Hey everybody! Welcome to Clix O’Clock, only on We the Nerdy! For anybody who has been watching the competitive Heroclix circuit these last few weeks, a certain trend has appeared. In both U.S. Nationals and Canadian Nationals, the team of Doop, Gluttony, dual entities, Splitlip, and the Book of Skulls has gone all the way, taking the title. While many people are very aware of entities and how to counter them, Doop and Gluttony are wildcards, pieces that few have seen and fewer have faced. In today’s Clix O’Clock, I’ll offer my insight on how to take down these impressive pieces, and how to best combat the hottest team in current Modern Age!
Before I begin, I’d like to discuss why exactly Doop and Gluttony are so special. Ultimately, it comes down to their ability to take damage.
For Gluttony:
MOUNTAINS OF FLAB: Gluttony can’t be carried. When Gluttony is dealt damage, Gluttony ignores all but 1 damage. This power can’t be countered or ignored.
And for Doop:
DOOP LAND: Doop’s combat values can’t be modified by other characters. When Doop is dealt damage from an attack, he ignores all of it and takes 1 unavoidable damage instead. This ability can’t be ignored.
These abilities are individually fantastic. They essentially force every attack that they are hit with to be reduced to one click of damage, and there is no way to avoid them through conventional game effects. Even normal abilities such as pulse wave, which would seemingly help, are of no use since these powers can’t be ignored or countered. But, here are a dozen ways to take them down!
Jenny Sparks (The Flash #061 SR)
ELECTRICAL CORTEX SHORT CIRCUIT: When Jenny Sparks hits an opposing character, that character can’t use special powers from now until your next turn.
This trait effectively neutralizes Gluttony in every single way. Since it stops the hit character from “using” the special power and does not counter or ignore it, his defense ability does not come into play. As such, he takes damage normally, not just from Jenny ‘s attack, but anybody else that attacks him this turn. This allows for a team to swoop in an take him down in one turn. Gluttony only has five clicks of life, don’t forget. If you can take him down, Doop is going to have a serious uphill battle to fight. Jenny Sparks also has great values and abilities in her own right, and can be a solid piece on any team.
Malekith (Thor: The Dark World #004 C)
THE AETHER AND I ARE ONE: Characters hit by an attack from Malekith can’t use defense powers until their next turn.
If you like to use the tent pole strategy, Malekith already had a lot to offer you. High values, strong abilities, and probability control make him a monster. But his ability to turn off defense powers is fantastic. With his strong values, he can successfully one-shot Gluttony, should his rolls hit (With his probability control, they should). It’s not a strategy that needs a lot of finesse, but it doesn’t need to. You just better hope that you get the first attack off, because as a tent pole he can easily be outnumbered.
Agent 13 (Captain America: The Winter Soldier #013 MMR)
LET YOUR GUARD DOWN: Adjacent opposing characters can’t use defense powers.
Here is your bargain basement way to ruin Gluttony’s day. For only 55 points, Agent 13 can effectively be a tie-up piece and make him susceptible to getting completely wrecked. Even if you can’t KO him in one turn, she’ll stop him from using his regeneration from his last click. Agent 13 is definitely squishy, don’t get me wrong. But if you use Atomica/Despotellis and Adara, she’ll be sitting on a nice defense that will be hard to take down (With her own shape change). The best part? She doesn’t need to worry about attacking Gluttony to set off her ability, like many other pieces on this list.
Flurry (Speed Power)
FLURRY: Give this character a close combat action. After the close combat attack resolves, it may make a second close combat attack as a free action. The first attack doesn’t activate the Damage Depletion Modifier.
Simple. Common. Easy to find throughout the game. Against either Doop or Gluttony, or any character who can reduce damage in such a way, flurry is your best friend. It’s a simple way to slowly chip away at long dials, and it’s very effective. Now, of course there are downsides to this. But when you see that your opponent is only taking one damage at a time, hit them twice.
Iron Paladin (Invincible Iron Man #053 CH)
SWORD OF FAITH: Opposing characters can’t use defense powers when they are the target of Iron Paladin’s close combat attack.
Every focuses on Iron Pharaoh. While the chases from Iron Man aren’t fantastic, they offer something unique nonetheless. Iron Pharaoh simply has to target Gluttony to eliminate his defense ability. For 110 points, he has solid values and can benefit from many entities and batteries (Green Battery, Parallax). The downside is that his ability only applies to his attacks, but it also has fun implications. For more fun building ideas, try him with Shriek (To give him battle fury and avoid shape change) or the Red Lantern Battery (Giant reach).
Forge (Wolverine and the X-Men #033 R)
NEUTRALIZER GUN: When Forge hits an opposing character with a ranged combat attack, before damage is dealt, choose a power that character can use. That character can’t use that power or any combat or team abilities until your next turn.
Man, do I love Forge. He is a very versatile secondary attacker/support piece, who can potentially have perplex for the entire game. Not only that, but the neutralizer is stupid good. Not only will it nullify Gluttony’s defense ability and allow for the team to swoop in and take him down in one turn, but he can take out any ability that any hit character has. Your opponent has running shot? Nope. They have pulse wave? Not anymore. Probability control? Not a problem. His biggest issue is that he only has this power on his first two clicks, so you’ll have to keep him safe in order for him to be effective.
Omega Drive (Deadpool Special Object #101)
RELIC: When this character uses Outwit, it may target any character within its range regardless of line of fire, and may use its Outwit to counter powers that can’t normally be countered.
Sure, relics aren’t that popular in a world where resources exist, but this one should definitely give you reason to pause. On a result of 3-6, you can outwit powers on Quintessence figures, Power Cosmic figures, and powers that can’t be countered. So for a figure like Gluttony, who has multiple layers of outwit protection, the Omega Drive chews through him. There are also some fantastic figures such as Greed and Black Witch who can bring the relic into the game even if you have a resource on the field. Don’t underestimate this one.
Red Lantern Battery/Ring (War of Light Special Object #302)
RAGE: If this character already has the Red Lantern Corps keyword, modify all of its combat values except damage by +1. Otherwise, this character has the Red Lantern Corps keyword, can use Poison, and deals penetrating damage when using it.
Technically you only need the ring for this power to be effective, but there is no reason that you should play a Red Lantern Ring without the Battery (Unless it’s being brought in through a game effect like Greed or Black Witch). The ability to give penetrating poison to your entire team is absolutely fantastic. Honestly, you could just run in and base them and wait it out, taking them down every turn. Use Gates, bring in your whole team, and just lock them down. Play it with the Net Construct to make sure they aren’t going anywhere. Painfully simple, and painfully effective. You can even pair it up with many of the options listed above.
Despotellis (War of Light #099 SR)
PANDEMIC OF FEAR: Despotellis can use Poison. When he does, he may use it normally, or instead deal each adjacent opposing character penetrating damage equal to the number of action tokens on that character. This power cannot be countered.
Despotellis already is one of the top competitive pieces in 300 point Heroclix. For 30 points, he is a very simple piece to just throw out into the field and ruin your opponents day with. His penetrating poison is not a technical attack, just like the Red Lanterns, so it isn’t reduced by either Doop or Gluttony’s game effects. Even if they have toughness from hammers or damage reducers from entities, it’ll surpass it and deal something (Unless they have obtained invincible, though if they have two tokens they’ll still take one damage). What’s also fun about Despotellis that once he’s next to either of them, he can follow them around the board the entire game thanks to his attack power. He’s fantastic for 30 points.
Proxima Midnight (Guardians of the Galaxy #050 SR)
THREE TRACERS OF BLACK LIGHT: Proxima Midnight begins the game with 3 Tracer tokens on this card. Proxima Midnight has a range value equal to the number of Tracer tokens on this card times 3, and has a number of bolts equal to the number of Tracer tokens on this card.
THE SPEAR OF PROXIMA MIDNIGHT: When Proxima Midnight hits with a ranged combat attack, remove a Tracer token from this card and place it on a hit character’s card if it doesn’t already have one. At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 for each of her Tracer tokens on other character’s cards, and on a result of 3-6 deal 1 penetrating damage to the character with that Tracer token on its card. When a character with her Tracer token on its card is KO’d, place the Tracer token on Proxima Midnight’s card.
Proxima Midnight is one of my most hated pieces in Heroclix. I have played far too many games where she has completely ruined my day. All she has to do is hit Doop or Gluttony once a piece to potentially deal them damage every turn for the rest of the game. With no way to shed the tokens, they’re going to be a huge hindrance to pieces with a short dial. For only 100 points, she doesn’t have to the primary attacker. Pair her with a Red Lantern team to take down Doop and Gluttony in five minutes. Oh, and if they do knock her out, they’ll take the damage that they dealt, and it’ll ignore their abilities. Added value.
Firestar (Wizkids Exclusive #M-012)
MICROWAVE EMISSION HEAT: Firestar can use Poison. All damage dealt by Firestar is penetrating damage.
SET ABLAZE: When Firestar hits with a ranged combat attack, place 2 Fire tokens on the hit character’s character card. At the beginning of your turn, give Firestar a free action and deal 1 damage to and then remove 1 Fire token from each character with a Fire token on its character card. An opposing character may be given a power action to remove a Fire token from its character card.
For 115 points, Firestar can cause a lot of trouble. Since all damage from Firestar is penetrating, her personally traited poison is like the Red Lantern’s. And her attack ability allows her to slowly chip away at a figure even if she can’t attack them this turn. If you can have her just keep going back and forth, hitting Doop, and then hitting Gluttony, she’s going to seriously annoy them, forcing your opponent to prioritize her while the rest of your team finishes the job.
Mind Control (Speed Power)
MIND CONTROL: Give this character a close or ranged combat action (minimum range value 4) that deals no damage. A successfully hit target becomes friendly to your force. Each target hit may be assigned one action as a free action, immediately after which the target becomes an opposing character again. Deal this character 1 unavoidable damage if the successfully hit targets’ combined point value is 150 points or more.
Mind control is one of the most humiliating powers in Heroclix. Not only did your character get hit, now they’re most likely going to hit your other character. With a team like Doop and Gluttony, sending them to fight each other is the best way to work around the mystics damage that Gluttony does. Mind control Doop, hit Gluttony, and Doop takes a click of damage too. If you pair this with one of the above powers that neutralizes Gluttony’s defense ability, it’s even more effective. Try using Emerald Empress or Brother Voodoo so that you can mind control for free more often.
Of course, these aren’t the only ways to take down Doop and Gluttony. Every set releases new options on how to take down a team of it’s caliber, from old favorites like the Extremis Brutes in Iron Man 3 (Poison for days) to Abyss in the upcoming Avengers Assemble (Poisoning for the opponents damage value). Be sure to keep an eye out for Doop Gluttony, and many copycat teams as we get closer to the World’s Tournament in just a few weeks! Hey wait, Copycat, that could work too, couldn’t it…
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