Good article, even though I'm not a fan of Grant Morrison - I'd like to see more articles on lesser seen team keywords (Injustice League, anyone?).

Rookie Mister Miracle doesn't have the Seven Soldiers keyword because that figure represents Scott Free, while the Seven Soldiers version is his successor and former apprentice Shilo Norman, who doesn't have his own clix yet.

But if you want a theme team, why limit yourself to comic accuracy? I would use other Seven Soldiers keywords pieces like Batgirl from AA and Vigilante from JL instead of Bulleteer or Guardian. If you use STRIPE and the LE Oliver Queen with Vigilante you then have three pieces with the JSA ability. STRIPE's 18 defense can beef up the other two (Vigilante would then have a 20 defense versus ranged while he was adjacent to the big guy), but STRIPE's high cost of 111 points might offset his usefulness.

You asked for it!

Here's to hoping he gets a 'clix, then!

Note the "COMIC ACCURATE" tag in the title?

I wanted to stick to that specific squad. But thanks for your input, nevertheless!

What if the judge didn't know that Mister Miracle was on the team?

You have to read every comic out there to be a "decent" judge?

Neither Tigra nor Impossible Man have the FF keyword, but both were with the team for a longer period of time than Wolverine, Hulk, or Ghost Rider and their "New Fantastic Four", but how many judges know that? Only the "decent" ones?

Well the decent ones either know it or look it up on the internet. Its not necessary to know comics to be a heroclix judge but I think it is important to at least be able to know where to find the info. To take the pressure off I'll also say that any decent player knows enough to check with the judge before the tournament if they are going to play a theme team that requires judge approval.

Or better yet, if they can't contact the judge prior to the tournament, bring the evidence with you to the game: Bring the comic or print out the wikipedia article.

As for the Seven Soldiers, I once played them for fun in a game against a friend. I think he was playing the Injustice Society or something like that. I just remember Vandal Savage was on the team. Anyways, they did good. I think I had to push like crazy though.

I also once played the old Post-Crisis second lineup of the Seven Soldiers. Looking back, it had mixed results at best.

Mr.Miracle is fun to run with pounce. He is a flyer with leap climb which is an odd combo.

will his willpower absorb the push damage?

Nope. As per the newer version of the card, it is unavoidable damage, not pushing damage. That does sound like a fun combo though!

I was hoping that you would also delve into the silver/bronze age Seven Soldiers

Vigilante
Green Arrow
Speedy
Star-Spangled Kid
Stripsey
Shining Knight
Crimson Avenger

The team can be created by name of the characters but not by the person under the mask.

Contacting the judge in advance? Yeah, that could work, but my group? They would never do that. I would ask them to leave me questions in my box at the store and I would answer everything that they had, but do you think that they ever did?
And I don't have a laptop. Looking it up on the internet isn't an option come tournament time.

So I guess I sucked as a judge. Never mind that I did my level best to keep up with the rules and call everything down the middle, but since I didn't have wireless internet and a laptop to make these calls regarding discretionary theme teams, I didn't have what it took to judge a tournament fairly.

i hate how there is two COMPLETELY different seven soldiers and people combine them because they all have the keyword...

my version of the seven soldiers beat urs... cause it is horrible!!

Batgirl - 50
Rex Mason - 78
Mento - 87
Deadman - 119
Adam Strange - 88
Shining Knight - 48
Blackhawks - 30

Total 500 NOW THATS THE SEVEN SOLDIERS!!!

or...

STRIPE - 111
Green Arrow - 104
Red Arrow - 73
Crimson Avenger - 53
Star-Spangled Kid - 49
Shining Knight - 48
Vigilante - 45

Total 483 (some room for feats...)
I would like this team better but unlucky as i am, i lost STRIPE!!

I'm not a Grant Morrison fan but I've played this team and it's pretty dominating.

And even the old version of the card said Willpower did not work against the pushing damage.

I tend to play theme teams regardless of whether the pieces have the keyword or not. Moondragon makes it on my Avengers teams, Namorita makes it on my Fantastic Four, and Red Tornado makes it on my JSA teams.

I usually bring my Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (any of the 5 editions) or my DC Who's Who (3 editions), or point at the comic book behind the game table with the roster in question (Guardians of the Galaxy).

If that doesn't work then surely someone has a smartphone and can get on Wikipedia or the character pages of the respective publishers.

Wizkids obviously knows more about games, marketing, and licensing than they do about comic books, their characters and storylines. The keyword list is horribly inconsistent, inaccurate, and confusing. The best solution to these problems is citing the source material: the comic book.

I say build it, play it, and if anyone has any qualms, point at the rules book which encourages thematic play regardless of keyword, cite them as having poor sportsmanship, and suggest they support their venue buy purchasing a TPB of Seven Soldiers.

Here's a nice helping of REP!

Only problem with teh "it's in the comics so it must be a theme team" approach is that some omissions can be deliberately for balance. (some powerful pieces have few or unusual keywords for instance)-

Why not just play the comic accurate team, forget about 2-3 "themePCs" and have fun? If anything it should give you a good shot at the fellowship, if the judge knows his way! :D