DC Comics' original Crisis on Infinite Earths was such a big deal that everybody in the DCU was involved. However...it was only a few months after that Crisis that the Swamp Thing helped to resolve a completely different, but just as threatening crisis.

To see the 1000-points of HeroClix figures that fought another great battle of the 1980s, follow the link.

Synopsis: There is really no effective way to summarize a single issue of an Alan Moore comic in one paragraph! The 'battle' of this issue is a mostly metaphysical one between an assembled group of mystical super-powers against a great Darkness on a spiritual plane, while a different assembly of very mortal occult-themed characters offers support from Earth. Combined, the forces are represented in HeroClix as:

234 Unique (Crisis 059) The Spectre
147 (Superman 051) Swamp Thing
136 (Brave and the Bold 036) Etrigan
100 (2012 Convention) Dr. Fate
90 (JL52 014) Zatanna
87 (Justice League 005) Mento
59 Unique (JL52 019) John Constantine
57 (DC75 025) Sargon the Sorcerer
52 (JL52 013) Deadman

= 962 Points

There are a few characters present on Earth that are (currently) unmade in HeroClix (Dr. Occult, Baron Winters, John Zatara), and one character on the spiritual plane that has been made in HeroClix that I did not choose to include: The Phantom Stranger. As I was re-reading this issue (and the one before it) I judged the Phantom Stranger to be such a non-factor in the actual conflict that I have no reservations about leaving him off the force.

I'm not a huge fan of high-point HeroClix games, but this force has a weird appeal to me. First, the lineup is from a great comic. Second, I can honestly write that I never thought I'd have a majority of in HeroClix. Third, just as in the comic, this force brings a whole lotta 'ready for the meta' that I can't ignore.

The heavy-hitter on the force was at one point the undisputed best figure in the game: The Spectre from the Crisis set. This figure has many of the weaknesses common to giants, but because of Quintessence it won't easily fall victim to Outwit. It has plenty of ways to bring pain, and with the help of some teammates it may even get some measure of protection from ranged attacks (from Barrier) as the Spirit of Vengeance closes in for the KO. He will have a couple of characters that can share defenses via use of the JSA team ability early in his dial, so keep that in mind as well.

U The Spectre Points: 234 Range: 10
Team: Quintessence
Keywords: Detective, Herald, Justice Society, Mystical

10 11 18 5

10 11 19 4

10 10 18 4

8 10 17 4

8 10 17 3

8 10 16 3

9 9 16 3

9 9 15 3

10 9 15 3

10 9 15 3

KO KO KO KO

Ghostly Guardian: The Spectre can use Charge, Phasing/Teleport, and the Justice Society team ability.

Vengeance: Give the Spectre a power action to make a close combat or ranged combat attack, replacing his damage value with the damage value of his target until the action is resolved; the attack is penetrating damage.

Since he's the star of this week's featured comic, I've chose the most recent HeroClix version of Swamp Thing, from the Superman booster set, to be featured on this force. This figure boasts a long dial, and as long as other figures on the force are sporting a Mystics team ability I am sure that opponents will try to spin this figure through it. His ability to torture figures via (printed) hindering terrain can be brutally annoying for figures without damage reducers, but otherwise this figure is likely to serve as a very nasty tie-up figure with the ability to do some damage on its own.

V Swamp Thing Points: 147 Range: 0
Team: No Affiliation
Keywords: Brightest Day, Monster, Mystical

8 11 18 4

8 11 17 3

8 10 17 3

8 10 17 3

8 9 16 2

8 9 16 2

8 9 16 2

8 9 15 2

8 8 14 2

KO KO KO KO

Out of the Green: Before being given a move or close combat action, you may place Swamp Thing in any square of printed hindering terrain within 4 squares.

Hallucinatory Toxins: Swamp Thing can use Poison. When he does, a character that takes damage and has zero action tokens is given an action token.

Nature's Assault: Give Swamp Thing a free action and choose any number of characters occupying a square of printed hindering terrain within 4 squares. Deal 1 damage to the chosen characters.

The Brave and the Bold set gave us an excellent Etrigan, although most players prefer to only ever see this figure through the Alter Ego mechanic using Jason Blood. On a team like this one, Etrigan will probably be running interference or blocking access to the 'support' figures. His Mystics team ability will mean that he will not be an early target, so don't be afraid to have him supporting the bigger guys early.

Alter-Ego Etrigan Points: 136 Range: 4
Team: Mystics
Keywords: Mystical

7 10 16 2

6 9 17 2

6 9 15 3

6 8 16 2

6 9 15 2

| | |

6 9 16 2

6 8 15 2

5 8 14 3

KO KO KO KO

And Hellfire Burn : Etrigan can use Energy Explosion. When Etrigan uses Energy Explosion, damage dealt is penetrating damage.

Of Rhyme or Reason: Etrigan can use Perplex and Probability Control.

I absolutely hate putting a $100+ Convention Exclusive figure on this team, but this figure goes with the 'meta' concept. This version of Dr. Fate has a wonderful that can really shut down opponent's strategies, as long as you are willing to get him in the action.

R Dr. Fate Points: 100 Range: 8
Team: Justice Society | Mystics
Keywords: Justice Society, Mystical

11 10 18 2

10 11 17 2

10 10 17 2

9 9 17 2

9 9 16 2

KO KO KO KO

Agent of Order: Opposing characters within 6 squares can't be given actions to use special powers (including standard powers used only through those special powers).

Since I don't own one of these figures, you will notice that there are enough leftover points at 1000 to swap in the older (and much cheaper) Limited Edition convention version from the Origins set. The 2007 convention exclusive isn't as 'meta' a figure as the 2012 version, but for those of us dedicated comic-inspired players that don't own one of the newer versions, this one will have to do.

LE Dr. Fate Points: 134 Range: 6
Team: Justice Society
Keywords: Justice Society, Mystical

9 10 16 3

9 9 16 3

8 9 15 2

8 8 15 2

8 8 14 2

7 7 14 2

7 7 13 2

6 7 13 2

6 6 12 1

KO KO KO KO

This comic was the issue in which Zatanna's father John Zatara took a 'mystical bullet' for his daughter. I mention this only because it is rather unfortunate for him to have survived the Crisis on Infinite Earths only to be undone by the involvement of John Constantine. Alan Moore is responsible for quite a few wonderful things in the DCU, and I think his contribution to the Zatanna character's story is among the best. But I digress. I've chose the newest version of the character from the 2012 Justice League (a.k.a. JL52) single figure set. I am a fan of both this dial and the version from the 2007 Justice League 5-figure booster set, but this one has some of that 'new figure' shine on it, and with the Mystics team ability, tends to be avoided longer.

R Zatanna Points: 90 Range: 6
Team: Justice League|Mystics
Keywords: Justice League, Mystical

9 10 17 2

8 10 17 3

8 10 16 2

8 9 16 3

9 9 16 2

9 8 15 1

KO KO KO KO

Raelc Dnim: Give Zatanna a power action, or a free action if she has no action tokens, and choose another friendly character within 4 squares and line of fire. That character can't be affected by Outwit or Perplex until your next turn.

Present at the mystical seance with John Constantine, Zatanna and Sargon the Sorcerer was an unlikely fellow: Mento of the Doom Patrol. He acted as the 'play-by-play' man for the mystics so they would know what was happening in the other realm. In HeroClix terms, the only Mento, from the 2007 Justice League set brings a couple of things to this 'meta' team. The most obvious is the top-dial Telekinesis. The most important is his long dial and his team ability: Outsiders. A reminder:

Outsiders
Give a character using the Outsiders team ability a free action to choose a character (including itself) within 10 squares and line of fire. Until the beginning of your next turn, the chosen character’s combat values can’t be modified. Uncopyable.

The Outsiders team ability allows Mento to negate/prevent all modifiers to a single character's raw stats. This has finally become useful because the power used to be restricted to use only at the beginning of the controlling players turn. Now that Mento can move and apply his team ability, it is actually possible to see it applied and have an effect on a game. His deep dial only helps to keep the team ability in play.

V Mento Points: 87 Range: 8
Team: Outsiders
Keywords: Doom Patrol, Psychic

7 9 16 2

6 9 16 1

6 8 15 1

6 8 15 1

5 8 14 1

5 8 14 1

5 7 14 1

KO KO KO KO

Mental Hold: Mento can use Incapacitate.

John Constantine, from the JL52 set, is sure to have his place in the anti-'meta'. While his Mystical Wards are in play, no other figure (including his friends) can use Probability Control...which means that the most (ab)used game effect has just been taken off the table. This hurts his friends as well, but the difference is that you know you have John Constantine on your force going into the game.

U John Constantine Points: 59 Range: 0
Team: Mystics
Keywords: Justice League, Mystical

7 9 16 2

7 9 15 1

6 8 15 1

6 8 15 1

KO KO KO KO

Riding the Synchronicity Highway: John Constantine is a wild card.

Mystical Wards: Other characters can't use Probability Control.

Sheer Cunning: John Constantine can use Outwit and Perplex.

The DC 75th Anniversary set gave us Sargon the Sorcerer. The figure may appear to be a simple support piece, but his ability to swap objects (through use of his special power) can be an appropriate annoyance for an opponent hoping for some 'object'-ive advantage. Keep in mind that his power does not work on immobile objects! also pay attention to his Barrier, at 4 it isn't the best in the game, but it can still be useful.

R Sargon the Sorcerer Points: 57 Range: 4
Team: Mystics
Keywords: All Star Squadron, Mystical

8 9 16 2

8 9 16 1

7 9 15 1

6 10 15 2

6 8 14 1

KO KO KO KO

Illusionary Swap: Sargon the Sorcerer can use Smoke Cloud. When he does, he may exchange any two non-immobile objects in the game with each other, as long as one of the objects occupies or is being carried by a character who occupies the same square as one of the hindering terrain markers he placed. If a chosen object was carried, the replaced object is carried.

The last memebr of the force is Deadman. Again, I have chose the most recent version from the JL52 set. We have three versions of the character to choose from. The Brightest Day version is an excellent HeroClix figure, but the powers are completely wrong for a classic Deadman. The original HeroClix version debuted in the 2007 Justice League set, but it is incredibly costly with a key power that is too difficult to use for very poor utility. This version is only half the cost with the major lossese being that it cannot carry and does not have the Mystics team ability. Nevertheless, it is a very mobile figure and is sure to be a thorn in the side of opponents.

R Deadman Points: 52 Range: 0
Team: No Affiliation
Keywords: Justice League, Mystical

9 11 17 0

8 10 17 0

8 10 16 0

7 9 16 0

6 9 16 0

KO KO KO KO

Ghost: Deadman can use Phasing/Teleport. He can't be carried and he can't be placed by Telekinesis. Damage dealt to Deadman by close combat attacks is reduced to 1.

I hope you've enjoyed this extra-long article today. As soon as I saw the characters available in the JL52 set I knew this was a force I would want to try to build. Since 1000 point games are rare, this is a force than with some pruning can be made to work at many lower point values too.

Awesome article. Wish I shadeland the fate le.

I absolutely adore the Saga of the Swamp Thing. there are so many wonderful team ups you can make. My favorite has to be the "Swamp-Tron" team. Sure it's not as devestating as Night-Tron or Kid-Tron, but nowhere else can one experience the joy of Metron riding around on Swamp Thing having space adventures and chatting with Darkseid.

I love that Swamp Thing and I was excited to pull him in sealed but Black Adam walloped him to death. I wasn't as excited to pull two more in two consecutive boosters.

I was still using the old Hyper time one for tie up/Mastermind fodder cuz for the point cost the sheer amount of clicks of life and damage reducers was useful in those capacities. Not to mention his 11 attack and 3 damage with super strength.

The only thing I would have liked is if they had made his trait and special hindering terrain and not just printed hindering terrain. I don't think that would have made him OP but for 147 points it would have helped his mobility and since the damage in hindering isn't penetrating it still wouldn't be too bad.

Weird. I actually built this team a week ago, inspired by the same story (though much smaller, it was only a 500 point game). Mine was John Constantine, Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Deadman, Sargon, Gotham City Detective (filling in for the Spectre), and Madame Xanadu as filler (and/or filling in for Zatara). 494. Swampie and Deadman were my MVPs in that game, but we were playing on the Arkham Asylum map from DKR so Swamp Thing just had a field day jumping out of toilets and such.

Really need to get that Spectre piece. Also, had no idea that Mento had even been made! I know I must have seen that fig before, but it just slipped my mind. Anyway, love these articles, Tidge. Seems you and I read all the same comics.

Good article. I like Swamp Thing stuff and Alan Moore is no slouch back then. Wish I had that Dr. Fate.

It was very emotional to know that you are not a hug fan. I think you really just need a good hug to experience and soon enough you will be a huge fan.

I played a variant of this force: Hypertime Vet Swamp Thing, John Constantine, JL52 Zatanna and Sargon at 300 points. They defeated the Pet Avengers! My opponent missed a lot of attacks, but I think the early game came down to positioning, and lots of Perplex on opponent's damage values ended the game.

Very cool attempt to put together the team from that comic.

I'm not a big fan of that Etrigan. I think his stats are just too low for that point cost. Plus his prob is getting neutered by Constantine, anyway. I'd consider using the 88 point LE from Legacy.

That old LE figure is a great favorite of mine, and I would definitely encourage fans of the character to seek out that piece. My experience: it is often in high-point games that figures that seem to 'cost too much' start to shine, so I wanted to include the newer piece that rarely sees play outside of the Alter-Ego mechanic.

He's still a 130+ point figure that starts with a 16 defense and has no move-attack.

I applaud trying him out, but I just always have a hard time bringing myself to place him on a team.

Etrigan is pretty good when he alteregoed from Jason Blood.

I love that Spectre. He was the cornerstone of my Golden Age JSA teams for the longest time, up to DC75 when we got the Trinity and Alan Scott all in the same set. I also think that the Origin Doctor Fate is a severely underrated piece, and can be devastating in the right team (again, Golden Age JSA). I wish I had the Convention Exclusive one, though, as he seems like a total beast.

Like everyone else, I too wish I had the convention exclusive Dr. Fate.

The 2007 Dr. Fate from Origins was a Buy It By the Brick Figure, and not a convention exclusive. And I don't think he'd be totally worthless on this team. If you put him next to the Spectre he could at least borrow a higher defensive value via the JSA team ability.

This team would definitely have to be wary of Shadowpact teams, who would be formidable with the ATA that ignores Mystics damage and the SP's of the various members that do extra against Mystical-keyworded characters. However it's unlikely they'd be playing against a 1000 point pure Shadowpact build unless there were doubles of some characters.

I used both Deadman and Zatanna this weekend in a 300 point game (+ Gandalf) and they were cool. Zatanna ended up getting smacked hard and I only ever made one attack roll before she was bombarded to death with light objects, but it was Deadman who was star of the show. With none of the opposing characters being over 100 points, he took no feedback damage and he Regened back to full health twice. He was my last man standing and sadly I copuldn't win (i could never KO the last character), but dang was he well worth his points.