This post MAY or MAY NOT hold true

I am being told by local judges that what I wrote is how they rule it but I'm also hearing that what is written here is false and incorrect

Please talk to your local Heroclix judge

Several characters give critical hits on rolls other than [6]-[6] but looking at the variety of questions, answers and interpretations found online I wanted to try my hand at understanding what a critical hit is and what are its benefits.

A few modern characters come to mind when I think getting a critical hit outside of the natural [6]-[6] on the dice. For example,

• prime Donna Troy from WW80th has a trait where “the first friendly finalized attack roll of 7 is a critical hit”,
• the Scott Porter bystander comes with a power that when it uses perplex to target another friendly character, “their rolls of 10 and 11 are also critical hits this turn”, and
• Longshot from XRAF has a trait where “Longshot's rolls of [5]-[5] are critical hits”.

Additionally, there are characters who have other powers that are keyed off critical hits. For example,

• prime Q from ST:RIF has a defense power where when he is attacked, you get to roll a d6. “If the attack is not a critical hit and either die in the attack roll is that resulting number, Q becomes missed by the attack”,
• the Sentinel Head bystander generated by the Cyclops Sentinel from XDPS “can't be KO'd except by a critical hit”, and
• the “Let’s Cause Trouble!” trait found on some chase characters from JLU allow you to place a character from your sideline if you had a critical hit.

First thing is to look at the specific definition of the critical hit found in the Comprehensive Rules
I see two different statements here, one that is dependent upon the physical roll, making it a critical hit, and one that is passive and works on anything called a critical hit. From my understanding, a critical hit only increases the damage dealt by 1 to each hit target when dealing damage. The specific roll of [6]-[6] gives you some benefits, that all targets of the attack become hit, even if the attack would normally miss the target, and that the attack is called a critical hit. These two statements have been confused over time, believing that one implies the other, like saying a critical hit means the targets become hit, which it does not actually say.


To clarify my thoughts, suppose we have a team with the prime Donna Troy, the Scott Porter bystander, and our main attacker. We use the Scott Porter bystander’s perplex to increase the attack value to a 10 and we are attacking 2 characters, one with an effective defense of 18 and another with an effective defense of 21. This means we need an 11 or greater to hit both characters but we have a number of friendly characters changing rolls of 7’s, 10’s and 11’s into a critical hit. Here are some possible finalized attack rolls:

Roll of 7: This is a miss on both defending characters. The benefits of a critical hit in this case would have been just an increase in damage dealt to hit targets. Unfortunately, the 7 does not hit the defending characters, so there are no hit targets to increase damage to.

Roll of 10: This is a hit on one of the defending characters and a miss on the other. The benefits of a critical hit in this case would be an increase in damage dealt to hit targets. Only one character was hit, so they are dealt increased damage. If a natural [5]-[5] was rolled then this attack may also deal knockback to only the hit character.

Roll of 11: This is a hit, and a critical hit, to both defending characters. This means you divide the damage as appropriate, and there is an increase to damage dealt to both targets.

Roll of 12 [6]-[6]: This is a hit, a critical hit, and you may cause knockback. The natural [6]-[6] guarantees the defending characters becomes hit, you divide the damage as appropriate, and there is an increase to damage dealt to both targets.


The confusion comes in the way the statements are written. Instead, I would suggest reading the statements in a slightly different order to keep things clear.

• A critical hit increases the damage dealt by 1 to each hit target when dealing damage.
• If the finalized attack roll was a [6]-[6] (dice must actually show [6]s), all targets of the attack become hit, even if the attack would normally miss the target. This is called a critical hit.

Just so I'm clear on Critical Hits, I thought I'd write this out. Cunningham's Law states "the best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." If I'm wrong, please let me know.

12.3b Critical Hit has two parts to its explanation. What is a critical hit and what constitutes a critical hit. For what Scott, Donna etc does they are simply changing what constitutes a critical hit. The definition of what a critical hit does should not go back and further look into what causes one. (i hope i'm explaining that clearly.)

X is what a critcal hit is (rolling 2 6s on a die)
Y is what a critical hit does (automatically hits and does 1 extra dmg)

Card states replace X with this. You wouldn't try and rationalize new X with old X. You are simply replacing that rule with the card rule.

So because of that, i would rule that all 7s, 10s, 11s all hit opponent and he cannot super sense/mastermind out of it. Doesn't matter what their def value is. It can be 30def and its still a hit/crit.

If I understand your position, you interpret the line in the Comprehensive Rules that says:
to mean, "A critical hit means all targets of the attack become hit, even if the attack would normally miss the target and increase damage dealt by 1 to each hit target". Does that reflect your understanding?

So your interpretation means that in the example given in the original post, a critical hit replaces an actual, physical dice roll (let's say [4]-[3] and prime Donna Troy is a friendly character) with physically changing the dice to a roll of [6]-[6] (since it says that the dice must actually show [6]s)?

Your interpretation would also mean that you go from a 3% chance at a critical hit (1/36) to a 33% chance at a critical hit (12/36), resulting in many more hits during the game, that Super Senses and Mastermind have a much lower chance of being used effectively in game, and that more damage would get dealt over the period of the game.

Correct, that is how i would interpret it. The new effects replace the requirement of rolling two sixes and should not be considered. It is merely stating what is necessary to "auto hit and do 1 dmg".

(Donna troy is only the first 7 roll though, not whole turn).

Its a good question though, you may got some crazy rule lawyering people that try and twist and warp the literal text of the comp rules to fit their need. The fact is cards will often replace hard rules and you always go with what the card says.

Interpretation of a rule vs the literal text is often challenged and the judge has to make the call. Hey, just like real life court systems.