AQUAMAN-V

By: Martin

Totally under-rated as a hero, Aquaman never gets a fair shake at anything. His kingdom is constantly under attack, his son was killed by the Black Manta, he’s missing a hand for Chrissakes, and from what I hear, his cologne choice of et du Tuna is not very popular with the ladies.

All that aside, this founding member of the Justice League has also been under-rated as a HeroClix figure. It might have something to do with his relatively weak close-combat attack, or the fact that WizKids hasn’t exactly produced any play maps overflowing with oceanic terrain, limiting the potential fun to be had with swimmers like Aquaman. Then again, it might just be that damn cologne. But let’s take a closer look at Aquaman and see if we can find some purpose with ‘Ol Papa Porpoise.

Aquaman’s Veteran version comes in with a modest 41 points, which makes him a humble addition to a 200-point game, and most likely overlooked at 300+. That’s a small price to pay for a character with two very powerful team assets: Leadership and JLA affiliation.

Personally, I find the 3 clix worth of Leadership ability much more useful for 41 points than I would Blades/Claws/Fangs, which is what some "purists" have argued should be his Damage enhancement. So not only does he add one more action to your turn allotment, but he can essentially double that for your army being a member of JLA.

The relatively strong Attack values are enhanced by Super Strength for 5 clix. Combine that with a fair amount of Damage (3 clix of damage for his first 2 clix) and fantastic Defense for his first 3-4 clix, and you’ve got a very well-rounded hero who can be a great team player on land and sea.

But that’s where the benefits end and the challenge begins. It won’t take long for your opponent to realize that you cashed in just 41 points for 2 extra actions per turn. Since Aquaman is a close-combat figure, opponents will use their ranged attacks or Outwit to smoke his salmon quickly. Keep him alive longer by moving him in tandem with a flyer, a medic, or, better still, a flying medic. It won’t take long for you to turn the tides on your opponent and prove to them that there’s always a bigger fish… you!