I just traded for a friend's collection of old heroclix extras. The figures are from the first 2 or 3 sets of both Marvel and DC. There are no unique figures in the bunch.

Are their any models that are still worth playing? I was looking through some of the dials and was shocked at how bad some of them are. I guess the power curve has went up quite!

ole Vet Jean Grey?
Put Auto Regen on ole Vet Sabertooth and he's a motherflippin monster. I still play him frequently.
R Destiny? Cammaaaaaaan. 20 points of free moving Prob Control, how is that bad?
E Black Cat for a very mobile/wildcarding Prob Controller, that aint bad.

Blob. Nuff said.

U Moondragon is awesome and arguably
better then the new version.
Spiral can still make mince meat out of people.
I still dig playing Sauron.
REV Deathstroke is still great.
I still constantly play Cheetah.

There are still some good figures in those sets. Although BN starter and WoS make me feel like the days of the older figures retaining their usefulness are nearing an end. The number of figures that will remain useful will certainly dwindle anyhow. There are a few that might still hold up for a good long time.

On the flip side there may be some that weren't that great to begin with.

Some

Yeah, I'd say not too many, though some of them will fit nicely (in 'Golden Age') onto theme teams, to fill out those last few points you need. Other than that, mehhhhh, I hope you got a really good deal on them (like almost FREE).

I think every figure I have is worth playing at some point. It's all perception. If you want to play to win, some aren't necessarily viable. However, you field a true Brotherhood team and people might look at you as the type of person they want to play against, because it screams fun.

Also, never underestimate Firelord, Vet Blizzard, or a Mandroid Armor piece.

They may be underpowered due to power creep and point creep from newer sets... but they are still useable, and even competitive to a degree.

I use older figures almost every single game, and I do just fine. I win 6.4 out of every 10 games... now if I only played min/max munchkin teams... I would rarely, if ever lose. Playing older teams has forced me to become a better tactical player. I have to rely on tactical skill to win, not on gadgets and gizmos and the best min/max figures. (Compare my win/loss records for 2009 and 2010.)

Some people will NOT use older figures, as they are above us hoi polloi, or they are afraid of losing, or a combo of both, but they are missing out on a lot of fun.

If you would like to see how the really old figures (Infinity Challenge to Mutant Mayhem) or the older figures (Fantastic Forces to Supernova) perform for me....

... just check out my theme teams with win / loss records and my Avengers teams with win / loss records, and full stats.

The links are here... and you can see how I've done:

My Theme Teams

My Comic Issue Accurate Avengers Teams

So, the older players work just fine. Would I show up with an Infinity Challenge team at GenCon? No. But for local tournaments and for private games... they are still useful and very fun to play.

Play for the spirit of the game, not the letter of the game. And I still remain competitive.

It is difficult to get too much use out of figures that old. As mentioned previously you are mostly looking at cheap support pieces. Destiny, Black Panther, Jean Grey, Deathstroke, etc. There are also still some good lower cost attackers as well, Elektra, Bullseye, Silver Samurai, etc. Generally a good rule of thumb is the more expensive they are they less viable they still are in the game. 100+ points buys you a lot more in today's game.

However, the closer you get to the present the better the figures are. In Explosion for example they have Veteran Mandarin who is still pretty good even in today's game. So there are some okay figures in there, and some really good support (not the power, the concept) figures that I still use in games today.

The old sets have lots of good support pieces. The declining defense and attack values limit many of the older powerhouses.

You don't see any newer 200+ point figures have a 6 attack and 11 defense at the end of their dials.

The KC figures have stood up pretty well over time.
The one major positive about older figures is they usually have longer dials. They make good mastermind fodder.

Hypertime Swamp Thing and Solomon Grundy, still 2 of the best Master Mind Damage sponges in the game to this day.

I use rookie destiny all the time and she should be good for years to come. Firelord with tk and some trickshot can still dominate. Also some of the most fun army figures are in the first sets

I dunno, I tend to like the newer figures better (I am a big fan of the card-era sets, special powers, etc.). That's not to say I don't like older figures (I use them now and then) but I only have so much time to play anyway, I figure I might as well use the new stuff if I can only get in a game once a week or once every few weeks.

As JDKenada said, there are still lots of worthwhile pieces in the older sets; especially if you care about themes and not just number crunching.

Also, every so often there will be a card or rule change that suddenly makes an old piece lethal due to some stat combination.

FTW!!! Rep a comin'! And this is exactly why people love playing against me... I'm friendly... and I always play some old comic-accurate theme team. It does scream fun.

Last night's tourney was 100 Points Golden Age. I came with the Rookies Cloak and Dagger from the Mutant Mayhem set. It was a blast!

For a practice game before the tourney... I played against my friend John, and he had Arachne and the Experienced Mockingbird (West Coast Avengers). I beat him easily.. and only took one damage from an Incapacitate that forced me to push.

The first game was against Gamora... and I barely lost. Gamora took 3 poison damage, and some more damage from attacks. She only had 2 clicks left of life at the end of the game. And everyone knows Gamora is min/max.

The second game I went against were the Isaiah Bradley Captain America and the Experienced Sinister Falcon. I lost, and pretty bad... but I managed a critical hit against Cap.

The third game, I went against the Sinister Wolverine (still, to this day... the best Wolverine in the entire game).. and I mopped him up, not even taking a click of damage.

So going 2 and 2 isn't so bad for using those old, what many people deem, "useless" figures.

Bottom line is I went 1 and 2 in the tourney... but I sure had a blast and I played a comic accurate team while doing so. And that is what HeroClix should be... all about fun!

Just used R Lady Shiva last night. Her CCE + Bat Enemy TA made for a messed up a Namora and she with the League of Assassins Alternate Team Ability (making her 27 points) she helped my Wildcards immensely.

So to be more specific, every figure is as good as the player controlling it. A good player can make anything work (provided the right build requirement).

Amen... preach it brother. Reppin' for that post... because tactics reign supreme! Good gamin!

Time constraints limiting game days, I can fully understand your reasoning. And, I too, like the Special Powers. I have never been a fan of Feats... but I learned to use them... but Special Powers should have been their instead of feats.

Exactly.. Theme teams all the way... since the Infinity Challenge days! I care less about keywords... just make mine Marvel.. and make it comic book accurate.