Clix Conundrum

I was at my local comic store today, watching the other Heroclix regulars open up their cases (as I can't bring myself to plunk down that kind of cash, I'll wait and try to get some things in sealed events I want, and either trade for the rest or buy other players' extras), and so I got to see how their playing this Skrull/normal version.

There are two different bases. They each show two team abilities (Avengers/Skrull for a Ms. Marvel, for example), and different powers and stats. The only way to tell which one you have is to check the last click before the green line. If there's a small Skrull symbol there, it's the Skrull, and you can only use Skrull team ability. If there isn't, it's the "real" one, and you have to use their other team ability. I'm not real happy that the figures look identical, regardless of which version, since I would have preferred a Ms. Marvel without a Skrull chin. Maybe I can glue the Critical Mass Warbird on there in its place.

Based on what I saw, I don't you'll get the Adam Warlock you wanted. His only attack power is Steal Energy, and he has zero move/attack powers.

You know the Hank Pym I'd like to see? The Dr. Pym from Engelhart's West Coast Avengers. Where he didn't change size, he just carried a variety of tools in his red flight suit he could enlarge and use. With special powers that allow for the possibility of a character having many different powers, they could really represent a scientist that had a tool for almost every occasion.
 

That's one of the problems of just going off on a rant and then leaving it while information's still coming in. As we've since seen, the Skrull variants appear to be in equal proportion to their non-Skrull versions. Who made the decision to give them all (except for Dum Dum Dugan) Skrull appearances is a moron, though. It makes no sense for them to look like Skrulls, since the Skrulls are attempting to pass as those people, and there's no reason for humans to look like that. Regardless, Skrull or Human they share the same base and sculpt, varying only on their dials. On the plus side, each of the Skrull versions has the "Spy" keyword and is wilier and generally more aggressive than the character it's impersonating, so I could see running them not as Skrulls but as the real deal under tougher circumstances. The Skrull TA is really, at it's core, just another game mechanic.

Unfortunately, we've also seen that Skrull versions of Spider-Woman and Sue Richards are in as pieces 100 & 99, respectively, and are chase pieces I hate chase pieces. They're tiny, plastic, concentrated packets of ill will.

The Adam Warlock in this set is a bit of a surprise, I'll admit. I didn't expect Mind Control to feature so prominently (if at all.) In general we seem to be getting Seth's interpretation of Warlock as a calculating leader. Leadership, Perplex and Support on his first four clicks is solid, though, and it's all the better since he can choose to use that Perplex as a +2/-2 on any stat except Damage; now that Perplex persists until the start of that player's next turn this becomes especially potent. At 160 points he's just past half of a 300 pt team, though, and with what we have so far under Infinity Watch he and Gamora can't fit a third character into that point build.

That Hank Pym would be interesting, though I don't know how well he'd suit many tastes. It's a bit like Felix the cat and his magic bag. Being able to pull almost anything out of a pocket and enlarge it for use becomes a lazy device for a writer and could be difficult to translate as a power without it devolving into lengthy text. Consider that he might produce anything from medical supplies to a quinjet to some sort of ionic cannon.

I'm not entirely displeased with the dial we've gotten for 100 points. A click of Leadership, three of Perplex, and three of Outwit allows him to be a Brilliant Tactician for and Avengers, Scientist or West Coast Avengers team. We're at least seeing more signs of intellect here than we were previously seeing -- his zombie version was, unfortunately, the cleverest we'd seen before this aside from the Ant Man versions in Supernova.

He leads with a click of Incapacitate, then gets four of Super Strength as he has the option to become a Giant and can also Charge. I'd have preferred him set up to also have the option to effectively become tiny, though the final two clicks of Super Senses and Leap/Climb might be seen as a loose approximation of that, though the 15 Defenses there at the end aren't so hot. Getting the Dremel out to reshape his chin and some Caucasian flesh tones to mod him into a human form is definitely in the cards. If I had a second Giant Man sculpt from Avengers I'd be tempted to transplant it to an extra one of these (and as he's a Common, I'm expecting to have a couple), too, even though the Incap and 8 range wouldn't be quite right there.

My order's supposedly out on a truck right now, to be delivered sometime today, so I expect to be digging in sometime this evening.

Wish me luck.
 

I think the key with the Pym I was thinking of would be to use the special powers to let him choose between multiple powers (say, he could use Incap, or Psychic Blast, or Energy Explosion, but just one at a time, since he'd have to pull a different tool out, and concentrate on enlarging it). That would give the option of using him as more of an attacker, or maybe a support piece, depending on your needs. But there's definitely a potential for abuse.

Yellowjacket isn't my favorite Hank Pym iteration, but they did create a pretty solid piece, that's for sure. I like that 3 damage the length of the dial.

I should have also mentioned I'm really happy to see a new Hercules, one that looks pretty seriously powerful. I'm unclear about something, though. Can you use Flurry, where the first attack is with an object? I know Herc gets that power where he can carry two, but only use one at a time, but could he (if he only had one object) use that, then launch a second close combat attack?

Either way, he's going on my Champions team when I get ahold of him.
 

All understood on the Pym front. Yeah, I could definitely see the PAC options under a SP. It's really something he's due. All it took were some later writers coming along for whom the alpha and omega of Hank was that mental breakdown that resulted in him hitting Jan, and thereafter he was "wifebeater." Completely unfair, and one of the things Kurt Busiek labored to overcome during his time on AVENGERS (including some elements of AVENGERS FOREVER), but apparently it's for naught given what passes for editorial muster at Marvel.

As for Herc, to the best of my knowledge those are compatible. So, if he has a couple objects and the opportunity presents itself, he should be able to Charge and Flurry using one object in each of the attacks. Ladies and gentlemen, the Prince of Power has arrived! If one can work up a TK assist for him that could represent a devastating gun.

If he's spotted on the field I'll be interested to see how often opponents will decide to use an attack or two just destroying objects pre-emptively. I suppose much the same goes for Namor and the Thing, among others.

In terms of game mechanics and the recent rules changes, I'm going to be very interested to see how close combat pieces fare now.