Defending The WIZdom* *(My personal
favorite title ever)
Welcome to another
sparkling and sure to be controversial....
THIS IS CRAMCOMPANY
Along time ago several
people had a noble idea, finding a faster way to share
information. First the written word, then the printing
press, the radio, the television and finnally the internet.
Unfortunately all of these devices eventually became just
another way to get porn and complain about things you have
no control over. When I look over at other Heroclix
websites, I have to note that most of them seem to just
complain about WIZKIDS! Why is did they reprint Spiderman
yet not relase a SUNSPOT figure? Why is THIS (insert any set
coming out) the worst set ever? My Black Adam figure flys
and thus can carry people, but Black Adam would never carry
somebody...he's not a friendly guy. Why can't Wiz kids give
me a more character accurate Black Adam? Well, I think it's
time we examine the WIZdom* once and for all. *(I liked it
so much I wrote it twice.)
WHAT IS WITH ALL THE REPRINTS? Before I mention anything
about this, I should say that YES there are ALOT of reprints
in ICONS. But ICONS is a BASE SET! So there is supposed to
be reprints of all the main characters that are played aka
Superman, Batman, Aquaman and all the others that non fans
can name. So please stop trashing their selection, because
it is a base set and the point is to have the common
character reprints. Beyond Icon's there are a ton of
reprints in most of the sets, Spiderman, Batman, Wolverine
are all in everyset. Yes, they take up vaulable space that
could be used to make a Sunspot, Caretaker or perhaps even
the long awaited LOBO. These overly reprinted characters are
staples of their universes and in many cases have movies
being made about them. Wiz kids is not "cashing in" on the
Fantastic Four, Batman Begins Movies (and they're certainly
not cashing in on the Man-Thing Movie.) They're simply
responding to what people want. If the Batman movies bombed
and Kalibak had a comic that people read, they'd make that
click in a second. We as a whole dictate what heroclix get
made and for everyset they make another Wonderwomen they
also have a Star-Spangled Kid.
WHY HAVE THEY NOT MADE THIS?: Lobo, Black Bolt, Vengence,
Omega Red, Watcher, Morbius, Scarlet Spider are all
characters that they have not made and they probably should
make (except Scarlet Spider....can't we just all forget the
clone angle?) Just Like Namor, Punisher, Silver Surfer and
Ra's Al Ghoul each new set needs some popular long awaited
characters to help launch the set. If they'd saved Boomerang
and made Namor instead would you have been as excited to
open a Fantastic Forces with Boomerang on the cover? Sure I
hate waiting, I won't even make food that you can't heat in
the microwave. Waiting is sometimesm for the best. Plus
there is a fun option, take that Persuader off his stand and
glue your own Lobo figure on it. Repainting figures is a
great way to pass the time while waiting for your Hungryman
Dinner to warm up.
WHY IS MY CHARACTER NOT MORE ACCURATE TO HIS COMIC FORM? The
first thing to realize is that they do try. It is hard to
both be very accurate, but create a character that is
competively playable. The second thing to realize that this
is a comptetive game, not Comic Book Reanactment Theatre.
Comic toys are made and they can act however you want when
you play with them in your mother's basment. Personally,
Wonderwomen and Jean Gray had many a battle over who thought
I was sexier. The reason I feel the comic accurate thing is
so hard can be summed up in one character BATMAN. There is
Batman Versions over 120 points.......how? Batman is cool, I
love Batman so do not take this as a rip on him, but he's
just a human. Legacy Batman has an18 defense? How is a
normal human harder to hit then say Kid Flash who can move
at hyper sonic speeds. How does a normal human or even an
extraodinary person have as many clicks as a rookie
Superman? If Wiz Kids was extremely accurate Batman would be
only able to take one full hit from Superman and that is
just how would be. If Superman can lift a train into the
air, then he could punch Batman's head clean off his body.
They do the best they can to make all sides happy and for
the most part we are.
WHY IS (INSERT SET NAME) THE WORST SET EVER? If you visit
any forum in the world about any game in the world there are
always going to be people saying, THIS IS THE WORST SET
EVER! Just as there are people saying THIS IS THE BEST SET
EVER. So ignore the critics...except me....continue reading
my reviews......darn....I lost all of you.
When a set is designed I figure it has a few goals. 1. To
change the game enough to interest the people playing. 2. To
add something new for the comic fans that gets them excited.
3. To attract a new base of fans, by being massively
appealing. Usually reason 1 clashes with reason 3 and 2
clashes with both the other reasons. Putting out a new
Wolverine that is obscure will satisfy 2 and 3, but since
he's another expensive blades/claws regeneration character
he will not please 1. Jinx was a fantastic character and
pleased 1 and possibly 2, but 3 had no idea who she was.
Making the New Legacy Joker with his "Wacky" stats and
unpredicablity made 2 ers and 3 ers happy, but me and my 1
ers die a little inside when we pull another Joker instead
of KC Green Lantern. Fantastic Forces is the newest set and
while I do not belive it is as good as Legacy it is still an
important set. For our 1 ers it has LE Sue Storm,
Thunderbolts/Fantastic Four team change card and the very
usualble and game altering Transporters. For the 2 catergory
it had Namor, a crazy powerful pink Nimod and Lockjaw. It
helped bring in new people with it's tie into the Fantastic
Four Movie, thus satisfying the third goal.
THEY WORK HARD TO MAKE IT BETTER: I played Magic the
Gathering for about 6 years and recently quit to play
Heroclix. I went to weekly tournments and some major events
while playing. Magic is a great game and I am not trashing
it, but the Magic Makers are not very fan oriented. Sure
they try, but the bottom line is they never sent me out
special product for playing, I have like 3 magic special
cards in like 6 years. Magic does not have fellowship to
make sure everybody is nice. Magic let's the sharks eat the
guppies and does not think twice about it. WizKids does many
things for the Average Fan and Competive Player Alike;
• Most Tournments are free (I would spend $5 to $10 per
Magic
Tournment and all I would win was more packs)
• Nonstop LE's for both the nice guys and the Sharks
• Competitive Type Two Magic Deck = $350 Competitive
Heroclix Team = $10 (the high price of a Black Adam and a
few good rookies)
• Fellowship is a part of the game
• They hold internet meetings to get your feedback
• They've been against large money prizes in the interest of
keep the game a GAME and not a occupation.
• They allow and uncourage house rules
• The sculpts and the new company doing them bring them to
the next level! You can practically see each hair on the
chest of Tigra!
• They're still changing the game to make it better, more
simple.
• The upcoming new guy night
• Always listening to us about making the LE's different.
• Uniques in every 3 packs! (Hey Wizkids! Way to sucker
punch ebay.)
• The upcoming Clix Bricks, to avoid package tampering and
give you more for your money.
• Other Special Promotions (LE Nova, Statesman and Galactus
drawing for all the winners of tournments)
• They read websites (such as this one, HC Realms and
Whoclix) to get feed back and improve the game
• They're trying to satify the ones, the twos and the
threes.
HAVE YOU GONE SOFT CRAMCOMPANY?: No. Look, I'm not sucking
up to wizkids, they have alot of problems, of course, and
they make money on my back. They're a company, not some
friend thats been having fun making his own games. At the
same time, I think it's warranted to say they've been doing
some very good things lately. They work very hard to satisfy
us, "The Superfans" of Heroclix along with trying to make
the game bigger and better. To be fair I think there are
some things that warrent improvment.
• In the first shipment of cases for Fantastic Forces there
was a problem with the uniques. All unques would be in a box
with the same figure on the cover, but a different figure
cover per case. Confusing? Basically if you bought a case
and pulled a unique out of a box with Doom on it. All the
Unques in that case would be in boxes with Doom on the
cover. While I have not opened more then a case, I've asked
everyone that got a first shipment and all agreed. This kind
of mistake is one that people catch onto quickly. This
creates distrust betweent the customer and the store owners
that they buy from. If the customer doesn't pull some
uniques they'll be mad and in some cases they have a good
right to be. It should be noted that Wizkids figured this
mistake out quickly and it did not happen with the second
shipment.
• Time is such a factor while playing. If you read my last
Cramcompany article you'll understand why I have a big
problem with people staling.
• The game is WAY confusing. The basic rules are great and
it's easy to build a team. It's the minor rules that are
confusing. Judges all over the country have wildly different
interperatations. I just met a man from Texas that would
have bet his mother that you can not charge a character in
stealth. Not being able to outwit a stealth character you
are standing next too still seems crazy to me! Again, I give
them credit for constantly trying to make it more simple.
But on the next rule change, we must STOP CHANGING RULES FOR
A BIT! :)
• 3 clicks per pack.....I have soooo many duplicates I want
to cry. Wait....I am crying. Shoot I'm getting my 14th
version of experianced Tigra wet.
• Lastly and my only major grip. Playable Heroclix attached
to something very expensive. A magazine subscription to get
a Batman. A video game to get the City of Villans Heroclix.
These are not just LE clicks, these are very playable
competative peices. To price something like that with
something else, is just a touch harsh. It upsets your
incoming fans alot. When I was new to playing I recall
sitting across from a chrome Silver Surfer. When I asked how
they got him and they said with a $100 Galactus available
only at a couple conventions across the world and then only
if you had a won a special lottery for the RIGHT to buy him.
My first thing was to think; "I will NEVER get him. I might
as quit playing now." My second thought was; "Holy God! They
made a Galactus!....is he really small? He must be like 300
points!"
SHOULD I WRITE WISKIDS A LETTER OR BAKE THEM A CAKE? Nothing
so drastic is necessary. All I'm saying is let's stop
bashing them so hard. I've played alot of games and I've
never had a company give me so much for playing. If you win
a Monopoly game one of the Parker Brothers does not send you
a gold thimbal. Admit it, you love those Wizkids LE's. You
love the idea of finding a unique in one of every three
packs. How can you not love playing a minuture game that
does not involve a ruler and a hundred sheets of paper?
But Wizkids, make a LOBO click before we eat each other
alive.
Keep it Clicking
Cramcompany
Questions, comments, sexually confused? email me at
cramcompany@hotmail.com.
Please no hate mail
