500 points of shut down

Today I want to share with you a 500 point team that may just be too much cheese to even be fair. You can play it sort of like a tent pole team and just frustrated the beejeezus out of your opponent. Will you win? Maybe. It all depends on how you play it out. Do it right and you'll stop your opponent cold while you shoot him to pieces.

The players:

Maelstrom, Starboy, Harry Leland, Leech, Dirk Anger, and Cypher.

If not already obvious, the point of this team is to shut down your opponents movement ability, hinder power use, force them to deal with lesser figures in order to free up that movement and shoot the snot out of them while they try. As you will be able to see from the pictures, the right locations on the map will cut movement in half twice and then give it a -2 to boot. That's while shutting down three move and attack powers. It comes to exactly 500 points too.

Cypher is a great back up piece to this and should stay back so everyone gets as much use of a good team ability as possible. Just think if the opponent is using mystics... so are you. Also having Dirk shut down their team abilities so you are the only one using them is priceless. And so what if some of your own powers are shut down with Leech. He's temporary at best. Use him to force your opponents hand.

The only thing that can help your opponent against this team is range, and that can run out quickly. Check out the pictures.

In this first one you can see how I have Starboy carry Leech out and get him into hindering.(click on pics for larger view) I don't have any objects but you will want to position one so Dirk walks into stealth. You should keep Maelstrom so he's just out of range of Leech's ability but within the 8 spaces for his own. That way he can still incap at 10 spaces. But then, incap doesn't require a power action so go to town. Perplex and outwit can also still be used with Leech. The most important things shut down by Leech are Close and Ranged combat experts. He also stops regeneration, support, duo attack, and telekinesis. It's okay, you won't need them near as much as your opponent will. Leech dies first.

In the second pic you can see how figure start maneuvering to get that coverage of spaces for their abilities. On this map you might think of going through the back office but that would be a mistake. Since all the abilities work through walls, they'll just move in and lock you down. You might also think that Maelstrom doesn't deal enough damage to be the near tentpole of this group. But add perplex and all that incapacitate and you have 3 or 4 damage from at least two sources and the shutdown stops the rest. Even outwit won't help the opponent because you can't outwit traits.

That twin field of cross coverage is a great place to position Maelstrom, forcing attackers to deal with them or come between them to get the big guy.

I haven't had the opportunity to play this and see what the dice say yet, but I intend to! If you play it, post how it went!

Playing Black Adam

While I was excited to get a common Superman, I was more excited to get my hands on Black Adam. I've missed out on the last time he was made a single super rare. I have the duo with Shazam, but it's just not the same. So, without further ado, let me present to you, my take on playing the multi-level Black Adam from the Superman set.

As general advice, any major pointed piece shouldn't come to more than half your force. So my point scales are going to reflect that strategy for the most part. Of course, I'm also going by keywords.

The first and most obvious team up is Osiris and Isis. I'm not talking about the Brightest Day version for sake of points. Based on what point level you play Black Adam at (100/200/300) you play this team at 300/400/500. They are theme legal under Mystical at 300 points, but not after that. But who cares? Black Adam can handle his own. At 500 points, you can use the other two like you would a minion force. Let them get in the way of everyone going after Black Adam (because you know they will). And, in any force, don't be afraid to push BA while people gang up on him. I've found his lightning regeneration to be fairly lethal.

Goint mystical at 600 so you can use BA at 300? Add Black Alice to the team above. The total force is 589. Have fun.

Seldom was Black Adam a good guy. When he was, he teamed up in the Justice Society.

300 point team with BA at 100 points: Magog (85), Starman (99) for total points of 284. You can raise BA to 200 points for the next tier.

For a 600 raise BA to 300 and add the Atom (50) and Mr. Terrific (59) for a team build of 593. Not bad as teams go. Pretty much any team that can keep people from dog-piling BA is good. He'll make up for about anything the rest can't do.

Injustice Society:

Play at 300 and BA at 100 with Count Vertigo (74), Johnny Sorrow (55) and the Thinker (55) for total of 284 (yep again!). Same as above for moving up to the 400 level, just raise BA to 200.

For a 600 try BA at 300 with Count Vertigo (74), Per Degaton (90), Icicle (72) and Johnny Sorrow (55) for a team of 591.

Rulers are blasted expensive and your best bet is to aim for your best duo and add someone cheap to fill in if possible. 99 point Maxwell Lord is a good filler to stick with an evil theme. For these teams I suggest.

Playing Black Adam at 200 with Mongul for 376.
200 or 300 points to team up with Darkseid for a 467 or 567 point team.

Then there's the duo matches I suggest purely for kicks that I think would really annoy your opponent. Magneto is a ruler so he's good. Since you aren't going to get themed advantage anyway, try teaming him up with Maelstrom. Maelstrom's lockdown abilities and cosmic make him horrifying enough. I know, I've played him.

Sooner or later, they'll make an equivalent SHAZAM! Captain Marvel and you can finally play the whole SHAZAM family! I think that would be a radical team of teams!

Playing Superman!

Now that we have this awesome 300/150 point Superman to punish people with, let's look at great ways to play him.

Playing the 300 point level is pretty obvious for high point games. To fit better in standard 300 and 400 point games, you're better off with the 150 point version.

In looking at keywords, I found that playing Kryptonian is expensive on points. You can play a classic duo for 250 with 150 pt Supes plus 100 pt Supergirl. You can make this duo work at 400 even by using Supes at 300 and Supergirl at 100. Kind of lopsided on that last idea though.

400 pt Kryptonian Trio: Superman (150), Supergirl (100) and a Kryptonian soldier to make a total of 387.

500 pt Kyrptonians: Superman (150), Supergirl (100), Earth One Supes (chase), and Eradicator for 492.

Here's a idea I call "Faces of Superman": Superman (150), Earth One, and Project Superman for 397.

Metropolis is much easier to work with:

300 pt "Men of Steel" is a duo with Superman (150) and Steel for a total of 280.

400 pt "Love Story: is a duo with Superman (300) and Lois Lane for 389. Hey, he needs to be full power to protect his lady right?

Metropolis has quite a few small point pieces you can fill in with for other teams, but I'm working mainly with the direct set and staying with Hero vs Villain. Both of these duos for Metropolis can carry their own. But how about this:

500 pt "Super Ladies' Man": Superman (150), Supergirl (100), Lois Lane, Lucy Lane (75) and a Kryptonian Infiltrator for a total of 492.

Now we can mix sets and that's where playing Superman can get deadly.

400 pt "Reporting LIVE!" uses Reporter keyword and give you Superman (150), Lois Lane, Black Spidey from Web of Spiderman, and Johnny Quick for 384 points. Yes, I know this doesn't make "theme legal" because it's not six figures with the reporter keyword. Well, check out the team possibilities for yourself. This becomes one more example of why the new ruling doesn't work.

Now for the best of the best. A Facebook friend showed me this idea and I love it. It's definitely cheese. There are quite a few ways to pull this off, but what you need at the midst of it is Superman and Professor X. Make sure the Prof. has a coupld of Researchers with him to boost his damage and get in the way of attacks (that make it that far!). Yep, it's the Scientist keyword and since the new Superman has it, flaunt it! Here's my 500 point version of this masterpiece:

Superman (150), Prof. X, 2 Researchers, Mr. Fantastic, and the Black suit Spiderman from Web. It's six pieces and theme legal at 498. I plan to play it soon!

Here's to hoping you're enjoying your Superman! Keep clicking!

Heroclix tips for beginners

In this little article I am going to share some general tips in learning to play Heroclix for the beginner. Maybe you've been a collector and feel the need to finally play or maybe you just got your first starter? Either way, these are the things you should start with to get you into the game.

1: Learn what the numbers mean on the dial and how they work. This is a technique used at the conventions to demonstrate Heroclix. You ignore all the powers and just use the numbers and dice. Get a couple of figures on the map and roll dice for combat against each other until one of the figures is KO'd. Mess around with this until you feel comfortable with how the numbers work. Don't forget range and the number of targets you can have in this. It's useful to practice with. This gets you hands on practice and will be the kindling to start your blazing Heroclix skills.

2: Read the PAC and keep it near at all games. If you don't have a Powers and Abilities Card, find a way to get one. Be sure you've read it over before trying to mess with any powers. The best way to learn how powers work, of course, is just to dive in and play. However, in my experience, you pick it up faster if you've read the card. Don't forget team abilities either.

3: The next thing to learn past the dial is the map. You should learn what all the terrain features mean so you don't find yourself lost on the maps your opponent will choose.

4: Start with small point games. Build small teams and base them on the powers you want to practice. Remember good teams will have several powers working in tangent. Just think about your favorite comic book teams and what each member brings. Some great teams available out there are the Secret Warriors (Captain America) and the Warriors Three (Hammer of Thor). If you don't have those, it's okay, there are plenty of combinations that you can use.

5: Don't worry about keywords until you've played a few games. You can pick up on themes later. It's all up to your comfort zone on what you've learned though.

So, what should you put in a team that gives you a chance on the map? Well, here's what each team should have for good chances in play.

Move and attack: Figures that can move and attack in one action. These are thanks to the powers of Charge, Running shot, and Hypersonic Speed. Since Hypersonic is usually expensive (unless you play Rocket Racer from Web of Spiderman) you should get a charger or runner. Running shot is one of my personal favorites but a flyer with charge is also quite useful. More often than not, you can fit two moving attackers into a team. It's a good idea. The fall back is to use telekinesis.

Support powers: A cheap healer to run back to is very useful but you should also make sure you have something of these three; Outwit, Perplex, and Probability Control. You may have a hard time fitting all three on a team, but you should at least have one. Remember that they are there and use them. Forgetting to outwit someones Blades/Claws/Fangs or to perplex damage or defense can cost the game quickly.

Damage dealers: These can often be found with your moving attackers. Psychic Blast and Exploit Weakness are the best, but Pulse Wave is nice too. If you can't deal damage, you won't win, ever. The fastest way around pesky defense powers are these. Super senses can still be a pain but then you need to use it too.

Defense: 17+ are good on defense but make sure you pick powers that either reduce damage or make it harder to hit you. Super senses is a great power because it gives you a saving chance. Same for shape change. Those can save you from any damage or attack (almost).

A couple more pointers for the beginner:

1: A one man army can and will get mobbed. Don't do this until you've played quite a few games.

2: Don't rush into the face of danger. The first person to get close is usually the first person hit (except for those move and attack powers). The flip side to this is called Turtling. Turtling is when a person deliberately takes as long as humanly possible to move up or just spends the whole game running away. Players HATE that.

3: Never put someone in harms way alone unless you intend to use them as bait. Even then, make sure one of your other pieces can try to back them up.

So, there you have it, tips in a nutshell. Above all, no matter what you do, enjoy yourself and have fun. Heroclix is an awesome game with a great following. Keep clicking!

Playing Sentry of Mighty Avengers!

Recently I was challenged to give a by the numbers article on playing Sentry from Secret Invasion. First, I have to admit, Sentry does offer some good stuff for his 197 points. I don't really care for his randomized hypersonic speed/charge possibility, but a 6 space charge with super strength isn't shabby. His probability control is also a nice addition for a bruiser like Sentry. That's just the start of the show for this guy. Take him a couple clicks in and he just gets meaner with 5 damage and impervious. He gets 10 clicks of life, but with one weakened click that I don't think was really necessary. So, how do you play this rerolling, flying powerhouse?

Doing this article required pulling out every Avenger I have and looking up those I don't. That's not a small amount of pieces, people. Sentry only gets two keywords, Avengers and Mighty Avengers, believe me, that's enough. If you can't build a team around an avenger, you're in trouble. It may be you just don't have any Avengers to play with. In that case, get cracking and buy some clix.

Now, 197 is a big point load for a 300 point team. I have seen Sentry pull a decent "one man army" in a 200 before. He can hold his points worth. So, let's get started and see what happened with all the combos I went through.

300: Your basic knuckle sandwich, Marvel style, hold the mayo.
-Best Duo: Put him with 103 point Wolverine for an even 300 points.
THREE WAY!!!: Put him with Ronin and Vet Echo for 293.
-Best Four: Add him to Vet Echo, Vet Mockhingbird, and Stingray for 298.

Now that you can see how I'm doing this, lets continue. And let me assure you, I spent a lot of time with my calculator adding and re-adding!

400: Superhuman haymaker.
-Best Duo: Put him with 188 point Ironman for 385.
-Best Trio: Invisible Woman (110) and black suit Spider-Man (95) for 402.
FOUR SQUARE!!: Invisible Woman (110), Ronin, and Vet Echo for 400 even.
-Best Five: Ronin, Vet Echo, Moonstone, and Vet Mockingbird at 400 even.

Invisible Woman adds a whole new spice to playing the Avengers, try her and find out! First with Sentry, that double probability control can be fatal to your opponents die rolls! The rest is cake.

500: Bringing down the house.
-Best Duo: Once again, I find myself suggesting a duo figure for a two piece team. I suggest the Ironman/War Machine figure for a total of 497.
-Best Trio: Ms. Marvel and the Ironman/War Machine duo for 501.
-Best Four: Invisible Woman (110), Wolverine (103), and double base Capt. America for 493. Granted, you can use the 105 point Wolverine if it's your preference, but that one won't be themed!
FULL FISTED (five fingers in a fist): Invisible Woman, double base Cap, Moonstone, and Vet Echo for 504.
-Best Six: Double base Cap, Moonstone, Ronin, Vet Echo, and Vet Mockingbird for 483.

600: Bringing down the whole block. (no duo here, too many open points and then it's kind of stupid not to fill them)
-Best Trio: Ironman/War Machine duo and Wolverine help him out for 600 even.
-Best Four: 188 point Ironman, Ms. Marvel, and Vet Echo for 591.
-Best Five: Double base Cap, Invisible Woman, Ms. Marvel and Vet Echo for 596.
SIX PACK!!: Double base Cap, Invisible Woman, Wolverine, Ironfist, and Vet Echo for 601.
-Best Seven: Double base Cap, Wolverine, Ironfist, Moonstone, Vet Echo, and Vet Mockingbird for 601 again.
-Best Eight: Wolverine, Ironfist, Moonstone, 50 point Spiderman, Vet Echo, Vet Mockingbird, and Stingray for 597.

700: Throwdown City.
-Best Trio: Give him Thor and Quasar for 686. This actually looks like a frightening team for just three guys.
-Best Four: Thor, Ms. Marvel and Invisible woman is back for 701.
-Best Five: Ms. Marvel, Invisible Woman, Wolverine, and for a surprise entry, Aaron Stack costing 690.
-Best Six: Double base Captain America, 95 point Spiderman, Invisible Woman, Wolverine, and Aaron Stack for 697.
-MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!!!: (That's seven figures in 700 points with a theme) Double base Cap, 95 point Spidey, Invisible Woman, Wolverine, Ironfist, and Vet Mockingbird for 698.
-Best Eight: Db Cap, 95 pt Spidey, Invisible Woman, Ironfist, Ronin, Vet Echo, Vet, Mockingbird for 688.

800: Head-busting Marathon.
-Best Four: Quasar, Thor and Invisible Woman join him for 796.
-Best Five: Quasar, Invisible Woman, Wolverine and 128 point Black Panther for 801. You can use the other Black Panther if you want to, but I feel this one has more to offer in these teams.
-Best Six: Invisible Woman, Dr. Strange, Wolverine, Black Panther (128), and armored Spiderman (111) for 798.
-Best Seven: Ronin, Invisible Woman, Moonstone, Dr. Strange, Wolverine, and Spiderman (111) for 801.
8-BALL!!!!: Ronin, Invisible Woman, Moonstone, Dr. Strange, Wolverine, Vet Echo, and Ironfist for 798.
-Best Nine: Ronin, Invisible Woman, Moonstone, Wolverine, Vet Echo, Ironfist, Aaron Stack, and Spidey (50) to add up to 805.

900: Gearing up for Armageddon.
-Best Four: Ironman/War Machine duo, Ares and Black Panther (128) for 900 even.
-Best Five: Hulkbuster Ironman, Quasar, Invisible Woman, and Ms. Marvel for 903.
-Best Six: Hulkbuster again, Invisible Woman, Ms. Marvel, Dr. Strange, and Wolverine for 892.
-Best Seven: Invisible Woman, Ms. Marvel, Dr. Strange, Wolverine, Ironfist, and Aaron Stack for 903.
-Best Eight: Invisible Woman, Dr. Strange, double base Cap, Ironfist, Aaron Stack, Wolverine and Spidey (78 point) for 896.
WHOLE NINE YARDS!!: Invisible Woman, Dr. Strange, double base Cap, Ironfist, Spidey (50), Ronin, Wolverine, and Moonstone for 893.

1000!!! The power of a million suns.
-Best Four: Quasar, Ironman/War Machine duo, and Thor for 986.
-Best Five: Quasar, Powerman/Ironfist duo, Ms. Marvel, and Thor for 990.
-Best Six: Invisible Woman, Hercules, Thor, Dr. Strange, and Ms. Marvel for 992.
-Best Seven: Invisible Woman, Vet She Hulk, Spidey (111), Dr. Strange, Ms. Marvel, and Wolverine for 1008.
-Best Eight: Invisible Woman, Ms. Marvel, Spidey (111), double base Cap, Moonstone, Dr. Strange, and Wolverine for 997.
-Best Nine: Invisible Woman, Ms. Marvel, dbl Cap, Moonstone, Ronin, Spidey (50), Dr. Strange, and Wolverine for 991.

You might notice that the full roster for Mighty Avengers isn't quite there. That's because their full points didn't fill enough of their hundred marks to make this list. Too much room needed to be filled with cards and such to make the next hundred. You also see a lot of more new pieces than old in my lists. That's because far too many of the older sets just can't compare to the newer ones. Defenses are far too low and they are underpowered in most cases. There are a few I still use because they just fill in points nicely and still have a sharp edge, like Echo.

So, grab up your clix and throw some teams together, it's throwdown night at your house! Keep clicking!

Playing the Phoenix!

No, I'm not talking about the 1000 point colossal. I'm talking about the 297 point white Phoenix from Giant Sized Xmen. How do you put such a force into a team? What level do you play at to be functional?

First off, in a 300 point team, Phoenix is a considerable one woman army. I know, I've played her that way. She worked so well, I didn't even have to use her trait. She has awesome stats and powers to go with her team ability. Hypersonic speed, telekinesis, impervious and a nice five damage to open up with. If you do play her in a 300, you really should use a 3 point Alias feat card, just to add insult to injury.

So, what I've done below, is to take Phoenix and go by the numbers and keyword. I also put in what figures I think would work best based on how many you put on your force. Clearly, the best keyword for her is Xmen and this is what I came up with.

400: (Very limited but playable)
-Best duo: Her and Storm (86) for 383. Yes, you could use Nightcrawler as easily as Storm anywhere I list here. While Nightcrawler is awesome and his trait makes him a great interference runner for Phoenix. He really does have a glass jaw and lack of damage dealing. Storm can hit way harder and from just as good a range. Besides, need to hit up close because of stealth? That's what the hypersonic speed is for.
-Best Trio: Give her Vet Jubilee and Lockheed for 395. The second best trio is with two Cuckoo sisters for 377.

500: (now it's getting hot)
-Best duo: It's always more risky to use less pieces in higher point formats, but fun at times. This only technically a duo team because the piece I'm suggesting is duo Colossus/Wolverine for a total of 487. Second best duo goes to Juggernaut for a total of 490.
-Best Trio: Give her Prof X and LE Psylocke from GSX for 489.
-Best Four: Give her Storm, Lockheed, and LE Psylocke for 499.
-Best Five: Give her Storm and two Cuckoo sisters for 493.
-Best Six: Give her four Cuckoo sisters and Lockheed for 504. Keep those sisters and Lockheed in the way to interfere with opponents while Phoenix picks them off from a distance.

600: (Something's burning- and now a duo is just too small)
-Best Trio: Prof. X with Gambit/Rogue duo piece for a cost of 592.
-Best Four: Prof. X, Storm and Nightcrawler equaling, 592 again. Thist team is pure wickedness by the way.
-Best Five: Storm, Nightcrawler, Vet Jubilee and LE Psylocke for 589.
-Best Six: Storm, Vet Jubilee, LE Psylocke, Lockheed and a Cuckoo Sister for 590.

700: (I hear sirens)
-Best Trio: Juggernaut and the Colossus Wolverine piece will join her for 680.
-Best Four: Prof X, Juggernaut, and Storm fill this one for 699. Juggs smashes through things just so Prof X can get his mind on someone! Sounds cute to me.
-Best Five: Prof. X, Nightcrawler, Cyclops and Storm help her at 702.
-Best Six: Prof. X, Nightcrawler, Storm, Vet Jubilee, and Lockheed for 690.
-MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!: Nightcrawler, Storm, Jubilee, Lockheed, LE Psylocke, and Warpath for a total of 706!

800: (setting the town on fire and now a trio is too small)
-Best Four: Juggernaut, Prof. X, and the Colossus/Wolverine duo piece. 803
-Best Five: Juggernaut, Prof. X, Cyclops, and Storm for 806.
-Best Six: Juggernaut, Prof. X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine (103) and Nightcrawler for 805.
-Best Seven: Juggernaut, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine (103), Nightcrawler, LE Psylocke, and Jubilee.

900: (a raging inferno and now four is too small to fill out the points)
-Best Five: Colossus/Wolverine duo, Gambit/Rogue duo, Cyclops, and Prof. X making a team of 892.
-Best Six: Colossus/Wolverine duo, Cyclops, Prof. X, Archangel (not the LE) and Storm for 905.
-Best Seven: Cyclops, Prof. X, Archangel (not the LE), Storm, Wolverine (103), and Nightcrawler.

1000!! (we're all crispy critters now!)
-Best Five: Colossus/Wolverine duo, Gambit/Rogue duo, Juggernaut, and Prof. X at 975.
-Best Six: Colossus/Wolverine duo, Gambit/Rogue duo, Cyclops, Kitty Pryde, and Prof. X for 1003.
-Best Seven: Colossus/Wolverine duo, Cyclops, Kitty Pryde, Prof. X, Storm and Nightcrawler for 1003.
-Best Eight: Emma (GSX), Wolverine (103), Storm, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Archangel (not LE), and Prof. X for 985.
-Best Nine: Emma (GSX), Wolverine (103), Storm, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Prof. X, LE Psylocke, and Lockheed for 1002.

Xmen certainly has the most options for playing Phoenix, but here is how her other two keywords stacked up in comparison.

DEITY:
-Best 400 is with Storm for 383.
-Best 500 is with Valkyrie and Phobos for 501.
-Best 600 is with Storm, Sif, Brunnhilde, and Phobos for 604.
-Best 700 is with Storm, Sif, Brunnhilde and Valkyrie for 690.
-Best 800 is with Thor (HoT), Valkyrie, and Balder for 798.
-Best 900 is with Thor (HoT), Valkyrie, Balder and Storm for 884.
-Best 1000 is with Thor (HoT), Valkyrie, Balder, Storm and Sif for 977.

COSMIC:
-Best 500 is with Beta Ray Bill (whose initials mean Be Right Back) for 456.
-Best 600 is with Phyla-Vell and Moondragon for 569.
-Best 700 is with Quasar and Moondragon for 694.
-Best 800 is with Noh-Varr, BRB, and Adam Warlock for 757.
-Best 900 is with Noh-Varr, BRB, Adam Warlock and Phyla-Vell for 895.
-Best 1000 is with Quasar, BRB, Noh-Varr, and Phyla-Vell for 998.

Yes, I pretty much stuck with marvel on all those, but you can see how hard it is to make a theme team out of the generic keywords (that SHOULDN'T be generic because of their insane costs and rarity). It's really best to use the Xmen. She just fits better with them. Hope you enjoyed these teams and be sure to mention how you play your Phoenix!

By the Numbers: MODOK's 11

You can play all 11 of MODOK's team for 988 points, putting it in the thousand point bracket. It's a highly versatile team with four running shots, two chargers, a hypersonic that ignores most terrain, a mind controller that sees through stealth, an outwitter/perplexer with phasing, shape changing, super senses, impervious, some free blades/claws and a fair dose of psychic blast. The main drawback is that only three of them start with an attack value above 9. The rest start at 9, so that's a good thing. A couple even improve when hit, so that's helpful too. Their average ranged attack is six spaces, but two of them are higher than that. 11 figures in a thousand point match is also pretty good on numbers. It's not the best you can do for the points, but it's not absolute crud either. Use their collection of abilities right and you could be a real pain in your opponents kiester.

Now, how about in other point matches? What could you play in other point matches using MODOK and the MODOK's 11 theme? Here's my take. Opinions will vary, but:

300: use Mentallo and Rocket Racer with their leader in a 300 point match. Why? Because Mentallo ignores stealth and RR ignores all terrain for movement except for blocking. MODOK already gives a lot to his team with running shot and psychic blast, outwit, perplex and reroll. His psychic bomb ability is nothing to sneeze at either, but it comes late in the dial. What Mentallo can do is force pesky stealthers to step out into MODOK's line of fire for his heavy damage scores. Rocket Racer can hit them where ever they hide. Choice of map can get in the way a little, but smart players can get around this with patience. This combo hits 291 points. Thanks to the 1% rule you can fit an armor piercing on RR for extra damage ability. OH, and let's not forget the Hydra team ability possessed by Mentallo and MODOK and copyable by RR.

Hydra Team Ability: "When a friendly character making a ranged combat attack is adjacent to one or more characters using the Hydra team ability, each opposing character targeted by the attacker modifies its defense value by -1 for each character using the Hydra team ability if the characters using the Hydra team ability also have a clear line of fire to the target."

The target does not have be in the actual range of all the Hydra users, just in line of fire.

400: Same as with 300 but add Living Laser for his running shot and long range. Having ranged combat expert for doing up to 5 damage doesn't hurt either. He has the best range and highest running shot out of the whole group. The 9 attack levels are still kind of harsh, but proper use of Hydra can overcome that. This makes for 382 points with room for card usage once again.

500: Same people as above once again, but now add Scientist Supreme for her frontloaded outwit and perplex. She can only perplex someone with the scientist keyword but that's half your force at this point. Phasing mixed with outwit means getting into position to use outwit instantly. The only reason I wait until a 500 point match to use her is that she's 97 points. This comes to 479 points. Plenty of room for card usage now. This team could actually be really lethal. Mobility, traits and psychic blast damage and support powers. Ouch.

600: Still adding to the roster from above, we bring in Puma and the Spot. You may laugh at the Spot, but he's a scientist (perplexable by SS), a transporter with phasing and a decent 18 defense with super senses. Add his cute parlor trick of popping out of walls to flurry on people (after being perplexed for higher damage of course) and you have a real irritant on your hands. This also brings your force up in decent numbers for game presence and tactics. Puma is an obvious one with front loaded charge, blades/claws with super senses AND shape change. The dual protection makes him good.

700: Now I change it up. I like my magnificent sevens and this point range creates a different need in points. The varied points of the figures also create a challenge as point levels go up. You wind up having to look for the best mix for those points. So, MODOK, Mentallo, Living Laser, Armadillo, Puma, Rocket Racer, and Super Adaptoid. This is an outright assault team. It's loaded with move and attack goodness. It has the tactics of the 300 point team and plenty of damage ability. Super Adaptoid fits nicely here. He's a wild card in team abilities and able to use the powers of others. Living Laser makes a good taxi as well. Losing two on his movement still leaves him with 10 space traveling. This comes to 702 points, legal by the 1% rule.

800: Now we're back to adding to the previous roster, this time from the 700. Add Scientist Supreme for her abilities.

900: Now add Nightshade to that. Why didn't I use her a long time ago? You know, for her ability to give adjacent characters blades/claws? Because, frankly, Mentallo is better. He sees through stealth, has a one click longer dial, has mind control front loaded and psychic blast. Nightshade's ability is okay for minion teams and some close quarter issues. Her running shot is good too. I just found her to be too much of a one trick pony for the needs of the team. She just didn't fit the strategies until now. Am I undervaluing her? Maybe, maybe not. I know she could really help out a character that's been based by opponents. It just didn't fit my strategy style.

1000: And we put Chameleon and Spot in the mix. Chameleon will make an okay tie up piece now, but he also didn't fit the strategies above. He doesn't have enough attack and damage to him. All he can really do is hide and incapacitate. He shuts down alter ego abilities, but I've found those fairly rare. When I do come across them, I don't usually care.

So there you have it. I think MODOK's is best played as a higher point team, though maybe most effective in the middle ranges. I like the looks of 600 and 700 points especially. So, keep on clicking and we'll catch you on the roll next time.