Looking forward to Hulking out

In December we have a brand new set that will grace our fingers and maps. A set totally based on the Hulk. In seeing the teasers for it, I have to say it looks to be as awesome of a set as Superman (if not better).

It's going to be great to see Skarr team up with his dear ol Dad. The Leader says he has minions to bring to the party (and they look like they can do a good job of getting in the way).

The sculpts look awesome and there are several forms of Hulk to get your grubby fingers on.

From the news at HC Realms (yes, that's a link) I like the idea that we are getting a new chance at Red Hulk (I never got one) and a new Terrax the Tamer? Wow. I hope he's better than the last one. I liked the original running shot Terrax who terrorized the table for me many times. He was great with a couple con artists. I know that's old school, but it sure was fun. Baron Mordo is also on the poster art and I would like to see him with enough oompf to be a threat to Dr. Strange.

I want to remind people of another great place to see heroclix information and that's Heroclix World (another link). Be sure to stop in there and keep up with all the up to date coolness that is Heroclix.

How to fix the new oreo dials

Beginning with then new Superman Heroclix set, we see a new style of dial to turn at games. It's called the oreo dial and for good reason. To turn it, you hold it like an Oreo cookie and twist as if you were about to pull apart and enjoy some chocolatey goodness.

With the old dials, sticking could be fixed in a few ways. The easiest was to bend up part of an upper dial, or you could take the dial apart and check for extra bits of plastic to trim. Well, the new dial brings a whole new method to fixing if your dial sticks. I had to do some experimentation to learn how it worked. Now that I have, I'm passing the new knowledge on to you!

So your new dial is stuck. Here is what you need: A medium flat-head screwdriver, a pair of toe or finger nail clippers (with the front bowing outward, not the classic horse-shoe shape) and your stuck figure.

The first thing you have to do is separate the top and bottom of the dial. Look at the side of the dial. You will note gaps in the seam where your screwdriver may fit. Be sure not to use a screwdriver too large, nor too small. You may have to use some trial and error. Also, as a safety note, be careful that you don't stab yourself in the hand while attempting this. Work slowly and carefully.

Insert the flat end of the screwdriver into one of the slots around the edge and carefully pry to separate. You may have to do this in more than one spot and more than once while being careful of the plastic. See the photo for where NOT to pry. If you pry near the numbers opening of the dial, the plastic will easily break. If you pry near where the team abilities are printed, the plastic will more easily bend.

Once you have the dial separated, set down the printed dial section, you won't need it. Look under the top portion of the dial that holds the figure sculpt. You should see three squared horse shoe shapes around the edge. These are the points of the plastic that hold the dial in it's groove. If they are too thick in the slightest, they will stop the dial from turning. This is something very hard to control through manufacturing by the way.

Now, it's important that you only use this step on ONE of the horse shoes. What you have to do, is take the nail clippers or something you can shave a little plastic with (if you have cool modding tools) and remove just a little bit of the plastic from the ends of one of the horse shoes. When I say, "just a little", I mean barely a sliver.

Finally, snap the pieces back together and test out the fixed dial. It should turn much easier now. Remember to only do this with ONE of the horse shoes, or it will work a little too well and you'll have a very loose dial.

I have used this method on several pieces through two cases so far and it has worked every single time. Remember to be careful, don't get in a hurry. You'll find your new oreo dial working like a charm.

Heroclix tips for beginners

In this little article I am going to share some general tips in learning to play Heroclix for the beginner. Maybe you've been a collector and feel the need to finally play or maybe you just got your first starter? Either way, these are the things you should start with to get you into the game.

1: Learn what the numbers mean on the dial and how they work. This is a technique used at the conventions to demonstrate Heroclix. You ignore all the powers and just use the numbers and dice. Get a couple of figures on the map and roll dice for combat against each other until one of the figures is KO'd. Mess around with this until you feel comfortable with how the numbers work. Don't forget range and the number of targets you can have in this. It's useful to practice with. This gets you hands on practice and will be the kindling to start your blazing Heroclix skills.

2: Read the PAC and keep it near at all games. If you don't have a Powers and Abilities Card, find a way to get one. Be sure you've read it over before trying to mess with any powers. The best way to learn how powers work, of course, is just to dive in and play. However, in my experience, you pick it up faster if you've read the card. Don't forget team abilities either.

3: The next thing to learn past the dial is the map. You should learn what all the terrain features mean so you don't find yourself lost on the maps your opponent will choose.

4: Start with small point games. Build small teams and base them on the powers you want to practice. Remember good teams will have several powers working in tangent. Just think about your favorite comic book teams and what each member brings. Some great teams available out there are the Secret Warriors (Captain America) and the Warriors Three (Hammer of Thor). If you don't have those, it's okay, there are plenty of combinations that you can use.

5: Don't worry about keywords until you've played a few games. You can pick up on themes later. It's all up to your comfort zone on what you've learned though.

So, what should you put in a team that gives you a chance on the map? Well, here's what each team should have for good chances in play.

Move and attack: Figures that can move and attack in one action. These are thanks to the powers of Charge, Running shot, and Hypersonic Speed. Since Hypersonic is usually expensive (unless you play Rocket Racer from Web of Spiderman) you should get a charger or runner. Running shot is one of my personal favorites but a flyer with charge is also quite useful. More often than not, you can fit two moving attackers into a team. It's a good idea. The fall back is to use telekinesis.

Support powers: A cheap healer to run back to is very useful but you should also make sure you have something of these three; Outwit, Perplex, and Probability Control. You may have a hard time fitting all three on a team, but you should at least have one. Remember that they are there and use them. Forgetting to outwit someones Blades/Claws/Fangs or to perplex damage or defense can cost the game quickly.

Damage dealers: These can often be found with your moving attackers. Psychic Blast and Exploit Weakness are the best, but Pulse Wave is nice too. If you can't deal damage, you won't win, ever. The fastest way around pesky defense powers are these. Super senses can still be a pain but then you need to use it too.

Defense: 17+ are good on defense but make sure you pick powers that either reduce damage or make it harder to hit you. Super senses is a great power because it gives you a saving chance. Same for shape change. Those can save you from any damage or attack (almost).

A couple more pointers for the beginner:

1: A one man army can and will get mobbed. Don't do this until you've played quite a few games.

2: Don't rush into the face of danger. The first person to get close is usually the first person hit (except for those move and attack powers). The flip side to this is called Turtling. Turtling is when a person deliberately takes as long as humanly possible to move up or just spends the whole game running away. Players HATE that.

3: Never put someone in harms way alone unless you intend to use them as bait. Even then, make sure one of your other pieces can try to back them up.

So, there you have it, tips in a nutshell. Above all, no matter what you do, enjoy yourself and have fun. Heroclix is an awesome game with a great following. Keep clicking!

Top Ten best Women of Heroclix

First, let me say this was no easy task. How I made these selections, was to take all the female characters and separate then into "point classes". Then I had to compare what all the figures offered for their perspective points. I also considered how long dials were, traits, some popularity via players, and their stats. Finally I also considered how many ways the character could be played, as in how many versions are out there. Some of this list is obvious, the rest will surprise you. In any case, while opinions vary, you're sure to enjoy playing these beauties:

10: ORACLE: From Legacy, this 27 point gal offers some serious strategic power. The drawback is that you have to play her card with her to get the most of it. That can make her a point sink and a half for most small teams. Still, the access to leadership, outwit or perplex along with altering combat values by +1 is nothing to sneeze at. Being golden age and a bit costly puts Oracle at number ten.

9: GHOST WIDOW: From City of Villains. For 54 points, this spider-lady has a lot to offer. She's basically a mystic with her team ability, she has phasing at 9 spaces, poison, support and an 18 defense. Her points give her perfect room for a feat card, Armor Piercing, to make her poison hit home. She may have a short dial, but if you don't take her down right away, you will get bit.

8: DOMINO: From Giant Sized Xmen for 69 points. Stealth, 8 range, high defense from range, and 3 damage with probability control are what she has to offer. Oh, but lets not forget her special power, Lucky Shot, that increases damage to a critical hit by 3 instead of 1! She's a great background piece that supports her team nicely. When not in hiding, she gets running shot and super senses. Nice arrangement of powers and the Xmen team ability lends it's own support.

7: SPIDER-GIRL: From Secret Invasion for 77 points, this lady is a warrior. Her special powers load her for bear with charge, running shot, and leap climb in a single power. Incap and force blast on another and super senses with combat reflexes together on defense. It would be better if she had super strength on open but she does gain it later along with exploit weakness. The Spider-man team ability helps her use any team ability on your force, making her very team flexible.

6: STORM: Giant Sized Xmen brought us the best Storm ever! For 86 points she has great range and damage that increases on an outdoor area of map. Just click through her dial for a great arrangement of powers to include telekinesis! Storm is epic and fits beautifully into any team arrangement.

5: BLACK ALICE: From DC75th for 94 points. Black Alice is truly dangerous. She has the probability control with 3 damage to start her off, like Domino. But she has a nasty special power. She can outwit any standard power and then use it for herself! Phasing gets her into position to do this really fast and her defense at range is 19! Add that to being a mystic and it hurts to hurt her! Black Alice is a thorny adversary and worthy of the mid spot on this list.

4: MOON DRAGON: From Hammer of Thor for 134 points. Mind control, 10 range, psychic blast and super senses, start out this cosmic lady of the Infinity Watch. If that's not enough for you, she changes mid dial into a giant dragon with powers to match. That includes running shot, 3 damage, and an 18 defense with toughness. She also has perplex and telekinesis along the way. Well stocked for her points, though an extra click of life or two would be nice. Still, that's a lot of power in just 8 clicks.

3: SUPERGIRL: For this, I chose the 178 point version from Crisis. You could just as easily play the 200 point version Legion of Superheroes and do just as much damage if not more. They both have hypersonic speed, super strength, and impervious with some shooting range for heat vision. And which is better, the Superman team ability or ability to copy it for just 22 points more? Mystic opponent? She'll smack them with a dumpster, take her click and probably knock out the mystic in the process. And she'll still be dangerous.

2: WONDER WOMAN: You can pretty much take your pick of all the current versions of Wonder Woman, they're all mean. Arkham Asylum gave us a Wonder Woman for 248 points with charge, super strength, a 12 attack, 5 damage, impervious and indomitable (built in willpower). The fact she can also incap two figures adjacent to each other is just cake. Of course, she would rather just crush them. Just about any Wonder Woman you can play today, can hold her own in point value on this list and win. Yes, range is her enemy, but at 10 opening movement with charge, it won't take her long to close the gap. Her 12 attack laughs at your 19 defense and her incap works at a range of 6. Heck, play the white lantern and don't worry about the range. Feel like being brutal today? Wonder Woman is the way to go.

1: PHOENIX: I'm not talking about a colossal, but you have to admit, she's the only woman with a colossal figure out there. Two of them actually. Giant Sized Xmen gives us a Phoenix for 297 points with a trait, hypersonic speed, 10 range, 3 targets, telekinesis, impervious, and 5 damage just to kick things off. Her trait will save her life once per game and her ability to heal when she uses support on someone else is just awesome. She can stand alone against 300 points and I've seen her do it. Down her dial she gains psychic blast while still at 4 damage and perplex. Not only that, but the Power Cosmic team ability gives her willpower and protects her from outwit. It's this combination and all the ways that Jean Grey can be played, along with being a Colossal in two forms, that make this the most powerful woman in heroclix. It's why she's HOT and NUMBER ONE.

By the numbers: Fantastic Four

With lack of a local venue right now, I find myself getting a something of a "heroclix fix" by team building. Yes, I get my little figures out and waste time just seeing what kind of teams I could put together. Admit it, the rest of you hardcore players do it too.

In the Captain America set, we had two new forms of FF characters in Invisible Woman and the Human Torch. Invisible woman got some new keywords allowing her to hang with the Avengers and celebrity teams. That's all well and good, but you'll note they cost a bit more than the ones from the starter set of years ago.

You might think; "Well, so much for playing the four in a 400 format", but don't be so sure. If there's anything the FF has to offer now, it's options. More characters now have the keyword and the ATA (while it costs now) also works by keyword instead of team ability. Yes, options are awesome, allow me to demonstrate.

First let's quote the ATA (alternate team ability): FANTASTIC FORCE: Characters using this team ability may replace their defense value with the unmodified defense value of an adjacent friendly character with this team ability. The requirement to use this is 5 points per character and the Fantastic Four KEYWORD. So the team ability does not have to be printed on the dial of all your force. Very handy with the new options.

ATA CLASSIC: First of all, if you are going to use the ATA in your team, you need a good defense to use it with. That means reaching back into the Fantastic Forces set and grabbing the limited edition Sue Storm; defense of 19. So what if everyone needs to be in base contact? It works. Sue is 49 points. Add Mr Fantastic (100), new Human Torch (120), Thing (100) and pay the 20 points for the ATA and reach 389 points. Give Sue the feat card, Protected for the remaining 11 and voila! 400 points! Legally themed.

But what else can we do?

STORM FOUR: This uses a bit of variation to get either a 400 or 500 point team. If you want to use the new Black Panther with his trait and extras, it will be a 500. So, Storm (86), Black Panther (128), Thing (100), Human Torch (120) to make a 434 point team. You may as well use the higher point Torch, because the 100 point will still take you over 400. Black Panther is the key since his 92 point version will make a team of 398. You could use the 20 point difference in Torches for feats or the ATA if you like. For the 434, you may as well use the ATA for 20 and feats; Unstoppable on Thing (5), In contact with Oracle for 40 points (covering whole team at 10 points each), and add one more thing: The Gem of Cytorrak for 5 to make a team of 504. Theme legal too.

Why use Cytorrak? Because it's 5 points that can make a character a monster. It's just cool. It gives one character super strength, charge, +1 to damage, and toughness. All for a chancy die roll and five lousy points. I like it so I list the heck out of it. It's also all I have, so if there's another object you like, hey, use it!

FEM STYLE: Ah the chic team! Who doesn't like that? Well, now FF offers a decent version of a very playable chic team. Yes, I'm leaving the K off chic on purpose. So, play Storm (86), Exp She Hulk (127), Crystal (62), Invisible Woman (110) for 385. Fill the 15 point gap with Unstoppable on She Hulk, 2 Alias feat cards, and the Gem again for 401. It's still theme legal and Crystal could make very nice use of the Gem and an Alias. Think about it.

ATA FEM STYLE: Same as above but using Sue Storm instead of Invis listed above (49) and adding She Thing (50). Pay 25 points for the ATA and have it at 399. Obviously none of the feats or the gem are invovled, but you would be legal with the gem at 403.

AMPED UP: Combining new and old with Mr. Fantastic and Thing for their 100 point versions and the new Invisible Woman (110) and Human Torch (120) for 430 (so a 500 pt match). This holds room for cards! Brilliant Tactition at 20 points allows Mr. F. to do his +2 perplex on his whole team at once! Unstoppable on the Thing so he ignores hindering for movement. Give Mr. Fantastic Takedown (6) to put tokens on attackers AND Dissent (18) to let him outwit team abilities. That's a nice package with the Gem again (ha ha) for 484!

VARIANT FF: For an all alternative team try, Storm (86), Black Panther (128), Experienced She Hulk (127), Bombastic Bag Man (for laughs at 90- or go with 85 pt Luke Cage), and Crystal (62) for 493 points. Yep, I'm going to add the Gem again, just to make you crazy for 498.

Finally, my personal favorite, not theme legal at all:

SUBSTITUTE FF: This is based on the old story where Hulk, Wolverine, Spiderman, and Ghost Rider became the FF. Hulk is a funny one for this, but I enjoy the idea anyway. Hey, it's my own version. Wolverine from Web of Spiderman (105), Spider-man from the same set (78), Veteran Ghostrider from Fantastic Forces (102), and finally Green Scar Hulk (230) for 515 points. Give them all Oracle for 40 and the gem for 560. If you really want to get silly, add some cheap Skrulls for minion-cannonfodder.

I'm not going to list it here, but you can also form a nice 1000 point FF team now. Try it!

A League of Shields: Captain America

My son was listening in on a heroclix conversation the other day. We were talking about characters who shared the same basic name and that we thought would work well in a team.

Yesterday, my son came to me with six Captain America figures. He did very well for being 9 years old. All of them were different people (see backs of cards) and they fit well for a four hundred point team.

Double space Captain America from the new set
Captain America (who was actually Bucky/Winter Soldier) from the new set
US Agent from Avengers
Patriot from Avengers
Red Guardian from the new set (Captain America)
Black Captain America from Secret Invasion

Yes, they are a ground force and maps can determine their win or lose. However, they are surprisingly versatile. You have six figures on a 400 point team which works for themes. I know, I know, Patriot doesn't share a keyword, so it would have to be accepted for custom by the judge. But just look at them, it works! By the way, they all have something to do with super soldiers, even Patriot thanks to a blood transfusion. So tell me why they can't be a theme team?

Anyway, you have four chargers with decent movement and attack. You have two running shots, two rolls for leadership, one perplexer, two Defender's team ability and two Avengers team ability. Even without leadership, you can move your whole team into position on your first turn because of Avengers team ability. You only have one with willpower, but smart use of him can make or break the game. Push when there's an advantage. You use double space Cap's running shot to a point where he can charge on the next turn and pick up his shield on the way. Swarm a target with charging Captains and start scoring knock outs. Wolverine and Cyclops went down really fast thanks to that.

I played Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Archangel and I had some bad die rolls. Still, once the gap was closed on an indoor map, it was practically over. My son learned to concentrate attacks on a single figure and scored knock outs quickly. Yeah I had to help him a little because he's still learning. Regardless, this League of Shields turned out to be a very good team. Long range and open maps are their enemy, but they have a good defense mode to carry through that.

Try it and let me know how it works for you!

High time for a new cosmic set.

Not long after I posted my view on Gatecrasher's Technet, I got the news that there is a new space faring Marvel set coming. Now, Hulk is slated for December and that's nice, but I'm far more excited about a new Galactic Guardians set. I'm a big fan of the cosmic forces and they really need the overhaul given to other pieces repeatedly so far. Hulk already has new pieces since the restart of Heroclix. Thanks to those we have Green Scar, Hulk as a horseman of Apocalypse, Golden age hulk, Red Hulk, Rampaging Hulk; and don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have a new set for Hulk. I'll take it. But the overhaul for our space age friends is far more overdue. Not only could we use more of the Technet to fill out a pesky keyword issue, but check out the following:

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Specifically the original team. Starhawk could really use and upgrade as could Vance Astro or Aleta. We've also never had Capt. Charlie-27 or Martinex. There are some great character possibilities here and I would love to see them done.

JACK OF HEARTS: Here's a cosmic hero in dire need of a redo. Not that his original piece isn't good, but with all the new mechanics of the game, he could be awesome.

THE INHUMANS: I would really like to see a better Black Bolt and replacements for Medusa and Crystal. Upgrading Lockjaw wouldn't hurt either since we have the "pet Avengers" keyword floating around. Give Lockjaw the transporter ability without the pesky -2 to movement. After all, he could transport his whole team across the stars!

The NOVAs: There are two of them. One is the female, Frankie Raye:

And the other is,

Let's see them both.

STARJAMMERS: What space faring set would be complete without a relaunch of the Starjammers? Corsair, Hepzibah and Raja are all great choices. I would also like to see them actually worth playing. Sorry, but the last time we saw Hepzibah, she wasn't.

DRAX THE DESTROYER: I don't care which version we see, but make him. Please give him the keywords for Guardians and Infinity Watch. He should fit in both or it's just not right.

SHIAR IMPERIAL GUARD: Since the Annhilators keyword is getting introduced, follow through and remake Gladiator. You may as well give the keyword to a replacement of Silver Surfer as well. Too bad they'll likely never count as a theme team under the new rules. Points are probably going to be way too high. I still want the characters though. Isn't that funny?

SKYMAX and SUPERSKRULL: While we are looking at heroes, like Skymax, let's be sure to give the bad guys some room too.

Super Skrull is a great start. Want to know another awesome idea? Besides Thanos, try this guy:

That's right, Tyrant. Consider yourselves challenged Wizkids!

By the Numbers: MODOK's 11

You can play all 11 of MODOK's team for 988 points, putting it in the thousand point bracket. It's a highly versatile team with four running shots, two chargers, a hypersonic that ignores most terrain, a mind controller that sees through stealth, an outwitter/perplexer with phasing, shape changing, super senses, impervious, some free blades/claws and a fair dose of psychic blast. The main drawback is that only three of them start with an attack value above 9. The rest start at 9, so that's a good thing. A couple even improve when hit, so that's helpful too. Their average ranged attack is six spaces, but two of them are higher than that. 11 figures in a thousand point match is also pretty good on numbers. It's not the best you can do for the points, but it's not absolute crud either. Use their collection of abilities right and you could be a real pain in your opponents kiester.

Now, how about in other point matches? What could you play in other point matches using MODOK and the MODOK's 11 theme? Here's my take. Opinions will vary, but:

300: use Mentallo and Rocket Racer with their leader in a 300 point match. Why? Because Mentallo ignores stealth and RR ignores all terrain for movement except for blocking. MODOK already gives a lot to his team with running shot and psychic blast, outwit, perplex and reroll. His psychic bomb ability is nothing to sneeze at either, but it comes late in the dial. What Mentallo can do is force pesky stealthers to step out into MODOK's line of fire for his heavy damage scores. Rocket Racer can hit them where ever they hide. Choice of map can get in the way a little, but smart players can get around this with patience. This combo hits 291 points. Thanks to the 1% rule you can fit an armor piercing on RR for extra damage ability. OH, and let's not forget the Hydra team ability possessed by Mentallo and MODOK and copyable by RR.

Hydra Team Ability: "When a friendly character making a ranged combat attack is adjacent to one or more characters using the Hydra team ability, each opposing character targeted by the attacker modifies its defense value by -1 for each character using the Hydra team ability if the characters using the Hydra team ability also have a clear line of fire to the target."

The target does not have be in the actual range of all the Hydra users, just in line of fire.

400: Same as with 300 but add Living Laser for his running shot and long range. Having ranged combat expert for doing up to 5 damage doesn't hurt either. He has the best range and highest running shot out of the whole group. The 9 attack levels are still kind of harsh, but proper use of Hydra can overcome that. This makes for 382 points with room for card usage once again.

500: Same people as above once again, but now add Scientist Supreme for her frontloaded outwit and perplex. She can only perplex someone with the scientist keyword but that's half your force at this point. Phasing mixed with outwit means getting into position to use outwit instantly. The only reason I wait until a 500 point match to use her is that she's 97 points. This comes to 479 points. Plenty of room for card usage now. This team could actually be really lethal. Mobility, traits and psychic blast damage and support powers. Ouch.

600: Still adding to the roster from above, we bring in Puma and the Spot. You may laugh at the Spot, but he's a scientist (perplexable by SS), a transporter with phasing and a decent 18 defense with super senses. Add his cute parlor trick of popping out of walls to flurry on people (after being perplexed for higher damage of course) and you have a real irritant on your hands. This also brings your force up in decent numbers for game presence and tactics. Puma is an obvious one with front loaded charge, blades/claws with super senses AND shape change. The dual protection makes him good.

700: Now I change it up. I like my magnificent sevens and this point range creates a different need in points. The varied points of the figures also create a challenge as point levels go up. You wind up having to look for the best mix for those points. So, MODOK, Mentallo, Living Laser, Armadillo, Puma, Rocket Racer, and Super Adaptoid. This is an outright assault team. It's loaded with move and attack goodness. It has the tactics of the 300 point team and plenty of damage ability. Super Adaptoid fits nicely here. He's a wild card in team abilities and able to use the powers of others. Living Laser makes a good taxi as well. Losing two on his movement still leaves him with 10 space traveling. This comes to 702 points, legal by the 1% rule.

800: Now we're back to adding to the previous roster, this time from the 700. Add Scientist Supreme for her abilities.

900: Now add Nightshade to that. Why didn't I use her a long time ago? You know, for her ability to give adjacent characters blades/claws? Because, frankly, Mentallo is better. He sees through stealth, has a one click longer dial, has mind control front loaded and psychic blast. Nightshade's ability is okay for minion teams and some close quarter issues. Her running shot is good too. I just found her to be too much of a one trick pony for the needs of the team. She just didn't fit the strategies until now. Am I undervaluing her? Maybe, maybe not. I know she could really help out a character that's been based by opponents. It just didn't fit my strategy style.

1000: And we put Chameleon and Spot in the mix. Chameleon will make an okay tie up piece now, but he also didn't fit the strategies above. He doesn't have enough attack and damage to him. All he can really do is hide and incapacitate. He shuts down alter ego abilities, but I've found those fairly rare. When I do come across them, I don't usually care.

So there you have it. I think MODOK's is best played as a higher point team, though maybe most effective in the middle ranges. I like the looks of 600 and 700 points especially. So, keep on clicking and we'll catch you on the roll next time.

Captain America case review

I bought two cases of Captain America and after careful consideration, I'm ready with my review. As usual, I'm going to talk about manufacturing and condition of the pieces as well as playability and some other things I noticed over all. Of course, it's just my opinion and you may feel differently on some points. Kind debate is always welcome.

So, first, the condition of pieces and manufacturing. These are actually really well made and solid pieces. In two cases I had only one figure missing an arm entirely, two that came off their bases (no problem with super glue), and two with arms to reattach. This appears to be the same solid plastic used for the Giant Sized X-men set. Some have a bit of a gloss coat but I find that cool looking. The dials turn really well, better than I've seen so far. In one case only two needed help. In the second, about four wouldn't budge at all, but that makes for six in two cases. A few others I adjusted because they were a little tight, but seriously, great job. And the best part is the sculpts in being able to turn those dials. Thank you Wizkids and Neca for managing to not make any sculpts that stand on a skinny little piece of plastic that feels like it's just going to break when you try and turn the dial! All of these figures are in solid poses that make dial turning and grip that much easier. I couldn't be happier on that one!

Keywords are at an all time high with this set. I'm actually quite happy to see the rebirth of Hydra and AIM. I remember when it was more cannonfodder than anything in both teams. There just weren't many characters, especially from the same set, that you could build for Hydra. Now, you have them all in one set and they can be a fairly decent threat. MODOK's 11 has grown some teeth, especially with the big head himself. But, as usual, not all keywords are created equal.

My first keyword problem is Nomad. Nomad has no keywords. He should have soldier or warrior at least. He was trained by how many Capt. Americas? Check his card, it says "two". I'll play him as a soldier anyway, but he should have the keyword. Gameplay is far too dependant on keyword themes, so there shouldn't be any pieces without at least one. Next there's Batroc's Brigade and Lady Liberators. At least you can find most of the Lady Liberators and maybe get a pass from the judge on keword, or will anyone even play it? It still makes me wonder how keywords get picked. I am glad to see Great Lakes Avengers get filled in a bit more and expansion for the Hand is okay too.

New strategies in duo based figures has been touched on. I know there are plenty of them out there, but most of them are duo figures or transporters, and not just a single figure with double base. I can see how this gives Cap some extra fighting room, but it also makes him a bigger and easier target.

Traits; there's an interesting trait that's surfaced and I like it. This has been done with some white powers before and also with the Warriors Three. Duo traits that give characters a bonus for being together is neat. I especially like the one for Black Panther and Storm, allowing them to use support on each other. Black Panther is kind of expensive though, more than he's ever been. I don't like that.

For my chases I got Capwolf and Rojhaz. I like Capwolf and what he can do for the animal keyword. For that matter, there's some good possibilities for that keyword still in this set.

This set gives a wide range in build possibilities and points. The Winter Guard makes an easy 400 point team while the Secret Warriors can do an easy 300. Ranged combat is getting a little more diverse with more odd numbers to ranges, but I guess that's okay.

Now for the biggest question of all, the removable pieces. I have to say these have been well made for the most part. I worry about small pieces like Cap's shield and the Scorpio Key getting lost but the fireball and invisible shield are pretty cool. I shake my head at the mechanic of the Weapon X tank and Cap's iceberg. I may work out in game play, but I just can't put "wait's to be used" into a good strategy. I would play it just to mess around, but four rounds of just sitting there isn't worth 70 points to me. So, sorry, I'd love to have Weapon X for my collection, but I have two other Wolverines that trump him because I don't have to wait to use them. They also have the built in healing factors. So Cap on ice and Weapon X get my vote for least playable. I'll be back with more heroclix fun soon so stay tuned.