Team Talk - Golden Age

Since talking with Alex Avila, I've grown to appreciate CW030 Wasp - a lot! She is a fantastic piece, hard to hit, and that Incapacitate special is great. So I decided that for my next tourney, I'm gonna run this team featuring not 1 but 2 Wasps!

CW030 Wasp 77
-Stunning Blow 10
-Armor Piercing 10
CW030 Wasp 77
-Stunning Blow 10
-Armor Piercing 10
FFCW Scarlet Witch 50
M10A Iron Man 125
BB Kid Zoom 87
-Full IG 40
-Alias 3
499

 
So we know that using Incapacitate from Wasp will be the first idea so we can use that special unavoidable damage. When doing so, we get to use the Stunning Blow feat which allows me to deal damage with my Incapacitate attack equal to my base damage. So now I'm dealing 3 damage, giving an action token, then giving 1 additional damage. Now we get to Armor Piercing which means her damage dealt is no less than 1. She has 2 Lightning Bolts meaning I can target 2 figures with an attack. So now I attack 2 targets and if I hit I deal a minimum of 1 damage to both, maybe 2 to 1 of them, give them a token, and then give them an extra damage. 2 damage to each target and an action token is devastating, especially when going after bigger point figures.

Scarlet Witch is a great support piece giving me PC and Perplex. Iron Man is there for penetrating damage, perplex, and taking low damage from a Gauntleted figure. Kid Zoom has the full gauntlet for being safe from outwit. Why? Because of his special power that says other figures can't use HSS. This stops the inevitable Sentry and Void from being too good, Nightcrawler won't be much of an issue, WL Flash won't give me issues, and Superman won't hinder my fun. Basically, all the stuff everyone hates will show up so I came prepared. Alias is on him so if my opponent gets in a place to hit him, he has Shape Change and Super Senses.

So that's basically it for the team. My strategy is hit hard but keep back, hopefully getting my opponent to come to me. If not, I can position in a way that I keep my Wasps and KZ safe. For map, I think taking something like the Mental Plane, Arkham Asylum, or Shadowlands will really help limit the range of my opponent since my range is low as well.

If you have any questions or comments, just ask. I hope you enjoyed this team talk, see you next time!

Battle Report!! - 9/18/12

This battle was from awhile ago but didn't get a chance to type it up or even video it. So here it is, hopefully the others will be videoed!! Dials for figures I have yet to introduce in this Blog at bottom...

400 points Modern Age

The idea for this match was to be able to shut down the other team so my friend and I tried out Con Exclusive Dr. fate with full Gauntlet and The Unspoken. So with this team, carry up Unspoken so there is no ranged attacks, no SPs, and no power actions by the opposing team. I decided to play my favorite pieces that seemed like a good team. SM Magog, CW Wasp, 2x CWFF Scarlet Witch for 399. I won map and took outdoor SHIELD Helicarrier for lack of hindering terrain for the Unspoken to hide in for Stealth.

Started off by passing and he carried up Unspoken a ways, hiding on elevated. Next few turns I pass to make him overextend to me so he spins the gauntlet instead. So I start to position forward once his Fate is pushed so I can rip into him and Unspoken. He clears Fate but moves up Unspoken within 3 of my Witches and Magog but not Wasp since she was too far away. I move all of them back including Wasp but I choose to Running Shot and Incap on Unspoken which hit for a second token and 1 penetrating damage. He blocks my LoF to Unspoken with Fate and clears Unspoken so I clear as well.  I perplex Fates damage to 0 and force Unspoken to charge on Magog.

The Unspoken needs a 7 to hit and after prob control, no luck with the heavy. Magog hits for 6 with exploit after the perplex, putting Unspoken in a bad spot on the dial. Fate retreats to spin the gauntlet and hides on elevated again. Unspoken pushes to attack and misses after some more PC shenanigans. I clear, and he clears. One Witch is able to TK Magog away from Unspoken and 6 away from Fate. Perplex the attack and movement of Magog and range attack Unspoken with Magog. I hit and KO so Magog gets a free action. I choose Charge and charge onto the elevated and attack Fate.  This knocks him to his last click so I TK with my other Witch and place Wasp in a position to Running Shot. I Running Shot in and need an 8, I hit after a use of PC to take him to KO.

So the Unspoken team didn't fair too well this time. My friend did play the team properly and I made mistakes to where Unspoken hindered me. Ultimately, it was dice rolls. Had Unspoken hit Magog with that heavy and I missed Impervious, I would've been on pulse wave and who knows where that would've gone since I had perplexes for damage if need be. The team will live another day but as you can see, I was able to exploit some weaknesses. Those are TKing something out of Unspoken's range to be able to Range attack or do power actions and giving tokens out to limit the actions they can take.

Hope you enjoyed this battle report, next one should be a doozy!

Team Talk - Modern Age

Well it's been 2 weeks so I had time to think of some more material. Let's get started!

Today I would like to talk about my two favorite Comic Characters - Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Nightwing (Dick Grayson). Since I was a kid I wanted to be a police officer and the Green Lanterns were like space police. After I learned that, I was hooked and I started to relate to Hal as a person through his ideals and how he wants to do the right thing for everyone, even at his own sacrifice. However, this police dream has gone to the wayside so I could chase a different dream - teaching kids sports and fitness. Nightwing was more of a recent development. He is also along the lines of police but instead of having a super power, he was a normal guy with martial arts skills and good connections. When I started reading, I was attracted to the darker aspect of his character, seemingly doing things because his parents died and he wants justice. Then I came across Superman/Batman comic where in issue 60-61 they fight Dr. Destiny and he has them in a dream state. They are in the city of Gothamopolis where they meet the Justice Titans. The leader of the group is none other than Hal Grayson going by the name of Nightlantern. I couldn't believe my two favorite characters were now combined as one!

So this leads me to 2 team builds I developed where Nightwing and Green Lantern meet together as 1 team and one where Nightwing is a Green Lantern.

With the D10AN Nightwing, he is a wildcard and gets any single keyword from a friendly character to make theme. He is my favorite Nightwing to date so I decided to combine him with my favorite Hal Jordan.

D10A Nightwing 93
AN Hal Jordan 169
-Justice League Silver Age ATA 4
Infinity Gauntlet w/ Soul, Time, Space Reality 30
297 - Green Lantern Corps or Justice League Theme

This team has great synergy. Gauntlet can go on either one though I prefer Nigthwing so he can heal on the short dial. Nightwing copies the ATA for a 12 attack and you basically just have a tie up and ranged shooter going around. There isn't much I can say on strategy because this team is adaptable to most situations. It's fun charging in and using quake on some Mystics when you have the Soul Gem active too. So that is the Hal Grayson Team!

No we have Dick as a Green Lantern and to make it feel more lantern like, he is wearing the full IG.

D10A Nightwing 93
-Full IG 40
GLGF Abin Sur 70
-Green Lantern Honor Guard ATA 5
GLGF Tomar Re 80
-Green Lantern Honor Guard ATA 5
293 - Green Lantern Corps Theme

You get +6 to the map roll because of Tomar Re's Trait, get two willpower figures, 10 range attack to help support Nightwing, barrier if need be with Nightwing removing tokens through his leadership to do it every turn, and Abin Sur can pass the power to really boost Nightwing. Nightwing copies the ATA and they all get a healthy attack boost from it.

Two teams built for fun that can actually be competitive too! I hope you enjoy these, let me know what you think of them.

I Have No Weaknesses - GG Thanos

This next installment involves Chase Thanos from Galactic Guardians. It seems that someone complains about his abilities and brokenness every other day. But as with every figure, all we need to do is look at the figure and pretend it doesn't have any special power.

--For the points, he is pretty manageable. His stats are on par on both 350 and 300 point level dials compared with similar costing figures. He has the usual powers like Impervious and Power Cosmic. Honestly, any decent team can beat him at a 300 point level. 400 and higher you need a few more tricks up your sleeve. You will almost never see him played at 300 so you need to prepare for the 350 version.
--Effective Figures: anything with a decent attack and damage value (11 and 3 or 4 respectively) that can deal penetrating damage and the usual support like prob control and perplex.

Now we stop pretending and look at the special powers. Here is the dial for reference since there is a lot to discuss.

Let's deal with "Toy With You" first: basically it's a free action to switch the value of your speed with your attack.

--This sucks and is impossible to stop barring using GG Adam Warlock or SI Yellowjacket. If you want to attack Thanos, he will most likely be able to toy with you because of open lines of fire
--Effective Figures: listed above - outwit the TA then the power.

Next is "Teleport My Greatest Enemies": power action to grab the 2 highest point figures on your team no matter where they are and place them adjacent to him. This is an issue because it splits up your force and you can guarantee Thanos packed a bunch of buddies to dish out damage when you get there.

First thing to realize is this isn't on the first click at the 300 point level so you don't need to worry about it there. At 350, he has it on first click but you don't need to worry because in 400 points, a 50 point fig isn't going to destroy you. If you play golden age and he is teamed with SI Spiderman and the Shield Disruptor object, he can hurt you but that's if the attack succeeds. More commonly, you'll see him in 500 points or more so we will focus on that.

I'd venture to say the most common buddies that Thanos brings in 500 are 2 IH Wolverines at 70 points each. 12 attack with flurry or exploit weakness at 3 damage a piece. Thanos can use perplex on one of the damages as well. Again this won't destroy you but it will hurt a good amount and will hurt your ability to take on Thanos. You get to the higher point games, you will see more Wolverines or higher damage dealers and possibly even some Psychic Blast or Pulse Wave. There isn't much you can do to stop those pieces so let's stop Thanos.

--The first is with theme team. How? By getting the added bonus to your map roll and picking the Incredible Hulk Shadowlands map, you are able to limit Thanos' range on this power. As it stands, he can do it from anywhere on the map. With Shadowlands, it is now only 6 squares or closer that he can do this. If you are lucky, you don't have to run theme and will still win the roll. The downside to this map is you are hindered to 6 range as well but if you build your team well, you can overcome this. If you don't have access to this map, pick a map that allows you to be able to get on top of elevated and shoot down onto Thanos, preferably the Chaos War Fast Forces Castle map because both starting areas are on elevated but not the highest level or some other map with elevated on both sides.

--Next thing is power action stoppers. CW The Unspoken and GSX Leech come to mind. Leech is great because he can hide in hindering for stealth cover or behind a wall and as long as you are 6 squares from anyone, no power actions for them. If you can carry leech in or TK and carry, you will shut down many figures in the game.

--Again, outwit can work if you use Adam Warlock or Yellowjacket but you're dedicating a minimum of 100 points.

--My favorite tactic but most risky is the blitz! I have done it successfully by getting a TKer 8 squares away and then next turn TK IH SR Black Bolt next to the next TKer and they TK BB in range of Thanos for a Pulse Wave that dealt 4 to everything on Thanos' team. But there are better strategies. Getting a figure up in his face or shooting at him quickly is key and you need to have good stats to guarantee that you hit. IG Runner is a great piece to help out. Depending on how Thanos is set up, you should be able to get an attack in with Runner even though he is a double based figure. Attach the Space gem and he has 17 movement HSS and a Special Power that allows him to use Exploit Weakness during HSS (you normally can't do this). He will have a 12 attack and 3 damage which puts Thanos off the teleport power! Now, Runner isn't the only piece that'll work but it was a good example. When you blitz, make sure Thanos takes exactly this many clicks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, or 11. If he clicks the dial that many times, he won't have the power so you are better off than you were.

--Another good thing to do is create a team that isn't dependent on your highest figures or in others words, a well rounded team. This limits the effectiveness of Thanos' ability. The only issue with this is if the opponent KOs both figs he teleport by his next turn. If that happens then he can teleport again! 

-- Punish figures for hitting or missing you. Mystics TA use will help a bunch. If the opponent is attacking Mystics, they will take damage as well and ultimately dish out less damage over time. Ant man and Wasp duo have a high defense, super senses, and will deal an unavoidable to any figure that misses an attack!

--If you perplex the defense of your high point figs before he teleports them, that could buy you another turn if his dice don't play nice. If your figure happens to have combat reflexes as well, that won't hurt you either if he plans on using Wolverines or other close combat attackers. Same works for energy shield deflection if against a ranged threat. You can't count on the build you are going against so just get used to perplexing instead.

--Lastly, don't do anything to both of your high point figs on the first turn if you go first. This negates first round immunity and Thanos can teleport you. You can to one or the other or neither but not both.

--Effective Figures: Shadowlands map, theme team, CW046 The Unspoken w/ taxi,  GSX026 Leech w/ taxi, GG032 Adam Warlock, SI006b Yellowjacket, IG005 Runner, mystics TA, CW053 Ant man and Wasp, perplex

The Stone Golem power is cool but it isn't game breaking. If you're really worried about it, keep tokens on Thanos with incapacitate. Otherwise, just ignore it. Chances are you'll hit him past it or if he is on the click, he would rather attack.

Drained the cube is a great power that can be annoying. It gives him Invulnerability and can only be attacked by an adjacent figure. Make sure you have some Charge or HSS ready if he winds up on these clicks.

So there we have it, Chase Thanos is all his glory. You can see now how he was able to lose in the comics can't you?! He is tough to beat for sure, don't get me wrong, but he is manageable if you play smart and don't stress. Keep calm and clix on!

Interview with the Champ!

Today we have an interview with the current Heroclix World Champion, Alex Avila! I was excited to hear the World Champ said yes to the interview but I soon realized that this "celebrity" is just another cool, laid back guy who loves to play the same game we do! Let's get started:

Jordan Beers: How did you get your start in Heroclix?
Alex Avila: I got my start in Heroclix from my brother.  It's funny, I actually played the Mechwarrior Clix game before he picked up any Heroclix, but I didn't really have anyone to play with.  My brother got me hooked around the time Arkham Asylum came out.  My first really good team was 209pt Magog, Ghost Widow and 37pt Question.  300 pts, and a lot of fun.  My brother doesn't play anymore, he got back into Magic, but he taught me a lot of strategy and kept me in Clix when I was broke.

JB: I really like that Magog and he is one of my favorite pieces. Are those old pieces some of your favorites since you started out with them or do you have a different favorite piece?

AA: My favorites range from old to new.  Gamora is my number one attacker.  Supernova Thanos will always be a great piece for me because of comic accuracy and the way his dial has weathered the ages.  83 pt Captain America is the best representation of the character I've seen.  Lamp Post Bats is my favorite Batman because I think he is the most cost accurate.  And of course I love the experienced Star Spangled Kid and the Vet Stargirl.  I could take up your whole article listing Clix.

JB: Ha ha, I could do the same thing! Lot's of favorites and all for different reasons. So, why did you decide to join up in the competitive circuit of Worlds?

AA: I play at a local venue every Thursday out in Gainesville called Comics and Gaming.  It is a great group of guys, and I learned countless tricks playing against them.  Almost every other night of the week, there is a tourney somewhere within driving distance for me.  The options are wonderful, but not everyone is going to tourneys for competition.  The great thing about Nationals, Worlds, Clixathon, and the other big tournaments is the opportunity to lay down the gauntlet; no pun intended.  I love teaching new players and learning with my venue mates, but sometimes I want to play to win.  

JB: Seems very reasonable and a good lesson as well. Playing to win isn't everything, have fun with it too! What made you decide to go with your Avengers Team?
AA: My main sentiment for choosing MAAP (My Alternate Avengers Prime) was the all female motif.  The synergy the team provides is something my brother taught me.  He would play Jakeem Thunder on his JSA teams a lot.  19s all around and prob control means a frustrating game for any opponent. A big part of competitive play for me is the psychological game.  I figured Wasp would be the last person on my team that an opponent would want to get rid of.  The idea of a main attacker being the least likely target really appealed to me.  Once the team was made, my pro team spent entire nights trying to figure out its weaknesses.  It was only beaten twice in playtesting.  And so the team was born.

JB: I enjoyed the all female motif and it truly is a very synergistic team. I can see Wasp as a last priority but the Mystics TA would seem to dictate that Wasp should be the primary target to at least get points. Was this not the case in your games? Also, inquiring minds want to know, what were the teams that beat you in play testing? If I had to venture a guess it would involve Pulse Wave to help with Mystics and negate Morgan's pesky Astral Form Fade as well as some perplex and probability control to help dish damage.
AA: It was the case in a couple of the games.  But for most opponents, I think taking out SW was worth the Mystics in their mind.  In my first game against Rob, he ignored my Wasp as much as he could.  In the second game against him, he one shotted Wasp instead of the Witch, making the game much more difficult for me. Funny enough, the two teams that beat me were out of left field.  The first was 172 Magog, Astral Strange with one gem Gauntlet, Astral Strange, and Xavin.  The other was Movie Avengers Destroyer with the Full Gauntlet.  Both games involved some close rolls, but I was beaten fair and square.  Since world's the team has been beaten by a Supergirl/Beast Boy team and Larfleeze w/Full Gauntlet.

JB: Those are Left Field! I would've used Magog if I had went but that's because I love the character so much! Speaking of characters we love, why did you pick Stargirl for your Championship Creation?
AA: Stargirl is my favorite superhero.  She is topped in favorite comic book characters only by Thanos and the Joker.  My brother got me to read his entire run of JSA, and I was hooked.  I started to talk to him about Stargirl, and he hands me both volumes of stars and stripe to read.  I was hooked on Stargirl.  She evolved in front of my eyes from a bratty teen into a hero.  Her story is a strong inspiration to me, and Geoff Johns is a wonderful author.

JB: Moving on into the championship round now, what were your feelings about playing against the former World Champ?
AA: I had played Massu once before in a 2011 Nationals grinder.  He is an expert strategist and a stand up guy to boot.  Half of me was afraid, but the other half was having too good of a time to care. 

JB: How do you feel the match went down now that it's over?
AA: The game was a dance of positioning.  It was a carefully played and well thought out battle except for my oversights.

JB: In the video it looks as if you didn't declare Running Shot with the Gauntlet (even though you used it) to finish off the game. Was that just some weird thing where we couldn't hear it or did you forget/was it nerves? If you did forget, then why did George or a Judge not stop it? Not accusing you of cheating by the way it is just out of curiosity.
AA: It was a mistake on my part.  Massu didn't want to call it, or didn't notice, and Wizkids practices passive judging.  Call it what you will, but I had just played 9 games against fierce opponents.  Players are human at every level of play.

JB: Very true - we all make mistakes and it's understandable! Thanks for being so honest with the answer. So then, will you try to defend your title next year?

AA: I'm planning to be there next year, and I'm excited to see what will be viable by then.  The game changes every year, and I don't think 2013 will be the exception to that.  Who knows, maybe I'll rep all ladies next year too.

JB: That would be excellent! Maybe you'll include Stargirl? By the way, what plans do you have for your Stargirl?

AA: Unfortunately I cannot speak on the click I am making at all.  Just know that I am putting a lot of thought and love into the process.

JB: I figured that'd be the case. Well thank you very much Alex for doing this interview with me. I'm sure the readers will enjoy hearing what you have to say about your trip to stardom!

In case you didn't see it, here is the 2012 Heroclix World Championship Finals!

 

I Have No Weaknesses - White Lanterns

A buddy of mine (specifically the one that Introduced me to Heroclix) said my next installment should be White Lanterns. Why these you might ask? Lets say since I got mine and have used them (theme team or not) he hasn't beaten them. So I now have to show the weaknesses of a team that really is just as vulnerable as any other figure but has a greater intimidation factor!

The first thing everyone thinks of is the Live! clicks. That in itself intimidates the opponent and is something that must be dealt with properly.

--First thing that comes to mind is Pulse Wave. But that's hardly a surprise so other tactics available are Flurry, Knockback Damage, Poison, Multiple Attacks, and Special Powers. Flurry is simple. 1st attack knocks them onto the Live! click and the second KOs them. Knockback is simple too but harder to actually do. Deal damage with doubles to the Live! click and then the knockback is into a wall so it hits them to KO.  Poison can also do well against WLs that don't have a damage reducer. Poison them onto Live! then attack for a KO. Multiple attacks seems like an obvious choice if you can. Attack to Live! then attack with someone else for the KO. This isn't always available so planning to this may take time. Special powers can do some cool things. Take 77 point Wasp from Chaos War. Use her Incapacitate to give a 2nd action token to a White Lantern, pushing them onto Live! She deals 1 damage to them after the push so you now have a KO. Or SR Thanos from Galactic Guardians will work too. They may stop on the Live! click but they won't do anything since they can't heal with Regeneration!
--Effective Figures: Anything with flurry, a mid-point cost tie up piece with poison, or Special power figures like CW030 Wasp or GG045 Thanos.

Their special healing clicks are the next thing everyone worries about. Flash healing on a Shape Change success, Superman healing on successful Impervious, etc. This can be troublesome so here we go!

--Outwit would work nicely. If they are run as a theme team, most likely they won't be using the Gauntlet and only Sinestro is immune to outwit so this would be a good place to start. Powers that ignore their use is beneficial too. Web of Spiderman Bullseye will ignore Flash's Shape Change as well as Super Senses on both Flash and Animal Man, Pulse Wave again ignores them,  Brave and the Bold Kid Zoom stops the HSS WLs, Battle Fury means Ice can't Incapacitate you, Justice League 52 John Constantine stops Donna from using PC, Chaos War Unspoken stops all the power actions and gives them all Battle Fury, and Captain America Dirk Anger stops Hal's Leadership and Sinestro's Quintessence. These are very limiting powers and figures to use against WLs but they are also effective against most other teams too.
--Effective Figures: Any piece with outwit, any piece with Battle Fury, WS042 Bullseye, BB043 Kid Zoom, JL52019 John Constantine, CW046 The Unspoken, CA047 Dirk Anger.

White Lantern ATA is really good on crucial turns where you need to survive. There isn't a great way around it but it is the same as dealing with any other modifier.

--Outsiders TA will cut down on it's use, Perplexing your attack will do nicely, and Ultimate X-Men TA will help you all the time against WLs.
--Effective Figures: there are a bunch of choices, especially for perplex, so I leave this decision to you.

Lastly, we have what I think is the biggest intimidation factor - Deadman. The Brightest Day set gave us the only non-Unique WL in the form of Deadman and boy should they have made him a Unique! His special power after taking a push damage is called Summon the White. It reads: Give Deadman a power action. Any number of friendly characters with the Brightest Day and/or White Lantern Corps keywords can be placed adjacent to him, up to the number of adjacent unoccupied squares. Those characters can't be given actions until your next turn. So the problem here is that after I have run out all my WLs (except Deadman) and attacked you a bunch of times and dealing out some good damage in the process with any luck, I can just say, "Eh, I don't like that all my team is pushed and you can retaliate against me next turn. Summon the White! Wow, it looks like you can't attack me next turn, weird!" What's even worse though? If there are 2 Deadmen on the team and they are spread out, the moment you swarm 1 Deadman and WLs, they get Summoned away to the other one. How do we stop this nonsense!?

--Sadly, not with ease. Unspoken takes away the power action if you can get close. If there are 2 Deadmen, your not gonna be able to stop both. You may think the Incredible Hulk Shadowlands map will help. Well it would if Deadman targeted his buddies but he doesn't so back to square one. The only way to reliably stop these shenanigans is to destroy Deadman. You'll take Mystics feedback but if you follow the steps to get past Live! you should be fine.
--Effective Figures: CW046 The Unspoken or multiple attackers that can get down map quick!

So as you can see the White Lanterns are tough to take on and beat - but they are beatable. Any normal tactic you'd use to get past damage reducers or past other powers will serve you well. So, go forth and dominate - if you can! ;-)

World Championship 2012

Here is the video of the Heroclix World Championship 2012. It was between Alex Avila and 2010 Champion George Massu. It was a good battle but ultimately it was decided by positioning, dice rolls, and the Infinity Gauntlet - featured on both teams by the way. Hopefully I will get a small interview with the champion up here in the next few days! Until then, enjoy the vid.

I Have No Weaknesses - Infinity Gauntlet

This is the start of a series I am calling: "I have no weaknesses!" It is attempt to see what pieces are popular or give people a hassle and figure out how to exploit their weaknesses. Every piece is vulnerable to pulse wave. Pulse wave ignores all powers being used by the target figure (with the exception of a few special powers) so damage will be dealt and the figure will be less of a threat. Instead of always saying Pulse Wave, we are going to exploit all the other weaknesses a given figure has.

You may be wondering why I won't use outwit as an option in many cases or even why I opt for Exploit Weakness over outwit. The reason being is with the prevalence of quintessence and power cosmic team abilities and the infinity gauntlet resource, outwit is not effective against these pieces. EW still deals the damage through their reducers without the need to outwit anything.

So the first piece that comes to mind in recent events is how to exploit the weaknesses of a figure using the Infinity Gauntlet. This can be tough, especially when the figure is able to spin the dial quickly and get to the +1 and +2 to all stats quickly. Here is how we can exploit the weaknesses of a gauntlet user.

The key to spinning the gauntlet is to take a non-free action every turn. This isn't possible most of the time due to having to clear action tokens every three turns.

--To help slow this down, use Incapacitate. Adding action tokens to the figure means they won't be able to take an action 2/3 turns. 
--Effective Figures: CW030 Wasp, SM010 Supergirl, CW101 Mr. Fantastic while teamed up with other Fantastic Four, AVS005 Sharpshooting Avenger, GSX027 Siryn, FFWOL005 Indigo-1 

Another way people Spin the gauntlet is by having the Masters of Evil team ability which allows them to take an action even when they have 2 tokens already. The catch is they take an unavoidable damage for doing it. However, this is alleviated by having the soul gem active on the gauntlet or choosing regeneration when they hit 2 or 3 on the gauntlet. (Colossal Stamina ability is another way of doing it)

--This can be fought in a couple ways but it is quite difficult. You can outwit the team ability if you have a figure that can do it. In modern age, we have GG032 Adam Warlock. In golden age, there is a feat that can do it and SI006b Yellowjacket. However, if they have the full gauntlet, this is not a viable strategy. Enter GG045 Thanos. They will be able to spin the gauntlet every turn but they won't be able to heal once they are up there on the gauntlet. Lastly, the only way to combat this is to swarm in and hit hard and fast. If you get lucky, you'll get the KO fast. If not, they will heal up quick using the soul gem if they have a chance. This is sadly the only reliable way to fight a figure using Colossal Stamina. 
--Effective figures: GG032 Adam Warlock, SI006b Yellowjacket, GG045 Thanos 

If they are able to get the gauntlet moving quickly and get the boost to their stats, it can be tough to compensate for the swing in advantage.

--Outsiders team ability allows you to target a figure and their combat values can't be modified (positively or negatively) until the beginning of your next turn. That means no gauntlet boost, no energy shield deflection, no combat reflexes, no perplex, no hindering terrain bonus, no duo attack decrease, no multi attack decrease, and no move and attack decrease (using the actual move and attack power). This will shut down those boosts and make it a fair fight for you. 
--Effective Figures: AN014 Beast Boy (only current modern age outsider), CR029 Nightwing, CR036 Chief, GI004 Rita Farr (giant so she can see over a figure trying to block line of fire to gauntlet wielder) 

Some teams focus on staying in the starting area and turtling or building a barrier to keep safe while spinning the gauntlet. This is called turtle and turn. There are two options for stopping this.

--The first is using the IH101s Gamma Bomb special object. Set it up 8 squares from their starting area and it will deal 3 damage to everything in an 8 square radius. This will take out the support figures or do enough damage so you can get to the gauntlet figure. The other is IHGF208 General Thunderbolt Ross. He can set up an airstrike on any square, no line of fire needed, and deal 3 damage to the square and 2 to all adjacent squares. This again gives the ability to take out support and damage the gauntlet figure. 

Lastly, there are just figures that say no to the gauntlet. These are the figures that it doesn't matter what the gauntlet figure does, you will still survive.

--Effective Figures: M10A009 Iron Man (ignores all damage dealt by a figure using the gauntlet), CA049 Maelstrom (gets stronger the more he is damaged. Not a solid counter but works), SM006 All-Star Bizarro (see Maelstrom), SM032 Project Superman (see Maelstrom), D10A015 Catwoman (within 6 squares of her, no relic or resource effect may be used)

That's about all I can think of for now. If you think of another way to stop or hinder the gauntlet user, post a comment. Also, if there is a strategy, team, or figure that you think should be featured, comment below!

Thanks for reading, see you soon!

What's in a name?

The namesake of this blog originates from one of my favorite powers to use - exploit weakness (or EW). It's not enough for me to just get my close combat piece in there as tie up. I need it to dish out some pain and be a threat all on it's own. Pieces like Wolverine, the 2nd version of KC Magog, and Iron Fist come to mind but even the greats like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Hulk, and Sentry have a version where this power is utilized. But why is this power so good? Because it can be used in a variety of ways and your opponent will be unable to reduce the damage you are dealing. Here are a few ways to use this wonderful power.

By itself: When you are adjacent to an opposing figure with some sort of damage reducer, all it takes is a close combat action and viola, you're full damage is dealt. If they have shape change or super senses, they may be able to avoid the attack altogether but people pay points just to have damage reducers and it won't save them this time!

With Charge: With the exception of The Runner LE, the only power that you can move and then attack with and still use Exploit Weakness is with Charge. This is invaluable to get you're piece into battle and deal damage at the same time. Charge let's you move at half you're speed value and then dish out a close combat action. There is nothing better than hiding behind a rock, building, or pillar and then all of a sudden running in and smashing some to bits.

With an object: Objects can modify your damage by +1, +2, or +3. Say your figure with 3 damage and Exploit Weakness is ready to charge in on an unsuspecting victim. Along the path is an object. How great would it be to hit that figure for 4, 5, or 6 damage instead? Well, you can if you have Super Strength. Having the option to deal even more damage is an opportunity you should only pass up if you can KO the figure with your base damage. You may need to save that object for later.

With Blades/Claws/Fangs: This power lets you roll 1D6 after you successfully hit an attack. Whatever number you roll is the amount of damage you deal. When you have a low damage value, this is a great way to bump up the damage. If you have a 1 as your damage value, b/c/f will almost always net you an increase in damage. When you have a 2, you can almost guarantee a 2 or better so roll that D6. When you have a 3, it is still in your favor to roll since you have a 67% chance of rolling a 3 or better. When the value is higher than that, use at your own risk. But, don't discount your smaller point pieces just because they have a low damage value. 100 point Fandral from the Hammer of Thor Fast Forces set is a good example. Say he runs in next to a target he wants to hit next turn. He has EW for 3 damage he can use next turn. Well, this piece he just ran next to doesn't want to be hit for 3 damage by EW so he smacks Fandral for 4 damage, reduced to 3 by Toughness. Fandral laughs and decides to attack with EW and b/c/f. That base 1 damage looks horrible but with b/c/f it could be a 6 if you get lucky!

With Steal Energy: Whenever you damage a figure with a close combat attack, you get to heal 1 click. So why not guarantee that damage with EW. Attack and heal up any damage you may have taken so far! This is also good against attacking a figure with the Mystics Team Ability. When you damage one of those, you take 1 click of damage immediately. However, you have steal energy so guess what? You take 1 click from Mystics then you heal it right back with steal energy!

That about covers the different ways you can use Exploit Weakness. As you can see, there are many effective ways to use it so now you just need to figure out of it's something you wanna try out. There are many pieces in Heroclix with EW, 485 to be exact (from the publishing of this post). My favorites have varying uses.

SM035 Magog: Can charge, super strength, and exploit weakness for a base 4 damage or all the way up to 7 with an object. On top of that, when he KOs a figure, he can do it one more time! So if you're lucky, you can dish out up to 14 damage in a turn with 1 figure! 

Then there are the smaller pieces like IH035 Wolverine who can move 2 squares and use EW and has a nice 11 attack (12 if you have 3 different team abilities on your team) or SI004 Iron Fist that also has an 11 attack and 3 damage EW.

Finally there is the middle of the road piece, like AN051 Wonder Woman at 100 points. She can charge, super strength, exploit for base 3 damage or up to 6 with an object.

Finding the right piece for the points can be tough but when it comes to using EW, you can't go wrong no matter how many points you spend.

Gotta start somewhere

I've been contemplating doing a Heroclix blog for awhile but never got around to it. Well here it is!

About me and Heroclix: I've been playing for two years now and have been obsessed since day 1. I was introduced to it by a friend and he taught me some stuff in the beginning. The student quickly became the master and the roles reversed. I started to visit the tournament scene and continue to appear at a tournament here and there. But three things I love about Heroclix are 1) I get to play my favorite comic book characters in a game, 2) I get to create teams using any piece I own and not have to worry about if it is comic accurate and 3) I can play this game with friends and have a good time.

Goals for this blog: I have a ton of ideas and they may all manifest themselves at one point or another. However, I want to provide resources/links to resources for playing, do battle reports, share teams, and talk tactics. I also want you to be able to comment on anything and everything I post to start diologue and talk about this great game. There is a popular site out there for Heroclix (www.hcrealms.com) that I am a part of (pupulesurfer) but I want this to be something of a supplemental podcast without the need for a mic, editing software, and time. All I need are my thoughts, quick fingers, and a backspace. So this is the beginning. I hope you visit again and often.

If you have anything you wanna say, don't hesitate to speak your mind!