Some of you might be thinking, “Really? But I barely got to play this year…” And I know – this year has been weird. It’s been the craziest, most unpredictable year in a series of progressively crazy ones in recent memory. Despite the release of five full booster sets in 2020, many of us were left with nowhere to play due to a pandemic that had stores closed, and most of us staying home. Lockdowns and quarantines drove many of us desperate plastic addicts into online forms of play, including Roll20 and Tabletop Simulator; and this may have helped some of us scratch that itch, but many others only got to play home games, or not at all. Conversely, supply chain issues may have lead to product not being available in every country. On top of that, the last set of 2020, House of X, has been pushed back and won’t be released until 1/6/21. And while that may mean that most won’t get a chance to play these pieces before voting closes, I’ve resolved to include it in this year’s voting.
So to all those affected by the pandemic, I want to say: I feel you, and I hope you can find your way to voting anyway. There are many reasons that someone might like a piece, including fun-factor, sculpt, and comic-accuracy. I would encourage anyone and everyone to weigh in on which of this year’s many stellar pieces were your favorites. At a time when community and connection are in short supply everywhere, it seems all the more important to keep up cherished traditions where we can.
In other words: It doesn't matter if you've been playing for 18 years or if you've just recently picked up the game, please cast your vote!
Last year's favorite as tabulated from the community's votes on HCRealms was...XDPS G007 Juggernaut! We had a record-setting showing last year, with 156 users posting their Top Ten lists! That level of participation is like manna from heaven for me, so I was over the moon. It’s always fun to see who the return voters are, as well as which users both old and new will join the fold for the first time. Also, due to the cyclical nature of this game, many players drop the game at some point only to pick it up again later, and I know from experience that catching up on a game can feel overwhelming, so I want to give a special shout-out to those who may have started playing or returned to the game in 2020 of all years!
Release schedules may have been delayed and tournament plans canceled, but plenty of product still crossed the world and found its way into players’ greedy hands. Here are the options for this year's voting from the following 2020 releases:
Sets
Captain America and the Avengers + Fast Forces
Black Widow Movie
Justice League Unlimited + Starter
Fantastic Four + Cosmic Clash Starter + Fast Forces
Battlegrounds: Avengers vs. Masters of Evil
Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage + Fast Forces
House of X + Fast Forces
Wizkids Deep Cuts: X-Men Primed (Wave 2) – 010 Kitty Pryde through 020 Danger
Promotional Exclusives
Despero’s Revenge OP Kit (Martian Manhunter/Batman/Despero)
Green Arrow and the Justice Society OP Kit (Black Canary/Green Arrow/Wildcat)
Atlantean Civil War OP Kit (Mera/Atlantean General/King Trench)
Everyone Loves Ivy OP Kit (Catwoman/Batman/Poison Ivy)
FCBD Black Widow
Deadpool the Duck
Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Pixie (MP20-101 through 103)
Galactus the Devourer
Lady Phoenix
Alright, so now that we know which pieces are eligible, I'll get us started! First, the runners-up. I’m going to go against type and include a couple of teams made this year that I felt were really well done and fun to play together.
*Widows (represented here by Widows Assassin BWM014)!
Until I saw the dials on the four Widows generics included in the Black Widow Movie set, I would've told you that I'd likely never play this keyword. However, the appropriately effective dials along with the themed team shenanigans (which I love) lead me to buy into this set when I thought that I wouldn't. It also helps that 3/4 of them have the Spy keyword, so they make for great filler on a Spymaster-lead named theme team.
*Frightful Four (represented here by Medusa F4016)!
It seems like half of the pieces in the Fantastic Four set had this keyword, which is great! However, that made it difficult to pick just one, though Medusa here has been the star of every Frightful team I’ve fielded. The sheer amount of options paired with the comprehensive villain theme will have me reaching for this team again and again.
And now my personal Top Ten, in vertigo-inducing alphabetical order!
1) Atlas CAAV063
I love the original Thunderbolts, and Atlas is (arguably) my favorite member of the team. He's also got a ridiculously under-costed dial that's as effective as it is cheap, and I love dials with a super cheap option (25pts, in this case) for squeezing in one more piece onto teams.
2) Black Widow BWM100
She’s just an absolute blast to play, on top of the fact that I collect motorcycle Clix. The way this dial was designed is one of the most thematically-accurate pieces that I can think of off the top of my head.
3) The Joker JLU010
Most of my votes are for the fun factor that a piece provides, and this Joker is no exception. I love pieces that pop out copies of themselves (or pogs), and using this piece literally had me laughing on every one of my turns.
4) Maker F4065
I’m a bit surprised myself to find that this piece made my list, and I don’t have a long explanation as to why. He just does so much, and is so irritating to play against. I love it.
5) Mole Man F4100
A new must-have for every Monster themed team, which is one of my favorite generic keywords.
6) Quake CAAV010
Oh, you thought hiding behind a wall was going to help you? QUAKE.
7) Solomon Grundy JLU050
It’s the least cost-inflated Grundy we’ve ever gotten, and his breadth of keywords mean that he’ll be appearing on teams for years to come.
8) Spot SVC042
Another piece that feels like the character, and that is so fun to play. He’s always popping up where opponents don’t expect (or want) him!
9) Spymaster CAAV025
We got several characters this year that allow for keyword shenanigans, exemplified by a couple of pieces from CAAV, and then they blew the doors off by giving us no less than TEN figures that also do so in the Spider-Man and Venom set. I love the options that this gives players, and I hope they do a lot more of this moving forward. They’re all really good dials, but I decided to give my vote to the master of spies here because not only did he inspire me to build a lot of Spy teams, but he’s the easiest to acquire.
10) Ultra-Humanite JLU062
As above, so below; my #1 and #10 slots bookend this list for roughly the same reason: they're both characters for whom I have a fondness that have a split dial with a super cheap but effective option. In this case, that 25pts gets you a long-range Mind Controller and TK'er who sees through everything(!!!)...and if that wasn't enough, he's a monkey man with a raygun. Gotta love it!
Alright, that’s it for the preamble. Now it's your turn! Happy voting, have some fun with it, and thanks for reading and following along. Have a great end to your 2020!
(A quick note that this is a cross-post from HCRealms, and that I will be combining any votes that appear on Clix Nexus with votes from HCR. If you've already voted on HCR, or plan to, please do not also vote here, and vice versa. Thanks!)
Conversely, 70% of those 322 figures received more than one vote, which finally breaks the spooky streak of 68% for the past 3 years. (2% may not seem like a lot, but it’s actually pretty difficult to budge that percentage, so be impressed!)
