Need a break from Avengers? Well here is a breath of fresh air. 2014 gave us “The Flash,” which was a surprise hit. I was skeptical that the Flash could carry a full five-figure booster set, but his gallery of villains proved to be a surprisingly playable and fun addition to the game. Chief among them was the Rogues.
So who are the Rogues? The Rogues are an association of villains who are about one thing: the score. They are a motley crew of super-powered criminals who are willing and able to work together to get a big payday. They have strict code of conduct, which includes not killing unless it is absolutely necessary. The line-up changes depending on who is presently in jail, but there is a solid core of characters like Captain Cold and Mirror Master. As names like that suggest, they are a colorful cast with all kinds of crazy powers.
The Rogues were probably my favorite addition to the game in 2014. They capture so much of what I love about Heroclix. There are very few individual power pieces. Instead, like their comic book counterparts, the Rogues are all about teamwork and synergy is the name of the game. This gives you a plethora of team builds and combinations.
If you want to play the Rogues, here are a few of what I consider the must-have pieces in your collection:
FL054: Abra Kadabra – Abra Kadabra finds his way on many of my Rogues teams. Most Rogues possess the Calculator team ability, which lets you copy a friendly team ability. Well, Abra Kadabra has Mystics, which is a great ability to copy as it causes enemy figures to take one damage anytime they attack a character with this ability. Abra Kadabra possess great support powers and solid defenses. As a bonus, he has a great trait that turns enemy characters into puppets if they miss him with an attack, giving them -1 attack and tiny size until they go a whole turn with no action tokens.
FL038: Captain Cold – Captain Cold is the typical leader of the Rogues, which is represented in his special Leadership power that lets him remove action tokens from Rogues regardless of their point value. But his best trick is his Ice Blocks. Ice Blocks cause any character occupying them or adjacent to them to break away as if the block was a character with Plasticity. At the beginning of your turn, Captain Cold can place one of these within range and line of fire as a free action. He can also place another one when he hits an opposing character with an attack. These blocks remain until he loses the power (i.e. he is KO’ed), so freeze enemies in place and get to work.
FFFL003: Mirror Master – Mirror Master comes from the Rogues Fast Forces pack rather than the main set, but he is too valuable to pass up. Mirror Master can carry up to five friendly figures regardless of their speed symbols if they share a keyword with him, so he is an amazing taxi for Rogues teams. Once you are in position, he has Probability Control and Super Senses, which also succeeds on 4-6 if he is next to blocking terrain. He is an essential support piece.
FFFL006: Pied Piper – While Pied Piper might not qualify as “must have” from any kind of competitive stand point, he is too fun not to own. Pied Piper brings Perplex to support your team, but his best trick is that he can summon rat bystander tokens two at a time. Because the rats are tiny sized, they can tie up enemy characters without blocking your lines of fire. My biggest rat swarm to date was 10, but I want to go bigger.
That’s just a taste of the zany options the Rogues bring to the game. Alter the terrain on the map Dr. Alchemy. Drain the power from other players with Rainbow Raider. The list goes on. So get creative and try out some Rogues. The score is waiting!