With all the hub-bub of the ROC World Cup, The Mighty Thor, and the new rules, I totally skipped passed the BEST SELLING GAME IN SEPTEMBER. As we move closer to Halloween, it’s finally time to review… UNDEAD!

This little gravity feed set marked a big step for WizKids as it was the first non-IP release for the game, and it did amazingly. Everyone I know was hunting for these and once we got a few in at my LGS, they were gone like clockwork. WizKids really did a great job of building something that feels and plays completely different from typical Heroclix while still having some great pieces.

Before I can jump in to this review, it should be noted that this set really doesn’t play well with huge competitive pieces like Uni-Mind or ID cards; this is more of a fun set that’s focused on home and LGS play, which is totally fine. Because of this, I’m not going to judge these so harshly. While it’s true that it’s hard to really argue that I’m judging things harshly with my patented (not really) review mechanic of just three categories, I’m going to be a little bit more lenient.

Remember that my reviews are based on constructed, not sealed so please keep that in mind. I’m using the same score system as I do for all my set reviews: No Thanks, Seems Good, and Yes Please! Also recall that reviews skip linking the dials as it’s very easy to just look up the entire set on HCRealms. Let’s get shambling!

COMMONS

001 Zombie – 15 Points for a piece with Incap and Indom that can doesn’t burn your action tokens to use? Where do I sign up for that? 3 Clicks of life is plenty, especially with two clicks of Toughness, and although their attack values are low (as is their movement), these guys are amazing for clogging doorways. Yes Please!

002 Dr. Frankenstein – Are you playing a Monster team and need some support? If you answered yes to this question, the good Doctor is for you! Who doesn’t love a piece with a FREE Support and Willpower? Not good enough for you? Okay, how about Perplex too? The only downside to this piece is if you’re playing anything other than Monster. Yes Please!

003 Skeleton – These dudes look fresh out of Skyrim, so I already love ’em! There’s really not much to complain about with a 10 attack Charge piece and a 19 defense in melee for 25 points. If you play multiples, the 3 damage is going to be really nice. A pretty good steal, but they do become rather useless passed their first two clicks. Seems Good.

004 Demon – The first piece of the set that I really don’t care for. While they can do some nice trickery, they just aren’t that useful. One click of Poison, only 4 clicks of health, and Regen on two of their clicks means you’re almost always going to be giving them actions to do other things rather than heal each other. No Thanks.

005 Werewolf – It’s like Avengers Defenders War Hawkeye got upgraded with a transformation! While randomized pieces are a little worrisome since you can’t rely on what they’ll do, if you manage to roll a 6 for his trait, you get a VERY efficient melee piece. Yes Please!

006 Vampire – I’ve never liked Vampire dials because they never feel like they pull their weight around, and this piece is no different. The Indom is nice, but they’re just so easily smacked down that they’ll almost never heal to bigger clicks. No Thanks.

007 Grim Reaper – Amazing. That’s really all there is to say about this piece. Great damage potential with Exploit on the entire click, tough as hell to put down, Blades traited along with Giant Reach, and the ability to completely destroy pieces that can’t heal. Absolutely the best common in the set. Yes Please!

008 Zombie Abraham Lincoln – He’s actually pretty nasty at full points if you can get around his slowness. Four clicks of Invincible is huge, and with Prob/Steal Energy on three of those, he’s going to eat through a lot. As a leader of a Zombie team, he could be really good, but I don’t know how viable that is. His biggest downside is that staggering cost. Seems Good.

009 Ghost – There’s simply no reason a 30 point, permanent -2 attack debuff to an opposing character is a bad thing, especially when said piece ignores pretty much everything on the map and has Super Senses on every click. Combined with Exploit Weakness and Incap, you get a very nasty spirit. Yes Please!

RARES

010 Zombie Shambler – You get 5 clicks of health with Toughness on the first four along with Sidestep for just 10 more points from the regular Zombie. While you do lose the Incapacitate, these guys have much better mobility. The downside of course is that since they’re 1/12th of your build, they sting a little more on KO. Yes Please!

011 Dr. Jekyll – This is a very nasty dial for just 45 points. Starting off with 10 attack and Support, and clicking to Outwit and Perplex later with Stealth the entire way is already a pretty good support dial, but this guy can transform into a darn efficient tertiary attacker with pretty good values and Willpower. If he isn’t focused, he can stay in play for a long time. Yes Please!

012 Skeleton Champion – Sure, they’re double the cost of the regular Skeleton, but you get so much more. Leadership to help with your huge force, Charge+Blades for maximum damage output, buffs for your other Skeletons, and two clicks of Invulnerable. These guys are pretty fantastic if they stay healthy. Yes Please!

013 Belphegor – By himself, he’s not much for 90 points. If you have a ton of Demons however, he becomes a somewhat nasty ‘lord’ piece. My issue though is that both Belphegor and his Demons just don’t really do much. So you get free pieces on the board… chances are those are going to be free points for your opponent. No Thanks.

014 Werewolf Alpha – I actually like the regular Werewolf better than this guy. While it’s nice having Hypersonic Speed and penetrating damage, his stats are low on the top dial, and he gets Sidestep rather than Charge, and loses his Blades on his ‘final form’ click. The regular Werewolves are just more efficient than this guy. Seems Good.

015 Vampire Baron – Unlike the Werewolf issue above, I like the Vampire Baron a lot better than the generic common. You get a piece that has 3 distinct forms that can help your team and provides a lot of utility. Indom is huge on this guy, and although it only takes 3 damage to KO him at any given time, he has a ton of tricks. Yes Please!

016 Death – Take that common Grim Reaper, pump a ton of useful stats and powers into him and you get Death. Able to deal damage on every click, Invincible for two clicks, Sidestep so he can continually be a threat, and the same trait that destroys pieces that can’t heal. With the Blades/Giant Reach trait, you get a very potent figure. Yes Please!

017 Jacob Marley – By far the best piece in the entire set. 35 points nets you a Wild Card that can give a character that same -2 to attack like the common ghost, but Marley gets to roll off afterwards and if he’s successful, he heals 1 click and deals 1 penetrating damage to his target. Free damage is always a good thing in Clix. Just like the ghost, Marley can do something aggressive on every click number. Yes Please!

CHASES

018 Ghost of Abraham Lincoln – This guy is a hulk of a ghost with TONS of clicks, Prob on top, great defenses, the same Ghastly Chill power as the ghosts, and a Super Incap. He also buffs any teammates when they roll average or terribly. Swapping down to 55 points buys you a huge dial in relation to that cost, regular Incap with the Ghastly Chill, and the same team boosting damage power. Don’t overlook this piece as he’s quite good (and cheap for a chase). Yes Please!

019 Frankenstein’s Monster – Really what we’re getting here is a very aggressive dial for 60 points. Decent dial length, potential free attacks, and Battle Fury the whole way through aren’t bad, but there’s not too much really going on with this piece. He’s pretty good on top click, but falls very quickly. Getting support from any Scientist is nice, but it’s not really worth the time to disengage from combat to do so, unless you have his actual creator on the board. Seems Good.

The Undead set has some really neat pieces in it, and some of them should actually translate pretty well to your typical game of Heroclix. Zombies are really great fodder pieces and can be amazing with pieces that trigger effects from characters getting KO’d (like both Hela’s). Werewolfs are efficient pieces that can be great “Hawkeye’s” or “Green Arrow’s” with a neat effect if you don’t care about theme. Marley and his ghost pals are sure to cause some havoc, and the Reaper and Death are very nasty if played with the right pieces.

If you haven’t had a chance to get some of these, unfortunately you’ve probably already missed the ghost train pulling through the station, so you’ll most likely have to go through the secondary market or trading. There’s a decent chance that some of these pieces could become collectors items because it was so well received. I’m really hoping that WizKids takes note of the overwhelming success of this set and decides to put out a second version with some other characters, maybe with more classic horror creatures that dip into other lore. I know a lot of people have said that there aren’t many other non-IP horror icons they can build, but in truth there’s a lot that can be done. A ton of classic horror icons are public domain (at least to my knowledge), so it would be great to see them. Where are the mummy’s?!

That wraps up this week’s article. I hope you enjoyed this set review. How do you feel about some of the ratings I gave these figures? I’d love to know your thoughts.

I’ll see you next week ON HALLOWEEN as I cover a unique game type I’m running for my LGS this Sunday that’s all about making a monster as we get into some fun! See ya then!