The Clix Gentleman Watches the Watchlist
So, for those of you that somehow missed the initial announcement, go check it out.
I'm going to group these together in a way that makes sense and try to explain the issues and what I think the fixes (if any) should be. Because it's my site, and I get to do that. And because no one outside of Wizkids has dug into the rules as much as I have.
These two are the most obvious and frankly, easiest to fix. Iceman isn't really that much of a problem, but if you're going to fix something, you might as well fix it. For ease, we'll use Tri-Sentinel's wording:
FREE: If no other Colossal Retaliation power has been activated this turn, choose an opposing character that attacked Tri-Sentinel or damaged a friendly character since your last turn. Place Tri-Sentinel such that it can target the chosen character using Pulse Wave at no cost, then do so. After resolutions, destroy all blocking terrain within 3 squares.
Lots of people think this issue here is with how after resolutions effects work. And they're wrong. “After resolutions” is actually one of the better upgrades Wizkids made with the major rules overhaul in 2017 and functions exactly as it should. To change it because of bad wording on a figure would be going backwards and giving up a lot of the good progress made. Instead, the issue is that the passive trigger clause is included inside the power. And that needs to be fixed. In fact, it's really important that be fixed because it's a problem that Wizkids has with other powers that, if ignored, is just going to pop back up down the road. The way the power should read is this:
If no other Colossal Retaliation power has been activated this turn, and an opposing character attacked Tri-Sentinel or damaged a friendly character since your last turn, Tri-Sentinel can use “FREE: Place Tri-Sentinel such that it can target the opposing character using Pulse Wave at no cost, then do so. After resolutions, destroy all blocking terrain within 3 squares.”
This means that until Tri-Sentinel is attacked or a friendly character is damaged, it can't even use that power. This doesn't change any rules and, if adopted, sidesteps the same problem occurring down the road with a slightly different power. The passive trigger should not be inside the power, not just because of this interaction, but because you're also falling into the Clix trap of putting the cart before the horse. So I give the FREE and then read whether I can use it or not? That can be confusing and counter-intuitive.
Next!
I'm not really sure what the issue is here. Chewie is once per game (though again, that limitation is inside the power). Her penetrating damage is dependent on her actually using Hypersonic. Her STOP click is pretty standard, so I can't see that getting touched. It has been suggested that the interaction with Wyngarde would be looked at, but that way lies madness. Wyngarde has lots of great bystanders to generate, so I'm not sure why Marvel would be on here.
I say no change is necessary.
I've beaten and been beaten by this Widow. She's really good. She's not unbeatable. She can be chosen with Outwit and hampered with Barrier or just blocking terrain. Limiting her Patience trait to range -or- range and line of fire would be fine, but her other trait already requires that. So, if the problem is the effectiveness of the Patience trait, she is normally already going to be in range for it. And, if you KO her, which takes work, the Patience trait goes away. I worry that any errata will just lead to unintended consequences. She's a good figure you need to plan for. I really don't think she needs errata.
And then, there's these two:
I have played against this Valeria....so many times. And she has a lot of good things going for her. Free placement, healing from opposing characters being KO'd, being able to give a friendly character Outwit. And the penetrating damage.
She's also four clicks deep with no reducers. And needs line of fire for her penetrating damage, so a stealth heavy team on a hindering heavy map can stop her damage. Or just Invincible. In fact, she's actually a little worse than Venom Groot, simply because he doesn't need line of fire for his effect. But he's still only four clicks deep, albeit with Shape Change and Toughness.
I really think these two fall into a common trap that certain Heroclix players are prone to: The Utopian Scenario. Yes, Valeria can deal 9 penetrating damage...to a character without Invincible that will stay within her line of fire for all 9 squares. And I've seen the statements, “well, Onslaught!”
Sorry, but Onslaught hasn't done anything outside of Texas. And while he has potential, a figure (or heaven forbid rules) shouldn't be changed because of one figure that hasn't won anything. Yes, people are suggesting that perhaps knockback should be changed but this is the simplest that knockback has been in a decade. It distinctly needs to not be movement and even if you changed it to “place it up to that many squares away unless the following” you're still creating this weird rubber banding in the game state. Or, you go the other way and have knockback destroy terrain as characters are placed through it. Which may be fun but will come with its own issues.
The only change I would suggest is making Venom Groot require line of fire, especially since he can be summoned from your sideline. Unlike Valeria.
And that's it. Who knows if anyone at the big WK will read this or listen, but I'm here to help anyway. Also, astute readers may notice that I largely have come out against errata in these cases.
It's because I think that some people are far too comfortable calling for something they don't like playing against to be banned or changed. I think it's good for people to actually have to make choices and not know what they're going to be playing against. You're not going to see anyone playing every one of these figures on a force (though if anyone takes that as a personal challenge, let me know, because that would be a sight to see). These aren't Faust or d20 Dr. Strange, where you might have to sit there while your opponent played Heroclix for an hour. These aren't ID cards, where you have to figure out how to fight something that's not on the map (which often resulted in just running your own ID cards). These are figures that have to be played on the map. These are figures that are (except for Chase Widow) pretty easy to KO. These are figures that, largely, need to be very close to your force to function.
So, just play Heroclix.
If you have any questions or comments, you can send them along to joenexus36@gmail.com And if you appreciate articles like this as well as the most up to date Units section online, consider supporting us at Patreon.
Until next time, please be courteous, be kind, and read the rules.