Pretty good choices, overall, but I'd mention Checkmate Medic, who has 2 DV and overcomes the War Zone nerf. And without Con Artists, your suggestion of Northstar is fairly weak. Northstar with Armor Piercing? Yes!

Like Johnny A vs Jean Grey, I like Brainiac 5 over the King of Wakanda: he has flight and a Wildcard TA to add to his Outwit (which means he can have Batman Ally, Ultimates, etc.) with Perplex later, which means he must be taken all the way out.

Vet Shi is an outstanding combinations of abilities, a threat at range and close up at reasonable cost.

I think REV Sinestro deserves more than honorable mention for Legacy, but otherwise, very good advice for new players.

Just forgot to mention R destiny who is one of the most played clix of all series.
PC is THE power you cannot forget to win : you may be the best, play very good, a bad roll at the wrong time makes you lose the game...

Jesse Quick is cheaper.

Figures you should aquire as a newb to build tournament level teams:

1)

R/E Johnny Alpha - as stated above Jean is also necessary but with build totals rising we have a little more wiggle room for Johnny most of the time. You need to TK to compete unless you are playing a turtle team or a trick team (sentinels, or 7-8 live wire stealth army).

2)

E/V/LE Hawkeye - currently the premier ranged shooter in the game. You TK him out and can possibly take out a fig in one hit, next turn TK out a flier to bring Clint home (hopefully) ... he works very well in conjunction with our next figure. Other options include Green Arrow with Trick Shot.

3)

R Con Artist - the most important figure in Heroclix, this figure will increase the play value of all the other figures around her. I am surprised nobody mentioned her. Take our friend Hawkeye above. Let's say your opponent has Panther in a bush somewhere, you can increase your Hawkeyes range to a distance of up to 11, possibly keeping Clint safe from retaliation. Especially nasty on your high damage figures like Ult. Cyclops, Veteran Havok, Black Adam etc. She is especially important because she often allows your figures to KO an opposing figure in one turn, which is really a key to being successfull.

4) Jean Grey - you should own Johnny and Jean, and often times you'll want to play both. Jean furthest back and JA stealthed out 7-8 squares. This provides a slongshot effect which should allow you to get a strike on an opposing figure without having your attacker take a hit first. In higher point games I tend to replace her with the more versitile Blink.

5) E Green Lantern - an all around great center piece figure. Can attack, can defend and can also be the second cog of your TK slingshot. Willpower is really what allows him to shoulder the load of a 300-400 pnt team.

6) R Hawk - Pound for Pound the best figure in Heroclix. No other figure can so consistantly take out figures twice his/her cost. Add a Soda Machine, and some Con Artists and watch him take down an 8 click figure in one shot with a reliable 12 attack. Harder to use in restricted play because of the lack of cheap pulse wave.

7) V Robin - IMHO (even with Spoiler) the best Bat team wild card helper. Does so much for so little. Don't forget about his ability to sit in the bush by the roof and jump up and wack people.

8) An Outwitter - Pick one you like, but definately have access to one. The two premier ones are probably Black Panther and Deathstroke. If you have a number of helpful team abilities then perhaps Brainiac 5 or Lobster Johnson. If you roll 5 and 6 on one die then Abbey Chase is for you.

9) E/V Black Adam - Already stated above but he is a beast who can often take out a figure in one shot and get out of harms way. Combine him with TK and Con Artists and Objects.

10) Probability Control - Have access to prob. I simply don't play constructed without it. As a matter of fact constructed just isn't a pleasant experience without it. Setting your opponent up and getting an attack in is such a painstaking process in Heroclix against good opponents. Rolling a 3 after finally getting your opening is unacceptable. Current favorites are Domino, Destiny, perhaps Jinx.

Honorable Mention:
DEO Agent
Live Wire
Paramedic
V Havok
E/V Ult. Captain America
V Ult. Black Widow
Puck
Bullseye
V CM Spiderman
Venom

As for Legacy gems, in my limited experience I would have to say the following are early favorites.

E/V Sinestro ... he is just cool. Especially after reading Rebirth, I have a new found respect for him.

E/V Blockbuster nice brick at a nice cost. As a bonus he can strip the defensive power of the figure he is about to throttle.

V Joker ... you know you want to use him.

V Ravager ... Indyclix comes to DC. In all honesty V Shi is much better but I despise using Indyclix figures.

V Demon ... Takes a little thought to get the most out of him works really well with Legion strangely enough.

V Major Force ... way better then his arch enemy, can take and deliver a beating for a reasonable cost.

heheheheh ... I said slongshot ... Am I going to get warning points for that ?

Ok no one likes non flyers with no range, except for me lol,
From legacy one of the biggest brusiers that no one mentions is PERSUADER E/V
He is awsome to say the least, I find expolit weakness to be the best attack ability, he has high dmg throughout and charge to catch the running shotters trying to escape him
he goes form exploit weakness to close combat expert to flury, he has 10 clicks of life keeps a strong defense and a good attack,

i like to play clicks one on one to practise playing with them, playing them in there point brackat.
From all my 110s and 120s he came out victourius,
All he has to do is push to get to the flyers with a small object and smack them for 5 dmg exploit weakness,
and because his dial is deep, you cna push him around.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am kind of amused that one of the most talked about figures I left out was con artist. I have seen so many con artist bash threads and gripe threads that I figured this would be a refresher. Yes, con artist have become an intregal piece to the heroclix game. However, in my experience con artist tend to confuse a new player a little. Usually it is they forget to push it, plus for a player needing to get to know abilities she is not the first piece I throw to a new player. I see everyones suggestion on the con artist, but I do not think she is essential, I don't think she offers enough to really be a MUST have. Though I will talk more about her and other support pieces in later articles. Thank you for all the support and suggestions so far, you guys are just helping me become a better writer and I appreciate it.

Good day and good gaming

Uh, Persuader doesn't have Super Strength. He can't pick up an object. You are correct though. I'm surprised you were the first one to mention him. He is definitely one of the top 5 pieces from Legacy, especially with his wildcard TA which is just a bonus on such a good figure.

Is that right? He can move AND ATTACK for free??? I thought it was only move?

It is correct because Hypersonic states "Give this figure a MOVE action" avengers, JLA, Brotherhood, top cow all give the figure a free move action.

Cant a persuader pick up a small object to do plus 1 damage?
without super strength

A player who doesn't remember to push their hooker, or can't figure out how / remember to add +1 from Perplex, is the same player that will forget to use Outwit, not pick up an object with Black Adam before attacking (or not run away after the attack), and will separate their hitter from their TK piece.

On the other hand the utility of a +1 to toss around as needed is probably second only to Probability Control (which also wasn't on your top 10 list) on the "handy crutch for novices" abilities. Figuring out how to set up and execute your TK shot, or coordinate your Outwit then attack, takes at least a minimal amount of thinking to be effective and not leave your pants around your ankles afterwords. Adding +1 to damage and re-rolling a miss is an effective payoff for a ridiculously simple amount of effort and planning.

Agreed ... though Black Adam and Green Lantern can take some skill to use as well, and both have multiple powers that have multiple rulings associated with them. I disagree with "I don't think she offers enough to really be a MUST have", she is as much a must have in competitive play as any other figure listed on the thread. Maybe even more so becuase no other figure does what she does for even close to her cost. I.E. you can argue about Jean vs. Johnny, Northstar vs. Kid Flash, Hawkeye vs. Green Arrow, maybe now Sinestro vs. Green Lantern. I think she blows even DEO Agent out of the water. All in all though a good article.

No. If you want to pick up an object you either need Super Strength or TK. Doesn't matter if it is light or heavy.