This week we focus our attention on Takedown in Constructed Play, which means no retired figures will be mentioned in the article. Feel free to mention them in the comments below!

Step inside to read more!

Welcome to another Top Ten list!
What is Takedown good for? Check out thisFeat Spotlight to see what Takedown is all about in the world of Heroclix. In the meantime, here's the text of the card:

Please note - the following list is somewhat subjective, as certain figures can preform better than others in some situations. The list tries to maximize all possible combinations of powers that make a figure a good candidate for Takedown, but there are only 10 slots, and they have to be ranked somehow Feel free to mention anyone else you feel is worthy by posting comments below!

Honorable Mentions:
Morph, Allen the Alien.


If an opponent has the option fliers with Plasticity are more likely to get shot than be the victim of a close combat attack, ESPECIALLY if the opponent knows a missed attack will trigger Takedown. Allen has Combat Reflexes which make him extremely good at avoiding fisticuffs - and again, more likely to get a gat in the face than a member of the Vice Presidents duck hunting posse.

SN Graviton U
Graviton is a beast on his opening click, and if he had a smidge higher defense, or retained Incapacitate for more than his opening cleak, and a few mid dial clicks Takedown would be gravy on Gravie. As it stands this is one turkey that doesn't need extra sauce.

SN Super-Skrull U

Skrully is good, but really - there's too many better feat options available for Kl'rt, especially when you consider he doesn't even get to use Takedown until click #3. Consider Takedown if you're running a 200 point one man army, but in the mean time - Stunning Blow, Camouflage, Protected, Armor Piercing, Fortitude, Nanoarmor and Entangle get the job done nicely.

OR Jakeem Thunder U

18 defense and Incapacitate, plus Probability Control to make the opponents roll twice to hit is what makes Jakeem a contender. Sadly J.J. only has the Prerequisites on his top click. Takedown could be insurance that the opposition takes a push when targeting the Thunder-genie but really, we all know Protected is a much better use of points, and will keep JJ on his 18 defense, or at worst - push JJ onto a 19 defense.

There's plenty of other figures that could have made the list, and are good with Takedown, but the following epitomize what makes a great Takedown artist.









#10 Creeper - Justice League


No doubt about it - Creeper's a tie-up piece. Leap/Climb helps him navigate the board, while Super Senses can possibly save him from a few bruised ribs. His 16 defense isn't stellar, and his damage is a modest 2. It's a good thing then that Incapacitate will help push Invulnerable bricks to the brink of exhaustion. If this Creep gets pushed around, Shape Change will help him avoid more trouble, while end dial Regeneration could allow him to bounce back to the top of his game. The real reason Jack Ryder's alter ego makes the list is that at 45 points he's very, very economically viable. There's no question about it. Speaking of Questions...

#9 E Question - Origin


As mentioned in the Takedown article, Stealth, Incapacitate & Combat Reflexes is a winning combination. Takedown requires a close combat attack to activate, and Stealth forces the opposition to get up into Vic Shade's...er....face, to attack. Combat Reflexes increases "Mr. Punctuation's" defense value against close combat attacks, thus improving the chances Takedown will be successful. Vic could have been higher on the list if he met the Prerequisite for more than his opening click, but at 53 points (+6 for Takedown) it's not a bad investment. Be sure to keep the Question in hindering terrain and always remind your opponent when they declare an attack on Vic - "Are you sure you want to do that? If you miss the attack you'll push yourself..." You may find you're able to psyche them out with your "sage advice" and make them switch targets.

#8 V Copperhead - Origin


Copperhead is a bit of a dark horse candidate for Takedown. His 88 point cost is somewhat high for what he provides in return (max 10 AV) but he makes an excellent tie-up piece with a relatively long lifespan and is capable of making the opposition groan thanks to his 18 defense. Exploit Weakness isn't too shabby, and an almost full dial of Plasticity will keep the opponents close, so that he can use Blades/Claws/Fangs to take a bite out crime-fighters. Rear dial Super Senses potentially keep him from taking a fatal blow. Copperhead may not the best investment of points, but if you like playing semi-obscure villains who wear lame Serpentor pajamas, you could do much worse than spending an extra 6 points to put Takedown on the DCU's premier Serpent Society knockoff.

#7 E Mister Miracle - Origin


The Experienced version of Scott Free beats out the Veteran version thanks mostly to a lower point cost and the fact that the Veteran can't use Takedown on his opening click. The E steps up with 3 clicks of 18 defense, Super Senses, loads of Outwit and meets the Prerequisites for Takedown on every click but #5. Late dial Regeneration helps keep him in the game, while Support may help his teammates stick around too. Mister Miracle is a very feat friendly figure and Takedown is no exception. The only thing keeping him from making it higher on the list is the fact that he's a flier, and thus can be shot at by adjacent opposing figures as mentioned above. The 3 reason he's on the list rather than Allen or Morph: Defense, Defense & Defense. Be sure to base a no range character and go to town.

#6 AW Spider-Man U


Speaking of very Feat-able characters, the unique Spider-Man from Armor Wars lends himself to a variety of cardboard, from Pounce and Vault to Stunning Blow and Nanobots. Takedown is no exception. On his front click Spidey's got the Super Senses to dodge the attack, a decent enough defense to avoid harm. Knock him a little further in and he becomes a real pain to deal with by grounded opposing pieces with an 18 Combat Reflexes, more Incapacitate and finally, Plasticity. Spidey's good, but the best for Takedown, as clicks 2 & 3 are bare of any Prerequisites for the feat.

#5 E Clayface - Collateral Damage


Some people prefer the Veteran Clayface, or even LE Ultimate Clayface, and I'm not going to lie - both are very capable figures in their own right. What makes E Clayface stand out - aside from his lower cost, is that he meets the Prerequisites on every click but his last. The Veteran/Ultimate models would have to push to use Takedown, which can be a viable strategy, but still gives some yards to the opposing team. Clayface needs a Bat-Enemy, or Wild Card partner to boost his AV to a reasonable amount, but his defense is 18, and with Super Strength he can dish out some pain. Shape Change gives him plenty of opportunities to avoid being attacked - but not avoid an attack altogether. Keep in mind if Basil makes his Shape Change roll, the opposition does not have to take a token from Takedown.


#4 V Ant-Man - Supernova


18 defense? Check. Incapacitate? Check. Stealth? Check. Super Senses? Check. Ant-Man has everything going for him that makes a good Takedown candidate. Four clicks of Perplex allows him to bring another trick to the table. Push him off the top of his dial to gain some added protection as the opposition has to come in close to KO him and wind up giving themselves a token. If only he weren't 80+ points, he'd be a real contender. As it is, Mr. Pym is a great Takedown artist - but not the best.

#3 LE Ralph Dibney - Collateral Damage


Mr. Dibney's appearance on the list isn't a stretch by any means as he meets the prerequisite for Takedown on every click. His 17 Defense is backed up by Super Senses so he stands a good chance of bouncing back from an attack unscathed. The ever-lovin' Elongated Man makes a great tie up piece - literally, as he gets pushed him to Plasticity to really rope up the opposition. For 70 points, he's not a huge investment as a support piece and should carry more than his fair share of the weight with Perplex & PC. If you don't have LE Ralph try E Elongated Man, who's good as (Gin)gold on every click but the first and has his PC backed up with Outwit, rather than the LE's Perplex.


#2 U Scarlet Spider - Sinister


Ben Reilly has a dial that begs to be played with Takedown. When the Spider-Clone doesn't have Incapacitate showing, he's got Plasticity to back him up. Except for click #5 "Spider-man: Red" meets the Takedown Prerequisites everywhere on his dial. Four clicks of Super Senses give him decent odds of avoiding a punch in the face, and the wild card TA could come in handy especially if he decides to team up with some Defenders, JSA or in unrestricted Sue Storm for a 19 Defense. His AV may not be the best, but if played right he'll dish out more damage than just about anyone in the top 5 except possibly, number 1...

#1 V Psylocke Armor Wars


If you read any of the feedback comments from Friday's Takedown write-up then Betsy Braddock's inclusion at the top slot should come as no surprise. Stealth backs up a Combat Reflex slot of 17 defense which means the English turned Asian assassin will be tough to take down in her own right. Feat her up with Stunning Blow, park her on hindering and watch the enemy weep as they push to try and KO her. She's a capable attacker with a 10 AV and 3 damage. The only thing worse than this combination would be to double up. At 182 points there's plenty of room leftover for her mutant friends in a 300 point build.

Thanks for reading!

Please list any characters you think are good with Takedown below, along with any successful Takedown stories!

Nice write-up

I've used V Psylocke since she first appeared, and to great success in the UK Nationals 2 years ago. She's one of my favourite figs and It's just great the way she gets better with each set that comes out

Rep incoming...

'cept I need to spread some love around first...

Betsy is my #1 candidate for this feat. It makes you think twice about attacking, can you hit it????

Nice read, some of the listed characters I didn't think of, so that's always fun finding more options.

Thanks

If you are going to play Psylocke with Takedown, make sure you have at least one PCer on your team. She only meets the pre-reqs on the first two clicks and, let's face it, if someone hits her, they are just going to hit for 1 damage. She's a one hit wonder and you need to be able to stop that hit from coming thought. Granted, 19 defence against a Close Combat attack is extra sweet but, I played her, and she got clobbered because I couldn't fit a PCer on the team to stop that lucky hit from coming through.
It's probably more economical to put Takedown on one of the others from the list that have the pre-reqs on more than 75% of their clicks.

Just my opinion... I could be wrong.

Wow...some love for the Scarlet Spider. I have always thought he was great and hardly ever see him played. Maybe now people will dust him off and bring him to the table.
Thanks!

Here's what I'm dying to try in the next non-floor event:

LE Ralph Dibney 70 (84)
+ Takedown 6
+ Entangle 8

Plastic Man 55 (74)
+ Drag 5
+ Camouflage 8
+ Takedown 6

oots Batman 75 (83)
+ Protected 8

E Question 53 (59)
Takedown 6

Total = 300
BFC's Exhaustion, ???

No R Ronin?

Great write up. It gave me more ideas than V Psylocke for this card. I do need to make some trades for some of the pieces but otherwise can't wait to try this after I try my warbound warskrull team.

Just wanted to point out... in your initial post (the one that's on the front HCRealms page), your link to Takedown actually links to Terrify.

That's because I'm lazy and copied the majority of the text from mt Terrify review last week. I'll fix it.

If we lived in a world where the average attack value was 7... Ronin's opening 16 defense (with toughness) would mean someone needs a 9 to hit him. If we lived in that world Takedown would benefit Ronin greatly from all those missed attacks... too bad this isn't that world.

I would think V copperhead would be higher on the list! He is eligible for takedown on every click! The number 1 fig only can use it for 2. I wanna use that 6 points for my entire dial . He also has a 17 or 18 in close combat on every click until he gets super senses. His av is weak, but it's not terrible. He has a 9 or better for half of his lengthy 8 click dial. His damage is not bad either. He can dish out 3 dmg in close combat (theoretically) on every click except #1, but I'll take EW any day. To top it all off he is a wildcard! And the animal keyword has some decent TA's to copy. Animal Man LE is mystic, vixen is a cheap suicide squad.

I used him in the pre release and he's a surprisingly pesky figure. In higher point games he is my tie up of choice!

EDIT: His poor attack doesn't really matter anyways, because the whole beauty of takedown is that you don't need to hit!

True-but he does get supersenses on his second click along with flurry that he can use Alpha flight with for an 11 AV.

If he flurries and hits doing 6 damage, that could potentially make his opponant miss him.


Just sayin...

These detectives would be a lot of trouble working together. Nice team. But remember that E Q isn't one keyword-wise, so watch out for your own Exhaustion.