Happy Sunday! I hope you’re ready for another edition of Clix Bait, but ready or not, here it is! If you have any questions or comments, I welcome you to follow this link to the Facebook page and tell us about it. I’m always looking for feedback, and I welcome you to post your events to the page, as I may not have an especially large audience, but I do have players from all over the world reading, so there’s a chance we’ve got players in your area!
Speaking of events, Brad Broyles was kind enough to share with the group about an upcoming 3v3 event he’s hosting online. If you want more details, you can follow this link – but I can tell you that Brad runs top notch events, and has run a lot of them during this pandemic, so if you need your fix and are comfortable playing online, this is definitely something fun you should look into.
War of Realms prerelease events have been happening, and more of the set has been revealed to us now, and I still fail to be excited. Part of it is the set itself, but I know part of it is still me, for a variety of reasons. I won’t retread the distance I’ve felt to the game, and I haven’t really had time to make an effort to find a new venue, but part of it is actually nothing to do with the game, the pandemic, or anything you might expect. This weather has just kind of triggered a tad bit of seasonal affective disorder in me, I think, so I’m just a bit bummed out in general. Not sure why I felt the need to post it here, but there it is.
Based on a previous talk with a local venue, there IS interest, but I think I’m going to have to “prime the pump,” so to speak. Having said that, I am beginning plans for a Beginner’s Bash, and I may be reaching out to the community for some help with this. I know I have a lot of spare pieces (no, that’s not what’s pictured, but I felt like adding some visual element to represent it, anyway) that aren’t worth much that I plan to be giving away at the event, and I plan to have plenty of team build sheets available to show players how to fill them out. But I will also need some prizes to give out, and a few judges to help players with the rules. I may reach out to WizKids, as well, for some quality PAC cards so I can have something nicer than print-outs for that.
If you have any ideas to include at the event, please let me know! If you might want to help with the event, as well, whether it be through donated prizing or actually attending and helping to judge, then get in touch with me so I can include it in my plans. I’m on vacation this week to prepare for Ohayocon this weekend, so while a lot of my prep time is going to be devoted to getting ready for that, I still intend to make some time to swing by my mystery venue to discuss the potential for an event, and maybe…just maybe…set a date. If I can get something going and show a strong enough response, then I might be able to get them to host on a more regular basis.
Anyway, enough generalities…let’s get this show on the road! It’s the first of the month, so I have another edition of 6 Clix Deep for you today, featuring the founder of Clix Nexus, Joe Pangrazio! We’ll also get a look at common mistakes made in Heroclix before taking some time to look at one of the best pieces of equipment in the game right now. As I promised, we’re going to look at an event-winning build this week rather than one of my homebrews, courtesy of Mike Eskew, before taking a look at the work of an artist who mot only mods, but makes 3D maps. So let’s get to it!
For those of you who don’t know him, it will be my sincere pleasure to introduce you to Joe Pangrazio. He is a fantastic member of this amazing Heroclix community, as is evident by the recent Bradcast poll that named him Community Member of the Year (if you look at it now, Scott Porter has overtaken him, but as of the cut-off for official voting, Joe was #1!). The reason he’s thought of so highly is his tireless work to make Clix Nexus an invaluable source for Heroclix information, as well as his experience as an event organizer and an admin and contributor to the Heroclix Rules Chat. He’s even created a Legacy Rules document to make it easy for us to understand how older pieces interact with the new rules. So I was thrilled when Joe agreed to answer my questions and be the focus of the second edition of 6 Clix Deep!
Question one: So if you were trying to get someone acquainted with Clix Nexus, what would you tell them?
“It’s the best maintained Heroclix hub on the net. We have a complete units section that covers the entire history of the game. We have documentation to help veteran players translate older language into modern verbiage. We have articles (linked on the units themselves) that go into depth on mechanics that players may not be well versed in (ie, Mission Points, Title Characters, Team Bases). We were the first to have a units section complete with Maps (thanks to hcmaps.net) so people can actually track their map collection. I’ve done hundreds of articles giving players more background on these characters that we all play with but may not know anything about. We are committed to being the one stop shop for all information regarding Heroclix while also supporting those in the community doing good work.”
Question two: What is your all-time favorite Heroclix piece and why?
“This one’s easy: Maggott. Because my name is on the card. Getting to pick and design a figure along with Devin and Sparky makes that piece more special to me than any other.”
Question three: If you could change anything about the game of Heroclix, what would it be, and why?
“Consistent wording. The biggest hurdle Heroclix players have when playing this game is not understanding how game effects function. And a huge part of that is a lack of consistent wording. When the same game effect is worded three different ways in the same set, it is difficult for someone to not think there’s something different about it. And then when those players start to look at older pieces, or even newer pieces, they have no road map which which to compare wording. So rather than just being able to pick up a piece and go “oh, he has a trait just like X from Set Z,” they feel unsure about themselves. Which makes a detailed game harder to teach and retain. Which costs us players. And I care about player retention.”
Question four: Where do you find your Heroclix information?
“The WIN for solicits, errata, rulings and the like. WizKids press releases when we get them. I’ve also done previews and an unboxing for Wizkids, so I’m on the mailing list when they decide to use community content creators to get the word out. I’m also involved with my Friendly Neighborhood Geek Shop, so I have access to retailer resources that not everyone does. And after all that, I have built a community of players that I can trust to provide me with info when all that other stuff fails. And I drive myself nuts doing all that so other people don’t have to.”
Question five: What is your favorite Heroclix memory?
“At the end of 2017, I went with some new friends in an RV down to Baltimore for a WKO. We drove all night from up here in Rochester picking people up along the way (I think we ended up with around seven to nine of us in that thing). We joked the whole way, got food, and was there in the parking lot when the store opened. It was my first constructed WKO and there were quite a few heavy hitters. I remember Ed and Isaac were both there as well as Kennie Pena. I ended up coming in 4th or 5th I think, which in those days qualified you for Nationals. And I did it with my version of the Krang team, which made me happy because I got to qualify with a TMNT piece. And then we rode back that night, getting BBQ on the edge of Baltmore and getting cheesesteaks from Pat and/or Ginos in the middle of the night. That, to this day, is still one of the most fun Heroclix trips I’ve been on.”
Question six: If you had a word of advice for new Heroclix players, what would it be?
“Expect to lose and avoid the Meta at all costs. The first one is easy. You can’t expect to pick up a new game and instantly win or win all the time. No one wins all the time. And you will never learn as much from winning as you will from losing. So if you w
ant to be a good player, you should expect to lose. The second is not a commentary on the Meta, it’s just in conjunction with the first. Plus, cost of entry. I’ve seen new players, far too often, go out and buy all the “meta pieces” for big money. And then lose against cheaper pieces played by more experienced players. And then get understandably frustrated and be out of the game within a year. At this point, it’s a frighteningly easy pattern to spot. In fact, when I see new players spending a ton of money, I will usually advise them to slow down. Heroclix is as expensive or inexpensive as you choose to make it. And it’s only as fun or unfun as you make it. But if you want to last and get the most bang for your buck? Maximize fun and minimize monetary investment. Because when you know what you’re doing, maybe then you splurge on a piece that YOU think is Meta. Or YOU think you can build around. Or you just think you can have a lot of fun with. And you’ll get a lot more miles that way.”
Again, I want to thank Joe for taking the time to answer my questions, and I want to advise you to follow this link to clixnexus.com to see for yourself all the great information he’s put together for you. For even more information, you can also check out joepanc.threadless.com for more information, merchandise, and podcasts, and I encourage you to contribute to his efforts by following this link to the Clix Nexus Patreon page. We’ll have another interesting Heroclix personality next month in 6 Clix Deep!
This week I opened a question up on the Facebook page asking you all what were the most common mistakes you encountered when playing in events, and there were several of you that provided some insightful answers. I typically don’t ask those kinds of questions without having a reason for it, and this week is no exception – I want to take a look at some of those common mistakes and try and lay out some ways to avoid them in the future!
I’m going to preface this with the word of advice that I always give – PRACTICE! Most gameplay errors can be reduced or eliminated with a good deal of practice, and that true in any competitive endeavor you engage in. But many of the mistakes that people brought up on the Facebook post were things in which practice is the primary means of eliminating the errors. Beginning of turn effects, character abilities and triggers, and sideline effects are all things that improve the more you practice using them. Which also means you want to practice with people who will point these things out as you play against them, and who expect you to do the same.
But then, some of these errors are also a result of mental state. In a competitive environment, many players (myself included) tend to get a bit excited, and it leads to mistakes. I once asked Jaylen Major what he thought my biggest play issue was, and he responded that I tend to get ahead of myself, and that he does the same thing. We have a tendency to have a plan from steps A through G, but sometimes get so caught up in the moment that we skip over steps C and D in the plan, and end up hurting the entire turn, or the game. You don’t want to stall, of course, but it might help you to take a moment at the beginning of the turn to take a few seconds to reflect on what’s happening and what you need to do to get to where you want to be before you start taking actions.
Time management was mentioned as a common mistake (well, actually, internal clock, but they’re related), and is something that can have a little external assistance. You can’t look at your cell phone, but investing in a watch can help out a great deal. In theory, rounds are not precisely the same length of time so people can’t quite abuse clock management, but we know that rounds are typically between 45 and 55 minutes, so looking at your watch when the round begins will give you a pretty decent idea of how much time you have to work with. Whether your ahead or behind in the points, having an idea of how much time you have left to protect or claim the lead often is the difference between victory and defeat.
Brad Broyles jokingly stated that missing by one is a common play error, but that may not be as big of a joke as you might think. In planning a successful turn, you’re going to want to pick the focus of your attack, as well as preparing for that attack. This means determining if it’s more important to swing for the fences against the high defense piece, or to cut some support from underneath the opposing team, and then ensuring that you have Perplex and Probability Control in a position to give you the best chance of success. It also means sequencing your attacks correctly. Hitting with the right piece first might click down an opposing piece’s defense enough to let a character that isn’t ordinarily your first offensive choice to finish the job, allowing you the potential to redirect another heavy hitter elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to ask to look at cards, either, as this helps you inform your decision.
There’s one last mistake that I’m going to mention because of the mindset it implies going into a game – a lack of confidence. There are going to be moves that we don’t feel good about, and chances that we take during the course of the game, but our own reactions to the plays we make many times will tip off an opponent to an opening they may not have seen. By the same token, a boldly made mistake may make your opponent doubt the natural response, and consider what it is you have up your sleeve. “They HAVE to know I’m going to take out that piece…what am I not seeing that’s going to allow them to counterstrike me?” Feel free to discuss your misplays after the game, but during the game, you don’t make any mistakes!
So I hope this gives you some food for thought as you prepare for your next event. Some of it is just good, common sense, while other bits of advice might have just needed to be said to get you thinking along the right lines, but ultimately you’re going to make mistakes no matter how much you practice, and regardless of how aware you are of the common pitfalls. It’s going to happen. But those mistakes are your best teacher, and they’ll hopefully improve your overall game.
This is a bit old to be reviewing, but to be honest, I’ve read some people questioning how truly valuable this piece is, and I even found myself forgetting the full scope of its versatility and effectiveness. In response to the post questioning why the equipment is good, I briefly touched on what it could do, but I feel like the Emotional Modifier needs a true deep dive into its power and adaptability.
You get so much flexibility for the low cost of 10 points! You can choose any of three modes as FREE, maintaining your actual actions for things more vital to advancing your strategy. And that word “choose” is a big one – there is no random element to this equipment. It will work the way you want it to work. Alchemical Fire is pretty popular, but it doesn’t give you this freedom of choice outside of its initial setting, which makes this little gem a bit more powerful, by my estimation. And the effect lasts until you choose again, not until your next turn, meaning that you don’t completely screw yourself if you forget to activate it.
The first mode reduces defenses of opposing characters by one, which can combine with productive Perplexes to actually get around the rule of three, giving a potential for a +4 bonus for your characters to hit! Also note that this ability does not require line of sight, so characters in Stealth still feel the pain, as do characters hiding behind other characters, or even walls.
On the flip side, you can go defensive and do the same thing to your opponent’s attack values. This is especially useful against the current crop of Alpha Strike teams, that all want to engage in close combat, and many times needing to use their precious Perplex to get the team across the map as opposed to bumping attack.
I had to be reminded that the last mode protects teams against the Wonder Woman builds, as giving the team Battle Fury not only helps a team work around Shape Change, but also prevents them from getting action tokens from powers like Incapacitate. It also protects against Mind Control, and hits ALL characters. So it can also cause some issues to characters that like to engage in ranged combat, and prevents taxis from getting teams out of dangerous situations, since characters using Battle Fury can’t be carried. It’s pretty brutal.
The drawback that was pointed out by the player questioning the power of the Emotional Modifier is that it only covers a range of four squares from the equipped character. But let’s think about that practically…that’s four squares in any direction, which is a pretty wide area. On top of that, teams in defensive mode tend to pack together in order to hide behind barriers, and characters carried for an Alpha Strike are going for close combat, generally, making it easy to get the Emotional Modifier in range to do what it needs to do. And since it’s FREE to switch modes, you can wait until the team has been carried before putting it into Battle Fury mode.
Is this the best piece of equipment in the game right now? I don’t know…it’s hard to deny the raw power of the Power Gem, or the potential extra attacks from the Waldo Arms, but it’s efficient, flexible, and helps the team rather than just a single character. On paper, it’s not going to jump out and say “I’m awesome!” but when you put it into play, you’re going to understand that it’s probably a lot better than you initially thought it was. If you doubt it, try it out for yourself…I don’t think there’s a team out there that can’t find a good use for this piece of equipment.
As I promised, I wanted to feature a build that I didn’t put together this week, and while the event in Houston last week might not have been something largely hyped, any event that has 21 players these days is worth talking about! Mike Eskew come out on top of the field with a build we haven’t seen yet, and while there aren’t a lot of moving parts, it’s still worth breaking down to see how the pieces fit together. So let’s see what we have going on!
Link – Mike Eskew – Rulers Three
While Thanos does the heavy lifting on the team, I want to start with Doom, since he’s the most flexible piece on the team. All the Dooms have means to make life difficult for a variety of builds, and each of them have solid offensive potential, although many of them are not as mobile as you might hope. But then, Venom Magneto is there to TK or taxi anyone who needs it, and when equipped with Remaker, he’s a hard to hit utility piece. With his special Telekinesis, he can get two pieces of equipment back to the team on the first turn, making equipping much easier. Then there’s Thanos, with a deep dial that can reduce penetrating damage, and access to powers that can help him recover from hits through regen and Steal Energy. Giving Thanos Incandescence gives him access to some penetrating damage, and he’ll typically have two choices to bolster his power selection.
There is an element of randomness to Thanos, as he’s going to get between one and three selections, but it’s not a wildly random choice, and it only effects the number of abilities he gets, rather than the choices themselves. Being a small team, map choice is most likely going to the other side of the table, and being out-actioned is definitely a possibility, especially if someone is able to eliminate the shallow Venom Magneto dial. In fact, Magneto is probably the real weak point on the team, as if an opponent can get to him, then the team becomes a lot less mobile, but with Shape Change from Remaker and Super-Senses from his trait, it’s easier said than done getting rid of Mags.
It’s an interesting tent pole build. I’m not a general fan of tent poles, although I’ve played them in the past, but there aren’t a lot of tent poles that are as flexible as Thanos. I feel some similarities to Unimind, but they’re only thematic. And that theme is having the right tool for the right job, which between Thanos’ power choices, and the choice between Dooms, this team definitely has. I don’t think it’s my kind of build, but it’s good, and it’s going to give a lot of people headaches.
I typically focus on one aspect of custom creations, but this week, I have a treat for you, as I’m going to share the work of someone who does great custom minis AND 3D maps! I feel like I’ve shared some individual pieces fro the DeviantArt user theAngelofRedmption before, but as I was scouring the net for cool stuff to show you, I discovered there was a lot more to see in the portfolio, and decided to open it up for you!
While the Cyborg Superman above can show you what he can do with existing Heroclix characters, what really caught my eye were characters from outside the realms of Marvel and DC that he’s brought to life. You might assume turning the Question into Dick Tracy would be as simple as changing the paint job, but little additional touches can make a huge difference in a piece. Adding the building corner gave the piece a sense of place, making it that much more vibrant and alive to my eyes, and probably wasn’t terribly difficult to do. On the other hand, adding the Tommy Gun probably took some effort, but makes the piece look more like intended. I love the work!
I grew up with Final Fantasy VII, so his collection of characters from the game really grabs my attention as well. I especially like the One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth…adding that black wing was a touch that I don’t think everyone would have considered doing, but adds a very interesting element to the piece. Barret looks a little rough, but have you really considered how hard that character would be to make? He’s got a very distinctive body shape, his hair is pretty unique, and the gun arm…I suppose you could steal it from Death’s Head, but even so, there are some elements you’d need to add to make it really look right. Cloud and Tifa, however, are top notch!
But then, as I mentioned, theAngelofRedemption also makes 3D maps! This is a really detailed and interesting Atlantis map that he put together, which appears to have some modular elements to it. I suspect that it was a matter of ease of construction, but it appears to allow the map to be able to be reorganized a bit, and should also make it easier to transport.
If you want to see more of theAngelofRedemption’s work, you can follow this link to his DeviantArt page. If you want to show off some of your work, then I welcome you to email me at clixbait@digitaledengames.com and tell me about your projects, as well as share with me some pictures. I don’t think the creative aspect of Clix gets enough attention, and I always love to show everyone what is possible with a little effort and creativity!
This is a busy week for me! I’m off to my annual pilgrimage to Columbus for my favorite anime convention – Ohayocon! I run karaoke there, so I’ll be spending a good part of my week making sure things are ready to go for the event, and then the convention itself will clog up a lot of my writing time. And then, there’s the Superbowl. I normally am not overly concerned about watching it, but my Bengals shocked the world to make it to the game, and I have to watch that. The good news is that I took the following Monday off to recover from this crazy weekend, so there’s a good chance you’ll get Clix Bait on Monday instead of Sunday next week. I’m probably going to talk about someone else’s team again, so you can hear some more about what other people are playing, and I’ve been talking to an artist about his work, so we might have another special feature in Work in Progress for next week – keep an eye out for it! Other than that, I hope you have a great week!
Clix Bait 