It's the end of the year and it's time again for our eighth annual Top 10 list! Spotlighting the ten teams from the funnybooks that can be built using figures from sets that came out this past year!

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For those that may have missed them, here's the lists from the last few years: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Like those previous years, we won't be posting any specific builds and dials. It's all about discussing certain rosters in a Golden Age format, regardless of keywords and team abilities. Though in some cases, the keywords might help.

Last year, I wasn’t super happy with the selections that were available. This year, I’m a little cheerier. Sure we again didn’t have much in the way of DC, but I think their lone offering yielded a little more variety than Batman and Bat-adjacent teams. Well, sorta. We’ll get to that. And there were some teams that just didn’t make the cut. I’d debated the Black Order, but nixed them since they count on getting figures from WizKids Opens and Conventions. WWE is way too new and way too few. The Kree had a good showing, but that was a movie set and was pretty sparse outside that. But who DID make the cut? Read on and find out!

Insane start, right? We got more X-Men this year than any folks from any other team. Be they based off the 90’s animated series or the post-Schism Regenesis teams. Even the Deep Cuts unpainted versions! But why didn’t the merry Mutants make the main list? Because at that point, there were so damn many X-Men on so many different squads within each branch that there felt like very little focus. So as nice as it was to have more versions of the big named X-Men with sweet cost-effective dials, if felt like a lot of the same.

The Rebirth set provided some nice selections of the DCU, like JSA members, The Outlaws, The Dark Knights of Metal and one team that’s another entry later on this list. But the subset devoted to New Super-Man and the Justice League of China was simple and effective. Sure, it’s missing Dragonson, their Aquaman, but he didn’t join until near the end of the series.

The Elders have been around the Marvel Universe for a long while. No pun intended. But Silver Surfer #4 was one of the earliest appearances of them together as a group, including the first appearances of a few previously unseen members. The Black Panther and the Illuminati set featured them as a subset and even with the remakes, came in way cheaper than their predecessors. Only names that feel noticeably absent are The Contemplator and The Obliterator, which is why they’re lower on the list.

Sure, the big names of The Avengers popped up in a couple of the sets this year, familiar names like Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Thor and so on. But this year saw the filling out of the roster of Al Ewing’s US Avengers book. Sure last year was when we got the bulk of the roster, but this year delivered Enigma, new versions of Cannonball and best of all, Avengers Idea Mechanic generics! AIM in red, white, and blue! If we at some point finally get a Sunspot as Citizen V, it’ll be perfection!

What’s your preferred flavor of Inhuman? Regular brand that we got in the Black Panther/Illuminati set? Or Earth X souped up versions? Either way, it might not have been really needed to get members of the Royal Family, be they 616 or alternate future. But with the Inhumanity/NuHumans experiment at Marvel finally over, this may be it for a while. And if so, these were decent pieces for them.

With as many Spider-Man characters as there were in Earth X, the set might as well have been named after Spidey (especially after coming hot on the heels of Into The Spider-Verse). And one of the strongest themes in the set was a number of folks from iterations of the Sinister Six. Classic members? Later rosters? Maybe even members of related groups like say... The Sinister Syndicate or The Savage Six? The figures from Earth X are there for it.

It would have been pretty weird if the set that has the Illuminati in the name didn’t provide a number of characters, but fortunately it did. Not just for the roster that underwent several gradual changes over the course of its existence, but we also got members of the villainous incarnation led by The Hood. Even better that all the members of both good and evil versions exist, even if some are lacking the keyword.

What Avengers/Defenders War (finally) started with building up forces with the Wakanda keyword, the Black Panther set kicked into high gear. Introducing more generics with the Dora Milaje, the Midnight Angels and Wakandan scientists. And the named versions of them to fill out the Black Panther’s entourage are also incredibly good.

WizKids’ first foray into HeroClix with the Star Trek franchise got on last year’s list as an honorable mention. This year, the debut of Star Trek TNG was such a fun set that covered almost every recurring character the series ever had (Sorry, Guinan) it practically makes up for WizKids splitting up a brick set into two gravity feeds.

The Acolytes, The Brotherhood, Freedom Force, The Hellfire Club, The Marauders... even Weapon X and The Nasty Boys got a little love in the Dark Phoenix set. The love for X-Men adversaries was spread out among a lot of smaller rosters. Enough that I didn’t feel each group could warrant their own spots on the list, and I didn’t want to be selective in this particular department, but the additions to the Mutant rogues galleries definitely earned more than just an honorable mention. Only reason they’re not number one is because the MLF and the Dark Riders are still waiting for the call-up to this game.

Where the Rebirth set kicked off the top ten, the set also closes it with their additions and remakes to the history of The Teen Titans. Jackson Hyde! Bumblebee! New 52 Wally West! Overdue remakes of Jericho, Terra, Tempest and Power girl! Even the variants that can make Deathstroke’s Defiance team! Rebirth also had characters like Nightwing, Raven and Cyborg who’ve been remade a number of times get additional pieces made that are also good. This set now allows for a lot of great Titans builds from past and more recent contemporary lineups. Are there still members from other lineups that have yet to debut? Yes. BUT... this set was good revitalization to folks that want to build Titans teams.

Well, that's it for our annual look back at this year in comic-y Clix! If you're not happy with this list, tough. Whatever the forum equivalent of "Don't @ me" is, there you go. Next week is our look ahead at 2020 for Unclixed, and in two weeks, it's an all new Comic Accurate!

If this is the last time we get the Inhumans for a good long while I have to agree with you these are the figures to tide us over till then.

Sometimes I felt like I was the only one who actually liked the Inhumans who I sadly feel caught a lot of the hate for Marvel's mismanagement of the X-Men.

One thing I would have included just from personal favoritism is this years inclusion of The Enforcers.

Ox, Fancy Dan and Montana have been a long time coming and they did not disappoint.

I know there have been a few other Enforcers over the years like Hammer Harrison and Snake Marston but they seem like fair weather friends compared to the original three.

....Well okay the original Ox is dead and replaced by his conveniently twin brother, but you know what I mean.

For the first time in years. I would have to disagree with the list. You are missing a team(Keyword) that was not only unique and a first run of them. But played right could take out all of the top 10. Accept the Elders of the universe(There just over whelming crack)

That team is MAGGIA

Let me explain. First they were in 3 sets this year. Second they had all bases covered(Leadership, Probability control ,Outwit). They had a generic piece for filler. And what made them fun 4 of the pieces(If your rolls were good) could make Hired Flunkys bystanders that had there keywords. That means in a theme team they get to use theme teams re-rolls. And you can overwhelm the field with them.
Low cost and extremely competitive I know I've played a couple game with them. And they done well.

That team would be my #1 team of this year

Anyone else with me on this

Actually a pretty hard list to make.

What about WWE ? Enforcers? Earth X?

Such hard choices.

I loved the new USAvengers and Sinister Six but totally agree with top 2! We got loads more X-men villains and finally Teen Titans are well represented!!

Titans could still have been better represented...no Omen?

I have to echo this. I want to see more Maggia in the future. It pains me that the ADW Kingpin does not have the keyword (or Hydra).

She could use a remake, but technically she exists within HeroClix:

Agreed the Maggia were indeed the sleeper hit keyword with a comeback. Combine that with the Earth X version Enforcers to provide an actual threat in secondary or bodyguards and you have yourself a formidable team of an old school mafia cartel.

I'll agree with 1#. Teen Titans went from nigh unplayable to actually good

I use this figure for Omen. I break off the eye and it kind of looks like Omen in the Teen Titans series.

Agree, Teen Titans are great now.

Teen Titans really got serious help here. There are so many members from it that are playable not only on their team, but branching out to others.