It's new set time once again clixers.
Take a trip through the galaxy with us and the X-men. Saturnflight and Jruffing return once again to bicker their way through yet another primer! Who will rise to the occasion in sealed? Who will see you fall through the rankings? Do either of these writers know what they're doing? Does anyone actually read these things? Read more to find out!!!

#063 Weapon Hex
Real Name: Laura Kinney
Team: Defenders,Mystics
Range: 7
Points: 75
Keywords: Defenders, Warp World, Weapon X, X-Men, Mystical

10 12 18 3

9 11 19 2

8 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

7 11 17 2

7 12 18 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Hex Marks The Spot: POWER: Choose an opposing character within 6 squares and line of fire and give it a Target Spell token removing any on other characters regardless of source. // Friendly characters with mystical keyword can use improved targeting Blocking, Hindering, Elevated, when targeting only the character with the Target Spell token.
Hex-A Gone: Blades/Claws/Fangs. When Weapon Hex use it, after resolutions you may place a hit target up to X squares away from their current square, where X is the D6 result.
Hex-Magic Healing: STOP: Super Sense: // At the end of your turn, heal Weapon Hex 1 click
SF: Someone needs to lay off the puns. In spite of that, I'm super keen on this figure. Weapon Hex (I prefer Hex-23 myself) is utterly terrifying until you've forced her past her 2nd click. That's 2 successful attacks of progressively growing difficulty, and a Mystics damage back after each one. By click 3, Laura is significantly less intimidating, and no longer has a way to climb back to those clicks- she doesn't even have the X-Men team ability. It's plausible you'll never confront that shortcoming.

JR: SF is right that hitting Laura past her first STOP click diminishes her threat, but if you actually want to take her out and score points for her, there's a chunk of dial and another STOP click to worry about. Call her whichever pun you like, she's a problem for your opponent.


#064 Diamond Patch
Real Name: Frost
Team: Brotherhood of Mutants,X-Men
Range: 0
Points: 80/40
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Hellfire Club, Warp World, X-Men, Celebrity, Martial Artist

11 12 18 3

10 11 18 3

10 11 18 2

| | | | | |

9 11 17 2

8 12 17 3

8 12 17 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Deep Wounds For Deep Secrets: When Diamond Patch hits a single opposing character with a close attack, after resolutions he can use Mind Control as FREE, but only to target the hit character.
Diamonds Are Forever: Invulnerability. Diamond Patch can reduce penetrating damage. At the beginning of your turn, heal 1 click,
I Can Smell Who You Are: Opposing characters within 6 squares can't use the following:
- Shape Change
- Stealth
- Keywords that are not printed on cards.
SF: A generally decent figure, Patch nonetheless lacks a compelling strategic direction that might inspire a build. Luckily, this terribly-named hybrid has an abundance of keywords, making him easy to toss on a team without commitment. You can do that at either point value, though I'm slightly predisposed toward the 80 point dial because 3 clicks, even with Invincible, is fragile.
80:
40:
JR: A good healing factor is one of the easiest ways to convince me to spend more on a split dial, cause if you get taken out in a single turn all that healing is wasted. While I'm even more turned off by the short dial than SF, I'm also all the more enamored with the full dial. In this set, I'll take Diamond Patch's quasi Invincible over Impervious any day.
80:
40:

#065 Hellhound
Real Name: Unknown
Team: Mystics
Range: 6
Points: 90
Keywords: Warp World, Weapon X, Assassin, Mystical

11 12 18 3

11 11 18 3

10 11 18 3

10 11 17 3

9 11 17 3

9 11 18 2

8 10 18 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Blood For Mephicthon!: Steal Energy. But may use it with close or range attacks.
Contingency Plans: When an opposing character would be dealt damage from Hellhound's Mystic TA, instead roll a D6 and deal that character penetrating damage equal to half the result.
SF: Does every Warp World character need Blades?! Ugh! Hellhound has an absurd variation on Mystics that will ensure you play this piece no matter what I say. But Hellhound is fortunate enough to also have a good dial- albeit, a soft one, relying on the deterrent of Mystics From Hell to really feel dominant.

JR: Soft?! I assure you, Hellhound's dial is never gonna feel soft! Her special brand of Steal Energy can stretch her seven clicks to feel like an eternity for any poor unfortunate soul who tangles with her.


#066 Speed Weasel
Real Name: Gavrill Kinney
Team: Defenders, Mystics
Range: 0
Points: 60
Keywords: Defenders, Warp World, Weapon X, X-Men, Mystical, Speedster

14 11 18 3

14 11 18 3

13 11 18 3

13 10 19 2

12 10 19 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Movement: Elevated Terrain
Can't Catch Me, Snail Kissers!: When Speed Weasel uses Blades/Claws/Fangs or Super Senses, after resolutions you may place her up to X squares away from her current square where X is equal to the d6 result.
Run, Run, Run, Break, Break, Break: Charge. // Once per turn when Speed Weasel is given a CLOSE destroy action, after resolutions she can use Charge as FREE.
SF: Speed Weasel is designed to remind you of two things: that you can create a worse hybrid name than "Diamond Patch", and that you can Charge into a Close: Destroy action. That gives Speed Weasel a potential 14 squares of move and attack, with a favorable map layout (or clever Barrier). That said, I expect Sweezle to attract a lot of attention, and she isn't all that hard to hit.

JR: I know plenty of players will bemoan the benching of powers anytime a Speedster shows up and lacks the traditional HSS, but to focus on what she lacks is to miss so much of what Speed Weasel offers! Between the double charge schtick and placement after any B/C/F or Super Senses Roll, Speed Weasel can cover even more ground than a traditional speedster! Note the lack of a LoF requirement on that placement! I plan to release her like a super-sonic missile at whatever is most threatening to me across the board. She may not always make it back out if the dice are unkind, so pick a trade worth making.


#067 Deathstrique
Real Name: Raven
Team: Team Player
Range: 6
Points: 75
Keywords: Warp World, Assassin, Martial Artist, Robot, Spy

9 11 18 3

9 11 18 3

9 11 17 3

9 11 17 3

8 10 17 3

8 10 17 3

8 10 16 2

8 10 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Shapeshifter: Plasticity, Sidestep. // Opposing characters 4 or more squares away can't draw lines of fire to Deathstrique.
Deadly Assassin: Outwit. When Deathstrique uses it and has 0 action tokens, she may choose an additional power.
SF: As much as I'm personally drawn to this absurd crossover character, I desperately want 2 clicks less and a 25 point discount. Deathstrique needs to do more than she's capable of to earn a 75 point slot on your team.

JR: Deathstrique seems an odd choice. She's either our 3rd or 2nd and 1/2 Mystique in the set depending on how you want to count. A set with her signature power sitting on the bench and that's otherwise rather lax on repeat characters within the set. As far as the dial itself, Combat Reflexes and Blades may make her seem a close quarters fighter, but I can't help but wonder if the difference between her own range and the radius of her LoF shutdown might give her more success as a ranged combatant. Double Outwit is plenty useful either way, but there is a bit of that Cosmic Energy TA floating around the setlist...
All this meandering to say she doesn't really have any clear role to excel at, but could function OK in a few different capacities.

#068 Unique Doopool
Real Name: Doopool
Team: Cosmic Energy,Team Player
Range: 6
Points: 75
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Deadpool Corps, Warp World, Weapon X, X-Force, X-Men, X-Static, Celebrity

8 10 16 1

9 11 17 2

10 12 18 3

11 13 19 4

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Hey, You Can't Leave Yet, The Fun Just Started : Running Shot. // Opposing characters within range can't be placed.
Don't Worry...I Know What I'm Doing...I Think: Penetrating / Psychic Blast. .. POWER: Unequip all opposing characters within range.
Haha! Stop! That Tickles! : STOP: Impervious. // Opposing characters within range can't deal penetrating damage.
Two Stop Clicks In A Row?? Real Original...: STOP: Probability Control. When this click is first revealed, DooPool can't be healed for the rest of the game. // Opposing Characters within range can't use STOP clicks.
SF: I hate this character concept so much...
Doopool carries a mediocre dial that needs to see its latter half to be worth those 75 points. It counters things that don't exist in this set, or show up too sporadically for targeted hate. And now that pushing doesn't exist, you're entirely at the mercy of your opponent to escalate his stats. I see no reason to engage Doopool if you see him across the table.
Irresistibly Bad

JR: In his haste to dismiss a Deadpool adjacent character, SF has neglected to notice that Doopool is a wildcard in an X-men set. Odds are, you will have a method to push him further down the dial! How far and when to make that transition is a matter of circumstance. No placement means no carry, so with good positioning that first click could be situationally useful early. You will want to move down the dial for better stats eventually though. If you think it's enough to get your opponent to engage maybe only to click 2, If you have other characters with heavy reducers to safeguard maybe you wanna get to click 3 yourself ASAP. I can't quite go full marks on the off chance you don't get a character with the X-men TA, or even just pull one who wouldn't normally warrant play on their own merits, but Doopool has amazing potential with even a modicum of synergy. One to watch in constructed!
Point Breaker


#069 Fire Belly
Real Name: Fire Belly
Team: Brotherhood, Underworld
Range: 4
Points: 50
Keywords: Brotherhood of Mutants, Warp World, Animal

10 11 18 2

10 11 17 2

10 11 17 2

9 10 17 3

9 10 17 3

9 10 18 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Movement: Characters, Elevated
Nimble and Dangerous: When Fire Belly is given a MOVE action and moves 5 squares or less, after resolutions he may make a range attack. // FREE: Place Fire Belly in an adjacent square.
Firestarter: Energy Explosion, Poison. // Fire Belly deals penetrating damage.
SF: While I didn't expect to love the Warp World sub-theme, I had hoped for more Weapon Hexes and less Fire Bellys. I should have known the mutant theme would eliminate Arachknight and Iron Hammer, characters who would have been of much more interest to those of us with only cursory knowledge of the series. I'm covering all this because there's nothing exciting to say about Fire Belly's dial either. In any other set, I'd call Belly a solid 50 pointer, but that's entirely unremarkable here. If Brotherhood keyword means something to you, I guess his value goes up?

JR: Toad and Pyro might not be the most exciting characters to build a chase from, but I can't ignore the strategic value in this dial! I've talked about the lower slant of point values making EE a solid find, but there's enough reducers in there to make penetrating EE doubly so! Poison is there too if rolling dice isn't your thing. And for any Brotherhood piece his mobility will make him a god-tier taxi.


#070 Herbert Blackheart Wyndham
Real Name: Herbert Blackheart Wyndam
Team: Mystical, Underworld
Range: 8
Points: 50
Keywords: Warp World, Weapon X, Mystical, Scientist

9 9 18 1

9 9 18 1

9 9 18 1

9 10 17 1

9 11 17 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

To Engineer The Perfect World : Herbert Blackheart Wyndham can use the standard powers printed on his card for lower click numbers
Occult Dealings: Herbert Blackheart Wyndham isn't a standard character. //Herbert Blackheart Wyndam takes a maximum of 1 damage from attacks, can't be healed, and can't be chosen for mastermind. Protected: Pulse Wave
SF: I've seen the discussion, and I know what you're thinking: Herbert is a dud pull with an awkward dial who's just going to be ignored. And if he, like Moira, was 75 points, I'd agree. But this is a 50 point dial, and the gameplan is just different. If you could have Prob that survived 5 hits, you'd be happy! What about Prob plus a cascading pile of powers? Even if he just goes ignored and never sees any of them, wouldn't you take that? A mobile taxi with Mystics? This is solid support right here. And in a Rally set, even a hit rerolled to a hit might add value with a 5 rolled. I'll be booking the Wyndham; you guys take that Motel 6 if you'd rather.

JR: Look, I'm the first person to tell you to play Probability Control in sealed. And I will admit Wyndham has some value besides, though bringing up his taxi potential after neglecting to even mention it for Fire Belly is beyond me...
Anyway, Wyndham is a mediocre source of a great power. Certainly usable.


Ultra Chase
#071 Deadpool
Real Name: Wade Wilson
Team: Team Player,X-Men
Range: 6
Points: 200/100
Keywords: Avengers, Deadpool Corps, Thunderbolts, Weapon X, X-Force, X-Men, Assassin

12 12 19 4

12 11 19 4

12 12 18 3

12 11 18 3

9 13 17 3

| | | |

11 11 18 3

11 12 18 3

11 11 18 3

11 12 17 2

10 10 17 2

8 12 18 3

KO KO KO KO

Improved Targeting:: Lines of Fire drawn by this character are not blocked by characters. This character can make range attacks while adjacent to opposing characters.
Welcome to the Party... Wait Where Are You Going?: Poison. When Deadpool uses it he may treat characters with a Slice of Cake token that are not within 6 squares as adjacent. // When Deadpool hits, give each hit character without a Slice of Cake token a Slice of Cake token.
For Me? You Really Shouldn't Have!: FREE: Choose a character within range and line of fire. until your next turn, Deadpool can use the EFFECT of any equipment equipped to that character and the chosen character cannot use the EFFECT of any equipment.
Party's Not Over Until Everybody Sings!: STOP. Regeneration, Super Senses // When this click is first revealed, place all opposing characters with a Slice of Cake token adjacent to Deadpool and Deadpool gains Immune until your next turn.
SF: Slice of Cake tokens?! ...JRuff, just handle this one for me. I can't talk about Deadpool in a cake. I just hate him so much...
200: Just no.
100: *sigh* if you must...

JR: Now here's a figure...

No! I did this bit with Doom for the Fantastic Four primer already, twice is too much! Shoo! Shoo!!

Anyway, the Merc with a Mouth brings an interesting gimmick. His slice of cake tokens can put any figure without a reducer on a timer, and Energy Explosion is an ideal cake distribution method (in Heroclix! Please do not do this!). It's not enough for me to wanna invest in the full dial, but it has enough potential to catch my interest. His pulling party guests in close on hitting a STOP is situational enough to be a mixed blessing. It's nice that he gets a turn of immune for the rest of the turn to buy him a little time, but the threat of multiple attacks the next turn makes chancing a STOP-adjusted Regen roll a dubious proposition. Probably best to take it as an opportunity for a last ditch attack.
200:
100:

And that's a wrap! Now, with the whole set in our rear view mirror let's take one last look at the trophy board!
Awesome, But Impractical Dark Beast -- Kid Gladiator
Best Rally Colossus -- Destiny
Boring, But Practical Havok -- Havok
Inflated Ego Emma Frost -- Mystique
Irresistibly Bad Doopool-- D'Ken
Keyword King Beast -- Daken
Oddly Specific Blackheart -- Deathbird
On the Rise Blink -- Omega Red
Point Breaker Cyclops -- Doopool
Power Common Impulse -- Sabretooth
The New Cheese Professor X -- Emperor Gladiator
Too Dangerous to Live Kid Gladiator -- Smasher
Unfortunate Fall Corsair -- Sebastian Shaw
Worst Rally Mimic -- Apocalypse

How are Wyndham and Fire Belly taxis? Neither can fly.

please help my addled minded brain

does charge, BCF, and EW all work together now?

Underworld TA. Limited taxis.

-J

Oh shoot. Missed that. Thanks.

Charge, Blades/Claws/Fangs and Exploit Weakness? Not only do they work together now, they have for quite some time!

I'm not loving the Warp World theme: I have a feeling that a future set is going to end up with even more Warp World chases.

There is definitely a collection of strong dials here, with the saving grace that none of them appear to be grossly under-costed. The lower costed figures will always have the option of being added to teams; with higher point costs a force-builder has more options. In sealed, I will always play a chase figure.

Personally: I find the Doopool to be the best of the lot, even with the semi-unreliable chance to end up on certain special powers. The top-dial power preventing placement of opposing figures (within range of Doopool) is an extremely powerful restriction to put on opposing teams, even in an era of move+attack and everybody ignores hindering terrain for movement.

I want to like Hellhound more (ehem, Magik please?) but at 90 points, a rather poor selection of keywords, a defensive-only team ability... this is a figure that opponents will either ignore, or be willing to take the feedback to KO with focused fire.

Weapon Hex has the insanely good dial of the bunch: Great Team abilities, great keyword choices. Excellent offense and excellent supporting powers. The 75-point cost is well worth the investment. The Hex Marks the Spot appears to have some peculiarities (per the description in this thread) for example: characters will stock block lines-of-fire to the target. There are only a few spots on the dial and limited circumstances where I can imagine using an action to use that trait (I see Hex-A Gone being much more useful for exposing opposing figures) but there certainly can be circumstances where it will be a good choice.

I do so love it when I have exactly zero interest in the chases.

Save the bank account any strain.

There are certainly some interesting dials in the chase section but I have to agree - mash-up characters have never been my jam - in Heroclix or any other medium.

If I pull one in sealed I will absolutely use it - it is the unwritten rule in HeroClix - but I don't see myself keeping any of them.

Deadpool should never be an ultra chase. Never ever. I am filled with rage, first after DXF came out, and now doubly so. For shame, wizfolks.

Overall this set feels dull, and half assed. An easy pass for me.

I personally am starting to suffer from X-Men and Fantastic Four burnout, which is saying something, because they are my two favorite Marvel groups.