WildWill
02-02-2004, 03:23 PM
Frequently Asked Questions Answered
1. What are Heroclix?
Heroclix is a collectible minatures game based on comic books from WizKids, the makers of MageKnight (now owned by Sports Card Giant Topps). Heroclix is ONE game with three different universes, Marvelclix, DC Clix and Indyclix. The three games are one and the same and share the same rules. The only difference is the team abilities. You CAN play mixed universe teams in open play, but in tournament play you usually have to stick to one universe.
The game is played on large maps utilizing collectible minatures as playing pieces. Some heroclix (the miniatures themselves) are quite collectible and valuable. Currently there are FOUR base sets (Marvel Infinity Challenge 150 figures, Marvel Universe 126 figures, DC Hypertime 130 figures and Indyclix 96 figures). There are also Five expansions for Marvel (Clobberin' Time, X-Plosion, Critical Mass, Ultimates & Mutant Mayhem) and three for DC (Cosmic Justice, Unleashed & Legacy).
2. Where do I buy Heroclix?
You can buy Heroclix at your local Gaming Store, your local Comic Book Store, some Targets, Wal-Marts or Toys R Us. You can also purchase them online at many of fine sponsers of this website (recommended). You can also purchase single clix and other lots on Ebay, though you will pay market prices. Heroclix are available nationwide, as well as several international countries.
3. How much do they cost?
You can purchase HC in several different formats:
A. Starter Sets - All the universes have Starter Sets that contain 8 random clix, one map, dice, and tokens to play with. Everything you need for a two player game is in the starter set. The Starters are MSRPed at $19.99 per, however, since the Marvel Starter is over a year old, many retailers have discounted it. I know Barnes and Noble was charging $14.95 in January, 2004. The DC Starter is also quite old and should be discounted as well. The Indyclix Starter, which has the most updated rules to date is still fairly new, and has been discounted most places as well. I purchased one (out of several they still had) at a GameKeeper for $10.00, though that may have been because that's all they had left, and the store was closing. The newest base set is Marvel Universe, it comes with 6 fixed figures (Wasp, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hobgoblin, Sabaretooth and Elektra), a non-tournament map, counters, etc. It retails for $13.99.
B. Premier Sets - The DC Universe and the Marvel Universe had Premier Sets with 10 FIXED figures (meaning you get the same 10 figures in EVERY set), TWO maps and assorted dice and tokens. These are MSRPed at $29.99, though since again, they are well over two years old, you may be able to find them cheaper.
C. Booster Packs - All of the sets have booster packs that contain four random figures. These boosters are MSRPed at $6.99 to $8.99, though again, the initial DC and Marvel sets have been around for so long, you may be able to get them cheaper. What you won't find cheaper is the Clobberin' Time expansion. That is the only expansion that WizKids has completely sold out at the distribution level [update: They have since sold out of X-Plosion as well], and so when shop owners run out of what they have now, they won't be able to order more. Legacy is also sold out now from what I understand.
There are also Infinity Challenge 2 piece Boosters available at Target stores (look either in the toys, or up front by the rest of the collectable card games). They're $3.99, and apparantly in early runs, they mistakenly put in a few of the less desirable LE's in packs. This has never been officially publicized by WizKids, it's always been termed "a packing mistake", but they are out there. I purchased ONE two pack, and got a Veteran Spidey and a Rookie Kingpin. For 4 bucks, it wasn't that bad. This is the format for the Marvel Universe boosters too.
4. How do you play?
How do you play? Click here: www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/howtoplay.asp or Click Here: www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/dc/howtoplay.asp
They do a much better job of explaing the rules than I could. They also have updates to the rules each and every month. It's really important that you're playing with the most recent rules, because there have been recent rule changes that dramatically changed the meta-game.
5. What's the Collectability, how do I figure it out?
Each clix has a rarity of 1 to 6 (except for the LE's, but that's not important right now). It breaks down like this:
1 Common
2 Common
3 Uncommon
4 Uncommon
5 Rare
6 Unique
To find out what rarity your individual clix is, check the collectors number out on the WizKids web site, OR download the list of figures from this website. All the rarities are there.
In a case of 48 booster packs you can expect 8 uniques, which is 1 in 6 boosters. I've heard ratios of anywhere from one unique per 3-4 boosters to 7-8 boosters. Your own mileage may vary. Rares are also pretty rare, and each booster/starter is completely random, unlike Magic or other CCG's. You are not guaranteed a rare in every booster. Also, the ring color around the base of the character (Yellow for Rookie, Blue for Experienced, and Red for Veteran) have no bearing on the rarity, ALTHOUGH every Rare is a Veteran character, not every Veteran character is a rare. MANY of the scrub veterans are uncommons. The only case where this isn't true is the Uniques, all Uniques have a silver ring around the base.
6. What is Marvel Universe? I don't get it.
Marvel Universe is a new product coming this spring that will combine clix from the initial Marvel set (Infinity Challenge) and the SECOND expansion (X-Plosion) into a new 126 figure set. It will be available in 6 figure starters, where the figures are all fixed, BUT they will be updated for this new set. They will also be able to form into two 100 point teams, one good guys, one bad guys. The starter will also contain a re-used map, tokens, dice, a ring to turn dials, AND an Updated Marvel Universe Rule Book. Boosters will be two figures per pack and be MSRPed at $3.99. NEW INFORMATIONWizKids has decided to retire all figures from Infinity Challenge that are not being reprinted in Marvel Universe. The list of figures that are going to be reprinted, and those that will be retired can be found here (http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/documents/Universe_List.pdf)(you'll need Adobe Acrobat to click that link).
Also the rarity levels in Universe are slightly different. There are NO rares, only commons, uncommons and uniques. I don't know what the ratio of uniques are, I've heard it's pretty low. I bought ONE booster box of 8 packs and didn't get a single unique.
7. What's the deal with LE's.
There's three types of LE's (Limited Edition). Tournament giveaways, mail aways and convetion exclusives.
The Tournament giveaways are a theme set of Alter-Egos. Thus the Hulk's LE is Bruce Banner. They use the same figurine sculpt, but their dial is completely different. They are playable in tournaments. LE's tend to be really expensive on the secondary market, and a few of them (Jane Foster, Bruce Banner spring to mind) are really, really expensive. You can earn free tournament LE's by playing in WizKids sponsored tournaments.
The SECOND type of LE is the mail-away. To date, they have made 10 mail away figures. The way it works is there's a coupon in the magazine, you fill it out, send in $5.00 per figure (you can order up to 2 per coupon), and they mail it back to you. The first couple took FOREVER to get back, but the more recent ones have arrived quickly. Inquest offers expedited shipping for extra dough, but I've never needed it.
1. Bezerker Wolverine - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
2. Our Worlds at War Superman - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
3. Phasing Green Lantern - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
4. Incredible Hulk - Playstation Magazine
5. Boon - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
6. Witchblade - Scrye
7. Arwyn - ??
8. Kingdom Come Captain Marvel (Shazam!) - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
9. Magneto as Xorn - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
10. Movie Catwoman - Wiz Kids (buy a DC Starter and mail it the coupon found on their site)
11. City of Heroes Statesman - Video Game insert
12. Gamma Radiation Hulk - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
13. Mr. Freeze - Scrye/Comic Buyers Guide
Convention Exclusives are figures that you get for purchasing a certain amount of items from Wiz Kids at certain conventions around the nation. There are SEVERAL, and the neat thing is that a lot of them are just a base, meaning the figures are really tiny...so tiny you can't even see them (or their invisible, like Invisible Girl).
1. Antman
2. Yellow-Jacket
3. Plastic Man - as Mail Box
4. Atom
5. Invisible Girl
6. Chrome Silver Surfer
7. Galactus (HUGE)
8. Dark Phoenix (Large)
9. Nova
8. What's the deal with the rules again?
OK, this one is tricky. In order to make a balance product and to avoid removing any miniature from play (ala a Banned or Restricted list, which they have since implemented...bah), WizKids simply changes the rules. The major changes are pretty important. At the beginning you used to be able to pick up flying characters with a flyer and move them around the board. That has been changed, flyers cannot carry other flyers. Additionally, it used to be that a flyer could pick up a character move them, set them down, then the character can attack all on the same turn. This was known as taxiing. You can still taxi characters, but the character being carried cannot attack on the same turn.
Anyway, WizKids does a pretty good job of publicizing the rules changes and posts errata and updates once a month, usually around the 15th. The rules don't go into effect until the first of the next month, so like the February rules changes, which were published on January 15th (the day before MY birthday) won't go into effect for tournaments until February 1.
In any case, before you go to a tournament, always check the most recent rules on WizKids website. If you're playing casually, you can use house rules or whatever you like.
The latest "Rule of 3" change goes into effect in June. Check the Heroclix Gossip forum for the exact text directly from WizKids.
And also, this is no longer the case, there are several figures from the Infinity Challenge set that have now been "Retired" in tournament play. You can check Wiz Kids website for more details.
AGAIN, if you want to discuss any of these points, please do so, but stop asking questions that I've already answered. It's just lazy.
I'd also like to point out that this board is for rules questions, collectability questions (like how can I get that LE Plastic Man in the shape of a postbox) and such, NOT for questions like "Who is your favorite character" or "When are they going to make a HC of Captain Scrub" Those questions should go in the HC Gossip or HC Team forum. This board is for people who want an answer to a specific rules or collecting question. If you have a question we'll try to get back to you as soon as we can.
I thank you in advance for your cooperation.
I think after this update I'm no longer going to update the FAQ, so if someone else wants to take over, let me know.
1. What are Heroclix?
Heroclix is a collectible minatures game based on comic books from WizKids, the makers of MageKnight (now owned by Sports Card Giant Topps). Heroclix is ONE game with three different universes, Marvelclix, DC Clix and Indyclix. The three games are one and the same and share the same rules. The only difference is the team abilities. You CAN play mixed universe teams in open play, but in tournament play you usually have to stick to one universe.
The game is played on large maps utilizing collectible minatures as playing pieces. Some heroclix (the miniatures themselves) are quite collectible and valuable. Currently there are FOUR base sets (Marvel Infinity Challenge 150 figures, Marvel Universe 126 figures, DC Hypertime 130 figures and Indyclix 96 figures). There are also Five expansions for Marvel (Clobberin' Time, X-Plosion, Critical Mass, Ultimates & Mutant Mayhem) and three for DC (Cosmic Justice, Unleashed & Legacy).
2. Where do I buy Heroclix?
You can buy Heroclix at your local Gaming Store, your local Comic Book Store, some Targets, Wal-Marts or Toys R Us. You can also purchase them online at many of fine sponsers of this website (recommended). You can also purchase single clix and other lots on Ebay, though you will pay market prices. Heroclix are available nationwide, as well as several international countries.
3. How much do they cost?
You can purchase HC in several different formats:
A. Starter Sets - All the universes have Starter Sets that contain 8 random clix, one map, dice, and tokens to play with. Everything you need for a two player game is in the starter set. The Starters are MSRPed at $19.99 per, however, since the Marvel Starter is over a year old, many retailers have discounted it. I know Barnes and Noble was charging $14.95 in January, 2004. The DC Starter is also quite old and should be discounted as well. The Indyclix Starter, which has the most updated rules to date is still fairly new, and has been discounted most places as well. I purchased one (out of several they still had) at a GameKeeper for $10.00, though that may have been because that's all they had left, and the store was closing. The newest base set is Marvel Universe, it comes with 6 fixed figures (Wasp, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hobgoblin, Sabaretooth and Elektra), a non-tournament map, counters, etc. It retails for $13.99.
B. Premier Sets - The DC Universe and the Marvel Universe had Premier Sets with 10 FIXED figures (meaning you get the same 10 figures in EVERY set), TWO maps and assorted dice and tokens. These are MSRPed at $29.99, though since again, they are well over two years old, you may be able to find them cheaper.
C. Booster Packs - All of the sets have booster packs that contain four random figures. These boosters are MSRPed at $6.99 to $8.99, though again, the initial DC and Marvel sets have been around for so long, you may be able to get them cheaper. What you won't find cheaper is the Clobberin' Time expansion. That is the only expansion that WizKids has completely sold out at the distribution level [update: They have since sold out of X-Plosion as well], and so when shop owners run out of what they have now, they won't be able to order more. Legacy is also sold out now from what I understand.
There are also Infinity Challenge 2 piece Boosters available at Target stores (look either in the toys, or up front by the rest of the collectable card games). They're $3.99, and apparantly in early runs, they mistakenly put in a few of the less desirable LE's in packs. This has never been officially publicized by WizKids, it's always been termed "a packing mistake", but they are out there. I purchased ONE two pack, and got a Veteran Spidey and a Rookie Kingpin. For 4 bucks, it wasn't that bad. This is the format for the Marvel Universe boosters too.
4. How do you play?
How do you play? Click here: www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/howtoplay.asp or Click Here: www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/dc/howtoplay.asp
They do a much better job of explaing the rules than I could. They also have updates to the rules each and every month. It's really important that you're playing with the most recent rules, because there have been recent rule changes that dramatically changed the meta-game.
5. What's the Collectability, how do I figure it out?
Each clix has a rarity of 1 to 6 (except for the LE's, but that's not important right now). It breaks down like this:
1 Common
2 Common
3 Uncommon
4 Uncommon
5 Rare
6 Unique
To find out what rarity your individual clix is, check the collectors number out on the WizKids web site, OR download the list of figures from this website. All the rarities are there.
In a case of 48 booster packs you can expect 8 uniques, which is 1 in 6 boosters. I've heard ratios of anywhere from one unique per 3-4 boosters to 7-8 boosters. Your own mileage may vary. Rares are also pretty rare, and each booster/starter is completely random, unlike Magic or other CCG's. You are not guaranteed a rare in every booster. Also, the ring color around the base of the character (Yellow for Rookie, Blue for Experienced, and Red for Veteran) have no bearing on the rarity, ALTHOUGH every Rare is a Veteran character, not every Veteran character is a rare. MANY of the scrub veterans are uncommons. The only case where this isn't true is the Uniques, all Uniques have a silver ring around the base.
6. What is Marvel Universe? I don't get it.
Marvel Universe is a new product coming this spring that will combine clix from the initial Marvel set (Infinity Challenge) and the SECOND expansion (X-Plosion) into a new 126 figure set. It will be available in 6 figure starters, where the figures are all fixed, BUT they will be updated for this new set. They will also be able to form into two 100 point teams, one good guys, one bad guys. The starter will also contain a re-used map, tokens, dice, a ring to turn dials, AND an Updated Marvel Universe Rule Book. Boosters will be two figures per pack and be MSRPed at $3.99. NEW INFORMATIONWizKids has decided to retire all figures from Infinity Challenge that are not being reprinted in Marvel Universe. The list of figures that are going to be reprinted, and those that will be retired can be found here (http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/marvel/documents/Universe_List.pdf)(you'll need Adobe Acrobat to click that link).
Also the rarity levels in Universe are slightly different. There are NO rares, only commons, uncommons and uniques. I don't know what the ratio of uniques are, I've heard it's pretty low. I bought ONE booster box of 8 packs and didn't get a single unique.
7. What's the deal with LE's.
There's three types of LE's (Limited Edition). Tournament giveaways, mail aways and convetion exclusives.
The Tournament giveaways are a theme set of Alter-Egos. Thus the Hulk's LE is Bruce Banner. They use the same figurine sculpt, but their dial is completely different. They are playable in tournaments. LE's tend to be really expensive on the secondary market, and a few of them (Jane Foster, Bruce Banner spring to mind) are really, really expensive. You can earn free tournament LE's by playing in WizKids sponsored tournaments.
The SECOND type of LE is the mail-away. To date, they have made 10 mail away figures. The way it works is there's a coupon in the magazine, you fill it out, send in $5.00 per figure (you can order up to 2 per coupon), and they mail it back to you. The first couple took FOREVER to get back, but the more recent ones have arrived quickly. Inquest offers expedited shipping for extra dough, but I've never needed it.
1. Bezerker Wolverine - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
2. Our Worlds at War Superman - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
3. Phasing Green Lantern - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
4. Incredible Hulk - Playstation Magazine
5. Boon - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
6. Witchblade - Scrye
7. Arwyn - ??
8. Kingdom Come Captain Marvel (Shazam!) - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
9. Magneto as Xorn - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
10. Movie Catwoman - Wiz Kids (buy a DC Starter and mail it the coupon found on their site)
11. City of Heroes Statesman - Video Game insert
12. Gamma Radiation Hulk - Inquest/Wizard/Toyfare
13. Mr. Freeze - Scrye/Comic Buyers Guide
Convention Exclusives are figures that you get for purchasing a certain amount of items from Wiz Kids at certain conventions around the nation. There are SEVERAL, and the neat thing is that a lot of them are just a base, meaning the figures are really tiny...so tiny you can't even see them (or their invisible, like Invisible Girl).
1. Antman
2. Yellow-Jacket
3. Plastic Man - as Mail Box
4. Atom
5. Invisible Girl
6. Chrome Silver Surfer
7. Galactus (HUGE)
8. Dark Phoenix (Large)
9. Nova
8. What's the deal with the rules again?
OK, this one is tricky. In order to make a balance product and to avoid removing any miniature from play (ala a Banned or Restricted list, which they have since implemented...bah), WizKids simply changes the rules. The major changes are pretty important. At the beginning you used to be able to pick up flying characters with a flyer and move them around the board. That has been changed, flyers cannot carry other flyers. Additionally, it used to be that a flyer could pick up a character move them, set them down, then the character can attack all on the same turn. This was known as taxiing. You can still taxi characters, but the character being carried cannot attack on the same turn.
Anyway, WizKids does a pretty good job of publicizing the rules changes and posts errata and updates once a month, usually around the 15th. The rules don't go into effect until the first of the next month, so like the February rules changes, which were published on January 15th (the day before MY birthday) won't go into effect for tournaments until February 1.
In any case, before you go to a tournament, always check the most recent rules on WizKids website. If you're playing casually, you can use house rules or whatever you like.
The latest "Rule of 3" change goes into effect in June. Check the Heroclix Gossip forum for the exact text directly from WizKids.
And also, this is no longer the case, there are several figures from the Infinity Challenge set that have now been "Retired" in tournament play. You can check Wiz Kids website for more details.
AGAIN, if you want to discuss any of these points, please do so, but stop asking questions that I've already answered. It's just lazy.
I'd also like to point out that this board is for rules questions, collectability questions (like how can I get that LE Plastic Man in the shape of a postbox) and such, NOT for questions like "Who is your favorite character" or "When are they going to make a HC of Captain Scrub" Those questions should go in the HC Gossip or HC Team forum. This board is for people who want an answer to a specific rules or collecting question. If you have a question we'll try to get back to you as soon as we can.
I thank you in advance for your cooperation.
I think after this update I'm no longer going to update the FAQ, so if someone else wants to take over, let me know.