TheSpirit
03/10/2004, 12:54
OK, we’re one-third the way through the month, so I thought I’d take a look at the current state of submissions for the first (and if certain events continue, possibly the last) article contest. Of the 40 entries current as of this writing, two are revisions, two are responses, one is actually a tournament report, and of course there’s controversy, in-fighting, camaraderie, a few suggestions for rules changes, and plenty of spelling mistakes… about par for the course here in the ‘realms.
My reason for writing this is simple. Since I’m entered in the contest, I haven’t voted for any articles. Not even my own. There’s just something… unseemly about that. I could try to give as honest an opinion as possible, but there would always be the possibility I was biased. As well, even were I to be honest, someone might look at a low vote from me and think I was just doing it to be spiteful. So other than posting a link in my sig and telling three friends I’ve entered the contest, I’ve stayed away.
This, therefore, is the only way I can give my opinion, and as anyone who has been on these boards can tell you, I’m not averse to presenting my opinions. That said, here are my thoughts on the articles, in their ranking order when I last checked the board:
Increase your chance of Winning (by reynold)
Darn. This was going to be my article next month, at least the probability aspect of it. Reynold’s article gives a brief review of PC and Perplex figs in Marvel. It’s a good overview, better suited for rookie players than their E or V versions.
Be a Better HCRealmer (by shin-goji)
I mentioned REV players, then there’s the Us. Shin is definitely a U in the HCRealms universe. This is a good article, written as only Shin can. It doesn’t fit the competition (more on this later), but Shin deserves something for his Sentinel files… perhaps a special award?
THE MOST POWERFUL FIGURE IN THE MARVEL HEROCLIX UNIVERSE (by timrex)
Gotta admit, I love the little Moloids, and I can’t wait to try out a Mole Man/Moloid army vs. a rookie set of the F4. Too bad the article didn’t point out some drawbacks (like PW). Not perfect, but well done.
The curse of competitiveness (by brotherjustice)
A good reminder that this game is meant to be fun, something often forgotten around here. Like Shin’s article, though, I’m not sure it fits the competition guidelines. I agree completely with brotherjustice’s newfound philosophy, as I’ve long played characters I like ahead of those that are clixmonsters.
Give a hand to the Veteran Hand Ninjas (by Funky Jett)
Ahh, I was waiting for Funky to post something, and he didn’t disappoint. I’m not much of a ninja fan, but he’s made a pretty good argument for them here. I’d put this in the E category – you don’t quite need a V player’s finesse to handle it, but it does take some skill to pull off.
An Open Letter to Ultimate_X-Men (by RobEng)
Here we have the first of the “response” articles, a pretty serious allegation if true. I think it would have been better to alert the moderators of this. If this is the only time HCRealms tries an article competition, it will be due to this sort of response.
The Power Basics - Barrier (by TheSpirit)
My article, so no comment other than wishing html coding *worked* in the titles… sheesh.
Using IC Captain America (and Rear Outwit) in battle effectively! (by kellykc)
The first of two figure reviews by kellykc. I think most people stayed away from doing this kind of article because of azs and RavenProject. I’m not sold on using Cap essentially as a blocking piece. That’s a lot of points compared to, say, the previously mentioned moloids. More attention to the use of rear Outwit would have been good.
JLA Case Files v. 2.0 (by Ultimate_X-Men)
And here we have the first of the revised articles, and the subject of the earlier article. It’s certainly creatively presented, and there is a lot of information, but it’s more a series of lists than substance.
Putting the Team back in TA. (by Yeti)
Yeti’s article breaks the “no cross-universe” rule, and it should be revised to excise the Marvel mentions (especially since it ignores the F4 team ability which fits the theme of the article perfectly) and give more specifics on the DC team figs. It would help the JSA portion, for example, to bring in specific DC wild card figures.
Doc Ock's Cure for Arachnephobia (by Lee the Great)
This is a specific team review article, and it’s fine. There’s nothing spectacular about it, though.
How to Beat V Nightwing (by doc23)
I’m not sure what the fixation with V Nightwing is here; all the advice works equally against any stealth figure. And it’s limited, too (basically, get rid of the object providing stealth or use SupesAlly). Stealth has been around since the beginning, and there are many more ways to deal with it than is covered here.
R Vampire Lackey is the best figure in HeroClix. Period. (by CyberVenom)
What’s with the fixation on generics? This is the third article dealing with them. OK, OK, it was the first posted. A nice overview of the Marvel generics, lacking in specifics (hey, it is an overview). Good for rookies of the game. Not sure why there’s a team at the end; I would have liked to see some strategy tips for actually using that unwieldy team.
The Sinister Score (by ItsNotMe)
Here’s a good review of the syndicate pieces, and to me a better one than Lee’s above. But it should have dealt more with using these pieces together than individually.
15 most cost effective figures in the marvel universe (by Par2ch)
A little superficial, but reasonably considered list of figures. Some of the choices are questionable (both who made it and who didn’t), but that’s the nature of lists. Not sure why the opening paragraph talks about 20 figures, though.
Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters (by Boozehound)
You can’t use the X-men ability during your opponent’s turn! Where did you get that idea? OK, that out of the way, this is a description of the X-men pieces, with almost no discussion of strategy or effective use of the ability. Boozehound has a good grasp of the X-men universe, but it didn’t translate here into good game information.
Schizo Squad Format (by TheySaid)
This is basically a rules revision, and therefore likely not competition eligible. I couldn’t quite follow the concept, though.
Meta Update - DPC Format (by neal)
I think this one is meant for the tournament report section.
Using Hulk, in particular IC Hulk, in battle effectively! (by kellykc)
In kellykc’s other single-figure review, I’m noticing the author likes using big guys as blocking units – not exactly an effective use of points. Outside of “hulk smash” and “taxi him back when he’s wounded” (which mostly can’t be done because of late-dial BF), there’s little strategy here.
The Powers That Be (by Saetanigera)
I think this article suffers from a lack of focus. It tries to do way, way too much. It does a good job, though, and should probably be rated higer.
The Newbies Guide - By A Newbie for Newbies (Lharles) (by lharles)
I can’t comment on this one for two reasons: I’ve never been to a tournament, and it’s been far too long since I’ve been a newbie. The advice is just so basic, I can’t imagine it being helpful (though I don’t doubt it would be good for first timers).
Superman Revenge Squad (by ItsNotMe)
First, one mistake. You can’t Outwit this team ability. You can Outwit the power granted by the ability, but the ability itself remains in play. That’s an important distinction. Alas, this article is more a review of figures that happen to have the SupesEnemy TA than how to use it effectively, which would have made for a better article.
B/C/F = Gamebreaker! (by Cam Roth)
Not much of an article here. Too short, not enough detail.
Comic Concepts-The Diving Charge (by Meltzz)
A house rule, and therefore not likely to be eligible for this contest. I like house rules, but I just don’t see a need for this one.
Mind Control in the Marvel Universe (by abe_bb)
Here’s a pretty good roundup of MC in Marvel, although it ignores a few figures. I’d say it would elevate R players to E players, but it’s not detailed or creative enough for more seasoned players. MC is a finesse power, and needs better coverage to explain it properly.
The Man Without Fear (by Lee the Great)
This is a pretty light review of the Daredevil figures. It’s a little too much fluff and not enough substance to be beneficial.
Wishful thinking from a comic book fan (by Razor2001)
Another house rule suggestion. Personally, I don’t think MC needs to be changed, and while SS does, it doesn’t in this way.
Psychic Blasted into next Week (by whitemage98)
More a reminder that PB goes through defenses than anything else. A little lean on tips and tactics, unfortunately.
DC Play at Home Scenerio (by Sandra Wu-San)
I don’t think scenarios are contest-eligible, and I don’t think DC would want you giving a Marvel TA to one of its figures.
The Art of Poisoning (by TheySaid)
Oh, I wish this were better. Poison is one of those powers that takes a lot of skill to use to any great effect. It’s more an afterthought in most games. Unfortunately, this article doesn’t really help overcome that.
Why I hate/love Amazo click by click (by mattsolo)
Not sure why you hate him, that’s never explained. A little too much fanboy gushing and not enough gameplay information for me.
Make a Great Team on the Cheap (by supremepontiff)
Not exactly an original team, and I don’t see what’s so cheap about an 80 point figure.
Using the infamous DC unique to its full potential. (Correct article tournament format) read this not the other one. (by Nightcrawler94)
A short review of two uniques. Some good details here, but if the best advice you can give for defeating big figs is essentially hit ‘em hard and don’t let ‘em heal, well, you’re not being too original.
Using the infamous unique to its full potential. (by Nightcrawler94)
As NC94 realized, this is not competition-eligible. But still, the blurb mentions ways to deal with these uniques, but it’s all about using them.
Marvel Universe Combo Concept - The Fastball Special (by VortexGuyver)
Another house rule suggestion, and not exactly an original one.
Be a better Article contest Competitor (by Gambittheking)
Again, this is a commentary on another article and not an article itself. This would have been better brought up either directly with the moderators or via a thread.
Where Are They Now? (by allchimp)
Again, not quite competition eligible, and more a wish list than anything else.
JLA Case Files (by Ultimate_X-Men)
The original version of the above revision.
rookie critical mass daredevil...a good way to use a "bad" fig (by shiffy0295)
I think there’s better uses for a Daredevil than as a damage sponge and running away.
A Heroclix Story (by herosspirit)
I’m not sure where the team building part comes in, but at least this gets marks for imagination.
OK, that’s all of them. I thought the contest was a great idea, and it’s generated a number of good responses. But I think too many of them were hastily thrown together in order to qualify for the prizes, rather than be thorough, well-considered (and spell-checked) articles. To everyone who has entered, congradulations on making the effort, and I hope some of the more polished pieces inspires everyone to outdo themselves in the future.
Good luck all.
My reason for writing this is simple. Since I’m entered in the contest, I haven’t voted for any articles. Not even my own. There’s just something… unseemly about that. I could try to give as honest an opinion as possible, but there would always be the possibility I was biased. As well, even were I to be honest, someone might look at a low vote from me and think I was just doing it to be spiteful. So other than posting a link in my sig and telling three friends I’ve entered the contest, I’ve stayed away.
This, therefore, is the only way I can give my opinion, and as anyone who has been on these boards can tell you, I’m not averse to presenting my opinions. That said, here are my thoughts on the articles, in their ranking order when I last checked the board:
Increase your chance of Winning (by reynold)
Darn. This was going to be my article next month, at least the probability aspect of it. Reynold’s article gives a brief review of PC and Perplex figs in Marvel. It’s a good overview, better suited for rookie players than their E or V versions.
Be a Better HCRealmer (by shin-goji)
I mentioned REV players, then there’s the Us. Shin is definitely a U in the HCRealms universe. This is a good article, written as only Shin can. It doesn’t fit the competition (more on this later), but Shin deserves something for his Sentinel files… perhaps a special award?
THE MOST POWERFUL FIGURE IN THE MARVEL HEROCLIX UNIVERSE (by timrex)
Gotta admit, I love the little Moloids, and I can’t wait to try out a Mole Man/Moloid army vs. a rookie set of the F4. Too bad the article didn’t point out some drawbacks (like PW). Not perfect, but well done.
The curse of competitiveness (by brotherjustice)
A good reminder that this game is meant to be fun, something often forgotten around here. Like Shin’s article, though, I’m not sure it fits the competition guidelines. I agree completely with brotherjustice’s newfound philosophy, as I’ve long played characters I like ahead of those that are clixmonsters.
Give a hand to the Veteran Hand Ninjas (by Funky Jett)
Ahh, I was waiting for Funky to post something, and he didn’t disappoint. I’m not much of a ninja fan, but he’s made a pretty good argument for them here. I’d put this in the E category – you don’t quite need a V player’s finesse to handle it, but it does take some skill to pull off.
An Open Letter to Ultimate_X-Men (by RobEng)
Here we have the first of the “response” articles, a pretty serious allegation if true. I think it would have been better to alert the moderators of this. If this is the only time HCRealms tries an article competition, it will be due to this sort of response.
The Power Basics - Barrier (by TheSpirit)
My article, so no comment other than wishing html coding *worked* in the titles… sheesh.
Using IC Captain America (and Rear Outwit) in battle effectively! (by kellykc)
The first of two figure reviews by kellykc. I think most people stayed away from doing this kind of article because of azs and RavenProject. I’m not sold on using Cap essentially as a blocking piece. That’s a lot of points compared to, say, the previously mentioned moloids. More attention to the use of rear Outwit would have been good.
JLA Case Files v. 2.0 (by Ultimate_X-Men)
And here we have the first of the revised articles, and the subject of the earlier article. It’s certainly creatively presented, and there is a lot of information, but it’s more a series of lists than substance.
Putting the Team back in TA. (by Yeti)
Yeti’s article breaks the “no cross-universe” rule, and it should be revised to excise the Marvel mentions (especially since it ignores the F4 team ability which fits the theme of the article perfectly) and give more specifics on the DC team figs. It would help the JSA portion, for example, to bring in specific DC wild card figures.
Doc Ock's Cure for Arachnephobia (by Lee the Great)
This is a specific team review article, and it’s fine. There’s nothing spectacular about it, though.
How to Beat V Nightwing (by doc23)
I’m not sure what the fixation with V Nightwing is here; all the advice works equally against any stealth figure. And it’s limited, too (basically, get rid of the object providing stealth or use SupesAlly). Stealth has been around since the beginning, and there are many more ways to deal with it than is covered here.
R Vampire Lackey is the best figure in HeroClix. Period. (by CyberVenom)
What’s with the fixation on generics? This is the third article dealing with them. OK, OK, it was the first posted. A nice overview of the Marvel generics, lacking in specifics (hey, it is an overview). Good for rookies of the game. Not sure why there’s a team at the end; I would have liked to see some strategy tips for actually using that unwieldy team.
The Sinister Score (by ItsNotMe)
Here’s a good review of the syndicate pieces, and to me a better one than Lee’s above. But it should have dealt more with using these pieces together than individually.
15 most cost effective figures in the marvel universe (by Par2ch)
A little superficial, but reasonably considered list of figures. Some of the choices are questionable (both who made it and who didn’t), but that’s the nature of lists. Not sure why the opening paragraph talks about 20 figures, though.
Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters (by Boozehound)
You can’t use the X-men ability during your opponent’s turn! Where did you get that idea? OK, that out of the way, this is a description of the X-men pieces, with almost no discussion of strategy or effective use of the ability. Boozehound has a good grasp of the X-men universe, but it didn’t translate here into good game information.
Schizo Squad Format (by TheySaid)
This is basically a rules revision, and therefore likely not competition eligible. I couldn’t quite follow the concept, though.
Meta Update - DPC Format (by neal)
I think this one is meant for the tournament report section.
Using Hulk, in particular IC Hulk, in battle effectively! (by kellykc)
In kellykc’s other single-figure review, I’m noticing the author likes using big guys as blocking units – not exactly an effective use of points. Outside of “hulk smash” and “taxi him back when he’s wounded” (which mostly can’t be done because of late-dial BF), there’s little strategy here.
The Powers That Be (by Saetanigera)
I think this article suffers from a lack of focus. It tries to do way, way too much. It does a good job, though, and should probably be rated higer.
The Newbies Guide - By A Newbie for Newbies (Lharles) (by lharles)
I can’t comment on this one for two reasons: I’ve never been to a tournament, and it’s been far too long since I’ve been a newbie. The advice is just so basic, I can’t imagine it being helpful (though I don’t doubt it would be good for first timers).
Superman Revenge Squad (by ItsNotMe)
First, one mistake. You can’t Outwit this team ability. You can Outwit the power granted by the ability, but the ability itself remains in play. That’s an important distinction. Alas, this article is more a review of figures that happen to have the SupesEnemy TA than how to use it effectively, which would have made for a better article.
B/C/F = Gamebreaker! (by Cam Roth)
Not much of an article here. Too short, not enough detail.
Comic Concepts-The Diving Charge (by Meltzz)
A house rule, and therefore not likely to be eligible for this contest. I like house rules, but I just don’t see a need for this one.
Mind Control in the Marvel Universe (by abe_bb)
Here’s a pretty good roundup of MC in Marvel, although it ignores a few figures. I’d say it would elevate R players to E players, but it’s not detailed or creative enough for more seasoned players. MC is a finesse power, and needs better coverage to explain it properly.
The Man Without Fear (by Lee the Great)
This is a pretty light review of the Daredevil figures. It’s a little too much fluff and not enough substance to be beneficial.
Wishful thinking from a comic book fan (by Razor2001)
Another house rule suggestion. Personally, I don’t think MC needs to be changed, and while SS does, it doesn’t in this way.
Psychic Blasted into next Week (by whitemage98)
More a reminder that PB goes through defenses than anything else. A little lean on tips and tactics, unfortunately.
DC Play at Home Scenerio (by Sandra Wu-San)
I don’t think scenarios are contest-eligible, and I don’t think DC would want you giving a Marvel TA to one of its figures.
The Art of Poisoning (by TheySaid)
Oh, I wish this were better. Poison is one of those powers that takes a lot of skill to use to any great effect. It’s more an afterthought in most games. Unfortunately, this article doesn’t really help overcome that.
Why I hate/love Amazo click by click (by mattsolo)
Not sure why you hate him, that’s never explained. A little too much fanboy gushing and not enough gameplay information for me.
Make a Great Team on the Cheap (by supremepontiff)
Not exactly an original team, and I don’t see what’s so cheap about an 80 point figure.
Using the infamous DC unique to its full potential. (Correct article tournament format) read this not the other one. (by Nightcrawler94)
A short review of two uniques. Some good details here, but if the best advice you can give for defeating big figs is essentially hit ‘em hard and don’t let ‘em heal, well, you’re not being too original.
Using the infamous unique to its full potential. (by Nightcrawler94)
As NC94 realized, this is not competition-eligible. But still, the blurb mentions ways to deal with these uniques, but it’s all about using them.
Marvel Universe Combo Concept - The Fastball Special (by VortexGuyver)
Another house rule suggestion, and not exactly an original one.
Be a better Article contest Competitor (by Gambittheking)
Again, this is a commentary on another article and not an article itself. This would have been better brought up either directly with the moderators or via a thread.
Where Are They Now? (by allchimp)
Again, not quite competition eligible, and more a wish list than anything else.
JLA Case Files (by Ultimate_X-Men)
The original version of the above revision.
rookie critical mass daredevil...a good way to use a "bad" fig (by shiffy0295)
I think there’s better uses for a Daredevil than as a damage sponge and running away.
A Heroclix Story (by herosspirit)
I’m not sure where the team building part comes in, but at least this gets marks for imagination.
OK, that’s all of them. I thought the contest was a great idea, and it’s generated a number of good responses. But I think too many of them were hastily thrown together in order to qualify for the prizes, rather than be thorough, well-considered (and spell-checked) articles. To everyone who has entered, congradulations on making the effort, and I hope some of the more polished pieces inspires everyone to outdo themselves in the future.
Good luck all.