Are you looking for a comic-inspired force to use that new Grandmaster? If so, follow the link to see a 600-point team of Thunderbolts who opposed him, and a 600-point force of characters that he used as his pawns.

Background: In the run up to Marvel Comic's Civil War, Baron Helmut Zemo (along with the moonstones) set himself on a peculiar path of righteousness. Determined to save the world he manipulated his Thunderbolts, as well as both Captain America and Iron Man into aiding him in his struggle against none other than the Grandmaster.

Although not every character who played a part in Zemo's Thunderbolts has been made in HeroClix, most of the bigger players do exist, and even have the appropriate keyword. A force that does a good job representing the players from just before the Initiative is:

107 Experienced (Fantastic Force 017) Atlas
102 (Captain America 045) Fixer
95 (Avengers 034) Baron Zemo
80 Veteran (Sinister 063) Radioactive Man
79 Veteran (Fantastic Force 045) Songbird
77 Experienced (Sinister 041) MACH-3
53 Veteran (Infinity Challenge 090) Blizzard

= 593 Points

This force has some dials/characters that I did not discuss in an earlier article, so I'll start with those. The Fixer (sometimes known as Techno) has a long association with the Thunderbolts. The original REV versions of the character were somewhat useful (if pricey), but the character was recently remade in the Captain America set. The character is still pricey, but I think you are getting a piece that can be both offensive and tricky at the same time. I think his biggest value is his ability to crack damage reducers and Perplex, but clever players should be ready to use his "Cobble..." power in such a way that helps his teammates, several of which have either Super Strength or Telekinesis.

E Fixer Points: 102 Range: 6
Team: Master of Evil
Keywords: A.I.M., Hydra, Masters of Evil, Robot, Scientist, Thunderbolts

11 9 17 2

10 9 16 3

10 10 16 2

9 10 16 2

9 9 16 2

8 8 15 2

KO KO KO KO

Treacherous Duo: When a friendly character named Mentallo is adjacent to Fixer, they both modify their attack value by +1 if not already modified by this effect.

Cobble Any Object Into a Weapon: Give Fixer a power action when he occupies a sqaure with an object. Replace that object with any light or heavy special object you own from outside the game that's not already on the map or being held and has an equal point value.

The Baron Zemo of this force is wielding the Moonstones, which explains some of the more peculiar powers (Phasing) on the dial. The great advantage of this dial is that every click is threatening. I don't have any specific advice on how to play this dial, except that this Zemo (from the 2007 Avengers set) is not a figure that needs to be "kept in reserve". Play him aggressively and you will be rewarded.

V Baron Zemo Points: 95 Range: 6
Team: Avengers
Keywords: Masters of Evil, Thunderbolts

8 10 17 3

7 10 16 2

7 9 16 2

7 9 16 2

6 8 15 2

9 8 15 2

10 8 14 1

KO KO KO KO

The Radioactive Man (from the Sinister HeroClix set) is a good compliment for the Atlas (see below). Figures with low defense numbers but good damage reducers tend to draw a lot of fire before they can do much damage...but with two such characters on a force, it can confound opponents and allow you to get the most from those figures. This dial has a significant amount of damage-dealing potential, and you should plan to use it to do damage.

V Radioactive Man Points: 80 Range: 6
Team: Avengers
Keywords: Scientist, Thunderbolts

8 9 17 3

8 10 16 4

7 9 16 3

6 8 15 2

6 8 15 2

6 8 15 2

5 7 14 2

KO KO KO KO

Full disclosure: in the comic, Abner Jenkins is wearing his Mach-IV armor during this period, but this version of the character (also from Sinister) fits the build better. This dial is probably not worth pushing off of the first click, especially if you are trying to use that first click of Super Strength to reposition objects (possibly for Fixer?). The late-dial upswing in attack values and ranged damage can surprise opponents.

E MACH-3 Points: 77 Range: 8
Team: Avengers
Keywords: Armor, Scientist, Thunderbolts, V Battalion

8 9 17 3

8 8 16 2

8 8 16 2

7 7 15 2

7 8 15 2

7 9 14 1

6 9 14 1

KO KO KO KO

This lineup features a dial from the very first HeroClix set: Infinity Challenge. The Blizzard from this story is Donnie Gill, sporting a new suit courtesy of Fixer. The dial sports the great offensive combination of Running Shot/Pulse wave, but once that trick is spent, don't forget that this character brings 8-range barrier to the table...which is something of a rarity in the Modern age.

V Blizzard Points: 53 Range: 8
Team: Master of Evil
Keywords: Thunderbolts

8 11 16 1

6 9 15 1

5 7 14 1

5 6 13 1

4 6 12 1

4 5 11 1

KO KO KO KO

Blizzard isn't the only character on the force with 8-Range Barrier; it is one of the several tricks available to the Veteran Songbird from the Fantastic Forces set. I've talked up this dial before, so here it is again for your review:

V Songbird Points: 79 Range: 8
Team: Avengers
Keywords: Thunderbolts

12 9 16 3

10 9 15 3

9 8 15 3

8 8 14 3

7 7 14 2

6 7 13 2

KO KO KO KO

The Fantastic Forces giant figures, such as Atlas, really are not a good use of the points, but you have to recognize that there are somethings that the giant can do that other figures cannot do (courtesy of ) even if it ends up on those less-than-stellar late-dial clicks. If the giant is taken out before other figures, remember that your other figures have the ability to avenge him...and if Atlas is foolishly ignored while he has his high-damage values, you should make opponents regret not dealing with him.

E Atlas Points: 107 Range: 0
Team: Avengers
Keywords: Thunderbolts

10 9 16 4

10 9 16 4

10 8 15 4

9 8 15 3

9 7 14 3

8 7 14 3

8 6 13 2

7 6 13 2

KO KO KO KO

The forces aligned against this version of Zemo's Thunderbolts were essentially the Squadron Sinister. They can be assembled with the Grandmaster to face the Thunderbolts with approximately equal point values:

250 (Infinity Gauntlet 007) Grandmaster
191 Experienced (Supernova 074) Hyperion
69 Rookie (Supernova 070) Dr. Spectrum (Alice Nugent)
47 Limited Edition (Supernova 212) James Sanders (Speed Demon)
42 Experienced (Sinister 044) Knighthawk

= 599 Points

I've long been a fan of the Zemo from Avengers, but I gotta' say... with the wiggle-room in your build, I'd definitely spend the extra 5 points for the new CW hotness.

--------

cw041 V Baron Zemo
Team: Master of Evil
Range: 6
Points: 100
Keywords: Masters of Evil, Scientist, Thunderbolts

7 10 17 3

7 10 17 2

7 9 16 2

6 10 16 3

6 9 16 3

6 10 16 2

5 10 15 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

(Special) The Thunderbolts Gambit: When you build your force, characters that possess the Masters of Evil keyword or team ability also possess the Thunderbolts keyword. If your force also includes the Thunderbolts Additional Team Ability you must assign it to them.

(Damage) Megalomaniacal Genius: Baron Zemo can use Leadership, Mastermind and Outwit. He is considered 150 points when using Leadership or Mastermind if he's adjacent to a character with the Thunderbolts keyword.

-------

That late-dial change to a sword-swinging, probability-controlling maniac is amazin' if you can land on it.

No breakdown of the Grandmaster with the Squadron Sinister? That's saddening.

Oh a sidenote, with all the recent sculpt re-use I'm suprised that Marvel hasn't brought back A/B dials from the "Secret Invasion" skrull imposters to do new modern age Squadron Supreme/Squadron Sinister dials. Or do something where those 4 are in the main set as the Squadron Supreme and then in the CTD set as the Squadron Sinister. Or vice-versa.

... I just really want new Squadron dials, Supreme or Sinister.

? the New Zemo is waaay better than the old one man, especially since there is room for him.

That team will get slaughtered.

These articles are about comic accuracy, so I respect your decisions on Zemo and Atlas, even as you're gonna get grief for them. And FF Songbird is SO much better than HoT!

If these guys could afford the ATA, I'd definitely look at an attack value helper, like Sinister Syndicate, Ult. X, or HYDRA.

I love the new Thunderbolts direction we're seeing! A great series with a lot of roster changes, and these characters are seldom used villains that need the spotlight.

The new Zemo is great, and I wouldn't fault anyone for using the Chaos War version, but this is a case where I am really biased by the sculpts and the special power: That being said, I would definitely consider dropping in the newest Zemo if the force didn't already have a keyword bonus.

I toyed with the idea, but I didn't want the article to be too long. Maybe if I had a Grandmaster I would feel differently :|

Great article!

I really like the Thunderbolts articles you're doing.

If I was to change anything about the team, it would be to downgrade some of the older REVs and fit in the ATA. Something like-
Downgrade Radioactive man to the Rookie (who gains the keyword if you run newer zemo) and Songbird to the Rookie (still brings cheap TK and later barrier) and finally change Blizzard into the exp(still just about as good for barrier).

So comes out like this-
100 CW041 Baron Zemo
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
102 CA045 Fixer
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
107 FF017 Atlas
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
66 SN061 Radioactive Man
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
46 IC089 Blizzard
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
44 FF043 Songbird
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
77 SN041 MACH-3
8 ATA004 Thunderbolts
598

Don't hate, man. These articles are the best.

Oh, also-
Why would new Zemo be any less accurate?
They're both Helmut, right?

LOL ... totally missed the point of the article ...

Great team - looks like fun. Oddly - I still don't have a Radioactive man after all of these years, or the new Fixer.

My fav of the Mach's is still the LE Abner Jenkins. Expensive, but on a team like this on, I love the board control his double incap brings.

sn202 LE Abner Jenkins
Team: Avengers
Range: 8
Points: 91
Keywords: Armor, Scientist

10 9 17 3

9 10 16 3

8 9 16 3

8 8 16 2

7 8 15 2

6 7 14 1

6 7 14 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

It's more that (for me, YMMV) the sculpt of Helmut standing with the sword and Moonstones is essentially lifted right out of the comics (of the time). It's also not a bad figure by any means.


There are very few comic-inspired teams that can stand up against min-max at higher point values...there is just too much room for forces more concerned with optimization to take advantage. Of course, using older figures with Attack values below 8 is going to be tough going, so you can try to add Not So Special or Contingency Plan to help. If there is anything this force really lacks IMO are solid attack values.

There are of course a few high-damage output brutal forces that key off of a keyword (modern X-Men or movie Avengers come to mind), but if you are committed to playing a variety of different forces that look like they actually came from a comic, you pretty much have to mix-and-match and cannot simply reject a force because one or more dials don't look frightening by themselves.

It's no secret where my heart lies with HeroClix: building a variety of forces to represent comics I've read, or ones I've observed in action-media. I've been playing forces like this for a decade, and I feel as if I've gotten more out of the game in the past 10 years because of it. If a particular force turns out to be incredibly effective, that is a bonus...but it is just as rewarding to take a force of not-so-effective-looking figures and turn them into a winning squad.

I am substantially sad the Grandmaster doesn't have 'Squadron Sinister.'

I remember reading some of this story. Didn't Zemo end up beuilding an army of bad guys to fight the Grandmaster by the end of the Civil War? I know it would be way too big a team to cover (and there are so many guys missing), but it seems like it would make a fun scenario.

Anyway, another great article! That Zemo really is tougher than you might think, especially if you can make room for that ATA. Good job!

i remember someone playing that E Mach-3 with T Bolts (to MoE), Rip It Up and Nanobots. Mach would running shot every turn, grabbing an object each time, dropping it from the MoE, nanobotting back to full.... dang nasty