001 Deathstroke

Deathstroke is a nice high point primary attacker who has the versatility of having both Charge and Running Shot on his top 3 clicks as well as Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Exploit Weakness insuring he’s dealing penetrating damage. He’s got 6 clicks of life, but starts with a solid 18 with Invulnerability, and Regeneration on his last click. Deathstroke’s also got a great trait that heals him whenever he kills an opposing character, letting him heal back up to his best clicks. He’s a solid figure, but not an exciting one, with a straight-forward solid dial. He is the pinnacle of a 3/5 figure, a solid figure with nothing pushing him over the top, but nothing dragging him down.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

002 Jericho

Jericho’s the first figure with the Remember, We’re The Good Guys trait, which he utilizes wonderfully with his Running Shot/Mind Control special power. He’s lacking in the damage department, and he doesn’t have Willpower, but can carry, and can push himself to get Outwit. 5 clicks for 60 isn’t a great value, but if I don’t pull any other Outwit, he’s definitely going onto my team. He’s a good secondary attacker with the choice between Mind Control and Penetrating/Psychic Blast, who can carry and Outwit, and provides Leadership at the beginning of the game. With all of that, he’s earned a place on your sealed team.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

003 Rose Wilson

Rose Wilson is a fairly basic close attacker with an awesome trait that grants her limited Probability Control. As long as Rose Wilson is based with an opponent, she’s a disaster to deal with, 19 defense up-close with a re-roll is hard to hit, and she can heal by hitting with attacks due to her shared trait. If she’s ever caught out in the open, she’s going to be torn apart. As she takes damage she loses a lot of value as a close attacker, especially on her 3rd and 5th clicks, where she picks up Incapacitate and Shape Change. She’s not much of a tie-up figure, and she’s not that deadly up close, and if she doesn’t get off her healing, she’s getting worse by pushing. I don’t think she’s quite good enough to be anything more than a forced option for a Defiance theme, or a last pick close attacker.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

004 Terra

So Terra’s a common with Telekinesis, Barrier (that buffs your units defense and gives them Toughness) and three clicks of Empower. There are very few situations that you aren’t going to want to have Terra on your team. She’s a decent back-up attacker, and has a bunch of useful powers, including traited Barrier. If you don’t get value out of Terra, it’s because you didn’t use her correctly, or she was killed in a single alpha strike. On-top of all that, she’s a taxi with top-dial Sidestep. She’s brimming with value for her cost, and is going to make a big impact in sealed.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

005 Kid Flash

Kid Flash is Hypersonic Speed in a common slot, but luckily he’s not going to be too aggravating to play against. He’s only got 4 clicks of life for 50 points, but has a tough to crack top-dial with Super Senses, Shape Change and an 18 defense. Since he’s lacking Willpower, and pushing him puts him on 2 damage, and much easier to break defenses, he’s rarely going to be pushed when he’s acting as an aggressor, and instead, when your opponent wants access to his Perplex. He’s made significantly better with other Teen Titans who he can heal when he becomes weakened. Overall he’s a solid 50 points that’s a little bit fragile, but backs it up with access to Perplex, and a tough top-dial.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

006 Power Girl

This is a basic close attacker dial that’s given a big boost from its flight and Perplex. As a secondary attacker, she’s decent, but not too exciting, with only a single click of 3 damage, and only two with any move and attack. For the most part, she’s carrying up your bigger figures, Perplexing what needs to be Perplexed and then Charging in when the time is right. Her dial works out wonderfully with the Titans team ability, giving out her 5 clicks for free to your other titans. She’s a solid addition, not a centerpiece, but a figure that can work as an attacker or a support figure. Even with her somewhat lackluster dial, Perplex is just that nice to have in sealed, especially in a set full of reducers and characters with 4 clicks of life, or 3 damage.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

007 Commander Steel

Commander Steel is 10 points less than Power Girl, 1 click less, and doesn’t have the Perplex or flight. Instead, Commander Steel has some better values, better reducers, Leadership and a trait that acts as Mystics for close attacks, that doesn’t require damage to be dealt to him. Steel even gets a massive 4 damage and 18 defense at the end of his dial, making that 4 clicks last a lot longer than they should. Commander Steel is a great figure to through into the middle of a close combat brawl, forcing opponents to break away or attack him, while avoiding anyone with any ranged expertise. He’s a good brick for sealed where the damage values are fairly low, and he doesn’t give out enough points to be too much of an issue when they’re running a powerhouse figure.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

008 Adeline Kane

Oof. This is not a good figure. Her traited sort of Outwit requires her to be able to see two different opposing characters, that share a trait or special ability in order to remove powers. With 4 clicks of life, if she’s within 6 of two characters worthy of Outwitting, she’s basically dead as it is. Yes, there’s a lot of shared traits in this set, but there’s no assuring that your opponent will be playing two figures that share a trait, and there’s no way of insuring that those two figures will ever be in a position for her to get her trait off. Asides from her trait, she’s a decent ranged supporter with the Police Team Ability and Enhancement. That’s a winning combo, and she can make a lot of your ranged attackers absolutely deadly, as -1 to defense is actually huge in this set. I’m not going out of my way to play her, especially if I don’t have any taxis but, she can be worth her 30 point investment in sealed.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

009 Deimos

Deimos is tie-up with an added bonus of lowering attack values of enemies near them and Mystics to dissuade non-adjacent characters from attacking him. He’s also got a pretty mediocre dial for 55 points, with the only movement power being Sidestep on his first click, and the rest containing nothing but a reducer and Plasticity. I don’t think Deimos is a good tie-up figure, and I don’t think he’s a great attacker, but I still think he’s a decent addition to a sealed team. In sealed, Perplex and Probability Control are king, and a trait that lowers attack values is just forcing your opponents to waste their Perplex on their attack to bring it back up to their printed. When you’re rolling 10s on 17s, a change of 1 is huge. Deimos is bulky enough to be hard to take out, and Mystics makes it absolutely frustrating to deal with him. 55 points is a lot to spend, but I think that simple attack modification will keep him, and your other figures safe from a lot of enemies. On-top of all that, he’s got a 3 damage down his whole dial, making him a danger to anyone who he’s left adjacent to.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 1/5

010 Nightwing

They’ve done Dick Grayson a huge service here by giving him an absolutely killer dial, and a must play in sealed. Nightwing is a work horse figure who can handle any situation with his access to multiple different powers, including Perplex and Outwit, as well as having Leadership. In sealed I’m going to be playing Nightwing at 75 if I don’t pull a more dangerous attacker, and 50 if I’m looking for some support back-up. At his higher point level, he’s got a massive 11 attack and 3 damage, which, when paired with Ranged Combat Expert, makes him a potential 13/3 or 11/5. Because he doesn’t have Willpower, or access to Sidestep, he’s going to want a taxi to carry him around the battlefield, and place him where he can reach opponents with his powers. While the 2 damage on his 50 point line is a little disheartening, I think it’s substantially better for sealed, where Perplex and Outwit are worth their weight in gold. I don’t really want to risk Nightwing being based and punched to his Perplex only clicks , but at 75 points, you’re going to be forced to be more aggressive with him. This is the best figure to pull in the common slot, and has a chance to a contender in sealed. He’s a replacement for the old man Captain America that’s rotating out with Avengers/Defenders War, as he’s got Perplex and Leadership, and if Batman Family or Teen Titans become big keywords, he’ll be on every version of the team.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

011a Duke Thomas

Duke Thomas is absolutely incredible. His trait boosts attack values on any character making a close attack against an opponent who’s based by one or more other friendly characters, and he doesn’t even need to be nearby! With all the bystanders in the meta, Duke Thomas makes the swarm team work in ways it never has before, giving them potentially huge attack values to beat down bigger figures. In terms of his dial, it’s pretty bland, but it packs Empower to help close attackers do even more damage. This guy will see play for sure, he just needs the right swarm figures, and he’ll be absolutely broken.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

011b The Signal

The Signal is a great representation of this set in the form of a prime. It’s got a lot of heart, but it’s a little underpowered in the current environment, and unless you’re a big fan of it, you’re probably not in any rush to pick it up. The Signal is a weirdly crafted Hypersonic figure with Probability Control top-dial, making him a fantastic pick up in sealed. On-top of that, he can cut through Stealth on both opposing and friendly characters with his trait that shuts off Stealth on every character within his line of sight, with no regards to range. It’s a pretty awesome trait, especially on maps that are wide open, with lots of hindering to hide in. It’s also niche, as it only works against characters with Stealth, and it affects your own characters, including himself, as he is friendly, and characters can always draw line of sight to themselves. His second trait is similarly equal opportunity, granting a boost in damage to any adjacent character. It’ll be great in sealed, as he basically has access to both Enhancement and Empower, but it also means any close attacks made against him will have a boost to damage as well, making his 5 clicks of life and Toughness a lot less appealing for 60 points. He doesn’t have a bad dial, and his traits are killer in sealed, but outside of that, he’s a 60 point close attacker that can’t match up with a lot of 50 point dials with a niche Stealth busting trait.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

012 Aqualad

This guy’s got 6 clicks of life for 50 points, that must be embarrassing for the rest of the set. Even though Aqualad doesn’t have any reducers, his 6 clicks of life and decent values and powers on his dial, make him a serious threat when he bases you, and he’s no slouch even when he’s not nearby. With Telekinesis on his first click, and a once per game three target Energy Explosion, Aqualad is always making himself useful. He’s a good close attacker, with a huge dial, and two great out of place powers, giving him the versatility you’re looking for in sealed.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

013 Cyborg

Cyborg is another killer common for sealed with big range, big attack values, and big damage with a very reasonable price tag. At either point value Cyborg is starting with an 11 attack and Penetrating/Psychic Blast with the choice between using his two targets, or giving one target knock-back. He’s also sporting Enhancement, making him a team player with your other ranged attackers, before getting to his three clicks of Perplex at the end of his dial. If you’re got the 25 points, the higher cost does give him a great swing with Running Shot, as well as an 18 defense, putting him above the rest of the commons, for a mere 75 points. There’s no reason not to run him if you pull him, even at 50 he’s providing you with an excellent 7 range Penetrating/Psychic Blast with an 11 attack, easily knocking most of this set off their top-clicks.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

014 Prez Rickard

Prez Rickard is bringing an 18 Defend, with an incredible Leadership power and is just a push away from picking up a Perplex. Even if his Leadership didn’t give you the option of taking off tokens from your opposing characters to take tokens off of yours, the fact that it works on a 4-6 makes it so much more reliable. In this set you’re going to want Leadership, and a Leadership where you can take tokens off of characters within 6 on a 4-6 is hard to pass up. In constructed, he’s going to see a lot of play, offering reliable token removal at a mass level. Even though it might seem questionable to take tokens off of your opponents figures, being able to choose which figures to remove the tokens from negates a lot of the risk involved in doing so. The icing on the cake is that he doesn’t count against your theme teams, insuring his inclusion across lots of upcoming constructed teams.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 4/5

015 Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman’s 100 points for 6 clicks of life, and even though she has reducers, ESD and Super Senses against close attacks, I’d be a little apprehensive about running her, compared to the other options at 50-60 points. I think one-on-one, Wonder Woman is going to be hell to bring down, but with her average values, her Super Senses and Invulnerability aren’t going to keep her safe from multiple attacks from lower point characters. With the right back-up, Wonder Woman can avoid being focused on, and become a fantastic attacker that’s great at forcing opponents to waste attacks stopping. I think there’s a lot of potential in this dial, but it’s also a single Outwit away from being torn apart from range, leaving you 100 points down. Her Leading the Charge trait grants Close Combat Expert, which could be big, but requires her to make the first attack, hit, and then have another Justice League character adjacent to an opponent, which is a lot.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

016 Super-Man

The Justice League of China’s Man of Steel is a hard figure to rate. At his 75 point starting line, he’s got a measly 4 clicks of life without Willpower, but he’s also got Hypersonic Speed, and a trait that boost one of his combat values each turn, yet, even with the boost, his values aren’t above average. At his 150 point value, he’s picking up an extra three clicks of life and making his boost a +2. With that his top-dial is looking way better than average, with either a 13 attack or a 20 defense. The lack of Willpower is what really scares me away from playing this dial, but if I don’t pull anything else, Super-Man is definitely the go to tentpole. Just don’t play him at 75, ever.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

Uncommon

017 Deathstroke

The second take on Deathstroke comes in at a lower point value, and isn’t quite as aggressive, with less offensive powers, yet higher attack and defense values. Not having Willpower looks worse than it is when he heals 2/3rds of the time he hits someone and doesn’t kill them, and when pushing nets him a massive 12 attack. You’re going to want to push Deathstroke as fast as possible to get access to his 18 defense to share with his Defend and his 12 attack that will easily knock all but the most expensive figures around. As he takes damage, he becomes a little weaker, focusing on Charge and close attackers, before a final click with Regeneration. Don’t forget that he hands out Mastermind to the other Defiance members (not that there’s a lot of them you want to protect over him) and gets a boost to attack and defense when taking damage from attacks. Deathstroke isn’t who you’re hoping to have as a primary or secondary attacker, but he fits the role and can be awesome with his 12 attack, 18 Defend and self-healing.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

018 Jericho

Jericho is a straight-forward Mind Control figure with Perplex. At 50 points the Perplex makes him worth playing, without even taking into consideration the 8 range Mind Control that makes hit targets attacks far less reliable. 75 points gives him two more clicks of life, and makes him more likely to get Invincible from his defense power, but since Jericho has Willpower, and extra two clicks of life really don’t provide much extra power, just more reliability. Personally, I’d be fine getting a single target Mind Control and a Perplex for 50 points, but 75 points is pushing it for me. Play him at 50 to get a great support/secondary attacker, or leave him in the booster.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

019 Ravager

Ravager has an absolutely killer 50 point dial that you’re going to have to pay 75 points for if you want to play her. Her special damage power is really what makes her exciting, giving her Perplex, Exploit Weakness and limited Probability Control. Pair that will all the close combat powers you’d ever want in a figure, and you’ve got something that can just tear apart figures up close, and can reliably hide from attacks with Combat Reflexes. At the same time, Rose is stuck with 5 clicks of life, a 17 Defense and no reducers, making her incredibly vulnerable to any ranged attacker, and there are a ton of ranged attackers in the set that would love to knock her off her first three clicks. If you want to play her, you’re going to need to rely on her Improved Movement to get in close, and her Perplex on her defense, or you’re going to be 75 points down very quickly. She’s just too squishy for me to suggest playing, even if she has some crazy offensive potential.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

020 Terra

Terra is the newest figure with the traitor mechanic, which has had a pretty high level of quality so far. Catwoman was a pretty decent figure at 40 points, even if she wasn’t exactly good enough to field outside of sealed, and Alex Wilder was an all-star who probably should have costed upwards of 50 points for his dial. Terra is currently the absolute worst of the traitors with a dial I wouldn’t want to play even if she didn’t have the Traitor trait. Terra is an average close combat figure with some longevity from her Shape Change, and Telekinesis, making her slightly more interesting than a lot of close combat figures. She’s going to be a decent close attacker until she turns on you after being targeted by a few of your opponents figures, and is going to be an absolute mess for you to deal with. Play her only if you really need access to her Telekinesis, or you don’t pull enough damage for your team, because regardless of how I feel about her, she does put out a decent amount of damage.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

021 Kid Flash

When I’m looking for TK in the uncommon slot, I’d much rather pull Kid Flash over Terra. Kid Flash might only have 5 clicks like Ravager, but with Super Senses and Shape Change as well as Hypersonic Speed, it’s much easier to keep Kid Flash safe from opponents. Kid Flash’s big trick is his special attack power that lets him access Force Blast, Smoke Cloud or Telekinesis, and use them for free if he removes a Speed Token. This lets Kid Flash Hypersonic out, hit someone, and either, return and throw a friendly character forwards, or return himself an extra 6 spaces by targeting himself with Telekinesis. On-top of that, he pushes to Probability Control, and has the shared Defiance trait that will let him heal when he hits, but fails to kill his target, something he will be doing constantly. I love this design because it’s really not based around using Hypersonic in a traditional way, but instead using it as a way to access a support move set.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

022 Power Girl

I would like Power Girl as a close combat figure even if she didn’t have access to both Outwit and Perplex, but thank god she does, and is an absolutely stellar figure. With her trait boosting all of her values by 1, and granting her either giant or colossal size (why wouldn’t you choose colossal?) she’s got 18 defense and 4 damage at either of her point lines, and that’s before her Super Strength bumps it up another two. Of course, that’s before she uses her Outwit and Perplex to either increase her attack to a 12 or remove the defense power of a target before she smashes them. The only thing holding Power Girl back is her lack of Willpower, which is helped by her Defiance trait, except that she’s really bad at not killing people. The trait does pair wonderfully with her late dial Flurry that can potentially activate it twice, pushing her back to her top-click at 75, or even back to her click 2 at 115. The real question is, 115 or 75 points? Both are great, but the only benefit at 115 is two clicks of life, 11 attack instead of 10. I’d rather play her at 75 with another figure, than play her at 115, but I always feel like an additional body is better than a slightly stronger one. You might think I’m overvaluing her, but she’s got incredible power, high attack values, a decent point value, and Perplex and Outwit.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 2/5

023a Steel

Steel is a straight-forward close combat brick with a massive 8 clicks of life for 90 points and reducers all the way down. He’s got decent values throughout the dial, only falling to mediocre on his last two, which is luckily boosted by his Close Combat Expert. On-top of his incredibly long dial, he’s got a version of Mystics that only works against close attacks. What you’re going to want to do with Steel is get him up close, tie-up some opponents and force them to hit him and take penetrating damage while he wails away on them. The amount of effort a team needs to spend to get through Steel should give you more than enough time to make your own attacks against your opponent. Just remember that Steel needs to avoid being attacked from range, so figures like Cyborg with Penetrating/Psychic Blast can easily wear away at him without fearing reprisal. When he’s not up close, he’s using his special defense power to boost the defense values of all friendly characters adjacent to him at the small cost of the roll-out from Impervious. I’m not usually a fan of figures like this, but the amount of life on this one guy makes it a real issue to take him down.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

023b Citizen Steel

Citizen Steel is just Steel with slightly better clicks down his dial, for 20 points more. I’m not playing Steel for him to be a monstrous damage dealer, so adding an extra 20 points isn’t very exciting to me. Citizen Steel’s real reason for existing is his trait that stops colossals from being placed within 3 spaces of him (when he’s played at 35 points). Spoiler here, its not nearly as good as it seems. The 3 range on the trait doesn’t extend far enough to be serious protection for any other figure than himself without a serious amount of blocking terrain on the map. If I’m paying 35 points for someone to protect me from retaliation, I want something that makes it seriously hard to retaliate, not something that limits their choice in placement to slightly inconvenience them. I don’t think I’m playing him in sealed, where he’s an overly expensive version of his non-prime friend, or in constructed where his trait just doesn’t do enough.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 3/5

024 Veronica Cale

Veronica Cale is a fantastic support figure with a focus on supporting and destroying characters with the Diety keyword. Veronica Cale’s big trick is her damage power which gives her Perplex and Outwit, that get a second use when targeting someone with the Diety keyword. So if you’re playing with a diety, Veronica is two Perplexes in one, as well as an Outwit and a Smoke Cloud. She’s just got so much going for her on the right team, that there’s no reason not to play her. Her two traits aren’t too exciting, just allowing her to pick up the diety keyword, and boosting up the other members of godwatch when facing off against a diety. It’s too bad that none of the members of Godwatch are really great, and that diety isn’t an incredibly common keyword to face. There’s potential for it in the future if they create more figures that can copy keywords, and if diety becomes a big player like Monster or Mystical. Veronica is a scourge of sealed, regardless if you pull a diety to play with her, Perplex and Outwit make sealed teams.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

025 Phobos

Phobos is the reverse of Deimos. He’s got a very similar dial, but with a trait that’s nowhere near as good. Phobos lowers breakaway rolls of opposing characters near him, giving him pseudo Plasticity, but without the defense values are reducers to keep him alive. He’s not a great tie-up figure, and he’s not a great offensive figure, relying mostly on his Mystics team ability to deal damage. The best thing you can say about Phobos is he makes all of your other close figures better at keeping opponents locked down, potentially helping characters like Steel.

Sealed: 1/5

Constructed: 1/5

026 Billy Batson

Here’s some 20 Point Perplex, with 3 clicks and a stop-click. Sadly the Perplex only lasts for a single click, making it easy to pop him off of it with an Energy Explosion or a Poison. He does bring more to the table, with his The World Needs to Know trait, a shared trait that’s popped up multiple times since World’s Finest, and has sadly never had much of an impact. His is a really great version of the trait that shuts down Free actions on a character. The reason these traits never did much is because it triggers at the beginning of your turn, forcing you to set it up on your previous turn, or have an opponent move into it’s range without thinking. Either way it’s just icing on the cake with Billy, who’s the cheapest source of normal Perplex now, only being beat by Big Tony’s adjacency required Perplex. Of course, you can also pay 40 points for Billy if you have a Shazam, and suddenly, he’s a Perplexer who turns into a 3 click long beat-stick with Probability Control that can push to Pulse Wave. In sealed I think 90% of the time you’re better off just playing Shazam, but in constructed, that’s an incredible value for 40 points, especially since Shazam is only scoring your opponents 40 points, and you still get to choose a power to be protected from with his Wisdom of Solomon trait. 20 points is nothing to spend in sealed for a Perplex, and 40 for what Shazam brings in in constructed is an absolute steal.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

027 Colonel Poison

I’ve always liked penetrating Poison, and that’s what Colonel Poison is in a nutshell. She’s 4 clicks of guaranteed damage if you can get her up close, and into hindering to avoid any pesky Outwits. She’s also able to hand out Battle Fury to friendly characters, but the amount of Shape Change in this set is limited, so it’s fairly niche. I think Colonel Poison is a great figure to throw at your opponents when you need a break for a turn, as they need to immediately deal with her, but with a single Outwit, she’s easy to knock off her Poison, or to lose the Poison, neutering her capabilities. At 40 points, she’s still decent even if she can’t reliably survive overextending herself, especially with her 5 range, solid vales, and great powers with Leadership and Perplex. I feel really mixed on her, even though she’s got great values, and a great power-set every time I’ve played her, she hasn’t quite held her own. In another set, she would be fantastic, but this set has a ton of Outwit, and a lot of close attackers with high attack values. If you play her, place her in hindering and use her to threaten your opponents approach, or as a throwaway figure to buy yourself sometime.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

028 Tempest

Did someone say Smoke Cloud as Free? That has immediately got me interested in his dial, even if it turns out to be water terrain instead of hindering, because on-top of making grounded figures feet wet, he can follow it up with a chance to give that character a token or a penetrating damage without ever needing to take an action. If it’s not clear, I love Tempest, he’s a fantastic character to carry with a taxi, as he’s able to pump out damage and be carried on the same turn. This set is filled with Stealth and high defenses, and Tempest just flat out doesn’t care, because he’s either slowing them down with tokens, or he’s straight dealing damage to them, and on-top of that he’s got Perplex top-dial! His values are average, and powers-wise he’s a straight-forward close attacker that loses a lot of momentum as he takes damage, but who cares when he’s wearing away at a figure every turn as long as they are within 6 of him. I think he’s too expensive for constructed, but free damage and action tokens is never something to overlook.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

029 Mr. Terrific

If you pulled Mr. Terrific with Duke Thomas, you’ve just got one of the best combinations in the set. With Duke Thomas’s trait boosting attack values for every friendly character adjacent to the target, and Mr. Terrific making bystanders who want to scoot next to your target so that he can punch people, Mr. Terrific is not only getting a +1 from Duke at all times, it also makes it easy for Duke to hand him his Empower, as well as making every other close attacker far better at attacking. This combination is so good, it makes both characters an instant play if you pull them together. By himself, Terrific is no slacker, with a dial full of Outwit and Prob, free bystanders who can block off important intersections, or stop characters from making ranged attacks (though not tie-up opposing characters) and who can Perplex Terrific up to some decent levels. Having a T-Sphere Perplex up his attack, then move out so that Terrific can get his Precision Strike in, is incredibly fun, and it makes it very hard for opponents to protect their pieces. He’s a finesse figure, but if you can get the most of him, he’s going to easily score more than his point value. I’d suggest pushing him to his second click to get the best out of him, with a boost to his attack and damage, and a Sidestep to more easily get within range to attack.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

030 Artemis

Artemis is the first figure with the Dark Trinity trait, and unsurprisingly one of the three, so don’t expect her to get the attack bonus in sealed. For the Outlaws this time (aside from Starfire…for whatever reason) Wizkids has designed them with a palindrome dial that is the same backwards and forwards, it’s not going to make a huge impact on how she’s played, but it’s interesting. Artemis is 100 points for 7 clicks of life, with some solid reducers in her dial, as well as decently high values. The best part about her is the trait that hands out free actions half the time, especially paired his her multiple close attacks against every adjacent opposing character. It’s disappointing Artemis doesn’t have any Improved Movement to go with her special attack power, but she does have the Outsiders team ability, so she can easily cut through characters with Combat Reflexes. While I’m never a fan of Blades/Claws/Fangs on a expensive character, her decent values, long dial and useful trait and team ability, allow her to be a far better close attacker than she initially appears, even if her Outlaws trait never matters.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

031 Batman

I know I talked a lot of crap about Ravagers 75 point 5 click long dial and how vulnerable she is, and I know Batman is 10 points more with exactly the same number of clicks, but I can’t help but liking him a lot more. With a trait that gives him Stealth that ignores improved targeting, Combat Reflexes and Outwit, he’s hard to deal with if he has hindering to hide in. Even when he’s based, he’s able to easily to escape with Leap/Climb, Sidestep and the ability to place characters he breaks away from 2 spaces away from where they were. With 5 range, mobility, and enough protection to be reasonably safe, Batman can stay safely out of harms way, and either strike down characters he’s Outwit, or double Incap two other characters. On-top of all that, he’s got Outsiders to insure no one is modifying their values when they’re trying to hit his 19. I love Outwit in sealed, and while Batman isn’t going to be my go to for it due to his 5 clicks of life, he’s definitely a nice figure to have.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

032 The-Flash

With The-Flash, you’re either paying 100 points for an low damage character with Probability Control and Defend, or you’re paying 75 points for the common Kid Flash, with Willpower and a trait that drains hit characters Speed and Attack and gives it to the Flash. If it’s not clear the 75 point line is far better than the 100 point line, even for the Probability Control, mostly due to the fact that 18 Defend isn’t nearly as nice to have on a speedster as Super Senses/Shape Change is. Her biggest boon is the speed stealing trait, as it forces your opponents to choose between wasting a characters action with a MOVE instead of attacking or clearing, while making The-Flash better at hitting. At the same time, you’re investing a quarter of your points into a figure that deals a single damage, and becomes a quarter as useful after taking two. She’s never going to be my go-to speedster, and she’s probably the worst speedster in this set. Of course the worst speedster is still better than a lot of the close attackers in a set.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

Rares

033 Superboy

Here’s another 75 point close combat figure with 5 clicks of life, but he does have Invincible on his first click making him way beefier up close. On-top of that, he’s got an incredible 14 movement, 11 attack, 18 defense, 6 range and 4 damage, making him a monster in combat, with some of the best mobility in the set. When I play Superboy, I’m going to focus on using him as a ranged attacking taxi, which may seem strange, but he’s got a fantastic range, attack and damage, and is a huge threat to figures, especially those who rely on Stealth. He’s going to make a big impact when he hits, and hopefully, his fist attack will get rid of your opponents Outwit. If you can keep him safe, he’s going to win you the game, and if he dies quickly, you’ll have to work to make up those points.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

034 Orphan

Orphan looks pretty questionable, with low values, and no great powers, but her values are a little bit of a trick, as she boosts her attack and defense for each adjacent opposing character. This trait can lead to huge blow-outs when she gets adjacent to 3 or more characters, giving her a massive 13 attack with 20 defense, but if they can get away from her, she’s sitting at a 17 with Super Senses. She’s not high enough impact for her 75 point, dealing limited damage with her Quake+Precision Strike. You really don’t want to use the knock-back from Quake, because you want adjacent characters, and dealing 1 or 2 damage to a bunch of opponents isn’t game changing. Keep her in the front-line, utilize her Stealth to keep safe until she can get up close, and then hope that you aren’t left out in the open after making your attacks. The only reason I find her playable is due to her Willpower, Stealth and the fact that she’ll have an 18 defense whenever she’s attacked up-close. She shouldn’t be your go to close attacker, but she works in a pinch.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

035 Superwoman

Superwoman is a ranged cannon with a scary lack of Willpower and a surprisingly low attack value top-value. None of those things matter, as long as you’ve got a single Perplex. She’s shooting through hindering with her Superman Ally, dealing 4 penetrating damage, and, most importantly, she heals with ranged Steal Energy. Superwoman’s biggest issue is being based, where her powers aren’t nearly as useful. If she can stay far enough away from your opponents close attackers, she breaks opponents teams on her knee, requiring a ton of ranged attacks to remove her from the battlefield, as she’s able to heal after taking damage, or alternatively boost her damage to incredible levels to one shot almost any figure in the set.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

036 Dolphin

Dolphin is surprisingly great at 30 points, but she’s not really what you want to pull for your rare slot. Dolphin has two dials, one with Super Senses/Shape Change and a double target Incapacitate, and one with Charge with full movement in water, and 11 attack Blades/Claws/Fangs. With 18 defense on both of her top-dials she’s actually pretty tricky to deal with, and requires way more of an investment from your opponent to deal with, than she costs to play. If you play her with Tempest or Black Manta, who can generate water for her, she’s absolutely killer, and is a must play, without them she’s a strong close attacker who’s definitely undercosted.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

037a Shazam

Shazam is one of those big tent poles that can absolutely crush a sealed team that’s not prepared for him, and almost insures you’ll go 2-1 in sealed. Weaker teams just fall when Shazam Hypersonic’s in for a single target Quake, dealing 5 damage with knock-back into a wall, before returning to safety. His dial really isn’t anything new for a Hypersonic figure, but his traits give him a lot of flexibility, and make him one of the strongest figures in the set. Wisdom of Solomen gives you the choice of what he’s protected from during the game, whether it be Outwit or Pulse Wave (or one of the less useful options). Power of Zeus makes him into an unhittable tank, by modifying his defense by 1 for every turn he stands in place. As long as your opponents don’t have a ton of mobility and range, Shazam can pretty safely hide himself away, and force your opponents to come after him and his 21 defense with Probability Control. In constructed, Shazam will see play on the sideline for Billy Baxton. In that case he’s entering the battlefield wit 10 attack, 3 damage and Charge/Super Strength/Impervious/Probability Control, a dial more than worth its 40 point investment. On-top of that, he still gets access to his traits, insuring your opponent won’t be able to take him out with a simple Outwit or Pulse Wave. It allows you to be a lot more aggressive with your Billy Baxton support piece, and get him in range to activate his special movement power, because if your opponent decides to remove him, they’re giving you a huge attacker in his place, forcing them to spend another action to take 40 points from you.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 5/5

037b Black Adam

Black Adam is even more straight-forward than Shazam, sharing the same Mystics team ability, but having Quintessence on-top of that. Black Adam might have more to fear from Pulse Wave than Billy did, but on-top of a beefy dial, he’s got a trait that gives him free movement and Super Senses. When you see a dial that long with a ton of reducers, Mystics and traited Super Senses, you know there’s no way you’re going to take it down in sealed. He’s basically an instant win unless your opponent pulls a Pulse Wave figure, and you let them get to him before he gets to them. With 6 movement Charge and the potential to move up to 6 spaces for free, it’s hard not to be within his danger zone. Playing him is going to turn every game into a brawl, with a lot of Super Senses rolls and a lot of Mystics damage. In constructed his ability to move for free makes him a great option for an ID card battery, especially at 100 where he can use his Perplex to further boost his call-ins. With a Symbiote for Shape Change or Exospex for Hypersonic, the only thing Black Adam will have to worry about is Pulse Wave.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

038 Beast Boy

Beast Boy is an absolutely fun figure that’s a great secondary attacker for sealed, and one that has little chance of making an impact outside of it, as sad as that might be. He’s got a decent dial with 6 clicks for 60 points, and the Animal keyword, for some fun shenanigans with Throg. The thing that makes Beast Boy is his trait that lets him choose animal forms to gain abilities and powers from. With Eagle and T-Rex, Beast Boy can become a taxi, or make any other character a taxi for him, and Gorilla and Octopus round up the team by providing him with increased damage potential. They’re all great options, and make him a very varied close attacker, but nothing beyond that. The biggest issue with Beast Boy is that even with his variety of powers and abilities, he’s still an average close attacker that can choose to be average in different ways. No matter if he’s a T-Rex or a Gorilla, he’s still swinging away with a 10 attack and 3 damage. I’m going to be playing him a lot on Teen Titans theme teams, but I don’t think he’s going to do much for me beyond that.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

039 Bumblebee

Being able to push to Outwit is always nice, but Bumblebee doesn’t really do much outside of that. On her top-dial she’s a Running Shot/Hypersonic figure with Precision Strike to poke opponents off their top clicks, and on her lower point value she’s using her double target Incapacitate, or is Hypersonicing around with a 1 damage. If she was a common, I think i’d be way happier to pull her, but as a rare, she’s a disappointment.



Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

040 Raven

Raven is the new taxi for mystical and monster teams, and she’s an absolute monster at doing it too. With Phasing and Stealth, Raven can easily get in position, while carrying flyers, and then become a decent threat with her 11 attack Penetrating/Psychic Blast. On-top of all that, she’s got a triple threat damage power that gives her Perplex, Probability Control and Support, and she can get hit to Outwit and Regeneration, giving her access to almost all the powers you could possibly want from her. In constructed her Mystics team ability is a little bit of a liability, as a character could hit her, take the Mystics, and then retaliate with a colossal, hitting her and all her friends, but with Stealth, and a shortish dial, there’s a good chance of avoiding that. Either way, I definitely think she’s worth playing with two of the best powers in the game.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 4/5

041 Cyclone

When you’re biggest saving grace is a top-dial 18 defense, there’s not enough going on to be worthwhile. Cyclone is a Running Shot figure with 4 range, that loses the Running Shot for Sidestep as she takes damage, and becomes a Quake user. The real reason you’re running her in sealed is for her traited Telekinesis and Force Blast, which both can be used in the same turn if she targets the same opposing character. That is such a niche effect that I think at most two people in the lifetime of this figure will use it. Either you can Force Blast away an adjacent character, and then Telekinesis and object at them (the best way to use it), or you can Telekinesis an opponent adjacent to her, and then Force Blast them away (the worst way to use it). In constructed you aren’t running her ever. She’s one of the worst Justice Society members, and there are lots of unremarkable members of that team.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 1/5

042 Adrianna Tomaz

Adrianna is the sequel to Cyclone, with Cyclones trait turned into a special power later in her dial. Adrianna has a more offensive dial with Sidestep and Ranged Combat Expert that turns into Charge down her dial, but with 4 range, she’s really not doing much with it. She’s also got a trait that heals her every time she clears action tokens, and stops her form being knocked back, and the Mystics team ability. She’s probably better than Cyclone but not by a significant enough margin to matter. She’s strong enough to put out some damage, but at a range so short that it hardly matters. She’s got healing, and Mystics, but a dial short enough to easily be blown through with little worry from the attacker. Atleast she functions as a taxi, and has Sidestep/Telekinesis.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

043 Lady Vic

The newest addition to the secret six, has a really cool power at her 75 point dial, and has 3 clicks of life with a 10 attack at 50 point dial. There’s really not much of an option here, because regardless of how strong her trait is, her powers and values don’t back it up. At her top-dial, she’s much better with Running Shot and Precision Strike, and a great damage power that lets her make free moves or attacks at the cost of taking a damage. With Stealth and Improved Movement from her trait, it’s easy to get her in position to kill an opposing character up to 14 away, or make two attacks against a character up to 12 away. I’m paying for the first three clicks of Running Shot, and never for three clicks of Stealth and Combat Reflexes on a overcosted close attacker. In constructed, she has potential with her free move and attack, especially if any of her keywords make it big. Being able to move 8 squares up the map and then call in a Wolverine is not a bad thing at all.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 3/5

044 Shade, The Changing Girl

Shade is a great, cheap tie-up piece who can force opponents to hit their own figures if she gets her Shape Change roll off. With Poison, Perplex and an 18 defense, Shade’s difficult to hit, and can be a real menace if she gets into the right position. If she takes damage, she loses her tie-up abilities, but gains a negative Perplex. In sealed she can absolutely control a game, forcing opponents to waste attacks on her, or sit there doing nothing. In constructed, there isn’t as much room for tie-up figures, so she doesn’t have the same value, but she’s certainly a well built, fun figure.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

045 Aquaman

Aquaman is a fairly cheap close attacker, who gets a wicked long swing if he’s occupying water, and a trait that lets him Mind Control figures with the dolphin symbol. That’s a lot of fun stuff, but it’s extremely niche, and not particularly useful a majority of the time. His dial is pretty average for a close attacker, with 6 clicks of life, with some reducers, and some standard close attacking powers. I think he’s a pretty cool representation of Aquaman, but he’s nothing more than a close attacker with some cool bells and whistles.



Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

046 Red Hood

Batman Ally and Outsiders team ability makes Red Hood an auto-play, especially in a set with so much Perplex. Red Hood has great values with a starting 12 attack, and Energy Explosion, which pairs incredibly well with his trait that potentially gives hit characters -2 to attack. All the clicks on his dial are useful, especially his middle two clicks that have Probability Control on them. To make up for all the sky-high values, Red Hood can’t kill anyone. If he does, the character miraculously survives the attack, and Red Hood, feeling good about his morality, heals a click. It’s not ideal, and it can lead to situations where Red Hood literally cannot do anything, while your opponents leave one of your support figures behind, insuring his prolonged uselessness. It’s strange that Batman in this set feels totally okay with killing, while his protege seems to hold Batman’s clear hypocritical moral stance to a fault, but I guess Batman isn’t running around with guns in this set either.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 1/5

047 The Flash

Did Batman get to Flash too? What are you doing Batman? Unlike Red Hood, Flash’s inability to kill strangely only shows up when he’s about to die. Look at the self preservation on this guy. Regardless, Flash’s movement power lets him move up to 7 spaces before Flurrying with 11 attack 3 damage. I’m never turning that down in sealed, especially when he only comes in at a slim 70 points. 5 clicks of life isn’t ideal, but with an 18 defense down his dial and Combat Reflexes, he’s harder to bring down than he looks. At the end of his dial he picks up that power, along with Hypersonic Speed and Probability Control, making him a pretty great speedster. This is a great figure for sealed, as there is no way to protect from him. He’s able to get into any gap, and Flurry any figure left out near him.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

048 Bat-Man

God, if you pull this guy you have to play him. Leadership, Perplex, Outwit and the ability to grant adjacent characters Perplex when he succeeds at Leadership is way too good to pass-up. On-top of that he’s getting Toughness and Range +2 from his trait, and once per game make an extremely powerful attack that can KO a huge amount of this set. He’s a little squishy, as he doesn’t have the Stealth (or apparently the same attitude towards killing) that his american counterpart has. He brings all the support you need in one very decent basket, so insure the rest of your team has the protection to keep him alive.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 3/5

Super Rares

049 Black Canary

Running Shot/Pulse Wave is always a great combination, and when paired with Force Blast, Black Canary is consistently dealing 3 damage to hit characters. Her 2 base damage looks a lot worse than it ends up being with the insured knockback. If you’re worried about getting her in position to take advantage of the knock back, you can rest easy with her Improved Movement: Characters. Black Canary has two ways to use her Bombshell tokens, beyond making free close attacks (something you’re not as interested in with her 2 damage down the dial), she can double all knock-back dealt by friendly characters and stop opposing characters from ignoring the knock-back, or when she uses her Pulse Wave, hand out tokens to all hit opposing characters. Because of her low damage, knock back and pseudo Incapacitate, you want to get as many opponents as possible with each of her attacks, slowing down your opponents team, while simultaneously dealing 2 damage to each of them. Sadly, due to pushing damage happening after resolutions, characters with Willpower will get it back, and avoid taking damage from the second token. If Black Canary was any more expensive, she wouldn’t be as easy to play as she is, but as a 65 point supporting attacker who can cripple your opponents entire team, she’s more than worth her points.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

050 Robin

How can Robin riding a huge demon have such a lackluster dial? At 75 points, you’ve got a close attacker with Flying and Stealth (two great things) and a defense power that gives him Invulnerability and boosts the defense of adjacent characters, and nothing else. He’s a basic close attacker with low attack values, Blades/Claws/Fangs to rely on for damage and 5 clicks of life. Stealth is the only reason he’s remotely playable, and even then, there’s such a high number of close combat attackers in this set, that Robin just won’t find the success he needs. At 125, you’re paying 50 points for an extra two clicks of life with a full movement, direct path, Charge and Outwit. He’s a lot better, but is nowhere near worth his expensive 125 point cost.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

051 Lex Luthor

Lex is all about his defense power that stops all but 1 damage from the first attack that hits him every turn. If you’re able to keep Lex safely away from your opponents swarm, there’s absolutely no way to easily get through his dial. A single damage every turn, even at his 100 point level, will insure you’re not winning the game. He’s even got Protected: Outwit to insuring he’ll remain safe from everything but Pulse Wave, and give a chance of Outwit protection to your allies as well. I’m always playing Lex at 100 points, where he’s an amazingly strong ranged attacker that can shrug off a ton of damage, instead of his 200 point dial, where he’s 3 clicks longer, and if he takes a damage, goes to Charge instead of Running Shot. This is just such a good figure, but he’s not invincible. With the amount of cheap close attackers in this set, Lex can easily be overwhelmed, and after being hit, regardless of whether it did damage, he’s just relying on standard Impervious. He’s still way harder to take out than a 100 point strong ranged attacker should be.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

052 Mister Oz

Here’s the newest cheap support figure that will go on every team that wants Telekinesis. For 40 points, Mister Oz is providing two clicks with Telekinesis and Probability Control. That’s already good enough for 40 points, but of course Oz here needed to have a special version of each power. His Telekinesis allows him to place anyone placed by Telekinesis two squares from where they landed. This includes characters he places with his, and characters opponents place. So basically, it makes all of your Telekinesis 8 range, and all of your opponent’s 4. His special Probability Control lets him use it at a range of 12, and doesn’t require him to see the target, since he ignores everything when he uses it. Of course, he’s also got an incredible defense to keep those two clicks safe, with and 18, Super Senses, Stealth and the return of the Hypertime team ability, that forces your opponent to roll a 3-6 if they want to move into a square adjacent to him. He’s one of the best support pieces under 50, and will find a space on any team that can have him if you get lucky enough to pull him. Now, while that’s nice in sealed, he’s also got a 100 point dial that gives him 5 more clicks after his first two. His later clicks turn him into a ranged attacker with solid values, and a movement power that lets him place himself anywhere within 6 squares. With his 7 range, he’s easily able to get access to any character he wants to hit, striking them for a great 4 damage. The only let down is that Mister Oz doesn’t have any Willpower, and every click he loses makes him dramatically worse. He’s a surprisingly strong attacker, but you need to do some work to make sure he gets there when you need him there, and not when your opponent decides it’s time, or he’ll quickly be overwhelmed and killed.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 5/5

053 Clayface

There’s a lot of special powers here, but there’s only one power that really matters, and it’s his team ability, Batman Ally; This Clayface is nothing without Stealth. He’s starting with Sidestep/Flurry, and doesn’t have Willpower, leaving him very vulnerable to Outwit. With Stealth he’s able to let your opponents come to him so he can step out, and Flurry them giving them some penetrating damage and a token. All of his special powers are useful, but none really define him, or give him enough strength to escape being a close attacker without Charge top-dial, and without the Willpower to move him and and then push to attack. Like the last two super-rare Clayface’s, they just aren’t quite good enough for their price. If you can make use of that Steath, then Clayface can be a menace, but it’s easy enough to leave him be, and force him to come to you, and when that happens he’s going to suffer for it.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 2/5

054 Black Manta

Black Manta is similar to Clayface, where he just doesn’t quite make it, but he’s got some interesting powers that make him a fun figure to play. Everyone wants to play Black Manta because of his attack power that let’s him use his Energy Explosion to hit a bunch of opponents, infect them with his poison dart markers, and then sit back, and Poison them without needing to be adjacent. It’s a really cool concept, but Black Manta needs water terrain to activate his trait and escape, or he’s going to be torn apart easily. He’s got 5 clicks of life, and 17 defense with Energy Shield and Invulnerability which forces you to be very careful before he goes in for an attack. I’m not very hot on this guy, and I think he’s so overpriced for what he actually brings, which is the threat of damage over time. It’s just way, way harder to achieve than it initially looks.

Sealed: 2/5

Constructed: 2/5

055 Starfire

At either 100 or 50 points, Starfire is a solid attacker with a ton of mobility, and a surprisingly tough dial to get through, with an incredible stop-click with Charge/Flurry/Force Blast with 11 attack and 4 damage. At 100 you’re starting with Hypersonic Speed and a special Energy Explosion you can use during it, and at 50 you’ve got Running Shot/Pulse Wave, a timeless combination that everyone is dying to use. There’s no tricks here, Starfire is just incredibly efficient for her points, with high values and great powers, as well as a killer stop-click that forces your opponents to deal with it, or lose a character to her.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 5/5

056 Jessica Cruz

Jessica Cruz is a member of the Green Lantern Corp, making her a fantastic taxi, but it also puts her in competition with the other Green Lanterns, like the common from Elseworld, and sadly she really isn’t better than him. For 65 points, Jessica has a 5 click dial with decent values and powers all the way down including Telekinesis that she can use at no cost after carrying a character a short distance, a weird combination of abilities, that lets her throw a carried character, or bring another character along with her, or give her a version of Running Shot if there’s an object in range to throw. Jessica’s also able to remove Battle Fury from friendly characters near her, and has some protection from attacks with Shape Change. She’s a good taxi, and has some relevant powers, but I’m absolutely not looking forward to pulling her in sealed. Everything she does, other characters can do, some of which do it better than her for less of an investment.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

057 Deathstroke

This is the next big Hypersonic figure after the likes of KC Flash, with huge movement, a long dial and the ability to Flurry during his Hypersonic (after hitting once). Slade’s far from perfect with only Toughness protecting him on his first few clicks, and nothing stopping his Hypersonic or Willpower from being Outwit by an opponent leaving him stranded. After hitting and picking up a speed token, Slade is gaining both speed, and defense against ranged attacks, making him much harder to hit if you can’t catch up with him. When he’s got a speed token, he’s able to spend it to switch his attack for Exploit Weakness or Energy Explosion on her top dial, or Flurry and Blades later. Finally, he’s got the Wildcard team ability, which works fantastically with Batman Ally to give him Stealth. In sealed, if he can get started, and get away from your opponents Outwitters, he’ll steamroll your opponents, hitting with his high attack values that just get higher after he re-roll’s them with his Probability Control. In constructed I think he has a place, especially if he can pick up an Exospex to give him Penetrating/Psychic Blast or Pulse Wave to use during his Hypersonic Speed. He’s still expensive as anything, but there’s some serious power here, that definitely can make a dent when it matters.

Sealed: 5/5

Constructed: 4/5

058 Flex Mentallo

While it’s nice to have a Flex in heroclix, this isn’t really what I wanted for him. He’s got a decently long dial for his points, but he’s a close attacker who’s only reliable way of getting in close is with Charge. Flex looks unkillable from his trait, that lets him heal up to 3 click whenever he takes damage from a higher point character. At 75 points, he’s higher than a lot of figures in this set, but he can trade blows with the biggest figures with little trouble. In constructed it’s more of an issue, where a significant amount of the current attackers are under 75, and those that are more expensive, aren’t worried about Flex’s attacks, or have Pulse Wave to shoot straight through him. His damage power is probably the only reason to play him, as it grants a unique power that we haven’t seen before, allowing him to treat a piece of blocking terrain as clear for movement and line of fire for a turn, allowing for some tricky maneuvering by your team. After taking some damage, Flex picks up a special defense power that gives him Energy Shield/Deflection and Toughness, a strange combination for a close attacker like him, and it also reduces the damage value of ranged attackers on Flex. Since he wants to be up close, it’s really not all that useful a power, but it might keep him alive a for a few more turns, as he’s working his way up close, especially if his attacker is higher points (though no opponent worth their salt will let that happen). I wish there was more here, but there just isn’t. He’s a semi-decent close attacker that’s probably a little undercosted, with defensive powers that are easy to work around.

Sealed: 3/5

Constructed: 1/5

059a Superman

Finally the man of steel shows his face! Of course Superman is coming with all of his most well known powers, heat vision, cold breath….Underground Assault… I haven’t read a lot of recent Superman comics, so maybe I’ve missed his newer subterranean strategies, but it still seems a little weird that some well known aspects of Superman were left behind for this. Either way, Superman’s got two point, one at 175 with three extra clicks of Hypersonic Speed and Precision Strike, and one at 100, with Sidestep that turns into Sidestep/Charge/Flurry at the end of his dial. Paired with his aforementioned Underground Assault, the Sidestep is looking pretty great, giving him a pseudo Charge with a movement of 7. He’s also got a mix of both Ranged and Close Combat Expert, with high values, insuring he’s going to hit hard one every click. He’s not my favourite Superman, and I don’t think he quite captures what I’m looking for from him, but he’s a strong tent-pole that doesn’t really have a weak click. In constructed his lack of Outwit protection pretty much makes sure he won’t be a heavily played figure, but he’s still got that straight up strength that will ensure he sees play.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 3/5

059b Bizarro

Bizzaro is a weird prime, because he’s really not doing anything to warrant the green ring. He’s got some strong values for sure, but no special powers, and a trait that grants Immobile, but only after he hits with an attack. When he’s up-close already, Immobile really isn’t a huge deal for most figures, unless he is able to knock them away with his Quake first, and the figure doesn’t have the range to fight back. This is definitely a powerful dial for 125 points, but he’s still just a close attacker. I guess he’s got the Outsiders team ability too, which is always nice. Hopefully if you like Bizarro you’re not too upset with his dial, because this is going to be one of those super-rare primes that aren’t too expensive.



Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 2/5

060 Wonder-Woman

Justice League of China’s Wonder Woman looks pretty decent, but one thing about her bugs me. Her damage power is a combo of Leadership and Probability Control, with the bonus aspect of handing out Probability Control when she takes a token off of a character. It seems very similar to Bat-Man’s trait that hands out Perplex, except that she needs to remove the token, where as Bat-Man just needs to choose a character that could be chosen for his Leadership. Why the difference? Did they do this solely to spite me? Some questions will never find answers. Wonder-Woman is fine. I’m not very excited by her, but she does have a cool stop-click, especially if you play her at 125 with some way of healing her off of it. Regardless of the point value you play her at, you’re playing her for Probability Control and that’s it. This is the last time we’ll see the Ministry of Self-Reliance trait this set, and…well I guess it’s been nice knowing you. It’s a shared trait that you’re more likely to forget about than actively keep track of, as it protects her from all the major support powers, except for the one that really matters, Outwit. There’s nothing special here, let’s move on.

Sealed: 4/5

Constructed: 1/5

Chases

Once again, instead of rating the chases, I’ll rank them from best to worst, and luckily, these chases are all great in sealed, so I’ll just worry about constructed. The two shared traits across the chases (aside from Barbatos) are both incredible, and can tear through stop-clicks like no-ones business. Just remember that Reckless Disregard For Life will hurt your own units (aside from the Chase itself). We Will Not Hide In The Shadows Anymore at a minimum will give them a +1 defense from range, with the potential for huge bonuses from some characters. Always remember to check it, but never depend on it.

061 The Red Death

Another big point Hypersonic Speed character in this set, except that the Red Death doesn’t have a very high damage output, having a straight 3 down his dial. For 100 points more, you can play him at 200 and gain access to a single click of Invincible, three clicks of life, and an 11 attack, wow such a bargain. Skip the 200 points for the cheaper dial, and pack a Perplex with him if you want to hit. The best thing about the Red Death is his Reckless trait, as he can hit a weak, low defense figure before re-positioning, and activating the damage part against a stronger, harder to hit figure. His Speed Force Storm is interesting, but the storm markers are slow, and if opponents can get away from them, they’ll never catch up. This isn’t one of the stronger chases, but he could be a real annoyance if the cloud tokens up a character multiple turns in a row.



Ranking 7/8

062 The Murder Machine

This guy is a monster, both literally and figuratively. His special trait grants him knockback and lets him make attack after attack as long as he keeps KO’ing characters. With Energy Explosion, he can kill multiple targets in a single attack letting him queue up multiple attacks from a single roll. With Shape Change, Invincible and Probability Control he’s hard to kill and he’s got a 4 damage to consistantly kill figures as well. Oh he’s also got a 200 point dial that you can forget exists, because it’s just a little bit more goodness for a big price. He’s not making too many close attacks, so his Reckless Disregard trait isn’t going to be activated as much, but he’s not really relying on it either. This guy is fanastic.



Ranking 3/8

063 The Dawnbreaker

The second and third spots are shared between Dawnbreaker and Murder Machine as both are very strong, but I think Dawnbreaker just edges it out a bit in-front of his robotic friend. Dawnbreaker is a taxi, a ranged attacker, a Barrier user, and silver bullet to bystanders, as he generates one of each kind of bystander your opponent has. Against Groot’s this creates a Walking Wood, and two Leslie Evans’s for The Dawnbreaker to use for his own gains. This is a pretty impressive amount of value for a 75 point figure, and I think the fact that he doesn’t need to be built around to be successful is what pushes him over Murder Machine for me.



Ranking 2/8

064 The Drowned

The only Batwoman on the list is a great close attacker that depends on water for safety. Her trait that turns all water into hindering terrain is potentially broken on maps filled with it, allowing your characters to stay in Stealth across the entire map. On-top of that, she’s dealing penetrating damage when she’s occupying the water, even with her Poison, making her a figure with Stealth you really don’t want to get close to. Her biggest flaw is the 2 damage for the majority of her lower point dial, but if she’s able to use Poison and her trait, she’s doing a lot more damage than it initially looks. This is the first figure where you might want to play the higher point value. It’s only 150 compared to the 200 of the other dark knights, and it does give her three clicks of reducers.

Ranking 4/8

065 The Merciless

A huge close combat figure with Mystics and a trait that lets him deal free damage and heal? This is a fun figure, especially if you can get a taxi to carry him. He’s also way, way more expensive, and is easily Outwit. I love the idea of the Merciless, but he’s going to be too slow, and too big a target for your opponents to leave alone, and by the time he gets in close, he’s going to be a few clicks lower for sure.

Ranking 5/8

066 The Devastator

Close your eyes, imagine the Merciless, but without the Mystics, and special power, but with a trait that potentially empowers your opponents figures after he hits them, while dealing small amount of damage to them over time. Something went bad with this one guys, the rest of the chases are atleast fun to play, this one is just a bulky close attacker without the mobility or Outwit protection to even get up close. I wish there was more to say, but sadly there isn’t.

Ranking 8/8

067 The Batman Who Laughs

While he wins the “coolest looking member of the alternate reality Batmen” award, his dial doesn’t do it for me. 100 points for 5 clicks with no reducers, and the only protection is from his trait that will protect him from a single source of damage once, unless your opponent wastes an attack on your Robin. It’s surprisingly easy to remove him from the map, and sadly that’s what puts him this low. His Robin bystander is a true menace with an 11 attack Blades/Claws/Fangs, but it’s just not enough, especially if your opponent has Pulse Wave.

Ranking 6/8

068 Barbatos

This might be a controversial pick, but Barbatos is the best chase in my opinion. Barbatos has Stealth, Quintessence, free movement, and shuts down characters with Perplex Outwit and Support by giving them Battle Fury. His movement power alone makes him unparalleled, as he’s able to give your opponents figures Immobile, while shutting down their ranged attacks, and then teleporting himself out of there. He’s also giving monster theme teams Batman Enemy team ability so they can share their attack values. Like there’s way too much going on in this dial, and I just know there’s going to be some broken interactions with him. This guy is a powerhouse.

Ranking 1/8