rock810
05/27/2008, 22:23
(The main article with pictures is in Critical Hit Issue 8)
HeroClix A to Z
Feats don’t fail me now
By: Aaron Schantz
The introduction of Feat Cards to HeroClix significantly changed the face of the game.
The game mechanic means you’re not limited to playing a figure with just what is printed on the dial. You can tweak figures to fit specific strategies, or fix small shortcomings on otherwise playable pieces. One of the most exciting aspects of Feat Cards is that they also reinvigorate older figures. Prior to Pounce, Spider-man sat on the sidelines while more obscure figures grabbed the spotlight. But with one small card, the wall crawler’s playability came back swinging.
Each new HeroClix expansion introduces a few more cards to the game. Sometimes these cards are revolutionary and break existing strategies apart - Fortitude for example - broke players of their over-reliance on Outwit. Other cards simply serve to make a small segment of figures better, or help expand on a particular strategy. Some even create entirely new metagame strategies, such as LAMP (Lockjaw, Armor Piercing, Mastermind & Poison.)
With so many cards to choose from, and new ones coming out all the time, how do you pick which cards to play? And more importantly, how do you avoid bogging down figures with too many cards?
Adding a Feat Card to a figure can change an OK figure into a good one. So some might think that adding several cards will make that figure great! But at some point the excess of cards, and the accumulation of additional points, starts to offset the basic value of the figure. An easy example can be found in Fortitude and Repulsor Shield. These cards are 25 point each, and both are good for protecting an important figure on your team. Each one has its advantages, so you might think it is good to play both. But then you are adding a whopping 50 points to an already pricey figure. And a figure that might be worthwhile at 175 points may not have the same value for 225!
Those two cards are extreme examples, but with so many great cards to choose from, most at about ‘only’ 10 points each, it is easy to get carried away and suddenly tack 30 or 40 points onto a figure that started out under 100!
Things that trip up your Feats -
If you are adding a Feat Card to a figure to improve on some shortcoming, look to see if there is another figure that is a few more points but has what you are looking for without needing a card. For example, if you are using Pounce so that a figure can move and attack, is there another figure with Charge or HyperSonic Speed for about the same cost?
Or if you are using In Contact with Oracle on your whole team, could you instead play
Brilliant Tactician on one figure and save a lot of points?
Within the scope of your entire team, is the Feat Card even necessary? Back to the Pounce example; if you have enough other figures on the team with move & attack abilities, or figures with TK, do you even need Pounce to make this figure more mobile?
Consider also how the card works on the character and in the game overall. Take Vendetta for example; If you play Vendetta on Veteran Green Lantern (Origin) you can use it to help his otherwise average AV. However, what are the chances your opponent will have a figure over 214 points on their team that you can even declare as his Arch Enemy?
Also look at the role of a particular figure on your team. Oftentimes players will use a lot of cards to try and make a secondary figure into a front line attacker. But a figure with mediocre stats is never going to be a front man, and by the time you stick on 30 extra points you could just get a figure that was made to be a bruiser. One easy example is the Flash from Icons. He has good defense and great move and attack ability, but also just average attack numbers. Swingline is a great Feat that will help ignore terrain. Nannobots allows for easy healing after pushing. Protected avoids a lucky attack that hits, and Armor Piercing is a card that pierces Invulnerable figures. All these are good cards, but they also push Flash to nearly over 140 points! Not nearly worth it for a figure that only does 2 clicks of damage! Not in comparison to other figures you can get for 140 points.
Instead of bogging Flash with every card he can use, see what you want to use him for on your team and then play cards that specifically help your strategy. If the Flash isn’t meant to go up against Superman, you don’t need Armor Piercing. If you can move back to safety after an attack then you also don’t need Protected or Nanobots. Now you’re back down to just Swingline, and back to a reasonable extra cost for his abilities. A good rule of thumb is 20%, don’t add more than 20% more to a figure’s cost. So a 100 point fig can justify about 20 points of cards.
As more cards keep coming out, figures and strategies will continue to evolve. But as long as you don’t try to make a figure into something its not, and don’t bog it down with too many cards, then Feat Cards will continue to be an asset, not a liability.
HeroClix A to Z
Feats don’t fail me now
By: Aaron Schantz
The introduction of Feat Cards to HeroClix significantly changed the face of the game.
The game mechanic means you’re not limited to playing a figure with just what is printed on the dial. You can tweak figures to fit specific strategies, or fix small shortcomings on otherwise playable pieces. One of the most exciting aspects of Feat Cards is that they also reinvigorate older figures. Prior to Pounce, Spider-man sat on the sidelines while more obscure figures grabbed the spotlight. But with one small card, the wall crawler’s playability came back swinging.
Each new HeroClix expansion introduces a few more cards to the game. Sometimes these cards are revolutionary and break existing strategies apart - Fortitude for example - broke players of their over-reliance on Outwit. Other cards simply serve to make a small segment of figures better, or help expand on a particular strategy. Some even create entirely new metagame strategies, such as LAMP (Lockjaw, Armor Piercing, Mastermind & Poison.)
With so many cards to choose from, and new ones coming out all the time, how do you pick which cards to play? And more importantly, how do you avoid bogging down figures with too many cards?
Adding a Feat Card to a figure can change an OK figure into a good one. So some might think that adding several cards will make that figure great! But at some point the excess of cards, and the accumulation of additional points, starts to offset the basic value of the figure. An easy example can be found in Fortitude and Repulsor Shield. These cards are 25 point each, and both are good for protecting an important figure on your team. Each one has its advantages, so you might think it is good to play both. But then you are adding a whopping 50 points to an already pricey figure. And a figure that might be worthwhile at 175 points may not have the same value for 225!
Those two cards are extreme examples, but with so many great cards to choose from, most at about ‘only’ 10 points each, it is easy to get carried away and suddenly tack 30 or 40 points onto a figure that started out under 100!
Things that trip up your Feats -
If you are adding a Feat Card to a figure to improve on some shortcoming, look to see if there is another figure that is a few more points but has what you are looking for without needing a card. For example, if you are using Pounce so that a figure can move and attack, is there another figure with Charge or HyperSonic Speed for about the same cost?
Or if you are using In Contact with Oracle on your whole team, could you instead play
Brilliant Tactician on one figure and save a lot of points?
Within the scope of your entire team, is the Feat Card even necessary? Back to the Pounce example; if you have enough other figures on the team with move & attack abilities, or figures with TK, do you even need Pounce to make this figure more mobile?
Consider also how the card works on the character and in the game overall. Take Vendetta for example; If you play Vendetta on Veteran Green Lantern (Origin) you can use it to help his otherwise average AV. However, what are the chances your opponent will have a figure over 214 points on their team that you can even declare as his Arch Enemy?
Also look at the role of a particular figure on your team. Oftentimes players will use a lot of cards to try and make a secondary figure into a front line attacker. But a figure with mediocre stats is never going to be a front man, and by the time you stick on 30 extra points you could just get a figure that was made to be a bruiser. One easy example is the Flash from Icons. He has good defense and great move and attack ability, but also just average attack numbers. Swingline is a great Feat that will help ignore terrain. Nannobots allows for easy healing after pushing. Protected avoids a lucky attack that hits, and Armor Piercing is a card that pierces Invulnerable figures. All these are good cards, but they also push Flash to nearly over 140 points! Not nearly worth it for a figure that only does 2 clicks of damage! Not in comparison to other figures you can get for 140 points.
Instead of bogging Flash with every card he can use, see what you want to use him for on your team and then play cards that specifically help your strategy. If the Flash isn’t meant to go up against Superman, you don’t need Armor Piercing. If you can move back to safety after an attack then you also don’t need Protected or Nanobots. Now you’re back down to just Swingline, and back to a reasonable extra cost for his abilities. A good rule of thumb is 20%, don’t add more than 20% more to a figure’s cost. So a 100 point fig can justify about 20 points of cards.
As more cards keep coming out, figures and strategies will continue to evolve. But as long as you don’t try to make a figure into something its not, and don’t bog it down with too many cards, then Feat Cards will continue to be an asset, not a liability.