by Paris Gordon
What’s up Apex Insiders; Nationals just ended a few short days ago and it was the first really big event since retirement. First off, congratulations to Isaac for another big win! One of the best players we have in the game right now. That’s likely the last time I’ll mention anyone’s name in this article though. I’m going to be giving my opinions on the teams and figures that made up the Top 16, my opinions on them, and where I think the metagame both currently sits and where it’s headed. Keep in mind I was not there, nor did I have a team of my own ready for Nationals. So I have no biases, this is an outside perspective from someone who, since seeing the results (and watching on Twitch) has spent a lot of time looking over them and forming my own opinions. Ok let’s get into it!
So first let’s talk about Sam Cap. This was obviously the winning team; Sam also appeared on a Top 4 team and two Top 16 teams for four total appearances. (Random factoid: there were also four Fausts at 2015 Worlds). This isn’t necessarily an overwhelming 
amount, but with how new and diverse the meta is, and how she was in two of the top four, she’s clearly performing very well. Personally, I think she has a very strong argument for best figure in the game. An array of ID cards and a buff or three can kill almost any figure in the game with relative ease, and the range Sam gives makes it extremely hard to avoid. What I think really makes the winning team so strong is there’s no wasted points on a dedicated taxi. All three other teams with Sam had a figure that was SOLELY a taxi (Renet, Pip, Overdrive). Not playing one was very clever and what I suspect put it over the others, because you just really don’t need one. There are plenty of good characters that can also get Sam where she needs to be, in this case Starfox and Giant Girls. Squeezing Starfox, a Shredder, AND Sam AND retaliators, basically some of everything is just brutal. And it’s not just a mish-mash either, everything pairs well together. Starfox can carry Cap very far, if need be; he can +2 Perplex the call-ins on top of Sam’s Perplex; Starfox’s longevity and random healing pairs well with the longevity of the Clone Shredder; Clone can finish off figures the IDs can’t quite, or just get retaliators out of the way. I’m glad this won because it’s clearly at least one of the best in the field (granted, it’s easy to say that after the fact).
The Top 4 team with Sam utilized Pip the Troll and played Mini instead of Clone. First off, Mini vs Clone is a tough call. I personally tend to like Mini more. Clone is a better piece, but Mini is safer; Mini forces you to just grind it out but with the promise of success; Clone is maybe you kill it in one turn or maybe it never takes any damage. Can also depend on the metagame but I feel like this is kind of just a personal choice. The main difference is that for the cost of a third very strong figure, it got some higher point retaliators and Pip the Troll and I don’t think that’s even. The 10-point retaliators usually get the job done. One of the Top 16 ones had Lockjaw who’s a very interesting teammate of Sam….or anyone. He can fill a role on any team, so I think that version has some potential. The other one used Riddler, which is very clever. Being able to turn off defensive powers without having to Outwit makes Sam’s call-ins that much more threatening.
All in all, Sam Cap has proven to be extremely powerful. I think the winning team had the best, most value-packed, smoothest team of them all. However, just because one team did better than another in a tourney does not mean it’s necessarily better, that’s not how Heroclix works, so make sure to try it out yourself and see what you like!
The only team that played a Shredder without playing Sam made Top 8 with Mini, Claw, Peace Machine, and Overdrive. Shredders are going to be strong whether you’re playing one, two, or three of them. Doubling down on the Shredders really pumps a lot of damage out, for a long time, that you can’t stop until you finally kill them. It fights a war of attrition and usually wins. I think there’s a lot of room for experimentation here and I’m surprised there weren’t more multi-Shredder teams in Top 16. Which taxi you use, and what value you could get instead of Peace Machine, and even which Shredders to use, are some questions that can lead to very good teams. Even on some of the Sam cap teams you can swap her and a few other things out for another Shredder.
There were five teams total that used Starfox, more than Sam, so that might be the bigger thing to talk about. Almost every time a figure has had straight up +2 Perplexes, it’s good. Hard to kill, can be a good attacker, is always a good supporter. What more can you need from one figure? Two of the teams that played him were Cosmic theme, one was Avengers theme, and the other two had Sam Cap. Sam cap or theme seems like the big choice here. We’ve already talked about good he is with Sam, but he’s great anywhere. Every team utilizes ID cards and that +2 Perplex just makes your call-ins better than theirs. Also keep in mind three of the teams played Mjolnir, and that long-range Flurry+healing makes him a huge threat no matter who else is on the team. Oh and he’s pretty mobile too. He is just a universally good figure everywhere he goes and a great partner for any other figure. So Starfox is another that can make the best-in-the-game argument.
The two Cosmic themes with Starfox played him with Unseen and Groot. Let’s take a second to talk about retaliators. Every single team except the X-Men theme teams (so, 11) played at least one retaliator. Most of these are Giant-Girl, Carnage, Groot, or Mangog. All of these are insanely strong for reasons I’m sure most have experienced by now. The main factor to note is that every single team played one or more. So Unseen is giving extremely consistent value from his special power. On top of being a fantastic user of the best support powers in the game makes him an easy fit in most teams, especially Cosmic themes. The Avengers theme team with Starfox used SEVEN Giant Girls (and a Ms Marvel), which is very scary and another reason to consider Unseen. All of these are good and there’s plenty more that weren’t represented. Personally I’m surprised there’s no Starfox with Lockjaw.
Speaking of cosmic themes, the other ones were all Uni-Mind/Lockjaw/Groot teams, one in Top 4, Top 8, and Top 16. Uni-Mind is still very strong and relevant, especially with the addition of Lockjaw and an insanely strong theming retaliator. There are other great Cosmic pieces, but the less figures you have the more you need each figure to do, and Lockjaw does everything. It’s a difficult (and somewhat expensive) team to play so I can’t say I’m surprised there aren’t more in Top 16, but it’s plenty good enough where there could be.
That goes over the majority of the Top 16, a lot of which overlaps. The team that has no overlap, but took up five of the top 16 was X-Men theme, all consisting of at Lila Cheney and at least two Wolverines. However even though five made it in, none made it past Top 8. That could easily just be variance, or it 
could be that it’s really, consistently strong against “normal” teams but doesn’t quite cut it against the “best” teams. Three consisted of four Wolverines, then one with three and one with two. The ones with less than four used the Shifting Focus Deadpool, who I think is really good and a great fit for the team. It gives you the versatility you need, if spamming three Wolverines doesn’t work, a fourth one usually won’t help the cause. One used Cyclops for even more versatile offense, a couple used Darwin (mainly to counter Lockjaw), and one used a second Lila to ensure that mobility. The main takeaway is that some Wolverines moving as a swarm can decimate whole teams, and it might be easy to take down one but getting more than that or at most two in a turn is hard, and you’re looking at taking some heavy return damage with those Perplexes and free attacks backed up by Probs. And the Leadership just makes it a non-stop machine. Definitely a very strong archetype right now, with some tweaking available to find what you think is best.
So 8 teams had either Starfox, Sam Cap, and/or Shredders (the winning team the only with all three, interesting huh?), 5 were X-men theme 
with Lila and two or more Wolverines, and 3 were Uni-Mind/Lockjaw/Groot. I think this gives a really good picture of the game right now. Another interesting way to look at it is in tiers of ID cards. Wolverines call in 50-point ones, Sam/Cap/Shredders call in the 60 and 70-point ones, and Uni calls in the big ones. You can also look at it as Aggro, Midrange, Control, maybe? Heroclix doesn’t really apply those terms fantastically, but there’s some similarities. Even though that’s only three groups, there is a pretty good amount of diversity available within those groups.
*For the record thought I want to say, it is my opinion that IDs card hold the game back both competitively and in terms of keeping new players. Figures that are good at calling in or buffing ID cards just inherently have more value than others without this seeming to be a factor in their design. This really narrows the choices you have because it’s easier to distinguish which figure offers the most value. Also there’s not many decisions that go into it, just fill however many points you have with strong IDs no matter what, always. Plus the need to have as many or more figures on your sideline than on your force throws a lot of new or returning players off, in my experience*
Anyway, it looks like one of those three archetypes is the place to start when team-building or considering what you’ll be playing against. However this doesn’t mean nothing else is viable. There’s some really strong figures, I think, that weren’t represented at all. Green Arrow presents a significant threat to Starfox and Uni-Mind, and can pick off Wolverines better than anyone; he is hard to build around and play with though. Jakeem got his nerf and lost Supreme Intelligence and got usurped by Uni-Mind, but he’s still a great figure with some great themed support. JSA Green Lantern is a fantastic piece that went from being everywhere before retirement, to nowhere after, despite still being legal and not getting nerfed or anything. There’s unfortunately several good ID call-ins that get through blocking, and Sam Cap and get around blocking a lot, as can colossals outdoor. But he still can be very good on the right team. With every single team playing retaliators besides Wolverines, Hawkeye is another former ID call-in that could be good main force. He can kill every retaliator in one turn, and he can be good against Wolverines too being able to attack all of them. The other Avengers Cosmic chases are all powerful in their own ways. Starfox may reign supreme for now, but he’s not the only good one, that’s for sure. Especially with Cosmic being such a strong keyword right now.
That’s about all I have to say, hopefully that gives you a good picture of the current metagame, what I think about it, and things to consider when building your own teams. I’m excited to see (and play in!) more tournaments coming up and see what other stuff people come up with. New figures and sets will shake things up too, but a lot of this looks like it will be good for a long time to come. Hope to see you all around!
