Regionals are coming up
soon and a lot of local qualifiers are this week (or last
week.) A lot of people want to go to tournaments like this
and who doesn’t want a level 6 LE? But a lot of new players
are afraid that they won’t be able to get the rules downor
won’t be able to make a competitive team. I’ll cover both of
these today.
The rules are always a big issue in higher levels of
competition. If anybody has ever been to a Magic the
Gathering Tournament you’ll know what I’m talking about. But
I assure you Heroclix are much different. Because of the
Fellowship award, nobody is interested in being a jerk.
People will walk you through it. If you run into a serious
pro, don’t worry. The pro is smart enough to know too
things; A) If you need to ask them all the rules, you’re
probably not enough of a threat to force them to be a rules
monger. B) No pro wins all the time, they’ll know to be
really nice to try to pull a fellowship win. So my advice is
just start going, trial by fire. You’ll learn the finer
points of the rules soon enough. Then you’ll start taking
home those LE Sue Storms!
Building a competitive team is not as hard as you may think.
When you start building a team for competition in a major
event you should always assume that it is 300 point builds,
using no retired figures (whose retired can be found at
Wizkids.com) open to any universe and duplicates of figures
may be used. I will break it down into a few major points in
building a team.
A. First String Attacker or Brick: This is your major
attacker. You want this figure to be able to deal at least 4
damage to any target and preferably be hard to deal damage
too. This figure will have a giant target on it, so make
sure you pick an under-costed figure that is just too good
for their own good. I personally never spend more then 120
points on this figure with only a few exceptions. Here is a
list of more expensive figures that are tournament worthy;
Veteran Green Lantern the Hal Jordan Version, KC Green
Lantern, KC Superman, KC Flash, Black Adam, Ultimate Thor
and of course Amazo. These figures can carry an entire team,
they all do massive damage and are very hard to hit. However
the great thing about heroclix is you can build any team and
make it work. However, I recommend 120 or less and use the
rest for strong support. Personal Favorite: Nebula with
Trick Shot.
B. Second/Third String Attacker: This is the character that
wails on the opponent while they’re trying to go after your
brick. Look for a character at 50 points or under. You’ll
probably want two other solid attackers besides your first
string guy. The best combo is tying these points into your
support points. Meaning with your support you’ll want a
probability controller. Sure you could use Destiny who is
very cheap, but she can not attack. Or you could use Jinx,
who has probability control, psychic blast with 2 damage and
an 8 range. Jinx will always hit for 2 ignoring defensive
ability and has a good range. Another good example is Johnny
Alpha who can be support with telekinesis, but also hits
from a 6 range for 3 damage. His 11 attack is ridiculous for
the point cost. However it is hard to beat a plain old cheap
beat stick. For 44 points Havok has an 18 defense (from
range) and hits for 4 clicks of damage. Personal Favorite
Second/Third Stringer: Havok/Jinx
C. Supporting Cast: This can range from probability control
to perplex to defend. But my opinion is that support answers
what your opponent throws at you. These are solution piece
to your opponent strategy not ways to help your own. I will
break this into sections in order of importance.
1. Telekinesis: This is the range issue. No matter what team
you build range is always a major factor. I can barely think
of a successful team without this ability. Getting that
first attack is the most important thing. Telekinesis sets
up your game and can get you that first hit. Your opponent
must play around it and it is a must to answer your
opponents range. I should also note to pick a character that
has it, that you don’t mind pushing. Because you always push
that telekinesis character. Personal Favorite: Jean Gray
rookie is 31 points and has it most of her dial.
2. Support: The most common mistake I see again and again is
not spending the points on a healer. Healing is the most
devastating turning point in any game. Commonly I will
attack a medic, before I try to take out a brick. Remember
to find a cheap medic, because they die over and over again.
I also suggest at least an 8 attack on your medic, because
it is devastating to miss. Remember that you are NOT allowed
to use perplex in anyway when using support. You can use
probability control though. Favorite: Jane Foster…but since
she is retired. Experienced DEO Agent.
3. Outwit: Is there anymore of an answer then outwit? No
matter how balanced your team, it will have a weakness.
Outwit can do away with that weakness and add to your
chances of winning. Plus an outwitted Ultimate Thor is just
a normal figure with a low defense and high damage. When
you’re opponents characters are not subtracting two damage
each attack, their characters die faster. Favorite:
Intergang Agent and Mary Jane Pog combo.
4. Perplex: Perplex is very similar to Outwit in many ways.
It can solve any problem. Need to hit for more? Need a
higher percentage roll? Need to hit from farther away?
Perplex is a necessity, don’t go to a tournament without
either Outwit or Perplex. However a lot of perplex is
usually equivalent to an Outwitter, so one or the other is
okay. Please also note that the Hydra and Police Team
ability perplexes attack values from a ranged attack. These
team abilities are massively underrated. Remember missing on
KC Green Lantern? Remember using all your perplex on your
attack instead of your damage? Personal Favorite: DEO Agent
Experienced version
5. Probability Control: Now personally, I have played maybe
three games in my life without this ability. It is not
incredible strong, but I also do not like to take risks. A
critical miss is game ending. Favorite: Jinx, Loki and
Destiny. I use all of them all the time.
6. Defend: This is a rare ability and frankly has a lot of
limitations. There is only 2 usable pieces and both are
played by Jessica Alba in a upcoming movie. However, in the
new set of Fantastic Forces, Sue Storm LE will make defense
sharing a necessity. But for now…skip it. Favorite: Silver
Surfer with the Defenders team ability.
I also try to have one anti stealth piece, because stealth
can wreck you, if you are not prepared. Also don’t be afraid
to duplicate characters you like. 5 Mary Jane Pogs is mean,
but smart. I love playing 2 Havoks. All of these features
should add up too 300 points of pure terror. They should
have a synergy with each other and each figure should have
two major uses. Wild card based teams and teams with juiced
up Hyper Sonic Speed Characters are the best of the styles.
However, this is Heroclix and there is not just 1 team that
is better then the rest.
