Okay, so if you're anything like me, you're probably looking at the 50+ new SHIELD figs you've acquired from your Nick Fury: Agents of SHIELD boosters (and FF pack) and are feeling a little overwhelmed. You're eager to run a SHIELD team and start using your new SHIELD figs, but there are SO MANY figs to choose from (and so many options) that your brain overloaded and you probably decided to go with an Invaders team (or another build that's a little simpler). That's a shame. You've invested all that money and if you're not careful, a lot of those generics will never see the light of day. Well, that's why I'm here to help with my...

HANDY DANDY S.H.I.E.L.D. team-building primer!

*please note: this is a community document and I welcome other experienced players to contribute strategies/suggestions/etc. Thanks!

Before we begin, there are 5 truths that we'll need to acknowledge:

1. SHIELD teams are finesse teams. There are lots and lots of SHIELD figs to choose from. Nearly every Marvel hero has had some sort of affiliation with SHIELD at some point, so it stands to reason that SHIELD will have a large roster of available characters in heroclix. Even without the SHIELD keyword, you've got figs like G.W. Bridge who can 'bridge' another non-SHIELD fig into SHIELD. In the modern age (as of this writing), there are 105 SHIELD figs available and about a dozen of these are generics. What makes SHIELD a finesse team (among the following truths listed below), is the fact that SHIELD provides you with a lot of low-point figs who can do one or two specific
things, and very few figs who can do a LOT of things. That's why you are more likely to select a well-established team of 100pt - 150pt figs with synergy (ex: classic Avengers) versus a 400pt SHIELD team consisting of 9 figs that you needed to pick and choose based on what they brought to the table. That's my definition of a 'Finesse' team.



2. The SHIELD TA is NOT as useful as the HYDRA TA.

SHIELD TA:
Okay. Not bad, if I have 7 figs with the SHIELD TA surrounding my SHIELD fig who's making a ranged attack, I get a serious increase to my range. Oh wait... the rule of the three says I can only modify at a max of +3. Giving my SHIELD fig a power action so that his buddy can add +1 to his damage value for a ranged attack is like having enhancement but without the benefit of having it be a free action. Not that great.


HYDRA TA:
This is pretty sweet. Additionally, the Hydra figure only needs Line-of-Fire. The target does not need to be within the Hydra figure's range. It's like perplex... for free.

Whoever you're drawing a line-of-fire to needs to be visible, so unless the opposing fig is in stealth (and you can't see through hindering), behind other characters or behind a wall, you're good to go.

Alright, so HYDRA obviously wins this round.



3. The SHIELD trait for generics is NOT as beneficial as the HYDRA trait for generics.

SHIELD trait:
SO, you're telling me if I hit an opposing character I get an extra action to my action pool for the turn? In order for that to be beneficial I'd have to a) be playing more figs than I have in my action pool, b) actually hit someone, and c) not have every fig on my force pushed out (hence, i'd need some leadership - but leadership adds actions to my action pool as well - so what's the point?)


HYDRA trait:
If a HYDRA generic dies, he gets to remove action tokens from 2 friendly characters with the HYDRA keyword. The friendlies he removes tokens from DO NOT have to be adjacent or at a lower point value. Yikes.

It's a lot easier to get KO'd than to hit someone, so I'm going to basically state that HYDRA got the better trait here.


4. The *advanced* SHIELD trait is good, but requires plenty of strategic thinking. (I'm calling it the *advanced* SHIELD trait because only senior officers/agents seem to have it)

Okay, as mentioned, this is a good trait, but isn't 'point-and-click' useful and will require you to base opposing characters to reap the benefits. And, of course, this trait comes in different varieties, so it's effectiveness will all depend on which figs you choose to join your force. It should be noted that shutting down an opposing fig's willpower will almost always muck with your opponent's strategy.


5. The SHIELD ATA is NOT as helpful as the HYDRA trait.

Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division:
'Rule of three' applies here.


Hydra Deep Science Division
'Rule of three' also applies here.


As you can see, the SHIELD ATA is the 'Ying' to HYDRA's 'Yang', but modifying down an opponent's range for outwit, perplex or prob con to a minimum of 1 is way more helpful than boosting your own range. Just sayin'.



*I'm comparing SHIELD to HYDRA mainly because HYDRA is the 'other' opposing faction to SHIELD (as evidence by all the HYDRA figs we recieved in Nick Fury:AoS). AIM is another possible contender, but we haven't had any recent AIM generics in a while.

Agent ward is a must. His hydra ta sharing ability as well as his RCE from stealth is amazing. Fast forces Skye has a similar ability and also very good as an attacker.
Fast forces fits&monkey are also great support.
Agent may is an extremely potent melee piece for a shield team.
Aou 11 Monica chang is also phenomenal in this team build.
Peggy carter prime is better than good. She's worthy of a prime slot on a meta team.
These are the pieces that have impressed me the most so far in use apart from the obvious space Fury and Space hulk @100 which if you add FF fitz and Henry you have a great team.

Before we start team-building, it'd be a good idea to identify the SHIELD heavy-hitters. My definition of a 'heavy-hitter' is someone who can do some damage as well as take a few hits and not be totally useless.


Identify the heavy-hitters:




Also known as "Balls of Fury". He's appeared on quite a few ROC teams and his main claim to fame is his ability to 'super-outwit' with nothing really blocking his line of fire. He's slightly mobility-impaired, but he's still considered 'broken' nonetheless. He's the closest thing we have to the ultimate SHIELD 'point-and-click' character.

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Steve here has traited leadership, willpower and two useful traits. The thing that really makes him stand out is his ability to share ESD with friendly characters.

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SHIELD gets some muscle! Besides the obvious benefits of having 3 (!) stop-clicks, the Hulk can grant the use of Outwit to friendly SHIELD characters. At 300 points he's frustrating to play against, and at 100pts he's still very deadly. He's a close-combat kind of guy, so friendlies with the SHIELD TA won't benefit him (but i'm sure the extra outwit will help).

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Quasar is another 'point-and-click' character. Running shot in (carrying another SHIELD fig while you're at it), psy blast 2 targets from a far distance, stand there as your opponents try to attack you, and do it again next turn. Until I started playing heroclix, I wasn't even aware Quasar was a member of SHIELD.

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I never realized what a nuisance Agent Venom was until I had to play against him in a local tourney. It's the 'upgraded weaponry' SP that really does the damage. As a ranged attacker, he'd benefit from a friendly adjacent with the SHIELD TA.

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Hey! Another 'point-and-click' fig! Albeit, a very pricey one. 245pts is expensive.

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so far, we've showcased nothing but SRs or pricey/hard-to-get figs. let's take a look at a few commons/uncommons/rares, shall we?





If you have some sort of oppurtunity to TK Elektra within range to charge/flurry an opponent, I'd suggest you take it.

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His trait can hurt very very much. I once (foolishly) compared this guy to pre-errata Felix Faust.

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She's a heavy-hitter, but that 10 attack is kind of risky.

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From a pure 'assault' factor this is my favorite Iron Man for SHIELD teams. Probably my favorite Iron Man, overall.

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Deathlok can do plenty of damage with his RCE as a ranged combat action SP. There's not a single click on his dial where he doesn't have the opportunity to crack impervious. Deathlok armed with the Maximum Carnage ATA can be pretty harmful to your opponent's team.

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What a great Captain America. Traited leadership is fantastic and picking a defense (Combat Reflexes or ESD) is just such a nice thing to have in order to keep Cap alive.

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Honorable mention:



I'm kind of undecided on this version of Iron Man. He's got two traits that can really improve the performance of a SHIELD swarm team and a special damage power that can help him stay token free. On top of that - he can really hurt opponents with his running shot/8 range/dual target psy-blast (and his indom). But... he's 200 points. You be the judge here.

Now that the heavy-hitters have been identified, you're going to need some sort of mobility to move your characters around.

Fliers and figs that carry are important, as it will help you close the gap and approach the enemy quicker. There are about a dozen modern SHIELD figs with the flight ability, but you should really be looking at mass-transit options, since you will most likely be playing several lower point generics on your team and will probably want to move them as efficiently as possible.

Thankfully, Maria Hill has you covered:



Don't get me wrong, I like Maria Hill the CHARACTER - but why did WizKids need to make the only common non-unique SHIELD mass-transporter 'Maria Hill'? Couldn't she just have been 'SHIELD pilot' or something? (My own personal rant.) Anyways, Ms Hill here is NOT A UNIQUE and you can field more than one of her to ferry your grunts out of the starting zone (if you're okay with that).

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The SHIELD rig allows you to let a friendly character on your force use sidestep and flight for 25pts. If you really wanted to be technical about it - it also gives you 4 extra clicks of life (well, only two if you take two penetrating damage when the vehicle is destroyed). It can't carry anyone - so I'm not even sure why I'm talking about it right now. With the latest rule revisions to vehicles, 2016 will be The Year of the Vehicle. So watch out. I'm calling it now.

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Did you manage to win a QuinJet in the AoU event? or buy one on the secondary market? Great! Because this is the perfect opportunity to use it!
A QuinJet can carry up to 4 passengers and can you across the board pretty quickly. I own a QuinJet and have never used it, so I can't speak through experience on how effective it is.

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...and those were your SHIELD mass-transit options.


If you're feeling bolder and decide that you don't NEED a SHIELD themed-team, you can always go with a soldier themed-team (lots of SHIELD figs have the soldier keyword).

Mass transit options include:













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If you're totally dead-set on the idea of playing a SHIELD themed-team and for whatever reason can't use ANY of the figs listed above, try to include Gabe Jones on your force (who gives +1 speed to all SHIELD figs on your team). At least you'll get that.



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Addendum:

Did you build a SHIELD theme team and it included AVAS Hawkeye, CW Hawkeye or AVM Hawkeye? That's great! Because now you can add the Avengers Sky-Cycle and it won't break theme! Also, unlike the SHIELD space rig, you can actually carry a passenger on the Sky-Cycle.

You put a lot of effort into this primer and it shows. Thanks a lot for doing it. Making me rethink some team builds now with Soldier and SHIELD keywords.

LEADERSHIP options:

If you're playing a SHIELD team, and you're playing a swarm team (i.e. more figs on your force than actions in your action pool) - you're going to need some sort of leadership. If you're not playing a swarm team, well... leadership is still nice, but you can get by just fine without it.


The advantages of a successful Leadership roll on a SHIELD swarm team are two-fold:
1) a friendly adjacent lower-point fig gets to remove an action token
2) you get to add an extra action to your action pool* (this is evidently useful when you have a 500pt team with 10 figs)

*the new generic SHIELD trait ("RALLY: Whenever [S.H.I.E.L.D. officer] hits one or more opposing characters, add one action to your action total this turn.") also does this.


-Selecting a fig solely for their Leadership ability is a risky proposal. Ideally, a single fig should do MORE than just provide a specific type of power (even if it is leadership). You should be selecting a fig that can lead, but can also provide support powers and/or is a strong attacker on their own.

-Something you should probably keep in mind is that most SHIELD generics are 40pts and under. I'm considering a generic to be any character who has "Real Name: Various" listed on his/her stats card.


For lower-point leadership, we've got:



45pts gets you a low-point generic who can lead other lower-point generics. the last half of her dial gives her sidestep and enhancement. her 9 and 8 attack values (with 2 damage) tells me she probably won't be cleaning up on the battlefield once she's done leading. there are better options out there.





As previously mentioned, Ms Hill here can fly your figs into battle while armed with stealth and defend AND leadership. she loses leadership for a bit, but can still do some damage. ends on leadership. very good option.





Mr Dugan here starts with sidestep & leadership, which can present you with wonderful options when combo'd together. His SP allows other friendlies (who share a keyword with him) to get an ability similar to Colossal Stamina. That SP - when used properly - can really be game changing.





This guy is pretty interesting, since his end-dial attack values are kind of low. He does pick-up outwit and regen, but it kind of seems like his first-click of leadership was an after-thought. Good figure, but maybe not your best option for a low-point leadership fig.



Taking a look back at previous sets...



I may be a little biased here (since I LOVED the Captain America: The Winter Soldier set), but I really like this fig. Once his leadership is gone, he can still Enhance and Empower his SHIELD allies until the bitter end. Often times you'll have a SHIELD generic with only 2 damage, and this extra boost in damage is the only thing to allow them to land that hit on that impervious or invulnerable foe.




Multiple Man here has plenty of handy support powers and I think most people forget he has the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword. I think most people overlook him because if you want to get the most out of him, you'll need three or four of him on your sideline.




He's 45pts and was specifically designed to help swarm teams. If you don't believe me, check out his damage SP. He's on of the figs in CW that was overlooked and forgotten about.




Another good Maria Hill that was also specifically designed to help swarm teams. She's worth taking a second look at.




She's a really offensive version of Quake, and I suspect she was only given Leadership so you could play her with the rest of the Secret Warriors from that set and have a leader. Still worth a second look.



I'll run through the higher-point leadership figs in another article...

*special intermission*


Oh sweet, you just pulled an ID card! What's that? It's the SHIELD ID card? Well, that's pretty good! Oh wait, it's the S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1 ID card? The one that let's you bring in any SHIELD generic for 49pts? Bummer.

HOW TO GET THE MOST USE OUT OF YOUR LEVEL 1 S.H.I.E.L.D. ID CARD

Paying 5pts to bring in a fig that's less than 50pts is pretty harsh. Even worse is that the fig calling them in NEEDS TO HAVE THE S.H.I.E.L.D. KEYWORD and the fig brought in NEEDS TO BE A GENERIC. That's like a double-slap to the face. Even more alarming is the fact that your generic probably only has 4 clicks of life and can be one-shotted by your opponent, easily netting him additional victory points.


Thankfully, I'll walk you through your best options.




The S.H.I.E.L.D. Elite Agent would probably be the most obvious choice as an ID card call-in. I'd advise that she's adjacent to another SHIELD fig with enhancement when she's making her ranged attack - just to make her psychic blast worth the 5 points you're spending.





Call in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Infiltrator to poison an adjacent opposing character. Then, use Infiltrator to punch them in the face. (Have a SHIELD fig with empower call him in, just so he can do a bit of damage.) His Shape Change may keep him alive long enough to survive your opponent's round.





There are plenty of good reasons to call out this 20pt filler: she can make a close combat attack dealing 3 damage (even more if the fig calling her out has empower), she can probably handle a retaliatory close combat attack from your opponent with her combat reflexes, her plasticity will stop a HSSer dead in their tracks, and finally, if she dies she was only worth 20 points anyways.





Play S.H.I.E.L.D. Paranormal Investigator if you have no stealth-busters on your team. He also has outwit, too.





Older sets:




Okay, this *might* be a really BAD idea or a really CLEVER idea, but calling out S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent so your adjacent higher-point friendlies can mastermind damage to him for a turn (or two) - well that might give your opponents an easy 41 pts (5 for ID card + 36 for SHIELD agent), but it might keep you in the game long enough to wipe out your opponent.





I can't think of any practical use for wanting to seal up a broken wall, but at least you know that option is now available to you.





Kind of a cheap trick, but call in S.H.I.E.L.D. Specialist to have her try to heal one of your friendlies. Your opponent will love you for it.


*end of special intermission*

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but do you recommend getting a Nick Fury Agents of Shield Fast Forces set?

I haven't actually played my FF yet, but at a first glance I'd say that:

-The FF Nick Fury Jr is slightly more effective than the main set (nfaos033) version. The main set version provides leadership, which the FF is sorely lacking.
-The FF Agent Coulson is not as good as the main set (nfaos036) version.
-The FF Agent May and the main set (nfaos011) version are on par with each other - I guess it all depends on whether you are looking for a run-n-gunner or a charger.
-The FF Fitz gets you a free monkey, and can allow you to TK some friendlies into battle, the main set (nfaos021) version is 35 points of damage enhancing and Fitz's hoverbot has it's uses (especially if main set Simmons is on the team).
-The FF Simmons is not as useful as the main set (nfaos022) version.
-Both the FF Skye and the main set (nfaos023) version are useful in different ways.

If you're playing the Fast Forces "out of the box", you're going to notice that there is a serious lack of mobility and leadership. Only Nick Fury Jr has indom, so expect to do a lot of pushing (or clearing between turns).

The big winner here is the "FIELD TEAM BACKUP" trait, which basically grants your attacking fig probability control if another one of your friendlies (with this trait) has line of fire to the target opposing fig. Remember, it says 'line of fire' and not 'within range'.

I plan on trying this FF team (along with nfaos002b Maria Hill and maybe nfaos053r Iron Man) this weekend. I'll be adding the S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1 ID card, just so that I can call in a grunt (in case I need one). I'll let you know how it plays out.

Saturnflight has written a great marquee primer on playing in a Nick Fury: Agents of SHIELD sealed game. You can view it here, here, here and here.

Keeping in mind, saturnflight was examining this set from how effective the figs would play in a 300pt to 400pt sealed match against other figs from the same set. He also explicitly states that these are his own opinions, just as these are mine.

Taking a look at the SHIELD generics from this set, here are a few of my comments to his original critiques:



There's about a dozen other SHIELD figs that the Section Chief can lead in this modern age of the game. What would make Section Chief 1000% more useful is if she had leadership and enhancement at the same time. The reality is, it's very rare you'll be up against an opponent with no damage reducers, so don't expect Section Chief to be making many kill shots. The end-dial sidestep/enhancement will probably go further than her leadership does*, thus making her someone worthy of including on your team - but make sure not to add too many of her and ensure that you actually have other figs you can lead. 3 out of 4 SHIELDS is pretty fair.

*I also just realized that she can sidestep next to a friendly character making a ranged combat attack, give herself a power action to use the SHIELD TA and bump up their damage by +1, and she still gets to use enhancement - effectively raising the friendly's damage by +2 for a ranged attack. mind blown.


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SHIELD Elite Agent is arguably the most deadly SHIELD generic in the set and she can't even be led by Section Chief, because they cost the same amount of points! Better hope your other SHIELD generics land a few hits and add some actions to your pool. She has a pretty short dial for 45pts, and will probably miss with her 10 attack. In a sealed Nick Fury tourney, I'm sure she's worthy - but in the modern game, she's a one-trick pony. 2 out of 4 SHIELDS (maybe).

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He has 'ignores hindering for movement', he's stealthy and starts with shape change. This tells me that you can run into hindering terrain adjacent to an opponent, hope your shape change roll is successful, and then poison next turn and maybe punch someone. I personally can't see an opponent being short-sighted enough to base him and not realize he has poison on his top-dial. Try to have lots of outwit on your team if you plan on actually poisoning anyone.

His 8 attack with exploit weakness is kind of a 'Hail Mary' move, so use his Plasticity to lock down opposing characters. He doesn't have the most useful combination of powers. I wish I had something nicer to say about him, but his kind of sub-par for 35 points. 1 out of 4 SHIELDS is a fair assessment.

Before I realized I was going to try to rebuild my SHIELD collection, I was giving this fig away to other players every time I pulled him from a booster (or politely declining him whenever he was being offered to me for free). For 40pts, he does almost the same thing that SHIELD cyborg does, but with a twist. Mr Field Agent here has sidestep for all 4 clicks of his dial. That may not seem significant at the moment, but if you think about it, sidestep goes a LONG way for any support fig who can bump up damage values for close combat attacks (empower) or ranged combat attacks (SHIELD TA). His toughness may keep him alive long to take one or two hits. His end-dial CCE means he might get lucky and manage to punch and/or damage an opponent when the chips are down.

The reason I originally dismissed him as a waste of 40pts is because SHIELD teams work primarily as ranged teams - so I was only focusing on figs that gave advantages for ranged attacks. But what if your figs get based, is their measly 2 damage going to crack your opponent's invul or imperv? Anyone who can give bonuses to close combat attacks is an asset in this scenario. I'd give this generic a 3 out of 4 SHIELDS (depending on your team build).

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Saturnflight is 100% on the money for his assessment of SHIELD bodyguard. Easily one of the best defensive generics in the game. Every SHIELD collector should have at least one to keep as an available option for team building. Actually, I'd go so far as to give him 4 out of 4 SHIELDS.

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Okay, for the record, I respectfully disagree with Saturnflight on his assessment/rating of SHIELD recruit. In my eyes, SHIELD recruit sets the benchmark for all SHIELD generics on what they could be. 20pts for plasticity, combat reflexes and close combat expert is outrageous! The powers completely sync together. Nothing worse (for an opponent) than being based by her, needing to roll a 6 to break away or needing to roll an 18 to land a punch on her. That's actions wasted by your opponent that could've been used to attack your more powerful figs (because surely at 20pts, you were able to afford someone more powerful on your team. and don't call me 'Shirley'.).

For a bit of context, SHIELD recruit is the only SHIELD-keyworded fig that costs 20pts or less with decent stats. (You could play the Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. from Avengers Movie (avm003) for 1 point less, but who needs that grief?). Having low-point tie-up figs is a crucial part of maximizing the use of the "CHANGING THE WORLD" trait that is so popular among the senior SHIELD officers found in the Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD set. 4 SHIELDS out of 4, is my rating for this fig.

Saturnflight nailed this one. There aren't very many (maybe 5) SHIELD-keyworded figs in heroclix for under 50pts who start with outwit. Getting probability control on your 2nd click is a real treat. Willpower and a form of free stealth-busting? 4 SHIELDS all the way.

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Originally, if I had to choose between SHIELD Field Agent and SHIELD Cyborg - who both cost 40pts, both have front-loaded toughness and empower - I would've picked SHIELD Cyborg. Now? I'm not so sure. The leap-climb/super strength/indom combo is kind of cumbersome, as you'll need to wait two turns before you can hit an opponent with that heavy object. The leap-climb does allow the Cyborg to get where he needs to be. He really seems more suited to close combat attacking - which is actually a great thing.

Up until this set, SHIELD was always more of a 'ranged' type of team. Heck, the SHIELD TA is mainly meant to benefit adjacent friendlies' ranged attacks. Starting with these last few recent sets, we're starting to see more 'charging/close combat' SHIELD figs (looking at you Iron Nail, SHIELD Hulk, AoU She-Hulk, AvAs Falcon, DP Elektra, etc... ). This now gives you options for deciding what type of team you want to play. The SHIELD Field Agent has a little bit more mobility with that sidestep, but won't be able to do much on his end-dial. The SHIELD Cyborg, on the other hand, is a little less mobile but goes down fighting. Based on my play style, I'd probably still opt for the SHIELD Cyborg. 3 out of 4 SHIELDs from me.


This concludes my look at SHIELD generics. A big shout-out and thank you to Saturnflight for compiling the original Marquee Primer Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. - which is a pretty daunting task to begin with. Check it out if you haven't already - he provides a very insightful point of view on how to evaluate the effectiveness of figs for a sealed tourney.

A great read, and it's nice to see my Primer get a 2nd cycle!

A great write-up thanks! I'm a big fan of SHIELD(even cosplayed as an agent) and naturally bought a case of NFAOS. I still have so many figs I've barely played. It's definitely been a struggle to figure out the best team to run. I do highly recommend the SHIELD Commander from CA:WS. Top dial running shot, E.Explosion, and two bolts is awesome. Leadership is gravy.