Today's review is Firelord
from Infinity Challenge
5 years of Heroclix, tons of
expansions, sets, and of course….figures. With the release
of Origin, we go back to the origins of Heroclix…INFINITY
CHALLENGE.
For this 500th
review, we review the first truly broken piece in the game….Firelord.
He dominated the game back in the day, and was so available
you couldn’t find a competitive game without him on a team.
Back then, we still had attack after taxi and flyers could
carry flyers…so back then a vulture or booster gold were the
perfect taxi’s to get them into position to let hell loose
on your opponent. With the new rules, introduction of feat
cards and battle field conditions, and basically the whole
new landscape…we take a look at how this powerhouse stands
in the current game.
Since I am almost positive
everyone will review the vet, I am going to go with the
Experienced…since you save 16 points and have the same
range, damage, defense, and basically the same attack. Lets
take a look
He is 81 points, 8 range 1
target, 9 clicks of life, a flier, and no team
Speed: High numbers to start…falls fast….no
powers….not good by today’s standards
Attack: High…ridiculous…you will never use the EE
over RCE, pulse wave is lame with 1 damage
Defense: Starts high but drops real fast…after the
first two clicks you will get hit every time
Damage: Starts high and stays good for 5
clicks…after that a lot of bare 1’s
The Good: Very front loaded
High numbers for attack
Defense and Damage
start ridiculously high for 81 points
Crazy long dial for the
points
The Bad: Big glass jaw
No movement powers is a
HUGE hinderance
Late dial…he is
basically useless and a sitting duck
Feats: Nanobots was made for him, he can always get
back to the sweet clicks. Protected is also a must, keeping
him on his good clicks as long as possible is very
important. ICWO also works, for assuring a hit, having
amazing damage, or just making the defense that much harder
to hit. Trick shot is also a must, because you better not
have a piece like this be neutered because he can’t shoot at
anyone. Armor Piercing will also keep him doing damage in
his later clicks.
Overall: Well, if you play this game, you already
know who this guy is and what he can do. The thing that
makes this an interesting review is how different the game
has changed. Without being able to be taxied then attack
right after, it takes a lot more planning to get the most
out of him. First, you NEED a tk’er to get the use out of
him that you want. Also, you need pieces like lockjaw out
there to tie up your opponent. Firelord is not a piece that
you can just throw out into the fray, you need to keep him
back and keep him sniping. Also, you can fit another great
attacker (FF ghost rider, hawkeye come to mind) that can
stay around and do some great damage with great movement.
Firelord has not been made obsolete, he has just been made a
lot harder to use. Be careful, if your opponent throws all
he has at him, you will probably lose Firelord in one
round. If you use him right, he can still be devastating.
Back in the day, any version of Firelord would be a 5 star
character. These days, he is not that crazy. He is 2
clicks of amazing, followed by 7 of alright and crap.
Constructed/Unrestricted: 3 / 5
Sealed/Draft: 2 / 5 (you need to plan to be able to use
him)
Overall: 3 / 5
“Heroclix….they’re cool,
addictive, and available….the things practically sell
themselves.”
Need help? Send any emails to batmandx@aol.com.
-DrStrange86
~ Romanco ~
Today's Click of the Day is
Firelord
Veteran from Infinity
Challenge
~
It is the 500th Review! I am the newest reviwer
on Pojo and haven't been here long, but I hope I am
still around when we get to the 1000th Review (if we
ever do). For those who have stuck with this website I
thank you for checking us out and enjoy the next 500
Reviews here on Pojo! ~
Firelord was a
MONSTER back in the old days of HeroClix. He was so
amazing, some tournaments didn't even retire him! But
the rules have changed, and maybe Firelord isn't so good
now? Lets see if he remains that monster he once was in
2002.
He is 97
points; Flier; No Team; 8 Range; 1 Bolt
12 12 19
18 7 7 6 6
6 5
KO KO
13 12 11 10 9 9
8 8 7
7
KO KO
18 17 16 13
12
11 10 9 8 8
KO KO
13 13 12
12 11 11
11
1 1 1
KO KO
Speed
-- Stunning. 12 is faster than
some Hypersonic speed guys. It's a shame he doesn't have
Running Shot, but hey, couldn't make him THAT good
right?
Attack
-- 13! The only figures with 13
around today are in the 200 point range, and Firelord is
only 97 points! Everything does die down in a snap so
watch out. Ending Pulse Wave works for me.
Defense
-- This is the best part about
Firelord. Even though there's no damage reducers, 18 is
very impressive, That surprising drop to 13 may
look dreadful to others but it means he can be healed
easily all the way back to the super clicks.
Damage
-- Not much to say here but WOW. 5
damage from range is incredible for the cost. Sadly
everything withers away to pitiful 1's quicker than you
think.
Sculpt
-- Very designed for a 2002
printed figure.
Romanco's Breakdown
~ Has to move himself
to the battlefield
~ 5 clicks deep, the
amazing stats all die to degrating numbers
~ Super high speed,
attack, defense, damage, but why couldn't his range be
10?
~ Lengthy dial
You have to
be strategic when you play a Firelord. Force Field is a
must to give some damage reducers. In Contact and
Nanobots work well; Firelord costs so little you can
punch that price up and it won't matter. The only
problem is his greatest asset: lack of defense mid-dial
to death. He's basically an easy kill or an easy heal.
And with his slow speed I don't see a getaway for him.
"HeroClix are like
roses: whether joy, or sadness, you are always caught to
more."
~ Romanco ~
Dario
Hey!! We reach the
500th review!! And the honor goes to one of the most popular
heroclix ever… one who used to dominate… Firelord! He’s a
R/E/V.
I’ll be doing the Vet., since
vet.’s are usually my favourites. V. Firelord costs 97
points, and for those he has flight, no archenemy, no TA, 8
range 1 target, 10 clicks of health:
Stats:
Speed: 12, 12, 9, 8, 7, 7, 6,
6, 6, 5. No powers
Attack: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 9,
8, 8, 7, 7. Energy Explosion from the 1st till the 5th
click, then Pulse Wave from the 8th till the last one.
Defense: 18, 17, 16, 13, 12,
11, 10, 9, 8, 8. 1st till 5th clicks have Barrier, 6th and
7th have Energy Shield/Deflection and that’s it.
Damage: 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1. RCE from the 1st till the 6th click.
Analysis:
His Speed sucks, clearly. This
is the only department where high numbers mean absolutely
nothing without some powers. At least he has that range to
help
His Attack values are sky-high.
They’re great for hitting anything, and when you consider
that’s doesn’t reach the 100 points that’s even more
impressive. His powers are a different thing, however: EE
means nothing without multiple targets… and even then, it’s
far from being cool. Pulse Wave at the end doesn’t suck at
all, but it’s too common nowadays to grant this guy extra
points.
His Defense starts awesome… but
drops to amazingly low numbers amazingly fast. There are no
damage reducing abilities and I don’t see why you’d want to
use Barrier with this guy. ESD means nothing there, and it’s
available only for 2 clicks.
His Damage is very sweet the
first 4 clicks, since he will be using RCE every time (he
doesn’t have Running Shot or any other thing that would make
you not use it). Hitting for 5 and 4 is great… but then it
drops too fast; besides RCE can be Outwitted.
Conclusion: Upon a first quick
glance, he still looks impressive. When you give it a second
thought, you realize you don’t need to worry too much about
this guy. Basically, with the rule that makes you wait till
the next turn if you’ve just been carried and the lack of
move and attack, hothead here is too slow to be too
dangerous. Other problem of his is his hyper low defense
after the first 3 clicks, and his lack of damage reducers.
Yes he’s really easy to heal, but with the changes to
healing and the fact that he’ll take all the damage of every
blow, it’ll be really easy to vanish him from the
battlefield once he’s taken 2 clicks of damage. There’s
another thing against him, then: he CAN’T be pushed. At all.
You can look at him this way:
he’s the strongest pog ever; and a pog that has some sort of
chance of still existing on the field after one hit… Is he
worth 97 points? I’m not sure… he can be played effectively,
since in a 300 points match he’ll be drawing all the
attention, yet you’ll still have some other dangerous
options (200 points of room is plenty for that). But you
make a mistake, and you’re done. And even if you don’t, a
smart opponent with a regular good team will make you sweat
a lot.
Rating: 3/5. He’s the strongest
pog ever, after all ^_^
