Greetings HeroClix Fans!
Welcome as we bring you our penultimate preview from the upcoming Marvel HeroClix: Amazing Spider-Man set! Today we bring you a man whose inner demon manifests its self to individuals who would bring pain to the innocent. Before we get to that demon, here is Johnny Blaze!
Johnny Blaze has a trait called The Blood of Innocents, that lets Johnny Blaze be replaced with Amazing Spider-Man #046 Ghost Rider on his orange starting line if a friendly charter is KOed within Johnny Blaze’s line of fire. Johnny Blaze begins play with his motorcycle and leather jacket, using Running Shot to take the fight to your opponent, while Toughness will protect him from counter attack. He also has a couple of clicks of a special power representing his Hellfire Shotgun, with a 4 range and the Sharpshooter combat ability to use it. This special power allows Johnny Blaze to make a range combat attack with a damage value of 4 minus the number of squares to the target and lock it. If the target has two action tokens, the damage from the attack is penetrating damage.
After the opening click his dial, Johnny Blaze spends the rest of his dial hiding in Stealth. And on his last two clicks, Johnny Blaze has his Alter Ego: Ghost Rider special power, which allows Johnny Blaze to be given a power action that deals no pushing damage and replaces him with Amazing Spider-Man #046 Ghost Rider on its orange starting line. And like most Alter Ego powers, this power can’t be countered.
Johnny Blaze can be played in theme on Champions, Heroes for Hire, Legion of Monsters, and Midnight Sons force builds due to his keywords. At 50 points, Johnny Blaze won’t break the bank and is an economical way to bring Ghost Rider to your game.
Ghost Rider possesses an Improved Movement combat ability called Ride Up Walls, that allows him to ignore Hindering and Elevated terrain for movement purposes. Ghost Rider also has the Grounded Transporter combat ability , allowing him to use the Carry ability, as well as the Move and Attack ability, which gives him accesses to Hypersonic Speed, if he is not adjacent to an opposing figure, and with -2 to his attack. A printed 3 damage isn’t much, but with proper placement, can surprise an unsuspecting opponent.
On his first two clicks, Ghost Rider is able to take the fight right to an opposing figure with Charge. Exploit Weakness will make sure the damage dealt in close combat will stick. Invulnerability will offer some protection from the inevitable counter attack. The Indomitable combat ability will allow Ghost Rider to act two consecutive turns without fear of pushing damage. This sets him up nicely to use his first special power, Living Hellfire Chain, which allows him to take a free action and deal 1 penetrating damage to a single opposing figure within 3 squares, as long as Ghost Rider has two action tokens. On his next couple of clicks, Ghost Rider changes close combat tactics as Poison will allow him to deal a click of damage to any adjacent opposing figures. On his peanut base, and against the right opposition, this power can deal a lot of free damage. Helping boost this, and any attacks he makes, is a special power called Penance Stare, which makes damage Ghost Rider deals to opposing figures penetrating, if that figure damaged a friendly figure since your last turn. Flurry will allow Ghost Rider to make two close combat attacks, while Toughness will provide a bit of damage reduction.
At this point in the dial is Ghost Rider’s 50 point Alter Ego line. On this click, Ghost Rider again has Charge to give him some short range move and attack, again paired with damage reducer ignoring Exploit Weakness. Also on his dial again is his Living Hellfire Chain special power. Toughness will still protect him for a couple more clicks. His next click brings back Flurry, Poison, and his Penance Stare special power. On his last click, Ghost Rider only has Regeneration to try to bring him back to a better state.
Ghost Rider has some ability to deter attacks, as the fear of taking 1 click of penetrating damage for damaging Ghost Rider due to his Mystics team ability will make a lot of figures seek safer targets. Ghost Rider will be about half of your force on a Champions, Heroes for Hire, Legion of Monsters, Midnight Sons, or Mystical theme team, coming in at 145 points. No matter what force you choose to include him on, Ghost Rider brings an aggressive close combat power set to your team.
That is all for today. Come back tomorrow celebrate the release of Marvel HeroClix: Amazing Spider-Man with our final preview! Until then, keep your CLix off their K.O.’s!