash grab, as the difference between this and the experienced version is one more point, and for that point one picks up two clicks of Incapacitate while losing late-dial Toughness and the Avengers TA. All the moreso since Incapacitate and Hypersonic Speed don't work together, this may be the top contender for dust collector out of this lot. What can I say? It was a rushed addition in the heat of the moment.

Back to the Ultimates set, I also picked up the LE of the Ultimates version of the Beast: Hank McCoy.
Three points more than the experienced version and lacking the experienced's Ultimate X-Men TA, but what does he gain? Superior (should that be homo superior?) Attack Values, more Flurry, a leading click of Willpower on a higher Defense Value, the two clicks of Outwit moved to the end of the dial, and instead front-loaded with three clicks of Perplex. So, that's a useful set of differences.

The main question will be whether or not I snip off that damned ugly, useless blob of a ponytail or not.

Over to Armor Wars, we have a niche variant for Betsy Braddock. While most of the time she's Psylocke, this variant covers the brief period where she was otherwise more physically empowered and was filling the role of Captain Britain.


A 69 pt, unaffiliated version of the character, the Super Strength, Invulnerability and flight mark her as very different from any of her other versions. Two clicks of Super Strengh give way to two of Incapacitate and then two final ones of Psychic Blast. An end-of-dial upswing on the Attack Value, though it's only to 8, so no one's likely to get excited. Still, some potential to explore.

As part of the Sinister set we received a version of one of those characters that originally sprang from one of the dystopic futures that were being projected in the 1970s. A man who was legally dead, grafted to a computer and various bionic parts and treated as a piece of property rather than a man. (Yeah, this was well over a decade before Robocop.) This was Deathlok, and this LE represents, well... it's someone's mistake. It's supposed to be Michael Collins -- the second third or fourth character to be named Deathlok, depending on one's reckoning, and the one that's currently running around the Marvel Universe. For some reason Wizkids released him as Michael Roth. Maybe he converted to Judaism.

Comparing him to the 60 pt experienced version the only thing the experienced has over this one is that it has the wildcard Spider-man Ally TA, two late-dial clicks of Running Shot, two mid-dial clicks of Enhance and an ending click of Psychic Blast. In all other respects, the LE is superior. He's faster, is a more successful fighter (Higher AV), has generally better Defense Values, has a superior range, has a longer dial, a click of Regeneration at the end, two clicks of Stealth followed by one of Running Shot, and three clicks of highly versatile Perplex to make any one thing he or an ally has better. A piece one's not afraid to either push or even let take some damage. This version is much more likely to get within striking distance of a target without taking damage and to hit something once he attempts it.

Finally, also from Sinister, we have another of those representations of a character from a particular juncture in his life. In this case the character is Kraven the Hunter, and the slice of time he's been plucked from is the final days of his life. Feeling the years catching up with him, he decided to make one, final effort to successfully hunt the only creature ever to thwart him: Spider-man. Curiously, he got Spider-man out of the way and essentially took over for him, becoming the essence of the spider as he saw it. Running around in a Spider-man costume, hunting down criminals and taking them down brutally, he found a measure of victory in this and decided to go out on a high note by blowing his brains out. This, then, is the highly economical Kraven the Spider.

Adopting the movement and general fighting methods of Spider-man as best he could by natural means, this is a close combat fighter. A seven-click dial, two clicks of 17 Defense over the course of his dial - the first of them with Combat Reflexes, so that the character he stands up to will have to roll against a 19 - an opening Attack Value of 10, two leading clicks and two closing of Leap/Climb to allow him to get where he needs to or to get away, with three mid-dial clicks of Stealth... it's a marvelous dial for a mere 39 points. Definitely a piece that can be fit on a team where his allies can help keep undue attention from coming his way.

Well, that was my recent splurge, and will likely be all for a while from me in this vein. Thirteen additions

Now to start thinking about what teams to put some of these on.

Tags: Heroclix LEs