Hey everybody! Welcome to Clix O’Clock, a new weekly feature here on We the Nerdy! Assistant Editor Henry has been playing Heroclix for a very long time and wants to spread his love of the game with everybody who’ll listen! This week he introduces everybody to the game if they are unfamiliar with it, but in the future this column will feature his thoughts on the current landscape of the game, what nonsense he has encountered, and any new information that he thinks you’ll love!

To begin, you will assemble your force of figures. Every figure in Heroclix has a point value. This value distinguishes the worth of one figure to another. For example, Superman might be 200 points while a Henchman is only 30. This shows you that Superman is more powerful and can do more. At the start of the game, your opponent and you decide on a total point value that all of your figures will add up to. The standard game is 300 points, but Heroclix can be played at any point value in values of 100 (100, 200, 300, etc…). Now you look at your figures and add them up, and make your team. So if you want to use that Superman, he is 200 of your 300 points. Meanwhile your opponent could play as many as ten of their 30 Henchman pieces, but that’d be silly.

The way that Heroclix works is simple in practice, but complicated on paper, so bear with me here. Every Heroclix figure has a dial. This dial contains all the stats for the character, as well as their unique abilities. Each Heroclix also has a corresponding card, which tells you what these abilities are. For every character, there is a speed value, an attack value, a defense value, a damage value, and a range value. Speed is represented by a foot, wing, or dolphin. Attack is represented by a fist, multiple fists, or a cross-hair. Defense is represented by a shield, or a variation of a shield. Range is represented by lightning bolts, with multiple lightning bolts designating multiple targets. And finally, damage is represented by an explosion, an atom, a large fist, or a giant person cowering over a smaller person. Each different symbol means different things to represent the diverse characters in the game. Got that? Good, it’s simple in practice, I promise you. Then, next to each symbol is a color and number, which represent that stat value and ability. So a red 7 on attack means a different thing than a red 7 on speed. To find out what your ability is, look at the color and where it is on the dial. Then consult your card, and in the parenthesis, it will tell you what ability that is.

From there, the game is pretty simple. You play on a grid, with different terrains for different maps, and move your pieces around. Any time your character does something, you give them an action token, which designates that they did something that turn. The token stays with that figure for the rest of your turn, and the next turn. If your figure has a token on it, you cannot give them another token unless you want to damage them, which will do one click of damage (More on that in a second). Some figures can bypass this damage depending on their abilities and symbols. If you character does not do anything that gives them an action token, you remove their token at the end of the turn. Are you still with me? I hope so, because this is where it gets fun.

Eventually your force and your enemy force will interact. There are two main types of attacking your opponent; Ranged combat and close combat. For ranged combat, you must have a range value (Number next to the lightning bolts) that will reach from your figure to theirs, and it must reach in a straight line without anything blocking the shot. Then you roll two dice, adding the total sum of the roll to your attack value (The number next to the fist). If this number is higher than their defense value (The number next to the shield), then you hit them! You deal damage according your damage value (The number next to the explosion). The hit character will pick their figure up from the board and *click* them (Turn the dial) according to the damage dealt. Close combat works exactly the same, but you are next to them instead of within a range.

One of the beautiful things about Heroclix is that there are so many properties associated with the game. While Marvel and DC Heroclix are the backbone of the game, there are also Lords of the Rings, Halo, Gears of War, Pacific Rim, Street Fighter, and Iron Maiden Heroclix, to name a few. All of these Heroclix are compatible with one another, so you can have a team of Rocket Racoon, Legolas, and Gypsy Danger taking on Lex Luthor, the Covenant, and M. Bison! There are no limits to the game or the wacky ways to play it. Heroclix has been around for 12 years now, and with every year they seem to add a new mechanic, such as resources, team dials, vehicles, and more. With the current comic book industry booming, the game has expanded to gargantuan size, with something for everybody to love. I implore you, check it out and buy a blind pack. It’s fun and exciting every time, with a loving community waiting to welcome you!

Check out full rules from Wizkids (The game developers) HERE!

Thanks for checking us out, this has been a long time coming and I look forward to getting to the meat of things. Next week, I will report with my standings and experience at my local venues Con in Your Store Tournament!

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