Superman: Case Review!

Finally, finally, finally, I got my two cases of Superman Heroclix in yesterday. It was so good to finally crack into some boosters and see what awesomeness lie in store for us. I have to say I am quite satisfied with my pulls and you can feast your eyes on the photos.

It's really my own fault my stuff came so late. I probably should have contacted the company on the website and asked them if they could make sure my shipment arrived by release day, or at least the day after. Lesson learned!

So, what you are seeing is the result of opening two cases. I'm not just collecting for me after all, but my son and two other players (I give them extras and it means having more players in this area too). But even just for my son and myself, we have a lot to collect.

DISTRIBUTION: In one case I have to say I probably had all the commons and all the uncommons. I was pretty close to all the rares too. Not bad for one case. Two cases and I had a lot to spread around to all four people involved. Even the fourth person has just about all the commons, several uncommons and a few rares. For super-rares, I got the one I coveted most of all, Black Adam! As for the rest, I got the same people in each case (Flash, Aquaman, Queen of Fables, Darkseid, Imperiex, and Swamp Thing). My chases were Hoodie Superman and Apokalips Superman. Except for all the duplicate luck (that I really don't mind), distribution was awesome.

MANUFACTURING: The big drawback to these two cases (moreso than I've noticed ever before) was the odor. New plastic can carry an odor with it that comes from being made with petroleum. This odor does wear off, but it made us a little head achey while we opened packs. After sitting in open air it's dissipated. Sculpts look good while faces are hit and miss. No brittle sculpts or missing arms in two whole cases. Sculpts are pretty solid, even Livewire who stands on the dreaded "both legs together" skinny piece of plastic stance. Oh, but what's the big debut for this set? That's right, the new oreo dials!

These dials have a lot going for them. Once you get used to how you have to grab them, you can make them work well for you. You don't have to depend on grabbing a fragile looking sculpt to turn the dial. I still had to fix a few dials, and that involved learning how they work. It's not the same as fixing the other dials, but have no fear; this is a two-blog day. In my next article I will tell you all about how to fix sticking in the new dials! Over all, not bad, Wizkids and NECA, not bad.

GAME MECHANICS: Keywords, I just can't leave them alone. Good things for this set on keywords though. Kryptonians, Metropolis, Flashpoint, Phantom Zone, and Reign of the Supermen all get kudos for having enough people to build teams with. Downers aren't worth much mention in keywords for this set, but I will say that Superman Robot should have Kryptonian and Lobo should have Warrior. On a further plus with keywords, I haven't found one that doesn't have any! YEAH! I may just not have the pieces that are missing keywords, ha ha. Still, I've said it before, all figures should have keywords. It's a mechanic that is now embedded in how people play. Point values are really decent. Consider how you can play Non and Ursa for 300 points flat. Realizing Kryptonians just aren't cheap makes sense here and you have a playable Phantom Zone. The generic Kryptonians are still slightly short dialed, but they make up for it in ability. There are some definite improvements with this set!

The big kudo? Main characters as COMMONS! Superman, Lex, Supergirl, Superwoman, all commons and worth playing. Even if this Superman is based on All Star (see the movie if you haven't already), he's the best Superman statwise since Icons. And let's not forget the whole split dial thing. Having the multi starting areas on these dials is a real innovation. You can drop the detachable objects for all I care, but don't drop this. Wizkids, you are on to something here!

So, my opinion is, if you haven't got any of this set, you are missing out.

Keywords and their impact

I don't know about you, but when I read the keywords on a figure's card, I feel like I'm sometimes seeing a preview of things to come. For example, Technet: we only have one character for the Technet so far, but seeing a keyword almost seems like an unspoken promise that you are going to see more of these guys.

Now, the company has gotten better about this, but they really should reign in that keyword use and consider what they are saying when that word is printed. As it is, there is an armada of keywords out there. I know there pretty much has to be that many in order for there to be a good range of themed teams to build. But how do they decide on what the keywords will be? Sometimes it's hard to follow.

Sometimes, it looks like keywords on done on a character by character basis without much thought to the future. Well, it used to really look like that, I admit it's a little less that way now. And just to show I'm not talking out my ear, check these out:

(Remember: in order to have a themed team ALL of the characters on your force must share the keyword AND there must be the acceptable number of figures on your team. For a 300 point team that's 3 figures for generic and two for non-generic. Remember those numbers)

NG means Non-Generic and I'm pretty much just doing those because that's as much as I could fit here, ha ha.

Agency X (NG): Two characters have been given this keyword. In current format they come to 298. They are Taskmaster and Deadpool. Problem: While you can make a team now (that will die a horrible death), this keyword needs more figures to make it viable in games. From Avengers to Web of Spiderman (from when Keywords officially started) only two people is just not enough. If you use older pieces or dupes (that most venues make rules against now to avoid over cheesiness) you can go to back to Xplosion and use extras. Yes, I have the fifty page printout with keywords given all the way back to the very first set.

Badoon (NG): The only saving grace for this group (having the Skrull team ability) is that they are a "minion type" generic figure that you can use as many of that you want to. I've seen a few Skrull teams with them, but now they lose the theme. Why? Because they DON'T get the Skrull keyword. And I sorely doubt anyone wants to make a Badoon army. The enhancement is cute, but the team will likely die. So, Badoon is pretty much useless. Especially to the Skrulls. Look it up.

Beast (NG): Why??? Why is this listed as a non-generic for one? And why oh why is there only ONE character? Yep, just one. Marrina from Armor Wars. Look, this one was redundant. Give her the animal keyword and have done with it. Or monster if you really want, that's another type of beast isn't it? Better yet, if they are going to go back and assign keywords to figures that didn't have any at first... omit the useless keywords. This one is a prime example.

Beta Flight (NG): Marrina and Vindicator only. Two people and not even two hundred points. 143 to be exact. There hasn't been another since Supernova. Sorry Beta Flight fans (if there are any).

Big Hero 6 (NG): Another that got slapped in there with just two guys, Silver Samurai and LE Shiro Yoshida. Did the person making this list use wishful thinking? And why not Vet Sunfire? I realize this list may not have been made entirely by the company, but...

Black Hole Sons (NG): Currently only the Mindless Ones from Giant Sized Xmen have this keyword. Okay, so, are Starstalker and characters from his storyline coming? If not, why even have this keyword? Aren't brute, monster and mystical enough? Is it just to look cool? How about the Mind? Well, this is a point I'm trying to make. When I see a new keyword (since the purpose of a keyword is to build a team around it) it suggests to me that, in upcoming sets, I'm going to see more of them. If I don't, it will be a disappointment and poor planning in my opinion.

Captain Britain Corps (NG): There are only two for this one since Avengers. They can reach 300 points if you pile some cards on. If you don't and you play them in a 300 (and they have to be the only ones you play for that in order to be themed), you will be squashed. I actually don't know of that many of the Capt. Britain Corps that are even viable. I personally find the group redundant. Still, if you are going to give out the keyword, let's use some proper planning and make it usable.

And it goes on and on: Circus of Crime, Coast City, Conglomerate, Deadpool Corps (JUST ONE GUY!), Emissaries of Evil, Enforcers, External, European Defense Initiative (WHAT?), Excelsior (oh brother), Exemplars, Eternals, Factor Three, Fawcett City (look, it worked for Gotham but that was about it okay?), Gene Nation, Great Lakes Avengers, H.A.M.M.E.R. (Why?), Heavy Metal (I better see more of this one ha ha), Hive, Intergang, and don't even get me started on all the Justice League craziness and confusion. Seriously, isn't JLA the same as Justice League America? I realize there's competition with having as many or more than Avengers, but aren't we trying just a little too hard? Oh and there are still more, but I'm stopping now (aren't you grateful?).

There are plenty of great keyword teams to build. I'm just saying that there are places some better planning could be considered. It will make for less questions and confusion. It also makes for less spoiled expectations. Just my thoughts.