Tag: Phoenix

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Marvel HeroClix: Wolverine and the X-Men Preview SwitchClix Team Bases

Marvel HeroClix Wolverine & the X-Men: Shadowcat and Phoenix!

Greetings HeroClix Fans!

Today we continue our series of previews for the upcoming Marvel HeroClix: Wolverine and the X-Men set!  As promised, we are pleased to show you the figures that can be played on the Excalibur team dial.  We start with a former X-Man on Muir Island recovering from wounds she suffered at the hands of the mutant-hunting Marauders, Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat)!

 003-Shadowcat

Shadowcat has an Improved Movement ability called Don’t Worry, Professor…which lets her ignore elevated, hindering, and blocking terrain when she moves.  This, combined with Shadowcat’s Transporter ability, allows her to move about the map with ease, reposition herself and a teammate, and make an attack when the opportunity presents itself while getting there.  Shadowcat starts with the first four clicks of her dial representing different aspects of her phasing ability.  First, Stealth shows her ability to get to and hide in places she ought not to be.  Next, Super Senses shows her ability to avoid attacks by being intangible.  Lastly, Exploit Weakness shows how Shadowcat can hurt someone by phasing through them.

Shadowcat ends her dial with powers that mostly utilize her training in martial arts by Wolverine after her possession by Ogun.  Precision Strike demonstrates her ability to hurt an opponent in close combat, while Combat Reflexes showcases her agility in a melee.  Lastly, Shape Change shows her ability to throw off an attacker by phasing through walls or into the ground.

Shadowcat is playable on the Excalibur team dial and when her face appears on the asset dial, Excalibur can use Super Senses.  Shadowcat comes in at a mere 56 points, making her a good fit on any Excalibur, Martial Artist, or X-Men theme teams.

Next up, we have a team member from a future where mutants have been hunted to near extinction.  Trained as a Hound to hunt her fellow mutants, Rachel Summers eventually escaped to our present in an attempt to stop her future from ever happening.  In the present day, she took on her mother’s surname of “Grey” as she had the same cosmic force enhancing her power.  But whether she calls herself Rachel Summers or Rachel Grey, she is Phoenix!

045-Phoenix

Phoenix maintains the same power set over her first three clicks.  Running Shot allows her to position herself and take advantage of her printed 8 range with one target, while the Flight ability allows her to take a friendly figure with her.  Psychic Blast makes it so damage reducers are bypassed.  Phoenix also has a special power called Psionic Purging, which gives her both Shape Change and the ability to use Outwit but with a twist:  Phoenix can use Outwit normally, or she can counter the same power on all opposing figures within range and line of fire.  Defensively, Impervious allows Phoenix to reduce damage dealt to her or potentially ignore it entirely.

The next three clicks of Phoenix’s dial also have the same power set, this time with more emphasis on close combat.  First, she can take the fight right to opposing figures with Charge.  Poison allows Phoenix to deal a click of damage to opposing figures at the beginning of the turn.  Super Senses gives Phoenix the ability to possibly evade attacks and Probability Control lets her force an opponent to reroll their dice when she is attacked.  Phoenix’s dial ends with her gaining the ability to hurt any figure she hits with Precision Strike.  Meanwhile, Energy Shield/Deflection gives Phoenix some added protection from ranged combat attacks.

At 154 points, Phoenix fits perfectly on any Excalibur, Future, Phoenix Force, Starjammers, and X-men theme teams on which you choose to include her.  Phoenix is also playable on the Excalibur team dial.  If Phoenix appears on the asset dial, the team character’s powers can’t be countered.  Also, Excalibur modifies its damage value by +1.

Thanks for reading and join us Friday as we close out our preview of the Excalibur team with the three figures included with the team dial.  And come back next week as we are sure to have more previews from Marvel HeroClix: Wolverine and the X-men.  Until next time, keep your Clix of their KO’s!

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Marvel HeroClix: Wolverine and the X-Men Preview SwitchClix Team Bases

Marvel HeroClix Wolverine & the X-Men: Excalibur Team Base!

Greetings HeroClix Fans!

And welcome back as we continue to explore the upcoming Marvel HeroClix: Wolverine and The X-Men set.  Today we dive into a team created out of the X-Universe -Fall of the Mutants story line.  Two X-Men recovering from injury, along with a pet dragon, a former mutant-hunting refugee from the future, a mystically empowered hero of England, and his shape shifting girlfriend united to form the British team of super heroes known as Excalibur!

T003-Excalibur

Excalibur can be played at three point costs, 320, 270, or 170 points, bringing their fully loaded point costs to 350, 300 and 200 points when all six characters are attached.  The team base has one keyword to build with, Excalibur, naturally.   Additionally, the Indomitable combat ability will allow them to act without fear of pushing damage.

Excalibur begins play with an opening click of Charge to take the fight right to their opponent.  They also have a special power called Still Crazy After All These Years, which allows them to use Perplex, but only on themselves, and with the stipulation that when you choose the combat value to modify, you roll a d6.  On a result of 1, modify the combat value by -1, and on a 4-6, modify it by +2.

On the next click in Excalibur picks up another special power called Cross-Time Caper, allowing the use of Phasing/Teleport.  Also, when another character uses Probability Control, the dice are rerolled twice, and then you choose the result from among the two rolls.  This power will switch every couple of clicks with Outwit, letting you counter a key power on an opposing figure, for a good length of the dials.  Invulnerability will offer some solid damage reduction for this run of the dial.   On the last click of this section of the dial, Excalibur switches tactics, now able to use Running Shot, to maneuver to a position to best utilize their 8 range and two targets, or to get the most impact out of their printed 4 damage Pulse Wave.  And Toughness will provide a bit of damage reduction.

Click number 5 is the starting point for Excalibur’s 270 point starting line.  It begins as before, with Charge, the Still Crazy After All These Years special power, and Invulnerability, but this time, brings a click of Telekinesis, to allow some map manipulation, or an easy way to make range attacks against opposing figures hiding in Stealth.  The next couple of clicks also look familiar, changing to the Cross-Time Caper special power, as well as still alternating Outwit with Still Crazy After All These Years, and again, changing from Invulnerability to Toughness, though a click earlier than before.   This time, Excalibur again adds something new, this time another special power called Widget! Stop Doing That!  This power can be used once per turn when you make an attack roll.  If the result of your attack roll is lower than the click number of a target of this attack, that target modifies their combat values by -1 until your next turn.   The last click of this section again brings Pulse Wave, Outwit and Toughness to the dial. 

The 170 point starting line on Excalibur begins with the same powers as on the 270 point starting line, Charge, the Still Crazy After All These Years special power, Telekinesis and Invulnerability.  In fact, clicks 9 through 12 are laid out with the exact same power set as clicks 5 through 8, with the exception of Outwit missing from the last click, but the inclusion of Running Shot.

The last four clicks of Excalibur’s dial have full runs of their Cross-Time Caper and Widget! Stop Doing That! special powers, as well as the addition of Energy Shield/Deflection, to make them harder to hit with range combat attacks.  And on their last two clicks, a new power shows up on their dial as Close Combat Expert will allow Excalibur to pummel an opposing figure into submission.

T003-Excalibur Asset Dial

The asset dial on Excalibur offers a good bit of defensive powers, a way to avoid pushing damage, and ways to deal more damage.  Captain Britain allows you to not place an action token on Excalibur.  Instead, when Excalibur takes damage, after the action resolves, roll a d6 and turn the asset dial that many times to the left.   Meggan allows the team the use of her mutant shape shifting power with Shape Change.  Nightcrawler brings his heightened reflexes to Excalibur via Combat Reflexes.  Phoenix brings a bit of the Phoenix force to her team as she makes it so Excalibur can’t have their powers or abilities countered, and, she modifies their damage value by +1.  Shadowcat brings her intangibility to the team with Super Senses.  Excalibur also has a special power on the asset dial, referencing the title of their first adventure together, The Sword is Drawn, allowing Excalibur to use Blades/Claws/ Fangs when they make close and ranged combat actions.

As an addition to the Excalibur team base, Lockheed is a SwitchClix figure as well!

080-Lockheed

This version of Lockheed costs 16 points to play on his own, and has a 5 range with one target and the flight ability.  Energy Explosion will allow him to damage multiple foes with one shot, and Energy Shield/ Deflection will make him harder to hit with range attacks.  Lockheed also has a special power called My Human, allowing and adjacent friendly figure named Shadowcat or Kitty Pryde to roll a d6 when they are chosen as the target of an attack.  If the result is either 5 or 6, she modifies her defense by +2 until your next turn.

Lockheed can be played on the Excalibur team base, with a restriction.  He has a trait called Distraction, which allows him to be attached to the Excalibur team, but he can’t be selected for the Solo Adventure ability.   Also, as he isn’t on the asset dial due to this, he just allows Excalibur to use Energy Explosion as if they had 1 target.

That is all for today.  Be sure to join us on Wednesday as we continue to explore the upcoming Wolverine and The X-Men set, as we check in with a pair of best friends who have fought the future, for and against the Shi’ar Empire, and eventually went back to school to be teachers.  Until then, keep your Clix off their K.O.’s!

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Marvel HeroClix 10th Anniversary Preview

From The X-Men to Cosmic Force of Nature: Marvel Girl and Dark Phoenix!

Greetings HeroClix Fans!

Our series of previews continues for the Marvel HeroClix: 10th Anniversary set with a visit to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning (formerly the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning) as we spotlight the school’s namesake.  Please welcome one of Professor Charles Xavier’s original students, Marvel Girl!

As a charter member of the very first HeroClix set, Infinity Challenge, the 10th Anniversary incarnation of Marvel Girl pays homage to her original appearance in the game.  Marvel Girl comes into play at 54 points and has the X-Factor and X-Men keywords, along with the X-Men team ability.

Marvel Girl begins her dial with Telekinesis on each of her five clicks.  She also has a full run of Energy Shield/Deflection to show her defensive use of TK.  On Marvel Girl’s first click she has Support to heal any teammates who need help.  At the end of her dial, Marvel Girl gains Mind Control as she mentally nudges opposing characters into doing her bidding.

Like other characters in the Marvel HeroClix: 10th Anniversary set, Marvel Girl has a Battlefield Promotion trait that allows her to be replaced with a Modern Age version of herself.  With the Battlefield Promotion: Dark Phoenix trait, when Marvel Girl hits one or more opposing characters, place a Promotion Token on her character card after actions resolve.  When Marvel Girl is KO’d, you may then roll a d6 that can’t be rerolled and add 1 for each Promotion Token on her character card.  If the result is 8 or higher, you may replace her with #021 Dark Phoenix on her yellow starting line.  On a result of 10 or higher, the replaced character begins on the blue starting line.  If you roll a six and the result is 12 or more, Dark Phoenix begins on the green starting line.

The cosmic entity known as Dark Phoenix can be played at 300, 200, and 100 points.  Dark Phoenix’s 200-point starting line is on click four.  Her 100-point starting line is on click seven.  Regardless of where she starts, Dark Phoenix has a range of 10 and can target three characters with her ranged attacks.  She also has a trait, The Darkness Within, which lets her use Super Senses but she only evades attacks on a result of 6.  In addition, when Dark Phoenix KO’s an opposing figure you may heal her of 1 damage.

Dark Phoenix is fire and life incarnate and therefore begins her dial with Hypersonic Speed in her movement slot.  She then switches to two clicks of Running Shot that announce her status as a space-born entity!  This series of powers repeats itself on clicks four to six.  On click seven, the cycle reverses itself as Dark Phoenix retains Running Shot for two clicks and follows up with a click of Hypersonic Speed.  On Dark Phoenix’s last click, she gains Earthbound/Neutralized as she realizes the end is near.

When the Phoenix Force took control of Jean Grey’s body, it amplified the powers Marvel Girl already possessed and introduced some new ones.  Dark Phoenix begins her attack slot with a click of a special power, Jean’s Not Here Anymore, which allows her to use Pulse Wave and Telekinesis and represents this boost in offensive abilities.  Jean’s Not Here Anymore also appears on her fifth, seventh, eighth, and tenth clicks.  On Dark Phoenix’s second and fourth clicks she revels in the rapture of destruction (Energy Explosion) she has brought upon her enemies.  On Dark Phoenix’s last click, her Marvel Girl persona regains control and is represented via Telekinesis.

In Dark Phoenix’s damage slot, she picks up Outwit on her second click.  Outwit also appears on her fifth, seventh, and eighth clicks.  On her last click, Dark Phoenix gains Battle Fury as the Phoenix Force struggles with Marvel Girl for control of the host body.

Defensively, Dark Phoenix begins with two clicks of Impervious, then follows with a pair of Invulnerability clicks.  That’s followed by two clicks of Toughness.  At the halfway point of Dark Phoenix’s dial, two more clicks of Invulnerability appear, followed by another pair of Impervious clicks.  A special power, My Sacrifice Saves You All, appears on Dark Phoenix’s last click.  When this special power is revealed, stop turning the dial.  Dark Phoenix can’t use Super Senses.  When she takes damage, heal all other friendly characters that share a keyword with Dark Phoenix of 2 damage.

Dark Phoenix has the Cosmic, Deity, and X-Men keywords and the Power Cosmic team ability.  She can be a force of one on her 300-point level but leaves some room for teammates on her 200- and 100-point incarnations.  Dark Phoenix is also a Unique, as noted by the silver ring around her base and on her character card, so only one may be added to your force.

That’s all we have today!  Join us for our next Marvel HeroClix: 10th Anniversary preview as we visit with another member of the X-Men who has been worshipped as a deity.  Until then, keep on Clixing!