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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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WMNOE |
Beta Ray Bill Unique
WAAAAY back when, in Thor #337 a guy by the name of Walt Simonson took over
the book and radically changed it forever. How? He took the Hammer Mjlinor
away from Donald Blake, and gave it to some alien dude named Beta Ray Bill.
Since then, Blake has been reinstated, and axed a couple of times, but it
was Beta Ray Bill that opened the door for different incarnations of Thor.
Actually, I guess it was Stan Lee who began that tradition, but up until
then, no one had utilized that tool.
Cost: 144. Health: 10. Range 8 Attacks: 1. FLYER
SSADD: 8/11/16/4
Powers: Running Shot, Super-Strength, Invulnerability, Toughness
Running Shot is awesome for three clicks, especially with the 4 damage. That
hammer can really hurt!
He'll be around for the long haul, and at 144 points he is exactly what he
should be, a slightly powered down version of the vet Thor, at 187 points.
Really, compare the Vet version of Thor with this click, they're ALMOST
identical.
Sculpt is nice, but no great shakes. It's a tough figure to get painted
correctly though, so watch out for cruddy paint jobs if you're buying the
single, which should cost you between $6 and $27, though again, a ton of
clix didn't sell that started at $20.
A majority of the sales on Ebay recently were between $10 and $20.
My Ratings:
Playability 3.5 of 5
Collectability 3 of 5 |
Asmodeus |
Recently, we talked about Silver Surfer, a very anticipated piece that
didn’t quite live up to the hype. Today, we’ll look at Beta Ray Bill, an
unknown to many, but one of the better pieces in Critical Mass.
Beta Ray Bill has 3 clicks of Running Shot, all with 8 speed, 7 clicks of
Super Strength with attack values ranging from 11 on the first to 10 for
three clicks to 8 for the last SS click, Invulnerability for four, followed
by Toughness for four, and all natural damage, starting at 4 and staying at
3 for a bit. BRB comes at the price of 144 with 8 range, which is pretty
reasonable among other uniques in Critical Mass. One of the reasons why I
and many others love Beta Ray Bill so much is his variety of ways to attack.
The natural 4 damage is huge, allowing you to still hit for that total even
when using Running Shot. Also, his 11 AV with SS can allow you to grab a
heavy item along with someone and add 2 clicks onto your total damage count
if you encounter close combat resistance. He’ll be slow to take damage,
also, with so much invulnerability early on. By the time you get in range to
put some damage on him, he’ll have a nice counter-attack lined up next turn
due to RS.
So, since he is a flier, who should you combo him with? He has no team, so
no support team is really that much better than another. On any figure that
has Running Shot, you will definitely hear me suggest a Vet Psylocke. For 45
points, you just get so much in her – Enhancement to boost Beta Ray’s damage
to 5; B/C/F to take away anyone trying to tie him up, and stealth to block
some line of sight. In a 200 point game, you can have BRB and Psylocke and
also have room for an experienced paramedic, but that leaves some of your
options limited.
Sadly, Beta Ray Bill is not going to outrange many of the people in regular
games (300 and up). Deathbird, who also shares a somewhat small 8 range, has
10 speed with running shot, barely ousting Bill in the pseudo-range
catergory. The new Silver Surfer can run around Bill twice and still be
safe, and even some figures without Running Shot will be able to pick a few
clicks on Bill before he gets into attacking range.
Beta Ray Bill brings somewhat different from past ranged attackers; with a
heavy object, he can do six clicks of damage in close combat every time, and
he has terrific ability to minimize damage taken. Both of those things make
him a great pull in any marquees (I hope I pull one this Saturday in mine)
and also for some future teams with the right support.
100 pts – N/A
200 pts – 2/5
300 pts – 3/5
300+ 4/5
Collectability – 3/5, bump the score up by one if you’re a big fan.
Asmodeus |
The
Honey
Duke |
Beta Ray Bill
You've got a near clone of the Experienced Thor with this figure, but that's
okay; E Thor rocks, so Bill does too. You get a starting click of Running
Shot, 11 attack and 4 damage, followed by several clicks of invulnerability,
toughness and super strength. Some folks might be disgruntled with having a
figure with such similar stats, but it's not a bad call on Wizkids' part.
Clobbering Time is going out of print, so there won't be many opportunities
to score any of the Thors from here on out. But if you've got him and Bill,
try 'em on the same team. Why not? They'll fit on a 300-point team, and you
can throw in a scrub or a medic with the remaining 12 points. If not, have
Bill tote around Psylocke or a SHIELD agent to boost his damage just that
much more with enhancement.
TheHoneyDuke |
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