I'm sorry, but It's the up front defend that nerfs him, If he had up front Impervious he would probably be broken, as is he's a challenge to play, hence his non-tournament dominance, but he's also very very deadly. In fact He's really the only superman I feel plays like Superman because of the defend. He's goin around stopping bullets from hitting his entire team, and he stays nasty all dial. KC superman is the only other superman I feel is accurate at all, the rest are not mobile enough, too front loaded, or are from Hypertime.

Hey! Hypertime Supes is a real leader! He may not be able to stop bullets from the rest of his team, but he keeps leading them, even after their dead!

Well, they would be if Antman could give every other Avenger his 20 D, but he can't, and he's outclassed by The Atom and the new Ant-Man REV. As it is, that's what Sue can do. Her ability to leverage the FF ATA makes her super cool. Sure folks with Trick Shot can target her if you let them, but by contolling where you place her, you in essence pick who your opponent can target. If you plunk her down someplace that isn't wise, she deserves to be lit up. Behind a wall or a barrier, she's safe from Trick Shot. As it is, the bad guys will likely have their hands full dealing with the 19 D's on the Thing, She Hulk, the 21 on Torch, etc., to have much time to worry about Sue in the early game. Becasue those folks will be all up in the bad guy's grills handing out damage by the boatloads. And if the bad guys are silly enough to send their sharpest shooter all the way across the map after Sue, well then the job just got a lot easier for Thing, She Hulk, et al, as they mop the floor with everybody else. Sue may go down, but not until the bulk of the bad guys have taken a pounding.

Can Disbanded hurt Sue? Sure. But it nerfs every TA, including Mystics, Power Cosmic, Batman, etc. The impact is universal so I don't see that as a "weakness" that is uniquely hers. And if it hits, oh well. She's a 50 point investment. But that Thanos on the other hand - he's looking all dressed up like a Christmas goose and just ready to be eaten. Ditto Ganthet. And Ares. The list is a long one.

Of all the thnigs I didn't expect to cause controversy ! Sweet Sue, who knew?

Man of Steel is an LE. If you check the opening of the article it states that all LEs are eligible regardless of "ring color".

On another note, I don't really see the controversy over Sue Storm. She's been a highly sought after, much used piece since she came out. Now I don't consider her all that hard to beat but she's definitely a great piece for the points (especially since the Alt-TA doesn't add to her cost at all).

I couldn't agree with you more... LE Jeanne Marie should have atleast been in the top 20! She was one of the least nerfed by the new HSS rules. she only lost a total of 3 range on her attack. Unlike NGN Superman, who lost a totall of 5 range when making a HSS attack. Jean Marie is one of the most versatile LE's in the game! you can fit her on to almost any team... and she allways pulls her wieght! She's the perfect 2nd string attacker for any team that also needs some Thunder Bolts action.

OOooo!
I hate that Ghost Widow figure.

I'll waste a 100 point figure's life just to see her cold(er) and dead(er).

So I guess she deserves her spot on the list.

*insert mandatory Zod reference here*

(It's the end of the work week, talk to me in 30 minutes! Even if it is from home!)

Okay, we finally have a complete (and well thought-out) Top 20 list by Ol Dut, so like I promised, I will reveal my Top 25 and Honorable Mentions. Before we get started, let's recap his list:

Hon Ment:
Carter Hall
Arthur Curry^
PMS Hulk
Wade Cole
Witchblade
Captain Marvel (zee girl)*

#20 – Little Sure Shot^
#19 – Doctor Doom*
#18 – Norman Osborne*
#17 – Jessica Drew
#16 – Morlock Leader^ tied with The Atom
#15 – Clint Barton
#14 – Cain Marko*
#13 – Kraven the Spider
#12 – Justice is Served!^ tied with Elektra Natchios
#11 – Etrigan* tied with Daniel Ketch*
#10 - Polaris
#9 - Roy Harper, Jr.*
#8 - Ninja Elektra*
#7 - NGN Iron Man
#6 - Madame Hydra*
#5 - NGN Supes
#4 - Zombie Hulk*
#3 - Ghost Widow*
#2 - Sue Storm*
#1 - MOS Supes*

As I said last week, my Top 25 did not have an order, which is kind of a cop-out, but man is it tough to rank them (props to Dut). Figures above marked with a ^ made my Honorable Mention, and those marked with a * made my Top 25, and since Dut already covered them, I don't think we need to go into them. I will discuss some of the others, however.

Honorable Mention:

Cameron Chase - Okay, you have to push her/Pulse Wave her/do some Feat trick (which is why she's only HM), but once she hits that Imperv-Outwit click, she's a great Mastermind fodder/utility piece. Mr. Bones LOVES her.
Arthur Curry
T.O. Morrow - 10 range, Super Senses, RCE, and Support later, all for 37 points. He was a bargain back in the day, and he still has some uses now.
Ollie Queen - Cheap Trick Shot piece w/Stealth
Lil Sure Shot
Lobster Johnson - Imperv and Outwit, plus a Wilcard. What's the downside?
Search/Destroy Agent Alpha - Everything you want from Johnny and nothing you don't, and a nice price.
Dinner Is Served!
Moorlock Leader
Hector Hall - Swiss Army Mystic
Fred Myers - Triple EE at an affordable (I'm looking at you, Ultron) price.

Top 25 (in no particular order)
Atom - 20 DV, Stealth, and free move to get his Perplex all over the board
Yellowjacket - I like him more than Ant-Man because he has L/C and 1 damage. Okay, you can't abuse him by T-Bolting to Defenders and then running your team like a German Panzer down the middle of the board, but... BORING!!!
Yrra Cynril - Everything you like about Fatality, but a little bit more of it.
Ring of Blades Boon - A fig that just screams BCF pain, with Super Senses and Cross Gen, meaning opposing figs are taking damage if they do anything but Poison or run.
KC Shazam - If I owed some dude money and I heard he sent KC Shazam to collect, I'd probably poop my pants and look for a tall building to jump off of. End of story.
Hal Jordan - When you absolutely, positively can't get enough Unleashed Green Lantern.
Ghost Widow
Etrigan
Roy Harper, Jr.
Dr. Doom
Jane Foster - Hello, nurse!!! Sure, the value of Support has gone down since Danger Room, but I still think she's everyone's favorite medic.
Madame Hydra
Ninja Elektra
Rupert - I'm a big fan of front-loaded Triple Incap. Mastermind means he's probably gonna stick around for awhile, and his Stealth is gonna keep most people from Outwitting him.
Prof X (Brood Queen) - If you stay back, he/she will MC you from 10 squares. if you get in his/her face, he/she will BCF you up. Just surrender and wait for the mind swap.
FF Sue Storm
Cain Marko
Norman Osborne
Jean-Marie Beaubier - Okay, this pick might be a little weak, since she really only has one great click. Oh well, I made the list last week and it's too late.
Venom - Where's the love for this guy? He's a freakin' powerhouse that has uses from beginning to end.
MOS Supes
Captain Marvel (zee girl)
Zombie Hulk
Norin Radd - V Surfer Lite. All the great taste and half the calories.
Danny Ketch

My comments on the Dut's Top 10 that I didn't choose:
Polaris - She was awesome once, but then the Emerald Express pulled into town.
NGN Iron Man - His first few clicks are great, but his back end really disappoints me (unlike, say, Eric's sister)
NGN Supes - When it comes to characters with more than 1 LE, I tend to pick the best one and ignore the rest. MOS Supes is much better than this one, who is kida gimmick-y to me anyway.

Hopefully I have given people more to discuss, and deflected any obnoxious crticism away from Dut unto me...

Massive snipping...

I agree. Another victim of the Emerald Express was LE Annihilus, who test drove most of those Wild Card Pulse Wave rulings long before the Emerald one.

When I was working on my own top 25, other "formerly great" LEs have likewise been surpassed by very nice non-LE figures:

Clay Quartermaine, the original SHIELD bully has been replaced by the new SHIELD snipers.

Victor Creed while in many ways is still my Sabretooth of choice is not much of a standout compared to the Ultimate Veteran.

The various LE Batmen: Matches Malone and the Dark Knight Detective, while not very common still get passed over for the Starter Batman from Icons.

Reviewing Groovy's and 'dut's lists, the pieces I think deserve consideration that missed the cuts include:

Kyle Rayner: He just does everything you would expect a 10-range Green Lantern to be able to do (from far away!) and that Perplex is amazing.

Garth Ranzz: When building a Wild Card abuse team, he should be at the top of the list for Taxi duty, as well as offensive potential, for a bargain price.

Xorn-eto: If you are building a Brotherhood team without feats, this guy is your choice. He's got the offensive potential you want at the price you can afford.

Sam "don't call me Snap, or Flip" Wilson: I've loved charging fliers since the days of Adrian Toomes. How can we get such an excellent figure for the SHIELD team, yet all versions of Angel stink? No single piece with a team ability has by itself improved its team so much as Sam Wilson has done for SHIELD. He can Charge into objects, carrying a buddy, he can contribute to ranged attacks damage he's got Willpower and Leadership...and he is coming to base you.

My honorable mentions:

Arwyn (and Patches): Invest the extra points for Trick Shot or Armor Piercing (or both!) and just let her have fun plinking away from behind enemy lines. Some may validly question the investment beyond the Unique Arwyn, but I think the extra target + Mystics is worth the small loss in range and stat reduction.

Todd Rice: This is an upgrade in the flavor of Danny Ketch and L'Etrigan. His raw numbers may not be as spectacular, but his 65-point cost will be well spent if he ducks any attacks (from Super Senses) or hits from range with his Psychic Blast. A great addition to the JLA.

Princess Koriand'r: Good taste prevents me from using any of the many double-entendre's to describe how this piece fits in with the Experienced and Veteran versions from Icons, but what may look like a small loss in early stats pays for a very impressive array of powers (and numbers) later in the dial. She's not simply your 'snipe from 10 range' piece, this Starfire is an uber-agressive monster designed for hot-and-heavy team play.

Awesome list. It prolly took a lot of effort and time to narrow them all down. I was suprised not to see Rupert on this list. He's still a phenomenal piece for his points.

Another oft-overlooked fig that I would have put on the list is George Tartleton. He's a super-streamlined fig at a mere 16 points and he brings so much to the table. 6 range, 8 a/v, and 2 damage might seem 'meh' but add Barrier and the Hydra TA and you've got a stellar team player that is quite often ignored.

Actually...she was nerfed more by the change than most figures where, not the other way around...a 6 range HSS is actually a decent range...a 5 range HSS is decent too...a 3 range, not so decent....I think with her range being so low she got nerfed much more than high range HSSers.


Nice list! I agree with the majority of it...I'd never put Man of Steel in spot 1 though....I might not even put him in the top 10...he's a good figure, don't get me wrong, but there are much better LEs than him.

I actually can't stand sue storm. It's not that I fear her. Far from it. I have no problem with destroying any ff team they try sneaking her in. It's the fact that she needs a card to make her good. I personally like to use a character that can stand up and deliver on their own without having to rely on a card to make them good. That's just me, though.

Great review!

You know alot of people feel this way...but personally I just don't understand it one bit. Whether or not a character needs a card to be truely competitive is a non-issue for me...as long as the card isn't hard to find...feats are part of the game

>> That's a statement, not a question, so it shouldn't end with a question mark.

>> If you have one question, what is it? That's another statement. And who is Jennifer Gardner? The lame Elektra I know was played by Jennifer Garner (daughter of James Garner).