UranusPChicago

This Blog entry is not what it seems…

At first glance of the pictures to follow, you may think this is a “look at my huge collection-o-rama” type blog. It’s not. You might even think it is sales pitch for Heroclix figures. The purpose is not that directly, but that could be a result of the intended delivery.

Actually, I have never played a game of Heroclix in my life nor do I even know the rules of how to play. Some of my figures do not have the correct base and some of them do not even have a base (currently). Honestly, OCD aside, it really doesn’t bother me because the reason I have my Heroclix collection is because of the phenomenal Super Hero custom creators that we have on this site.

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First off, I hope the custom creators get a kick out of seeing their creations being used by someone else than themselves. I know as a custom...

This strategy discussion kind of ties together a couple of previous topics of mine “Don’t Forget to Move!” and “In Game Point Value” where I introduced the concept of IGPV (in game point values). On a high level, it is nothing more than a dissertation on the importance and value of a figure’s placement on the battlefield in relation to everything else that is going on in the battle. However, I specifically want to focus on when Disengaging might be the best thing for you to do during a game.

First off, I want to start off with a couple quick hits…

“No one escapes the Cyberclaw!” If you are currently engaged with a figure that has the Cyberclaw Special Power (currently Major X17 and Gladiatrons), then Disengagement is not an option for you.

“There’s no crying in Heroscape!” It is rarely a good idea to attempt to Disengage from a figure who possesses...

If I had a penny for every time I see a player forget to take advantage of movement strategies, I would be a rich man... [Image]

The error that I see most often in tournament as well as casual play is negligence with moving active units. Whether it is simply moving a character to gain height advantage, moving ranged units back to avoid immediate melee counter attacks, or moving around an engaged unit (maintaining engagement) to better control travel lanes of the enemy, players seem to forget that just because their unit is within range of an enemy unit doesn't mean they need to forgo their movement phase.

Melee Dance... back in the early days of Heroscape I think I remember a description of a melee engagement occurring up a hill as a "do-se-do"�. One unit would attack and then the other player would move his unit around to gain height and attack, and so on and...

Order Markers are an integral part of the strategy within Heroscape. However, if you are a "house-ruler" who does not play with Order Markers, more power to you. Again, the genius of Heroscape is that it is [Image]easily modifiable; if you don't like a rule, don't use it, if you want to add to a rule, then do it. There has even been discussion that Order Marker rules without modification fail to accommodate very large army battles. Unfortunately, I am not here to discuss either of those scenarios, I am here to discuss Order Marker management how it pertains to games using the official rules.

In my opinion, Order Marker management can make or break a game, even more so than unlucky dice. I say that because an OM on a dead army card is a wasted turn. But even with the worst of luck, an army card activated with an OM that has living figures has a statistical chance to do...

Strategy within Heroscape is an ever-changing beast and I absolutely love that fact.

If you have been holding out hope for a Heroscape Strategy bible, don't hold your breath. Strategies that may absolutely apply in one situation within a game might be the worst thing you can do later in the same game. You [Image]honestly cannot cover every situation that is going to come up within a game. Being that Army composition can vary greatly (and hopefully is constantly changing with new releases) and that the "board" never has to look the same from game to game, it would be impossible to develop an all-encompassing strategy guideline. With each "Wave"� release and each new map design, yesterday's specific counters may become obsolete. There will never be a defined "opening move"� for Heroscape.

However, that being said, there are still plenty of high-level strategies...