Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes dial review: Toyman's Toys!

For sealed games the many Toys of Toyman are decent filler, but should you go out of your way to include them in a build? Let's examine.

The Airplane - some amazing synergy to be had if Toyman can equip 2 giving his defense a +2 bump while modifying an opponents attack by -2, making a difference of 4! 

On its own the airplane is a decent value - potentially dodging attacks with Super Senses, and possessing 2 targets with Energy Explosion for only 15 points.

The Race Car - with Toyman on the map this is a strong investment as an HSS hit and run scalpel, pinging someone for 2 damage. 

Conversely, Move and Attack is not so good when you have an 8 attack.

22 points seems a bit pricey for a figure that can’t hope to evade damage and has a single click of life and most likely an 8 attack. 

The Cymbal-Banging Monkey

This monkey means business with free action Quake, a decent defense (17 at range, 18 up close) and some ability to evade being targeted with Shape Change. 

Make the most of his Quake to cause knock back or falling damage, but be wary of knocking away opponents with range that will have an easier time shooting the monkey.

The Teddy Bear - 

useful as a tie up or a one time only Pulse Waver the Bear is the cheapest of all options. He’s also suicidal, and may hurt your own team as well.

Shape Change may help him as a tie up piece, and while Pulse Wave is tempting, it’s also handing your opponent 14 points with every use so watch the point count and timer when deciding to use the deluxe Ruxpin. 

Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes dial review: Toyman!

Toyman is a gimmick piece, meant for constructed and theme play and will easily be outmatched in any 300 point sealed battle. 

WIth an initial investment of 81 points he will hopefully be packed with at least 1 toy to bring to the sandbox. Any other toys will be an automatic upgrade in his cost, which is already tipping the scales at more than 25% of build total.

To get the most, players will also want some mastermind fodder - another investment to be thrown away considering his 16 defense won’t be hard to hit (and if he’s letting his toys take the hit, he’s really doing himself a disservice as he loses buffers and may take a token). 

He’ll also likely want to push to get the Perplex/Outwit synergy going which puts him one spot closer to KO. Getting closer to use Outwit (remember, it’s now a range of 6 for this guy) may leave him too close to the fight (too bad he’s not like DC10 Oracle, capable of using the toys as avatars for support powers).

By all rights this is a fun piece - but not one that should be expected to win many games. Stay tuned tomorrow as we look  in his toy box to see what kind of surprises are in store for those unwrapping cardboard boosters this month!

Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes dial review: Mr. Majestic!

Mr. Majestic, like Hyperion, Sentry, Ultra-man, Omni-Man, and many many others is another “homage” to Superman, which is why he’s in a Superman set and why he “sees all” with Molecular sight. 

With a tentpole dial Majestic makes a big splash - 5 damage on a running shot, backed by Energy Explosion to overlap on those too close to his target.

Attack and damage values fluctuate especially backed with modifiers like Perplex, Super Strength, and CCE and the super-bruiser is a damage sponge with Invulnerable or Impervious defenses on all but his last click.

The move and attack ability may surprise a few that don’t recognize the new symbol, and it may help him outmaneuver opponents. For instance, opting to fall back a turn after swooping in with a Running Shot will force opponents to keep on the move. 

Majestic is strong, but suffers the same as any tentpole in his point class, and his cost-to-click ratio (point cost to # of slots of life) is disconcerting (he’s about 28 points per click) especially considering the dip he takes once he’s past click 5. 

Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes dial review: Black Manta

Cue the Jaws theme - the Wildcard Black Manta returns to the map with move and attack on every click and a host of strong attack powers. 

Starting as a ranged attacker he Sidesteps from the surf to Penetrating Blast with an impressive 11 attack and two targets.

Opening Toughness fades to Combat Reflexes and gives him another reason to go overboard where lines of fire can’t be drawn to him. 

He’ll likely end up on mid dial Charge to help him close the distance, and Blades to supplement his damage. Use Indomitable to follow through from the Charge with CCE to boost attack or damage.

Manta can do something useful on every click leaving his old Hypertime version to sleep with the fishes in Davy Jone’s locker.

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: BIZARRO

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Bizarro

Bizarro is whatever you want him to be with a modular point cost. In this case it's a 25 point taxi/Superman enemy, or a 75 point nuisance secondary attacker. Go all the way and have him be a 300 point, 12 hit monstrosity that will challenge opponents to beat him before the clock beats them. 

Opponents may be better served countering his Indomitable since it doesn't matter how much damage he takes from an attack, only that he takes damage. Reducing the number of times he can attack should help force him to push and make it that much easier to kO the big lug.

For sealed games, you couldn't have pulled a better figure as this brute can be customized to fit on any team build with ease.

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: MORDRU

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Mordru

Santa returns to the game in his third attempt to be a competitive tentpole offering a host of Traits that won't get used in a sealed event. 

As a 200 point Mystic he brings a lot of damage reduction to the fight, stretching out his Mystics feedback damage. Using his Outwit to counter an opponents ability to inflict penetrating damage is going to be key to winning with this giant angry lawn gnome. 

Competitively, Mordu lacks just enough to maintain viability as a one many army - he needs some kind of immunity to power countering for that, and at 200 points his attack values hover around a point or two too low to be a reliable primary attacker that can front a team and see it through to the win.

His biggest tactic with LIMITLESS MAGIC will be choosing Pulse Wave or Precision Strike to stick damage, deal with Stealth, etc - but don't forget Poison when he has two tokens and can't take any actions. 

Hammering through 5 clicks of Invincible will cost an opponent a lot of life, which is why removing any Outwit from the board will be a priority for those playing him. He's a risky piece, one that will challenge experienced players who field him, and frustrate those who don't know how to deal with a Mystic tentpole.

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Universo

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Universo

It seems like every set delivers at least 1 great Mind Control figure (usually in a SR spot) and SLOSH is no different, giving us the long time Legion foe Universo, a master mentalist who was once Earth's Green Lantern (and is now the reason Green Lanterns are not allowed on Earth in the LoSH's future).

While he has the standard mesmerist power one would come to expect he adds extra flavor by gaining a bonus against his hated enemies - healing up after taking feedback damage from Legionnaires. 

Defenses are strong if squishy, backed with 2 types of Damage Evasion, and his combat values don't suffer the way many mind controllers do - he's not saddled with a 1 or 2 in the damage slot, but he starts with a 3 which will crack defenses. Three damage with a 7 range make him more than just a mind bender.

Universo's also a Wild Card - it may not be much, but it's there - and he's not exactly breaking the bank at 71 points, less than a quarter of the build total. He's one of the few that may surprise many - as he doesn't look like much on paper, and is a relative unknown to the masses. 

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Blok

Blok a standard flying brick in the literal sense with a few more bells and whistles due to SPs and traits, but nothing so special that it defines much more explanation. 

Like the giant stone boulder that attempted to crush Dr. Henry Jones in 'Raiders, just point this Indomitable behemoth in the direction of an enemy and start swinging.

Competitively he's a bit too slow and weak for his cost - there are other better damage dealers in the set, especially ones with range, but maybe not so many that can take a beat down like this stone giant. 

Still, it is a poor strategy is to take a beating, so just expect to take the loss a little later than usual. With any luck his utility will be boosted by the as yet unspoiled White Witch!

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Lex Luthor

Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes dial review: Lex Luthor

In a set full of WildCards Lex offers two options to his teammates, and has an impressive power set to boot. 

As a Flying, Running Shot-Psychic Blasting, Prob controlling, 18 defense Sharing criminal mastermind Lex is going to steal your cakes (and eat them too) because you can't Outwit his powers. 

And that's terrible (for opponents). 

Hard to Believe: featuring Hawk & Dove's enemy Kestrel

It's hard to believe that Hawk and Dove's enemy Kestrel has never been made in HeroClix.

Who is Kestrel?

Kestrel is a villain with origin ties to Hawk's source of power - the Lords of Chaos. Apparently these Lords felt Hawk wasn't chaotic enough (as Hawk was masquerading as a hero) so they unleashed this destructive spell that possesses humans (think Captain Universe, only evil).

Kestrel's power set includes adamantium sharp claws, enhanced strength, durability with both heightened reflexes and senses.

Kestrel is also pretty much a nobody - comic vine lists Kestrel as only appearing in 27 issues. From that standpoint it's easy to understand why Kestrel hasn't been included in the 'clixdd club.

So why is it hard to believe this mort hasn't been made yet?

From a costume standpoint this is one of the easiest figures to remake - repaint any version of Hawk and you have Kestrel. WizKids saves on sculpt production costs, and only have to make a new dial.

In HeroClix dial terms I might add some kind of chaos trait (like the Ancient One's ability to reroll opponent's dice), and something that specifically messes with Hawk and Dove's combat values when Kestrel is on the board.

So how about it WizKids? Next time we see Hawk and Dove in a set, let's get a Kestrel Prime, SR repaint, or gravity feed variant, if not an LE prize!