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[Stran Tannish]

The new expansion for Marvel heroclix has been announced, and it's Sinister! Featuring lots of villains, many never seen before, this set will provide lots of new figures for the most evil of teams. Of course there will be heroes too, such as a remade Wolverine and Daredevil (one of my favorites). Some of the villainous characters already announced include Electro, Rhino, Stilt-man, Bullseye, and Trapster. Also in this set Marvel sees the addition of the special object tokens introduced in DC: Collateral Damage.

Also for this set customers who buy it by the brick will receive a limited edition Venom figure, and those who participate in the New Guy Night will receive a brand new limited edition Spider-Man.

Once again, as figures start showing up I'll be reviewing them right here.

[Stran Tannish]

So just like I promised, here I am to present to you the first figure from Sinister to be revealed by Wizkids. It is the special Buy it by the Brick LE, Venom. A brand new, amazing looking sculpt, tops off a figure that has a power in every single slot on his dial.

For 105 points, this Sinister Syndicate member is very affordable for what he can do. Let's just work down the list here shall we? For speed, he starts with leap/climb, then goes to stealth, charge, back to leap/climb, and ends with plasticity. He's got a decent attack value with a late dial spike, and it is accompanied by super strength, incapacitate, blades, and finally steal energy. His defense starts high with willpower, switches to toughness, but then drops pitifully and he gets combat reflexes. Before people start flaming the designers, there's a reason for that and I'll explain in a moment once I finish off his stats. He has a very consistent damage value, starting with close combat expert and switching to exploit weakness, outwit, and back to CCE.

Now the reason for the low defense with combat reflexes (long considered a useless power), when the Danger Room game set is released there will be a revision to some of the powers including combat reflexes. It still allows a character to take knockback from any attack, but now also gives a +2 bonus to defense against close combat attacks, in the same way that energy shield provides a bonus against ranged attacks. This one rule is enough for me to look forward to these new releases in June.

Hopefully they continue putting more out quickly, but that's not what happened with Collateral Damage, so it probably won't happen here either.

[Tiny]

Hay Walter,

Your slipping. They released the first fig & a pog for the sinister set.

It was The Multiple Man and he can be played as an army on his own. How that people may be confused, you need to give them a full review.

Here is the link:
http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/products.asp?cid=40767

[Stran Tannish]

I think I can be forgiven this time Tiny, as last night I was in Long Island with my family for the first night of Passover with no access to a computer. As it is, however, even though you already put up a link I will be doing my usual write-up.

Yes, Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man, has now been released for Sinister. Seth (the lead designer) posted a really good article explaining why he made them the way he did, so I'll just do my usual power and stat sum-up. First, it must be recognized, as Tiny said, that he can be played as an army on his own. Each version (and there are five) can easily be used to compliment one another. However to be honest, they're pretty decent individually as well.

The rookie, a decent 17 point X-Man, only has an opening click of willpower. However, his opening stats are the same as all of the other versions. So he can hold his own and he's cheap enough so that you can create a decent size swarm of him. The fact that he's only got four clicks of life isn't really a bad thing, it just means you can use his team ability without regret to give the others some much needed healing.

The experienced bumps it up a notch. At 32 points, this X-Man (still with the same stats and only four clicks of life) starts off with a click of perplex, heading into two clicks of close combat expert, with flurry on his last two clicks as well. This is a perfect representation on a single figure of a hail of fists coming down on the enemy.

Next, the veteran, at 44 points, drops the X-Men team ability, but gains a couple more clicks of life. This one starts with outwit and mastermind, allowing him to confuse opponents and also shrug off damage to his weaker duplicates. The outwit gives way to leadership, because let's face it, if you are going to field an army of these guys, you're going to need every action you can get. Finally on his last click he gets stealth and close combat expert, allowing him to hide behind his duplicates and spring out to do some decent damage.

Then you've got the James Madrox LE. At 39 points, this figure is pretty interesting. It represents a time when the suit that helped him regulate his powers malfunctioned, and increased his strength when he got hit instead of creating a duplicate. As a result, this figure starts with three clicks of super strength for extra damage potential. After that he goes to the same type of figure we saw before, using perplex, willpower, and flurry. This figure also gets the X-Men team ability back.

I should mention, by the way, that the R and E have a different pose than the V and LE, just to make the sight of a large force of them a little more chaotic.

Finally we have the first Sinister bystander token, and it's James Madrox. This 7 point pog has the same stats as the opening click on each of the other versions, making him a decent package for so few points.

See you next time.

[Stran Tannish]

Bonus preview!! Wizkids is definitely going to keep me busy it seems.

So along with the fantastic figures for Multiple Man released yesterday, today we've got Radioactive Man to look at; and I don't mean the superhero from the Simpsons.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11106
This figure starts out taking advantage of not one but two of the rules changes that will come about with the release of Danger Room. The rookie is a 66 point Master of Evil, meaning he can push to his heart's content. He starts off with impervious and poison, which means that he can run right up to a bunch of smaller characters without much fear of retribution. Even after his starting click of impervious, he switches to some toughness to keep him protected. Finally on his last two clicks he's got combat reflexes, providing a much needed boost to his defense when in close combat, which helps because he gets an attack and damage spike on those clicks as well.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11107
The 72 point experienced version leaves the MoE and gets significantly beefier. Starting once again with impervious and poison, after his first click he still goes down to toughness, but gains exploit weakness for his troubles. Super strength makes a lengthy appearance, along with some close combat expert, to give him some options. Finally on his last two clicks he's got imcapacitate, so no matter what he can still hurt someone.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11108
Finally the 80 point veteran mends his ways and joins the Avengers. Apparently it was the right decision because he gets even better than before. Where his range value used to be a 4 in his previous incarnations, it now gets bumped up to 6, and his opening click is something different to look forward to. Psychic blast and invulnerability both start things off, and then switch to the poison/toughness combo we've come to expect. Exploit weakness, super strength, and close combat expert all make appearances in similar positions as before, only now his final click can do even more damage than before when used properly in this form of pulse wave.

There are plenty of options with this figure, and I personally can't wait to see what he can do on the battlefield.

[Stran Tannish]

TIme for another preview! And it's Paste Pot Pete/Trapster!

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11102
The 36 point rookie Paste Pot Pete isn't really much to look at, but in a low point game, he's not much to sneeze at either. With only four clicks of life, all four have incapacitate. On his first slot he's got both barrier and leap/climb, and then switches to plasticity for the rest of his dial. He's a tie-up piece, plain and simple.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11135
The E Trapster just gets better, at 48 points. He still only has four clicks, with a full supply of incap, but now he's got another click of barrier, leap/climb for 3 slots and plasticity for 1, and they throw in 2 clicks of perplex for good measure. Now he's even better at what he does.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11136
Last but not least, the 59 point V finally gets some more staying power with 5 clicks. The only other things that change however, is one more click of perplex (for a total of 3), and in between the leap/climb and plasticity they insert 2 slots of force blast, which with the new rules is quite useful on him. With this combination of powers, he'll be very good at dictating exactly where your opponent's pieces are on the field.

See you next time.

[Stran Tannish]

Well, when I said Wizkids was going to keep me plenty busy with Sinister, I wasn't kidding. Next up: Deathlok!

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11044
The 41 point rookie is pretty dynamic, and is all about ranged combat, despite an opening click of super strength. Along with that SS, he's also got a click of ranged combat expert, so that he can either blast you at distance, or beat you over the head with an object. After that he pulls out all of his firearms, though, with a click of energy explosion followed up with two of psychic blast. Two clicks of enhancement follow up the RCE, which makes another appearance on his very last click. Round all of this out with a little bit of toughness and you've got a guy who can more than hold his own.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11045
The 60 point experienced joins forces with Spidey, and really just expands on what came before. More super strength, more energy explosion, and all of his RCE is front loaded, still followed by the enhancement. Psychic blast hangs out on his last click, accompanied by two slots of running shot for much needed mobility late in the game. Let's not forget his toughness to keep him around.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11046
Finally the 72 point veteran is once again a loner, but more than makes up for it with yet another power distribution. Now, psychic blast and running shot are up front, followed closely by super strength and RCE. Enhancement once again makes an appearance, followed again by RCE. Energy explosion gets pushed back to his final slot, while all of the toughness we've come to expect is followed by two slots of willpower at the very end. It's in this version that his range extends from the 6 that it has been to a very decent 8.

One thing I'm curious about, according to the set numbers, Deathlok is right after Multiple Man/Madrox, yet they haven't released an LE for Deathlok. Are they simply waiting to release more of the LEs, or is there a new LE order in this set? Thoughts? Tiny?

[Stran Tannish]

Like I said, keeping me busy...

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11127
They've finally released the stats for the New Guy Night armored Spider-Man, and for those of you who haven't seen it (just click the link already!), no it is not the new armor that he recently received from Iron Man, but the silver armor he made for himself quite a while back. For 98 points and with the Spidey team ability, this figure is pretty good. Mobility out the wazoo.

First of all he starts right off the bat with running shot, super strength, invulnerability, and outwit. Decent stats round out a very good starting click. Super strength is the only thing that sticks around, however, as he gains leap/climb and toughness. Yet another click down the line he gets two slots of incapacitate. Once all of those go away he finishes his dial with charge and combat reflexes, while close combat expert shows up for his last two clicks with a small upswing in attack and damage in the last slot. Like I said, great mobility with the combination of running shot, leap/climb, and charge, and plenty of defensive options.

In case you've forgotten the process, this figure will only be available at the Sinister New Guy Night, and you only get one if you bring a "new guy," someone who hasn't played in an official heroclix tournament I believe in at least 6 months, if not a year. Of course if you bring someone who's never played at all, that counts too.

[Stran Tannish]

Huzzah! New preview, and it's finally another villain. The seasonal holiday badguy, Jack O' Lantern.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11064
The rookie is 32 points and a member of the Sinister Syndicate. Powers are pretty sparse on this figure, but that's not to say that they aren't there. To be perfectly honest, he's got pretty mediocre combat values, or course, he's a mediocre villain so it's not very surprising. He starts off with smoke cloud and a single click of ranged combat expert. After that he switches to some energy explosion, gains some close combat expert farther down his dial, and ends off with another click of smoke cloud. Nothing major here, the only thing that probably saves him is that he's a flier, so he can be a cheap taxi.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11065
The experienced version is a loner, but jumps up to 51 points, with a pretty decent boost in terms of powers. This one starts once again with ranged combat expert, but also with energy explosion and super senses. The EE and RCE both stick around a little longer, while super senses switches to toughness for two slots, during which he also gets running shot for some added mobility. For his last two clicks he has stealth, smoke cloud, and close combat expert, making others come to him, allowing for a decent punch when they get there.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11066
Finally the veteran is 62 points and, while it has less diversity in powers, it's got more of the one's it still has. Starting off with energy explosion, running shot, and super senses, the EE is the only one that sticks around while he gets toughness and ranged combat expert. Once all of those go away he ends up with two slots of incapacitate, just to make sure he can always hurt someone.

Tomorrow will be another official sneak peak, hopefully we get someone good.

[Stran Tannish]

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/products.asp?cid=40790

New preview, and it's the eagerly anticipated Electro!

The 30 point rookie is a Sinister Six member, and just a pure ranged attacker with an opening slot of energy explosion. His attack values aren't that strong, but hopefully he can use that TA to bump it up a bit. After the EE he switches to two slots of psychic blast, back to EE, and ends up with a slot of poison to discourage anyone from getting in too close.

The 49 point experienced bumps up his range from 6 to 8 with two targets, and once again starts right off with EE. He then gains some energy shield and ranged combat expert on his second click, switching to psychic blast the click after that, and on his last two slots presenting a real threat with both pulse wave and RCE.

Finally the 81 point veteran goes it alone, but gains a third ranged target to be an even bigger threat. He starts right off with pulse wave, running shot, energy shield, and RCE. On his second slot he switches to the familiar psychic blast, and two slots later he gets both EE and willpower, allowing to put continuous hurt on as many targets as he feels like with that triple target. RCE makes another appearance, as does pulse wave on his last click. One thing's for sure, this Electro is a ranged force to be reckoned with.

They say that next week's official preview will feature one of his Sinister Six buddies. Oughta be good.

[Stran Tannish]

The first feat has been released for Sinister, and it's kind of interesting. And yes, you guessed it, I will now be reviewing feats in these threads as well.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11324
VAULT, a 3 point feat that requires either combat reflexes or leap/climb, is a fun little feat that promotes mobility. You can read the exact text by clicking the link, but what it basically means is that after punching (kicking, slicing, crotchshotting, etc) an opponent, the attacker may reposition himself in any other square that is adjacent to his target. This opens up a lot of strategy, and the one thing that springs immediately to mind is this: after hitting, you can move the attacker out of the way to clear the line of sight for a back-up ranged attacker to hit him as well, or even a charger. The possibilities are pretty much endless. Enjoy!

[Stran Tannish]

Two things to show you today: the first battlefield condition, and the first unique!

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11312
Back-Alley Brawl is an interesting BFC. Once again you can look at the actual text by clicking the link, but the gist is when all you're doing is fighting, no powers, no abilities, no feats, you get a +2 to your attack roll. This presents some interesting choices for you both during game, and in building your team in the first place. Do I use super strength, or get the +2 bonus? Do I flurry or not? There are a lot of choices.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11056
Then there's this figure. Forge, the true technological mind of the X-Men, gets a pretty decent figure. 84 points, with the X-Men team ability, this figure is made to lead your force. Starting off with running shot, energy explosion, and outwit, he loses RS on his second click and gains perplex. One slot later he gets incapacitate and toughness, and after that support and force blast, followed by smoke cloud. Finally on his last two clicks he has leadership and willpower. Combine this with decent stats and an 8 range, with an upswing in attack and defense at the end of his dial, and you've got a great leader who's eligible for plenty of feats.

I wonder who will be next.

[Stran Tannish]

New generics are here, straight from the Wizkids site, for your reading and viewing pleasure.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11058
First you've got the Hydra Footsoldier. This is your average grunt with a gun. For only 14 points, this guy is pure stats, no powers at all. What makes him is the Hydra team ability, which gives that always appreciated +1 to ranged attack rolls. His stats aren't even anything special, of course for only 14 points you can't really expect much. He starts with an 8 attack, but if he's surrounded by a bunch of his very affordable fellows, all of a sudden it's an 11 attack at range, much improving his chances to hit.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11060
Then we've got the Hydra Technician. In addition to the team ability, this guy is meant for support and defense, literally. Almost the exact same stats as the Footsoldier (one extra click of 2 damage being the difference), he's also got 2 clicks of energy shield up front, making him harder to hit. After that he finishes up with 2 slots each of barrier and support, and this for only 19 points each, 5 points more than the Footsoldier. His range is shorter than the Footsoldier, but he won't (or shouldn't) be using it as much, instead sticking to laying down blocking terrain and healing the others whenever he gets a chance.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11059
Finally there's the Hydra Officer. 24 points, and still with the team ability, this guy is meant to be a leader. Based on the extremely low cost of these figures, you're going to have a large number of them on your force, that's why he has a click of leadership up front. His stats are just a bit higher than the others, with another click of life for more staying power. Top this off with three clicks of energy explosion all front loaded, and this guy can do some damage when backed up by his fellows. I can definitely see some new creative Hydra armies being made with these new figures coming out. Imagine Arnim Zola, Baron Blood, or even M.O.D.O.K. surrounded by them. It's a frightening thought, given the power they each have already, especially the floating head.

See you next time.

[Stran Tannish]

More generics, huzzah! First we got Hydra, now we get Shield.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11119
The Shield Trooper is a cheap 17 point unit with, you guessed it, the Shield team ability. Other than that all it's got are its base stats, with no other powers just like their Hydra Footsoldier counterpart. The big redeeming factor for this figure is the TA, giving you that +1 to ranged damage.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11118
The Shield Sniper takes action, changing the sculpt from the Trooper's cautious stance to a charging riflewoman. At 22 points, this figure loses a click of life, but gains a higher range and a couple of powers for her trouble. On the first two of her four clicks she has both stealth and ranged combat expert, while on her third she has willpower. I don't know about you, but after the Ambush feat we got in Collateral Damage, I wouldn't mind seeing something along the lines of a Sniper feat giving a feat for stealthed ranged combat. Only time will tell, and of course, you can still use this figure to good effectiveness taking pot shots at  your opponent.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11117
Finally, the Shield Agent takes to the air with a personal jetpack. She has the same amount of life as the Sniper, but the Agent goes totally on the defensive, with two clicks of toughness followed by two clicks of energy shield. Her stats are pretty average, but the added mobility granted by flight is a big boost, and all of this for only 29 points.

Also, we got two more feats.
http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11316
Heightened Reflexes seems pretty kewl, but it's all based on a gamble. Basically whenever someone uses a move-and-attack power (charge, running shot, hypersonic, transporter), a character with this feat has a 1/3 chance to avoid it completely if they have either energy shield or combat reflexes. In assigning this feat, your spending 10 points on the assumption that your opponent will be using those powers. Of course, considering their popularity, it's a pretty good assumption. A lot of people say that it's not possible to win without using any move-and-attack (and they are the people that love to use V Superman from Icons). Now this feat gives those of us who don't always use those powers a fighting chance.

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/figuregallery.asp?unitid=11325
Vendetta is a fun little 6 pointer for figures that have an archenemy. This is another gamble. This time, your gambling 6 points on the fact that your opponent did NOT use your character's archenemy on his force. By playing this feat, you get to choose a figure to be your character's new archenemy, as well as get a +1 bonus to attack rolls against the new AE. The catch is that your character is now their AE as well, although they don't get the +1.

I'm really liking the feats they're releasing for Sinister, making it really tricky to pick the right ones.

[Stran Tannish]

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/products.asp?cid=40806

New Preview! So, usually in the past when they've had a character switch identities they would have different sculpts within the REV set, but not this time. Abner Jenkins, more commonly known as the Beetle or as the Thunderbolts' Mach 1-4, has been given two full REV sets as well as an LE to show his entire character development.

We start off with the Rookie Beetle, a Sinister Syndicate member at 38 points, who has your basic super strength and toughness combo. Each of those only sticks around for about half the dial, while flight gives him a little bit of extra mobility to help out his mediocre stats.

The experienced kicks it up to 64 points and joins the Masters of Evil. This one gets much better with a boost in stats and more powers in addition to the previous super strength/toughness. On his first click he has running shot for even more mobility, and halfway down his dial he not only gets psychic blast to cut through defenses, but also some probability control just to make sure that things go his way.

The veteran goes back to the Sinister Syndicate and jumps up to 78 points. A longer dial means more staying power, along with an additional click of running shot. His stats get even better, but it takes longer for him to get to his psychic blast.

On the other hand you have his "goody-goody" version. The rookie MACH-1 is 58 points, the lower cost probably owing to his needing to adjust to a new role in life. It still has the super strength and toughness he utilized as the Beetle, as well as an up-front slot of running shot, but this time he gets some ranged combat expert for added damage, as well as some mid-dial energy shield to keep him from getting hit. In addition, he starts right off with a longer range than any of the Beetles, and 8 as opposed to the V Beetle's 6. As if that wasn't enough he's now a memeber of the Avengers, allowing the use of the Thunderbolts feat card.

The experienced MACH-3, at 77 points, is already as powerful, if not more so, than he was at his best as the Beetle. This time super strength gives way quickly to energy explosion, followed a few slots later by incapacitate. Running shot is expanded up front, toughness and energy shield are still around, and all of the RCE is moved to the end of his dial for a last-ditch effort.

Finally (since the LE isn't actually up yet), the veteran MACH-4 is 100 points. Energy explosion is moved to the front of his dial, while he's got even more running shot and toughness. His defense stays decently high, starting at 17, and is helped once again halfway down the dial with energy shield. After that opening slot he switches to incapacitate, and he gains some mid-dial RCE once again. Then on his last three clicks, along with the energy shield, he gets super strength and charge, becoming earthbound at the very end.

Once again I have to mention how odd it is that no LEs except for James Madrox (Multiple Man) have been put up. If they're going by the same system (and we know that MACH-4 gets one) then by that token then Deathlok and Radioactive Man should have one as well, yet none of them are up yet. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.