by Zach Tan
Just a few months out from my competitive Heroclix debut at the ROC US Cup, I returned to Las Vegas for the WKO with fellow Majestix teammates Patrick Yapjoco and Justino Jimenez. After a pretty relaxing drive with the team and (what felt like) a short night of sleep, things were quickly underway. The team I brought was a modified version of a Namor team that was a brainchild of myself and Justino Jimenez. The final list looked like the following:
Imperius Rex!
Namor 110
Mephisto 45
Ultron-18.2 (Drone) 30
Ultron-6 (Drone) 30
Brimstone 20
The Atom 15
The Atom 15
Justice League Teleporter 35
-Level 7 ID
–Nightwing ID
–Bucky Barnes ID
-Green Arrow ID
-Hawkeye ID
-Superman ID
Sideline: SR Nick Fury (120), LE Nightwing (100), Winter Soldier (95), LE Green Arrow (85), AoU106 Hawkeye (75), TW Superman (250)
The strategy for the team is pretty straightforward: Use Namor’s pogs to create pressure while colossal retaliators and ID Call-Ins finish off targets. Mephisto gives all my Call-Ins and pogs PC as well as bringing a Perplex and some situational utility. Superman ID offers Invincible inspiration as well as a powerful finisher if my Teleporter ever reaches last click. After getting stopped in the Top 4 in my first two competitive events, anything short of making the Finals would have felt like a complete letdown.With that goal in mind, I gathered my wits and focus and got the tournament underway.
Swiss Round 1
KC Flash 195
Amanda Waller 90
The Atom 15
Map: Hank Pym’s Lab
As soon as my opponent pulled KC Flash out of his box, I couldn’t help but smile. KC Flash was one of my favorite pieces to play and the reason for starting my “Speedster” collection. He won map roll and took us to Hank Pym’s Lab. He starts by moving up Flash and Amanda halfway across the map, keeping himself in striking range for himself but outside of mine. I double power action Namor to make a couple Atlantean Warrior pogs and move them up as close as possible to Flash and Amanda. The rest of my team Sidesteps into position so that my Drones are close to my edge of the map while my Atoms block off the entry points to my side of the map. After hitting Leadership with Amanda, Flash comes flying in, pops my Atom and then runs back as far as possible. Unfortunately, Flash just didn’t have enough movement to get all the way back behind the walls in the middle of the map. I call in Nick with a Drone before retaliating with a Perplexed up Brimstone. He gets past Super Senses for 3 and then Poisons for 1 more. Nick then turns off Flash’s Super-Super Senses and finishes the job. From there it’s just a couple turns of chasing down Amanda Waller to my first win of the tournament. Overall Record: 1-0
Swiss Round 2
Iceman 110
-Eclipso 25
Faust 80
Turtle 50
The Atom 15
Pandora’s Box 12
-Sloth Relic 4
-Lust Relic 4
My round 2 opponent probably one of the more interesting builds I saw at the tournament fielding both Turtle as well as Iceman. I loved seeing the idea of lockdown layered on top of lockdown and only wish that there was enough space for a Mxy to join his triumvirate. He wins map roll and it’s off to the Wizkids Office. The first few turns consist of him equipping relics to his guys while I pump out pogs and Sidestep my team up, being careful not to trigger Turtle’s trait. Luckily for me Faust doesn’t roll any yellow and after a few turns, I’m able to Call-In Hawkeye and get the first hit on his Atom. Realizing that he can’t just sit back and let my pogs pressure him, he moves Iceman up and takes a shot to clear off some pogs that were in striking distance of his Faust and Turtle. I respond by retaliating with Brimstone and then finishing him off with Nick with the help of some friendly S.H.I.E.L.D. pumps. He manages to send everybody back to the starting zones with Faust but I’m able to make it back across and finish off his remaining guys before time is called. Overall Record: 2-0
Swiss Round 3
Deadman 107
Resurrection Man 92
Mystique 60
Pandora’s Box 12
-Sloth 4
-Wrath 4
-Lust 4
Green Arrow ID 5 (LE Green Arrow 85)
Triathlon ID 5 (Triathlon 60)
Black Canary ID 5 (LE Black Canary 77)
This was actually a rematch in two ways for me. The first is because my opponent was actually one of my opponents from the ROC US Cup my first time in Vegas for heroclix. The second way is because this undying team is actually the one that knocked me out in the Semi-Finals of the San Diego WKO (albeit with Doop instead of Deadman). After a quick trip down memory lane, we get our rematch underway. Similar to the last match, the first few turns consist of him putting on Relics and me moving forward while making pogs. Seeing an opportunity with his guys grouped up, I Call-In Green Arrow to explode his guys for 3 each. Unfortunately, I made the same vital mistake that I had made the first time against an undying team of committing points to a Call-In without knowing whether or not I could finish the job.
Now that I was down 5 points, I had no choice but to chase Mystique to make up for the point deficit. Needless to say, the rest of the match consists of me chasing Mystique around the map while keeping Deadman and Resurrection Man down. Eventually time is called and he wins the game bringing our head to head record to 1-1 while my record against undying teams drops to 0-2. I was a bit disappointed in myself for making the same mistake twice but my opponent and I share some friendly banter and wish each other luck as we both look forward to a round 3 of our head to head. Overall Record: 2-1
Swiss Round 4
Faust 90
-Eclipso 25
Nighthawk Prime 65
Ultron-18.2 (Drone) 30
Ultron-6 (Drone) 30
Atomica 25
Justice League Teleporter 35
-SHIELD Level 7 ID
-Rick Jones ID
-US Agent ID
-Hawkeye ID
-Firestorm ID
-Nightwing ID
For Round 4 I was matched up against my fellow Majestix teammate, Justino Jimenez. He was running a Faust team that I had played against while helping my team playtest for previous tournaments so I was familiar with some of the tricks that it could pull off. Needless to say, I knew I was in for a tough match as Justino is a great player and is good at capitalizing on any openings. I win map and take us to Hydra Island. I make some pogs and move them forward while I Sidestep the rest of my team to improve my positioning. He Sidesteps up with 18.2 carrying Faust and Atomica dropping Faust into hindering and then using Faust’s special Sidestep ability to port forward. The rest of his team Sidesteps up to join 18.2.
Thinking I had a good chance to get the first shot off on Faust and knock him off his teleporting-Sidestep click, I Call-In Nick and go to take a shot on Faust. I Perplex up Nick’s attack and then realize that he has Nighthawk on the board so my Perplex means nothing. I take the shot but even 2 PCs aren’t enough to make it land. I Sidestep carry my Drone to get Nick off the map and pass turn. On his turn, Justino ports Faust to the water half of the map and Calls In Hawkeye who pops my Atom and my 18.2 for first blood. The rest of his team moves up onto the elevated terrain in the middle of the map. I start my turn by retaliating with Brimstone onto Hawkeye followed up with his penetrating Poison. A Charge from a Nightwing Call-In finishes the job while the rest of my team Sidesteps into cover and the rest of the pogs move forward. Justin Calls-In Firestorm with one of his Drones to run out and explode Brimstone and a couple pogs while Atomica shoots one of my pogs that was based with his Drone. It was then that I think he made a big mistake by carrying Atomica and grouping her with his Drones and Nighthawk. Thanks to that, I was able to retaliate with Atom and kill both his Drones. The rest of my team Sidesteps forward and clears. On his turn, Justin sees an opening and Sidesteps Faust over to take a shot at Namor and couple with a shot from Nighthawk manage to bring down the Atlantean leader. In a last ditch effort with time running out and on last click on my teleporter, I bring in real-boy Superman and Green arrow. I know that with a pen-blast from Green Arrow and a ultra-heavy attack from Superman, I can kill Faust and regain the lead. Unfortunately, I fail to notice that one of the “action tokens” on Faust is actually an object meaning I need an 8 instead of a 7 to hit with Green Arrow. As Murphy’s Law would dictate, I roll a 7, Prob, and roll another 7. Ouch. I Hypersonic with Supes and hit Faust for 8 but it’s not enough to kill as time is called. Justin gets the best of me as I fall to 2-2. Overall Record: 2-2
Swiss Round 5
LE Doctor Strange 150
-Midnight Sons ATA 4
-Eclipso 25
The Question 100
Pandora’s Box 12
-Sloth Relic 4
-Lust Relic 4
Last round of Swiss and I knew I needed to secure a win and as many points as possible to make sure I make the cut to Top 8. My opponent was actually Tony, another one of the guys who plays at the Majestix store. He was playing a Midnight Son’s team that he piloted to a Top 4 finish just two weeks earlier in San Diego. He wins map roll and brings us into the Wizkids Office. The first few turns consist of him putting on Relics while I pump out tokens. He then makes the first move by phasing Doc forward carrying Question. I manage to surround his guys with pogs, forcing him to push Doc to phase back out or kill off the pogs. He elects to kill off the pogs so that they can’t CCE him next turn but that was all the opening I needed. I retaliate with Brimstone and he misses with his attack but I’m able to Poison both of his guys and take them off top click. Now that their Midnight Sons ATA is turned off, I Call-In Nick and hit Doctor Strange for 5 thanks to a SHIELD pump from The Atom. Tony makes the most of a bad situation and kills off Brimstone and passes back to me, clearing Strange. I retaliate with Atom to hit Question for two while a called-in Winter Soldier finishes off Doctor Strange. On his turn, Question manages to break away from The Atom and kills off my 18.2. I Sidestep my Ultron-6 drone through the wall and call in Green Arrow to finish off Question and secure the win. Overall Record: 3-2
Round of 8
Mary Marvel 150
Jean Grey 50
Ultron-6 (Drone) 30
Atomica 25
Green Arrow ID (TWGF Green Arrow 135)
Hawkeye ID (AoU106 Hawkeye 75)
SHIELD Level 7 ID (SR Nick Fury 120)
Batman ID 5 (TW Batman 150)
Pandora’s Box 12
Wrath Relic 4
Sloth Relic 4
Greed Relic 4
This is actually a rematch with Steve who was my first opponent in the Top 8 of the San Diego WKO. We were both running the same teams that we had run in San Diego although his was slightly modified. I win map roll and take us to Nick Fury Safehouse, just like our first match. Remembering the mistakes that I had made in our first match, I make pogs and move them to block a tk-Call-In along the outdoor half of the map. The rest of my team moves forward, making sure to stay behind walls so that he would forced to choose IT: Blocking Terrain with Green Arrow if he wanted to make that first strike. He takes his time putting on relics and Sidestepping up while I trade turns, generating more pogs to add pressure. After 2 of his relics have been equipped, Wrath to Mary and Sloth to Jean, he Sidesteps Ultron-6 through the wall to force a response. I decide to Sidestep my Ultron-6 through a wall of my own and Call-In Hawkeye who manages to kill of his Drone while my pogs move up to base Mary and Jean. His Mary Marvel goes Hypersonic, picking up an ultra-heavy object and pasting my Hawkeye in one fell swoop.
Jean Sidesteps away from my pogs indoors (using the hindering terrain created to protect himself from any charges next turn. On my turn, I Call-In Nick (and instantly refill the ID) and push Ultron-6 to break down the walls between Nick and Mary. I turn off Mary’s Invincible and retaliate with Brimstone, hitting for 3. Nick then takes a shot of his own, pushing Mary onto her last click. Suddenly on the back foot, Steve moves Atomica and Jean as close as he can to Mary Marvel before Regenerating with Mary for 3. With Mary pushed, I knew I had 1 turn to deal with Jean and Atomica before I had to finish off Mary Marvel. I Call-In Green Arrow, Perplex up his attack with Mephisto and manage to hit Atomica for 3. On his turn, Jean tries to hit one of my Drones but fails while Mary is forced to clear. On my final turn, I Call-In Nick, turn off Invincible one more time and finish off Mary as time is called and I secure my seat in the Top 4.
Round of 4
(Soldier Theme Team)
Nick Fury 120
Nick Fury 120
The Atom 15
War Wheel 15
SHIELD Level 7 ID 5 (SR Nick Fury 120)
Spider-man ID 5 (SR Spider-Man 100)
Pandora’s Box 12
Envy Relic 4
Pride Relic 4
Yet another rematch, this time with Carlos, my Top 4 opponent from the ROC US Cup back in August. He was running the same team that he had used to beat me previous, only swapping out a War Wheel for The Atom. He wins map roll and brings us to Chemical Plant, where there’s nowhere to hide from his Nicks. The first few turns consist of me pumping out pogs while he puts on Relics and Sidesteps up. To protect his Nick from getting Charged, he takes the first shot, killing off one of my pogs. I retaliate with The Atom, hitting both of his Nicks for 2 and killing his War Wheel. Not wanting to chain the retaliations, he just Sidesteps both of his Nicks forward and then passes turn. Seeing an opportunity to kill of his Atom, I go to make an attack on his Atom and remove any threat of retaliations. Unfortunately I crit miss! Luckily I prob into a hit with a Mephisto contract token but he Probs me with Nick and I Crit Miss again! Suddenly we’re back at even. Luckily I’m able to pressure with my pogs and keep him from getting any shots off with his Nicks. Seeing that he can’t win a war of attrition, he manages to break away from my pogs with one Nick and carries the other with Atom. He moves them into striking range, knowing full well that, while he can hit me, I have a nick of my own that can hit him but not really having much choice but to rely on ESD and Shape Change. I Call-In my Nick and triple SHIELD pump and take a shot at one nick who hits his Shape Change. Luckily, his second Nick doesn’t and I hit him for 6, erasing him off the map. My pogs then move to base his other Nick and position to prevent him from getting any shots while my Atom carries 18.2 to get Nick off the map and prevent retaliation. Unfortunately, I forget to account for his Nick Call-In which he calls in and takes a shot at Namor, hitting him for 4 (Atom SHIELD pump) and turning off his pog-generating power. On my turn, I retaliate with Brimstone to Poison his Atom and hit Nick for 1. I Call-In Winter Soldier to finish off Nick and I try to end the game with my pogs but none of them are able to connect on his Atom. Realizing his Atom is not going to be able to kill of my entire team, he retaliates onto Winter Soldier, killing off a drone and Mephisto and taking 1 mystics damage to end the game.
Final Match
In the final match, I’m paired up with my mentor and team captain, 
Patrick Yapjoco. With it getting late and happy to go 1-2 for Team Majestix, we agree to split the prizing so we can call it a night for heroclix and head out for a night on the Vegas strip. We finish off a successful day with some drinks while watching Bellator 165 before making the 4 hour drive home.
It was a great showing for the boys from California as 4 of us made the Top 8. At the end of the day, I was happy that I was able to bring home the win for Team Majestix and finally get over the Top 4 hump that had stopped me in my first two events. Thanks to Pat, Justino, and everyone else on Team Majestix for bringing me under their wing because I definitely wouldn’t have been able to grow as fast as I have without being able to bounce off ideas and playtest against world class players like them on a weekly basis.
Congrats on the win Zach! The big mistake I made was KOing Nightwing to go up by 105, instead of going for that damn brimstone, that pen poison is tough. I’m happy you took down Pat though.