When your apartment smells like a chain smoker

Hello,

         After a long day of work what do you do? You go to a lobbyist party serving prime rib and lobster soup stuff. Good times. Anyway today's blog post will be about the spoliers on hcrealms from the Spiderman set. We know that we are getting an Iron Spider chase. More importantly we are getting a Brother Voodoo and a Sorccer Supreme Dr Voodoo prime. I am happy. I will wait to see the dial.

       Let's focus on a question today instead of a piece. What does it mean to grow. I was listening to a sermon in which the speaker stated something profound. Most people fall apart when they reach their destination. The question is what do we do after we have reached a bench mark in gaming growth? It is a question that many people have just before they quit the game. Many people look at heroclix at some point in time and state they have done all that has been done. The other end is that people fell that growth is impossible to do. They through up enough things against the wall and found very little to stick so they don't stick around if the casual randomness of things does not tickle their fancy.

    I feel that one thing we are are seeing in the open stage now is that people would like some direction in knowing were game design and the game our going other then taking money from their wallet. I also think that people have started to look at the game and say that it is way more complicated then it is worth at times. That is why we need to look at growth as little steps down the path forward. We must never "arrive" at the top or what we view as the top. The top is an illusion we create. If one gets to the top of the mountain there are still the stars. The next step is to go down the mountain to build or find a space ship.

    Plan to make steps to see the top of many mountains. When you are done shoot for the moon.

Check you on Mars,
Edward Shelton

Lessons learned from last nights game...when 2:1 feels like 0:3

Hello,

           I'm writing this post before my second heroclix game this afternoon. I'm really struggling over a team idea for a No Mans Land month 2 with a constructed DC only modern age 5 dollar buy in. Even while I think of this upcoming event I can't help but to focus on last night.

         Last night was 450 consturcted DC only and 150 was from either a 5 figure booster or 4 single boosters. This part doesn't matter much other then the fact that someone gave me a DKR Marquee Batman because team packs were not allowed and I thought they were.

       The first game was challenging but I didn't really focus on it to much. The second game is where my mind focuses on. My team was as follows

ff Oracle 50

Big Barda 148

Wonder Woman 100

UB 10

Green Lantern 72

Void 70
Batman 105
GCPD Detective  on the outwit.

I faced the following...

Marquee Batman
GCPD Cruiser piloted
GCPD Officer
LT. Gordon
Parsite
Enchantress
OOTS Batman

           Both teams are strong. Placement was key. I messed up. I had my Green Lantern missed placed 1 square back. I also double powered action Barda carrying Wonder Woman WITH +2 AND FLURRY. I didn't have Barda attack first and I Wonder Woman attack first. Those two mistakes cost me the game. I got zero points from the game.

          Those two mistakes cost me and gave me a bit shell shock. Please understand I never have the mindset that I deserve to win. But when you know that you lost over something minor that had major consequences it makes you reflect. Do you push forward or go back to what you know. My goal with my team above was to be more aggressive since that isn't my style.  No one told me that I had to push myself. I decided to push myself. It cost me. That is a good thing. We can't think that substantial growth will be easy or cheap.

        My current challenge is anxiety. The desire to really get that piece you want but do you press forward or go to the tried and true.  Here are the teams I'm looking at for the 300 pts modern age DC only event for Batgirl

Team 1

Magog 172

ub 10

Beast Boy Dolphin 60

Enchantress 50

Team 2

batman 105

Batman 63

UB 10

Lucius Fox 35

Lt Gordon 68

gcpd bike 19 auto pilot

        Team 1 is tried and true tech of Magog death machine. You have Magog do a double power action  to flurry. Enchantress moves up by being carried by Beast Boy.  The general idea is that after Enchantress TK'S Magog she can get get carried by Beast Boy to be within prob range.

        Team 2 is more risky it feels. I have to be more on my placement, which is my weakness, then the other team. Lucius Fox is the one that powers the machine.   Gordon can also take tokens off of DC 10th Batman, Fox, and the GCPD bike. The 10th Batman has the Utility Belt Because Gordon can give him the ability to move and he can get into position anywhere before he flurries. Also he can outwit after he moves. The problem is 3 actions and 5 figures and lots of will power.

       Growth is a big thing. But it is amazing how one moment can make you feel like you hit the bottom and then you rebound in a whole new direction. We are forever learning and re-learning.

       I will try to record this weekend. I'm a bit tired and I may have a cold.

Check you all later,
Edward Shelton aka Darklogos

2v2 and what it takes to win

Hello,

           I thought about this for a while now. I think I've found some key elements to make 2v2 actually work our if you are able to plan for it. So here are some team building teams to assist all of you in the future.

1. Do you know in advance who your partner is?

       In many venue situations you do not  know who your partner is before you play. If you do talk to them before you make the team. Talk about play style and over all tactics. If you don't know who your partner is...well assume the worse. Assume you are going to be paired with the worst person in the venue. Then build a team that fits covers their weakness. That leads to my next point.

2. Bring support

      You are going to need support for your team and support for your opponent. You can not assume they will bring anything that is good if you are randomly paired. In these situations you need to have at least 2 probs, tk, and 2 perplex in some form or another. Trust me not doing so means that either you or your teammate won't have the needed power when you really need it.

3. Know the mentality of your teammate.

    If your teammate is not willing to take risk and just wants to sit back try then you have to deal with it. You can't control your partner. You can say whatever you want they will control their turn. So don't bank on a high risk manuver if your partner is questioning if they should come out the starting area. At the other tend if your opponents are charging head long and your teammate is riding out to meet  them then you better have a plan for that as well.

4. Powwow.

    Get away from the game and talk. I can't emphasize this enough.  Being able to talk on the side lets you get a good grip on what each person is thinking and why. Also you don't have to hear the comments of your opponent while you talk. Some people think that the Powwow is lame but it helps you win games.

6. Because 5 is for losers...

Just kidding.

5. Talk about your opening play.

      Maneuvering your figures into position so the whole team can be maximized is essential. You can't just think about your figures you have to think about your teammates figures as well and how they will deploy. If you have no deployment concerns you can ignore this.

6. Post game Conference

      After each game, win or lose, talk to your teammate and opponents about their perception of the game. See what everyone thought of the team as a whole. Who knows you might just get ideas for other teams in the future. The main reason you want to do this is to have your teammate understand what was not just going on in your head but your opponents heads as well.

      I hope you enjoyed this post. I will try to have everything up on time during the Holiday Season so people have something fun to read while on break. Hit me up if there are any topics or figures you want me to focus on.

    Big shout outs to Silent Scream, Maj Raymond Spiak, and Landon Hill.

Check you Wednesday with new content,
Edward Shelton aka Darklogos

The Insider

Hello,

          I got this pm from hcrealms so I decided to answer it here. 

Really enjoyed the bell curve analogy. As I have been learning I have been thinking about character playability in point range but you really took it from abstract and congealed it into something I can better use.

I know you said you were willing to analyze units if we asked. I just pulled the insider. As I have been testing him I have found him to be a great taxi and secondary attacker plus the outwit and range are handy. Early on I have him move around alfred to heal my primary attacker and gain better control of the map. Then as time goes on I switch to picking off peoples support but I find myself wondering what a more experienced player like you would do. I was thinking he might be a good candidate for the bat belt seeing as he has the ability to move for free. He could use the +2 to move and base weaker units then attack next turn with +2 before having to spin the dial.

Thanks again for your input and insight`

 Well first of all grats on pulling a chase. The biggest issue with the insider is his trait is rather weak. He can keep phasing every turn as a  long as he doesn't get an action token. That is the only thing that can be abused. But you are paying a really high cost to get that. The first thing I would say is not to play him in 300 or 400 pts. He is to much of a target in those games. You want him to be in a big point game where he is not as much of a threat.

There are two figures that I think go with him really well that let you do a lot with him. The first is Wonder Woman from the Justice League Fast Forces. The second figure is Beta Ray Bill from the Annihilators Fast Forces. Wonder Woman has the ability to do do a power action after being carried. This means Insider can carry her, put himself in a good position for a follow up attack next turn, and let Wonder Woman do her thing. This works best if you are able to keep the pressure on another part of the board.  When you look at Beta Ray Bill he allows Insider to stay alive from range attacks and outwit. Also the Insider is a great taxi to get other stealth pieces in position to protect Beta Ray Bill or other key pieces on the board.

Sadly the Insiders stats are nothing to write home about. He can do a lot of cool things but just not in a way that gives you a lot of options you can control. You are banking your game on clicks two and three. Most of his cost is in that phasing trait. The best thing I can tell you is keep him if you want him but trade him for other figures you might need in the collection. You could in all honesty trade him for most of the rares in the set. If you want to keep him I understand a 100% . Chases make your collection feel special. Even more so when you pull them.

That's it everyone. I will be recording a new episode soon. I will also be thinking about advice for the training series.

Thanks for reading,
Edward Shelton Aka Darklogos