Batman Arkham Origins HeroClix set review: Uncommon Assassins

The Batman Arkham Origins HeroClix set just released and with it 21 will be making their way on to maps soon.

Who do you need to own? Who should you fear on the map? Today we kick off the uncommon reviews starting with the Hired Assassins, and the person doing the hiring:

014: Copperhead

This is not the crazy, Serpentor styled Copperhead we've all come to know from years of DCU continuity, but rather an updated female version redesigned for the nu-52 era. Like her or loath her, she doesn't disappoint.

At 115 points this femme fatale has 7 clicks of life, and each click has Poison, helping her deal damage even when she's not attacking.

On top of Poison is the Hallucinogenic sp which lets her take an action to deal 1 penetrating damage to an adjacent opponent - no dice roll necessary. This means she can deal 2 clicks of damage per round without having to worry about Super Senses or Shape Change evading the attack roll.

As a Hired assassin she gets the extra 50 points for KOing a chosen opponent, and Charge, combined with Improved movement is going to help her position, while Exploit will make the damage stick.

Rear dial she picks up the Shape Change/Super Senses combo that with Sidestep and Poison makes her a superior tie up and harassment piece.

With no range, no willpower and no stealth, she's going to need help closing the gap between her and her opponent, but the Calculator TA gives her some options. She pushes the edge of expense and affordability but with the right backup won't have any problem earning her keep on a team.

Rating 3/5

015: Black Mask

I've already mentioned my excitement about this piece in a post dedicated to the character, and in a sealed environment he certainly loses no luster.

At 100 points he's cheap enough to fit on any 300 point team with lots of backup and brings the most amazing mobility power to Assassins, Arkham Inmates and the Gotham Underworld to the point where he is really a must own piece if you play any of those teams regularly.

The ability to give friendly figures move actions to get into (or out of) position for a strike will be a crucial game maker for a number of battles. For instance - with no move and attack Deadshot just begs to walk up and put the Bat in his scope and then fire away with his 12 attack for 5 damage.

It's not just the mobility power though - Outwit, Perplex, and a bag of other tricks make this kingpin of crime a threat on the map.

Rating: 4/5

016: Deadshot

Deadshot is going to be *the* figure to take down in B:AO, thanks to his heavy hitting status. He's a ranged monster with the Sharpshooter ability preventing him from losing RCE when tied up, and the improved targeting to ignore hindering terrain is going to make him Batman's #1 priority.

With nowhere to hide, opponents will have to bum rush this assassin who, with a self probbed 12 attack and 5 damage will have no problem KO'ng any figure in the set in two rounds.

His two flaws are his lack of upfront mobility - meaning he'll take some time to get into position, and his relatively soft defenses. 17 Toughness is respectable, but just about anyone can hit those numbers with ease in the set.

Played right, he's going to deal a lot of collateral damage if not win games outright, assuming his 150 points of back up are used wisely.

Rating 4/5

Why Arkham Origins is an exciting Batman HeroClix set (for now)

Let's face it - like most of you,  I'm burnt out on Batman. 

Since the Superman expansion, we've been subjected to Bat-set after Bat-set with the Movie figures, Strategy Game, NML, SoG, Vehicle Super Boosters, Tab App packs, TV series, and now the video game franchise. 

Normally my wallet would be safe, as it was from most of the above releases, but this time, there's a few things that have my attention. 

1.) Story/Theme play:

The game appears to have a number of characters that inject a little bit of added "threat" onto the board for my opponent with the Hired Assassin trait:

Hired Assassin: During your first turn, choose an opposing character. If XXXXXXXX KOs that character, you score an additional 50 victory points.

This reminds me of the old (and flawed) Arch Enemy system, and sort of steers the game a little towards an alternate win condition. Competitively, I've played at large attendance venues, where you can go 3-0 and lose based on points (I recall a recent 3 round, 300 point event where a player timed out in several games without getting more than 100 points in all 3 rounds, but managed the wins!).

I'm curious to see how opponents react to the added point incentive of figures I'm fielding. Will they not care? Will they try and steer their targeted character away from my threat? Will they try and take out my Assassin first? There's a psychological aspect to HeroClix, that I love and this helps bring that out.

If nothing else, it gives me something else to concentrate on in games, in addition to the win. I wish there were more "objectives and rewards" in HeroClix - things like battlefield promotion, artifact rolls, etc. 

Magneto crosses the board to launch missiles from Cape Citadel? Marvel Girl promotes to Phoenix? That's awesome. Moloid picks up a Crimson Gem and KO's Sinestro by himself? That's something to talk about. It's these type of moments that make for great game play.

2: Character Selection:

I can't speak so much on this as we've only seen a few figures, but so far this looks promising, based on spoilers from the video game. A new Black Mask is promising (considering the SoG version is a bit of a wet rag), as is a new take on Anarky (unconfirmed in the set).

The update of Copperhead has me intrigued, and I know that while some aren't happy with the point bloated Deadshot, I'm glad to have another version of him. 

The thought that we might get an unclixed figure like Electrocutioner, or perhaps an updated Creeper? That would be amazing. I can't wait to see the full set list, and I'm hoping it doesn't double dip too much into the bat-well that we've been subjected to lately. 

#3: Sculpts: 

This is a toss up right now - I don't know what these look like in hand, but DC has had a better track record with sculpts (aside from DC75 Superman), specifically the micro sets like 52, DC10. 

If these sculpt stay on the same track, if the character selection is robust, and if there's a lot of fun to play mechanics it's going to be hard to pass this set up.