New Feature to MichianaClix: the Boards!

I've set up a Pro Board for Michiana Clix.

http://michianaclix.proboards.com

New developments in a new home for HeroClix 

ICv2 reports today 

Quote:

HeroClix Bidders Join Forces  Catalyst and Pinata  Published: 12/15/2008 01:36am  Two companies that were making a play to acquire HeroClix from Topps in the wake of its WizKids shutdown (see “Topps Shuts Down WizKids”) have joined forces. Catalyst Games, which announced that it had made a bid for all of the WizKids properties (see “Catalyst Bids on WizKids Properties”) and Pinata Games, formed for the purpose of acquiring HeroClix (see “Interview with Pinata’s Jake Theis”), have formed a strategic alliance, contingent on Catalyst’s successful acquisition of the WizKids properties.  If Catalyst’s bid is accepted by Topps, “Pinata will begin as operator of the HeroClix brand immediately,” according to the statement. If it occurs, the alliance would allow both companies to release new games both together and independently.

Hopefully we'll see this deal progress further before the end of the year.

December Events are added to the Calender

Wizkids's Sanctioned events:

Arkham Asylum Week 4: This event will be a 3-booster, 500 point event in which two players will form a team and each must make a force of 250 points or less from a combined sealed pool of 3 Arkham Asylum boosters.

Prize: All participants (up to 16) will receive feat card F104 Precision Demolition. Winner, Team-Up Partner & Envoy will receive figure 101 Crispus Allen LE.

Arkham Asylum Week 5:This event will be a 400 point event using the restricted environment in which two players will form a team and each must bring a force of 200 points or less.

Prize: All participants (up to 16) will receive feat card F104 Precision Demolition. Winner, Team-Up Partner & Envoy will receive Event Dial E102 Knightfall.

Team Up rules as run by Wizkids at WWT and clarified by Rules Arbitrator

Force Construction
(Sealed) 1. Each team will open their 3 boosters and verify that all figures are legal (the character number on the dial must match the number on the base). 

(Sealed) 2. A 500 point force is to be constructed from the figures available. This force will be made up of 2 “squads” that is each 250 points or less. 

(Both Sealed and Constructed) 3. Rules for themed teams and uniqueness apply to the whole force used by both players. So it is not legal to put the same unique on each squad*. In order to qualify for a themed team bonus, all 500 points of figures would need to share the same keyword.

*this will be ignored for venues using a :random Pairing" method
Game Play
1. One player from each team rolls to see who goes first. The first team selects map. The second team selects edge. The entire game is played just like a normal one on one match with a longer time limit of 75 minutes (1:15 hour).

2. On each turn, each player has 2 actions to assign to their squad, giving the team a total of 4 actions in their action pool. A player using Leadership can choose to give the extra action to the other player, but there can still only be one additional action for the team per turn. These actions can take place in any order.

3. Only the player of the squad can give their characters actions, though the other squad is still considered a part of the force. For example, I can give my flier a move action and carry a character from the other squad. 

4. Teammates are encouraged to discuss their strategy with one another. The game still needs to be played in a timely manner – discussions should not last much longer than it would normally take a single player to “make up their mind” when faced with a similar decision in a single player game.

Winning
The game ends when one squad is eliminated. This may result in one team winning with less points.

All other events are described in their calendar listings.

 

Calander Added!

Today I've added a calendar to the blog.  It will list all events in the area.  

Enjoy!

January Events for Arkham Asylum LE figures.

Last month, after Topps shut down Wizkids, the four local Judges decided that we would keep running events for Arkham Asylum.  When Justin Ziran, Managing Director of Wizkids Games, was able to get venues the already produced Prize Support for January events, we decided that we should keep the different weeks of January similar to each other.

Each week a different scenario or event design will be featured for play designed by one of our great Judges from the area.  We'll keep these using the Arkham Event Weeks to match the prizes that were sent.

Week 6: "Dent Dementia: The Two-Face Two-on-Two Tournament" by Nick Hartly

Unrestricted 400pt Two-on-Two Event (each player must bring a force of 400pts or less consisting of at least 2 characters), with special random partnering rules. No Feats, Battlefield Conditions, Special Objects, Event Dials, or Colossals may be played; Themed Team rules will be ignored. The larger, square maps with 4 separate starting areas should be used for this event (if not enough room and/or 4-player maps are available, players will have to make due with ‘de facto’ starting areas as laid out by the Judge).  

Dementia Set-up and Partnering 1st Round: Players will fill out their individual Force cards normally. For Round 1, four players will be assigned randomly to each table (as such, players are encouraged to bring a force that is self-sufficient as well as possibly helpful to a variety of other teams, since you'll have no idea whom you'll be playing with or against each round). If the number of players that arrive to play cannot be divided evenly by 4, see ‘Byes’ below. 

Random Partnering: When rolling to determine Player1 in each round, each player rolls individually (any ties must roll off against each other to determine which is ‘higher’ and ‘lower’). The highest roll is determined to be Player1 as usual, and that player chooses the map. The next highest roll is Player2, and that player partners with Player1 (their figures are considered friendly to each other for the match). The third highest roll is Player3, and gets to select his preferred starting area on the chosen map. The lowest of the rolls is Player4 of course; that player’s force is considered friendly to Player3’s, and Player4 uses the starting area to Player3’s left. Player1 uses the starting area to Player4’s left, and Player2 uses the last available starting area. Players should sit corresponding to their designated starting areas, if for nothing more than to remind them of the order in which they’ll take their turns. 

Round results: The rule stating, “if only one player has characters left on the board, he is the winner,” is suspended. Wins are based solely on Victory Points, and this will help to determine placement of players in subsequent rounds. Each player must track his Victory Points separately from his friendly partner (Player A is partnered with Player B; Player A's character defeats a 100pt figure, so that 100 points goes only to Player A and not Player B, etc). At the end of each round the 2 players with the highest Victory Points in each match will be awarded a Win of that match, and the 2 players with the lowest Victory Points will be given a Loss. Any ties in Victory Points in a match that would affect Win-Loss ranking will have to roll off to de

termine who is 'higher' or 'lower'. 

Subsequent Rounds: To determine table placement for Rounds 2 and 3, the best 4 Win-Loss/points records would all play at the same table; the next 4 best records would play at the next table, and so forth. As you can see, this event could create a situation in which players might be seated at the same table and end up with the same partner and/or opponents from previous rounds. As such, the normal Swiss-pairing rule that states players should not face the same opponent multiple times is suspended to facilitate the randomness of this event. 

Byes: It’s hard enough to get an even number of players to show up to a standard event, let alone get a number of players that is divisible by 4 for a special event like this one. Therefore, certain stipulations have been made for each possible number of ‘spare’ players (as always, the Judge should do his very best to make sure that no player has to suffer a Bye more than once). 1 extra player – In this case, that player may choose to take the Win with zero points as normal, or that player may “challenge the Judge” to try to gain more points (the Judge should bring a legal team for the event just in case, of course). If the player takes on the Judge, he will still get a Win for that round (whether he technically won the match against the Judge or not) and score the number of points he was able to defeat on the Judge’s force. 2 extra players – The 2 should face off against each other in a standard 1-on-1 match to determine which should be awarded a Win or Loss, and also their placement in the next round. 3 extra payers – With three ‘extras’, the Judge should join in with them to create a 4-player match like the others are playing.

In this case, the Judge should not participate in the initial roll off, and is automatically considered to be Player4. The Judge is just there to facilitate, of course, making sure no one has to sit around without getting to play, though he can certainly feel free to follow all the rules as if he was a ‘regular’ player (challenge his ‘opponents’ that round, help his friendly ‘partner’, enjoy playing the event, etc). While the Judge gets no standing in the tournament rankings, the number of points the Judge KO’s would be considered for determining the other 3 players’ Win-Loss placement (for example, if the Judge happens to KO the most points in the match, then only the 2nd highest point player would be given a Win, while the other 2 lower-point players would suffer a Loss). Special Rules 

Seeing Double: Any roll of doubles (including double 1’s) is considered to be a Critical Hit (therefore, there will be no Critical Misses in this tournament). 

The Coin Decides: At the beginning of each round, a single coin should be distributed to each player. Once per game, when any player (opposing or friendly) announces any tokenable action for a figure, you may hold up your coin and say, “The coin decides”. Call which side of the coin you would like to come up, and then flip the coin (coin flip results only count if the coin lands on the table, and coins should not be flipped into anyone’s hand or onto the floor). If the side of the coin you chose does not come up, the coin has no effect and the action continues as announced. However, if the side of the coin you chose does land with its ‘face’ up, instead of the declared action you may consider that figure friendly to your force for the duration of a single action and immediately give that figure any legal, tokenable action you choose. (For example, an opponent announces his figure will use Running Shot to target one of your characters; you decide to flip your coin, choose ‘heads’, and it comes up heads. You may now give the character that was going to do the Running Shot any tokenable action you choose {have it use Running Shot and/or any of its other powers to target a different figure, destroy a wall or object if it’s able, move to a square from which you could target it with attacks on your upcoming turn, etc}.) Only one coin can be used to try to stop any single action; if 2 or more players hold up their coin for the same action, they will have to roll off, with the highest roll determining which single player gets to flip his coin in regards to that action (and whether the coin flip succeeds or fails, no other player may use their coin on that particular action). Once you have flipped your coin in a match (or the round ends), hand your coin back to the Judge (unused coins cannot be carried over to subsequent rounds). 

Face 2 Face: After 3 rounds, the 2 players with the best records (determined by the normal Swiss guidelines of Win-Loss records first and then highest points for W-L ties) will be named the "Ultimate Two-Face Team". Naturally though, since the event can only have 1 Winner, those 2 players will have to face each other in a final ‘sudden-death’ match to determine the true victor. This championship round should be played on the smaller, rectangular 2-person style map, following normal HC rules (and the additional ‘Seeing Double’ and ‘The Coin Decides’ special rules above). In this match, when 1 player has suffered the KOs of any 2 of his characters, that player must immediately admit defeat and declare that his opponent is our final Winner. Winner & Fellowship will receive the Arkham Asylum #102 LE, Harvey Dent. 

Week 7: Sealed Event by M.D. McNally

Details to be released soon.  Since I [Jon] feel like I gave M.D. The least creative of the month, I'm going to ask that he helps design an event for post-January Play.  And before you ask why a sealed event, remember that the players weren't the only folks taken by surprise with the closing of Wizkids.  We owe it to the Local venues, who have supported this game and Organized Play, to keep a sealed Event in the gaming rotation. 

Winner and Fellowship for this event will receive the LE Henchman.

Week 8: 500 point Unrestricted - History Lesson! by Jon Loftus

  Dig back into the depths of your collection! 

Construct a 500 point Unrestricted Team consisting of no more than one Figure, Bystander, Feat or Battlefield condition from any one set.  Feats are capped at 5% build for this event (no more than 25 points of Feats).  All teams, regardless of keywords will receive one (and only one) theme team Probability Control re-roll for each match. Winner and Fellowship of this event will recieve a copy of the Grodd LE figure from Arkham Asylum! 

(Highlander Rules will not apply to this event)

For or final Wizkids Supported Event Judge Ken Andrzejewski went to task to make a memorable scenario that captures the style of the peice that players are competing for, The Riddler.

Week 9: Riddle Me This by Ken Andrzejewski 

Build:  600 points

Actions:  1 action for every 2 figures on the player’s team at the start of the game (I.e., 4 figures = 2 actions; 12 figures = 6 actions; etc.)  This is to encourage larger teams.

Unrestricted (No Colossal Figures)

Restrictions:  No theme team rules are in effect.

Time per round: 60 minutes.

Special Rules:  As a fan of the original Batman TV show from the 1960s, I went through the Riddler episodes and harvested the following riddles.   (By the way, there were 11 Riddler episodes, plus the movie.  I threw out the John Astin episodes and some of the more dated Frank Gorshin ones as well.  There were over 50 riddles used in the series.)  These riddles have now become bonus Special Powers.  Each player gets a sheet of the riddles.  These powers can be assigned once (and only once) to any figure on the player’s team during the entire Tourney.  Once a power is used, it is crossed off the list.  The power/effect may only be used until the beginning of your next turn, and then disappears unless otherwise indicated.  Powers may be assigned at any time, except in the middle of another action.

Riddle Power Sheet

Winner and fellowship will both receive a copy of the LE Edward Nigma from Arkham Asylum.

January Events!

The 4 local Judges are working together right now to get a unified set of events for January.  We'll post them as soon as we get the details worked out!

HeroClix in Michiana after Topps pulled the plug

Greetings all.  I've resuscitated the MichianaClix Blog for a very important reason.  As folks may or may not know Monday Topps placed an immediate halt to all Wizkids brands and disbanded the company.  

This occurred while staff were still returning from a successful showing at Wizard World Texas and caught the employees by complete surprise.  As you can guess, the greater HerClix community was shocked.  Shocked but not silent.  Almost immediately what still existed of the Organized Play system, the Envoys and venues began talking and making plans to keep HeroClix alive until Topps or someone else picked up where Wizkids was forced to leave off.

In addition, clixers began drives to save HeroClix, keep it available to players and collectors.  Let's be honest the wealth of characters left untouched in the game outweighs everything that's already been made. 

A Facebook Group was created that day, it quickly has grown from just a few people gathered by me to almost 600 people ready to do whatever it takes to keep HeroClix alive.  

By Tuesday plans were already in motion by some of the former Wizkids employees to take back what they had worked so hard for.  This has been led by Jake Theis, the brand manager for HeroClix (until Monday).  As of now, Jake has formed the skeleton of a brand new company with the intent of taking HeroClix and making it a product FOR the fans.

So what does this mean for us in Michiana?  Well, we've got 4 great venues that are still hosting the remaining November and December events.  As the local Level 3 Envoy (for whatever that means now that OP is no more) I have asked that the venues and Envoys run the events just as described.  

As an added bonus, Justin Ziran, the Director of Brand Marketing and final Wizkids employee after the warehouse closes up next week, was able to get all remaining Arkham Asylum Prize Support out to venues.  I have reports that at least 2 venues in town have already received their December AND January prize support.

I've asked the local envoys to come up with a plan to run a unified set of events in January and after that we'll revert to a completely Venue sponsored type of events.  Many of us are planning on playing the game the same as we have for the past 6 1/2 years.  

If Jake's new company is successful, or Topps keeps the production schedule for Hammer of Thor is as yet unknown.  The developments are occurring fast, and due to many legal reasons not all of the information on these developments can shared to the public.

For those of you that want to keep up on the efforts Check out Jake's efforts at the Save HeroClix Blog, if you have an existing Facebook account (or have been looking for an excuse to start one up) join the Save HeroClix Group, it's like a mini discussion and resource just focused on efforts to save HeroClix.

Come back soon to see what games will be hosted at which venues.

Don't let the lack of a Checklist get you down!

Here's the Secret Invasion Checklist provided my MichianaClix and BuyMeToys.com.


Please note that at this time the information for LE Victor von Doom is guess work.
Note, file hosted on Ripway, only available for the nest 30 days.

July/Summer Issue

It's coming folks! Between Holiday and Wizard World and general Summer fun the next issue is pushed back just a bit! It will be out BEFORE the release of Secret Invasion.

MichianaClix June Issue!

Issue 3 June, 2008

Welcome all to the second issue of the local Clix and Wizkids games newsletter, Michiana Clix. Please share this with your Clix playing friends. If they’d like to subscribe have them send me an e-mail at MichianaClix@gmail.com. The goal is to have this published monthly, with special “alerts” when necessary.

You can also find a copy of this along with periodic information, polls and reader feedback at michianaclix.blogspot.com.

How Lucky can we be?
The South Bend/Mishawaka area has the luck of having 4 very active Wizkids Venues within a 20 minute drive of each other. BuyMeToys.com, Fantasy Games and The Griffon in South Bend, and Uber Geek Gear in Mishawaka. Each month a different Wizkids Venue will be profiled here. This month we’ll get the details on BuyMeToys.com!

BuyMeToys.com, 6237A University Commons, South Bend

Located near the heart of Michiana Retailing, BuyMeToys.com is a nationally recognized, full service comic and collectible store and small press publisher. BuyMeToys.com became a Venue just before the release of HeroClix in 2002 and has run every HeroClix Approved Play Event ever offered.

Like most comic specialty shop Venues, BuyMeToys.com' playing area is actually in the retail area, allowing interested people a chance to observe the game as it is played.

BuyMeToys.com began its life as a show and convention retailer when Casey, the owner, was only 15 years old! At age 19, Casey opened his first brick and mortar shop, Shadow of the Bat, in Mishawaka's Century Center. In 1999 the store, now run by Casey and his wife Kelly, moved to Scottsdale Mall and changed the name to match the website, BuyMeToys.com. When Scottsdale mall was torn down, they moved to University Commons. They host HeroClix almost every Sunday (barring a holiday or family event) and Horror Clix two Thursdays a month.

BuyMeToys.com often brings in comic creators for signings and special events. Up next is Alex Ross (Avengers/Invaders, JSA, Super Powers), coming in July 19th.

BuyMeToys .com is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 am – 8 pm, Sunday and Monday from 12 am – 6 pm, closed on Tuesday.

AlphaClix debuts with Batman!
June will have the debut of the Alpha Clix format with the DC HeroClix: Batman set. This game is intended to get new players introduced both to HeroClix and Collectible Miniature Games.

The seasoned Clix player will see a lot that is familiar to the game. Folks that played the Halo ActionClix game will see a lot of similarity as well.

With only 30 pieces and three rarities (Common, Uncommon and Rare) this will be a low impact set for collectors and Bat-fans. The booster format will be 4 figures, one (a version of Batman) will be in a viewable window on the booster, character cards detailing each figure’s powers (like a mini-PAC), dice and a 15” x15” (10 x 10 square) map. Boosters will retail for $9.99.

Target has an exclusive “Fifth Batman” figure that will not be found anywhere else. Also, Wizkids is limited the amount of product available to traditional gaming store in order to get this game out to the non-core audience.

Still if you are interested in this game, check your local comic and hobby game specialty stores!

New Starter Rules
July 9th will see the release of the Marvel HeroClix: Fantastic Four Starter and with it the brand new rules set for Heroclix. And yes, this is a set of changes to the existing rules as much as an addition to or “tweaking” of existing rules. Some changes have already been dealt with, removal of soaring, theme team benefits and victory condition being the aspect that were introduced before the Crisis Event series began

Rather than list the differences, I’m just encouraging players to read the new rules, which can be found these documents on the Wizkids’ Website here: Fantastic Four Rules and Fantastic Four PAC.

The Fantastic Four Starter has an MSRP of $24.99 and can only be found in specialty gaming stores.

The Invasion is coming!
As you may have already seen, previews for Marvel HeroClix: Secret Invasion are in full swing at Wizkid’s website, Wizard and in Critical Hit Magazine!

Will you be ready to face it? Check with local retailers for Pre-ordering information.

Available July 30th, MSRP $11.99 a booster.

“Boo!” It’s HorrorClix Errata Time!
As if to remind us all that HorrorClix is still ticking, the latest E & C for HorrorClix was released on May 21st.

It corrects a few mistakes and helps HorrorClix on track for casual and organized play.

• Only Gold and Bronze Tab Monsters are unique, fixing the error from the Freddy vs. Jason rule Book.


• Active Players can play plot twists only on actions that their opponent(s) have not.


• Monsters with 2 tokens can be the target of Possession.


• The Mime Monster does, indeed, rescue victims.

What a Week!
Now that the Crisis Events are over local venues have a series of treats for players! The first whole week of June (or so) has 4 events that are all a great break from the recent, highly regulated, Organized Play series.

The first of these was announced back on Free Comic Book Day at BuyMeToys.com. On Sunday, June 1st, a spectacular 3 booster sealed event with three Big prizes 2007 Galactus, Starro and the winner’s choice of either a ‘Purple Pants’ or SDCC ‘Orange’ Fin Fang Foom! All participants will get something for playing but the big prizes will go to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Plans call for a double elimination format with fun side games for when players are knocked out.

Uber Geek Gear also has a sealed event with Colossal prizes on Saturday May 31st. Initially for only a single Colossal prize, they have upped the ante to colossal prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as well. This event however does have a minimum of 8 or more participants required to be played, so help them out and sign up if you plan on playing!

Saturday the 7th, Uber Geek Gear will host the 2nd annual (they hope) Live HeroClix event! This unique event has the players using a 100 point, single figure with no more than 20 point of Feats allowed, team that they play as on the gridded sidewalk outside the store. Players then compete in a life sized battle, every player for themselves!

Fantasy Games also has a great diversion from the norm on Thursday June 5th. For this Unrestricted event players will bring a massive 1000 point team!

HeroClix Approved Play for June
June only has one restricted event for HeroClix.
Heroclix World Championship Qualifier I: Restricted 300 point event.

Prizes include a local champion certificate for the winner plus entry into a drawing at GenCon for several recent HeroClix full sets.

NOTES: Players cannot win more than one invitation, and once they win, cannot play in any others or they may be disqualified. Invitations will be issued to the player in our system that was reported as winning the event; events reported more than two weeks after their date, or those run incorrectly, will not generate invitations. Venues must run the tournament according to the “How to Run Swiss Rounds” document found here, including "final" elimination rounds.

Tournament Legal Sets
Marvel: Armor Wars, Danger Room, Sinister, Days of Future Past, Fin Fang Foom, Supernova, 2099, Avengers, Mutations and Monsters

DC: Collateral Damage, Spectre, DC Giants, Green Lantern Corps, Origin, Legion of Super Heroes, Justice League, Crisis

Indy: City of Heroes/City of Villains, Invincible, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.

MichianaClix Hero Clix Calendar
HeroClix
Sat 5/31 Fight for the Big Boys Event 1:30 pm UGG
Sun 6/1 Battle for Foom, Galactus and Starro Sealed Event 1:00 pm BMT
Thu 6/5 1000 point Slugfest! 7:00 pm Fan
Fri 6/6 HeroClix World Championship Qualifier I 7:00 pm Grif
Sat 6/7 HC Live Action – You’re the Click 100 point, single figure 1:30 UGG
Sun 6/8 400 point Unrestricted 1:00 pm BMT
Thu 6/19 HeroClix World Championship Qualifier I 7:00 pm Fan
Fri 6/20 Unrestricted Event 7:00 pm Grif
Sat 6/21 HeroClix World Championship Qualifier I 1:30 pm UGG
Sun 6/22 HeroClix World Championship Qualifier I 1:00 pm BMT

HorrorClix
Thu 6/5 200 point Constructed Event 6 pm BMT
Sat 6/7 200 point Constructed Event 6 pm Grif
Thu 6/12 300 point Constructed Event 6 pm BMT
Fri 6/13 300 point Constructed Event 6 pm Grif
Thu 6/19 400 point Constructed Event 6 pm BMT
Sat 6/20 400 point Constructed Event 6 pm Grif

MechWarrior
Tue 6/2 Storyline Event 6:00 pm UGG
Thu 6/5 600 point Constructed Event 6:30 pm Fan
Tue 6/10 600 point Constructed Event 6:00 pm UGG
Thu 6/12 Storyline Event 6:30 pm Fan
Tue 6/17 Unrestricted Event 6:00 pm UGG
Thu 6/19 600 point Unrestricted Event 6:30 pm Fan
Tue 6/24 Unrestricted Event 6:00 pm UGG
Thu 6/26 5000 point Special Unrestricted 6:30 pm Fan (See Venue for full details)

Venue Guide
BuyMeToys.com (BMT)
6327A University Commons
South Bend, IN 46635
in University Common across from University Park Mall

Fantasy Games (Fan)
52025 State Road 933
South Bend, IN 46637
N of the Toll Road

The Griffon (Grif)
121 W. Colfax Ave.
South Bend, IN 46601
At the corner of Colfax and N. Main, next to the LaSalle Grille

Uber Geek Gear (UGG)
2441 Miracle Ln.
Mishawaka, IN 46545
In the Town and Country shopping center near Dairy Queen

Free Role Playing Game Day
June 21st marks the second annual Free Role Playing Game Day. Locally, Fantasy Games will be participating in this event. Check out games from publisher such as Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf Publishing. Some promotional items are available for interested players, as well as demos.

Fantasy Games is looking for Game masters for a variety of games to run demos that day. Contact Mark at fantasygamessb@aol.com for more details.

June Kicks off Summer Conventions!
The month of June starts convention season here in the Midwest. Wizard World Chicago will be June 26th -29th. Plenty of Clix competition there, as well as the chance to pick up the Convention Exclusive Knight Fall Batman!

At Wizard World you can find large tournaments of up to 128 players that can go all day as well as faster Battle Royals that can occupy as little as an hour!

Not to mention the other trapping of conventions, Comic creators, television and movie personalities, publishers big and small, costumes and so much more!

As well as Wizard World Chicago, GenCon (4 great days of gaming), is in Indianapolis in July plus you can always find small regional conventions.

If you know of any regional gaming conventions or comic shows, please let MichianaClix know! Send information to: MichianaClix@gmail.com.

About the author
Jon Loftus has been a HeroClix player since day one and became an Envoy in September of 2002. He is currently the regional “Level 3” Envoy for Wizkids. That means he helps with any issue that come up for Wizkids players, new and existing venues or other Envoys as well as runs games regularly. Jon works as a technician at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Environmental Science and Technology. He and his wife, Christy, will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this summer. You may see Christy and their daughter Emma at area events along with Jon.

Marvel HeroClix: Fantastic Four Starter Rules are up.

Wizkids games released the new Core rules for HeroClix that will come with the Marvel HeroClix: Fantastic Four Starter set. They are in pdf format.

These new rules will be in effect sometime after the release date for the starter set, July 9th. There may be "preview" events run at local venues, check with the individual venues for information on their events.

Below are two links for you to familiarize yourself with these new rules.

Article at Wizkids Site on the new Rules.

Marvel HeroClix: Fantastic Four Rule Book.

Event Changes for Week 9

Just a general heads up.

The Week 9 events are shuffled a bit because of Mother's Day, local prom season, player and Envoy availability.

• The Friday night game will be at 7pm at BuyMeToys.com.
• The Saturday afternoon game will be at The Griffon at 1pm.
• UberGeakGear is then holding their event at 5 pm Saturday evening!
• The Thursday night match will still be at Fantasy Games on the 15th.

A big thanks to all of the Venues and Envoys who have accommodated these moves!

Issue 2 May, 2008

Welcome all to the second issue of the local Clix and Wizkids games newsletter, Michiana Clix. Please share this with your Clix playing friends. If they'd like to subscribe have them send me an e-mail to MichianaClix@gmail.com. The goal is to have this published monthly, with special "alerts" when necessary.

You can also find a copy of this along with periodic information, polls and reader feedback at michianaclix.blogspot.com.

How Lucky can we be?
The South Bend/Mishawaka area has the luck of having 4 very active Wizkids Venues within a 20 minute drive of each other. BuyMeToys.com, Fantasy Games and The Griffon in South Bend, and Uber Geek Gear in Mishawaka. Each month a different Wizkids Venue will be profiled here. This month we'll get the details on Fantasy Games!

Fantasy Games, 52025 State Road 933, South Bend
Fantasy Games has been open and hosting in store gaming since 1995. They began their affiliation with Wizkids when MageKnight was introduced to the gaming world in 2000. Now, they cover all aspects of gaming, including pre-played videogames, miniatures, CCGs, RPGs and accessories as well as hosting a variety of CCG and miniature games.

Their spacious gaming areas can seat 40-60 participants depending on the game being played and always with comfort, room to spare and access to plenty of "gamer fuel" at the register!

In addition to the sales floor and gaming areas, the Fantasy Games website offers news on upcoming special events and products, a discussion area, and a calendar of events to plan your gaming fun.

Fantasy Games is open Sun & Mon Noon – 10 pm, Tue thru Sat Noon – Midnight! Short term parking is available in the front and parking for games is located just behind the storefront.

The Anti-monitor is coming
The Anti-monitor Action Pack is due out April 30^th. The set contains the Colossal Anti-monitor figure; the Veteran level is a 1000 point, 25 click, beast that can be used as either a scenario piece of as a force unto itself! Also included are a Shadow Demon and Qwardian Thunderer and a sculpted Event Dial to recreate The Crisis as never before possible on a HeroClix Map!

Check your favorite Stores for availability, $29.99 MSRP

Secret Invation/Fantastic Four Previews
Expect Previews for upcoming HeroClix sets, the Fantastic Four Starter and Secret Invasion set to start the week of May 2^nd. Check Wizkids' website for the latest details.

New Terrain Tiles for MechWarrior
April has also seen an update to MechWarrior terrain. The formerly featureless shapes now have a variety of images and color coding for type to add to the game. They also included new shapes and hybrid tile featuring multiple forms of terrain on the same tile.

The tiles can be found on the MechWarrior site and are downloadable as both High and Low res PDFs. Linked here.

The Winners circle
Periodically we will look at winning teams and players from our local games. This month we'll look at the team that Jarimy Springer (Jarimy123) brought to Fantasy Games for the Crisis Week 7, 500 point Floor:50% event.

Spectre 234 w/Protected 8
Shazaam! 105 w/Monster Hunter 3
Klarion 76 w/Inside Info 4
Scarlet Witch 35
Scarlet Witch 35 both w/Alpha Flight 0
- 500 mystical theme team
BFCs: Ordinary Day, Loyalty, Poor teamwork

Jarimy had wanted to use Spectre again, but having recently tried a successful run building around the Justice Society Keyword, he opted to try out the piece as part of a mystical Theme. Jarimy tells us,
"This immediately took me to R Shazam! and the Scarlet Witches. I thought I'd be screwed with the floor … but then I found Klarion. I hate that figure but he got me to floor, got me to the keyword minimum for a theme, and offered perplex and a tie up mystics piece."

The +5 to initiative helped Jarimy out, as he built this team to go first and take advantage of terrain and careful use of Special Objects.

"I also pray[ed] for 1 heavy and 2 lights [objects]. 1 heavy for the Generator, 1 light for the El Vine, and 1 light for the telephone booth. My plan was to carry out Shazam! with 1 Scarlet Witch to the telephone booth and get him going right away. Spectre would go out and get the generator. I always move Spectre out his full 10 move into hindering, [and] always have protected if he does get hit ... The other Scarlet Witch would carry Klarion to hindering, and within range to perplex Spectre's range if needed."

A part of Jarimy's overall success is paying attention to game variables. In this case, carefully choosing which Battlefield Condition to play against which opponents was one aspect of a winning strategy. Round 1 brought him against a Deathstroke/Black Panther centric team with plenty of Probability Control from 2 Klarions and a Scarlet Witch along with a Marvel Girl for added mobility. He chose to play no Battlefield Condition saving them for later.

After defeating his first opponent, he went on to face a wildcard exploiting team of Alex Luthor, Pied Piper and Trickster, R and E Ragman, Dawnstar and Bronze Tiger. His opponent played Armor Wars, but Jarimy had selected his Ordinary Day to use in the second round.

His final opponent (after securing a second victory) was another well known local player MD McNally (ND MadDog). Having a feeling he would have to faceoff against McNally he had saved both his Poor Teamwork BFC and his Theme Team "Cancel" and it paid off! "He throws Ordinary Day, I throw Poor Teamwork, I ignore Ordinary Day..."

Jarimy went on to defeat MD with just minutes left in the final round. Jarimy's approach to pre-planning his moves, carefully selecting which of his BFCs will fit against his opponent and willingness to try new figure combinations are some things that keep him in the winner's bracket so often.

A Few New HeroClix Errata and FAQ
A new set of rules documents was released on April 15^th. Highlights of that include:

• Clarification that all figures that have two or more spaces worth of base (double based, World's Finest…) follow the restriction that double based figure do.
• Re-inclusion of "First Round Immunity" in print.
• Star Abilities Cannot be cancelled
• Corrections to Keywords documents released in February
• A number of errata for Crisis figures
• Correction/clarification on BFC Skyscraper (CR), elevated terrain in Starting Area of the Legion of Super Heroes map is considered clear terrain, plus what happens when Skyscraper and Wasteland are both in play
• A Boost to the Mercenary (OR) FEAT, by now including Special Powers that give team abilities to figures counting as well
• Interaction of Nanobots (AW) Feat and the Dark Caldron (AV) SO are redefined

Players can find these documents on the Wizkids' Rules to All Games page (linked here for easy access). Take a few minutes to read up and keep yourself on the cutting edge of the game!

Goodbye Clint!
In early May we say goodbye to a longtime player, Clint Osborne (BigBaller). We wish him all the luck in his move to Tennessee. It's been fun, and don't be a stranger!

Hero Clix Approved Play for May
HeroClix continues the Crisis series of events in May. This month features some BIG point tournaments all with a 5% (30 point) cap on Feats and bystander tokens combined!

• Week 9: 600 point Floor: 75% event. Build your team with at least 75% of the build (450 points) consisting of DC HeroClix: Crisis Figures, Feats and Bystanders.
• Week 10: 600 point Special Unrestricted Event. Build you team with game elements from any DC HeroClix Set.
• Week 11: 600 point Restricted. Build your team from any tournament legal sets.

Tournament Legal Sets
Marvel: Armor Wars, Danger Room, Sinister, Days of Future Past, Fin Fang Foom, Supernova, 2099, Avengers, Mutations and Monsters

DC: Collateral Damage, Spectre, DC Giants, Green Lantern Corps, Origin, Legion of Super Heroes, Justice League, Crisis

Indy: City of Heroes/City of Villains, Invincible, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.

Retired DC Sets: Hypertime, Cosmic Justice, Unleashed, Legacy

Michiana Clix Calendar

Thu 5/1 MechWarrior Special Storyline6:30 pm Fan
Thu 5/1 Crisis Week 8 7 pm Fan
Fri 5/2 Sealed HorrorClix 7 pm Grif
Sat 5/3 Special Marvel Only tournament 1:30 pm UGG
Thu 5/8 Sealed HorrorClix 6 pm BMT
Thu 5/8 MechWarrior Unrestricted 6:30 pm Fan
Sat 5/9 Crisis Week 9 7 pm BMT
Sat 5/10 Crisis Week 9 1 pm Grif
Sat 5/10 Crisis Week 9 5 pm UGG
Tue 5/12 Mechwarrior Unrestricted 6 pm UGG
Thu 5/15 MechWarrior Constructed 6:30 pm Fan
Thu 5/15 Crisis Week 9 7 pm Fan
Fri 5/16 Crisis Week 10 7 pm Grif
Sat 5/17 Crisis Week 10 1:30 UGG
Sun 5/18 Crisis Week 10 1 pm BMT
Tue 5/20 MechWarrior Constructed 6 pm UGG
Thu 5/22 MechWarrior Unrestricted 6:30 Fan
Thu 5/22 Crisis Week 10 7 pm Fan
Fri 5/23 Crisis Week 11 Grif
Sat 5/24 Crisis Week 11 1 pm Fan
Sat 5/24 Crisis Week 11 1:30 UGG
Sun 5/25 Crisis Wk 11 1 pm BMT
Tue 5/27 MechWarrior Unrestricted 6 pm UGG
Thu 5/29 400 point Constructed HorrorClix 6 pm BMT
Sat 5/31 400 point Constructed HorrorClix Grif

Venue Guide

BuyMeToys.com (BMT)
6327A University Commons
South Bend, IN 46635
In University Common across from University Park Mall

Fantasy Games (Fan)
52025 State Road 933
South Bend, IN 46637
N of the Toll Road

The Griffon (Grif)
121 W. Colfax Ave.
South Bend, IN 46601
At the corner of Colfax and N. Main, next to the LaSalle Grille

Uber Geek Gear (UGG)
2441 Miracle Ln.
Mishawaka, IN 46545
In the Town and country shopping center near Dairy Queen

Free Comic Book Day
Saturday May 3^rd, 2008 is the 6^th annual Free Comic Book Day. Check your favorite Comic and Gaming stores for participation.

Locally, BuyMeToys.com will once again be hosting the biggest Free Comic Book Day celebration in Indiana. Among the thousands of comics that will be given away, you can find your favorite heroes and villains, new characters and new publishers as well as forgotten favorites to share with your friends! Best of all, it's free! In the age of $3.75 a gallon gas, free is really good!

Also available is the FCBD Marvel HeroClix: Iron Man figure. This new version of Iron man uses the fantastic sculpt from Armor Wars with a whole new set of powers all in a compact 100 point figure.

About the author

Jon Loftus has been a HeroClix player since day one and became an Envoy in September of 2002. He is currently the regional "Level 3" Envoy for Wizkids. That means he helps with any issue that come up for Wizkids players, new and existing venues or other Envoys as well as runs games regularly. Jon works as a technician at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Environmental Science and Technology. He and his wife, Christy, will be celebrating their 10^th anniversary this summer. You may see Christy and their daughter Emma at area events along with Jon.

Remember that May 6 is the Indiana Primary Election.

Take time to vote!

"South Bend Comicon" in Sunday 4-20

The joke that is the "South Bend Comicon" is Sunday from 10 am until 4pm at the Comfort Suites on 933 in Roseland. You might be able to find some Clix there, but I wouldn't get your hopes up, it has been pretty dismal all the times I've every attended.

Michiana Clix Issue 1 April, 2008

Issue 1 April, 2008

Welcome all to the first issue of the local Clix and Wizkids games newsletter, Michiana Clix. Please share this with your Clix playing friends. If they'd like to subscribe have them send me an e-mail at MichianaClix@gmail.com. The goal is to have this published monthly, with special "alerts" when necessary.

How Lucky can we be?

The South Bend/Mishawaka area has the luck of having 4 very active Wizkids Venues within a 20 minute drive of each other. BuyMeToys.com, Fantasy Games and The Griffon in South Bend, and Uber Geek Gear in Mishawaka. Each month a different Wizkids Venue will be profiled here. We're starting off with the "elder statesman" of local gaming, The Griffon.

The Griffon, 121 W. Colfax Ave., South Bend

Located right in the heart of downtown South Bend, the Griffon has been open and hosting in-store gaming since 1976. On the name of the store, owner Ken Peczkowski tells us "Griffon was chosen because we wanted to become known as a store where various wonderful things would be mixed together (books, games, miniatures, gifts, cards, records)."

Their gaming facilities can hold upwards of 50 players for several games at the same time in their different gaming sections and has a good selection of gamer-fuel; soda and snacks, at very small cost.

Parking is always at a premium downtown, but the Main St. parking garage is located right across Colfax, and there is plenty on curbside parking within a block or two walking distance.

The Griffon is open to explore Monday to Thursday 10 am – 6 pm, Friday 10 am – 7 pm & Saturday 10 am – 6 pm, with the gaming section open for events during business hours and 7 pm to midnight on Fridays! Closed Sundays.

Crisis crisis

In early February Wizkids announced that they had sold out of DC HeroClix: Crisis before it even shipped! Thankfully it has not been in too short of supply locally. Most of the area gaming and comic stores still have Crisis on the Shelf. The World's Finest "Buy the Brick" offer, however, is sold out as of the middle of March.

Horror-ible Nightmares

March also saw the release of the most recent HorrorClix set and Action Pack, Nightmares and Freddy vs. Jason, respectively. The action pack has 5 different versions of the movie monsters, both solo and together, as well as 5 brand new Plot Twists, a sheet of Victim Tokens with characters from the movies, and a double sided map that is packed with game play potential.

Nightmares contains a collection of horrible entities and fearsome protectors. Legendary beasts like the Sasquatch of the American Northwest and Nessie a great sea beast can be found along with gruesome depictions of the Tooth Fairy, a mischievous Gremlin and what's gotta be the most aggressive Quarterback to ever toss the pigskin!

In addition to the sets, there is the LE Poltergeist figure, an eerie translucent spirit looking to rattle some chains. This figure is only available as first place and Fellowship award in Organized Play HorrorClix Events.

The Anti-monitor is coming

The Anti-monitor Action Pack is due out April 30^th. The set contains the Colossal Anti-monitor figure; the Veteran level is a 1000 point, 25 click, beast that can be used as either a scenario piece of as a force unto itself! Also included are a Shadow Demon and Qwardian Thunderer and a sculpted Event Dial to recreate The Crisis as never before possible on a HeroClix Map!

Check your favorite Stores for availability, $29.99 MSRP

Hero Clix Approved Play for April

HeroClix continues the Crisis series of events in April.

Week 5: 400 point Floor: 50% event. Build your team with at least 50% of the build (200 points) consisting of DC HeroClix: Crisis Figures, Feats and Bystanders.

Week 6: 400 point restricted Event. Build you team with only game elements from tournament legal sets.

Week 7: 500 point Floor: 50% match. Build your team with at least 50% of the build (250 points) consisting of DC HeroClix: Crisis Figures, Feats and Bystanders.

Week 8: 500 point "special" Restricted Event. For this event, your entire team must be built from game elements from tournament Legal DC sets. No Indy, No Marvel.

Tournament Legal Sets

Marvel

Armor Wars , Danger Room, Sinister, Days of Future Past, Fin Fang Foom, Supernova, 2099, Avengers, Mutations and Monsters

DC

Collateral Damage, Spectre, DC Giants, Green Lantern Corps, Origin, Legion of Super Heroes, Justice League, Crisis

Indy

City of Heroes/City of Villains, Invincible, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.

Michiana Clix Calendar
Tue 4/1 6:00 pm MechWarrior Unrestricted UGG

Thu 4/3 6:00 pm 400 pt HorrorClix BMT

Thu 4/3 6:30 pm 600 pt MechWarror Fan

Fri 4/4 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 5 Grif

Sat 4/5 1:30pm Crisis Wk 5 UGG

Sat 4/5 2:00 pm 400 pt HorrorClix Grif

Sun 4/6 1:00 pm Crisis Wk 5 BMT

Tue 4/8 6:00 Mechwarrior Constructed UGG

Thu 4/10 6:00 pm 600 pt HorrorClix BMT

Thu 4/10 6:30pm MechWarrior Storyline event Fan

Thu 4/10 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 5 Fan

Fri 4/11 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 6 Grif

Sat 4/12 12:00 pm Midwest Mechwarrior Championship UGG

Sat 4/12 2:00 pm 300 pt HorrorClix Grif

Sat 4/12 2:00 pm Crisis Wk 6 BMT

Sat 4/12 6:30 pm 300 pt HorrorClix UGG

Sun 4/13 1:30 pm Crisis Wk 6 UGG

Thu 4/17 6:30 pm MechWarrior Storyline event Fan

Thu 4/17 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 6 Fan

Fri 4/18 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 7 Grif

Sat 4/19 1:30 pm Crisis Wk 7 UGG

Sun 4/20 1:30 pm Crisis Wk 7 BMT

Tue 4/22 6:00 pm MechWarrior Storyline Event UGG

Thu 4/24 6:30 pm Unrestricted MechWarrior Fan

Thu 4/24 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 7 Fan

Fri 4/25 7:00 pm Crisis Wk 8 Grif

Sat 4/26 1:30 pm Crisis Wk 8 UGG

Sun 4/27 1:00 pm Crisis Wk 8 BMT

Tue 4/29 6:00 pm MechWarrior Storyline event UGG

Thu 5/1 6:30 pm MechWarrior Storyline event Fan

Thu 5/1 7:00 pm crisis Wk 8 Fan

Fri 5/2 7 pm 400 HorrorClix Constructed Grif

Venue Guide
BuyMeToys.com (BMT)
6327A University Commons
South Bend, IN 46635
in University Common across from University Park Mall

Fantasy Games (Fan)
52025 State Road 933
South Bend, IN 46637
N of the Toll Road

The Griffon (Grif)

121 W. Colfax Ave.
South Bend, IN 46601
At the corner of Colfax and N. Main, next to the LaSalle Grille

Uber Geek Gear (UGG)

2441 Miracle Ln.
Mishawaka, IN 46545
In the Town and country shopping center near Dairy Queen

Free Comic Book Day
Saturday May 3^rd, 2008 is the 6^th annual Free Comic Book Day. Check your favorite Comic and Gaming stores for participation.

Locally, BuyMeToys.com will once again be hosting the biggest Free Comic Book Day celebration in Indiana. Among the thousands of comics that will be given away, you can find your favorite heroes and villains, new characters and new publishers as well as forgotten favorites to share with your friends!

Also available is the FCBD Iron Man HeroClix figure. This new version of Iron man uses the fantastic sculpt from Armor Wars with a whole new set of powers to use.

About the author

Jon Loftus has been a HeroClix player since day one and became an Envoy in September of 2002. He is currently the regional "Level 3" Envoy for Wizkids. That means he helps with any issue that come up for Wizkids players, new and existing venues or other Envoys as well as runs games regularly. Jon works as a technician at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Environmental Science and Technology. He and his wife, Christy, will be celebrating their 10^th anniversary this summer. You may see Christy and their daughter Emma at area events along with Jon.

Welcome to Michiana Clix

Michiana clix is the informational page for the Michiana Clix newsletter.

To be added to the monthly mailing list simply send a request to michianaclix@gmail.com with the phrase "Add me" in the Subject.