Alex Cooze

It is no question that 2020 has been a year for the record books. While Heroclix players have been dealing with closed venues, delayed sets, and risky trips to their local Target, many have been anxiously waiting for the July 1st Heroclix rotation date. This year, rotation brings a culling to our sideline as Eternals and ID Characters rotate into Golden Age. The culling leaves just Troublalerts/Let’s Cause Trouble, Shifting Focus characters and other Sideline Active figures to fill out Sideline.

The most prominent replacement for ID Characters will be the zero costed Troubalerts and Let’s Cause Trouble figures. With their ability to turn unfortunate or very fortunate dice rolls into a more manageable situation, every team should have at least a couple on their sideline. But with 16 Troublalerts and four Let’s Cause Trouble figures to choose from, Heroclix players are left with difficult decisions that could make or break their game. To help ease this tough decision, let us rank each figure. Each figure will be divided into letter categories based on their rank similar to school grades (A – F) starting with the lowest and worst figures.

**Disclaimer**

The rankings you are about to see are based on each figure individually and what capabilities they can bring to all teams. Some figures may fit better on certain teams that utilize their skill set better. All rankings are based on figures at their Troublalert/Let’s Cause Trouble point levels. Figures are listed in no particular order outside of their grade. Viewer discretion is advised.

**Disclaimer**

Grade F (Not recommended if possible):

The Wonder Twins – 10pts

Each Troubalert suffers a weakness that cause opponents to have a +2 to their attack and/or defense under certain circumstances. Unfortunately for The Wonder Twins, they arguably suffer from the worse one of all. Regardless of what powers your opponent may have, they will add a +2 to their defense until The Wonder Twins actually damages an opposing character with an attack. This is less likely to happen with the Twins rocking a 10 attack for 2 damage. Their pseudo pick-a-power while somewhat useful limits them to most defensive powers outside of Force Blast and Penetrating/Psychic Blast. Their best application as a Troubalert is to come in and tie up figures by picking Plasicity. You are much more likely to play The Wonder Twins at their top dial and not at their Troublalert.

Aquaman – 30pts

Blasphemy! Heretic! How can you put that beautiful beautiful sculpt in Grade F!

While Grade F might be pushing it a bit for Aquaman, his overall dial just leaves a lot to be desired for the 30pts you will ultimately give up to your opponent’s next turn. Empower does help, and the ability to create multiple bystanders and water squares does make for a useful unit for teams that thrive on bystanders dying. However, outside of the novelty of the sculpt, you are left with a figure that 99% of the time won’t leave the sideline. He does look great on that sideline though.

Grade D (Not terrible, but there are better options)

Hawkgirl – 30pts

As a fan of pog teams and figures that make pogs, I’m sad to have graded out Hawkgirl so low. While the Average Birds only have a 9 attack and 1 damage, they have Autonomous which Wizkids doesn’t give out as freely anymore. Hawkgirl’s stats aren’t terrible, and she can be brought out if you need a quick Exploit Weakness hit. Her Troubalert weakness seals her fate, however. Unless Hawkgirl’s attack was the first made during your turn, your opponent will get a +2 to defense. That means you’ll be hard pressed to be making an attack with her when she is brought in and instead opt to summon those Average Birds. Once you do, it is a wish and prayer she survives long enough to attack the following turn. 

Hawkman – 30pts

Hawkman is the figure you want to like, but ultimately he makes you just say meh. He can be brought in and hit hard with Close Combat Expert choosing 12 attack for 3 damage, or even go bold with 11 attack for 4 damage. Just don’t expect Hawkman to hang around the following turn. While Hawkgirl at least had Super Senses, Hawkman is hoping you don’t have a ranged figure hanging around to one shot him. After everything is said and done, Hawkman isn’t bad if you have no other options. 

The Atom – 20pts

The Atom would be Top Tier if they let him have his damage power which grants Leadership, Outwit and Probability Control. Alas, it was not meant to be. To be honest, The Atom is borderline Grade F, but his saving grace is the 20pts and Battle Fury. In a world with Symbiotes and Remaker Rings, having a drop in character with Battle Fury is worth at least something. 

Superman – 40pts

Overall Superman is an okay piece with the potential to do some serious damage if a heavy object is available. His occasional weakness doesn’t come into play that often and his damage power has potential to help bust barrier teams if they place poorly. The unfortunate part is that Superman is 40pts making him the highest point Troubalert you could play (along with Firestorm). His capabilities don’t really justify the potential point loss. While he does have the barrier busting damage power, it is unlikely to actually come into fruition since barrier teams will most likely be bunched up. With so many special objects in the meta, actually using Super Strength with a Heavy object is highly unlikely. 

Grade C (Decent, but not Great)

Black Manta – 10pts

Black Manta is our first Let’s Cause Trouble character on the list. All of these figures are only 1 click deep, and only come in when you critically hit or make the third attack this turn to hit all opposing targets. Black Manta comes with some very neat tricks. The Hook, Line and Stinker special attack power combined with the Set the Oceans on Fire trait make for an excellent combo. However, if you don’t hit with his attack, then he’s most likely dead in the water (no pun intended). Luckily his weakness trait won’t come into play often as there are hardly any Dolphin symbol figures. The main reason Black Manta is stuck in Grade C is his lack of other options or skills outside of his 1-2 combo.You will be relying on rolling a Critical Hit to bring him in unless you built your team with Leadership or Flurry. As you will see with the other 3 Let’s Cause Trouble figures, they just bring a lot more to the table than our boy Black Manta. 

Batman – 30pts

This has gone too far! How can a Pick-A-Power piece not be at the top of the list? 

Trust me, Batman is good. He’s just not great. When he comes out, he rocks Outwit, Sidestep and Stealth (Thanks to Batman Ally). His attack power, however, is his shining moment. Once he uses Smoke Cloud, he gains a Worse Idea Token, which means you can pick a standard attack power. That means your new Troublalert can be Pulsewaving, TKing, Energy Exploding, or even Submission Holding/Poisoning (if you built correctly) the following turn (though Black Vulcan and Samurai are better options). While he can be protected via Stealth, or other methods, he can’t escape the Troublalert potential unavoidable damage which has a 33% probability of occurring. Batman still has uses, however, as he is the only Troubalert that can pop in with Outwit which has a ton of uses. 

Robin – 20pts

Robin is only good for one thing, Perplex. That’s literally it. He can bodyblock with Stealth, but Robin’s only purpose is Perplex. Sure, he can come back later if you want, but by that point you will be risking 40pts for two separate instances of Perplex. 

All that being said, Perplex absolutely has its purposes. If you are able to call in a Troubalert, then more likely than not, you are having a bad turn. Robin’s perplex may be exactly what you need to make that next attack connect. Honestly, Robin would be in Grade F if Perplex wasn’t a Top 3 skill. 

Lex Luthor – 10pts

Lex Luthor is our second Let’s Cause Trouble on the list. He packs enhancement, 11 attack and precision strike which is amazing given that he only gives up 10 points when killed. His Cake token trait while neat, won’t ever come to fruition when he is brought in via Let’s Cause Trouble. His weakness is fairly tame due to the lack of Super Strength out in the meta. His biggest drawback is no move and attack and no improved movement (despite having rocket boots). Still, he brings a decent amount to the table.  

Apache Chief – 30pts

Apache Chief is the Troubalert you hope survives the long haul. Taking two turns to start getting nasty, you better hope your beginning of turn Troubalert rolls go in your favor. Sporting a solid 18 defense and the potential to become a colossal threat for your opponent, Apache Chief works better for teams that can protect him. If you aren’t willing to wait for his Inuk Chuk!, then he can Charge/Quake your opponents which can be clutch in the right scenarios. Apache Chief is the only Troubalert figure available with Quake. 

Grade B (Having one on the sideline for most teams)

Green Arrow – 10pts

Green Arrow was by far the hardest Troubalert to grade. Sharing the highest range of all the Troubalerts with Firestorm, Green Arrow has the potential to equalize games purely on his stats and powers alone. His occasional weakness is highly manageable as he has sidestep to make sure he is more than two squares away from his targets. Ranged Combat Expert and Precision Strike means he can hit hard and hit often. Honestly, Green Arrow should be Grade A, but his one caveat can absolutely devastate your team (and your opponents). When Green Arrow starts the game, your opponent generates a Dr. Gulliver pog as seen above. Dr. Gulliver is very slow, but is tiny thus can be easily carried. He can outwit your team similar to Groot’s Dr. Leslie Evans. The biggest potential issue is the Shrink-Ray. While the probability isn’t great, if your team relies heavily on equipment Dr. Gulliver can absolutely shut them down. On the flip side, if your opponent relies on equipment, they will be similarly affected.

It boils down to a numbers game, one that you can readily control. For alpha strike teams, Green Arrow might be perfect due their closeness to the opponent’s starting area resulting in increased odds of killing Dr. Gulliver to push Green Arrow to click 1. Smart and practiced players will be able to bring out the potential in Green Arrow and mitigate the downsides of Dr. Gulliver. 

Samurai – 30pts

Samurai brings an incredible amount of versatility as a Troubalert. He can drop into poison. He can charge/exploit weakness. He can utilize Force Blast or Telekinesis while also potentially triggering the second part of his Kaze No Yu Ni Hayaku! trait. His Occasional Weakness power will be less detrimental come rotation once ID cards go away. Samurai is just a very very solid Troubalert with few downsides outside of his lack of protection against ranged attacks. 

Green Lantern – 30pts

Green Lantern is arguably one of the most underrated Troubalerts in today’s meta. He doesn’t come with spiffy Traits or Special Powers that have crazy potential, but what he does have is an incredibly solid dial with a very manageable Occasional Weakness. Access to Telekinesis, Barrier and Enhancement makes Green Lantern the best support Troubalert in the game. If things roll poorly, he turns to Running Shot/Pulsewave which absolutely can be clutch in the right scenarios. Green Lantern only suffers from a lack of defensive powers, but you aren’t bringing him in to be a power house. He is there to offer support powers if things go south with a Critical Miss. 

Wonder Woman – 30pts

Lassos and Leadership are what propels Wonder Woman to a Grade B rating. Being the only Troubalert with full dial Leadership, Wonder Woman can be brought in to give you one final attack if you missed all three of your attacks. Her attack power allows her to tie up opponent’s who are bunched up, while still allowing her to charge and attack if desired. Wonder Woman is a very solid piece with a great Occasional Weakness since most telekinesis figures won’t be attacking outside of ones with Reality Gems or traited Telekinesis (Onslaught for example). 

The Flash – 30pts

Another underrated Troubalerts all things considered, Flash is the one you want on almost all teams. He brings Probability Control and the combo of Hypersonic Speed/Precision Strike meaning he can hit and fly to safety. His Occasional Weakness isn’t great since Sidestep is a fairly popular power especially with Colossals. His dial also just gets weird once he takes damage with Hypersonic Speed, Pulsewave and Telekinesis. Regardless though, Flash is brought in when you need that Probability Control or a way to get past Super Senses. 

Grade A (Must Have on every team)

Gorilla Grodd – 10pts

Gorilla Grodd offers a versatile figure that can attack from range or close combat when needed. His “weakness” is manageable as Hypersonic Speed isn’t as popular as it used to be. His “Lead the Gorilla Invasion of the Earth’s Greatest Cities!” power gives him a pseudo move and attack with the flexibility to go Mind Control or Quake. While he only has a 10 attack, his flexibility makes up for lower attack. His Revenge on Gorilla City trait is situational, but adds icing on the cake for a very solid figure who is underrated compared to his fellow Legion of Doom member, Brainiac. 

Brainiac – 10pts

Coming out of the JLU previews, Brainiac was the most hyped figure in the set next to Amazo. With incredible stats, great powers and traits all for 10pts, Brainiac will be a staple for most teams until retirement. Outwit, triple target Incapacitate, and his “I Just Show Up” make Brainiac great in almost all situations outside of close combat. There really isn’t much left to say. Brainiac is amazing for 10pts. 

Black Vulcan’s name of the game is Poison and triple target Energy Explosion. Any time Black Vulcan uses either he deals penetrating damage which destroys Colossal Retal figures and pogs. His Occasional Weakness is minor and he has at least Super Senses to protect him. Black Vulcan’s penetrating poison is what seals him at Grade A. He will help you get through most STOP clicks, and could completely knock teams out with a penetrating Energy Explosion. 

Firestorm has been most likely the #1 Troubalert since the mechanic was introduced. Offering up Probability Control, great range, a manageable Occasional Weakness, and Energy Explosion, Firestorm is just great all around if your team is hurting. He is probably the only figure you actually want to take down a click as he gains a +2 perplex which can help every single team out there. 

Conclusion

Troubalerts will be essential going forward in competitive Heroclix play with sidelines opening up with the loss of IDs. Most of these Troubalerts are affordable and should be easy to pick up outside of the JLU pieces. Definitely take time to see if your team needs any specific Troubalert or Let’s Cause Trouble as they can be the piece that wins the game for you.

Until Next Time!

Alex Cooze