Sorry, but I've basically never used Barrier. I think I remember reading somewhere that if two squares of blocking terrain are diagonally adjacent to each other, a figure may not move across that diagonal. I think it also meant that an enemy figure on the other side of the diagonal is not considered adjacent, and thus can't be attacked. With that in mind, if I use Barrier adjacent to an enemy figure, can I make a + of barriers to surround it, effectively shutting it out for a turn?
(Yes, I know that even if this works, fliers could get around it if it's outdoors, and an ally could bust one up to make temporary hindering terrain. I did say "effectively.")

Yes, you can.

Awesome. I need to look into Barrier users more now. Thanks.

barrier is awesome. also, try to win map choice and select indoor maps with lots of walls to maximize your barrier use shutting down opponents

Barrier can be a very useful power it just needs a bit more thought than some of the other more "point and click" powers to get the most use out of and can suffer a bit in some peoples's eyes from taking up the defensive power slot. it's worth taking a look at the figures with special power barrier while your at it something as simple as Blackout with his one square free action barrier can achieve a lot of board control cutting off lines of fire, and create the odd headache for your opponent manoeuvring around the map.

While there are plenty of special versions of Barrier out there that can do extra things like (like cause damage or require break away, etc), my favorite Barrier is still having two ultra-cheap Barrier characters that simply alternate turns putting up a Barrier, protecting my team and/or locking down yours.



I used the heck out her back in the day. Cheap Barrier that can push into Poison if you need it. And can serve as an X-Men healing battery in a pinch.

And if you want to go REALLY old-school, you can't beat



Decent range, EE for some offense if necessary, and the Brotherhood TA means you can move into position without using your actions. (and there were other shenanigans you could get into with the old, original wording of Barrier, but that's another story).

Barrier, The Offensive Defense.
The most success I've had with barrier were on an indoor map with a large team and multiple people with the Barrier power. It quickly frustrated my opponent to the point of cursing.

Just want to point out that any diagonally adjacent blocking terrain (or elevated) will break adjacency like that in conjunction with Barrier. That's generally my preferred use, actually, freeing up characters to Charge/Move/Range attack, etc. Barrier has way more versatility than most people usually think about. It's definitely not just for defense.