HOUSE OF X PREVIEW

Greetings and welcome to the Clixed Off Preview for the House of X Heroclix Set. This set releases on December 9th. Many thanks to Wizkids for sending us these previews. Pre-Order this set at your FLGS or at https://shop.wizkids.com

First up Daniel will talk about our two Team Cards.

First up we have a Marvel Girl Team Up card for when she teams up with at least two of the following: Black Tom, Beast Domino, Kid Omega, Sage, Wolverine. This card will grant them a free move of up to two squares if they occupy hindering terrain. I think this will work best with Beast and Wolverine given they are the most popular characters and provide the most options for team building. A very solid option for Marvel Girl.

Secondly, we have a team for 044 Magneto when he is on a Brotherhood of Mutants or Acolytes theme team. It allows him to generate a heavy object and use Telekinesis at no cost when he only attacks characters with the X-Men Keyword. This doesn’t specifiy it has to be an attack with Telekinesis so Magneto could use this retreat back to safety or bring another friendly character into the battle. This Magneto is already building hype for his powerful 25-point line. I think this card has some great potential on the Brotherhood of Mutants option with some of the figures we received in the X-Men Animated series set.

Alex tagging in here to talk about two figures I’m very excited to try out. 

First off, let’s take a look at Black Tom. 

Did you know the last time we got a Black Tom Cassidy was in the Deadpool set over 6 years ago?

Coming in at 65 points, Black Tom returns to the Heroclix stage rocking an 11 attack and 4 damage top dial. Black Tom has the “The Mutant C.I.A” trait which grants him Stealth and Improved Movement/Targeting Hindering, similar to the “Espionage” trait we saw in Captain America and the Avengers. While he lacks a true move and attack power, he does possess a Special Move Power “Krakoan Defense System” which grants him Sidestep and the following power: 

FREE: If Black Tom occupies hindering terrain, place Black Tom in a square of hindering terrain within 5 squares. 

This special power gives Black Tom a “pseudo-move and attack”, but is highly dependent on what map Black Tom ends up on. If Black Tom is stuck on the map with little hindering terrain (like Ultron’s Lair from Battlegrounds: Avengers vs Masters of Evil), you will be forced to rely on his own smoke cloud to fully utilize his special power. Alternatively, you could equip him or another teammate with the Nightbringer Ring to give him places to “BAMF” to. If you are able to keep Black Tom in hindering, he could be a formidable piece for any Brotherhood of Mutants, X-Force or X-Men team

Last, but definitely not least is Hope Summer, one of the “The Five” from House of X. Similar to the Hope Summers in X-Men Regenesis, House of X Hope Summers utilizes her teammates to fill out her standard powers. Coming in at only 50pts, Hope Summer rocks two power granting traits. 

First up is “The Five: Hope Summers”. While you don’t want to build around utilizing this trait, if you find yourself in a position where it is activated you have tons of options. Whether it be Energy Shield/Deflection from FF002 Marvel Girl, Outwit, Mind Control, or Super Sense from 042 Professor X, or even Probability Control or Precision Strike from Kate Pryde, Hope Summer has a lot of options at her disposal if things start going awry. 

It is Hope Summer’s second trait “Psychic Power Duplication” that makes her a magnificent support/secondary attack piece on X-Men teams. Built correctly, Hope Summers has a large slew of powers to choose from, and remember all the powers do not have to be on one figure. Hope Summers  can pick 3 standard powers that adjacent friendly characters with the X-Men keyword can use. 

Here’s a brief list of potential powers Hope Summers can duplicate from X-Men pieces.

Running Shot, Toughness, and Outwit – Bishop (HoX003b)
Sidestep and Impervious – Dark Phoenix (xdpsG020p)
Sidestep, Precision Strike, and Energy Shield/Deflection – Storm (xdpsG023bp)
Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Energy Shield/Deflection, Super Senses, and Probability Control – Scarlet Witch (wkMP20-102)
EVERY POWER THAT SHE GAINS – Moira X (HoX030)

The list goes on and on, and it gives Hope Summers a lot of avenues to work with. Just make sure she has teammates alive, because if your opponent gets her alone, she will have a rough go. 

This is by far the most flexible Hope Summers we have gotten in a long time, and a piece I’m definitely interested in building around for my future X-Men teams.  

Lastly we have Tylor to tell us about his 2018 World Champ Piece Juggernaut –

Hey. guys!. I’m here to introduce Juggernaut! In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last week Juggernaut was the figure that I got to help Wizkids design for winning worlds in 2018. First, I want to thank Wizkids again for letting me do this. I am so thrilled with how it turned out! I’m going to go over the figure and what he does as well as a few insights into my ideas when designing him.

Ok now to the figure. The first thing I want to talk about is the sculpt. Wizkids did an amazing job here and I obviously can’t take much credit. They did ask for general poses and the terrain which I gave them but they really took the concept and blew it out of the park! Having held this guy in hand already the most important thing I can stress is how BIG he is! He towers over most other figures even in a set with increased size. The figure is amazingly detailed and the perfect classic juggernaut look and design. The only other thing to mention I guess would be the writing on the bricks at his feet signifying that it is a world champion piece. I actually didn’t request this but having seen it I am so happy they included it! It is pretty subtle when you actually see the piece but it is very clear and a really nice touch.

Alright, moving on to the figure’s powers and traits. When designing Juggernaut, I really wanted to convey three main things. First, I wanted to represent that the Juggernaut, to me, has always been one of the toughest foes to take down in all of comics. I have always seen him as maybe being slightly less strong than the hulk but more durable with his helmet and personal forcefield giving him the edge. Second, I wanted to convey that he is, well, unstoppable! This is his main claim to fame of course and I really wanted to try and show that in a unique way. Lastly, I wanted to show that when juggernaut shows up all the plans you had kind of go out the window because of how powerful and relentless he is. He is powerful and cocky and is running straight at you, not leaving enough time to think.

Taking a look at how he turned out now his solitary trait is “Mystical Helmet”. This is his classic equipment and a big part of his identity. It helps with goal one and two giving him access to colossal stamina, PROTECTED: Outwit, and the ability to reduce penetrating damage. This along with his 4-6 impervious stop click, are what really sets him apart defensively. Next, let’s look at his special speed power. “once he starts, he can’t be stopped” is obviously an attempt to drive home the second goal of being unstoppable in what I hope is a unique way. Being protected from immobile was a must when I was designing him and the power also represents that gaining momentum is a core part of juggernaut. The only way for him to be stopped is if he does so willingly. Lastly, we can look at his damage power “Nothing stops the juggernaut. Battle fury was another thing I knew I wanted him to have when designing him. It shows that he has never really worked well in a team setting. Always sort of doing his own thing. I also didn’t want him to be able to be taxied because that didn’t seem very comic accurate to me. I didn’t want to see him being carried around by the likes of kite man (hell yeah). This power also helps with the second and third design goal. Shutting off STOP is a clever way to use the “unstoppable” gimmick and then shutting off leadership and perplex was meant to show him breaking apart plans and strategies when he shows up on the scene.

Looking at his keywords quickly he has a pretty well-rounded set. I wanted this to be the definitive juggernaut and not from any specific run so there are teams on there that he clearly wasn’t on at the same time. Thunderbolts has always been one of my favourite teams to build in a casual setting and it’s nice to finally get a juggernaut to fill that role. Looking at the meta he has a few good options here but the best is probably going to be mystical, brotherhood, and X-men.

All in all, I am so incredibly pleased with how this figure turned out. My goal was to make a comic accurate Juggernaut that really encapsulated the character and home it feels when he shows up to a fight and I really think that was successful. I am excited to see how this guy does in the meta but mostly I am excited to see others enjoy him and build with him. The responses I got when he was first shown were amazing and I am so happy that so many like him as much as I do. Thanks so much, guys!

Casual Digest #4: To me my X-Men!

In this edition of Casual Digest, we are going to look at a 500 point X-Men theme team from X-Men The Animated Series. This was my favorite animated series of the 90’s and maybe of all time. As soon as I start thinking about it, I hear that iconic theme song in my head. X-Men The Animated Series: The Dark Phoenix saga set gave us some great versions of the characters that should be a lot of fun to field. Lets look at the roster from the beginning of the series.

First up we have the team field leader, Cyclops. Cyke has a solid 70 point dial.

His Commanding Leader damage power is great providing Leadership as well a way to help get one of our X-men into battle. I think Wolverine or Rogue would benefit most as they will be our main close combat characters and could use the help closing the gap.

Just like in the show Jean and Scott benefit from being close to each other. Cyclops can modify one combat value +1 just from being adjacent to Jean Grey at the beginning of the turn. I love the versatility there allowing you to boost any stat you need.

Jean definitely plays a support role on the team. Not yet commanding the power of the Phoenix she will be in the background boosting Cyclops and lending Toughness to her teammates with her Force Field Protection power.We want to keep her on that top dial as long as possible because every member of the team besides Rogue benefits greatly from the toughness. Telekinesis will also be great help getting the team in position. Jean also benefits from a much needed stat boost from being adjacent to Cyclops.

As usual Wolverine wants to get in close pop the claws. Starting 12 attack will make sure he hits but he is dependent on blades for his damage so his output will vary. The reason I really like this figure is the trait. I love when they get stuff like this right. A very accurate power for the character. Wolverine can sniff out any opponents with his heightened senses and when they are within 3 squares of him they can’t use Stealth or Shape Change. The team does not have any Improved Targeting: Hindering or Battle Fury so this trait is going to be incredibly helpful.

Beast will also be playing a support role on the team with his special Perplex that will allow him to modify a value by +2 except damage if the character shares a keyword. Since this is an X-men team he will be able to do that to all of our other characters. Otherwise Hank isn’t going to be doing alot offensively but could potentially tie someone up with his 17 combat reflexes.

I chose the Storm from the XDPS Fast Forces over the main set because I think she brings more to the table offensively with Running Shot, Energy Explosion and a higher starting attack value as well as providing a second source of leadership. Also since the X-Men are thematically battling Sentinels the traits from the Fast Forces will come in very handy. Storm will grant all friendly characters with the X-men keyowrd the Mystics team ability when attacked by characters with the Giant or Colossal symbol. This will be a great help when any giant robots or monsters are beating down the door of the Xavier School.

Rogue will be up close and personal with the enemy punching them in the face with southern charm. She has the best reducers and highest printed damage on the team and once in combat traited Steal Energy should help her outlast the opposition.

I went with the Fast Forces version of Gambit. I feel this version is just supperior to the rare version from XDPS. This Gambit has Psychic Blast over energy explosion providing the team with some much needed penetrating damage and he can also support our range attackers with Enhancement. Top it off with the Hunted And On The Run trait providing Probability Control against Giants and Colossals and the Cajun is providing a lot of value.

I chose to go with Jubilee from the Fast Forces. This version has pulse wave and it can be very useful even with the low damage output. The Hunted And On The Run trait provides the team with Shape Change and in combination with the traits from Storm and Gambit the team should have great protection from Giant and Colossal figures.

Finally we come to Morph, who didn’t fair so well in the two part opening episode. Morph is a great tie up and disruption piece. Plasticity and his Let Me Borrow That Face trait which grants Shape Change and allows him to pick the new target if successful, possibly making the opponent attack their own characters is a great combination. It forces the enemy to either risk attacking or breakaway neither of which will easily be successful. Morph also provides another source of Perplex to the team and outwit on his back dial.

Just seeing all these characters together on the map is a nice dose of nostalgia for me and sure many other fans of the show. I think all these figures have good synergy and give plenty of options on the battlefield. I can’t wait to play them against a squad of Sentinels. Remember to have fun!

Casual Digest #3: It’s Clobbering Time!

I started playing Heroclix way back in 2007 with the Legion of Superheroes starter and the Avengers set (I’m old). One of my favorite sets of all time from those early days was the Secret Invasion starter featuring the Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom. The Thing (aka Hot Dog Cart Thing ) was my favorite and was an amazing figure that was used in a World Championship win.
Fast Forward almost 12 years later and we get our second Fantastic Four starter set and our first versions of the family since the LE figures from Chaos War in 2012. Needless to say it’s been a long time. Wizkids dangled the set in front of me with an early release date, but unfortunately the F4 were no match for 2020 and the set was delayed until the end of May. I finally have them in hand so let’s take a look.

First up Mr. Fantastic FFCC001

Lets take a look at Reed’s trait:

I’M PRETTY GOOD AT MULTI-TASKING: Plasticity, Shape Change. When Mr. Fantastic uses Shape Change, after resolutions place that D6 with that result on this card, replacing any here. Giant Reach: X, where X is 2 or the value of that die on this card, whichever is greater.

Mr. Fantastic starts off with Quake at 100 points and paired with his trait he can have a huge area of effect for the attack. He also starts his 100 point dial with special damage power:

YOU’LL FIND MR. FANTASTIC MORE THAN A MATCH FOR YOU, EVERY TIME: Leadership, Outwit. FREE: Choose an opposing character of higher points within 4 squares and line of fire and a power (standard or special) they can use. The chosen character can’t use that power until your next turn.

Being able to choose a power an opposing character can’t use is a powerful effect that can bypass outwit protection and team abilities like Power Cosmic or Quintessence. Mr. Fantastic’s power is somewhat limited by being forced to choose a character of higher points and having that character within four range. He makes an excellent tie up piece with Super Senses, Shape Change, and Plasticity and I would play him on a Fantastic Four theme with no issues but I’m probably not reaching for him in a competitive game.

Next up we have the Invisible Woman.

Sue has some interesting powers at her disposal. First her trait:

HIDE AND SEEK: FREE: Choose one: Until your next turn, opposing characters can’t target Invisible Woman unless they began their turn within 3 squares of her -or- Terrain markers are considered clear for line of fire this turn, if Invisible Women is within 4 squares of them.

Both of these effects are great and being able to activate them by a FREE makes them even better. Requiring her enemies to begin their turn within three squares to be able to target her offers a great amount of protection not only from ranged attacks but also from powers such as outwit or perplex. If your not worried about being targeted and your opponents are hiding behind barrier Sue can clear the way for your team to attack them just by moving within 4 squares

YOU’D BE SURPRISED WHAT LENGTHS I CAN GO WHEN PUSHED: Barrier, Toughness, Willpower. When Invisible Woman uses Barrier, after resolutions you may knock back 2 squares any number of opposing characters adjacent to these markers.

I love this power! Using Barrier to surround a soft target and then basically pinballing them around inside of it to do damage just makes me smile. There are lots of potential uses for this and the Toughness and Willpower are just icing on the cake. Invisible Woman is a great piece and I would consider her for a competitive Scientist build at 75 points.

Next up is my favorite member of the F4, The Thing!

Lets look at Ben’s trait:

IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME: POWER: If no other friendly character has been placed this turn, choose an opposing character that’s within 4 squares of a friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword that was attacked since your last turn. Place The Thing such that he can make a close attack targeting the chosen character, then do so. If he hits and his attack roll is 10+, after resolutions remove an action token from him.

This continues the trend of WK putting Colossal Retaliation type powers on standard characters. I wish it wasn’t limited to placing him within four squares of a character with the Fantastic Four keyword but I appreciate them trying different things.

Thing starts off with a special movement power that allows him move through and destroy blocking.

SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA BREAK STUFF: Charge, Improved Movement: This character can move through Blocking terrain. Immediately after movement resolves, destroy all Blocking terrain moved through.

That’s great but it always aggravates me that characters like him can run through walls but don’t get IM Hindering. I mean he can break a brick wall but a bush trips him up?!? Otherwise The Thing is your standard brick character with Super Strength, good reducers and solid stat numbers. He definitely fill his roll on the team.

Finally we come to the Human Torch.


Lets look at Johnny’s Trait:

FLAME TRAIL: Once per turn for all characters with this trait, when Human Torch moves, after resolutions choose a character he moved through or adjacent to and deal it 1 penetrating damage.

Absolutely fantastic ability. Free penetrating damage that you don’t have to roll for is top notch. He also sports good attack values and move and attack powers his whole dial but I think his best clix are hard to use.

FLAME ON: Poison, but may use it even if moved or placed this turn.

Flame On is an excellent power and Human Torch gets this power paired with Hypersonic Speed, but it’s on click two of both his 100 and 75 point dials. Sure you can push to it, but he would have been so much better if he started with this combo. Still he offers the team a strong range option.

Each member also has a stop click if another friendly character with the Fantastic Four keyword is on the map and they each get a different defensive power along with it. Reed gets Super Senses, Sue gets Shape Change, Ben gets Invulnerability and Johnny gets the worse one with Energy Shield Deflection. I wish the stop clicks didn’t have the keyword requirement so they could function on any team and would have made these characters more playable overall.

We get four solid, but not spectacular versions of the Fantastic Four in this set and I think they will be a lot of fun to play as a team and in the scenarios included in the starter which we will look at another time. I’m glad to see them back in Heroclix and can’t wait for the full set to release. See you next time and remember to have fun!