Granted, I've got a DC bias, but V Icons Joker is, to my mind, the best choice of the bunch. Due to his TA and his nice 11 AV, he's a figure that you want to have your other Batman Enemy figures next to all the time, anyway. The combination of Stealth and Mastermind means he's super-easy to keep on his top click, and his Outwit means he can continue to be useful even on turns he's not acting. The Batman Enemies' lack of mobility is the main downside to him, with no TK and only 2 fliers, both of which are Man-Bat. Maybe once we get Firefly/Killer Moth it'll be a little different.

Agreement. I've been itching to see if the Sinister Syndicate (who have the same TA, but more fliers, as well as move+attack powers) can make Inspiring Commander work a little better.

Of all the different TA-pure teams I've played, I've had very limited success with the "Shared Attack Value" teams...mostly (I'm guessing) because I haven't mixed in Wildcards (Taskmaster) or Thunderbolts. I've seen the Vet Icons Joker almost defeat a Vet Icons Superman, so I have great respect for that piece.

And thank you for your previous Magneto commentary on the boards. The article may not reflect it, but I considered some of your posts when I was reviewing the Magnetos.

seriousally man... as far as sin syn goes... you need a wislson fisk with insp command... a bullesey vet from ic with trick shot.... starter hobgoblin... exp boomerang... vet electro from ult(cant be inspired but is still a haus) and new additions of kraven (or the old one) and whizzer... who is great with his newfound willpower... i dont even use shocker typically...oh any mysterio... only the rook can be inspired but you dont really need it all he does is stealth outwit and the vet has more longevity.... vet ult doc ock usually also makes my team with armor piercing...

to review you can have a 4 damage with electro... two 3 damage trick shotters w/ willpower in bulleseye and boomerang... a willpower taxi with hobgoblin... and two outwits in doc ock and mysterio... that covers most bases and if you want a willpower barrier fig the blizzard ex is one point less than wilson (hence why we use the overcosted le)

Great Article...but OWAW Superman should have some kind of mention. In high points games he kicks tons of ###!

And YES I'm serious

Between your article and the comments, I'm shocked by the lack of love for E Taskmaster. Give him an army of Doombots, a SynSin and a SuiSquad, and he's King Tasky.

Mmmm... how about Hypertime Vet Supes ^_^?

*cough* That was me in Critical Hit # 6 *cough*

Dude, your check is in the mail!

Glen, one point you totally missed is the cost of the Inspiring Commander in relation to the other "subordinate" figures. The higher the Commander's point cost, the more figures that can benefit from the feat's effect.

I personally agree with the poster who mentioned Vet White Queen. She's a really expensive support piece/IC/damage battery, but she's totally built Ford tough and stays on the board for, like, ever.

Exp Magneto is the best IC fig, I think. There are just too many fantastic x-men figures between 40 and 88 points to choose anyone else as the best. His values are just good enough to do something other than sit there, but he's not the centerpiece of the team to where Inspiring Command is an afterthought. He's priced perfectly and plays perfectly with the IC card and with other x-men.

And about the Superman Ally IC, I think Vet Maxima would be the best bet for that. She's a bargain compared to OWAW Superman, and she's also got TK to help get those robot supermen into battle. Krypto, Supergirl, Superboy, and Steel can also sit next to her and shoot people.

Yeah White Queen is awesome for IC, I recommended that on another thread for the Astonishing X-men theme team.

Superboy doesn't have range, IIRC. Your best bet is for Superboy to start his movement next to Maxima or OWAW Superman & Charge an opposing figure than move the IC figure next to or behind Superboy so he pushes next turn w/ CCE. That's also in my Crit Hit article.

While Brilliant Tactician works with wildcarded characters, Inspiring Command does not. Taskmaster can ONLY use Inspiring Command to grant Willpower to other Minions of Doom.

I'd go with the new LE Clark Kent with Nanobots and Inspiring Command. As soon as he loses Leadership he gets 2 damage with Phasing. On top of that, he has a single click of Regen, two clicks of Shape Change, and four clicks of Toughness so he isn't too easy to take down.

Great article, thanks!

I played against a themed Alpha Flight team recently with Guardian as an Inspiring Commander.

IC in combination with their ATA made them great, much more formidable than I expected.