Marvel HeroClix: Howling Commandos Team Building

Greetings HeroClix Fans!

It’s time for another team building exercise, featuring characters from the Marvel HeroClix: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. that have both the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Howling Commandos keywords!

Up first on our team is Clay Quartermain, an agent who acted as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s liaison to the Hulkbusters task force commanded by General Thunderbolt Ross. Clay Quartermain comes in at 60 points and has the shared Changing the World trait that we previously highlighted in our debut Design Insight article. In Clay Quartermain’s case, his Changing the World: Military Lockdown trait keeps opposing characters from using Willpower or Flurry if they’re adjacent to two or more friendly characters with the S.H.I.E.L.D. keyword.

Clay Quartermain is at his best when your opponent chooses to play a single figure as a one-man army or has only one character remaining on the battlefield. In Clay Quartermain’s attack slot is a special power called This is What We Train For! which boosts his attack and damage values by +1 when an opposing force has only one character on the map. Additionally, Clay Quartermain deals penetrating damage when he attacks that character.

Our next team member, Eric Koenig, joined the Howling Commandos as a German defector during World War II then later followed Nick Fury to S.H.I.E.L.D. Eric Koenig’s Changing the World: From Within trait blocks opposing characters from using Willpower or Shape Change. After S.H.I.EL.D. was replaced by Norman Osborn’s H.A.M.M.E.R. organization, Eric Koenig spied on the group for the Howling Commandos Private Military Company. Appropriately, Eric Koenig has a special power called H.A.M.M.E.R. Infiltrator in his damage slot that lets him use Shape Change. If he’s successful in using Shape Change, he can gain Stolen Secret tokens that can be exchanged to temporarily use Outwit, Perplex or Probability Control.

Up next on our Howling Commandos/S.H.I.E.L.D. squad is Nick Fury’s bowler-wearing second-in-command himself, Dum Dum Dugan! Coming in at 60 points, Dum Dum Dugan isn’t as agile as Clay Quartermain and Eric Koenig but his Changing the World: Tactical Maneuvering trait helps level the playing field a bit by preventing opposing characters from using Willpower to avoid pushing damage or Sidestep to extend their movement values.

Both Clay Quartermain and Eric Koenig can shoot a single target six squares away; Dum Dum Dugan, on the other hand, has a shorter four-square range with two targets. Dum Dum Dugan’s Howlers Until the End special power in his attack slot that helps his teammates keep fighting, even if they already have two action tokens. Sure, they’ll take 1 unavoidable damage if they do and won’t clear their action tokens, but it’s a small price to pay if it results in a KO’ed opponent.

Finally, what Howling Commandos or S.H.I.E.L.D. team would be complete without Nick Fury leading the charge? Although Nick Fury doesn’t have a Changing the World trait, he does have two helpful traits that earn him a place on our force. The first trait, Life Model Decoy, lets you pay 65 points for the first Nick Fury added to your force and 25 points for each additional copy of our eyepatch-wearing agent. The second trait, Rally, add an action to your action total whenever Nick Fury hits one or more opposing characters. To keep opponents off balance with all the actions and Life Model Decoy copies on the map, Nick Fury has a special power called Who’s the Real One? which lets him use Shape Change and, after failing a Shape Change roll, swap places with any other friendly Nick Fury with the same set number.

Clay Quartermain, Eric Koenig and Dum Dum Dugan come in at 170 points. Add Nick Fury at 65 points and two 25-point “Life Model Decoys,” and your force comes to 285 points. That leaves you with 15 points for relics, or bystanders to bring your force up to 300 points.

Thanks for reading! Join us again as we reveal more exciting characters and highlight strategies and team builds from the Marvel HeroClix: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D set!

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