Hello All!

[Wynns]

I just had to make a quick post with my shiny new user account to say hello to everyone.

I've been trying to lure my son (12) into playing tabletop games with me for a while now. Heroclix seemed like it had promise, but the games were a bit drawn out and we kept forgetting to apply our special abilities... plus... how fun is it to play on a paper map? Other things have caught my eye but I put them out of my mind when I realize that it'd cost me a few hundred dollars to get a variety of cool figs and start playing... Enter Heroscape!

Terrain in the box! A full set of armies in the box! It's not collectible! I'm loving it! So is he!

In other games I always had a bit of an advantage because I was more familiar with the rules. I knew how/when to use abilities to my advantage. It made it less fun for him because he couldn't keep it all straight in his head. Not anymore... he's got me running like a scared kitten from his Deathwalker 9k! So far, after a dozen or so games... we're about tied!

So... after all that... I do actually have a question. I've searched around a bit and couldn't find anything to satisfy me, so I thought I'd start a thread.

See, my biggest flaw is to get excited and go hogwild on buying stuff that I think is going to be cool for us to play together. Because of that, I've got boxes of stuff that doesn't get used. Married guys will symphasize here, my wife is now a bit leary of seeing me spend $$ on this stuff. So, I'm trying to be moderate. It's so tough!

We've got one master set and the expansion with the bridge. The question is... which additions add the most bang for the buck at this stage? I'm tempted to go out and get another master set just for the terrain... but I'd like to have some more distinct units too! The only other expansion I've seen locally is Orm's Return. More units, but no terrain.

Just wondering what all you experts would do if you were just starting out.

[Grungebob]

Ahh The wonderlust of the first time you realize the genius of this game!!! Welcome friend!!

[Jandars_Hope]

he's got me running like a scared kitten from his Deathwalker 9k!
Just wondering what all you experts would do if you were just starting out.

I know what you mean about DW9K when i first started out my brother always used it and i was petrified of it and it seemed unstoppable!
My advise would be to look out for the Tundra and Volcano sets. But it is good if you want to buy extra master sets! i think most people on this forum has multiple master sets, it is great to have the extra terrain! I have 3 master sets and would highly recommend buying more!

Good luck on your Heroscape journey! Enjoy!

[Oogie_Da_Bruce]

There are 3 ways to go:

- More units (start with wave 1 - Orcs/Romans/Vipers) all great core units.
- More terrain (if your a map builder you need at least 2 if not 3 or 4 Master Sets worth of Terrain).
- Next Big Expansion - Castles

I would say more Master Sets would get pricey. Wait till Christmas time as ToysRUs tends to have a 2 for 1 sale. Or check WalMart for Discounted Master Sets.

Castles, I think, will take things to a whole other level!!! And a Tundra Set with glaciers would be nice too. A little money here goes a long way. The only trouble is no new units.

Maybe pick up some heroes. They are unique, so you'll only need to buy one set. Not playing with commons, you are missing something, but once you buy two sets of commons, you'll be hooked! Then you $$$ will surely dissappear!!! :wink:

[spiderM9]

I still have this debate all the time. Until today, I had one of everything, but doubles of:
Road & Trees
Orcs
Romans
Minions & Drones
...but still only one master set. I've found that I can always get enough out of one MS, espeically since all of those extra tiles from the expansions started adding up, plus the volcano and the ice. The road is the only terrain I have 2 of, I think that was the best bet.

Today I broke down and got 2 more packs of Orcs though. Paid cash, hid them in my truck. Not sure how I'm going to explain it.

[Wynns]

Oogie_Da_Bruce - Thanks! That's exactly the type of info I've been looking for.

Jandars_Hope - I've got DW9K under control now. It just takes a bit of fodder sometimes!

[toddrew]

Congratulations on your continued childhood :)

Same boat here with the game ostensibly being for my son, but in reality I'm the driving force behind gametime and acquisition :lol:

We've had the luxury of slowly amassing the figure and terrain expansions as they are released.

I think the castle expansion is going to be the most fun of all the currently released expansions, but would think that one would want at least a couple of Master Sets of terrain to take full advantage of the castles. Not having played them yet that may not be the case.

I think the best buy may be getting the terrain a la carte from online retailers like HouseMouseGames - unless you do happen to be able to take advantage of 'buy one get one free' sales or 'clearancescape' (which I've yet to see, but some have found MS on sale at the odd Wal-Mart in the past.)

[vernz]

dont forget to get some lava sets or tundra sets if you can find them they add a little different types of playing field to the game

[K/H_Addict]

i would reccommend at least 1 more MS, as well as at least on of all expansions out. The Lava set os exclusive to TRU, but finding it should'nt be a problem; TRU's in VA are waaay over stocked with it.

[Filbey]

Welcome to the forum! :D

[truth]

Welcome to the forum! :)

I'm going to go against the crowd here and say Lava and Snow can wait... It adds variety, but what your looking for is something that will add to nearly every game. I find myself only rarely using Lava and Snow. To buy online you have to buy a chunk of stuff to make it worth the shipping... So I'd say your fairly limted to what you can find nearby. TRU usually has a 2 for 1 twice a year (you'll hear about it if you stay in touch with the forums) But the last 2 for 1 season came and went with no sale... So hopefully TRUs changes in ownership haven't resulted in no 2 for 1. Other than that expansions are cheapest at Walmart. Trees and road was a great first choice. From here I'd likely choose for variety sake, since your not looking to spend enough money to purchase enough units to get some serious synergy going. You can find all the units, what expansion they are in, what abilites and stats they have etc. on the offical site. This should help you with making choices.

Beyond that you've got some extra minis lying around so you could print up some of the card scans in the gallery and maybe even some of the custom units (look to the halls of valhalla to start, best customs are gathered there). Use the minis you have as proxies for the actual unit until you can excuse your purchases on Christmas and B-Day presents :).

[ultradoug]

I got 1 of everything, but of course you dont have to do that, I think Truth has the idea here, get the BIG stuff (like large heros/terane) for specal days, get expantions for good grades , stuff like that, getting a second master set adds so much terane, just whatever you feel is nessary for your game... and watch out for ULTRADOUG he is totaly insain...

mahahahahaha weeeeeeeeeee!

[Revdyer]

Welcome, Wynns.

The best addition to HeroScape, in my opinion, is this site. There's more advice and entertainment here than you can shake a stick at. (Although why you would want to shake a stick at anything, I'm not sure.)

Otherwise, in terms of squads and heroes, I'd say you can pretty much go with what is available to you or what you want to order. I've not bought anything that was not fun in some way or other, and I've got at least one of everything so far released.

I keep telling my wife, "I could be doing R/C airplanes; and that's really expensive." She almost believes me.

[Malechi]

Welcome! I would say your best bet is hit a local Walmart (for the best price) with your son in tow and see what expansion packs they currently have available on their shelves. The waves seem to reoccur albiet infrequently, so waiting for specific packs may be detrimental to playing. After seeing what is available, decide depending on whether or not you simply like the figures. As you are new to the game, it really matters not the synergy* with other figures as you and your son are playing and that's the important part!


* Joke from the current HS poll at Hasbro using ther word synergy when they insist the game is for 8 - 12 year olds.

[markwars]

It seems like only yesterday I was a giggling newbie. Now I'm just a poor oldie. :wink:

[pashadowops]

Welcome! It wasn't long ago I was posting here for the first time. I have learned allot from just staying in touch. Hope your stay here is a long and pleasent one.

My personal favorite is RTTFF (trees & roads). I felt I got the best bang for the buck there. I definately recommend getting more than one master set. I just picked up my second and am enjoying the larger maps. My son (9) and I play several nights a week and venture to TRU or Walmart every payday to pickup what we don't already have. I...err...um...We would like to have at least one of everything. We're in no hurry though, at a rate of 4 expansions a month we should have everything except wave 5 by Oct. Wait that's not true...if we pickup the HMG deal for the 2 castles and Thora's Vengence we will have everything. Duh!!

Well there's my two cents. Welcome again.

[Revdyer]

pashadowops,

That was one of the nicest and most hear-warming posts (and I know you weren't pulling any heart-strings) that I've ever read here.

I wish for you and your son many, many happy HS days.

(and, no, I won't finance your new addition to the house to have a super place to play! <grin>)

[ultradoug]

It seems like only yesterday I was a giggling newbie. Now I'm just a poor oldie. :wink:

you still giggle when I hit that one spot, dont say you dont!

[quixotequest]

WELCOME! I was also a HeroClix addict of 2.5 years before I got into HeroScape. I hope this is a happy first step on the 12 steps to your recovery! :D

I always loved Leap/Climb figures traversing the face of a... flat, heightless building. A Stealth figure hiding in a... flat bush. Objects like motorcyles that take up the same space as a bubblegum machine. (The 3-D objects they later added helped but then you still had those ugly, flat maps.) After they added the rules that didn't allow a figure to move after it had been carried the already slow "superhero" action/pacing of the game ground to a laborious plod. I never did like the "pushing" mechanic. It was over for me, even though some of minis were cool...

...if you could read those little color codes and numbers on the bases in the poor light. Man it sucks I spent so much on that collection.