Who Watches the Watchlist? (Or, The 6th Night of Clix-Mas!!)

/ HypeFox / 4 Comments

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again, we are shamelessly unleashing the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas! Tonight is Night 6! If you missed The First Night of Clix-mas, you can catch up right here! Night 2 is here. Night 3 is here, you can find the 4th Night of Clix-Mas by clicking here, and Night 5 went down right here!]

Watchmen by monkeybiziu.

Uh… the Watcher? Banner art by monkeybiziu.

Welcome back to the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!!

Tonight, we’re gonna go back and look at the first Watchlist that dropped this year and the changes that it brought with it. Did those changes make the game better? Did they course correct too far in some cases? Let’s take a look!

(And yes, we’ll take a brief look at the most recent Watchlist from this year very soon in one of the coming 12 Nights of Clix-Mas articles!)

2014 Q4 WATCHLIST:

Ah, come back with me now, back to last January. It was a time when men were men, and Entities still transferred all of their keywords to the piece they were possessing! Yup! That was the main reason for the Q4 Watchlist: the Entity issue! Let’s go point by point and see what worked, and what didn’t!

Ion War of Light Butcher Entity

  • Entities: The main change here was that Entities would no longer transfer all of their keywords–particularly the “Entity” keyword. All they would transfer from here on out was their Lantern Corps keyword. Verdict: This was actually a very successful change that brought a bunch of balance to the game. The Entities were already powerful enough; by allowing them to transfer the “Entity” keyword to the piece they were Possessing, it allowed power players to make really overpowered Themed Teams out of characters who should never grant Theme when paired together. Entities were still played heavily after this change, but the playing field was leveled just a bit, which is exactly what a Watchlist fix should do. Selfishly, I wish that they’d still let them transfer their “Cosmic” keyword as well (all but Black Hand have it, I believe), as that would have kept a few more interesting Build options available, but that’s a small complaint when so much good was accomplished here.

bill-agent-of-aim

  • Bill, Agent of A.I.M.: The reason most people played him was his Special Attack Power (MY HIGH-ENERGY FINDER THING:Give Bill, Agent of A.I.M. a power action and choose the highest-point opposing character. Until your next turn, that character can be targeted with a ranged combat attack by one friendly character without line of fire to that opposing character.) that shows up on Click 2. This power was changed so that the character getting the benefit of Bill’s technology has to be adjacent to Bill. Verdict: This was a pretty reasonable change, and while it did make Bill slightly less useful, his power was still good enough to keep Bill in the Meta rotation.

Iron Pharaoh cover

  • Iron Pharaoh: This one really hit me hard. His special Trait (GOLDEN FALCON, SOARING: When Iron Pharaoh is first placed on the map, place a Falcon special terrain marker in an adjacent square. Give Iron Pharaoh a free action to move this marker up to 3 squares. Iron Pharaoh can draw lines of fire and count range (up to 3 squares) from the Falcon marker using Improved Targeting: Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores Elevated Terrain, Ignores Outdoor Blocking Terrain, Ignores Characters.) was just absolutely gutted. After the Watchlist, the Pharaoh had to choose to either move OR attack, something the figure was never really designed to do. Verdict: While Iron Pharaoh was certainly a powerful force in the Meta, an occasional ROC win doth not a broken piece make. But even if you accept that Iron Pharaoh was a problem piece (and ignore the fact that within a year, WizKids would have published several silver bullet pieces for the Pharaoh, like Jack Hawksmoor), the official change really destroyed this piece, to the point that he was almost unplayable afterwards. This particular change was probably WizKids’s biggest overreach since they’d been publishing a Watchlist.
This is how Iron Pharaoh owners felt after the Watchlist dropped.

This is how Iron Pharaoh owners felt after the Watchlist dropped.

Bizarro

  • Bizarro: This was another pretty simple pair of fixes. WizKids decided that he could only be played in 25 Point increments up to 150 Points (as opposed to playing him all the way up to 300). Also, it was decreed that Bizarro could ONLY be healed through the use of Support. Verdict: This was another winner. It’s hard to describe how dominant Bizarro was in the Meta back in 2014 if you’re a newer player, but he was everywhere. He still turns up on certain Meta teams to this day, so he’s still a quality piece, but at least he’s fair now.

Proxima Midnight

  • Proxima Midnight: Proxima was reviewed, but it was decided that she was working as intended. Verdict: Sanity prevails. There’s nothing wrong with being a good piece–it’s when a piece becomes gamebreaking that a designer really needs to get involved. If only they’d been as levelheaded about Iron Pharaoh…

Well, that’s all for tonight! And yes, we’re running a few days behind if we’re gonna get everything out by Christmas. Just stay tuned, though, and we should have articles coming fast and furious in the next two days!

Heat Check: Caller ID!! (Or, The Top Three ID Card Call-Ins at Every Point Level Right Now!!) (Or Or, The 5th Night of Clix-Mas!!)

/ ninwashui / 5 Comments

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again, we are shamelessly unleashing the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas! Tonight is Night 5! If you missed The First Night of Clix-Mas, you can catch up right here! Night 2 is here. Night 3 is here, and you can find the 4th Night of Clix-Mas by clicking here.]

Spidey ID

So in my Mirror Master Team Build article, I lamented the fact that nowhere online does there exist a list showing  all 329 possible character Call-Ins available in Modern Age play from the 56 currently available ID cards (we’ll cross the Justice League ID Card bridge when we come to it).

What? How did I know that there are 329 possible Call-Ins? Because I just finished building that list!

So before I get to actually publishing said list, as a special 12 Nights of Clix-Mas treat, I’d like share with you now the Top 3 Call-Ins in Modern Age at each 50 point interval (from 50 to 300)!

The Top 3 Call-Ins in the 1 to 50 Point Range:

Looks like something else just called-in Jemma...

Looks like something else just called-in Jemma…

  1. FFNFAOS005 Simmons — 50 Points — Called-In via NFAOSNFID-007 S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7: If you call Jemma in with her ID card, she has Outwit and can give the person who called her in another yet another use of Outwit. She also has the S.H.I.E.L.D. Team Ability and the FIELD TEAM BACKUP ability if you are using her with other Field Team members. Since she is called in via the Level 7 card, she also gives anyone next to her the S.H.I.E.L.D. TA and modifies their Attack Value by +1 when making a ranged combat attack.

  2. NFAOS014B Hydra Agent H — 30 Points — Called-In via NFAOSNFID-008 S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 1: She has 7 Range, 10 Attack and Ranged Combat Expert. She has both the Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. TA’s and the combination of the ID card and her Trait means that she shares those two TA’s with whomever is next to her. Plus, at 30 points, she can be called in by almost anyone (including WOL099 Despotellis).

  3. AOU204E Yellowjacket — 50 Points — Called-In via FFOAAUID-100 Hank Pym: Yellowjacket is capable of dealing Penetrating Damage in both close and ranged combat situations with automatic Knockback from Force Blast. In addition, when he comes into play you get a free AOUB001 Ant Swarm Bystander Token that stays in play even after Yellowjacket is removed from the game. The Hank Pym ID Card also gives the following Inspiration: “Modify range value by +3 when using Outwit or Perplex. Modify defense value by +3 when attacked by an opposing character with the Robot keyword.” The Robot clause is obviously situational, but the stipulation-less Range boost to Outwit and Perplex can really catch your opponent by surprise.

The Top 3 Call-Ins in the 51 to 100 Point Range:

3D Man AVAS

  1. AVAS013B 3-D Man — 90 Points — Called-In via AVASAVID-015 Triathlon:  I could continue to beat this drum and describe to you again why this is possibly the best ID Card character out there, but I already did that once in my Avengers Assemble top 10 article.

  2.  GOTG031 Nova — 60 Points — Called-In via AVASAVID-007 Nova: His dial is 60 points so you will likely have 2 or 3 characters on a 300 point team that can call him in. And when they do, you’ll have one of the best Pulse Wave pieces in the game. He’s only got a 10 attack, but unlike everyone else in the game when he uses Pulse Wave he does 2 damage (not just 1) to everyone he hits when he targets more than one character. We all know Pulse Wave is the game’s strongest basic power, so access to an improved version of it at a crucial point in the game for just 5 points seems like a great deal to me.

  3. AOU020 Captain America — 65 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-103 Captain America: He’s a great character to play as well as Call-In. His Special Mmovement Power states, “CAP’S MOTORCYCLE: Captain America can use Defend and has “transporter boot speed symbol”. He doesn’t modify his attack value by -2 from the Move and Attack ability.” On the defensive side, his Trait says “TAKE COVER!: Adjacent friendly characters modify their defense values by +1 against ranged combat attacks, if not already modified by this effect.” Just to review, he has 17 Defense with Defend, his ID card grants ESD to all adjacent figures, and his trait grants +1 versus ranged attacks. Taken together that means that any character standing next to him that turn will have a minimum 20 Defense against ranged attacks.

The Top 3 Call-Ins in the 101 to 150 Point Range:

Nick Fury Original Sin

  1. NFAOS056 Nick Fury — 120 Points — Called-In via NFAOSNFID-007 S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7: As recent ROC results are starting to show, NFAOS056 Nick Fury is the probably the most powerful figure in the game right now (just like I predicted he would be in my Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Top Ten article). Calling him in as a 5 point ID character practically guarantees that he will put a 4-damage-sized hole into your opponent’s most costly figure, and he can do that while shooting through Elevated Terrain, Hindering Terrain and/or characters from 9 spaces away. If you aren’t playing Nick Fury on your team, then there is almost no excuse to not run him as an ID character.

  2. AOU047E Quasar — 125 Points — Called-In via NFAOSNFID-004 Quasar: If an opposing figure is closing in then you can use Quasar’s Pulse Wave, but the real selling point with him is when you target a single opponent. Assuming you hit, you can completely block off your opponent with “CONTAIN STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE: When Quasar targets and damages a single opposing character, after action resolve, he can use Barrier as a free action, but may only place blocking terrain markers adjacent to the hit character.” As an added bonus Quasar’s inspiration also gives adjacent characters telekinesis.

  3. NFAOS051 Steve Rogers — 150 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-103 Captain America: He’s not the most damaging attacker with only three base Damage and double target Energy Explosion, but what he is good for is all of the support he can give to other ranged attackers around him. If he hits with his attack (he has a 12 Attack Value), then all other friendly attackers can use Probability Control on their own rolls. He also has Enhancement and the S.H.I.E.L.D. TA. Best of all, on defense he gives everyone Energy Shield/Deflection.

The Top 3 Call Ins in the 151 to 200 Point Range:

War Machine

  1. AOU26 War Machine — 200 Points — Called-In via NFAOSNFID-010 War Machine: War Machine’s major weakness when played in an army is his lack of Willpower. Thankfully that’s not a problem with ID Card characters. His VARIABLE THREAT RESPONSE power allows you to choose Psychic Blast, Pulse Wave, Precision Strike, or Triple target Energy Explosion! In addition,he ignores Hindering Terrain and if he is attacking more than one character at range, he can use Probability Control.

  2. AOU018 Thor  — 200 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-104 Thor: Thor has double ranged targets and the following power: “GOD OF THUNDER: Thor can use Energy Explosion, when he does, damage dealt is penetrating damage.” He also ignores Hindering Terrain for targeting. But, the real reason to use him is “FOR MY HEART BELONGS TO THEE: Once per game, give Thor a free action and place a Jane Foster bystander token as described on this card into an adjacent square.“

  3. AVX104 Phoenixbuster Iron Man –175 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-101 Iron Man: This guy has a great power, “HERE GOES NUTHIN’: Phoenixbuster Iron Man’s attacks deal penetrating damage if the target character is assigned a relic or a resource or possesses any of the following: “Giant damage symbol”, “Colossal damage symbol”, the Power Cosmic team ability, the Cosmic or Phoenix Force keyword, or the word Phoenix in its name as a separate word.” As a backup plan he has Running Shot and Pulse Wave, which, historically speaking, is a damn good backup plan.

The Top 3 Call-Ins in the 201 to 250 Point Range:

Hercules

  1. AOU033 Hercules — 220 Points — Called-In via AVASAVID-004 Hercules: There are two great reasons to choose Hercules. The first is his offense, “IF IT IS BATTLE YOU CRAVE, HERCULES SHALL OBLIGE!: Hercules can use Charge, Flurry, and Improved Movement: Ignores Hindering Terrain, Ignores blocking terrain and destroys blocking terrain as the character moves through it.” “Oh, you thought you were safe from my team because you were hiding behind two-square-thick Blocking Terrain? I think not, scoundrel!” The second is his ability to tie up and weaken the opposing team with “GRAPPLING THE LERNAEAN HYDRA: Hercules can use Plasticity. Each opposing character adjacent to Hercules modifies its attack and damage values by -1 if it has any action tokens.” If you put Hercules next to the opposing army, they will likely just have to pass that next turn. And dead turns for your opponent = victory for you.
  2.  AVAS053A Thor — 228 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-104 Thor: I picked this character in this point range because of his great ability to deal damage with Pulse Wave. In addition, he also has some great support with Enhancement and the ability to grant adjacent Avengers Energy Explosion.
  3. AAOU001 Iron Man — 250 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-101 Iron Man: Iron Man has Avengers Initiative TA, Outwit, 12 Attack and Precision Strike. If you end up hitting an opposing figure, you also get to use his Trait: “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!: When Iron Man hits one or more characters with an attack and actions resolve, the opposing player chooses: You place a friendly AAOU #002 Iron Legion from outside the game into your starting area or, modify the defense value of your friendly characters by +1 until your next turn.“

The Top 3 Call-Ins in the 251 to 300 Point Range:

MCU Hulk

  1. AAOU008 Hulk — 300 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-102 Hulk: With 6 Damage, 13 Attack, Charge and Super Strength, Hulk can deal up to 9 damage in a single hit! With raw stats like that he doesn’t need any other reasons to be on this list. Sadly you won’t be able to call him in during a 300 point game.

  2. WXM058 Namor — 295 Points — Called-In via WKMVID-006 Namor: Namor is the highest point level character possible to call in for a 300 point game. He has 12 Attack, 5 Damage, and a Trait “PHOENIX FIVE: Opposing characters targeted by friendly characters with the Phoenix Force keyword subtract 1 from their d6 roll when using Impervious, Shape Change, or Super Senses.“

  3. IIM043 Iron Man and War Machine — 265 Points — Called-In via AOUAUID-101 Iron Man: This figure has 11 Attack, 4 Damage, triple target Energy Explosion, and–most importantly–Duo Attack!

That’s it for this article. I am going to see about getting my ID Card Call-In list published online and I’ll let everyone know about THAT… a little later.

 

 

The Ghosts of Clix-Mas Future Part 2: Electric Bugaloo!! (Or, The 4th Night of Clix-Mas!!)

/ HypeFox / 9 Comments

[EDITOR’S NOTE: We are unleashing the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas! Tonight is Night 4! If you missed The First Night of Clix-mas, you can catch up right here! Night 2 is here. And last night’s article (Night 3) is here.]

Clixmas future masthead 2

Welcome to the 4th Night of Clix-Mas! Last night we took a look at the Clix we know we’re getting in the first six months of 2016. Tonight, we’re gonna put our thinking caps on and speculate at what we MIGHT be getting in the second half of the year.

JULY 2016:

'Murica!! F-yeah!!

‘Murica!! F-yeah!!

Outside of a Monthly OP kit (The Defenders, with a new Moon Knight sculpt plus another Shang-Chi dial and Shroud dial. Moon Knight hasn’t been seen since ASM, so he’s pretty sorely needed, but the Shang-Chi and Shroud we got in Deadpool were both good, and there’s a chance they’ll still be Modern legal when this kit comes out.) and the third month of Civil War, I think July will be pretty dry for Clix releases. Which I’m fine with, given the crush of Spring product we just talked about last night.

AUGUST 2016:

I have no idea who took this photo, but it's awesome. I found it here.

I have no idea who took this photo, but it’s awesome. I found it here.

Here’s where things get interesting. There’s been an August Clix set release for the past two years, and each one has been Marvel. Now, we’d be coming off of the Civil War Movie Set, Uncanny X-Men AND the Civil War SLOP set by the time August rolls around, so WizKids might want to change it up a bit and go DC, right?

Not so Fast

Looking back, there were even MORE Marvel sets before August last year (or at least it sure seems like there were), and August brought us Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and some brand new Vehicle rules. So this really could go either way.

Here’s how I would handicap it:

If it’s Marvel, this has to be a Spidey set, right? The two things we haven’t seen in awhile from Marvel Clix are a ton of Spideys and monsters, both generic and otherwise. Both were prominent in the recently rotated Amazing Spider-Man, and monsters aren’t going to sell a set on their own.

If it’s a DC set, then this could really be anything, then, but let’s narrow it down based on what we know. We know WizKids likes making money (this may shock you, but most businesses work like this); we know that WizKids likes to headline sets with major characters in the set name and/or on the box, even if they barely show up in the set itself (coughSLoSHcough), because it tends to boost sales.

(At the risk of starting a Marvel/DC flame war, you could argue that WizKids has been a little more adventurous with their Marvel license having based sets around Deadpool, GotG and Nick Fury in the last two years alone. Hmmm…)

We also know that DC has pretty much thumped the Trinity drum to death the last year and a half with sets based on, well, the Trinity (Trinity War), Superman (Superman/Wonder Woman and the upcoming World’s Finest), Wonder Woman (see previous examples) and Batman (again, see previous examples).

While it’s still possible we’ll see an all Batman set, it’s almost as likely that we’ll see something Green Lantern related, especially if War of Light rotates out of Modern (which would be aggressive on WizKids’s part, but not inconceivable, given how much trouble the Entities caused). With sub-themes that could fit in the Lantern framework, this would be a decent way to go.

But.

If WizKids was ever going to base a set on a non-Trinity, non-Justice League IP, this would be the perfect time to unleash a Suicide Squad set. While that would have been unthinkable even three years ago, we got Guardians of the Galaxy in August of 2014 because of the movie that was being released at the same time; well, Suicide Squad is in theaters starting in early August of 2016.

The final prediction and handicap:

Suicide Squad

A DC Suicide Squad set: (I’ll give it as high as 3-1 odds)

Runner-Up: A Marvel Spider-Verse set (which I’d put at about 5-1 odds)

SEPTEMBER 2016:

Again, just a Monthly OP kit. Which could really be anything.

OCTOBER 2016:

Of course we’ll get another Monthly OP kit, but I could also see WizKids sneaking in a second Turtles Gravity Feed here if the first one sells as much as it seems like it will. Yu-Gi-Oh! is always a possibility, too.

NOVEMBER 2016:

Another Monthly, but the main draw here will be the last set of 2016. And based on everything we just discussed (remember, I predicted Suicide Squad for August), I’m going to say that in November, Marvel takes a chance on another character not named Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk or Spidey:

Doctor-Strange-1

Doctor Strange!

Yes, this could still be a Spider-Verse set, but there is going to be a ton of marketing dollars thrown around for this movie, so if WizKids wanted to switch things up, this would be the time to do it, since those marketing dollars will mitigate a lot of risk!

Plus, we could see a Secret Wars Chase sub-Theme (with Strange as the leader of the Black Priests, Ultimate Reed as the Maker and maybe, just maybe we’d even get a Rabum Alal Doom!) or even a monsters-as-Howling Commandos sub-theme (which would open the door for a lot of monster Clix updates!).

(5-1 Odds)

DECEMBER 2016: 

The Monthly OP kit will feature another Holiday-themed figure. Gonna guess it’ll be either ol’ Saint Nick himself, one of his reindeer or a Snowman.

Well, there you have it. Tons of needless speculation about what may or may not come in time for Christmas 2016!

And for more crazy Heroclix discussion, check this space tomorrow!!

 

The Most-Wanted Ghosts of Clix-Mas Future!! (Or,What We Want to See in 2016!!) (Or Or, The 3rd Night of Clix-Mas!!)

/ HypeFox / 7 Comments

[EDITOR’S NOTE: We are unleashing the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas! Tonight is Night 3! If you missed The First Night of Clix-mas, you can catch up right here! Night 2 is here.]

Christmas Future

“No, look even farther into your own timeline. Farther still. There? Do you see it? That speck floating on the horizon of a distant future? Yup! That’s the next time they’ll update the Heroclix PAC and rulebook!“

Welcome to Night 3 of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!!

Tonight I’m gonna take a look at which sets we know are coming in the first half of 2016 and what I hope we’ll get when they arrive!

FEBRUARY 2016:

Worlds Finest

World’s Finest:

–We already know we’re getting in the Lex Luthor/Joker Duo Figure a cooler piece than anything I could have suggested. Having said that, I have to say I’m not overly excited for the known Sub-Themes: Metal Men, Doom Patrol and, uh, magical characters.

I know there are a few Metal Men fans out there, but those characters don’t really move the needle much for me. If we’re getting New 52 Doom Patrol (which we almost have to assume we are, right?), those will be more figs I don’t have to collect. And we pretty much got every DC magic-user I’d ever want in Trinity War. Zatanna and John Constantine are great characters, but I doubt WizKids will think they’re popular enough to warrant inclusion here so soon after their last appearances. That usually only happens for the main Justice League characters (really just the Trinity) and, like, Lex Luthor.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Tell that to Bizarro and Felix Faust, who seem to be showing up in every DC set lately… ]

–I would have also wanted another Resource at some point in the upcoming year, and now we know we’ll be getting the Justice League Teleporter as a case incentive (not unlike the 2 Resources that debuted with Trinity War earlier this year) AND that it will utilize all the Justice League ID Cards that will come in this set.

Getting another Round Table-style Resource so soon after getting, y’know, the Round Table, is kind of odd; at the same time, you knew this was coming at some point, and I’ve actually found the ID Cards to be kind of fun.

–I really enjoyed the Super Rare Kingdom Come Flash update from Flash last year, and I’d love more updated Kingdom Come figures here. While we don’t know what the six Chases will be, I’d be surprised if they did a full KC Chase run.

Still, I’ve heard rumors of a possible Bat Sentry update, which would be welcome news. Perhaps WizKids could even give us just one KC piece a set, in the way that they’ve been trickling out Squadron Supreme Primes in every Marvel set for the last three years.

batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Movie Tie-In Set):

–So we’re finally getting a DC Movie set with actual Chases and Target Exclusives and the whole nine yards? This actually has me pretty geeked!

–We actually know a good deal already about who will be in this set based upon what we know from the movie news that’s already leaked AND the roster list for the Starter Set! That roster includes:

Batman (sure). Superman (obviously). Wonder Woman (well, she was all over the trailer, so that’s to be expected). Lex Luthor (ditto). Mercy Graves (?! We knew she’d be in the movie, but we weren’t even sure if they’d be doing a version of her with powers.) Annnnd… Aquaman? Apparently Jason Momoa is in more of this movie than we thought.

–Bats, Supes and Wonder Woman should all have Common versions in the main set. Lex and Mercy could be Commons or Rares. I’m guessing Aquaman will be a Rare. Doomsday’s been spoiled now, so he could be a Rare or a Chase. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a Bats/Supes Duo as a Chase as well. We shall see in… good Lord, in like two months, right? Man this is coming up quick!

MARCH 2016:

Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Set 1): 

–I’ve already gotten my big want for this set: that it would be Modern Age legal! Beyond that, I was always more a fan of the cartoons growing up, so as long as we get the Turtles, April, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady, I’ll be a pretty happy camper.

APRIL 2016: 

Civil War

Captain America: Civil War Movie Set: 

–My biggest want from this set would be a MCU Black Panther piece (I love the character, so I’m excited for his MCU debut), and since we know he’s in the Starter, we know he’ll also be in the set!

–Even more so than Dawn of Justice, this set has no shortage of figure possibilities. We know Cap, Iron Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Hawkeye, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier will all show up, and all (except maybe Vision?) are pretty safe bets to get at least one figure in the 18-figure main set. So if everyone we just mentioned gets a slot, that’s ten figures right there. We also know Ant-Man and Spider-Man will both show up, and General Thunderbolt Ross is back for the first time since The Incredible Hulk (and may or may not turn into Red Hulk–my money’s on “not,” but whatever).  Brock Rumlow is also back, this time as the villainous Crossbones, so he’s a good be to be Clix’d again, too.

–Having said all that, I think a MCU-debuting Spidey would make for an awesome Chase; I just don’t think we’ll get it. May not even get a Spidey at all (although I’d be pretty bummed if we didn’t get a Scott Lang Ant-Man as well, since Wizkids sat that movie out). I’m betting the Chases will be (yet another) Iron Man/War Machine and Captain America and the Winter Soldier Duo figs. Which I’d be fine with, but would seem like a lost opportunity to blow our minds with Spidey or Ant-Man.

MAY 2016:

Civil War comics

Civil War SLOP:

–Introducing Battle Royals into a SLOP event could either be really fun (if implemented correctly) or really muddled (if implemented incorrectly). The sculpts we’ve seen so far look cool, and I’m interested to see exactly how the Bounty Card system will work. Doesn’t seem like there will be any Chases, which I find a bit disappointing but I know others would prefer, and the set overall seems a bit small, so I’m very interested to see the roster for this release. And the Grand Prize, which still isn’t clear.

"Finally... the X-Men have come BACK... to HeeerrroooClix!"

“Finally… the X-Men have come BACK… to HeeerrroooClix!“

Uncanny X-Men:

–Wolverine and the X-Men and Deadpool were both so good, I don’t know what I want from this set!

–It would be great to get some of the classic characters in their iconic 80’s uniforms again, and Chases based on a classic event like “Fatal Attractions” would be great. But I think what EVERYONE seems to be asking for, and what WizKids seemed poise to deliver before the unofficial shutdown on the X-Men license, is an…

Stop teasing us, WizKids...

Stop teasing us, WizKids…

–Age of Apocalypse sub-theme! It’s one of the greatest Marvel storylines that has never been fully exploited in a Clix release.

MISC.:

–And of course we also know we’re getting more cool monthly prize kits featuring:

The Sinister Six; White Lanterns; Gamma Smash! (Red Hulk, She-Hulk & A-Bomb); The Brave & The Bold; Guardians of the Galaxy (Sweet!); and the Injustice League.

What will the last six months of 2016 look like? Well, that will require a lot more speculation… and another Night of Clix-Mas!

See ya tomorrow!

 

Upcoming Games: Clix TV!! (Or, The 2nd Night of Clix-Mas!!)

/ HypeFox / 9 Comments

[EDITOR’S NOTE: We are unleashing the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas! Tonight is Night 2! If you missed The First Night of Clix-mas, you can catch up right here!]

Clix TV

Welcome to Night 2 of the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!

Another quick local game announcement for SE Michigan Clix’ers…

On Wednesday, December 16th, at Comics & More in Madison Heights, we’ll be playing: Clix TV!

In honor of all the great comics-based TV, we will play a 300 Point, Golden Age game with a $5 Entry Fee.

Prizes will come from the “Arrowette” Monthly OP Kit, although…

IMPORTANT PRIZE NOTE: IF WE GET THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN KIT WIZKIDS HOLIDAY KIT IN TIME, WE WILL AWARD PRIZES FROM THAT INSTEAD!!

The Stipulations: Each character on your team must have appeared on a Network, Cable or Streaming LIVE ACTION Television show. Animated appearances don’t count, but the show does not have to currently be on.

As long as piece shares a real name OR a character name (ie, Clark Kent or Superman) with a character from a TV show, that piece is eligible.

Now, if you don’t watch a lot of TV but want some examples, you can build your team from Clix’d characters who have appeared on such shows as:

(DC)

Supergirl (2015: Notable characters include Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Hank Henshaw, Lucy Lane, General Lane, Red Tornado, etc.)

Flash (2014-Current: Flash, Firestorm, Jay Garrick, Vibe, Killer Frost, Zoom, Reverse Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Vandal Savage, Heat Wave, Captain Cold, Golden Glider, Girder, Jesse Quick, Captain Boomerang, Rainbow Raider, Gorilla Grodd, Weather Wizard, Dr. Light, etc.)

Arrow (2012-Current: Green Lantern, Black Canary, Arsenal, Mister Terrific, The Atom, John Constantine, Amanda Waller, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Merlyn, Huntress, Brother Blood, etc.)

Smallville (2001-2011: Clark Kent, Bizarro, Lex Luthor, General Zod, The Martian Manhunter, etc.)

And so on…

(Marvel)

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-Present: Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Agent Ward, Nick Fury, Lady Sif, Agent Fitz, Agent Simmons, Absorbing Man, Skye/Quake, John Garrett, Mockingbird, Deathlok, Victoria Hand, Major Glenn Talbot, Eric Koenig, Mister Hyde, Graviton, Blackout, Blizzard, etc.)

Marvel’s Agent Carter (2014-Present: Peggy Carter, Dum-Dum Dugan, Jarvis, etc.)

Daredevil (2015-Present: Daredevil, Kingpin, etc.)

Jessica Jones (2015-Present: Jessica Jones/Jewel, Luke Cage, The Purple Man, Hellcat, etc.)

You get the idea.

Clarifications:

Ninwashui and some others have brought up certain pieces to inquire whether they’re eligible.

To wit:

Zoom (Black Lantern): Eligible. Remember, the parenthetical information doesn’t actually count when determining whether certain game effects work or don’t work.

Batmobile: Eligible. Vehicles are still characters, so yes, the ol’ Adam West show qualifies the Batmobile.

Thor (any version): Eligible. A live action Thor appeared in The Incredible Hulk Returns, which, while technically a TV Movie, still premiered on network television and was, in fact, a continuation of the Incredible Hulk TV series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno.

 

Okay! Hope to see you down at Comics & More for some good ol’ fashioned boob-tube mayhem!

And don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for another Night of Clix-Mas! We’ll be taking a closer look at what sets, intellectual properties and characters YOU want in the upcoming year!

(Actually, it’ll mostly be what I want in the upcoming year, seeing as I’m writing the article!)

Thoroughly Modern (Age) Millie! (Or, The First Night of Clix-Mas 2015!!)

/ HypeFox / 10 Comments
I think this actually happened...

I think this actually happened…

Welcome to the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas, 2015!! We had so much fun with this gimmick last year [EDITOR’S NOTE: I said it was “insane and fun,” not “insanely fun.” There’s a difference!] that we’re going to try it again this year!

For those who missed last year’s festivities, every night for the next 12 nights, we’re gonna post some sort of Heroclix-related content. Might be as little as a couple of funny pictures, or as much as a 4000-word essay on the state of the Meta. Each night will bring something new!

Tonight we’re gonna briefly discuss the recent revelation that the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set will be Modern Age legal and what this might mean for “OtherClix” sets going forward!

Wizkids Prexy Justin Ziran recently granted the Comic Shenanigans podcast a three part print interview. Part One was released here; Part Two can be found here; as of this writing, we’re still waiting for the publishing of Part Three.

But there was plenty of great stuff to talk about stemming from just the first two parts of the interview. In a follow-up forum on HCRealms.com, Justin Ziran responded to a poster by straight-up declaring TMNT WILL be considered Modern Age, thus immediately making that set relevant to just about everyone who plays Clix.

This is now tournament legal. Art by Mike DeCarlo.

This is now tournament legal. Prolly not gonna get theThemed bonus, though.
Art by Mike DeCarlo.

I for one have been waiting for WizKids to do this for quite some time. There’s no doubt that my excitement for certain side sets (read: LotR) dissipated almost immediately when I found out that none of the pieces were Modern Legal. It’s the main reason I didn’t buy a ton of Pacific Rim, even though I loved most of those pieces.

Assuming TMNT hits, hopefully we can expect this sort of treatment on most if not all “OtherClix” sets going forward. I’ve loved that the Movie Sets (Avenges: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Man of Steel, etc.) are Modern Age tourney legal, since it gives folks many more options to explore when creating a team. Well, this is taking that concept to the Nth Degree, and I personally believe it will only help the game grow.

What good is it trying to draw in more players with a Movie Tie-In set if once they get hooked on the game THEY CAN’T USE ANY OF THE PIECES THEY JUST GOT?!?!

I hope WizKids won’t be shy now about acquiring some great one-off licenses to augment the main Marvel and DC game. Star Wars? World of Warcraft? Starcraft?  Hell, if Halo-Clix had been Modern Age when they came out, I would have bought a metric poop-ton.

Do you think making all “Otherclix” sets Modern Age in the future is a good idea that will lead to Build versatility in the Meta? Or will it just make things more confusing? Sound off in the Comment Section below!

 

And come right back here tomorrow for Night 2! We’ll be taking a closer look at what sets, intellectual properties and characters YOU want in the upcoming year!

Until Then, Stay Safe, and Watch Where You Draw Your Lines of Fire!

 

Coming Soon… Again!! (Or, We Rip Off the 12 Days of Clix-Mas Gimmick… Again!!)

/ HypeFox / 1 Comment

DC Christmas

So, Christmas is sneaking up on us, and once again, Ninwashui and I are mixing our metaphors, flying high with our training wheels off and jumping into the deep end without a net.

Yup. We’re gonna try doing the whole “Twelve Nights of Clix-Mas” all over again this year. That means that one of us will post an article every day for twelve days straight, with the last one appearing on Christmas day.

This, of course, is assuming that our fingers don’t fall off as we keep typing for 12 straight days.

(To see how it all ended up, here’s the last entry from 2014. It contains links to every article we wrote during the first “Clix-Mas” last year.)

Some articles will be short little rants or observations; a few may be long continuations of some of our popular staple columns; many entries will fall somewhere in-between.

So we’ll see you right back here real soon for the 12 Nights of Clix-Mas!

God help us.

(Every one.)

Until then, Stay Safe, and Watch Where You Draw You lines of fire!

Upcoming Games: The Dark Dimension

/ ninwashui / 1 Comment

Another quick local game announcement for SE Michigan Clix’ers…

image

This Wednesday, December 2nd, at Comics & More in Madison Heights, we will be playing the fourth and final game in our “Dark Dimensions” series!

The Scenario:

Week 4: “Dark Domains”

Mys-Tech’s mysterious benefactor was none other than Doctor Strange’s arch-nemesis and Lord of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu, and his endgame has begun.

On Earth, Dormmamu has already released the Mindless Ones virus, which has transformed the smartest people on Earth into mindless drones.

mindless one virus 2

Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Ops Commander Phil Coulson has journeyed all the way to the Dark Dimension himself and finally tracked down Doctor Strange, who’s currently a guest of Dormammu.

doctor strange

Having previously extracted one of Mys-Tech’s “Magic Bullets,” Coulson tries Plan A:

phil shoots

But Dormammu sits mostly unfazed. One bullet of Black Dechantment isn’t enough to hurt him.

do not

But when Coulson sees that Dormammu has an entire throne made from the same rock that shattered Bifrost and powered Dormammu’s campaign against mystic heroes, he realizes there’s one man left who can generate a much larger amount of Black Dechantment. Enough to even take out Dormammu himself…

absorbing man intro

Dormammu aims to conquer our plane of existence and turn any who oppose him into his mindless slaves. He is the lord and master of an entire dimension and has vast armies at his beck and call whose ranks swell with every victim of the Mindless One virus.

But Dormammu has overlooked one thing. He didn’t count on Agent Phil Coulson or his team.

And Phil Coulson… has a plan.

And that… is where our Scenario begins this week.

The Build:

400 Points, Oreo Age. Possessors, Resources and Team Bases are banned for this Scenario, as are Nighthawk Prime, Felix Faust (the Con LE) and Mr. Mxyzptlk, since they all specifically mess with the Scenario’s rules.

Colossals and Bystander Tokens ARE allowed.

The Winner of the Map Roll will choose one of the following tokens to add to their team:

absorbing man pog 2

Dormammu pog2

If you choose Absorbing Man: 

Your goal is to keep him alive! Make no mistake–this is an escort mission. If you can get Absorbing Man adjacent to Dormammu, oil’ Crusher Creel will take care of the rest and you win the game. But if your team gets taken out, don’t expect Absorbing Man to do it himself–one lucky roll from Dormammu and it’s all over.

If you choose Dormammu:

Your goal is to exterminate the opposing force. Absorbing Man is the only opposing character that can harm Dormammu, so throw everything you have into KO’ing his escort and destroying him.

If either Dormammu or the Absorbing Man is KOed then the game ends immediately and that team scores an extra 400 points.

The entry fee is $5.00, and the top Scenario winner AND our Week 4 winner AND our Fellowship winner will all get a Dormammu LE fig!

absorbing man wins

Can you help the absorbing man reach Dormmamu?

absorbing man Loses

Or will you choose to help Dormmamu’s forces win?

We’ll start at 6:15, with the hope of getting dice rolling by 6:30! Hope to see you out there!

 

"Oh, so you don't think there were enough Superman figures in SLoSH, eh?"

On dates Superman and Wonder Woman can often be seen making large craters in front of some of Metropolis’s finest restaurants.

Some General Notes About the Set:

Morpheus 2

—NO ONE IS QUITE SURE EXACTLY HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME AT THE MOMENT?! On this point Hypefox is absolutely correct. When the equip rules came out I told the HeroClix face book group I’m in that this seems like a rule change that would affect  all possession characters. People told me I was nuts. Then a second article came out that same day and confirmed everything I said. We still don’t know if equip applies to all resources. I think it does. Other people argue the other way and the Wizkids rules forum have ignored all questions on the subject. Maybe they will put out a rule book this year so we know how the @#$% to play this game. According to the magic 8 ball on my desk signs point to no, and that’s the most official answer anyone has on the subject.

— Wizkids apparently would rather fill this set with the entire staff of the Daily Planet then give you more than just a little Wonder Woman Content. There have been four different versions of Odin (Father of Thor) in HeroClix. There are still none of Zeus (Father of Wonder Woman). But, hey we got the generic investigative journalist I’m sure everyone has been waiting on. If you want an Ares you’ll still be using the one they published in the 2010 75th Anniversary Set, but if you were waiting on generic newsboys – you are in luck!

–Most of the Wonder Woman side of this set is in the form of Gods and they were all pretty cool. Their Divine Aura trait is both effective and thematic. My only complaint about the Greek Gods is that there aren’t more of them in this set. I would have like to see some legendary Greek heroes and even some Olympus guard generics that have a minion power with Deities.

–Wizkids has been making a big deal about saying they put tons of never before clixed characters into their newest sets, but sometimes remakes would be a good thing. For example, the Apokolips keyword did get a few new entries in Parademon, Brutaal, Steppenwolf, and Brimstone. However, Everyone else you’d normally associate with Apokolips (except Darkseid and Kalibak) has rotated out of Modern. We haven’t had a new version of Desaad since he was first made in 2002!

–Wizkids Collation issues are far worse in this set than we have ever seen before. A guy online posted a picture of two cases he bought were every single pack was duplicated in each case. Other reports have some bricks opening with no Chases and some opening with as many as seven chases. I would have thought it was a hoax but every time we played with this set at the store, we saw duplicate packs amongst  what we opened. I’m a believer.

–There are four versions each of Superman and Wonder Woman in this set and all of them are at least good. The two chases especially are great. The real standout here is the excellent THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME trait that shows up on 2 versions each of Superman and Wonder Woman. If you have less figures on your team then your opponent, it will give a huge advantage.

Top Five HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

Titano 2

5. SMWWG005R Titano – Of all of the new Colossal pieces Titano is the one that I am most likely to play as more than just a retaliation piece. The major reason for that is his low price of 75 points for 9 clicks that includes a stop click with Colossal Retaliation. It also doesn’t hurt that he also has a great trait, “MONKEY SEE LOIS, MONKEY DO: When a friendly character named Lois Lane moves, after actions resolve Titano can be given a move action as a free action to move up to the same number of squares. When a friendly character named Lois Lane makes an attack targeting an opposing character, after actions resolve Titano can make a close combat attack as a free action.” Metropolis teams will be making a monkey out of opposing teams.

The 90's are back, and they brought their Superman with them. (Artwork by Sassophilaco sassophiliaco.deviantart.com)

4. SMWW041AE Superman Blue – He is that 50 point value where you would look for him to be a support figure. For his price you get a great taxi with a trait that protects your team from pulse wave. His 18 defense and energy shield/deflection will mean that your opponent will need to get pretty lucky to hit him from range. His 7 range, running shot, and energy explosion will punish opposing figures that group together.

Krypto

3. SMWW050 Krypto – He’s a watch dog for your Kryptonians with his trait , “LOYAL COMPANION: When a friendly character named Superman, Superboy, or Supergirl within 8 squares takes damage from an attack, after actions resolve you may place Krypto in a square adjacent to the attacking character.” Beyond that he’s tiny, has 11 attack, he ignores shape change, and he ignores super senses.

Lois-Erica

Still the best Lois Lane.

2. SMWW047 Lois Lane – For 45 points she has outwit, willpower, and the Superman TA. But what make really good is how hard she is to KO. Her special power states, “HUNTING DOWN A LEAD: Opposing characters can’t draw lines of fire to Lois Lane unless they are within 2 squares or she’s adjacent to a friendly character.” On top of that she has a second special power that states, “HE’S HERE WHEN I NEED HIM: Adjacent friendly characters named Superman can use Defend. If this power is revealed when taking damage from an opposing character’s attack, stop turning the dial. If you do, you may place a friendly character named Superman adjacent to Lois Lane.” Taken together those two powers mean you have to get next to Lois to hurt her and if you do hurt her then you’ll find yourself nose-to-nose with Superman. He’ll probably drop a car on you next turn.

lorilemaris_1200_835_81_s

1. SMWW042 Lori Lemaris – I love characters with Interesting traits that make you want to build a fun team around them. In this case Lori’s Trait, “THE SEA SINGS OF THEM: When Lori Lemaris or a friendly character named Mermaid is KO’d by an opposing character, opposing characters within 5 squares of the KO’d character that are occupying water terrain are each dealt 2 penetrating damage.” She begs to be used on a fully water map and/or with JLTW029 Ocean Master. And nothing says you can’t use multiples of her. Imagine your opponent KOing one of her and then taking 6 penetrating damage back in return.

On top of her great trait that she brings really good stats to the table. 11 starting attack doesn’t happen very often on a piece that is 45 points. In fact the only cheaper character in modern with 11 starting attack is… the mermaid from this set. Add to that triple target mind control (with no feedback damage), willpower, and a 19 defense when she is in water and you’ll really start to wonder why she is only 45 points.

Top Ten Figures in SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN:

Superman

10. SMWW049 Superman – Some figures get a lot more millage out of the special powers granted by resources and/or entities. This is one of those figures. With nine clicks of life and 12 starting attack those stats are great for his point value. However the starting sidestep is a bit disappointing. Resources and/or entities can correct that problem. You should also factor in his awesome trait, “THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME: At the end of your turn, if Superman was given a non-free action this turn and an opposing force has more characters on the map than your force, place an Outnumbered token on this card. Give Superman a free action and remove 2 Outnumbered tokens from this card to make a close or ranged combat attack.” Given the right support this figure can be one of the top figures in the game.

batmanvsuperman-xlarge

Example Team: World’s Finest Dawn of Justice (keyword: Justice League)

  • SMWW049 Superman
  • JLTW051R Batman
  • AVXR100 The Phoenix Force (2 Assigned Characters)
  • Justice League ATA
  • ID Card of your choice
  • Total=300 points

The phoenix force with two assigned characters gives out starting running shot and +1 damage! Add that to Superman’s Sidestep, his range, and Batman’s TK – you’ll be able to make a ranged attack into the opposing starting area starting from your starting area. If your THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME trait is active, you’ll be able to do absurd things like have Superman move 12 spaces and make a free action close combat attack (with an ultra heavy) while carrying Batman (who can use outwit perplex and Prob to help you)!

General Lane

9. SMWW028 General Lane – Most sets have a 50 point uber-support figure and in this set General Lane is it… except that he only costs 40 points. What he brings to the table is a trait that grants the friendly figures Superman Enemy TA, he has the Police TA, enhancement, and leadership that can remove a action token from ANY soldier regardless of point cost. I’d strongly consider putting the general in charge of any team army of soldiers.

This seems excessive...

4th of July Apokolips style.

8.  SMWW019B Brutaal – I’m a fan of characters that are immune to outwit and have high attack values. Brutaal is nearly immune to outwit and has highest consistent attack values I have ever seen… assuming you can get to your opponents side of the board. His starting click is super impressive, but with hypersonic and a possible 13 attack on click 2 you shouldn’t be afraid to push him.

Gal-Gadot-Wonder-Woman-Costume

7. SMWW033 Wonder Woman – It took a while for me to decide, but I believe Wonder Woman is the best 200 point deity in this set. (sorry SMWW023 Apollo and SMWW037 First Born) All 3 of them have the impressive trait, “DIVINE AURA: Wonder Woman can’t be targeted by opposing Outwit or Probability Control unless the targeting character is more points or has the Deity keyword.” But, there are three reasons why I believe Wonder Woman is the best. She has the Mystics TA, she has the THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME trait, and she has better keywords.

"No, seriously, any second now, I'm totally gonna fly!"

6. SMWW065E Superman – With SMWW049 Superman, SMWW019B Brutaal, and now SMWW065E Superman 175 points is the place to be when fielding a Superman (or faux Superman). This Superman shares the same trait as the other two figures, “WAIT, THAT’S NOT SUPERMAN…: If Superman is on your sideline when your opponent’s force is revealed and your force includes a character named Superman or Superboy of an equal or higher point value, you may replace that character with Superman. If you do, Superman begins the game with an action token.” What makes him better than the other 175 point Supermen on this list is his starting hypersonic and his incredible two stop clicks on the end of his dial. It reads, “WINTER PALACE: Superman can use Barrier, Regeneration, and Super Senses. When this click is revealed due to damage from an opponent’s attack, stop turning the dial, and after actions resolve give the attacker an action token. If you can’t, deal that character 1 penetrating damage.” It will be very hard for any solo character to knock this guy out.

Brainiac_Red_Son_001

5. SMWW063P Brainiac – Of the two possessors in the set, this one offers better powers (outwit, psychic blast, regeneration), but not as long of a dial. So depending on how long of a dial the character has that you want to possess, SMWW055P Eclipso may be better. However if you do chose to go with Brainiac, his mid dial special white power can be game breaking. It reads, “WORLD IS RUNNING LIKE CLOCKWORK: Once per turn when an opposing character is given a power action, you may immediately remove an action token from Brainiac.” If you chose to possess a character that starts at multiple point levels you may be able to start with this power.

Brimstone DCAU

4. SMWWG003P Brimstone – This the best of the retaliation attackers because you will ALSO get to retaliate with his penetrating poison after making your attack.  It’s true his retaliation attack area of affect isn’t as large as someone like the Atom, but that just means it will be very easy to not damage your own team in the process. I suggest leaving this guy in your starting area and letting your opponent trigger him.  At 20 points each you can even play multiples of him. You can only use one a turn, but you’ll have multiple “Brimstone Bombs” to throw at an opponent over the course of a game.

Example Team: Apokolips Now! (keyword: Apokolips)

  • SMWW019B Brutaal
  • JLTW206 Parademon
  • SMWWG003P Brimstone
  • SMWWG003P Brimstone
  • SMWWG003P Brimstone
  • SMWWG003P Brimstone
  • Total=300 points

So using this team you can just send in Brutaal in as a distraction and let your opponent hit him. Hopefully you can mastermind all of the damage over to your Parademon. That first attack will start an unfortunate chain of events (for your opponent). On your turn your first Brimstone launches out of your starting area. It lands and immediately does an attack and then gets to do penetrating poison against any of opponents pieces that it’s touching. Your opponent might not realize that this will keep happening every time his attacks hit (including attacking a brimstone) until you run out of Brimstones or your opponent runs out of friendly figures. Probably that second one.

Red Son Wonder Woman

3. SMWW066 Wonder Woman – At 165 points this version of Wonder Woman is just really efficient for her points. Her 19 starting defense is really unusual for primary  attackers under 200 points and her opening powers of hypersonic speed, super strength, and invincible are perfect. She never dips below a 10 attack value, her dial is 9 clicks long and, and she has a stop click with regeneration. Even when damaged, she very dangerous on every click. On top of all that she has the trait that protects her team, “COMMUNISM IS SOCIAL JUSTICE: When a friendly character with a lower point value than Wonder Woman is targeted with an attack, modify the attacker’s attack and damage values by -1.”

artemisa

2. SMWW025 Artemis – Just like 175 points seems to be the sweet spot for Supermen, 125 points is the sweet spot for amazons. Artemis is my favorite because ever since the days of SI008B Ms. Marvel, I’ve had a real appreciation for flying, stealthy, close combat pieces.  Artemis starts with Stealth, Flight, charge, indomitable, invulnerability and willpower. She has great attack values that remind me a lot of Brutaal, a dial that’s effective for all 8 clicks, and the and the Divine Aura Trait shared by all the deity. But what really puts her over the top is her special power, “I LOVE A CHALLENGE: When Artemis attacks only the highest point opposing character, modify her attack and damage values by +1 for the attack, and the damage dealt is penetrating damage.” She is definitely the best character in this set unless Wizkids choses to create a figure that disrupts the basic rules of the game. But they’d never do that…

MrMxyzptlk

1. SMWW060 Mr. Mxyzptlk – So Wizkids created a figure that messes with one of the most basic rules of the game. Now instead of you rolling your dice, your opponent essentially chooses if he likes what you rolled and if not he changes it. It’s not like Probability Control, you don’t get to try again and range is not a factor. He changes it and now that is what you’ve rolled. His trait reads, “MESSING AROUND WITH THE ODDS: At the beginning of the game, roll a d6 that can’t be rerolled and place the rolled result on this card. Give Mr. Mxyzptlk a power action if there is no d6 on this card, roll a d6 that can’t be rerolled and place the rolled result on this card. Whenever any dice that can be rerolled are rolled (including as part of a 2d6 roll), you may remove the d6 from this card and replace one of those die results with the rolled result from the d6 removed from this card.” There are so many times that anything Mr. Mxyzptlk rolls can be used, you don’t really realize it until you play against him. If he has a 1 showing then your opponent should expect to be the victim of a critical miss soon. 6 means that a critical hit for your team is coming. With a 5 he could guarantee you make a super senses roll. With a 4 he can guarantee that your opponent misses his super senses roll. A 3 can guarantee your opponent can’t break away. A 2 almost guarantees your opponent’s best attacker will miss next turn. And there are tons of other uses for his messing with the odds trait . If your opponent is using blades/claws/fangs or regeneration then they are at his mercy. So far I have not played a game against him without him turning one of my rolls that would have hit into a critical miss. That’s a huge swing in any game. And that’s why he’s the best figure in this set.

Wonder Woman and the Daily Planet Newsroom!! (Or, a Second Opinion on the Top Ten Figures in Superman/Wonder Woman!!)

/ ninwashui / 2 Comments

Upcoming Games: The Doctor Is Out!

/ HypeFox / 1 Comment

Another quick local game announcement for SE Michigan Clix’ers!!

SHIELD Number One

This week at Comics & More in Madison Heights, we will be playing Week 3 of our custom “Dark Dimensions” series!

In Week 1, we played “A Guy With a Plan.” For week 2 of our Dark Dimensions Series, we ran a new, completely original scenario called “Omega Level Override,” based on Mark Waid’s continuing S.H.I.E.L.D. run.

The Scenario:

Week 3: “Home Invasion”

Coulson’s ongoing investigation into the activities of Mys-Tech and the identity of their mysterious benefactor leads him to consult the world’s foremost expert on the arcane–Doctor Strange!

Unfortunately, the doctor is not at home–and Mys-Tech seems all too aware, as they’ve taken this opportunity to break-in to Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum in order to steal the ancient and powerful Book of Morphesti!

If Coulson wants any answers, he’s going to have to stop Mys-Tech’s agents and recover The Book before someone accidentally unleashes an apocalypse! But just getting to the ancient tome is going to be a challenge. Coulson knows as much as anybody that traversing the Sanctum Sanctorum without a mystically-inclined guide is dangerous business.

Because this house has secrets that pre-date Doctor Strange, and it’s never been kind to unwanted guests…

The Build Rules: You must choose to play as one of two factions: S.H.I.E.L.D. or Mys-Tech. Each faction has their own benefits and restrictions, as outlined below. Regardless of which faction you choose, your team must be a 400 Point Themed Team, and all the figures must be both Marvel and Modern Age.

The Mystical Guide: Traversing the Sanctum Sanctorum without a mystic is hazardous to your health… and your Clix! Therefore, when you build your force, you must include a Modern Age Marvel character with the Mystical keyword. That character has your faction’s keyword (either S.H.I.E.L.D. or Mys-Tech) this game.

Special “Home Invasion” Scenario Rules:

–This scenario will be played on the “Doctor Strange Mansion” Indoor Map from Amazing Spider-Man. The winner of the Map Roll may choose to either go first OR choose which side of the Map they’d like to start on.

–Protect your Mystical Guide! If your Mystical Guide is KO’d, the rest of your team gains the following Trait for the rest of the game:

“Morphesti Has Been Opened!: This character can use Shape Change and Battle Fury. At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 for all characters on your team with this Trait. On a result of 1 or 2, deal those characters 1 unavoidable damage.”

–If your Mystical Guide has been KO’d, any time a friendly character enters Hindering Terrain for any reason (Movement, Knockback, etc.), roll a d6. On a result of 1-3, deal that character 1 unavoidable damage and then place that character in an adjacent square of clear terrain.

-Relics, ATA’s, Team Bases, Avengers ID Cards, Resources and Bystander/Horde Tokens are NOT allowed as part of your Build UNLESS they are specifically allowed by your faction or brought into play via a Trait or ability possessed by a member of your team.

Special Faction Rules:

Shield Agents of

–-If you choose to play as S.H.I.E.L.D.: You must play a S.H.I.E.L.D. Themed Team. You may include the S.H.I.E.L.D. ATA and/or up to 3 Avengers ID Cards in your Build by paying their normal costs.

Mys-Tech

—If you choose to play as Mys-Tech: You must play a Themed Team, but you may NOT include any character with the S.H.I.E.L.D. or Avengers keyword. (You are encouraged to choose a team of “villainous” characters, but it is not a requirement). If one or more characters on your team has an available ATA for one of their keywords, you may include that ATA in your Build by paying all applicable costs. During Force Construction, all characters on your team gain the Mys-Tech keyword.

The Cost: To enter this week’s game, the cost is $5.

The Prize: Winner and Fellowship will both receive wkM15-011 Doctor Strange!!

Okay! That about covers it! Feel free to post any scenario questions in the Comments, and I’ll answer them as soon as I can.

Until then, Stay Safe, and Watch Where You Draw Your Lines of Fire!