2011 HeroClix World Champion Figure: Mr. Sinister!

Greetings HeroClix Fans!

With convention season ramping up as we speak, we took a moment to chat with 2011 HeroClix World Champion Daniel Joynes about his HeroClix Worlds experience. We discussed his recollections from last year’s Worlds event and what it was like to participate in the design process. Here are some of the highlights from our conversation.

Hello Dan, thank you for joining us. First of all, what was it like to win HeroClix Worlds 2011?

Hello! I was actually a bit of a wreck. After I won the first two matches I was pretty excited, and then I won the third and started to get super nervous. By the time the 4^th match started I was sweating like a pig. Once I won? It was just awesome; I was super happy and excited. I am normally a super nervous flyer, but on the flight home all I did was smile. It was an incredible experience and I hope to do it again.

Did you enjoy the competition?

The competition was good, very high level. All my opponents were super friendly, especially my round 3 opponent Rob. It was also hell on my nerves as there were no bad players there and I had to be super focused the entire time.

Overall a very good time though.

What sort of strategies impressed you?

There was one guy who was playing a Professor X and a Gleek. I would have loved to see his team in action to see how he was getting around the -1 gleek was giving him but we never played.

There was also a soldier team with 2 of the double based Captain America’s that did well. I would have liked to have seen that.

How are you preparing for HeroClix Worlds 2012?

Same as I did last year. Watching the major cons and what wins them, playtesting some things I think will do well and watching the newest sets. This year is a bit harder, there’s so much coming out and so many new mechanics that it’s throwing a bit of a monkey wrench into things. That’s not a bad thing though, just makes things more interesting.

So, I know you’re probably eager to talk about your 2012 Championship figure. With all of the characters available out there, what finally nudged you towards Mr. Sinister?

At this time last year I had Horsemen on the brain. WizKids had given out Horsemen at Origins and I had traded for a set of them and was looking for pieces to use them with. My local venue often holds an end of year as many points as the year event so I was thinking of using Apocalypse and a ton of Horsemen. Then I saw Mr. Sinister and I saw that he was awful. I wondered why he wasn’t remade in GSX (Giant-Size X-Men) because he really did need a remake and figured that if I won Worlds I’d redo him. I was also a big fan of him from the old 90’s X-Men cartoons. The rest is history

We can’t help but admit that we’re dismayed to hear the X-Men cartoons from the 90’s are now considered “old”.(laughs) What were the challenges or considerations you faced while conceptualizing such a high-profile figure?

Mr. Sinister has a pretty nebulous power set and sometimes he suffered from the 90’s EXTREME comic mentality. The marvel database says Sinister has superhuman strength and can lift 2-10 tons but that’s not a power I’d say he’s known for. The Sinister I knew was a geneticist, who’d manipulate things from behind the scenes until he would do his grand reveal. He was also a capable of extreme shapeshifting and could regenerate from just about anything. So I started from there. First off, trait Shape Change was easy, he needed shapechange and I wanted to do other things with his damage slot. His I Can Rebuild You, Mutant was another one I was always aiming for. Mr. Sinister has cloned the Marauders so many times it made sense for him to be able to do it in clix. Complete cellular regeneration was also another one. Originally it was much more complex, but it was stripped down for simplicity. I wanted him to be like Sinister; you blow a hole in him and he laughs at you while he heals and then blasts you back while reminding you how futile it was to attack him, hence free-action Regeneration. I suggested the -3 subtraction as I thought that it would be too powerful to have straight free action Regen.

The Create New Marauders Trait was a later idea that added so many options for Sinister and made it easier to put him on teams.

Beyond that it was tweaking and finding cool quotes from the character to use as their names.

I can only imagine what it feels like to have this opportunity. Are you excited for folk to see it?

Absolutely! I really want to talk about it and say things beyond “Sorry NDA”. I really do hope that people like it. I didn’t want to make something that would break the game or something that would be underpowered. I also tried to do some cool things with him that I hope people like.

What do you think of Mr. Sinster’s sculpt?

I first saw this sculpt on Halloween 2011 when it was emailed to me by design and I have the same reaction now as I did then. WOW.

By the way, that’s me he’s cloning in that tank! (A thinner, greener me but he does improve on the original)

We LOVE the Maruaders Trait. Were you a big fan of the Mutant Massacre storyline way back in the Uncanny X-Men?

I found that story later on through trade paperbacks and I always enjoyed it. I’ve always been a fan of the somewhat darker stories and comics that are out there so it stuck with me.

The Create New Marauders trait is one of the coolest things about this piece and it came on late in the cycle. I can’t take full credit for it as it was suggested during playtesting. I really liked the idea and gave two enthusiastic thumbs up to it. The playtesting team did a great job.

Thank you for saying so Dan, we’ll definitely pass that along to the Team. Well, we’ve kept folk waiting long enough, we should probably show everyone the figure you designed. Any parting thoughts before we do so?

I want to see him played. I want to see reports of his usage in the strategies forum. Play the hell out of him. I hope you guys like him!

Thank you for joining us Dan. Without further ado, please welcome Mr. Sinister!

Available as a super rare figure in Marvel HeroClix: Chaos War, Mr. Sinister is the 2011 HeroClix Worlds Champion piece. Sinister begins play with two Traits, the first being Create New Marauders which allows Sinister to add the Marauders keyword to any figure on your revealed force that possesses either the X-Men or Brotherhood keywords or team abilities! That’s right, simply pair Mr. Sinister up with some of your favorite mutants from either of these teams and you have the makings of a potential theme team!

Sinister’s second Trait is more straightforward. Skinshifting allows Mr. Sinister to use Shape Change throughout his entire dial! Not sure about that neighbor that just moved in next door to the Jean Grey School? Wonder why he spends so much time in his greenhouse? It could be Mr. Sinister!

Known for operating from the shadows and behind the scenes, Mr. Sinister begins the game with Stealth as well as his I Can Rebuild You, Mutant special power. I Can Rebuild You, Mutant grants Sinister the use of Perplex, as well as the ability to potentially keep his Marauders on the battlefield! When a friendly Marauder is K.O.’ed, Sinister allows you to roll die and if your result is a 6, you then place the Marauder in question within 6 squares of Sinister, turn its dial to its last non-K.O. click, roll another die and heal the figure half the resulting number. Talk about a versatile geneticist!

Sinister possesses punch beyond his incredible support capabilities; early-dial Penetrating/Psychic Blast coupled with aggressive attack values and an 8 Range value makes Sinister too dangerous to ignore! Two opening clicks of Impervious, and then four of Invulnerability help protect Mr. Sinister from harm should your opponents dare to face him in battle!

After his initial click, Sinister alternates between his I Can Rebuild You, Mutant special power and Outwit (great for Brilliant Tactician teams in Golden Age!) and towards his mid-dial Sinister emerges from the shadows with first Mind Control, and then Force Blast while Penetrating/Psychic Blast is replaced by Energy Explosion!

Mid- to late-dial, Mr. Sinister demonstrates his mobility with Phasing/Teleport. Pulse Wave allows Sinister to dispatch any unworthy test subjects and his Complete Cellular Regeneration special power represents Sinister’s uncanny resiliency! Complete Cellular Regeneration allows Sinister to use Regeneration, Toughness, and Willpower! Even better, if Sinister doesn’t have any action tokens on him, he may use Regeneration as a free action (but then substitutes 3 from the result and not the normal 2).

Mr. Sinister possesses the Horsemen of Apocalypse, Marauders, Scientist, and Weapon X keywords. At 225 points, with a host of useful support and offensive powers as well as competitive combat values, Mr. Sinister is every bit the master manipulator and aggressor the X-Men have come to fear.

Thank you for joining us for this very special preview, and our congratulations again to Daniel Joynes, our 2011 HeroClix Worlds Champion!

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