Beginner's Luck, a new player's guide to HeroClix-Perplexing the Competition
By Rock810

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PERPLEXED

In any game of Heroclix the ability to add +1 to an ability can be the deciding factor in the game. There are multiples abilities that give that little much needed boost to a figures stats. The most notable of these is PERPLEX. The ability to perplex a figure is very nice because you can change any visible number on the base of a figure up or down. Though perplex is limited to the rule of three; meaning you can not change any stat more than three up or down. Also, remember that there are times were perplex has no affect such in the case of support and Defend. Their wording is what fudges this because you must use the unmodified values in their case. Other than that perplex is open for business and is to be well exploited on a team. So on with the top 10 perplexers in the game.

PERPLEXED

In any game of Heroclix the ability to add +1 to an ability can be the deciding factor in the game. There are multiples abilities that give that little much needed boost to a figures stats. The most notable of these is PERPLEX. The ability to perplex a figure is very nice because you can change any visible number on the base of a figure up or down. Though perplex is limited to the rule of three; meaning you can not change any stat more than three up or down. Also, remember that there are times were perplex has no affect such in the case of support and Defend. Their wording is what fudges this because you must use the unmodified values in their case. Other than that perplex is open for business and is to be well exploited on a team. So on with the top 10 perplexers in the game.

1) CON ARTIST REV- You love them, you hate them you will never forget them. The con artist is the cheapest perplexer in the game and the most effective. We have all heard about or seen the hooker bomb team which involves 6 or more con artist and a hypersonic piece. The Con artist is cheap starting at 11 points and going no higher then 16 points. The con artist itself is not going to win any battles, (though I have lost to two con artists and an Alfred token at the end of a game before). Her only downfall is that she has to push to get to perplex and then only has one click of perplex unless you have a veteran which has two clicks. Also, she is not defensive and the likelihood that someone will play Jesse quick just to take out your con artist and medic is rather likely.



2) Harley Quinn REV LE- Harley is one of my favorite pieces in the game. Though it does not help she is one of my favorite comic book villains because she is always underestimated, as she is in heroclix. While she seems costly as a perplexer she makes up for in attack ability and team ability. Harley is a batman enemy which means if you are playing a team of BE or wildcard you can share your attack. Harley has a nice range attack allowing her to snipe anyone who gets to close to her and also does some decent damage herself. She starts out as a 27 point perplex support piece and the Veteran goes to 42 points and can dish out the pain as well as anyone else. The veteran is extra special because on her dial she gets outwit, always a nice ability to have. Harley does sport a low defense though and can not defend well against a hypersonic or long range barrage, but her staying power is better than that of some other figures in the game.



3) DEO AGENT E, V



The Deo Agent is DC's answer to the con artist. She has all the flaws of the con artist in that she has to take a starting click to get going so it will take more than one turn to affectively use her. Though she gains on her dial support so if she gets hit she is now going to be able to heal your other pieces. Also she sports the nifty PD team ability which allows you to give +1 to a friendly figures attack value on ranged attacks if she is adjacent. Unlike the con artist she can defend herself with her short range and decent attack value. The downfall of the DEO Agent is she is heavy with the point cost and she has a low defense.



4) MYSTIQUE REV



One of everyone’s favorite super villain and movie villain mystique made her way into clix in the marvel xplosion set. Mystique is a very nice and fun piece to play with. She not only has perplex, but also has stealth so she can hide from attackers safely. On top of that she is free moving, using the brotherhood team ability so you can position her without penalty to your actions. Mystique also keeps a decent range attack and attack value through her dial. She is not just a support piece she is a good offensive piece that can spout out three damage if you want her to. Mystique does cost a chunk of points though starting with 34 at her rookie and ending with 51 points at the veteran. Still she is worth EVERY point, the veteran has an insane 4 clicks of perplex. Feel free to play her anytime you want no matter the cost.



6) BATGIRL REV



You have to love Mr. Gordon's daughter. Her rookie version is an ok piece because she is only 26 points and has two clicks of perplex and is an ok range harasser. We can do better though. If you are going to use Batgirl use her Experienced and Veteran version. The built in batman team ability (Auto-stealth) and having leap climb allows Batgirl to run around and have her way with your opponent. The experienced contains 3 clicks of perplex and 5 clicks of life, and the veteran has more clicks of life, but splits her perplex and outwit on her dial. The downfall of this piece is the points, the rookie starts in at 26, experienced 41 and the veteran a hard 58. On top of that you have to push her more than once to get to the good stuff, a little much for a support piece so be careful when making use of her, truthfully if you are going to use Batgirl the experienced is the better version to use.



7) DEADPOOL REV



He is big and bad and in a straight out brawl he could kick our but, Deadpool is the ultimate assassin and was one of the most called for pieces in the game. He was made just right too. More expensive than any other piece we have spoken about yet, but he is not going to fall to any small attacks soon, and he is going to dish out the pain. He gets stealth on his first click and then begins to run around with phasing. He carries blades/claws/fangs through his dial and keeps a fair range attack. His dial ends with regeneration so you can keep him around for awhile. The downfall of deadpool though is he is costly at 65 point for the rookie and a solid 85 points at the veteran. He is not what I would call a support piece, but more holds a co-star status with the rest of your team helping them out were he is needed. Other than that Deadpool is a good piece to throw on a team and enjoy the ensuing carnage.



8) Vertigo REV



Vertigo is a piece a new player will pick up and toss aside. Do not make this mistake. Vertigo is a very useful piece. She has the perplex that can support her team mates and then on top of that has a few clicks of incapacitate. Even a big bruiser like superman or amazo can not stand up to being given an extra action causing them to push. On top of all that she has super senses, so there is a 33% chance that your opponent missed if they did not already. Though I will not lie to you, vertigo is not the first piece I would pull for a perplexer. Her point cost starts at 45 and ends at 65, making her a rather expensive support piece even if she can defend herself.



9) Braniac 5 REV



The wildcards have a nice support piece here. He starts with outwit and then clicks down to perplex. His wildcard ability allows him to copy team abilities (such as mystic or cross-gen) and he does have some staying power. Though Braniac 5 is SLOW, his movement is not the greatest achievement in the world even with flight. On top of that he is expensive as a support piece, clocking in at 41 points and ending at 58. His defense is very low too making him a point target, meaning your opponent is going to target him and take the chuck of points that once was braniac, be very strategic with Braniac and be careful not to throw him into battle too soon.



10) Gambit EV



Everyone' favorite Cajun from the x-men is a very useful support piece. Sporting a nice move and a good defense Gambit has some staying power on the field of battle. He keeps stealth for quite awhile and has a nice ranged attack. On top of that your opponent must figure out if they are going to take out his perplex and suffer the wrath of his ranged combat expert. That is right, he gets ranged combat expert on his dial making him VERY dangerous to your opponent. Gambit is very balanced at 44 points and 51 points, but similar to deadpool he has Co-star status, not supporting cast. Also, if gambit takes damage he drops like a brick in the ocean on his defense.

11) Ravager REV
Rose has caused the Teen Titans as many ups and downs as her father Deathstroke. She is a dangerous piece that has the perplex ability. The fact that she has stealth and a ranged attack make her dangerous. She has willpower allowing her to push if need be, and on top of all that she has Blades/Claws/fangs. She is quite possibly one of the cheapest and most deadly perplexers in the game today. Have fun using ANY version of Ravager, or go fun and play a Father/Daughter theme team with Deathstroke. One thing I actually strongly suggest is putting Taunt on Ravager as her Willpower and Blades are a great combo for that feat card.


NOTABLE MENTION



Saturn Girl REV

Riddler REV

Penguin REV

Two-Face REV

Aphrodite IX REV

Plasticman REV

Rasputin REV



Adding perplex to your team is a tough decision because you have to figure out if you want to go cheap with the con artist or deo agent or go expensive with figures like deadpool or gambit. Perplex is an essential part of the game because of its ability to give you a little extra when you need to do damage. Though remember you do not need to only rely on perplex to add to you attack values. Make use of the Hydra, PD and Morlock team abilities which all help you have a higher attack value. Also, make sure to make good use of the ICWO feat as that is an easy and affordable way to add +1 to any of your printed abilities. Though if you need to make use of the con artist and DEO agent, just make sure not to abuse it and before throwing 5 or more con artists on a team (waste of points in my opinion) check with your judge to see if there is a house rule on duplicates. Also, remember Perplex is restricted to the rule of three. So, you can not change any ability more than +3 while using perplex. Until next time, Good day and Good gaming.

I use ravager all the time, totally forgot she ahd perplex. She never gets hurt that badly. Her and deathstroke make a fearsome father daughter duo.

Ravager will quickly become one of the best support pieces (in terms of perplex) out there very soon if retirement hits. Her background story makes her BA enough to play any time

What? No mention of Oracle? I use her almost as often as the con artist, and she definitely has much more staying power, since she wont even be on the board. Plus, including the card, you can give one of your more powerful agents Perplex, and an additional +1 every time they're given an action, even to boost defense (which is crucial on any KC Flash team)

I'd rate her at least at #2, if not #1.

how many times do we have to go over this? the power/ability Perplex does not , i repeat, does not stack. it increases or decreases by 1 any combat value. what is a combat value? a combat value is what is printed on the dial. you can Perplex a damage value of 2 all you want. it is still only going to change by +/- 1. i wish WK would read their own rules (as sucky as they are, the rules not WK) and hey any WKers reading this, check out the sales of star wars and D&D minis. time for heroclix 2.0. nuff said

I remember playing in a tournement and everyone kept looking at my HQ as just a perplexer. That was until I started teaming her up for a 10 attack (wildcarding Lobster J, I believe) and hitting for 3 damage. It was priceless to see whole attacks swing over to take out little HQ because she had just unsuspectingly KO'ed their big guy.

I think you missed someone!

LE Atom!

for fifty points you get a stealthed perplexer with the highest defense in the game!

not too shabby.

I would take RE Saturn Girl over REV Brainiac 5 as a wildcarding perplexer any day of the week - better movement and mind control vs late-dial outwit... No contest to my mind...

For 101 points of looking like support, E Saturn Girl teamed up with V Harley Quinn make an effective duo. Mind control and a 2 damage attack both using AV 10, and with two perplexes to raise either SG's attack or HQ's damage. Depending on who else is on your team, SG may also benefit from a number of defensive team abilities, or phase both of them around to ambush your opponent's support pieces.

No, what is printed on the dial is the *unmodified* combat value, for use in such cases as defend. Perplex changes the combat value (note the omission of unmodified) by one, so you can modify the value, and then modify the modified value. It stacks.

oh. right. this is an article for newbies. Forgot that everyone doesn't have an Atom. He is great though.

I also agree that Saturn Girl has an edge over Braniac 5.

You also forgot Venom and carnage( UNIQUE BUT STILL.... great!!!) Venom only keeps it for 2 clicks, but has the SS, Toughness, Leap climb to get him around, damaging, and taking a hit!!! same with carnage...
one of them should definately be on that list....

Not sure if you wanted to include retired figs, but by far my favorite perplexer in the game is Vet CT Doctor Octopus. Probably the best 66 points you can field. 11 AV, 17 D with Willpower, 10 Movement with L/C, 3 clicks of Perplex.

Throw the Doc and a Rookie Mystique together and you have a really nasty 100 point team.

HOLY scrudge... i'd hate to have to go against those 2 in a 100 pts team... forgot about doc ock... HE IS GREAT!!!!!!