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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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Godwin |
Black Adam comes to us as a REV in the DC Unleashed
expansion set. Even though I mainly collect Marvel I was quite impressed
with this set and it brought in some new serious heavy hitters to the game.
One of these was Black Adam himself
All three versions of Black Adam come in over 100 points so he will
definitely chew up a lot of your point cost in games. He is also the
arch-nemesis of Shazam! (I think you need the exclamation point after always
saying Shazam!). Black Adam’s whole focus is surrounded by one power and
that is Hypersonic Speed. If most Hypersonic Speed figures can be compared
to a Cheetah, using their quick speed to slowly wear down an opponent, then
Black Adam would have to be compared to a T-Rex destroying your opponent in
one or two massive strikes. Lets break down each of his REVs and show you
why.
His Rookie is 102 points. The Rookie version needs to “power up” or whatever
you want to call it by pushing to get off of his first click. Once he does
he gains Hypersonic Speed, Super Strength, Impervious, and Close Combat
Expert (CCE). His whole focus is to move into position so on one turn he can
run up to someone smack them for up to 4 clicks and then run as far away as
he can. This tactic doesn’t change for his Experienced or Veteran either.
The problem with the Rookie is that he needs to land every hit he can and
with a starting Attack of 9 he will miss some. Also even though he has
Impervious he starts with a Defense of 14. If you have an Outwitter in range
of Black Adam and don’t use it on Impervious you should be shot and dragged
through the street with a sign on your chest saying, “Laugh at Mr. Stupid”.
Overall the Rookie seems to fall a bit short. Having to push him off his
first click really hurts him and puts him at a disadvantage from the first
turn. After 2 clicks his usefulness plummets so you have to be careful not
to commit him to far up.
The Experienced Black Adam goes up to 123 points. The first immediate thing
of notice is that he no longer needs to push off of his first click, which
makes him a lot more playable. His Speed stays at 10, which is good, but not
great for Hypersonic Speed. His starting Attack goes to 10 and his damage
goes to 3, which means he can use either Super Strength or CCE to do up to 5
clicks of Damage. His Defense is still low at 15, but he does have 9 clicks
of life and his Defense never drops below 14 so you have to give him points
for consistency. Like football his best Defense is a good Offense. Hit them
before they hit you. Also try to time your movement so that after you attack
you can move behind another one of your figures or behind terrain protecting
you from Outwitters. If they can’t find you they can’t Outwit your
Impervious, or other powers. Overall Experienced Black Adam becomes a nice
playable piece, but you have to be smart with him. Protect him like you
would a Queen in chess. He only has 2 clicks of Hypersonic Speed so if you
take more then 2 clicks of damage your in trouble.
The Veteran Black Adam comes in at 150 points and is basically a beefed up
version of the Experienced. His starting Speed goes up to 11 and he also
gets Hypersonic Speed for 4 clicks, which is a huge, huge difference and
allows him to take some licks and still be deadly. His starting Attack of 11
is very nice as well and means you should land most of your hits. He also
now has CCE with a Damage of 3 for 3 clicks so even after being wounded he
can still hit you for 5 clicks. That is very nice. Sometimes the added stats
and powers may make a Veteran more powerful, but not more playable. With
Veteran Black Adam even though he is 150 points the added powers and stats
are a blessing. An extra click of Speed will help give him longer range and
will actually improve his defense by allowing you to move even further away
from the front lines after each attack. His Defense is still his Achilles
heal, but if you keep your eyes on Outwitters you should be able to avoid
them. When I have used him Impervious has been a game changer on several
occasions. This guy is just a monster in the hands of a good player.
With all three versions the key is to play unfairly. Attack and run away.
Use your other figures as barriers to ranged attacks and Outwitters. Use his
Flight to carry figures if need be. If you can land a few of those hits at 5
damage apiece and keep him on his primary clicks then you have gone along
way to securing your victory. He is a wonderful tool to take out Outwitters
or figures with Stealth if they are in a position to harass your team. I
have the Veteran version myself and love him. I would take the Experienced,
but don’t ever see the Rookie being that useful. Unleashed redefined how
deadly Hypersonic Speed can be. Even though a couple of the Uniques are more
deadly Black Adam is easier to pick up in a booster and really adds another
level of variety to this game.
Overall Score: (Out of 10. Score of: 4 = horrible, 5 = below average, 6 =
slightly above average, 7 = great, 8 = outstanding)
Rookie Black Adam – 6.19
Experienced Black Adam – 7.03
Veteran Black Adam – 7.76
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Monger |
Black Adam REV
DC Unleashed #079, 080, 081
I had never heard of the Black Adam until DC created this HeroClix of him. I
was told he was the arch enemy of Shazam, and from the similar dials and
powers, I’d say they were modeled off of each other! All three version of
this figure have hypersonic speed, super strength, impervious and close
combat expert. When you combine these powers onto a single click, you get
unbelievable results! Black Adam is one of the strongest REV sets in the
Unleashed set, and for good reason!
The Rookie (this version requires a push; I’ll just ignore the first click)
Speed / Range: Hypersonic speed is one of the best powers in HeroClix, if
not THE best power. Although this figure has zero range, his ability to soar
combined with hypersonic speed of 10 can be a game dominator. Black Adam
only offers two clicks of this power, so be careful how many pushes you give
him.
Attack: I would have preferred a double digit number here, but his nine
attack value will work just fine. The seven straight clicks of super
strength give him the ability to pick up objects and throw them, with makes
up for the lack of range in one way. Overall, the attack value drops fairly
slow, going from a nine to seven thru eight clicks.
Defense: The defensive numbers are really low. I love the ability of
impervious, but it only take one single outwitter to ruin this figures day.
He has all the damage reducing abilities available, but the numbers
themselves (14 & 15) are to low for my liking. This is the only weak point
this figure has in my opinion.
Damage: The combination of hypersonic doesn’t sit will with close combat
expert, but you’ll get to use it in certain situations. I would have
preferred a base three damage for the first three clicks, but we’ll live
with what he’s got.
Overall: An extremely strong figure for only 102 points. He has a long list
of abilities and most of them can be combined. I would have preferred to
lose the close combat expert and increase his attack value, but Wizkids must
have had a reason for the ability…??
The Experienced
This version is almost identical to the rookie. He does not require a push
to reach his powerful clicks, which enables Black Adam to be a threat from
the start of the game. The attack value is in the double digits finally (10
attack) and he should be able to hit any figure he wants without needing a
huge attack roll. The defense now has two clicks of impervious and can
withstand a push if needed. The damage is one point higher on the starting
click, but we still have close combat expert, which I feel is unneeded and
hardly ever used.
The Veteran
By far the best of the three versions (duh, he’s the vet). Four clicks of
hypersonic speed, an 11 attack, three clicks of impervious and a base three
damage. Not only all this – but his dial is ten clicks long. This guy can
take a beating and stays on the board. He is one of the best figures in the
Unleashed set. I’ve suggested this figure to several players looking for a
solid piece in a 300-400 pt team.
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