ADVANCE REVIEW: WizKids DC Comics HeroClix Streets of Gotham OP Kit

[JeffSaylor]

Hit the Streets with Limited Edition Figures, Objects, and Maps...

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The HeroClix scene right now is in a full on Batman-frenzy, and it’s not stopping anytime soon. This week we’ve already given you in-depth looks at the upcoming No Man’s Land Month 2 (January) tournament prize kit and the Batman: Streets of Gotham Fast Forces pack due out next week. Along with that pack and a full set of single figure boosters AND team packs, “Streets” includes an exclusive prize kit only available to stores to be used for tournaments and giveaways. This Organized Play (OP) kit comes with multiple copies of three figures, two objects, and a new double-sided map, all of which are exclusive and can’t be purchased any other way. The three figures include four characters who have worn or are wearing a Batman suit: Hugo Strange, Dr. Thomas Wayne, and the duo of Batman and Nightwing!

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The insane professor Hugo Strange is one of Batman’s oldest villains, first appearing way back in 1940, but he only just now made his debut in HeroClix with last month’s Batman set. That version captured him in his typical “mad scientist” duds, but now he returns in one of his most iconic appearances dressed as Batman! Obsessed with the Caped Crusader Strange trains in secret and even fights crime as Batman, wearing his then blue, gray, and yellow costume. The professor may be all Batman from the waist down, but his uncovered head is... well, Strange, bald with his chinstrap beard and iconic round glasses.

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The other doctor in this prize kit is one more likely to heal you than beat you up, the kindly Dr. Thomas Wayne. A renowned physician in the golden age of Gotham, Wayne was brutally murdered along with his wife in crime alley, leading their young son Bruce to embark upon a life of vigilante justice. Dressed as a “Bat-Man” for a masquerade ball, the good doctor wears a harlequin mask and a bat-winged cloak over his spiffy tuxedo (all in black of course). [Note: this Limited Edition figure may be based on a figure of Dr. Simon Hurt in the main Streets of Gotham set.]

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The final LE figure is a duo that’s sure to please Bat-fans everywhere, the potent combo of Batman and Nightwing! Both figures have appeared in duos before, but never together (the Batman and Robin duo was Tim Drake as the Boy Wonder). Both heroes are in extreme martial arts poses; Bruce crouches with one fist behind him and the other outstretched with his cape swirling around him and Nightwing seemingly hurtling over his mentor to deliver a powerful kick with his Eskrima sticks in hand. The sculpting is really well done on these two, and the way Nightwing attaches to Batman through his cape is seamless. This Batman has a very dark blue-black cape, cowl, gloves, trunks, and boots that contrast with his light gray bodysuit and yellow utility belt. Nightwing, meanwhile, wears his black and blue costume with bright silver shoe soles and sticks.

While the previous version of Thomas Wayne in HeroClix was the ruthless “Bat-Man” from Flashpoint, this one is pure “support.” So what does a 43 point doctor add to your team? First off, his “Inspiration” trait lets adjacent allies use Willpower! Thomas starts his dial with two clicks of Flurry as he attempts to clean up Gotham, though by click 2 he’s found his true calling as a healer. For the rest of his dial he combines solid attack values with Support and low defense Defend (to make his allies easier to heal). He may not be taking out criminals, but he’ll be healing your big guns and sending them back into the good fight.

Meanwhile, Hugo Strange clocks in at 80 points with the ever-popular Scientist keyword and both Batman Ally AND Batman Enemy team abilities! On his first two clicks his “Post-Hypnotic Suggestion” special power gives him a souped up Mind Control with bonuses to his attack for an action token on his target and adjacency. Thankfully that’s exactly where he wants to be with four straight clicks of Combat Reflexes. Those first two clicks also sport Outwit, while mid-dial Strange gives up on his mental tricks in favor of Flurry. Late dial the professor picks up Perplex, Willpower, and even Penetrating/Psychic Blast for he “took no vow against guns.”

Batman and Nightwing come ready to fight with a rough and tumble 176 point dial. Naturally they have the Batman Ally team ability and Indomitable, and their “Grappel [sic] Guns and Acrobatics” Improved Movement lets them ignore Hindering Terrain, Elevated Terrain, and characters. Those things in turn go great with their trait “Controlling the Flow of Combat” letting them use Charge or Smoke Cloud instead of the second attack when using the Duo Attack ability! If they’re out in the open make a ranged attack then use Smoke Cloud to give themselves Stealth; if they’re based make the first attack and then use Charge to reposition, attacking the same target again or a different one - you’ve got lots of great options. Their dial is pretty straightforward with solid numbers and only standard powers. B&N start with Charge, Quake, Perplex, and Super Senses and later switch to Flurry and Combat Reflexes while alternating Outwit and Perplex again. Of course, as a duo figure Batman and Nightwing can Split into Batman/Bruce Wayne and Nightwing/Dick Grayson, greatly enhancing their playability and flexibility.

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The Streets of Gotham OP kit comes with two special objects, and they are both very cool. First up is the Bat Signal finally making its object debut in HeroClix! This 2 point heavy object recreates the modified searchlight from the comics complete with a circular base and barrel-like light. A dark gray-green, the Signal features a big bat symbol over a translucent yellow lens through which you can see a silver paneled interior. The reverse side of the Signal has some cool circuitry designs and more silver accents. While usable as a heavy object, the Bat Signal can also be used in a very thematic way. Give a character adjacent to it a power action and “summon” a friendly character (who was further than 8 squares away) next to it!

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Like the Batarangs and others, the Radar Monitor can be played as a relic or attached to the Utility Belt resource dial. A repaint of the Sonic Transmitter (with a blue screen and green light), the Monitor functions as a 10 point relic that when picked up turns a character into a wild card who can only use his/her opponent’s team abilities. But wait till you put it on the Utility Belt... as a resource the Radar Monitor lets a character possess an opposing team ability, even if it is Uncopyable!

Packed along with the figures and objects in this kit are 10 two-sided maps to make your games even more “at home” in Gotham City. The first one literally brings the set to life with the Streets of Gotham City outdoor map! Similar to urban environments we’ve seen in HeroClix before, “Streets” offers a nice mix of grounded, hindering, and elevated terrain (with only a few squares of blocking and no water). Starting areas are on the short sides, each one overlapping a small elevated building; a long narrow building runs down one of the long sides. On the ground level cars and umbrellas provided hindering squares for Batman Allies to use Stealth, while air conditioning units on the roofs do the same. One building has a “Space for Lease” billboard while the other features a sign for Luigi’s Pizzeria, “Gotham’s Finest Slice.” Finally, this map has six orange “Manhole” squares; if you’re playing with the map on the other side you can give a character on one of those squares a power action and place it on the corresponding square there, in...

Killer Croc’s Sewer Lair indoor map! A convoluted battlefield with lots of walls to funnel the action and block lines of fire, the Lair tells a story with a subway line one side with a perforated wall separating it from the sewer system that Croc calls home. Waterways and drainage pipes provide lots of water and some hindering terrain, and the aforementioned Manhole squares work the same way as they did topside. There’s a really neat artistic element on this map; in the center of the long side opposite the subway is the centerpiece of Killer Croc’s lair: a blood and gore-stained pile of mattresses surrounded by bones!

Next Wednesday December 19th Batman: Streets of Gotham will be in stores, and that’s where you’ll need to go to participate in tournaments to win the prizes we’ve looked at today. Competition is sure to be stiff for the amazing Batman and Nightwing duo and highly functional Hugo Strange and Dr. Thomas Wayne, so don’t wait; find a store near you and start playing HeroClix now! Don’t know where to go? Head on over to HeroClix.com and hit the “Find a Store” button to find a venue near you.

Thanks for hanging out with us this week as we’ve looked at the No Man’s Land Month 2 Kit, Streets of Gotham Fast Forces, and Streets of Gotham OP kit. Hopefully we’ll have more HeroClix reviews for you soon! Lastly, don’t forget to visit HeroClix.com for even more info as well as downloads of rules and maps.

Review and Photos by Scott Rubin

Review Sample Courtesy of WizKids Games

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