MODOK, the big floating head we all love and adore. But for 144 points, he's a bit costly. How do you use him effectively? I was thinking darkness within to give him a 5 damage with psy blast after hurting a nearby hydra generic and force field for a little defense at the beginning. What do you guys think?

(Have my incessent Hydra rants paid off? Has everyone finally realized the power of Hydra?!?)

Taxi a Trick-Shotted Madame Hydra then have him float around using Outwit on support pieces and PB on those #### characters with Fortitude. Oh, and try to keep him out of direct combat as he falls faster than an elephant wearing concrete pants.


By the way, I don't think you can use Force Field on him as he gets Invuln. and Toughness later on.

Correct. From the Force Field description:

"Choose a character without a power that reduces damage."

M.O.D.O.K. does indeed have damage reducing powers; he can't use Force Field.

To the topic at hand, though, making M.O.D.O.K. an effective piece, try pairing him with cheap Defend characters (i.e. R CT Invisible Girl, R Shadow Lass, etc). That way, paired with his ES/D, he becomes a real pain to hit from range... especially if you part him in hindering terrain. Protected is never a bad idea, especially if you are likely to face character's with high AVs that will be able to reliably hit him even with the boosted DV.

Otherwise, if you want to be more thematic, keep plenty of low cost tie-up pieces on hand to block LOF and base opposing snipers. Dreadnoughts, with thier damage reducers to soak up hits, work really well. Alternatively, you can go for quantity over quality and use tons of R HYDRA and AIM Agents.

Finally, M.O.D.O.K.'s DV becomes absolutely laughable after just a couple clicks of damage. Use that to your advantage! MC a big point figure like Superman or Sentry to wreck your opponent's team, take the feedback damage, then easily heal M.O.D.O.K. with a AIM Medic hiding behind that big ol' noggin. Ideally, pair the MC up with Extended Range (let's him bump that 8 range up to 11) for maximum effectiveness.

In addition to the strategies already posted, you could pair him a cheap HSSer (like Whizzer/Speed Demon or Quicksilver) with Homing Device (thematic argument: he's mind-controlling them. Neither Speed Demon or Quicksilver are particularly strong-willed) so you can get the most mileage out of his devastating ranged attack. He's considerably less impressive when you have to move him up close. Also, he's one of the very few characters who works well with Extended Range (he's got high damage, Psychic Blast, and a decidedly non-stellar range value) - just remember it can't be used on a MC attack.

Yes, it can. In fact, that is the only real reason I recommend adding it to M.O.D.O.K. in my post.

From the Heroclix FAQ:

Q: How does Extended Range work with Mind Control?
A: Mind Control is an attack that deals no damage, so range could be increased without suffering any adverse effects from having the damage value reduced.

Pardon my French, but what the ####? This is contrary to how it was ruled every time I or anyone I know asked. I'm not going to put words in anyone's mouth, but I received that answer numerous times both on 'realms and from judges at venues I've been playing that. Were the rules changed during the two weeks I was away or does everyone I've asked just have their head up their ###?

That has been in the FAQ since it was updated for Armor Wars.

I guess whoever you asked before missed that part.