Shared Traits

There’s some pretty interesting shared traits in this set, the first is High Noon: If ______ is the last character with this trait to hit an opposing character with a range attack, until your next turn, if the hit character makes a range attack, _______ must be one of its targets.

Breaking down the trait, first you need to land a ranged attack with the character in question, after that is when the fun starts. The hit character, if they’re planning on making a ranged attack, must target the High Noon user. That means if they can’t target them, no attack can go off. So hit your opponents scariest figure and Barrier up, stopping them from attacking you at all. This is a really cool effect, and I think it has the power to potentially see some competitive play.

The second shared trait is World Without Superman: Modify this characters attack value by +2 when attacking characters of 50 points or less. Modify this characters attack value by -1 when attacking only characters of 150 points or more.

It’s not a terrible power, but most figures that are 50 points or less aren’t going to be too hard to hit as it is, and losing out chances to hit characters that are already hard to hit isn’t going to help either. Depending on the figure it could be quite useful, especially with the recent trend to lower point figures, but more than often it’s not going to have much effect at all. In sealed, it’s really great, as Probability Control and other support powers are harder to find, and having high attack values is one of the best ways to insure your attacks are hitting.

Rating System

1/5- Virtually Unplayable- do not draft it, do not play it unless you absolutely have to in sealed. Playing at less than full points is sometimes a better option than running this figure.

2/5- Out Performed- There is something else that does whatever this figure does better. It’s not worthless, but understand that this figure isn’t the best in its niche.

3/5- Middle of the Road- Not a bad figure, but not the best in its category. It’s a solid workhorse that can be relied on, but it’s not flashy enough to be excellent.

4/5- Great- A fantastic figure that always can do something for you. It has useful powers and abilities, and can handle itself in its specific niche exellently.

5/5- Nigh Perfect- This figure is the best in its category, and all sealed play will revolve around it. It’s a must play if you pull it, and in constructed, it’s a threat you’ll always need to watch out for.

Common

001 Batman

This shifting focus option doesn’t really add a lot to Batman’s arsenal, his value comes from his Perplex, but since it doesn’t work on damage, he’s doesn’t compare to Yellowjacket from Civil War OP. If you’re planning on using him, it’s going to be as a Perplexer in sealed, or as another element for shifting focus in constructed. He’s not really good enough to build around, especially when his special power is only on his first two clicks. Any damage done to him will almost instantly invalidate him, atleast in sealed. It’s definitely a risk playing him, especially if someone pulls one of the Flash figures, but his Perplex is certainly useful in sealed.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

002 Superman

It’s surprising to see a new Shifting Focus Superman, but it’s definitely not a unpleasant one. This Superman has a similar design philosophy to the Hulk from Avengers/Defenders War, but with infinitely more potential in constructed. In sealed, I think he’s almost a must play, with a great dial length, and the underrated combo of Quake and Precision Strike, insuring that he’s dealing damage to everyone he can get adjacent to regardless of Super Senses or reducers. He’s the ultimate disruption for sealed, and in a set with Green Lantern taxi, disruption is going to be really important. In constructed he’ll definitely have a place with the other Shifting Focus Supermans. He fills a similar role to the Hypersonic Speed uncommon version, but can hit more characters with his Quake and has Willpower and better defenses to keep him safe. He’s a pretty great figure to pull regardless of where you want to play him.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

003 Wonder Woman

This Wonder Woman is interesting, but, her trait, as cool as it is, can seriously hinder her effectiveness as a close attacker, especially when she keeps knocking people away from her, even if she misses them in the first place. Defensively she’s kind of average, with Toughness and average values. Her point cost is inflated by her Mystics team ability, and she’s going to be relegated to a secondary close attacker. There are better figures to play in sealed and constructed.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

004 Green Lantern

Green Lantern is just a taxi, and he’s a really, really good taxi. With the ability to carry 8 figures with the Green Lantern Corp team ability, and having that move not count towards your action total due to the Justice League ata, he does one thing really well, and clearly that one thing is carrying other characters. His carrying expertise is only further increased by his trait, that can allow characters he carries to take actions after being carried. This is a game changer, imagine your biggest character getting carried up, and then being able to take an action to make an attack or do whatever they want. It’s like adding an 11 space movement to a characters Charge, and it’s amazing. He’s fantastic in sealed and constructed, he might even be good enough to replace Renet Tilly on some teams. If you can get some Probability Control to carry around, you can make that 5-6 much more likely of going off.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

005 The Flash

Wow, this Flash is a little simple, but, boy is he worth spending 45 points on. With 10 attack and 3 damage with 14 movement, he can reliable hit most characters on the map, from 14 spaces away. On-top of that he has a 19 defense, making him very difficult to hit. This is going to be a pretty exciting figure to pull in sealed, and a decent close attacker in constructed. He also has the Police team ability to give him a little supporting boost.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

006 Templar

Templar is a pretty average generic figure that can be a pretty dangerous attacker in sealed. With Penetrating/Psychic Blast down his dial, and a pretty fantastic defense value from range with Energy Shield/Deflection. Don’t expect his attack power to go off very often, as there are very few Mystical characters and even fewer monsters. If you pull a taxi (like Green Lantern) you can easily get these guys around, and insure they’re in the right place to make a dent in your opponents figures. They’ll be a fantastic 30 points to spend.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

007 The Bat

The Bat is a great Perplex figure in sealed, with high enough values to be an attacker if need be. Sidestep and Willpower lets him keep up with the rest of your force, and the Batman Team Ability keeps him alive, which is important due to his short dial and lack of any real defensive powers. Now, the interesting part of this figure is it’s ability to turn into The Joker Creature, but do you need to pull both in order to run The Bat? I’d say no. Perplex is so important in sealed that The Bat is perhaps the more important half of the equation. Losing that Perplex to gain a secondary attacker isn’t always helpful. It’s nice to have the option, but its definitely not required.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

008 Super Police

Super Police isn’t a must play, but it’s pretty close. For 40 points you’re getting a great tie-up figure, a decent close attacker and a taxi. These guys are going to be all over the place in sealed. Get them up close, hit your opponents and keep them locked down while the rest of your team gets into place, and smacks your opponents around. Just a really great generic figure to round out your team.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

009 Gunfighter

On the back of one great generic comes another. This 25 point figure is entirely dependent on its trait. High Noon can shut down an opponents dangerous ranged attacker, and with 11 attack and a 7 space swing, he can reliable hit a lot of characters in this set. 4 clicks makes him harder to take down than you would imagine, and the potential for 3 damage (though seriously, just hit and disrupt their ranged attacker) can keep them offensive throughout their dial and the game. Another great figure to put on your team if you have some points leftover. In constructed, the High Noon trait is still extremely powerful. It hard to get Gunfighter in a place he can make use of his power, but he’s just so cost effective for what he can do.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

010 Super Men

Ok, a 35 point Incapacitate use with 4 range…and 1 target…not a great start. Super Men does catch up a bit with 10 attack, 18 defense and 3 damage making them surprisingly hard to get rid of for a generic, but with such low range and being forced to depend on Sidestep, Super Men will not be effective. Needing to be adjacent to do a double Incapacitate puts them right in the thick of things, and with no Willpower, and with a huge drop in values and powers when he pushes, this generic is better left in the dust. They can carry around your characters, but there are better figures to do that. Just leave them in the booster.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

011 Diana Prince (Justice Rider)

Say hello to the Diana Prince that will be connected to my ID Card for the next little while. Diana Prince is an excellent ranged attacker with 10 attack and 4 damage, insuring that she’s pushing damage through each reducer. She’s Indomitable on-top of that, keeping her consistently dangerous, and helping her keep your opponents ranged attackers focused on her with her High Noon trait. Finally, she has a Leadership power that’s a huge boon for any characters sharing keywords with her, and especially strong if you can pull a theme team from your boosters. As a call-in she’s going to be able to reliably deal damage to your opponents bigger figures, while simultaneously forcing them to shoot at her on their next turn. If they can’t remove her, then it’s a waste of an attack, and if they can, they’ve more than likely placed themselves in a dangerous position, giving you a chance to capitalize on it. She is an absolutely fantastic figure.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

012 Kid Flash (Justice Rider)

Kid Flash is another great ranged attacker, with huge potential in sealed. Unlike Diana Prince, Kid Flash has Hypersonic Speed, allowing him to get farther away from the figure he hit with an attack, insuring that they won’t be able to make ranged attacks against him, as he hides outside their swing range. It’s almost broken in sealed, but without Willpower he can’t keep doing it turn after turn, giving your opponents a little more time to get to him before he knocks out their ranged attacker again. With a 16 range swing, nothing is safe. If you pull Kid Flash, play him.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

013 John Jones (Justice Rider)

John Jones is an upgraded version of Super Police, with Shape Change keeping him more protected, and his trait allowing him to make constant attacks against a character of your choice. He does lose the carry ability, but he gains High Noon and some range, giving him some more options for engaging your opponent. Like Super Police, get him into adjacency and swing away while your opponents are forced to deal with the rest of your team. In constructed, he won’t see much play outside of being a call in. I don’t think he’s as great as Diana Prince as a call-in or a real boots on the ground figure, but it’s always an option if you need one.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

Uncommon

014 Batman

This Dick Grayson Batman is a mixed bag of good powers and decent attack values, with a trait that, for the most part, won’t see play in sealed or constructed and a low damage value that keeps him from being too dangerous. He’ll be a big pull in sealed for his top-dial Outwit paired with his Improved Movement, allowing him to easily get into a decent position for countering, and his Batman Team Ability that lets him hide in hindering, which is integral to keeping him on his Outwit, because as soon as he loses Outwit, his value goes down the drain. That’s where his trait comes in. When Batman would be ko’d you can kill another one of your characters that’s 25 points or more to put him back on his first click. If you’ve got a figure that’s on its last click or a few generics, it can be helpful to throw them away for the Outwit, but sadly Batman just isn’t the fighter you want to kill another one of your figures for. In sealed, he’s absolutely necessary for the Outwit, as long as you can keep him on that top click.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 1/5

015 Superman

This is an exceptional Superman with everything you could ever need from a 100-120 point Superman in a 70 point body. Like the Uncommon Hulk from Avengers/Defenders War, he has a negative trait that keeps his cost low, but in the cast of Superman, that trait is a small price to pay. The wording on Superman’s trait is a little strange, as it says “you may choose to deal an amount of damage from 1 to his printed damage” From 1 is a strange word choice that, to my knowledge, has never been used before in Heroclix. If it means that you can choose 1 higher or lower than his printed damage, he’s even better, hitting up for up to 5 damage. The fact that he takes damage after he KO’s a character is almost a non-issue, when his first 3 clicks give him some fantastic values and powers, you’re looking at him killing 2 units before he gets worried about doing it again. If you’re too worried about it, just let him weaken all of your opponents while other figures finish them off. Either way, he’s just so powerful for a such a low investment that I’m sure you’ll end up seeing him in sealed and in constructed, even if it’s just on an I.D Card.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

016 Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is an expensive investment, but offers so much protection for a close figure with Invincible and traited Super Senses against ranged attacks, that it’s fairly likely for her to get up close to use her Super Strength. Her flight lets her carry others, and her 4 range can surprise an unsuspecting foe. Her Leadership power isn’t going to be much better than regular Leadership, but still provides extra actions, and some clearing. She’s not a really exciting Wonder Woman, but she does everything you would expect Wonder Woman to do very well. Your opponent will need to invest a lot of attacks at her to bring her down, and even though she’s expensive, she leaves enough points to build a sizable secondary force.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

017 Green Lantern

This is possibly the most attractive use of 60 points in the game, and is definitely the best 60 point figure in this set. Green Lantern has everything you need as a secondary or primary attacker with Pulse Wave and Running Shot, with 18 defense keeping him safe. He also has Telekinesis, making him a fantastic addition even as a support. Now, he does have a downside, but I don’t think it’s all that major, especially in sealed. After 8 attacks, your Green Lantern turns into a useless figure that can’t attack or activate any powers (including its defensive powers, Willpower and Flight), He can tie-up enemies and nothing more. But, before he becomes a paper-weight, he still needs to make 8 attacks. There’s little chance this figure is going to be able to make 8 attacks before he either tears apart your opponents team, or they put all their focus on bringing him down, and hey, even if you do get to 1 token left on his card, he can still use Telekinesis, or act as a taxi, carrying around a single character without having it remove an action from your total.

In constructed he’s still excellent, while clearly a little vulnerable. There’s so little Pulse Wave in the current rotation that Green Lantern has little to no competition in figures that don’t have pick-a-power. This makes him a budget answer to Goblin King and Jakeem Thunder, as he tears through their defenses. You still need to insure he can get in on them without first being pulled apart from their Hypersonic Speed, but he’s budget, so you can’t ask for too much. Yes, Sunfire is cheaper by 10 points, but he also brings a lot less to the table with no Willpower, Telekinesis and fewer clicks of life and Pulse Wave. Sadly, calling him in is a no-go, as his tokens are added at the beginning of the game instead of when he begins the game, making him a waste of 5 points and an action.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

018 The Flash

Go buy some Flash ID cards right away, because this figure just doubled their value. This Flash is very similar to the common one, excluding one single thing. Once a game, he can be placed adjacent to a friendly character, ignoring a ranged attack that targeted them, and afterwards he can no longer run, but instead becomes a very reliable Outwit figure. As anyone who has read my breakdowns before knows, I put a huge emphasis on Outwit on every sealed team, and Flash gives that to you with no questions asked. Yes, he gives up his offensive nature to do so, but options are always helpful in Heroclix, and being able to ignore an attack from your opponents biggest hitter is invaluable. Keep Flash safe so they don’t come for him first, and be ready to take advantage of your opponents now vulnerable attacker.

This figure is great in every venue that you can play him in, even as an ID card call-in. Pulling him out gives your team a whole free turn of your opponents not bothering to make ranged attacks, He requires a little more finesse to know when to call him in, but if you can properly predict when an attack is coming, he’s going to completely devalue their plans.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

019 Oliver Queen, Templar

This Green Arrow plays the roll of the average, middle-of-the-road, ranged attacker in this set. That being said, that title isn’t an insult to what he can do. He has decent range, with Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Running Shot, what more could you want from a primary or secondary attacker? Enhancement further helps your team, and his Sidestep on every click that isn’t Running Shot makes sure he gets to where you need him. I don’t see his Improved Targeting coming into play too much, as you’ll want to keep him far away from your opponents, and, on-top of that, he’ll crumple fairly easily if someone does get up close and personal with him. He’s a figure that will shine in sealed, as he can reliable make damage, and in everything else he’s going to be a character you play for the flavor, or pass by for a better attacker (hint the OP Kit Green Arrow).

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

020 The Joker Creature

I don’t hate this close attacker with all my heart, solely because he has some fairly reliable ways of getting up close, as well as Invulnerable on his top-click, but I’m not a huge fan. If you’re bringing him in with The Bat, you’re going to want to risk moving the Bat into a position to give tokens out, and then switching them to token up their entire team, before dealing some Penetrating Flurry. It’s not reliable, but it’s certainly fun. Either you didn’t pull anyone else to use as a close figure, or you’re using him with The Bat, there’s just so many better close attackers in the common slot that make The Joker Creature fall a little flat. Stealth gives him some more potential, but a lack of Improved Movement means he’s just going to get trapped in hindering. Play him as an alternate for The Bat, to give you the potential for a huge token blast, or don’t play him at all.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

021 Bizarro Police

These are some pretty solid bystanders, keep them with your ranged attackers as blockers and Police Team Ability users, or throw them at your opponents and force them to try to get through them by rolling 5’s and 6’s. Either way, they’re a hassle to deal with, I don’t want to be spending up to 4 attacks just killing a close combat generic, but I’m going to be forced to if they’re coming up on my Oliver Queen, Templar with a heavy object. I think there’s a small risk in playing one if you pull it, but it’s far more likely that it’s going to stick around forcing your opponents to spend action after action to finally get rid of it. They’re still pretty strong in constructed too, since their power can’t be countered or ignored, and your opponent is probably not going to waste their Nick Fury on dealing with a 50 point figure.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

022 Clockwork Man

Here’s another generic with no move and attack, Precision Strike, and the ability to modify hit enemy characters attack values by -1. I guess they can be hard to root out if they’re in hindering, but there’s never threatening enough to worry about. Forget about playing it, and if your opponent ends up using one, leave it alone for as long as you can, because it’s a pretty easy 45 points to score if you have a Flash. If you really want to use it for something, put it in the Brainiac Skull Ship that makes the drones, and give the Skull Ship Shape Change while you pump out some drones.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

023 Pete Ross

Well Pete Ross isn’t as bad as the Clockwork Man. Oh wait, he’s far, far worse. Don’t let that top-dial fool you, Running Shot with 11 attack and 3 damage isn’t always a good thing as Pete here proves. Yes he can Incapacitate enemies that are grouped up together, but if he takes a hit once or twice, he’s suddenly on a stop-click that can help your opponent, while giving absolutely no help to you. Unlike Green Lantern and Superman, who’s disadvantages are made up for in stellar dials, this loser doesn’t even offer a good dial for his points. Forget about him, and hope that he shows up in an opponents team so you can give all your figures Toughness for a turn.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

024 Nekhrun, The Bat-God

This is the tentpole you want to pull in sealed. With some great values, and his trait that gives Stealth to your entire team, Nekhrun is a very, very tough customer to deal with. I’m sure you can wear him down, but even when he dies he makes the rest of your team almost immune to ranged attacks. If you pull something good, run him at 100, and if you don’t he’s still great at 200. Just make sure to keep him in Stealth, and make your opponents come deal with his 19 defense. Absolutely killer in sealed. Outside of Sealed, I think his 200 point value doesn’t bring enough to the table to deal with top-tier threats, but his 100 might do enough in giving everyone Stealth to be worth it. If you can build a decent team around making use of that Stealth, there’s nothing better than him, otherwise, he’s a slightly too expensive medium range attacker with a dial that goes downhill after a hit or two. He’s not bad, but there’s better investments at his cost.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

025 Jakita Wagner

I cannot be the only one who thinks of bananas when I read her name ( and yes I have read the entity of Planetary, so I’m not uneducated on her). She’s a really, really solid pull in sealed, with a combination of Hypersonic Speed and Super Strength (make use of it while you still can!), as well as Exploit Weakness with her Charge when she has one token, and Perplex and Outwit in the middle of her dial. Honestly, there’s nothing I can complain about with her. She’s an excellent close figure, with all the makings of a great support piece at the same time. Even her last two clicks, allow her to wreck people with 3 damage Flurry. She’s not groundbreaking, but in sealed, i’ll take reliable figures over groundbreaking ones 100% of the time. This is also the reason she won’t see a lot of people in constructed. She isn’t groundbreaking. 80 points for Hypersonic are better spent on Quicksilver or Speed Demon, and the lack of her special damage power on click 1 leaves her out of the loop. She isn’t bad, but she’s left in the dust from the faster figures.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

Rare

026 Batman

Batman is a pretty sweet rare to pull in sealed, with a long dial, Combat Reflexes and Stealth, he’ll be hard to flush out of hindering, while he shoots at and Outwits your opponents. If he does get hit a few times, he gets to Perplex, and finally can teleport to where friendly characters die, before wrecking whoever got the finishing blow on them. For 100 points, he’s an excellent jack-of-all-trades figure, that can fit into multiple roles on your team. The World Without Superman trait isn’t going to come into play too often, unless you’re facing Chase Superman or Nekhrun, The Bat God. If you’re facing the first, Batman might already be dead, and if you’re facing the second, you’re going to need to be very careful in order to outplay him, as his 19 top click defense is going to be mighty hard to hit with a 10 attack.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

027 Superman

This Zod version of Superman is going to run at people with Hypersonic Speed, smash them with Super Strength, and then rest until he can do it again. Without Willpower, he becomes a big target for Outwit and can be taken down while he rests, as his dial gets quickly weaker, especially at his lower point value. The most interesting part of his dial is his special power, that lets him freely get into position with relative safety from Stealth, Shape Change and Super Senses until he makes an attack. There may be no use in wasting attacks on him at that point, but with enough Outwit, he’ll come down. They all do. The surprisingly great aspect of his character is the combination of 8 range and the Superman Team ability. He can easily pick off characters like The Joker Creature hiding in Stealth from a safe distance away, and with his high attack and damage, you’re a real threat to anyone lurking in Hindering. Really solid attacker that can get in position to get any figure he wants.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

028 Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a lady of two dials, a front dial where she has very little combat acumen, but can carry, and has an impressive Leadership that clones Foggy Nelson’s ability from Avengers/Defenders War. It definitely doesn’t have the same reliability as Foggy’s, but it’s on a much harder to deal with body, as Wonder Woman also happens to have a stop-click, and a fantastic one at that. When she hits her stop-click, not only does she get uncounterable, unignorable Impervious, she also either removes a token from you’re entire team, or gives a token to your opponents entire team. I’m going to guess that giving tokens will come in handy more often, especially since she’s only going to be knocked to her stop-click during your opponents turn, potentially ending their plans completely. The second half of her dial is more combat oriented, with some great values and close combat powers, but, it’s only for 3 clicks. I tend to find these kinds of characters that need to be hit to be effective, end up being useless, as they’re left for last while the rest of your team is mopped up. Wonder Woman is let down by having a low number of clicks after buffing up, leaving her open to being double tapped by quite a few figures in this set.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

029 Green Lantern

This figure is a mish-mash of useful powers at random points on his dial, making him useful on every click, but unreliable for getting any specific power out. You’re going to have to change the way you play him every time he takes damage and gains new powers. Top-dial he’s a close combat figure with Giant Reach that can hit characters that would normally be outside of his reach, whether they be behind other opposing characters or hidden on a roof. Energy Shield/Deflection and Toughness give him a little resilience, and Perplex is always useful. The second half of his dial gives him some fantastic support powers with Telekinesis, and am excellent power that deals him a damage, but boosts a friendly character and gives them Invincible for a turn. On-top of all that he can carry your entire team. There’s a lot in the pros for Green Lantern, and the only con being his consistency. At the beginning of the game you won’t have access to his fantastic support, and instead be stuck with a good taxi and an average close attacker. At the end of the game, you get a great supporter, but lose all offensive potential, which can help you close out a game…or Green Lantern could be left with no one to super charge. If his dial was switched around, I would definitely consider playing him in constructed, but the way it is right now, he’ll be a mean sealed pull, and a fairly average constructed team member.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

030 The Flash

Look, you’ve gotten two great Flashes so far, it’s time for an absolutely stinker. Yes, this figure has an 20 with Super Senses from range and 13 Hypersonic Speed making it incredibly difficult to hit. Yes, he can pick apart weaker characters without any real threat from them. But guess what, without Willpower, he’s attacking once every two turns, as you probably don’t want to push him more than once. He does bring Outwit, but Outwit doesn’t combo well with Hypersonic Speed, because he’d need to stop within 6 of an opposing character to use it, leaving him close enough to be torn apart by a close attacker. On-top of all of that, he’s an enormous 110 points. 110 points is way, way too much to pay for a figure that can only slowly pick away at your figures, even if he’s never dealt with. Even with Perplex you’re better off playing either of the other Flashes. I don’t recommend playing this figure, I just don’t see how a 5 click figure with 2 damage down his dial can ever be worth 110 points.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

031 Green Lantern of Gotham

Green Lantern of Gotham is going to be a solid pull in sealed, with above average values throughout his dial and Running Shot and Outwit with Stealth and Telekinesis on his top-dial giving you almost every possible option for approaching conflict. Down his dial he gains a combination of other support and offensive powers, still keeping his fantastic Green Lantern Team Ability, allowing him to be an even better support figure for your team. He can just do so many different things, making him worth playing regardless of what the rest of your team consists of. He can literally provide any necessary element to a team. There’s very little reason not to run him if you pull him. Now, he’s not all fantastic, yeah he can do a lot of things, but you’re paying for that variety. He’s 105 points for a dial that’s not exactly stunning. With no reducers, and the loss of both his Stealth and move and attack after his first two clicks, if you can get a hit on him, his effectiveness is greatly diminished, and so is your use of 105 points. This isn’t deal breaking in sealed, but in constructed his jack-of-all-trades nature leaves him too expensive for his lack of singular effectiveness, creating a character that can do many things, but just not do them very well.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

032 Green Lantern of Krypton

Did you like Green Lantern of Gotham, but wish he had two starting lines, no Willpower, and slightly better offensive powers? If it’s not clear, I’m not really a fan of him, even though he gets bulky as he goes down his dial. He’s just not as good as his Gotham counterpart. His 100 point dial is just so short for the cost, and his 125 point, which offers a decently strong ranged attacker at a restrictive cost, is just good enough to be considered for a spot on your team. I just don’t see you getting your points back for this figure that can fairly easily be knocked off his starting clicks, and can’t reliable take pushing damage unless you’re looking to get a Charge/Super-Strength figure.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

033 The Ray

The Ray is a ranged menace with a 14 square swing, and an 18 defense with Energy/Shield Deflection that can’t be lowered or countered. Or, you can make The Ray a sitting duck that just looks at your opponents and says, “don’t shoot as long as I can see you”. His high point level is a great attacker, but with all the Stealth in this set and no Willpower, you’re spending a lot of points on a figure that might be made almost worthless (until he gets Pulse Wave) if you’re opponent has a Nekhrun on their team. At 25, he can really control the direction that the battle is going, especially if you put him someplace like the middle of the Mudpit on the new map from this set, where no one can really approach him, and instead have to try to make ranged attacks against his 18 with Energy Shield/Deflection. Playing The Ray really depends on what else you pull. If you have enough offensive pieces that The Ray doesn’t feel necessary, throw him in on his lower point level, and watch your opponents struggle to get out of his line of sight so that their biggest figures can actually do something in the game. If you have some lousy pulls, then Ray is a great ranged attacker that is pretty squishy if anyone gets up close to him. Either way, he’s a nice figure to have. In constructed, his 4 targets make him a great choice for the Hulkbuster Right Arm or as a partner for Rachel Cole Alves, both of which can give him Energy Explosion. Try to use this before Energy Explosion is nerfed in the upcoming rules. You have a month.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

034 Green Oracle

Here’s a really simple figure to review. Green Oracle has pretty decent values, can carry 8 people and alternates between Perplex and Outwit down her dial. Her 3 damage means she can reliably make attacks, and her Energy Shield/Deflection keeps her safe as long as she plays a little keep away. Pretty excellent in sealed, and disappointing everywhere else. She’s just not as good as the 55 point common Green Lantern, or any of the other carrying figures. Atleast she gives some transport potential to a Batman Family Theme Team.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

035 Dale Suderman

Okay, that 1 damage top-dial does look bad, I agree, and I’m definitely not a huge fan of figures that need to take damage to get to their best clicks, but for some reason, I really like Dale Suderman. The potential for 19 defense top-dial, while he runs around pinging your opponents for 1 is pretty excellent, especially when he has a range of 5, Indomitable and a 12 attack, and if your opponent does eventually hit him, they’re just knocking him onto 18 with Invincible, with high attack and damage values making him a huge threat that they had to spend an action creating. It might seem a little unfair to complain about the Rare Flash who’s role is very similar to Dale’s, but Dale has so much more and for less points, making me choose him over the Flash 10/10 times. If you pull enough Perplex, and maybe some Telekinesis (Al Jhor Dan maybe?) Dale Suderman changes from a annoyance to a legitimate threat to your opponents team, boosting his damage up to almost make him worthy of being a primary attacker. He has all the right stuff to be a great attacker, just missing the damage.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

036 The Drummer

The Drummer is an interesting addition to the game, but I think he’s impact will be too little to truly affect the way the game is played. His trait that blocks the three main support powers (Outwit, Perplex and Probability Control) will be a godsend in sealed where those three powers are more important than almost anything else, but in constructed, I feel his need to see the user of the power will really only make him good at blocking Outwit, and well thought out placement can probably even get around that. For things he can actually do for your team, he just Outwits or Perplexes. You can do a lot worse for 40 points in sealed, in-fact he’s basically a must play. In constructed, his value won’t be apparent until the new rules, where Outwit will see more play than before, giving him more value as an outwitter and making outwit more common allowing him to shut it down more often.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

Super Rare

037 The Flying Batman

The super-rares get off to a rough start with a decent, but not particularly exciting take on The Flying Batman. The best thing that The Flying Batman has going for him is his double team abilities. Stealth, and Ignoring Hindering for shooting are an excellent combination, and Hypersonic with 7 Range allows him to be a mobile harasser, it’s everything that comes after that’s a little weak. At his 100 point dial, he has 5 clicks of life, starting with 10 attack, 3 damage and 17 defense with Toughness, not something you want for 100 points. After that first click, he loses Hypersonic in favor of Charge/Super Strength, and finally falling onto a strange final two clicks with a special power giving him Defend with his 18 defense, and Outwit. There’s very little synergy on this dial, he doesn’t feel like Batman or Superman, and even less that feels like speeding bullets Batman. I think this dial, while being perfectly serviceable for sealed, is a failure in terms of creativity and accuracy. Play him at 140 in sealed, and 100 never.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

038 Colonel Wayne

Similar to The Flying Batman, I’m not super excited about Colonel Wayne, but even though the creativity might be lacking, his dial definitely isn’t. With 7 clicks of life for 75 points, Wayne is hard to take down, especially with the High Noon trait keeping enemies he hits from retaliating. For the majority of his dial he has Running Shot and Improved Movement: Ignores Hindering, which pairs perfectly with his Stealth, and slightly worse with his Energy Shield. His big use is calling out a Redbird bystander. Redbird is a mishmosh of powers that don’t really work together, but if you’re getting Hypersonic, Blades, Combat Reflexes and Exploit Weakness all on one free dial, there’s very little to complain about. In constructed he’s not making many waves unless you can find a way to call him out and deal 3 damage to him to also call in Redbird, but even if you can’t, he’s a workhorse that’s equally hard to remove from the board as he is good at being on the front lines.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

039 Sergeant Kent

Wow…this is 100 points? No Willpower, 5 clicks of life, and 1 click of move and attack over his first three clicks. Even in sealed, I wonder about his effectiveness. He has the High Noon trait but…only 4 range. The only thing really going for him is his 18 defense and Invincible and Impervious, and the potentially interesting ability to not be ignored for line of sight, but if you’re throwing 1/3rd of your points in-front of the rest of your team, it’s probably not going too well for you. Honestly, I’m not sure he’s even worth running if you pull him, especially not if you pull the uncommon Superman. He’s just so bland.

Sealed: 1/5

Constructed: 1/5

040 Al Jhor Dan

This might be the first really interesting dial in the Super-Rare slot. Pick-a-power is powerful, we all know this, and that alone makes Al a great figure both in Constructed and Sealed. The real question is, does Al do enough to compare to the 75 point line of Goblin King? I would give a hesitant yes, but he doesn’t do enough to completely surpass the mighty goblin. Al brings a super Perplex that can double Perplex a value as long as its the same value on the same character that you Perplexed the last turn. It does potentially give him an immense 5 damage, but even better, it’s an exceptional support power for your team. Paired with any other support power you want, and the ability to carry any figure when he’s giant, he can really be useful for your team. The biggest issue is that you’re paying 90 points for a 5 click long figure with no reducers. He has the choice to choose one, but it is at the cost of not having a different ability for the turn. I like Al Jhor Dan, I just don’t think he quite manages to be the jack-of-all-trades that Goblin King is, he isn’t as reliable an attacker and he is limited by the choice of one power a turn.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

041 Sinestro

Sinestro is sealed nightmare. Almost half the figures in this set have Green Lantern or Batman Family keywords, and in sealed, where you don’t have as many options for increasing your attack values, even a -1 to attack can be killer. With that in mind, Sinestro does have his own set of flaws to offset the effectiveness of that power. For the most part, Sinestro has only 3 useful clicks, and it’s his first 3 with Running Shot and Pulse Wave. Furthermore, he has no Willpower and a measly 6 range, limiting his Pulse Wave to an 8 square swing. If you can get a single hit off on Sinestro, you can completely neuter him as a ranged attacker, leaving him as a stationary semi-decent Telekinesis user. The tricky part is actually getting a hit off on that 18 defense, and dealing enough damage to get through his Invincible. If you have some Outwit, then this guy is going down quick. If you happen to pull him, insure that he gets that first hit off, and can use his traited Perplex every turn to insure your team is safe from your opponents. You’re either going to win in a single roll with Sinestro, or lose to one, so make sure that he gets the first attack off.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 2/5

042 Green Lantern

Green Lantern has the first real unique ability in this set, bringing a figure back to life for a turn. There’s nothing like this in the game, making Green Lantern potentially the pillar for an entire new strategy. The real question is, is this strategy any good? The answer is a little complicated. Green Lantern’s entire strategy revolves around you benefiting from the death of your characters, requiring you to: 1. Have characters that can be effective over the course of a single turn, and 2. Have them die in a location that Green Lantern can safely get to, while still being within a distance that the character can do something. These are fairly restrictive requirement for a strategy, but there are a few elements that help keep it from requiring too much finesse. The first is that, while it gives Green Lantern an action token, its a free action to bring back a friendly character, allowing her to move before recalling her dead friend. Secondly, the dead character can be brought back anywhere a friendly character died, not just where they died; this leads to some shenanigans with bystanders. Clearly you can’t bring back bystanders made by Penguin or Devil Dinosaur, but you can use the locations in which they died as the square to bring back other characters from.

Imagine this, it’s near the end of the game and it’s down to your Green Lantern and your Penguin vs your opponents Goblin King. You push one of your robo-penguins to death, and Green Lantern runs up to the resurrection marker now in that square and calls back your own Goblin King who now has free reign to Running Shot/Pulse Wave to his hearts content. This isn’t just limited to your power pieces either. Feel better about throwing out your Colossal Retaliators as now they can have a second turn of smashing your opponents forces. This is where I think Green Lantern will see the most play. With a team of colossal retaliators and a bystander generator, Green Lantern can force your opponents to deal with each retaliator twice, only scoring them the first time, and with the right placement of Resurrection Markers, she can do it from your own starting area instead of requiring her to run across the entire map to get to the spot your retaliator died.

Anyways, her unique ability makes her a must own, just in case something in the next few sets completely breaks her. For right now, she’ll be a potentially devastating finesse figure that requires a little too much build around to make her great.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 4/5

043 Leatherwing

Leatherwing is taking the reigns from Pirate Deadpool to push the Pirate Keyword, a keyword that is still severely lacking in options. Paired with Pirate Deadpool, Leatherwing can carry your entire team, but without that chase, you’re looking at a pretty small pool of pirates to pull from. Strangely, the Redblade bystander he brings with him can’t be carried by Leatherwing, which seems like a real miss from a flavor and effectiveness angle. Redblade is an excellent bystander, providing your team with a much needed Perplex in sealed, and a decent Blades/Claws/Fangs attacker if anyone gets close. Leatherwing is pretty excellent for 80 points, with the choice between a great Leap/Climb pseudo Running Shot or Ranged Combat Expert and Sidestep at the top of his dial, and then, after losing the mobility, he gains Blades/Claws/Fangs and free Smoke Cloud after he uses it. He’s not an overly creative figure, and his powers aren’t going to make him see play in any serious tournaments, but there’s a lot of value on his decently long dial, including an extra Perplex for your team. He’s a great workhorse in sealed and constructed, with Willpower keeping him going, and enough damage throughout his dial to keep your opponents threatened.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

044 Diana Prince

Diana Prince is a weirdly created figure. Her trait keeps Perplex and Outwit from being used, but only within 4 spaces of her, and it requires her to have line of fire, something that could be difficult when she needs to be close. Her top-dial is a combination of close combat (Combat Reflexes and Close Combat Expert) and Support, giving her flexibility, but not helping to define her role. Do you want her up close to use that Close Combat Expert and shut down Perplex and Outwit? Or are you keeping her in the back to Support your other characters? Regardless, if she takes some damage you don’t need to think about it anymore, as she becomes a pretty scary Charge/Blades attacker that can hit every character within 2 spaces of her after she Charges. If the powers placement had been swapped, she would have been a devestating call-in for the Wonder Woman ID Card, but as it stands, she’s just a little unfocused, both as a call-in and as a playable character. That being said, she’s only 40 points, and you get a lot of good stuff for those points, you just need to make sure that you can actually make use of her.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

045 King Aquaman

Boy do I hate Super Strength in the middle of the dial. King Aquaman is the odd man out in the KC department. Almost all the KC figures have one fantastic value that puts them ahead of the rest. KC Batman and Wonder Woman have a massive 13 attack, Superman has 6 damage, Green Lantern has a 20 defense, Flash and Shazam! Have a movement value that’s higher than 14, and Spectre has a range of 12, even The Ray has 4 targets! What does Aquaman get? Absolutely nothing. You’re spending 110 points for a average close attacker with, decent values, and charge for half his dial. Yes he gets pseudo ranged Super Senses and his powers and abilities can’t be countered, but it’s not worth much when he’s no more effective than any other 100 point Charge figure. His “tower” click is a lot better, allowing you to place water terrain, a very useful ability for a lot of Atlantis theme teams, and displace your opponents figures without requiring line of sight. It’s like Mephisto’s special movement power, and it can be really useful to break up formations, and ruin taxis by making them move away from the characters they want to carry.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

046 Elijah Snow

There’s a lot of talk around Eljiah Snow being the newest meta piece coming down the line, and it’s all due to the unique effects he has in his traits. His first trait forces non-flying figures to move in direct lines, which can, depending on the map, completely shut down the mobility of your opponents. The issue with this right now is that almost all of the biggest, scariest figures have flying, and, with the new Outwit rules in which you can’t outwit the wing symbol (as far as we know), these figures aren’t going to ever be affected by Elijah’s most useful trait. His second trait is equally interesting, but less effective as far as I can tell. Strongly discouraging characters from using one kind of power for one turn a game can be effective in very specific circumstances, but for the most part, it’s more likely to slow down the game, giving you an extra turn, than it is to completely obliterate a well laid out plan.

With the current trend of alpha strikes, Elijah Snow isn’t going to threaten their plan by forcing them to take a second token for their alpha strike once, or force them to pass that turn and continue with their plan the turn after. That being said, it’s not useless to have. It doesn’t take away anything from you to have access to it. Beyond the traits, Elijah isn’t a slacker. With two starting lines, the first of which is a little overpriced, but offers 3 target Incapacitate, and the later starts with the always desired Running Shot/Pulse Wave, but ends up looking a little vulnerable with Barrier on his top click. You’re going to almost always want to play him at his 75 point starting line as it offers better powers, and a lower bar to access his traits. Elijah might end up being too finesse based to end up in the competitive scene, but if you can use his Chill In Your Bones trait at the right time, you can earn your team some much needed time, and for 75 points, that’s not bad at all.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

Chases

047 Batman

The trend in the new sets is to have one chase that’s a simple, strong, cheap attacker that doesn’t really offer enough to be a sought after figure, but to be strong enough to earn its status as a chase. Batman is that chase in this set. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this Batman, he has a cool trait that lets him jump into hindering terrain, and has a lot of great values paired with a long dial for 100 points. Batman also doesn’t really do anything exceptional, leaving him as a straight-forward figure that’s definitely undercosted.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

048 Robin

After Wizkids fixed the printing errors on Robin’s card (yet left 0 attack and 3 damage on the pogs?) Robin became a really interesting figure, and possibly competitive figure. Vehicles are an underutilized part of the game, and Robin can single-handedly generate two different, but equally great vehicles for herself or stronger characters to pilot. I can already see someone putting Proteus in the Batcycle, giving you cheap access to Running Shot/Pulse Wave. The Bat-Wing might not have Running Shot, but it can carry 2 characters 11 spaces, and, being a vehicle, it can carry characters with the Flight symbol as well. The 3 damage lets characters like Robin blow up walls and objects, but it doesn’t let them use it in attacks against characters (unless you roll a critical hit). With Perplex and Support, Robin offers a lot of utility in a very concise, cheap dial. There’s no reason not to pick one of her up as she’s the cheapest of the chases, and might be the second best.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 4/5

049 Green Arrow

Green Arrow is the new Nick Fury, with slightly more mobility, and less range. You’re almost never going to see Green Arrow as part of a team, as his trait stops him from making ranged attacks when he has an action token, but as a call-in, he’s going to see endless play. The real gem in his ability set is his attack power that turns off defense powers when he hits with a ranged attack. Now, this won’t turn off defensive powers that aren’t on the dial (those granted by objects, possessors or traits), but it’s a small price to pay for a fantastic power that gets through reducers, stop-clicks and unignorable defense powers. This guy is an absolute beast, and if you’re going to any competitive events, expect to see him everywhere.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 5/5

050 Superman

This Superman is a huge threat, with full movement charge, the ability to heal freely at the end of his dial, and Stealth at the top, keeping him safe at any point. This is the newest, biggest and best high point tent-pole in the game, and as with all the other high point beater figures, he’s probably not going to see a lot of competitive play. He’s still pretty great, especially at his higher point cost, but what really makes him interesting is his trait. It’s what makes him potentially excellent, but also what makes him unreliable. His trait allows you the option of rolling a die to make his powers uncounterable, or to take a token off of him, or finally, to stop him from moving for a turn. It’s a risk you almost need to take to make the best use of his 230 points, or he ends up being a magnet for Outwit, leaving him unprotected in the face of a 30 point Black Panther.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5