Making Heroes

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller; well respected names of the comic industry and creators of heroes and villains alike. If it weren't for them, the industry wouldn't be what it is today. You wouldn't have Spiderman for one. Their work has inspired countless artists and writers in comics, movies and of course, the gaming industry.

So when I read that Giant Sized X-men for Heroclix has sold out at manufacturing level world wide, I took it as one more part of the legacy started way back then. I don't mean to take kudos away from the marketing team behind Heroclix, by the way.

Making heroes has inspired me too, more than I may be able to explain. I really have a great deal of respect for the industry and there's good reason I'm so opinionated on the subject and its variations.

My first comic book was an issue of Spiderman against a silver dragon and I was five or six years old. Not long after that I went through some serious changes in life and hard times ensued well into my teens. I grew up with undiagnosed autism (Asperger's Syndrome)and survived an abusive step parent and, well, my escape became the heroes. Finally it came to creating my own. Yes, I created my own universe of characters.

I wrote a role playing game and documented histories of over 200 alien races and 400 characters. I've done a hundred illustrations and now I work on novels with my own hopes of publishing. My heroes were my escape and I got to know every trivial things about them for the times I grew up in. I was a comic book junkie in the truest sense of the word.

So, I'm pretty opinionated on the making and stats of those favorite characters and even a few others. I like to believe I have a solid understanding of character development and powers.

I'm currently considering creating a Facebook page to share my universe with my friends and who knows, maybe more will come of it. I've even done custom heroclix of over 70 of my characters. So, I may be sharing my passion and universe upcoming, who knows, but until then, I'll be waiting to get my hands on a case of X-men!

I do want to add that I have great, great appreciation for the work that they've done with heroclix. There are good people working in the company and I can thank them a lot for all they've done. Not only for the great characters that have done so much for me, but also:

My godson, Zach, in Lincoln, Nebraska was on his way to a tournament in late 2007 (or was it early 2008?- hard to remember clearly) when he was in a car accident. He was 19 and a great kid. He was a hardcore player too. My playing group contacted Wizkids and told them of the loss of a great player, who was gone before he could finish his last collection from the set out at the time. Do you know what they did for him? They sent his mother an entire factory set. So know this, Wizkids and all working with them... you're okay in my book.

Now my son's 9th birthday is the 15th... guess what he's getting for his birthday? Ha ha, that's right. X-men here we come. Hope this one wasn't too heavy for any of you. Hope your draws are awesome! Keep clixing!

Our great big collections

So, how many figures are in your Heroclix collection? I've been playing and collecting from the very beginning and have a good couple thousand of those old pieces stored away in boxes. So you don't see those in the photo, this is my current collection not counting what's been stored. Suffice to say, Heroclix takes up a lot of room in my gaming library.

I've changed how I store them a few times over the years. It seems like I just can't find a way that I can really stick with as new sets come out and adjustments have to be made. I've seen pretty cool ideas though.

Lots of people use tackle boxes, tool boxes, and various forms of tool storage bins. Those work nice, but you will wind up with a lot of what ever you use for storage as you run out of room.

I currently have mine in bins by keywords as I would most likely use them. I have a small portable carrier that I use for all my tokens, objects, and any teams I take to a tournament. I prefer to build my team before I even go anywhere because of all the pieces I have. It's just too much to carry all at once (ha ha).

Some of the highlights of my collection include the original Galactus, Dark Phoenix, and the World's Finest brick mail away (Superman and Batman). I also have one of the original Sentinels, three of the updated ones, the Sinestro Corps Anti-Monitor, and yeah, Purple Pants Fin Fang Foom (useless against the others).

I have lots of the old uniques to include Clobberin Time's Nightcrawler and Spiral. I have a purple ring Thanos and Gladiator. I also have metallic Silver Surfer and Nova. Remember the first LE Superman from Hypertime? Yep, got him too. It sure gets hard to keep track after all this time and all these sets and pieces. How can our collections do anything but get huge? I wonder how many of you have had to put old pieces away in storage? I'm sure there's plenty of you. And the highlights change with the current collections; the chase figures, White Lanterns, Cosmic Spiderman, etc. I don't have a lot of the chase's these days because I just can't afford to dump as much money into it as would be required for a good chance. But I do have a decent collection to draw upon for play. I think that's more important than the chase figures.

So, how do you contain your bursting collection?

Click on above image for larger view.

DC 75th, least favorite five

So, I've done my top ten favorites of DC 75th and now I'm going to show my top five choices for greatest disappointments of the set. This doesn't mean I think they're totally unplayable or gawd awful trash. Just that they were the least of the set for me and some of you may agree. I'm certain opinions may vary. So, without further ado, here they are from "best to worst".

5: The Wonder Twins: They are actually a cool collector's piece and I'm glad to see them get made. Still, it's unlikely that I'll ever play them. My first problem with them is keywords. They get just one keyword and that's "teen". Sure, that makes for plenty of teams they can play in, but how often were they actually teamed up with teens in the stories? Usually they were hanging out with the JLA as junior members. I think they should have had the keyword for JLA at least, if not the team ability. The second problem I have with them is the same issue I have with any dual figure. The duo attack ability is horribly watered down. For having two figures take a swing, it's a weak power. This may depend on the figures in some cases (and it should), but in this case it's a good example. The duo attack ability is a power action and cannot be used with most powers. It also weakens on the second attack with a nice minus one to damage. So, while there's plenty of cool powers for the twins to use, a dual figure is usually just as slow as a single figure and you won't see accurate team usage of those powers thanks to how dual attack works. That's why very few dual figures see gameplay. Two pieces are usually better than one every time.

4: Wonder Woman: I know, she's actually more useful than the twins, but still a disappointment to me for one major reason. Her defense power. I think she should have had defend as a trait. It would have had better strategic use and she wouldn't have the risk of getting knocked right past her invulnerability on the first hit she takes. Wonder Woman is a front line fighter, always has been. She needs her hardened defense first. If she lends anyone defense, it should be a secondary issue. On top of that, an 18 defense just isn't that hard to hit anymore, so you really can't count on it in opening combat. Another good power for her to have had for up close would have been combat reflexes. She is an Amazon warrior after all and one of the best. Sorry, but her defense just isn't character accurate. What are some other tactics that could be arranged for Wonder Woman? Well, for one, give her a power for that lasso that allows her to pull someone to her from about 6 range or so. That's what lassos have been used for with people you know. With Wonder Woman's strength that would be a cinch power. It could also be used for limited telekinesis to grab an object and whip it at someone.

3: Superman: Poor sad Superman. He looks like Lois turned him down for a date with Aquaman or the Flash. But really, he has good reason to look sad and worried because his chances of standing up to his main nemesis in this set is practically zilch. Who's that, you ask? Why Doomsday of course! I'm not the first person to mention this either, it's a pretty common opinion. While Superman's dial is "good", it's not Superman accurate at all. All he has on Doomsday is movement. He still has to hit a 19 defense with a 10 attack. Good luck, Supes, you'll need it. So what else is wrong with this figure? How about NO hypersonic speed? A Superman without hypersonic is like a Hershey bar without any chocolate in it. Just an empty wrapper. As for what he doesn't have, it's little use to have him using flurry or defend. His defense drops badly in that area and he has to stay up close and personal. At this point on his dial he's in desperate shape, for being Superman that is. As for defend, he does have a 17 defense for it, but again, not hard to hit at all. When you consider his points versus what size of a team he'll likely be in, Superman needs major back up and that's not accurate either. Just two hits from Doomsday is "bye bye" for Superman. Heck, most of the Green Lanterns are tougher than he is.

2: Aquaman: The one from the Brightest Day set is pretty cool. The one from the 75th... not so much. I gotta give props though, it's hard to make a good Aquaman. In this case, he should have had most of the powers from Supes' dial. Charge, super strength and flurry are all good ones for him. He should also start with invulnerability and go to toughness after that. He is, at least that strong. Past that, for all his tricks, his usefulness is limited. He needs to be in the water and against other Atlantis characters to be of the most use. Yes, he has the transporter ability, but let me tell you how much I value that. Not very much. First of all, a "transporter" (especially one that can fly) should not suffer the minus 2 penalty for carrying someone. It just doesn't sound right. Also, the minus two on attack with the move and attack ability isn't strategically sound when it drops your attack below a 9. I only use this ability out of desperation or to try and get in an early hit at a distance. Yes, it's a nice option, but just doesn't do much for me. A minus one for the attack value makes more sense than 2, honestly. Yes, it is cool that he can transport while he's grounded, but it's not enough for this piece in my opinion.

1: Ganthet: I know what you're thinking; "why are you bagging on Ganthet? He's awesome!" Sure he is. Except if he's in a 300 point match, he's alone. In a 400 point match he can have cheapo minions. A good 300 or 400 point team will annihilate him. In a bigger match, he gets better, but it takes a lot. And his Green Lantern team ability is virtually useless in those low point tournies that almost no one will play him in anyway. Now, he is powerful, I'll give him that. He can't be outwitted and has built in willpower, also very nice. But he's also slow. Putting him in range to do anything makes him and instant target. For his kind of power, an 18 defense is too easy to hit. It's another matter of accuracy in a way. For the kind of cosmic power we are talking about and to be worthy of a 299 point value, his stats need to be better. To me, he's worth 200 points and no more. Even with regen mid dial. One five click punch from Doomsday takes him right past that. So, too point heavy for the arrangement of his dial, his stats, and accuracy, puts Ganthet at number one for my least favorite, and least likely to use pieces of 75th.

Now I will give honorable mention to the one figure I've given the most credit in this posting, Doomsday. Why bag on Doomsday? For his six space opening movement, that's why. He can leap like the Hulk but only for six spaces? Well, I will give him this after playing him against Supes and Ganthet; he's still deadly. I guess the six space opener can be forgiven.

My DC 75th TOP TEN

Okay, this is info that's going to vary depending on your own personal interests and play style, so bear with me. But I want to get one more good post in on 75th before I take off for handling the holidays. Hope you enjoy this.

Qualifications for my top ten (what I considered):

1: Nothing over 200 points because I'm looking for playability in the 300 to 400 point formats. Something that absorbs over 50% of your team doesn't make the cut for me.

2: Tactics: What do they bring to the table and how does it weigh versus need for a themed team? Is it supportable or could it support a win condition? Or is it just too broken not to use (like Nightcrawler)?

3: Point cost versus what they do, comparable to the 200 point rule, but you get the idea.

4: No chase figures. I'm interested in listing figures you can reasonably get your hands on.

As I said, you may not agree with me, but I have my reasons and you have yours, so smile.

10: WARLORD: Surprised already? Warlord is an old favorite of mine from the comics and I'm really glad to finally see a figure for him. I once read a team up with him and Green Arrow, awesome. So why does he make my list? At fifty points, he's simple with an old school combo of charge and blades with a nice 11 attack. Combat Reflexes gives him an 18 up close for defense and might just keep him around long enough to do some nice damage. The only thing that would really make him better for his points is toughness. Sadly, one good hit can take him out. I see him going down easily from high damage, but used right he can soften up a heavy for you or play some great interception on other pieces. So he's simple in application, old school, good damage and attack, and his points make him fit very very well in your warrior themes.

9: ANIMAL MAN: Remember that combo I mentioned with Warlord? Animal Man has it even better with greater movement to make up a bit for the one point lower in attack. And he starts with even better defense. His trait makes him an excellent centerpiece for a big keyword for this set, ANIMAL. Team him up with Beast Boy or all the gorillas and duplicate their powers in Animal Man. The only drawback is that he can't use the power you name until the beginning of your next turn, but it still makes him an excellent tactical wild card. If you think ahead on your plays at all, you can make great use of Animal Man and he's only 79 points. He fits well with all the low cost animals.

8: BEAST BOY: For even less points than Animal Man (60) you get another wild card. Two of the interchangeable forms of Beast Boy are commons and I got extras in my case. Hypersonic speed in the cheetah or more charge blades combo in the bear? Super. Here comes more combo with Animal Man already. I also like that Beast Boy carries the Outsiders team ability for his low cost. There's some awesome tactical ability in being able to pop up and lock down someones stats so they can't be increased or decreased by any power or effect. Beast Boy rocks.

7: ISIS: Now why would Isis (granted she's under a hundred points) beat out Beast Boy and the animal theme? How about Charge, flight, telekinesis AND quake locked at 3 damage? Normal quake is 2 damage to all opponents in base contact with knockback for those who don't know. Raise it to three and surround her with animals for all I care. If she doesn't hit one for three damage, she'll hit them all for three damage. Very nice. And she doesn't stop there for her points with Probability control on the same place in the dial as her special quake, she has mid-dial regeneration and then higher defense with willpower and a jump in damage to 4. Isis also has the "mystical" keyword, another big one with this set. You want tactics that fit in small teams? Isis has that in spades.

6: DEADSHOT: Lets face it, sharpshooter as a tactic RULES. Ranged combat expert directly in the face is a beautiful thing. Deadshot gains the ability to use that and have it be penetrating damage. You don't want to let him sit anywhere for long, but getting up close won't help you. His 12 attack with all that make him a deadly threat. Never mind finally being able to fill out the vaunted Secret Six teams people have been wanting for so long.

5: GREEN ARROW: He only beats Deadshot for place on this list by 9 points and one tactic that I love. Running shot to the face. Green Arrow's sharpshooter ability allows him to pull off running shot on his second click right into base contact. Then his defense increases by 2 for up close (giving him an 18) to make him a deadly tie up piece. And he keeps Ranged combat expert for most of his dial, so he starts doing four damage at a time to that close up target. His range is one better than Deadshot too. I have to say I find the 9 range weird and rare since most go right to 10, but I hardly care for what I get. Awesome tactics.

4: BART ALLEN: Kid Flash is back and better than ever! You gotta love hypersonic that ignores figures and hindering completely. But it can't be countered? Really? Yeah! That means NO outwit and no powers that would shut down his speed. It's not even listed as Hypersonic speed officially so it's fantastic. He has a decent attack value at 10 and a 19 defense against ranged combat. His speed allows him to stay out of reach and maybe even out of direct range. His damage isn't enough to take down heavies, but he can sure run interference on everything else. And since his points fit so well (like the rest of the Teen Titans in this set) it's not long before he can be the finisher for a piece softened up by one of his buddies. And he's a common! That's why he's number four!

3: OSIRIS: This member of the Shazam family starts out with a combo that's been a win condition in a lot of tournaments. I'm talking about the mix of Hypersonic speed with Super strength. He's mystical and I really don't care about his 3 range. Put him with other mysticals or his sister, Isis and get ready for some beat down. Starting out with Impervious in defense isn't shabby either. Even when he loses hypersonic (yeah, he only has one click of it) he remains a warrior. He's also themed for Teen Titans, though he doesn't get the team ability. I see mean possibilities for a hypersonic Teen Titans arrangement that could make opponents dizzy. Three of them are one this list and together they are still under 300 points.

2: BARRY ALLEN: One of the best Flash figures yet. He comes to the table with 14 movement (hypersonic), 11 attack, 18 defense (super senses) and a whopping 3 damage for a speeder of his type. Worried about not having that phasing trick one of the last incarnations had? Why? Later in his dial you get to put him anywhere on the whole freaking map to pull a double swing attack with flurry. That's better than phasing could ever be. Tired of that pesky medic and it's out of reach? Not any more. There's no where to hide from the Flash. You want to know a sick team up? Nightcrawler and this Flash. Need I say more? Throw in Bart, still be under 300 and I don't care if its themed or not.

So it's time for NUMBER ONE: GREEN LANTERN: Surprised? Green Lantern of All Star Squadron, carrying the JSA team ability is totally, totally awesome. Let me tell you why. First off, he KILLS stealth. He ignores stealth for his attacks and when he hits someone with stealth, he turns it off so all his buddies can shoot at the target too! That's a TRAIT so it never goes away. He's mystical too and starts out with a combo power of psychic blast and telekinesis. He's got Idomitable so auto-will power, push him with abandon and impervious. His opening click alone make him a jack of all trades and all purpose tool. At 145 points, he's about the best costed Green Lantern you can get. He's going to fit that All Star Squadron team all too well. He'll make it deadly too. Yeah, he's a super rare, but if you get your hands on him, hold on tight. He's worth it! Did I forget to mention his Running shot and 8 range? Probably because they're just icing on the cake. Oh, let me mention a nice built in wicked combo on Green Lantern. Pulse wave later in his dial, versus a slew of stealth targets. He hits them all for one damage that they can't avoid and they all lose stealth for that round.

So I hope you enjoyed my little top ten list and that you got lots of clicky goodness for your holidays and the one to come.

DC 75th case review

So I got my case of DC 75th today and after school my son and I had a little pack party. I have to say that the claim of getting "at least" one white lantern per brick held true. Two bricks are in a case and we did indeed get two white lanterns. We got White Lantern Wonder Woman and Bart Allen. Not bad. As for the rest of the pulls we got:

COMMONS: All of them, yep, all of the commons nearly twice over. That's good for my son's collection.
Easy Company Soldier x 4
Zamaron
Dominator x 2
Gorilla City Warrior x3
Deadshot
Donna Troy
Ice
Crimson Avenger
Bart Allen
Johnny Quick
Mr. Terrific
The Atom
Green Arrow
Beast Boy with Cheetah and Bear versions

UNCOMMONS: Got all of these too with a few extras nearly completing my son's set once again.
SGT Rock
Queen Aga'Po
Ruling Caste Dominator
Solovar
Warlord
Nightmaster
Osiris
Detective Chimp
Sargon the Sorcerer
Superboy
Ocean Master
Mera
Aquaman
Wonder Woman
Batman
Superman

RARES: Missing a few yet but,
Isis
Animal Man
Captain Comet
Kyle Rayner
Guy Gardner
Saint Walker
Indigo-1
Atrocitus
Larfleeze
Mongul
Scar
John Stewart
Carol Ferris
Ganthet

SUPER RARES: Got seven of them with no duplicates.
Green Lantern
Batman
Hal Jordan
Barry Allen
Doomsday
Wonder Twins
Sinestro

I see three great theme teams in this that are easily built in the 300 to 400 point circuits; All Star Squadron, Teen Titans, and Mystical. Those are pretty much the most flexible and I think strongest teams that can be made from this set. The Animal keyword gets honorable mention thanks to Beast Boy, lots of Gorillas, and Animal Man.

The rest are pretty much power pieces that only fit themes for this set in 400 or better without looking at recent sets that help with filling out. Not to say I'm not impressed with the powers and arrangements in this set because I am. I can get to some opinions on those pieces a bit later right now I'm going to address something else.

Game mechanics do get a "A" because of how many stand alone teams are doable in this set within reasonable points.

Next lets look at the sculpts. There are some great sculpts in this and manufacturing managed not to destroy that on most of them. Unfortunately there are some downright shoddy sculpts too. Take Ice for example. Her face and detail just don't match up to the other pieces. Details aren't as sharp as they were in Web of Spiderman overall. I've seen them change how pieces are made to shave costs in the past and the result is typically a minus in craftsmanship. Carol Ferris has the same problem. Figures that turned out awesome are Doomsday and Sinestro. At least mine were. Zamaron and her Queen counterpart are the absolute worst. You can't even turn her dial without almost twisting the figure off. You have to be too careful.

Fortunately, I had only one or two dials that didn't want to turn and those were of Wonder Woman. she's also a very thin figure and bends too easily. You shouldn't have to try and grasp that moon shaped base they stand on with your knuckles to turn the dial. It's not as easy as it looks. I'm more critical on manufacturing than almost anything because it directly affects how long pieces will last, how well they can handle just being played for that matter. I'm paying top dollar for my game and if I can't count on the piece to hold together it's not worth the money. C- toward a D+ for sculpts and manufacturing. It looks like we pay more for the flashy laminated cards than the figures we twist and tug on and actually play with.

Packaging is my next area of fun and games. The way they keep coming up with extra shapes on figures makes it a real puzzle to get them out of the plastic holders. Yeah, I know, not that big a deal, but still. The plastic holder is built for the ease of packing the figures, not unpacking them. That's for sure. I realize there may not be much of a solution for this, but if they are going to keep getting crazy with the shapes, capes and poses; they may want to think about it. I hate most commercial packaging anyway.

In a final note, while I am happy with my pieces and will play them assuredly, why does Superman look so freaking sad? He looks seriously depressed, people. Just look at him. He looks like he wants to take a giant leap and hug some kryptonite on the way. Even his shoulders are drooping. Oh well. Hope you all enjoy your pulls!

Talking about Barry Allen

In the new upcoming set, DC75, just days away; we have some nice pieces coming. I have to say that the newest Flash, Barry Allen, gives more justice to the character than any dial they have made yet. That's even if you do have to wait until later in the dial to get the cool power.

Let's take a look at this power they are calling, "Around the World". It allows for Flash to us flurry, but before he does, you can just put him next to any opposing figure on the whole map. That has killer possibilities.

Getting tired of that stupid medic your opponent keeps running off to? No problem, land next to that Valkyrie or Nurse and start swinging. Just need one more good hit on a fig but it ran away, like Nightcrawler? No problem, Flash can keep up without breaking a sweat.

I also like that he starts out with 3 damage now, much like his Blue Lantern version. I mean, seriously, a 750+ mph fist should always do more than just one on openers. At least this way it has a chance at a minimum of one against big defense powers.

I still think that they could round off their point values more as the odd numbers just aren't necessary and make fitting some teams difficult. But then, they are doing my son a world of good on his math practice.

All the same, I'm looking forward to the new set. I hope you are too.

The mechanics of a set

While anticipating a new set, like DC 75 for this December, I often find myself musing about how sets are planned out. I've read before that there really is no set method of assigning points based on powers, team abilities, or anything else. I've read it's more of a rule of thumb or gut feeling that is applied to each figure. I think that practice has put out a lot of overpriced or under-priced figures.

I understand the need to keep things new and fresh in order to keep people interested. This is a business after all. I do think that a standard mechanic or two would make set planning easier and take some guesswork out of remaking characters in future sets.

You might argue, that with so many characters, such a feat is nearly impossible. I disagree, thanks to the age of the database. If they set up a DC database and apply some standards, they can change some subtle things as they go, but points would easier to apply and might even give people the why or how they are often looking for. Just how much is hypersonic speed worth anyway, right?

To get more in depth, here are some things they could apply for this idea:

Health: The number of clicks a figure has is pretty much it's health. I don't think Superman should ever drop below 9. Superboy could be 8 and some other worlds versions that are way powerful, well, they'd be maxed out likely. But Superman could set the bar on the higher side easily. Past that I think you could agree that a 6 click Superman would be pretty sad. I think Batman should hover around 7 with no higher than 8 for his other versions. That includes vampire batman.

Because of the variations, no format is perfect, but may help to keep that lower than low Superman from happening.

Point values: This is a big one. Establish a minimum and maximum cost for figures and stick to it. Take Cosmic Spiderman for example. I've played him and he's not infallible or unstoppable. He can be beaten by a 300 point force. I've seen it happen. The extra 19 points that basically make him unplayable in anything less than a 400 point game were just unnecessary. As it is, he can't even get good use of his extra team ability unless you go to 400. So he could have been valued at 300 and been just fine. Even out the points to make team building easier. That would be nice also. A database could help organize the average points that any character should cost. Looking at Superman again, I don't think he should ever be higher than 200. I think that's plenty of point cost and makes him rare enough for small games as is.

Numbers of the dial: Once again, using Superman, he should never be lower than an 18 defense to start out. He's a fair combatant so never below a 10 to start. A set of basic stats is another area that could be established to help with planning. Characters that are combat masters, like Wolverine, should never be less than an 11. He's a fighting animal after all. I remember the Superman figures that came out with 15 and 16 defenses and thought, "no way". Some characters should lose their numbers as fast as they do either. Consider Veteran Superman from Icons. His points were way out there and his defense drops to pitiful levels quickly. He starts out as a monster, but drops quickly to a whimpering kitten, then he's gone. No, I liked that Supes too, so don't kill me here. I'm just trying to make a point. It's just that it would and should be easy to give characters a numeric grade on the existing scale. On defense no one goes higher than a 20 (for most base characters) so you now have a scale of even 10 to 20 with most key figures scoring from 16-20.

Another argument against this idea could be that it takes some surprise out of what to expect in character development. That may be, but the power lineups are still pretty loose and with the new arrangements of white powers coming out left and right, I think you'll get plenty of cool surprises where you know that Superman starts with an 18 defense or not. Then there's the Rookie, Experience, and Veteran idea that's pretty much just colors on the cards now. Even those are pretty out of control and not that organized.

Well, just my thoughts. I'm still looking forward to DC 75th and a whole slew of cool figs to collect. I'm sure you are too.