The Tease of Things I Don't Need

The Many Rolls of Sloppy Sinister?

Some more figure info from the Heroclix Sinister set (which as of this writing shows 71 records, but I expect that to bump significantly by the end of the day) debuted late last week and early this week.., and I'm having mixed reactions.

I haven't been mentioning many of the pieces as it's not my intent to do a complete, piece by piece review of the set. Sure, part of me is always up for pouring time into something safe like this, but I have to show some self control.

Let me start with one of the last pieces (as of this writing) to debut, one which for several people I know was a selling point for the set: Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans. A flying powerhouse, silently imperial and commanding. (While I'll reserve full judgement, especially on the face, I like what we've seen of the sculpt.)

The "silently" is an important aspect, as Black Bolt dares not whisper a sound. Why? His voice is an almost unparallelled destructive force. Consequently, he deliver his commands through a form of sign language. Highly disciplined, he's withstood tremendous pain without uttering a sound, only speaking as a last resort, under highly unusual circumstances.

So, what does Seth Johnson, Wizkids' current heroclix designer do? He starts off with two clicks of Pulse Wave -- the power best approximating the unleashing of a destructive wave in all directions -- right up front, and further encourages its use by linking it up with Running Shot and Damages of 4 & 3, with Perplex on top of it all in case he wants to increase his Attack Value (10 & 9), Damage or even his Speed or Range by 1. The dial tells the player fly towards the enemy and blast everyone within five spaces of where you stop. The behaviour of Black Bolt in a Heroclix game will seldom resemble his appearances in the comics.

Now, I understand the problem. Had he saved it solely for the final click (where he does get it again, this time with an Attack Value of 11 and a Damage of 5 to show a devastating last resort) people would have complained that he should have had the option. I give Seth points for making it more interesting by also giving B.B. Defend and a fairly high Defense (17, 17 & 16) on his first three clicks, since if he decides to carry anyone he or she would be blasted by the Pulse Wave just the same as the enemies. This reflects how he's a strong protector of his allies... but on the other hand, a 17 Defense isn't spectacularly high, and if someone tags him he's going to take every click of damage, as there's no damge-reducer in place. He gets some Toughness and then Invulnerability after that, presumably to represent him drawing energy from the electrons in the air to reinforce himself in the thick of battle.

His stats in general are good, at least by the scale of the current designer. His biggest fans will not be thrilled, but I daresay the biggest fans of most characters are disappointed in their clix interpretations.

Speaking of likely disappointment -- and I know D's already expressed his general disappointment via email, and an intent to write something about it -- there's the Swordsman.

A character from the 1960s who died before the mid-70s, the Swordsman was a villain who briefly masqueraded as reformed, but later did turn heroic -- becoming a member of the Avengers who ultimately served with distinction.

A brilliant swordsman, as one might suspect, he worked as a circus performer, where he became a mentor to a young runaway who turned out to have a flair for archery -- Clint Barton, who would grow up to become the archer Hawkeye.

Now, anyone who has been around Heroclix for a while - and especially over the past couple sets - would have guessed that a character who lived and died before a great many of the players were born, moreover a character who operates using a sword with some built-in gimmicks, wasn't going to get spectacular dials. Seth must have anticipated that and decided to surprise people, in part, by low-balling it.

The unaffiliated rookie is only 20 points, and for 20 points one gets, well... this:

A 5-click dial showing someone who's agile -- 8 movement with Leap/Climb isn't bad -- and a 16 Defense... which is okay. They gave him Close Combat Expert with his 1 Damage so he can potentially tag someone for 3 clicks of damage. They gave him a 0 range... presumably because this was before the Mandarin added some cool tech gimmicks to his sword.

Still... an Attack Value of 8? For someone who is supposed to be one of the most skilled swordsmen alive? And while I understand a lack of damage-reducing powers, he had to be pretty quick on his feet to mix it up with the super-types. He should be a little harder to tag.

I'm smelling some shit, but at this distance I can't tell if it's being smoked or just shovelled. Yes, I know it's not bad for only 20 points, but who is this supposed to be? Did we order him from the diet menu?

The 35 point experienced version has the Avengers TA, and has more going for him. He still starts with two clicks of Leap/Climb, so he can get around. He still has 5 clicks of life, but that's okay since he still remained a normal human. He gets a better damage -- and with the opening combination of 2 Damage and Close Combat Expert he could potentially do 4 clicks of damage if he manages to land a blow. With an opening click of 9 Attack, he has a better initial chance than the rookie... but then again, most older clix do, too. Again, the apprpriate skill level is not reflected. I'd even be more comfortable with the 9 if it were steadier, lasting for several clicks.

On the bright side, he is does get Psychic Blast - reflecting a blaster gimmick in his sword, on his second click, and then two clicks of Incapacitate perhaps to reflect a sleep mist he had in there, too. This version also shows his combat savvy a little better in the Defense slot, with a starting click of Energy Shield/Deflection to make him an 18 Defense from range, and then three clicks of Combat Reflexes to show he's adept at bobbing, weaving and parrying at close range.

I've already mentioned the Close Combat Expert, which covers his first three clicks, but why do his final two clicks have Battle Fury? Hell if I know. He probably saw what his stats were like and threw an inconsolable fit. Let 'im be, man. Let 'im be.

Yes, I know it's most likely intended to show someone who's becoming a more furious fighter towards the end - refusing to go down without a fight - but with Attack Values of 7 I'm not sure he's giving much of a fight.

Still, it's better than the rookie, and since the Avengers TA is Thunderbolt-able one could make him a 40 point piece with the TA of his choice, so this could be used as part of a villains team, too.

Perhaps most baffling of all (okay... no, not of all. The miserable attack value is still at the head of the list) is that his 49 pt veteran version doesn't have the Avengers TA. He'd returned to the team and worked hard to serve with distinction before giving his life in battle. We can still hope it's a mistake -- after all, the Anthony Stark LE is still listed as having no Team Ability, yet we know he has the Avengers TA. I'm not going to lean on that hope, though. If there's a pleasant surprise waiting for me, all the better.

This dial adds a few new tricks in the series, starting with a opening clicks of Charge and Blades/Claws/Fangs, so the potential's there for him to rush in from up to 4 spaces away and hit for 6 Damage. The peak Attack Value of 9 is still in force, though he gets it for two clicks. He also gets an additional click of consciousness, some Flurry on his second and third clicks, some Force Blast on his fourth and fifth, and Willpower on his final two clicks -- looking at his stats by that point it's primarily to allow him to attempt to run away.

Since a great many Heroclix players will fall for the "he's a schlub no one under thirty five's heard of" stat defense -- and these stats were set months ago anyway -- we can complain, but it's what we're stuck with.

My overall impression as I look across the landscape of newer clix is that between the raw stats, some upcoming changes in powers (Shape Change and Combat Reflexes) and several Feat cards designed to improve defensive characteristics (Heightened Reflexes, Camouflage and Entangle) the changes are intended to reduce the likelihood of damage and to encourage not only characters getting out onto the map without necessarily intending to make the first strike, but encouraging them to rush towards each other and grapple. Presumably - and understandably - the designer is trying to shift the game away from the approach of staying completely safe until making a massive or otherwise crippling and game-defining strike can be made.

Looking over the pieces, two expectations come to mind: Most of these pieces will be swept away by some of the pieces from earlier sets with higher Attack and Damage values, and when sticking with pieces from the past few sets the game's going to become thicker with dice rolls than Yahtzee. That which doesn't miss on a straight roll will either be preceded by a roll or followed by one, which could prevent the attack from taking place or cause it to miss.

The rationale being explored is that most comics battles aren't over with one or two blasts or punches, as we frequently see people evading attacks and rolling with the blows to minimize the impact. Theoretically it's a sound approach, but how will it prove in practice if the majority of the rolls will need to be at least a 7 -- and many of them 8, 9, or 10 -- in order to land a blow? Will clix players need wrist braces to protect them from carpal tunnel syndrome from rolling so many bones each turn?

I expect Perplex to become more important (allowing a stat to be boosted here or there), In Contact With Oracle will be called in more routinely, the Attack Value-boosting Police Department and Hydra TAs to become a little more useful, and even more dice rolls as players will see Probability Control as an even more critical power for their teams, both in search of those higher rolls and as a means of nullifying an opponent's luck in achieving them.

I'll have to save the pros and cons of Hydro Man, Rhino, etc. for a later post -- it'll probably be best to do it as part of a villain round-up later on, or a look at where Sinister brings the options for the Sinister Syndicate TA assortment.

Before the end of the day the complete list for at least the clix in Sinister is expected, as Inquest Gamer magazine is due to hit stores and will have photos of each of the sculpts along with opening stats. How heavily Wizkids will choose to expand this material with full dials remains to be seen. We're still in the first week of May, with the full on-sale date for the set as June 28th... though pre-release events much earlier in June will get pieces out into many fans' hands weeks ahead of the release.