[UPDATE—01/03/2017!! A previous version of this article listed The Cult of Rakdos as having “Brute, Assassin” for their keywords. This should have read “Brute, Mystical.” I am sorry for the misprint! To remedy this, for Month 1, teams made up of Brutes and/or Mystical characters OR teams made up of Brutes and/or Assassins will be allowed to choose The Cult of Rakdos as their guild.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is just a quick local game announcement for SE Michigan Clix’ers before we go back to our regular programming!!]

Okay! We are starting a multi-part proprietary Comics & More Heroclix Scenario based on the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering!

And here it is:

HEROCLIX: THE GATHERING: RAVNICA!!

The Guilds of Ravnica are ten sociopolitical factions that hold power on the city plane of Ravnica. Each guild has its own distinct ideology that unifies its members with one another, with the guild itself, with its functions and purposes, and with its structure.

But unease is starting to grow like wildfire among the locals and lines are being drawn in the sand. If you want to control Ravnica, you’re going to have to choose a faction and fight for it!! But beware… once you choose a home among the ten factions, the other nine are going to try and destroy you!

The Game: Heroclix: The Gathering: Ravnica: Month 1!

(I think that sets a record for most colons in a Heroclix Scenario Title!!)

The Build: 300 Points, Modern Age, No Tactics (No Resources, ATA’s or Relics.)

No figure larger than a peanut base. No Call-Ins. Possession pieces are okay to play.

You must choose a Guild from the chart below. Once you’ve chosen a Guild, your army must be built around the generic keyword pairings from the list below. This means that everyone on your force must have at least ONE of the two generic keywords listed.

All characters friendly to your force can use the associated Guild Team Ability (GTA).

List of Ravnica Guilds (Guild descriptions provided by MTGSalvation.com):

AZORIUS SENATE

The Azorius Senate functions as the government of Ravnica and creates Ravnican laws.

Keywords:  Politician, Ruler

Azorius Senate Team Ability: At the beginning of the game, place an Immunity token on the character card of one character with the highest point value of those using this team ability. When a character with an Immunity token is within 8 squares of an opposing character’s starting area and is dealt damage, it may be given an action token to remove the Immunity token from its card and ignore the damage dealt. When a character with the Immunity token on its card is KO’d, you may place the Immunity token on the card of the remaining character on your force that is the highest point character that can use the team ability.

BOROS LEGION

Ravnica’s security force, the Boros Legion is both Ravnica’s constabulary and standing army.

Keywords:  Police, Soldier

Boros Legion Team Ability: When a character using this Team Ability is adjacent to a friendly character making a ranged combat attack, modify the target’s defense value by -1 if the target is within line of fire of this character.

HOUSE DIMIR

In practice, little information on the Dimir is known. It is, however, known that the Dimir are involved in assassinations, criminal activity, and espionage on a contractual basis.

Keywords:  Spy, Assassin

House Dimir Team Ability: When it is not your turn, lines of fire drawn to a character using this team ability are blocked if this character is adjacent to a wall or blocking terrain.

GOLGARI SWARM

Denizens of Ravnica’s agricultural and waste management sectors. Run by Gorgon sisters. And creepy fungal sewer monsters.

Keywords: Monster, Assassin

Golgari Swarm Team Ability: Characters using this team ability can use Stealth on their starting click. If that character can already use Stealth on their starting click, lines of fire may not be drawn to that character by opposing characters while on that click.

GRUUL CLANS

Ravnica’s foresters, gamekeepers, park rangers, wildlife officers, and wildskeepers. But with the wilds declining, the role of the Clans has also diminished, and many Gruul Clans members have adopted an anarcho-primitivist ideology and become Ravnica’s defenders of nature, intent on destroying civilization.

Keywords: Animal, Brute

Gruul Clans Team Ability: All successful attacks made by a character using this Team Ability generate knock back. Knock back generated by a character using this Team Ability cannot be ignored.

IZZET LEAGUE

Ravnica’s formative and physical scientists and engineers. The Izzet League are known to perform magical experiments, ever with reckless abandon and sometimes with spectacular but severe results.

Keywords: Scientist, Mystical 

Izzet League Team Ability: When a character using the Izzet League Team Ability takes damage from an attack, roll a d6 that can’t be rerolled and consult the chart below for the resulting effect.

1: This character takes 1 additional unavoidable damage and gets an action token after actions resolve.

2: This character takes 1 additional unavoidable damage.

3-4: The attacker is dealt 1 unavoidable damage.

5: The attacker is dealt 1 unavoidable damage and gets an additional action token after actions resolve (if able).

6: The attacker is dealt 2 unavoidable damage.

ORZHOV SYNDICATE

Nearly every business in Ravnica ties back to the Orzhov in some devious way or another. Whilst they bear the facade of a religious group and may well have been a true faith at the signing of the Guildpact, they now worship only profit and power.

Keywords: Mystical, Politician

Orzhov Syndicate Team Ability: Characters using this Team Ability can’t be the target of an opponent’s Outwit or Perplex unless they’ve been targeted with an attack previously in the same turn.

CULT OF RAKDOS

Founded by parun Rakdos, an ancient demon, the Cult of Rakdos attend to menial labor and the services industry, which includes some less-than-savory offerings, such as assassination, as well as more agreeable ones, such as the catering (i.e., food service) and entertainment industries.

Keywords: Brute, Mystical

Cult of Rakdos Team Ability: Whenever a character using this team ability is KO’d, you may roll a d6 and subtract 2 (minimum 1). Deal that much damage, divided as you choose, among any number of opposing characters adjacent to the square the KO’d character occupied.

SELESNYA CONCLAVE

Despite their superficial appearance of being a “good” and “peace-loving”, in truth the guild is just as hypocritical and as sinister, if not more so, as other Ravnican guilds. The Selesnya Conclave often employs its quietmen and other members to silence the civilians of Ravnica and wreak havoc.

Keywords: Brute, Spy

Selesnya Conclave Team Ability: When characters using this Team Ability roll doubles on a successful attack roll, that attack generates no knock back; instead, that attack cannot be evaded, damage dealt can’t be reduced below 1 and any hit characters get an action token.

SIMIC COMBINE

The original purpose of the Simic Combine was to preserve the health of all Ravnican life-forms. They were devoted to the study of life, medicines, and biomancy. But just as life can adapt, so did the Combine. Momir Vig, the Simic guildmaster, was dissatisfied with this original purpose and formed a new purpose: to improve upon life-forms of Ravnica.

Keywords: Animal, Scientist

Simic Combine Team Ability: At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 once for all friendly characters using this Team Ability. On a result of 4-6, all friendly characters using this Team Ability ignore Shape Change and Stealth this turn.