Fantastic Four: Cosmic Clash Campaign

Long time, no see, True Believers!  After a long hiatus, I'm back with more Heroclix gameplay; this time featuring a giant-size session report of the Fantastic Four: Cosmic Clash boxed campaign!

It had been about 4 years since I had gotten Heroclix to the table, but my interest in the game finally came back around with the announcement of a rules revision and interesting new sets that had been released since I played the game. I wanted an opportunity to try the latest ruleset, which is debuting with the Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary set that releases at the end of April 2021. Wizkids was kind enough to release the rules for that set online in advance, so it was time to relearn the game with these rules in front of me. In looking at the products that had released since I stopped playing, I noticed that Wizkids had now produced a couple of standalone boxed sets that contained a campaign you could play through. I bought them all, and first to the table was the Fantastic Four: Cosmic Clash boxed game that included the titular Fantastic Four, as well as Dr. Doom, Silver Surfer, and a number of bystander tokens for Doom's henchmen.

The included campaign is a branching storyline that features a variety of maps, forces and win conditions for each side. Each mission in the campaign has a corresponding card that provides the forces, map, rules and victory conditions for each side. There are 8 mission cards included in the box, for scenarios A-H. Note that since this is a branching campaign, you will only ever play 4 of the 8 scenarios over the course of a single campaign, and will be directed to a specific scenario based on who won or lost the previous one. What follows is my very amateur attempt to play through the campaign solo with the new 2021 ruleset.  Let's start with the figures included in the set:

Forces

ffcc003e The Thing

Team: Fantastic Four

Range: 0 :bolt:

Points: 100/75

Keywords: Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, Celebrity

(Special) It's Clobberin' Time: POWER: If no other friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that's within 4 squares of a friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword that was attacked since your last turn. Place The Thing such that he can make a close attack targeting the chosen character, then do so. If he hits and his attack roll is 10+, after resolutions remove an action token from him.

(Speed) SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA BREAK STUFF: Charge, Improved Movement: This character can move through Blocking terrain. Immediately after movement resolves, destroy all Blocking terrain moved through.

(Defense) Ain't Feelin' So Good, Stretcho: STOP, but only if another friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword is on the map. Invulnerability.

ffcc001e Mr. Fantastic

Team: Fantastic Four

Range: 0 :bolt:

Points: 100/75

Keywords: Celebrity, Fantastic Four, Illuminati, Scientist

(Special) I'm Pretty Good at Multi-Tasking: Plasticity, Shape Change. When Mr. Fantastic uses Shape Change, after resolutions place that D6 with that result on this card, replacing any here. Giant Reach: X, where X is 2 or the value of that die on this card, whichever is greater.

(Defense) We're Going to be fine, Sue: STOP, but only if another friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword is on the map. Super Senses.

(Damage) You'll find Mr. Fantastic more than a match for you, Every Time: Leadership, Outwit. FREE: Choose an opposing character of higher points within 4 squares and line of fire and a power (standard or special) they can use. The chosen character can't use that power until your next turn.

ffcc002 Invisible Woman

Team: Fantastic Four

Range: 5 :bolt::bolt:

Points: 100/75

Keywords: Celebrity, Fantastic Four, Lady Liberators, Scientist

(Special) Hide and Seek: FREE: Choose one: Until your next turn, opposing characters can't target Invisible Woman unless they began their turn within 3 squares of her -or- Terrain markers are considered clear for line of fire this turn, if Invisible Women is within 4 squares of them.

(Defense) You'd Be Surprised What Lengths I Can Go When Pushed: Barrier, Toughness, Willpower. When Invisible Woman uses Barrier, after resolutions you may knock back 2 squares any number of opposing characters adjacent to these markers.

(Damage) Johnny, Stay With Me!: STOP, but only if another friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword is on the map. Shape Change.

ffcc004  Human Torch

Team: Fantastic Four

Range: 7 :bolt::bolt:

Points: 100/75

Keywords: Celebrity, Herald, Fantastic Four, Inhumans, Spider-Man Family

(Special) Flame Trail: Once per turn for all characters with this trait, when Human Torch moves, after resolutions choose a character he moved through or adjacent to and deal it 1 penetrating damage.

(Attack) Flame On: Poison, but may use it even if moved or placed this turn.

(Defense) Ben? Where Are you?: STOP, but only if another friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword is on the map. Energy Shield/Deflection.

ffcc005  Dr. Doom

Team: Minions of Doom

Range: 7 :bolt::bolt::bolt:

Points: 300/200/100

Keywords: Cabal, Latveria, Armor, Cosmic, Mystical, Politician, Ruler, Scientist

(Special) ONLY DOOM IS FIT TO RULE: Leadership, but instead removes the action token from himself. When Dr. Doom uses it and succeeds, until your next turn he has Improved Targeting: Hindering and PROTECTED: Mind Control, Outwit. // Other powers and abilities can't remove action tokens from Dr. Doom.

(Attack) PHOTON ARRAY: Energy Explosion. // When Dr. Doom hits with a ranged attack, after resolutions give each hit character an action token. If you can't, deal that character 1 penetrating damage.

(Defense) YOU HAVE ANGERED DOOM!: STOP. Toughness. When Dr. Doom is targeted by an attack, you may choose a standard defense power that you haven't chosen this turn. Dr. Doom can use that power for this attack.

(Damage) FEW MEN ARE AS SUBTLE AS DR. DOOM: Outwit. FREE: Choose an opposing character of lower points within 4 squares and line of fire and a power (standard or special) they can use. The chosen character can't use that power until your next turn.

ffcc006  Silver Surfer

Team: Defenders|Power Cosmic

Range: 8 :bolt:

Points: 300/200/100

Keywords: Annihilators, Cosmic, Defenders, Herald

(Improved) Movement: Characters

(Special) Behold the Power Cosmic!: FREE: Choose a standard attack power. Until your next turn Silver Surfer can use the chosen power and characters he hits can't use the chosen power.

(Speed) The Surfer Soars: Hypersonic Speed. When Silver Surfer uses it, he may be given a RANGE action at no cost instead of making an attack.

(Damage) Tracking the Subatomic Across Space: FREE: Choose an Improved Targeting ability except [Improved Targeting: Blocking] to use until your next turn. (He may choose [Improved Targeting: Once per range attack, this character can draw a line of fire through one piece of Blocking terrain. Immediately after the attack resolves, destroy that piece of Blocking terrain.])

The Campaign

Scenario A: Yancy Street Gang

The premise for the first scenario is that Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) has bought a gift for Alicia Masters and is on his way home when he is accosted by the Yancy Street Gang who proceeds to steal his gift.  The map used is Yancy Street, and it features a 75 point Thing vs. 6 Yancy Gang bystanders.  The special rule for this scenario is that instead of KOing the bystanders, Thing frisks them looking for his stolen gift, causing the token to flip over.  On the reverse side of one of the tokens is a Yancy Street Pickpocket. If Thing reveals this token, then he wins the scenario, and if he is KOd, then he loses.  The other special rule for the scenario is that Thing takes one unavoidable damage each time he clears action tokens, so there's a bit of a time limit before Thing exhausts himself looking for the pickpocket.  On the flip side, if none of the Yancy Street Gang attack in a round, then they get a Bad Reputation token, which gives Thing an increasing chance to flip one of the bystanders over for free as more of those tokens get accumulated.    

The Thing started the first round by running up towards the gang on the opposite side of the map.  The Yancy Street Gang returned the favor by moving three of their number forward, and sidestepping a couple of spaces closer to The Thing.  They all have precision strike, so they will be doing 1 damage at a minimum to Thing if they hit.  Unfortunately, none of them attack this round, so they get their first Bad Reputation token.

In the second round, Thing uses charge to move into one of the gang and hits him with a 17, flipping the token to reveal a Latverian Explosion.  Now, the rules for the scenario didn't specify what happens to the tokens that flip to their reverse, except to say that they stay on the map.  I decided that that meant that the reverse side of the token is treated as an enemy still, with whatever is there; in this case, a Latverian Explosion.  Unfortunately for that poor explosion, it rolls a critical miss and dies on the same round it is revealed.

The Thing is forced to clear his action tokens, and takes a damage as a result of the scenario rules for doing so.  Meanwhile, a few of the Yancy Gang take some swings at our ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, and one gets through, dealing another damage.

Down a couple clicks, Thing now has Flurry, which allows him to attack twice.  One attack reveals another Latverian Explosion, while the other reveals the Pickpocket.  Thing wins the Scenario!  The scenario card tells us to proceed to Scenario B.

Scenario B: Protect the Lab

In the second scenario, Thing has returned to the Fantastic Four's lab, to find them fending off an onslaught of Doombots!  The scenario card has us set up the Reed's Lab map with 3 research tokens in each of the following spaces: K7, C11, N14 and F18.   The Fantastic Four player has all 4 of the FF on their 75 point starting line, while the Doom player has Dr. Doom at 100, and 5 Doombots, with the ability to respawn 2 Doombots at the beginning of the Doom players turn.  The goal for each side is to be the first to accumulate 300 points.  The FF player gets points by KOing Doom and/or his Doombots, while the Doom player gets points by not only KOing the FF, but also by having a doombot in one or more of the spaces that have research tokens.  When the Doom player begins his turn, if he has a doombot in one of those spaces, he removes one of the tokens, and scores 25 points.  

Doom wins the roll off for first turn, and begins by sending out a wave of Doombots towards the research tokens, and is able to get one of them to the nearest batch of tokens at C11.  Meanwhile, the FF fan out to stop them.  

In the second round, the action heats up as the Doom player scores 25 points and removes a token from C11, while a Doombot uses running shot to send a shot at the Human Torch, missing on a 17 thanks to his Energy Shield/Deflection.  The other Doombots continue moving out of the starting zone.  Thing then uses his "It's Clobberin Time!" ability to be placed next to the Doombot that took a shot at Human Torch, and attacks it.  The Doombot fails it's Shape Change roll, but Thing misses his attack with a 14.  The Human Torch then uses Running Shot to move to J11 and unleash a Pulse Wave with Ranged Combat Expert on 3 Doombots, and hits on a 23.  All 3 of the Doombots are destroyed, and the Fantastic Four player gets 75 points as a result.  Reed also moves up and Sue clears her action token.

Round three begins with the Doom player scoring another 25 points from C11, bringing him to 50 total.  He then creates 2 Doombots, spawning them in the starting zone.  Doom then uses Running Shot to move to F9, in range of Human Torch, Mr. Fantastic and Thing, hitting all three of them with a 21 to hit on doubles.  Mr. Fantastic fails his Super Senses roll, and takes 3 damage and an action token (thanks to Doom's Photon Array).  The Thing reduces his damage taken to 1 due to Invulnerability, along with an action token, and Human Torch takes 3 damage, but cannot take another action token, so he takes an additional damage.  All 3 of them are also knocked back, but in this new ruleset, there is no knockback damage now.  Still, ouch!  A couple of Doombots move up and then Sue takes a potshot and misses while the rest of the FF clear their action tokens.

Round four has Doom score the final research token from C11, for a total of 75 points.  Doom also succeeds on his Leadership roll for "Only Doom is fit to rule!", removing an action token from him and allowing him to use improved targeting (hindering) this round.  Doom then shoots at Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch and Thing again, but misses this time.  Three of his Doombots then move, and one gets to the objective on K7.  Human Torch then uses Running Shot to get adjacent to Doom and within range of three Doombots, and Pulse Waves, hitting on a 19.  All the Doombots die and Doom himself takes a damage.  The Fantastic Four player scores 75 points, bringing him up to 150 total.  Halfway there!  Doom then takes one more damage from Human Torch's Flame Trail ability.  Sue and Reed fail to get away from the Doombot adjacent to them.

Round five sees Doom pass his leadership check again, and create two more Doombots.  Unfortunately, Doom and his Doombots miss all of their attacks on the FF this turn, while Human Torch continues to use Pulse Wave to great effect, destroying another two Doombots for a total of 200 points.  Sue uses Telekinesis to move the Doombot away from herself and Reed while Thing charges into another Doombot, but it passes it's Shape Change roll and no damage is dealt.

In Round six, Doom fails his leadership, but creates a couple more Doombots.  He then uses Regeneration to heal himself 3 clix with the roll of a 6!  The Doombot that Thing failed to hit retaliates and manages to deal Thing one damage with Precision Strike, while the other Doombots move around the map.  Mr. Fantastic moves and Sue sidesteps while Thing tries "It's Clobberin' Time!" on Doom, but misses.  Sue and Johnny then clear their action tokens.

Round seven is where things start to take a turn for the Fantastic Four, who have been happily blowing up Doombots and smacking Doom around for most of the game.  Doom fails his Leadership roll, but creates a couple of Doombots, and most importantly uses Outwit to negate Human Torch's Energy Shield/Deflection.  The Doombots then use Running shot to deal the final click of damage necessary to KO Human Torch, giving Doom 75 much-needed points, bringing him to a total of 150.  Doom then heals a click thanks to his Team Ability, as do the rest of the Fantastic Four thanks to their Team Ability.  A Doombot also deals another damage to The Thing with a Running Shot and Precision Strike.  Sue sidesteps and then attacks a couple of Doombots at range, but misses.  Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic takes a swing at Doom with Close Combat Expert and hits, dealing 4 damage thanks to Things Empower ability, but Doom reduces it to 2 with his Invulnerability.  Thing clears his action tokens.

We're getting there!  Round 8, Doom fails his Leadership, but his Doombot on K7 scores another 25 points from the research token, bringing Doom to 175 points.  Doom then Pulse Waves, hitting on a 21 and dealing 1 damage to all three of the remaining FF characters.  Doombots then proceed to rain fire down on the Thing, with two of them hitting and dealing a damage each, which KO's him.  Doom is now at 250 points.  Doom and the FF all heal a click thanks to their Team Abilities.  Sue Sidesteps up to Doom and hits with an incapacitate, putting an action token on Doom while Reed clears.

Round 9!  Doom fails his Leadership yet again, but the Doombot on K7 continues to put in work, scoring another 25 points, putting Doom at 275.  This means that if the FF cannot stop that Doombot, or if Reed or Sue falls, Doom wins.  Unfortunately, the Doombots aren't that competent, with one rolling a critical miss against Sue, KOing it and putting the FF player at 225 points.  The FF decide that their only hope in succeeding is to win this turn.  Reed sidesteps, breaking away from Doom and punches a Doombot, but it passes Shape Change, so he targets a different one, which also passes Shape Change, so he's forced to punch Doom and hits, dealing one damage from Precision Strike.  Sue then swings directly at Doom in a last-ditch effort, dealing 3 damage, which is reduced to 2, but that's enough to KO Doom and win the scenario!  

Scenario D: The Surfer Trap

Using the files in the destroyed Doombots and the research that they were gathering, Reed deduces Doom's plan to capture the Silver Surfer.  The Fantastic Four arrive just in time to foil his plot and save the Silver Surfer!  We'll be setting this one up on the Testing Grounds map, with the Doom player placing some defense turrets (Doombot bystanders with the Immobile special rule and 3 armor tokens, which get removed as they take damage) as well as a 200 point Dr. Doom against a 75 point Fantastic Four and a 300 point Silver Surfer.  At the beginning of Doom's turn, he can roll 2d6 for "Cosmic Magnetism" and move Silver Surfer that many spaces.  At the beginning of the Fantastic Four players turn, Silver Surfer takes D6 unavoidable damage if he's in hindering terrain.  Finally, if Mr. Fantastic KO's a doombot, he puts it on his card.  The Doom player wins if Silver Surfer is KOd, while the Fantastic Four player wins if Doom is KOd, or if he gets 3 Doombots on his card.

The Fantastic Four win the roll-off to go first, and open up with Human Torch using Running Shot to move adjacent to 2 Defense Turrets and hitting them with Energy Explosion, removing an armor token from both.  They then lose another armor token from his Flame Trails.  Sue uses Telekinesis to move Mr. Fantastic up, then he moves, getting into position for a Quake next turn.  Doom's Cosmic Magnetism triggers, moving the Silver Surfer to M5 (hindering terrain).  A couple of Defense Turrets take shots at Human Torch, and one hits.  Torch fails his Super Senses, taking 2 damage.

Silver Surfer takes 3 damage from standing in some bushes to start the turn.  Mr. Fantastic passes his Leadership to remove a token from Sue.  Thing punches a Defense Turret in I8, removing the last Armor Token.  Sue sidesteps and shoots at a defense turret, but misses.  Mr. Fantastic uses Quake, but one of the turrets passes it's Shape Change, so only one goes on his card.  Silver Surfer gives himself Penetrating/Psychic Blast and uses The Surfer Soars to move to N11 with Hypersonic Speed and shoot at Doom, giving himself Improved Targeting: Elevated.  He hits on a 20 and deals 4 damage to Doom, then continues his movement to P12.  Human Torch and Sue both take shots at Defense Turrets, but miss.  Doom fails his Leadership, but uses Running Shot to move to J11 and Pulse Wave everyone but Sue.  He misses, but uses Probability Control to reroll it into a hit on everyone but Silver Surfer, so everyone but him takes 1 damage.  

Silver Surfer chooses to simply Pulse Wave where he is at the top of round three, targeting only Doom.  He hits on an 18 and deals 4 damage, which is enough to KO Doom.  The Fantastic Four win!

Scenario F: Apprehend Doom

The final scenario in my playthrough!  Time to bring Doom to justice!  The map is Doom's Castle, and we have all the FF and Silver Surfer at 100 points, against Doom at 300 points, five Doombots and two Latverian Engineers.  The win conditions for both sides are the same: KO the enemy force!  This is a battle to the bitter end.

Doom goes first and moves himself, 2 Doombots and a Latverian Engineer up the map.  Silver Surfer stays up on the battlements while Sue and Human Torch carry Reed and Thing, ending on the other side of the giant Doom statue.  

Doom fails his Leadership, and an engineer moves up.  Both engineers perplex Doombots attack +1 and they Running Shot on Mr. Fantastic.  He fails both Shape Change rolls, but only one hits.  Reed fails his Super Senses and takes 2 damage.  Another Doombot moves up and hits Thing, dealing 1 damage from Precision Strike.  Doom and an Engineer clear action tokens.  Reed fails his Leadership, and Sue uses Support, but fails to hit.  Reed uses his Giant Reach granted by "I'm Pretty Good At Multitasking" and punches a Doombot, KOing it.  Human Torch uses Running Shot to get up to K9, KOing the engineers, and dealing a damage to Doom with Flame Trails, he then shoots Doom who uses Energy Shield/Deflection, but it still his on a 21.  Doom is taken down to his STOP click on click 5.  Thing uses "It's Clobberin' Time" and places himself in M11 and takes 2 swings at the Doombot there with Flurry.  He misses the first attack, but hits with the second.  The Doombot fails Shape Change and is KOd.  Surfer clears.

Doom fails his Leadership, and tries to Sidestep away from Torch, failing to break away.  He tries to use Penetrating/Psychic Blast on Torch, but misses, even with Probability Control.  The Doombot in G6 uses Running Shot to move to K6 and critically hits Human Torch, dealing 3 damage to him.  The other two Doombots both miss against Torch.  Reed fails his Leadership.  Torch uses "Flame On!" to Poison Doom, dealing him 1 damage.  Silver Surfer uses Running shot to move from B17 to E11, targeting a Doombot with Energy Explosion.  He hits, but the Doombot passes Shape Change, as does every other Doombot, meaning that the only viable enemy target is Doom, who takes no damage, but the explosion does deal 2 damage to Human Torch.  Ouch.  Thing uses "It's Clobberin Time!" to be placed adjacent to Doom, but he misses both attacks.  Reed moves to K8 while Sue and Torch clear action tokens.

Doom fails his Leadership, and manages to break away and Sidestep to H10.  He then uses Outwit to remove Impervious from Thing, then shoots him, Torch and Silver Surfer with Penetrating/Psychic Blast, hitting on an 18.  SS reduces the damage to 1 thanks to Invincibility, Thing takes all 3 damage, and Torch hits his STOP click.  Doombots take potshots at Torch, with one hitting on a 21 which KOs him.  Doom and the FF all heal 1 click thanks to their team abilities.  Reed fails his Leadership and moves from M15 to J9.  SS Running Shots from E11 to D12, using Pulse Wave on 2 Doombots and Doom himself, but misses.  Reed and Thing clear action tokens.

Doom fails his Leadership.  A Doombot shoots Thing and hits, dealing 1 damage.  Doom outwits Sue's Telekinesis, and 2 Doombots and Doom clear.  Reed fails his Leadership, Sue fails Willpower, but SS passes his Willpower, removing an action token.  Surfer Pulse Waves again, but misses.  Sue then Sidesteps adjacent to Doom and punches him, missing on a 17.  Reed moves from J9 to I9.  Thing uses Flurry on an adjacent Doombot, hitting with the second attack.  The Doombot fails it's Shape Change roll and is KOd.

Doom fails his Leadership and tries to Sidestep, but fails to break away thanks to Mr. Fantastic's Plasticity.  Doom shoots Reed, Thing and SS, hitting on a 21 with Penetrating/Psychic Blast.  Reed passes his Super Senses on a 6, Thing hits his STOP click, and SS takes 3 damage.  A lowly Doombot then shoots Thing and hits, KOing him.  Doom and all the remaining FF heal a click thanks to Team Abilities.  Another Doombot uses Running Shot on SS, but misses.  Reed passes his Leadership, removing a token from Sue.  Sue fails her Willpower roll, but SS passes his.  Surfer then passes his breakaway and uses Running Shot to shoot Doom with a Penetrating/Psychic Blast, hitting on a 20 and dealing 3 damage, taking him to his STOP click on click 8.  Sue breaks away from Doom and sidesteps, taking a shot at Doom and a Doombot, but misses.  Reed Outwits Doom's Defense special power, and punches him, hitting on a 22 and dealing 3 damage.

Doom fails Leadership, and Outwits Reed's Damage special power.  Doom then shoots at Reed, Sue and SS, critting on a 21 and dealing 4 damage to each.  Reed fails his Super Senses and takes 4 damage, and Surfer is KOd.  A Doombot then shoots at Sue, critting her and taking her down to her STOP click. The other Doombot, Reed and Sue all clear.

Doom fails his Leadership.  A Doombot takes a shot at Sue, but misses her, while Doom and the other Doombot clear.  Reed punches Doom, and hits on a 17, KOing him!  But wait, it was a Doombot all along!  The Doombot on G8 dies and Doom is placed there.  Sue shoots at Doom but misses.  Reed sidesteps to be adjacent to the new Doom.

Doom fails his Leadership.  Doom Outwits Reed's Super Senses, then shoots Reed and Sue, hitting on a 19, KOing Sue and taking Reed to his STOP click.  Reed heals from his Team Ability.  A Doombot shoots at Reed, but he passes Super Senses on a 6.  Reed punches Doom, hitting him on an 18 and KOing him, and it wasn't a Doombot this time!

The final Doombot shoots and misses, while Reed punches it with a 6 range close attack thanks to his "I'm Pretty Good at Multitasking" and hits on a 19.  The Doombot fails it's Shape Change and is KOd.  The Fantastic Four win!

Conclusion

I really enjoyed my time with this box, and would happily play through it again sometime.  I found the figures included in the box to be very useful and interesting, with a wide variety of special powers and abilities on their dials.  The inclusion of a campaign was most welcome, and I think it would be a great way to introduce a new player to the mechanics, although the sheer amount of power and ability interaction in all scenarios except the first one might make that a little daunting.  For someone like me who is just returning to the Heroclix fold, it was perfect.  Over the course of the four scenarios that I played, I could really feel myself getting back in the groove of the game, and that's probably reflected in my play over the course of this thing.  The first couple of scenarios, I really felt like I was learning how to play all over again, and very likely misplayed/forgot rules.  By the end of it, though, I was very rarely looking at the new rulebook and PAC.

Speaking of the new rules, I thought they were totally fine.  Obviously, I'm not a competitive player, and I don't have the same history with the game that someone who plays in the current meta at a local game store might have, but I feel like this is an evolution to the ruleset that is a long time coming.  For years (decades?), the rules and interactions have grown increasingly complex, which is pretty daunting for new players.  What I don't agree with is Wizkids decision to "take a set or two off" for some of the powers, starting with the upcoming Wonder Woman set.  Meaning that those powers won't be featured on any dials in that set, and perhaps beyond.  Fortunately, that doesn't apply to the figures or campaign I played through here.  I really enjoyed how many powers you were able to "stack" with an action, since many that used to require their own dedicated action are now simply a part of a close attack, ranged attack, or move, meaning you can combine more powers than ever into a single action.  

Overall, I highly recommend this set, or any of the recent boxed games, including the upcoming Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary box.  The game is still a ton of fun, the rules are sleeker than ever, and the miniatures themselves have literally never looked better than they do now.

I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll see you next time!   

Comic Book Battles - Episode 11: Avengers Vs. X-Men #4 pt. 4

This week, on Comic Book Battles, we continue our exploration of the small side-skirmishes that take place during Act 1 of the storyline.  Today, we finally have a battle that takes place in more than just one page!  This skirmish was expanded upon somewhat in AVX: Vs #5, focusing specifically on the Angel vs. Hawkeye portion of the battle.  Let's get to it!

The Comic Book

"Avengers Vs. X-Men (Part Four)"
Writers Jonathan Hickman
Pencilers John Romita Jr.
Inkers Scott Hanna
Colourists Laura Martin
Letterers Chris Eliopoulos
Editors John Denning, Lauren Sankovitch, Nick Lowe, Tom Brevoort

"Hawkeye vs. Angel"
Writers Matt Fraction
Pencilers Leinil Francis Yu
Inkers Gerry Alanguilan, Leinil Francis Yu
Colourists Sunny Gho
Letterers Joe Caramagna
Editors Nick Lowe

This weeks battle takes place on Wundagore Mountain.  Wundagore Mountain is located in the fictional Eastern European country of Transia.  This mountain is most notable for being the home of the High Evolutionary and his artificially-created "New Men.  It is also the prison of the ancient primeval demon Chthon, who was trapped there by Morgan le Fey.  Finally, it's where Puppet Master gets his special magic clay to make his special magic puppets.  And no, I have no idea why the Avengers or the X-Men would ever want to go there, but go there they did.

In the Avengers Vs. X-Men book, we get a one-page overview of the battle, featuring Red Hulk taking on Iceman, Dr. Strange duking it out with Magneto, and Psylocke and Angel double-teaming Hawkeye.  With the exception of the Hawkeye/Angel/Psylocke fight, which we'll get to in a minute, am I wrong in thinking those other match-ups are pretty one-sided?  Red Hulk not only has all of the strength and stamina of normal hulk, he also literally burns things.  I can't imagine any amount of ice winning there.  Doctor Strange going up against Magneto seems a little more fair, until you realize that Doctor Strange could just attack the man's very soul.  Magneto doesn't have much in the magical defense department.

In the AVX book, we rejoin the battle after the skirmish is over, with Hawkeye waiting patiently to shoot Angel full of holes.  This whole book seems to feature a particularly brutal and callous Hawkeye, which is really weird considering Matt Fraction would go on to write the enormously successful and much more endearing version of the character in his self-titled series.  I mean, yes, Hawkeye is an ex-con and a long-time Avenger, but he always struck me as more of the "lovable rogue" type, not the "I-will-puncture-you-with-as-many-arrows as-I-can" type.

Meanwhile, his opponent is Angel.  Now, Angel has been through some real bad times.  Real bad.  He was once happy-go-lucky millionaire and founding member of the X-Men Warren Worthington III.  Then the Marauders, specifically Harpoon, jacked up his wings real bad during the Mutant Massacre, forcing them to be amputated.  He then fell into a deep depression until Apocalypse offered to give him his wings back.  Angel then became Archangel as one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen.  Eventually he managed to fight his way out of Apocalypse's control and became an X-Man once again.  That is, until he fell back under Apocalypse's control and nearly became the next incarnation of Apocalypse himself.  An X-Force team led by Wolverine managed to stop him, and completely erased his mind in the process.  So we're back to square one I suppose.

Angel's sharp vision spares him from becoming a pincushion, and he sprays Hawkeye with his poisoned razor feather blade things.  Oh, did I forget to mention those?  Part of his Apocalypse-upgrade when he became a horseman.  Well, ol' Hawkeye decides to go full Wolverine and use his arrows like claws, gutting and generally beating the crap out of Hawkeye.  

Psylocke manages to find them, and Hawkeye takes the opportunity to threaten to shoot her unless they both leave.  Angel agrees to retreat, then a mind-boggling thing happens.  Hawkeye calls him a "sucker" and straight shoots him in the chest.  The next page is Angel in the hospital relaying the story to Emma Frost.  I'm not really sure what Fraction was thinking, but it doesn't seem very Avenger-ly to shoot a dude in the chest who agrees to stop fighting you.

Winner:  Hawkeye (I guess)

The Battle

The map for this is Wundagore Mountain from the AvX event.  I am so glad WizKids put out official maps for all the locations in this event.  This map features a lot of elevated and impassable terrain, as one might expect from mountainous terrain.  The terrain elevates towards the center of the map, meaning that's where most of the action is likely to take place.

Now let's take a look at our teams:

Avengers

si033 V Dr. Strange
Team: Spider-Man
Range: 10 :bolt::bolt:
Points: 149
Keywords: Avengers, Defenders, Illuminati, Midnight Sons, Mystical

(Special) Eye of Agamatto: Dr. Strange ignores the effects of characters and hindering terrain (including team abilities that give hindering terrain bonuses) when determining line of fire.

(Speed) Winds of Watoomb: Dr. Strange can use Phasing/Teleport and Quake.

(Damage) Wand of Watoomb: Dr. Strange can use Perplex. When Dr. Strange uses Perplex, you can roll a d6; on a result of 5 or 6, you can modify the target's chosen combat value by up to +2 or -2.

avm208 R Hawkeye
Team: Avengers Initiative
Range: 7 :bolt:
Points: 65
Keywords: Avengers, Martial Artist, S.H.I.E.L.D.

(Special) Put Away the Bow: At the beginning of your turn, you may give Hawkeye a free action. If you do, Hawkeye possesses Combat Reflexes instead of Energy Shield/Deflection and Close Combat Expert instead of Ranged Combat Expert until your next turn.

(Attack) Call the Shot, Fury: Hawkeye ignores friendly characters with action tokens for line of fire purposes.

dp033 V Red Hulk
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0 :bolt:
Points: 150
Keywords: Avengers, Circle of Four, Hulkbusters, Intelligencia, Offenders, Soldier, Thunderbolts

(Speed) I'll Assassinate Cyclops, If You Won't: Red Hulk can use Running Shot, Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering Terrain, and has a range value of 6.

(Damage) Soldier On: Red Hulk can use Leadership. When he does and succeeds, each friendly character that shares a keyword with him and is a lower point value can use Willpower this turn.

X-Men

ffgsx006 E Iceman
Team: X-Men
Range: 6 :bolt:
Points: 75
Keywords: Champions, Defenders, X-Factor, X-Men

(Attack) Chill Vortex: Iceman can use Outwit, but only to counter Hypersonic Speed, Running Shot, or the Flight ability.

(Damage) Trained Together Since the Beginning: Iceman can use Probability Control if no other friendly character has used Probability Control this turn. He can only use it during the attacks of other friendly characters with the X-Men keyword.

gx023 V Psylocke
Team: X-Men
Range: 0 :bolt:
Points: 74
Keywords: Exiles, Excalibur, Martial Artist, The Hand, X-Club, X-Force, X-Men

(Attack) Psycho-Blast: Psylocke can use Penetrating/Psychic Blast as if she had a range value of 6.

(Damage) Psychic Knife: Psylocke can use Blades/Claws/Fangs and Exploit Weakness. When she rolls a d6 for Blades/Claws/Fangs, on a result of 1 or 2, give her target an action token in addition to the normal effects.

wkM-019 V Angel
Team: X-Men
Range: 0 :bolt:
Points: 65
Keywords: Celebrity, X-Factor, X-Men

(Special) Same Guy, Different Approach: Angel may be attached to the X-Men: Gold Strike Force Team Base instead of Archangel. While Angel is attached, if X-Men: Gold Strike Force could use Archangel's asset power, it may use Angel's asset power instead.

(Damage) Aerial Recon and Assault: Angel can use Close Combat Expert. Opposing characters within 4 squares of Angel can't use Stealth.

(Black-circle) WXM T002 X-Men: Gold Strike Force: This team character can use Energy Shield/Deflection.

avx014e E Magneto
Team: X-Men
Range: 8 :bolt::bolt:
Points: 150
Keywords: Ruler, X-Men

(Special) Are You Sure About This, Scott?: Magneto can use Energy Shield/Deflection and Telekinesis. During the beginning of your turn, if Magneto has two action tokens, he can use Telekinesis as a free action, but may only use it to place friendly characters.

(Speed) Magnetic Field: Magneto can use Force Blast. When he has no action tokens, he can use it as a free action.

The X-Men win the roll for first turn

Magneto moves from C23 to H17

Angel carries Psylocke from H23 to J16, dropping Psylocke off in J15

Iceman moves from M23 to P14

Red Hulk moves from L2 to M9, picking up a super-heavy object on the way

Hawkeye moves from G2 to J9

Doctor Strange moves from C2 to H9

Magneto uses Running Shot, moving to I13 and attacking Doctor Strange and Hawkeye.  He hits on a 19 for 3 damage to each

Psylocke moves to H10

Iceman uses Running Shot, moving to P10 and shooting Red Hulk, missing on a 13 and taking a push damage

Angel clears

Doctor Strange Outwits Psylocke's Combat Reflexes and attacks, missing on a 16, taking a push damage in the process

Red Hulk Charges to O9 and attacks Iceman, missing on snake eyes, but Hawkeye is in range and has line of fire, and uses Theme Team Probability Control.  Red Hulk rerolls, hitting on a 17 for 6 damage.  Iceman is KO'd in one hit, and Hawkeye takes a push damage from the TTPC use.

Angel moves to J10 

Magneto and Psylocke clear

Doctor Strange Perplexes his defense +1

All Avengers clear

Psylocke attacks Doctor Strange, missing on a 16.  Magneto uses TTPC to allow her to reroll.  She hits on a 20, but then Doctor Strange rolls his Super Senses and succeeds on a 5.  No hit.

Angel uses Close Combat Expert to give himself +2 damage and targets Hawkeye, but misses on a 14

Red Hulk moves to J14, picking up a heavy object along the way

Hawkeye uses Close Combat Expert to give himself +1 attack and +1 damage, targeting Angel hitting for 1 damage

Doctor Strange Teleports to E12

Magneto attempts to use Telekinesis on Red Hulk, but misses on a 14

Angel and Psylocke clear

Red Hulk uses Leadership and succeeds on a 5, giving the rest of his team Willpower for the turn

Red Hulk then attacks Magneto, hitting on an 18, but Magneto's Invincibility reduces the damage to 3, and the heavy object is removed

Doctor Strange Perplexes his attack +1 and shoots at Magneto and Psylocke, but misses on a 15

Hawkeye uses Close Combat Expert to give himself +1 attack and +1 damage, but misses Angel on a 13

Psylocke uses Telekinesis on Doctor Strange, hitting him on a 21 and placing him at J11

Angel attacks Doctor Strange, hitting on a 17.  Doctor Strange makes another Super Senses roll on a 5, so no hit again

Avengers all clear

Magneto attacks Red Hulk but misses on a 14

Angel and Psylocke clear

Hawkeye uses Close Combat Expert to give himself +1 attack and +1 damage, hitting Angel on an 18 and dealing 1 damage thanks to Angel's toughness

Doctor Strange Perplexes his attack +1

Doctor Strange shoots Magneto and Psylocke, hitting on a 19 and dealing 3 damage to each.  (NOTE: this was a mistake on my part.  I didn't realize that Doctor Strange didn't have Sharpshooter, and thus couldn't have made a ranged attack while adjacent to Angel), Magneto is KO'd

Red Hulk Charges to I11 and hits Angel on an 18.  Angel fails his Super Senses roll and takes 4 damage.  He is KO'd

Psylocke attacks Red Hulk but misses on a 16

Red Hulk attacks Psylocke, hitting on a 19 for 4 damage, KO'ing her

Winner: Avengers

I feel bad having made that mistake with Doctor Strange that likely ended the game prematurely.  That said, I don't think the X-Men were having much luck at all this game.  Red Hulk was still untouched by the end, and taking him down would have been no easy feat.  I feel like our Avengers teams have had much more success lately than the X-Men.  I guess we'll see if that holds true in our next battle, deep in the Savage Land!  

Earth-1874 All-Star Comics #3

Desert Hawks

Spring, 1943

The sun was only beginning to rise above the still waters surrounding the Allied HQ at the Suez Canal, but the makeshift base was already bustling with activity.  Soldiers, arms and armor were mobilizing for a push deeper into Africa, as the Allies continued to push the Axis forces back.  A fighting force consisting of British, Australian, American, and Vichy troops had been able to take and hold the North African region.  Despite their recent successes, there were rumors of an impending Axis attack, and everyone was on high alert.

Inside a large brick building that served as Allied Command, a small force of All Star Squadron members had been assembled.  Crimson Avenger, Superman, Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick sat on a couple of makeshift benches, waiting quietly for their briefing to begin.  The exhaustion of war, and constant pressures of the battlefield had begun to take their toll on the group.  Superman in particular hadn’t been the same since Tunisia.  The smiling farmboy had become withdrawn, even dour.  Crimson Avenger had seen this type of reaction before, in the first Great War.  He would need to keep an eye on Superman during this mission, for all of their sakes.  The Allies couldn’t afford to lose their most powerful asset, and he wouldn’t let himself lose a good man to the horrors of war.

As Lee was considering this, Captain America entered the room, flanked by two other men.  Clearly, these men were not soldiers.  They both wore tweed suits, and looked like academics.  What they were doing in the middle of a battlefield, he couldn’t begin to guess.  He and the other soldiers stood at attention as the men walked past them and took their place at the podium at the front of the room.

“At ease, soldiers.  Have a seat.” Captain Rogers said, nodding to them.  They sat on the bench, and waited for their captain to continue.

“As you may know, German troops have been gathering ancient relics of power from around the world.  We have acquired intelligence that suggests that Germany’s Hydra Division has unearthed a previously undiscovered ruin about 100 clicks to the south.  High command believes that whatever is stored there can’t be allowed to fall into enemy hands.  That’s where you come in.”  

Lee noted that Clark’s fists clenched involuntarily at the mention of the name Hydra.  He had read the reports from the operation in Tunisia.  This had the potential to get ugly fast if they ended up engaging Hydra troops.  This also made reigning in Superman a more difficult task, if things were that personal.  

The Captain continued, “I would like to introduce you to our two guests, archaeologist Carter Hall, and physicist Al Pratt.  These two men have volunteered to help us in this operation.  I’ll let them explain the rest.”  Cap stepped aside, and gestured to the two men to take over.  The taller of the two men stepped forward to speak.

“Ah, yes, thank you, Captain.” He cleared his throat, and turned his attention to the others before continuing.  “As Captain Rogers said, the Germans have unearthed ruins which we believe to be a series of tombs.  The contents of these tombs are unknown, but keeping these ancient treasures out of the hands of the Germans has been placed at the highest of priorities by Allied Command.  Al and I will be accompanying you on this mission, and my role will be to identify objects of importance and assist in recovery.  As for my associate here, well, I’ll let him explain.”  He stepped aside, allowing his diminutive associate to take center stage.

“Thanks, Carter.  So, once we’ve found objects worth taking with us, it’ll be my job to make them transportable.  My particular area of expertise has been in technology that allows us to reduce the size and mass of objects.  Shrinking them, basically.”  

He paused to let the group take that in, but found virtually no reaction at all in his audience.  “Huh, that usually gets people’s attention.  Ah well, I guess nothing surprises you super-types.  Anyway, I will be using this baby here to shrink down whatever we find.” He produced a small metal device from inside his jacket.  “It should let us put a whole pyramid in our pocket, so to speak.”

“Thank you, doctors.”  Captain Rogers said, moving back to the podium.  “You will be leaving immediately with these fine gentlemen under the command of First Sergeant Walters.” He said, gesturing to the Crimson Avenger.  He then turned to face a map of the area posted behind him before continuing.  “We have arranged transportation down the Nile, which will drop you at this point here.  You will then make your way due East to this point, where intelligence tells us the ruins are located.  Your ride is waiting outside.  Good luck and godspeed.”

************************************************************

Their journey down the Nile was tense, but uneventful.  Both Carter and Al had hushed discussions on the nature of the various settlements and ruins they had passed by.  While much of the area was under Allied control, it was still a war zone.  Lee took the opportunity to discuss strategy with his men, as well as areas of responsibility for the protection of the civilians and recovery of any artifacts they might find.  

As their small craft approached the drop point, all talking ceased.  Lee hoped they wouldn’t run into any serious opposition.  Intelligence reports were sketchy at best, and after the battle in Tunisia, they had to be prepared for anything.  Germany’s Hydra Division had proven to be deadly on the battlefield since then as well, employing energy weapons and other incredibly advanced armaments.  Allied scientists were desperately working to reverse-engineer these new devices, but it would take time to reproduce them or create effective countermeasures.  Fortunately, many of his troops were immune to these new weapons, including Superman.

Lee took a moment to glance over his troops before they disembarked.  Liberty Belle looked focused and stood side-by-side with Johnny Quick.  They had grown quite close over the course of their time in the field.  Lee wouldn’t be surprised if it was romantic, which would normally be problematic, but All Star Squadron worked outside of traditional military doctrine.  Lee felt it might actually be a strength to have two teammates so close.  Libby and Johnny were both great people that he knew he could count on in a pinch, and they would be responsible for the safety of Carter and Al in this mission.

His attention then turned to Superman.  The boy had been uncomfortably quiet during their journey.  Lee knew that Superman still felt responsible for the injuries that his team had sustained in Tunisia.  Even though they had all made it out alive, it seemed that seeing his comrades in such pain had taken it’s toll on him.  Lee had spoken to Captain America about it and, like the captain, agreed that Superman had the potential to be a very capable leader.  He just hoped the kid could pull out of this and find himself again.  Hopefully getting him out into the field would clear away Superman’s lingering self-doubt.

They began their trek inland, moving east across the shifting desert sands.  They didn’t need to travel long before spotting the trails of dust in the distance that indicated troop movement.  He sent Superman ahead to scout the activity, while the rest of them took cover behind a nearby dune.  Superman took off in a blur, and returned moments later.  

“It’s bad, sir.  Two Hydra tanks, and an entire platoon.  Looks like they have a couple of transport trucks as well.  They’re closing in on the target area fast.”  Superman, said, not even winded.

“All right, listen up everyone.  Doctors, I need you two to stay put.  Libby, Johnny, you two flank right, I’ll flank left, Supes, you hit em right up the middle.  Go!”

They broke out in their assigned directions without another word.  Quick carried Belle, moving faster than Lee could follow.  Superman waited at the top of the dune for Lee to get into position.  It was going to take him a minute.  Wishing, not for the first time, that he had super speed.  Panting from running in the soft sand, he reached his position and gave the signal to his team.

Superman ran full speed into the nearest tank, and with an incredibly loud screech of twisting metal, it was knocked onto its side.  Chaos erupted from the Hydra troops, and they began firing in all directions.  Crimson Avenger, Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick all broke from cover and rushed the enemy position.  Lee fired a gas pellet into the clustered ranks of infantry, sending them coughing into the dirt.  Meanwhile, Libby grabbed the barrel of the remaining tank gun and bent it backwards with ease.  Last but not least, Johnny ran through the enemy ranks at incredible speeds, disarming as many of the troops as he could.

The tank that Superman had hit caught fire, and Lee shouted to him, “Get out of there!  It’s gonna blow!”  But the boy wasn’t listening to him, instead Superman tore the turret off the tank and retrieved the occupants.  Hoisting them on his shoulders, he ran from the ensuing explosion.  The shells in the tank exploded sending most of the team to the ground from the violent shockwave.  The blast caught the second tank and the truck as well, and the resulting eruption  could be seen and felt for miles around.  

************************************************************

Lee awoke in a coughing fit.  He attempted to open his eyes, but it was useless.  The dust and smoke in the air was impenetrable, and it was nearly impossible to breathe, much less see.  He felt around his surroundings, trying to find a way to his feet, when a sudden blast of air knocked him right back down again.  He groaned and raised his arm to shield his eyes from the piercing wind that seemed to have come out of nowhere.  The air that was hitting his face felt out of place.  It was cold, extremely cold, and almost instantly froze the sweat on his skin.  As this wind blew the smoke and debris in the air away from the area, he could finally see what was going on around him.

His jaw dropped as he gazed at the massive pit that had formed in the wake of the explosion.  Stranger still, it looked as though it hadn’t collapsed, so much as erupted outward.  This must have been where the blast of cold air had come from.  He quickly rose to his feet and searched the area for his team.  He found all of them nearby, blasted away from the site as he was.  All of them, except for Superman.  The two scientists ran to join the team as quickly as they could in the rolling dunes of soft sand.  

“Incredible!  Did you see that eruption?!  It was as though some kind of pressurized capsule were opened!  We simply must investigate!”  Carter said excitedly, almost childlike in his enthusiasm.  

“Wait, where’s Superman?  Is he OK?”  Al said, panting from his run across the sands.  

“I’m not sure, but it’s possible he’s down there.” Lee said, pointing to the gaping chasm.  “Either way, we need to check this thing out.  I doubt any of those goons survived the blast, so it should be relatively safe.”

Please, sergeant, let Al and I lead the way.  We need to preserve the site as much as possible.  We can’t afford to damage anything unnecessarily.  Well, nothing that explosion didn’t already damage, I suppose.”

And so the team moved to the chasm, looking down into it for the first time.  The midday desert sun illuminated the chamber extremely well, and they were awestruck by what they saw.  A beautiful tiled chamber lay some 30 feet below the surface.  The tiles glistened in the sun, and steps on the far side led up to what appeared to be some sort of throne.  Furniture and entire rooms full of artifacts were preserved in such a way that they had not aged at all in what might have been centuries.  In the middle of it all lay Superman, and on top of him were the soldiers he had rescued just before the explosion.

“You think he’s alive?” Al croaked, gulping as he looked down on the young man.

“I’ve been fighting alongside Superman for a long time now, and I haven’t seen anything that could keep him down.” Lee replied.

“Well then, we’d better go help him up.  Let’s get climbing!” Liberty Belle said as she began her descent.

The climb was not as hazardous as they expected, with ample footholds to be found in the ancient rock face of the chamber walls.  Carter reached the bottom first, and ran to Superman’s side.  

“It looks like he fell on something!” Carter yelled back to the rest of the team, who were still descending the steep rock walls.  He reached under superman and felt the haft of a weapon as well as a belt made from some type of metal.  As soon as he touched it, his entire body felt as though it were on fire.  His vision went white as he screamed in agony.  Flashes, images of another life, raced through his mind.  Another time, another body, but at the same time so familiar.  He saw a beautiful woman as well.  Shiera.  Yes, that was her name.  His beloved.  How could he have forgotten her?  The images began to fade, and with them the pain that wracked his body.  He found himself standing over Superman with a massive mace in his hand.  His body was now covered in some kind of armor, and his back, wings!  He was reborn, and it was all so clear to him now.  Carter Hall was but a vessel, and this metal had refilled that vessel and restored his power.  But, Shiera, where was she?  Could she be alive as well?  

“She is indeed, Hawkman, and you will be joining her soon enough!” A voice spoke and Carter, Hawkman, spun to face it.  From the shadows near the throne, a pair of figures stepped forth.  The one who spoke was slender, and garbed in ancient egyptian attire of a royal purple color.  The other was unlike anything Carter had ever seen.  Blue armor covered a massive frame, and the face was so inhuman, so alien.  

“No, not alien. Mutant would be the colloquial term, I believe.”  The voice said coldly as he sat himself down upon the throne.  “My servant's name is En Sabah Nur, and you may call me Immortus.  We have been slumbering here for many centuries, awaiting your arrival.  I am not disappointed. You have even done me the courtesy of wounding Superman with your mace.  How considerate.”  He gestured to the bodies of the soldiers that Superman had rescued before continuing.  “They, however, will not be necessary.”  He glanced to En Sabah Nur.  “You may remove them.”

“Like hell you will, monster!” Hawkman yelled, as he charged towards the blue-armored giant.  Its blue lips curled upwards in a sinister smile and his arm shot out towards Hawkman faster than he could see, sending him sprawling back towards Superman.  

“Immortus calls me by my true name, but you may call me Apocalypse!” A booming voice roared from the blue giant.  “You are all inferior creatures, unfit to survive!”  

As Hawkman shakily pulled himself to his feet, he saw Superman doing the same.  The rest of the team had nearly reached them now, but there was no time.  Time.  He felt everything slow down around him as though it were all under water.  Carter slowly turned to see Immortus gesturing towards them with some device.  Whatever it was, it was slowing them to a crawl!  Apocalypse, however was unaffected, charging towards Superman at full speed.  Hawkman couldn’t shout a warning to his friend in time, and Superman was sent flying against the rock wall.  Apocalypse then reached down and picked up the two Hydra soldiers that Superman had saved, smashing their heads together with sickening force before throwing them aside like dolls.

Liberty Belle was the first to reach the battle, yelling a battle cry as she attempted a double-fisted uppercut on the armored giant.  It was no use, however.  They all seemed to be moving like molasses, and Immortus simply laughed as Apocalypse swatted the brave heroine away like an insect.  Crimson Avenger fired a gas pellet into the fray, but it too had no effect on Apocalypse.  Johnny Quick ran in to grab Belle, but even his speed was no match for the towering mutant.  Hawkman struggled to stand as the world went black around him.  Where was Al?  He hoped his friend was okay.  As he collapsed onto the tile floor, he heard only the sound of Immortus’ laughter...    

Comic Book Battles - Episode 10: Avengers Vs. X-Men #4 pt. 3

Welcome back to Comic Book Battles!  Man, it has been...well, almost a year, but I'm back!  We're going to pick up right where we left off, in the middle of the biggest hero battle since Civil War!  This week, we have an AvX skirmish taking place in the middle of Dr. Doom's nation of Latveria!

The Comic Book

"Avengers Vs. X-Men (Part Four)"
Writers Jonathan Hickman
Pencilers John Romita Jr.
Inkers Scott Hanna
Colourists Laura Martin
Letterers Chris Eliopoulos
Editors John Denning, Lauren Sankovitch, Nick Lowe, Tom Brevoort

Here, again, we're seeing a skirmish in progress through the telepathic visions of Emma Frost, who is scanning the globe for Hope. 

The Battle

For this battle, I'm using the Latveria map from the AvX event.  It doesn't necessarily represent the battlefield depicted above, but it's interesting nonetheless.  As you can see below, it has our teams facing off from corner-to-corner.  In between are a couple buildings and a giant fountain statue of Dr. Doom himself!

Here are our teams:

X-Men

avx012 V Colossus

Team: X-Men
Range: 0
Points: 175
Keywords: Armor, Mystical, X-Men

(Improved) Mantle of the Juggernaut: Improved Movement: Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores Blocking Terrain and destroys Blocking Terrain as the character moves through it.

(Speed) I Believe In The X-Men: Colossus can use Charge and Plasticity. If he has two action tokens, adjacent friendly characters that can use the X-Men team ability can use that team ability as a free action.

(Defense) Steel-Skinned X-Man: Colossus can use Defend and Impervious.

wxm008 E Dazzler
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 6
Points: 75
Keywords: Celebrity, Excalibur, Mojoverse, X-Men

(Speed) Charge of the Light Brigade: When Dazzler has no action tokens, she can use Running Shot. When Dazzler has one or more action tokens, you may give her a free action and characters within 4 squares can't use Stealth until your next turn.

dp027 V Domino
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 6 :bolt:
Points: 89
Keywords: Six Pack, X-Corps, X-Force

(Speed) Infiltration Assassination: Domino can use Running Shot and Stealth. Give Domino a free action when she has no action tokens, and until your next turn decrease her speed value by any amount and increase her range by the same amount. 

  

And that comes out to 339 points.  Unfortunately, no theme team bonus since Domino isn't a member of the X-Men.  Colossus is the only one with a team affiliation as well, and it's X-Men, which requires another character with the X-Men team affiliation to be useful.  That said, Colossus is a monster, and Dazzler and Domino can provide decent ranged support.

Avengers

ffcw005 E Mockingbird
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 2
Points: 50

(Special) October 12th: When a friendly character named Hawkeye is adjacent to Mockingbird, they both modify their attack values by +1 if not already modified by this effect.

avx004e E Spider-Man
Team: Avengers|Spider-Man
Range: 5
Points: 100
Keywords: Avengers, Scientist, Spider-Man Family

(Special) Whatever a Spider Can: When Spider-Man is the target of a ranged combat attack, he can use Super Senses, but evades the attack on a result of 4 - 6.

dp015 V Daredevil
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 4
Points: 108
Keywords: Avengers, Martial Artist, Marvel Knights, The Hand

(Improved) Rooftop Acrobat: Improved Movement: Ignores Elevated Terrain, Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores Characters; Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering Terrain

(Special) Ally of Heroes: At the beginning of the game, choose Enhancement or Empower. Daredevil can use that power this game. A Heroes for Hire themed team may include Daredevil and is still a theme team.

(Special) Radar Senses: Daredevil can use Super Senses.

cw037 V Spider-Woman
Team: Avengers
Range: 5
Points: 82
Keywords: Avengers, Detective, Hydra, Lady Liberators, S.H.I.E.L.D., Spy, S.W.O.R.D.

(Damage) Pheromones: Give Spider-Woman a free action. She may modify the attack value of an adjacent friendly character by +1 and she may modify the defense value of an adjacent opposing character by -1 until your next turn.

That comes out to 340 points.  This team features my favorite incarnation of Spider-Man that I've played in Heroclix, so I have high hopes.  Daredevil is pretty mean as well, and Mockingbird and Spider-Woman are great harassment characters that opposing teams can't afford to ignore, despite their cheap costs.  All of that, combined with four Avengers Theme Team Probability Control uses and Avengers team affiliations, means the X-Men have an uphill battle ahead of them in this one.

Before the game starts, Daredevil chooses Empower for his "Ally of Heroes" special ability, in case I need him to support Spidey or Mockingbird in melee.  

Avengers win the roll-off for first turn

Spider-Man moves to I19

Daredevil moves to I20

Spider-Woman moves to F14, making herself a tempting target that far out

Mockingbird moves behind cover at C14 to support her in case things get rough

Colossus wastes no time, picking up a super-heavy object and smashing through the buildings in his path, moving adjacent to Spider-Woman at F13

Domino moves to K9 in cover

Dazzler moves to O1, hanging back until a decent target presents itself

Daredevil moves to M14, since he has indomitable

Spider-Woman uses her Pheromones on Colossus to reduce his defense and increase her own attack by 1

Everyone else clears

Colossus uses that super-heavy object to great effect on Spider-Woman, hitting on a 17 for 7(!) damage.  Ouch!  Even with Spider-Woman's toughness reducing it to 6, that one hurt.  

Dazzler and Domino clear

Mockingbird moves to E14 to support her teammate against Colossus

Spider-Woman uses her pheromones again on Colossus

Spider-Woman uses Close Combat Expert to attack Colossus and give herself +1 attack and +1 damage.  She hits on a 17, but Colossus rolls a 6 on his Impervious roll, reducing the damage to 0.  Tough break!

Spider-Man uses Perplex to increase his own attack by 1 and Charges to G14, missing Colossus with a roll of 15.  So close!

Daredevil clears 

Domino uses Running Shot to move to K14 and attack Daredevil, hitting on an 18.  Daredevil rolls his Super Senses and gets a 6, evading the attack!
Dazzler moves to K9
Colossus clears

Spider-Woman uses Pheromones on Colossus, and gives the +1 attack to Mockingbird
Spider-Man perplexes Mockingbird's attack by +1 as well
Mockingbird uses Exploit Weakness on Colossus, hitting on a 17 for 2 damage.  It can't be reduced, so no impervious roll for big C.
Daredevil charges to L14, hitting Domino on a 19 with a Precise Strike, which Domino attempts to use Probability Control on, forcing a reroll.  The reroll is a 22!  3 damage is done to Domino.
The two Spider-peeps clear their action tokens

Colossus attacks Spider-Woman, but misses on a 16 thanks to her Combat Reflexes.
Domino and Dazzler clear

Spider-Woman keeps using those Pheromones on Colossus, giving Spider-Man the +1 attack.
Spider-Man uses Perplex to give himself another +1 attack
Spider-Man uses Precise Strike on Colossus, hitting on a 16.  Colossus has impervious, but Spidey still deals him one damage thanks to the Precise Strike
Spider-Woman uses Close Combat Expert to give herself +1 attack and +1 damage, but misses on a 14
Daredevil uses Precise Strike and hits Domino with a 21, dealing 3 damage, enough to KO her

Dazzler uses Precise Strike on Daredevil, hitting on a 19.  Daredevil misses his Super Senses roll, so he takes 2 damage thanks to his Toughness
Colossus hits Spider-Woman on an 18 for 3 damage, KOing her

Spider-Man uses Perplex to increase Mockingbird's damage by +1
Mockingbird uses Exploit Weakness, but misses Colossus with an 11
Daredevil and Spider-Man clear

Colossus and Dazzler clear

Spider-Man Perplexes Colossus' defense by -1
Spider-Man uses Precise Strike, hitting Colossus on a 16.  Colossus still has Impervious, though, and takes only 2 damage
Mockingbird uses Exploit Weakness, but misses Colossus with a 14
Daredevil moves to K9

Colossus attacks Spider-Man, but misses on a roll of 13
Dazzler uses Precise Strike on Daredevil, but misses on a 13 as well

All the Avengers clear

Colossus attacks Spider-Man, but misses on a 14
Dazzler clears

Spider-Man uses Perplex once again on Colossus, reducing his defense by 1
Spider-Man uses Precise Strike, hitting on a 19 for 1 damage thanks to Colossus' Impervious
Mockingbird attacks using Exploit Weakness, hitting on a 15 for 2 damage, KOing Colossus
Daredevil uses Flurry on Dazzler, hitting on an 18 with doubles, dealing 2 damage and knocking Dazzler back into a wall for another 1 damage.

Dazzler uses Penetrating Blast on Daredevil, critically missing, dealing 1 damage to herself.  She wants to end this as much as I do, I think.

Mockingbird moves to I8
Spider-Man and Daredevil clear

Dazzler uses Precise Strike on Mockingbird, but misses on a 16

Spider-Man charges to J9, hitting on a 21 for 3 damage, KOing Dazzler.

Winner: Avengers

This fight was very one-sided.  It quickly became clear that while Colossus is really great, his teammates were not.  If I were to play this again, I might group my X-Men together so Dazzler and Domino could take advantage of Colossus' Defend ability.  Alas, I still think it would be tough for the X-Men to claim victory.  

I hope that you enjoyed this return to CBB.  Next time, we have another AvX skirmish in the Wundagore Mountains!