He might look like he stepped in something…with his whole body, but he’s really none other than Ultimate Clayface! Click “Full Story” and I’ll talk dirty to ya.

We haven't had a new Clayface, Ultimate or otherwise, since Collateral Damage. OK, somewhat more recently if you count the version of him we received in the failed Alpha experiment, but why would you? Did we need a new one? Absolutely. Is the Clayface we were looking for? Let’s see, shall we?


nml003 V Ultimate Clayface
Team: Batman Enemy
Range: 3
Points: 136
Keywords: Arkham Asylum, Brute, Monster, Mud Pack, Secret Society of Super-Villains

7 10 17 3

6 11 17 2

6 10 18 3

6 9 17 2

5 9 18 3

5 8 17 2

4 8 16 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Suction: When an opposing character hits Ultimate Clayface with a close combat attack, after the attack resolves, the opposing character rolls a d6. On a result of 1-3, that character immediately ends its action.

Suffocate: Ultimate Clayface can use Plasticity. Opposing characters adjacent to Ultimate Clayface can't automatically break away and can't ignore Ultimate Clayface for movement purposes. When an adjacent character fails to break away from Ultimate Clayface, it is given an additional action token.

Burning Touch: Ultimate Clayface can use Poison. When he does, roll a d6 and compare: 1-2 no damage is dealt. 3-4 damage is dealt normally. 5-6 the damage dealt is penetrating.

When considering which Clayface to pile him up next to, we’ve got a couple of options, but not many. The best is CD LE Ultimate Clayface, who was a mail-away figure as I recall. Here’s his dial.

cd220 LE Ultimate Clayface
Team: Batman Enemy
Range: 6
Points: 99
Keywords: Brute, Monster, Mud Pack

8 9 18 3

8 9 17 3

7 8 17 3

7 8 16 3

6 8 16 2

6 7 16 2

6 7 15 2

5 6 15 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

While some may lobby for the use of the CD REV Clayface, Ultimate suits our purposes better for a few reasons. First, both of these dials rely heavily on Poison. Second, both are “Ultimate” Clayface so we know we’ve got Basil Karlo in there somewhere. I think. And that’s good enough for me.


NML #003 LE Ultimate Clayface’s Gains Vs. CD #220 LE Ultimate Clayface
Well, first off, I’m not exactly sure what Clayface eats to gain weight, but he’s bulked up by an impressive 37 points, bringing his total up to 136. Somewhere under all that muck he’s also hiding the Arkham Asylum and Secret Society of Super-Villains keywords, though that last one is a bit of a puzzler. Like a boot stuck in a bog, Clayface’s Suction trait has the potential to stop Hyper-Sonic speedsters and others of their ilk dead in their tracks as their fists or other body parts become mercilessly mired in his murky muck. Like doggy-doo on your sneaker, Karlo just won’t let go, and his Suffocate special power, which lasts for his entire dial won’t let anyone automatically break away. Further, if you try a breakaway and fail, you’ll take a token as you try to pick him out of your treads with a stick. His attack numbers are generally improved, reaching an 11 before bottoming out at a pair of eights (8s). And here, once again, we have a dial clogged full of a special power, Burning Touch, that slightly modifies Poison: on a 1-2, there isn’t any damage, 3-4 it’s normal Poison, but on a 5-6 it’s penetrating. Defensively, things get interesting as well. Clayface must be part adobe because all of a sudden he’s pretty tough, oozing through a fight with two clicks of Impervious and two of Invulnerable. He’s also got one more 18 and 17 to go with those fancy new damage reducers. Has he been sleeping in a kiln? And even though he’s one ugly tub ‘a goo, opponents may not actually want to hit him as a dial’s worth of Shape Change may make them see a little bit of someone they love somewhere in that disgusting pile of putrescence.


NML #003 LE Ultimate Clayface’s Losses Vs. CD #220 LE Ultimate Clayface
Before we even get to the dials, we need to address the sculpts. CD Ultimate Clayface looked like this.


Which bore a striking resemblance to this.


Which is cool, because Batman The Animated Series is cool.

The new Ultimate Clayface looks like this (except darker, the flash washes him out a bit).


Which bears a striking resemblance to this.


Which is not as cool. Or scary. But does bring to mind a few fun new nicknames for him. One is obvious. There's another that I cannot say in polite company, but it refers to a state of extreme drunkenness and also ends in “…face”. Either would work well, and both satisfactorily express the appropriate level of dismay at the downgrade of of his sculpt. I feel like I need a full-on HazMat suit to even touch this guy. Clayface? I don't think so. This is what happens after the Devil eats a bran muffin.

Moving on to other losses, NMLFace has one less click of life than does CDFace, and a shorter lifespan for almost 40 more points seems filthy-nasty. And he’s less effective at mudslinging as his range drops from six (6) to three (3). All of that Charge has eroded as well. That nifty Super Strength crumbles away to dust. So does the proper Plasticity, which isn’t a big deal at all since Suffocate lets him use that power for his entire dial. The loss of Super Strength is a much bigger deal because that means that there are a fair number of clicks on his dial where he can't crack Invulnerable, and for a 136 point figure, that's tough to swallow. There aren’t any real losses to speak of defensively, and as far as his damage track goes, we’re really just watching as three clicks of Exploit Weakness dissolve away to nothing.


If ol_Dut Had To Choose: NML #003 LE Ultimate Clayface Vs. CD #220 LE Ultimate Clayface?
It’s kind of a tough call with ol’ mud flap here. So to help things along let’s defer to both age and beauty and talk about CDFace first. The upfront mobility is nice, the three damage is nice, and so is the starting 18 defense. His attack values are never impressive and drift down to subterranean depths by the end of his dial. But that doesn’t really matter as much as it could since thanks to his TA, he can borrow a better number from a friend. At 99 points, he’s a secondary attacker and he knows it. A bit pricey for what he does, to be sure, but a secondary attacker nonetheless. He's simple but not exciting.

Now let’s look at NML Face. As I see it, he’s really not on the map to do much attacking. His point and purpose seem to be best summed up in this list:


Are these three activities worth 136 points? Let’s consider. Do I care about Suction? Maybe, but not really. While he may be the target of a transporter drive-by, I can’t really see too many HSS bruisers spending much time up close and personal with this guy. And at the speed with which he oozes across the board, he’s not likely to catch any but the dead and dying. Without any improved movement , he’s going to be stopped by every bush, wall and smoke cloud, so anyone with even just a dash of Leap/Climb shouldn’t have much trouble getting away from Mr. Goo-Goo-Muck. So to stop Suction, stay back and shoot.

Regarding Suffocate, we’re more or less up the same muddy creek without a paddle. If he’s next to you, you’re probably not going anywhere. But again, he’s so slow, how’s he going to catch you? And if you’re foolish enough to base him, well I suppose you deserve everything you get. To not Suffocate, again, stay back and shoot.

The last Reaon To Live for this animated mud puddle is Burning Touch. Once again, this is a modified version of Poison that lasts for the duration of his dial. With an equal 33% chance of nothing, normal or penetrating Poison, you’ve got to ask yourself, “Do I feel lucky?” Said another way, if I have Toughness or better, there’s a 66% chance of nothing happening. With odds like that, you better believe I feel lucky, but then again I’m also the guy that’s going to try and draw the inside straight. To avoid Burning Touch, just trust the odds and your damage reducers. Or just stay back and shoot. Probably really just that one.

So what NMLFace sifts down to is really 136 points of slow-moving, gushy, tie-up that looks like he's straight from Satan's bottom. If you base him, or vice versa, you will likely have a hard time getting away from him or even hitting him if he nails the Shape Change rolls. And he’s got some spicy damage reducers too, making him frustrating to deal with if he’s your focus. He really would be as irritating as having your shorts full of mud, which would no doubt be one of many probable outcomes if you ever faced him in the real world. So full points there. But the easiest strategy for dealing with NMLFace is simplicity itself. Avoid him. He can’t catch you. He can’t really shoot you. Pick your moment, and when you’re ready to wipe him out, throw everything you’ve got at him and flush him in a turn or two.

However, there is a strategy that could easily undermine simple avoidance and it is just as simple. It is one that is older than mankind itself. One whose origins are rooted deep within the bowels of the origins of our species. Monkeys. Flinging. Poo.


That’s right. I’ve said it now and there it is. I can't take it back. Karlo is slower than slow. We know this. And no one who knows the least bit about his dial is ever going to base him and wait to get Sucked, Suffocated and Burned. So the only hope he’s got of doing anything is to have someone with TK lob him out there into the enemy's formation like some enraged simian pitching poo at the zoo. While this strategy could also work with a flyer carrying NMLFace around, it lacks the same aesthetic as flinging him out there with TK and it should therefore be avoided.

To be honest, I didn’t want to like the new Ultimate Clayface. I felt his dial looked a bit long on bloat and short on damage. And he still may be. However, for the sheer hilariousness of tossing this pile of goo into the middle of your opponents squad, watching their frustration at trying do deal with him, and then shooting the bejeezus out of them from a safe distance, well, win or lose that’s a hot slice of awesome. NML#003 LE Ultimate Clayface comes highly recommended.


What Am I Supposed To Do With This?
Anyone could build a comic accurate team of baddies around or with this guy. But given that paragraph up there shouldn’t we do something different? Yes. Yes, we should.

Here is a team I call, Chim-Chim's Bad, Bad Revenge, and it goes like this:

136 – NML#003 Ultimate Clayface
138 – CD#084 Monsieur Mallah & The Brain
20 – Brilliant Tactician
161 – AA#104 Grodd
177 – AA#047 Ultra-Humanite
56 – DC75#004 Gorrila City Warrior
693 Points

Here's The Plan: Grodd flings the poo* where it will cause the biggest stink, which is to say where it will tie up the maximum number of opposing figures. Then he, 'Humanite, GC Warrior and Mallah shoot the place up. All of this transpires after first positioning to take full advantage of Mallah’s Brilliant Tactician so as to Perplex-boost every Animal on your team. Meanwhile, the poo* is Burning, Suffocating and Sucking his brains out, and hopefully landing an attack roll here and there as well. For added fun, remember to keep GC Warrior within eight (8) squares of Grodd so that he can use Psychic Blast with a range of four (4). It’ll be like shooting dinosaurs in a tar pit. Not very sporting, but still fun. Unless they get out. Whole 'nother deal then.

That’s all for this week. Next week? I have no idea, but there will probably not be any monkeys, unfortunately. Thanks for reading!

(*poo = NML Ultimate Clayface.)

Having played him in a couple matches:

a) He scares your opponent.

b) If you roll a 1 or a 2 a bunch of times, Poison is useless. I get that it's probably there for "game balance," given how hard he is to get away from -- but I rolled a 1 or a 2 a lot in regulation matches.

c) Picked "Secret Society of Super Villains," which is not optimal for use of his TA, either giving or borrowing. Maybe next time, more Bat-Enemies and fewer Golden Age and/or TA-less figures on my team.

All that said, he's certainly the coolest of the NML prizes to me, thusfar.

His name is "the Golgatha". I can never refer to him as clayface again. He even came complete with chunks of Corn....

On to the Dial. I love this fig. The Golgatha is going to smear the competition...

The amount of win in this review is too damn high.

Agreed, this figure is kind of an over priced Godly tie-up piece. Should have made him weaker with a shorter dial while keeping the same trait/abilities so he doesn't have to eat up so many points. Would be great as a support piece, not almost half of a 300pt team. 70-85pts version would have been perfect, in my opinion.

I won this figure and I am going to have a hard time not swapping the sculpt out for the super-cool version from Collateral Damage.

I'm tempted to do that myself.

The picture looks like Clayface is touching Batgirls boobie... and then some.:knockedou Now I know what kind of super power I want. LoL!!!

Corn? I thought he was sprinkled with coconut.

I loved that old sculpt from CD.

But I love that new dial.
Great powers.

Awesome, there is a Fishbone reference in this article!

One the OP left out as a big advantage, the NML UC qualifies for the society ATA which for only 3 points gives some pretty decent outwit protection.

This guy commands respect. Ive played him 3-4 times and everytime he is a pain for my opponent. Pair him with the right taxi (I have a few favorites but I'm not revealing any of my secrets) and its lights out.

I would rather fight Clayface than Mr. Hanky Poo.