I never got into Heroclix, but I'm thinking about jumping in as there are a lot of cheap singles out there.  Do mixed sets work well?  Do the older figures play well with the newer ones?  Or is it a case of incompatibility or severe power creep making anything a few years old useless against the more recent pieces?

It's been years since I played; a friend bought a big lot, tons of mixed figures, we had a good time with it.

In short, yeah, I think the set mixes well. It's not like Mechwarrior where steep power creep cracks the game wide open, or Mage Knight were different editions snapped compatibility.

Very early last year, a few club members approached me and asked me about putting Heroclix on our wargames schedule.  I told them that we had a long standing hatred for it, but I'd be willing to try it in the interest of propagating war on every plane imaginable.  My friend being a comic book nerd, I actually got kind of excited about rampaging around our own little Marvel / DC microcosm.

I went out and bought a ton of HYDRA minis.  And SHIELD.  And a few others.  Just cuz I like armies fighting one another, these are the ones I gravitated to.

I told them the catch was they would have to present the game.  I threw a few ideas out about a neat campaign day we could do where we got everyone who came in to throw down in a Marvel narrative.  We had plenty of minis between us...all the stuff they would need to do really cool story and tournament style campaign day that would actually act as an intro for the clix to the club.

A year and a half later and I've heard nothing at all about HEROCLIX.  Even when I ask the guys about it, it's nothing more than a half hearted "Uh...snurr..."

Gabriel - the "old sets" (pre-Hammer of Thor) do NOT mix well with the new sets.  There is sufficient power creep to cause issues.  However, if the folks you're looking to play with are all getting into the game at the same time, I could see an argument for everybody picking up some old stuff (cheaper) and playing with that for a while to get a hang of the game.

Beyond that, DC and Marvel sets intermix fine.  Just be smart about your scenarios.  If you put Thanos against Power Pack, he's going to win, even if the points are about even.  In our group we try to put deity-types against one another, mixed superheroes against one another, and "street-level" teams against one another.

I believe there's an Avengers starter set out right now, along with a number of 'Fast Forces' (essentially a team in a box, playable at a couple different points levels depending on who you use).

I will gladly yammer about Heroclix at length, even though I'm very bad at actually winning games; feel free to PM me as well.

I've been playing a bit.  I just play casually, so I'm not obsessed with competitive figures.  However, I will err on the side of newer figures whenever there is a choice.

I got Nimrod today.  Hopefully he's not too obsolete.  He's my favorite X-Men villain.  Although, in a 300 point game, I guess the only support I can give him is the new Roulette figure I got at the same time.

I'm a bit amazed at the existence of a Roulette figure, much less that a good number of the Hellions are available.  I thought Marvel axed them back in the early 90s and they appeared in even fewer comics than Nimmy.  I think the only ones which aren't in the Heroclix line are Jetstream and Catseye.

Note that the Hellions are all repaints of one another.

Nimrod was always one of my favorites, too.  I don't know anything about the figure, though.  But, as with any minis game, play whatever gets you psyched to play!

Are you a Sentinels nut?  There are lots of cool Sentinels figs, including the new colossal Master Mold...

Here's a force I'll be trying this weekend.

Fantastic Forces - Rogue - Veteran = 95 pts
Armor Wars - Cannonball - Veteran = 111 pts
Secret Invasion - Clea = 59 pts
Giant Size X-Men - Roulette = 35 pts

Total = 300 pts

Rogue and Cannonball both have Flight, Charge, and Impervious.  The idea is for them to take the vanguard and whack things.  But before they do it, Clea will use Outwit to nullify the defense powers of whatever target I want to have Rogue and Cannonball kill.  Roulette will use Probability Control to nudge things my way, such as reroll a fumble, or perhaps a failed Impervious roll.

I have a few team abilities in this mix.  Clea's Defenders team ability will go to waste.  Cannonball and Rogue both have the X-Men team symbol, so one could sacrifice a click to heal the other up.  It could be useful.  Roulette should benefit from the Brotherhood of Mutants Team ability which allows me to move her without having to spend one of my 3 actions per turn.  

I'm worried about keeping Clea and Roulette safe.  I guess it will all depend on how well the two hammers work.  Clea has some nasty surprises too with Mind Control and Incapacitate, but I need to keep her on her first click so she has Outwit which is key to Rogue's and Cannonball's assault.  Luckily, Clea has a 16 base defense as well as Energy Shield.  Poor Roulette only has a 16 Defense with Super Senses being her only fallback.  Luckily, she keeps her Probability Control for a few clicks.

----

I just noticed that Tarot and Roulette are the same with different hair colors (just as you said).  Oh well, there's only so much you can do with two similar  characters wearing the same exact uniform anyway.  

I'm thinking about picking up a Sentinel.  I'm not entirely sure yet.

Just remember, whatever bozo knocks Clea off her Outwit just asked very politely to be Mind Controlled.

That's an interesting mix of folks - let us (well...me) know how it turns out!

Game 1

OK, I played today with my team mentioned above and faced:

"The Green Team"
Hulk Fast Forces - The Leader = 75
Hulk Fast Forces - She Hulk = 75
Mutations and Monsters - Super Adpatoid = 143

I won the roll-off to be first player.  I chose the Alien City Outdoor map from the Galactic Guardians Fast Forces pack since it provided the best line of sight opportunities for Roulette and Clea.  My opponent selected to start on the raised platform, and I started opposite.

My after game scenario description:  

The Leader's evil schemes have led him to Lila Cheney's Dyson Sphere.  In the previous issue he had defeated She-Hulk and now he put a mind control circlet on her, to force her to follow his orders.  It also doesn't hurt that he has stumbled upon an alien race's version of the Super Adaptoid hidden in a research center.

Lila and Sam have learned of The Leader's presence and have teleported back to Earth to get the help of the X-Men.  As usual, most of the X-Men are off doing other things.  They manage to find Rogue and Roulette completely by accident.  Figuring they can't spare any more time, they teleport back, kidnapping Rogue and Roulette to help.

The mysterious energies of their teleportation are sensed by Clea, who is taking a holiday from the Dark Dimension at Dr. Strange's place.  Wondering what could be causing this, she mystically tracks Lila, Sam, Rogue, and Roulette back to the Dyson Sphere.  Once there she realizes the mess she has willingly hopped into, and teams up with the mutants to fight the villains.

Gameplay:

The first couple of turns were uneventful positioning.  Rogue picked up a heavy object to use as a weapon.  Cannonball shuttled Roulette over the water areas.  Clea teleported into position.  My opponent adopted a strategy of letting me come to him, which I was fine with as he left Leader unscreened.

Rogue and Cannonball prepared for their attack run.  She-Hulk tossed a giant boulder into Rogue's face, and Rogue lost her heavy object/weapon.  Luckily, Rogue didn't suffer knockback, so my attack run was still valid.  Cannonball and Rogue rushed and and squashed The Leader like a grape.  Rogue also served the dual purpose of getting into She-Hulk's face.  Now Clea and Roulette pulled into position to ensure support.

After some brawling with She-Hulk, she pushed and knocked Rogue out with a Quake attack which missed Cannonball.  This caused She-Hulk to collapse in exhaustion, leaving my opponent with only Super Adaptoid.  Cannonball rushed him, while Clea fired Eldrich Bolts, and Roulette threw fortune discs everywhere.

Sadly, luck was not with me, even with the fortune discs.  One reroll caused Cannonball to end up fumbling, which ultimately proved his downfall as the Super Adaptoid smacked him down into the pool and out of action.  Then the Adaptoid started rushing Clea.

I retreated Roulette, under the flavor description that she was running away screaming as the now giant sized Adaptoid charged.  Clea stood her ground and continued hurling magical deathbolts.  These hit, causing the Adaptoid to lose his steam, and the next one caused him to drop dead.

I thought I had a fairly good team.  Clea and Roulette were awesome for the points.  But both my opponent and I admitted that he didn't really use Super-Adaptoid effectively.  He should have screened Leader, and been more aggressive with the Adaptoid.  Dropping Leader early and the Adaptoid not doing much until his other pieces were dropped was what let me win.  It didn't help that he was under-points and the Adaptoid didn't really come off as worth the full 143.

Game 2

We started another game.  This time I chose:

"Blood and Steel" (Crimson and Silver)
Supernova - Iron Man - 160 pts
Danger Room - Colossus - 60 pts
Universe - Veteran - Cyclops = 78 pts

He chose:

"Ladies Night Out"
Hulk Fast Forces - She Hulk = 75
Secret Invasion - Invisible Woman = 100
Danger Room - Storm  = 40
Hulk Fast Forces - Hulkbuster Wrangler = 25
Fantastic Forces - Veteran - Scarlet Witch 62

I won the roll off for first player again.  I chose the same map because I was lazy and didn't want to bother changing it.  This time he chose the ground level starting zone and stuck me with the raised platform.

My after game scenario description:

Being a lady superhero is hard work, and these gals needed to let their hair down.  They all decided "screw the bad economy" and went out to max out their credit cards and shop till they drop.  Sue Storm brought along some poor smuck SHIELD agent that happened to be visiting Four Freedom's Plaza to carry all the stuff they bought.

And, uh... Iron Man, Colossus, and Cycops are in misogynistic prick moods and are pissed off that them wimmimfolk are being all uppity.  So, they put on their wifebeater tees and head out to stop those damn wimmins-libbers before they start thinking they can do whatever menfolk can.

The mall is about to need some repairs.  I hope the owners have their Damage Control premiums paid up.

Gameplay:

First turn I had Iron Man carry Colossus to the edge of the open center area.  Cyclops ran down the stairs and started toward the center as well.  My opponent had Invisible Woman carry Scarlet Witch to one of the raised platforms along the edge of the map.  Storm carried She-Hulk towards the middle too.

Combat was engaged as Cyclops blasted She-Hulk and Storm.  The Iron Man used his Outwit and did the same.  Scarlet Witch's hex magic was blocked because she didn't have line of sight to either Cyclops or Iron Man because of the platform.  After this attack, my opponent conceeded.  His reasoning was that Iron Man had Invulnerability and none of his characters could do 3 points of damage anymore other than Invisible Woman and he had no way past the defenses otherwise.

This one definitely wasn't a good fight.  I offerred to play the same team again tomorrow if he wanted a rematch.

But I'm definitely having fun so far.  It reminds me of the good ol' days when we had the Marvel Super Heroes maps permanently affixed to the giant game table and would have city destroying comic battles.

Sounds like a good day of play - love the way you justify your teams with the 'scenario' afterward, that's great.

Facing off against clix who have damage reducers is a pain, but it's part and parcel of the game; you pretty much have to hope for crit or knockback or use objects as best you can.

Today the opposing forces were:

My Force - Team Sinister

Mister Sinister
Black Queen (Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix)
Goblin Queen (Madelyne Pryor Summers)
Pyro (old version)


His Force - The Fellowship of the Gem

Mister Fantastic (Fantastic Forces)
Venom (limited edition)
Storm (Danger Room)
Warlord (DC)
Crimson Gem of Ctorrak  (sp?)


The Map:

The map was the Shield Helicarrier from the Avengers set.  The Fellowship of the Gem had the meeting room starting area, and Team Sinister had the area at the end of the long catwalk which looks like a landing pad.


The Story:

A ragtag, random assortment of heroes have discovered the Crimson Gem of Ctorrak.  They have called a meeting on the Shield Helicarrier to determine what to do with it.  The discussion drifts to dunking it in a volcano, but villanous forces have something else in mind.

Mister Sinister has decided that the One Gem can give him limitless power.  He assaults the helicarrier with his new Marauders, consisting of the Sinister Sisters (a new Madelyne and Jean) as well as Pyro (who was bored that day).  Proclaiming "I am Sinister.  Hand over the Gem if you wish to avoid destruction," didn't seem to have the desired effect, so it looks like there's going to be a massacre.


Gameplay:

Team Sinister advanced down the catwalk and had Pyro throw up some fire barriers to prevent a rush.  The Fellowship stayed inside the walled area of the conference room trying to get the Gem to activate on someone.  Then Team Sinister got Black Queen/Jean in position and started blasting with range 10, damage perplexed up to 4 by Mr Sinister, and penetrating.  Warlord sucked up the attack.

The Fellowship dispatched Venom and Storm out of side doors, probably in an attempt to form a pincer attack and get to Black Queen/Jean.  Mr. Sinister opted to lay a trap and dispatched Goblin Queen to a far side of the map.  There she was tempting and apparrently vulnerable bait.  Would the Fellowship take it?

Yes, the Fellowship sent Venom to deal with the Goblin Queen.  This strategem caused Venom to fall exactly into the Sinister trap, as he was telekinetically thrown directly in between the Black Queen and Mr Sinister where he was summarily executed.

Seeing this happen caused Storm and the Warlord to attempt an attack.  Storm blasted Mr. Sinister with lightning, and it seemed as if the Goddess of the Storm may have the villain on the ropes.  However, Sinister transformed himself into a likeness of Jean Grey and begged for help, causing Storm to cease her offensive.  Warlord's attack was much less successful, as his mad dash for the Black Queen was met with her simply flying out of the way and blasting him into oblivion, laughing maniacally all the while.

Mr Fantastic moved to assist and managed to blast Pyro with a special concussion blaster.  Pyro responded by fencing Mr Fantastic behind a wall of flame, blocking Fantastic's attack path, and causing him to retreat nearer Storm.  Storm tried one last desperate attack and ended up straining her powers for no benefit (fumble).

The path to the Gem was now clear.  Mr. Sinister strode into the chamber to claim it, and it immediately responded to his desires, imbuing him with it's power.  The Sinister Sisters moved to the catwalk.  The Goblin Queen telekinetically dragged Storm into their midst where the two ladies blasted her mercilessly.  At this point, Mr. Fantastic fled to retrieve the rest of the Fantastic Four and possibly the Avengers.


Analysis:

This is another game which felt like a huge mismatch.  My characters didn't seem as powerful on paper as they ended up playing as.  Although, I guess I should have expected it.  After all, I did effectively have two variants of Phoenix in my team.

My opponent really, really fumbled the ball with Mr. Fantastic and Venom.  About all he used Mr. Fantastic's variable Perplex power for was to increase Mr. Fantastic's defense.  Venom blundered straight into a trap and was eliminated in short order.  He completely squandered Warlord.  Hopefully, he'll do better next time.

Even though it wasn't a good battle (very lopsided), I have to say it had a very strong comic feel.  It's ironic in a way.  I avoided this game for so many years because I felt it would just be MageKnight with superhero figures.  Now that I'm playing it, I'm taken aback by how easy it is to come up with my pseudo-comic storylines for each battle, and how each one seems to generate results that seem straight out of the pages of my old favorite comic books.

All that's missing is Rogue flying up to any random opponent, touching them, and then crying out "it's too much" before passing out.