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ADVANCE LOOK: WizKids DC Comics HeroClix 2015 Convention Exclusive The Weird
Unique Alien Available Only At Events Starting With Nationals...
HeroClix fans, it’s that time of year again. As spring arrives so too does convention season, and that means exclusive figures! WizKids has quite a slate of offerings for 2015 including both for-sale and prize figures, and over the coming days we here at Figures.com will be sharing some exclusive reveals of just what these figures look like and do on the battlefield. First up is something a bit... strange, DC Comics’ The Weird! If you’re not familiar with the character you’re in luck and get to learn something new. And if you are a HeroClix player looking forward to filling out the ranks of your Stormwatch teams then you’re definitely going to want to get your hands on this guy. Let’s take a closer look at this Stormwatch member who will be available for the first time at the U.S. Nationals in Glen Burnie, MD the weekend of April 11-12!
Created by comics luminaries Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson for DC Comics, the Weird came on to the scene in a miniseries that bore his name in 1988. A Zarolatt from another dimension, the Weird was a rebel in his society and sought to save his race from devastation by the evil Macrolatts. His adventures led him to Earth, the possession of a human body, and dealings with native heroes like Blue Beetle. The Weird was able to gather enough assistance there to return and save his people, though he wouldn’t survive much longer and detonated in deep space. However, not even that could keep a good Zarolatt down, and the Weird would return with notable appearances in the 2006 Mystery in Space series and then the New 52 Stormwatch title. The Weird has a host of energy-based powers as well as teleportation, flight, density manipulation, illusion projection, and more.
So how does all of that translate into a HeroClix game piece? First off, the figure itself replicates his look and pose from Stormwatch #19. In his humanoid shape the Weird wears a black bodysuit and on top of that red boots, gloves, skirt, chest wrap with dangling looped sash, and a unique brimmed headpiece that leaves only his eyes exposed. The Weird stands in an odd slight crouch with his right hand pointed toward the ground behind him and his left hand pointing straight ahead (read on to the character’s trait and powers for more on what that means!).
There are nice sculpted details in the Weird’s clothing, especially in the movement of the fabric around his waist, the convoluted braiding in the sash behind him, and the texture of his headpiece. Paint is pretty straightforward with solid black and red clothing elements right out of the comics and flesh tone on the small slice of face exposed. Notably the Weird has one normal eye and one hugely glaring one, and those are both very well done on this HeroClix figure.
He’s got a weird backstory and he looks weird, so how does he play? Well, he’s Weird! The Stormwatch member is 145 points with Flight, a 6 range with one target, and Improved Movement ignoring Blocking Terrain and Characters. Things start to get really interesting with the Weird’s trait. “4th Dimensional Teleport” is a bit of a wall of text but basically says that at the start of your games you’ll place the figure so that his left hand is pointing down a row facing away from the closest map edge. Whenever he’s moved or placed he stays pointing in the same direction, and at the beginning of every turn you can give him a free action to “teleport” four squares in that direction! After he does so you can change his facing to any direct horizontal or vertical.
On the dial you’ll find good numbers for a figure of his cost, and over the course of his 8 clicks there are big dips and spikes featuring yo-yoing defense (high of 18, low of 15), damage that peaks at 5, and a powerful final click of 13/12/18/4. The Weird has three general sections to his dial which begins with no movement power, Pulse Wave, a special version of Super Senses that succeeds on 3-6 unless the enemy is on the right facing, and alternating Perplex and another special power that lets the Weird teleport an adjacent ally 4 squares. Mid-dial the Zarolatt picks up Sidestep, heals via Steal Energy, gets even tougher to damage with Impervious, and adds one click of Close Combat Expert to the mix. End-dial it’s all about hiding, healing, and punishing enemies coming to get him with Stealth, Poison, and Regeneration plus that wicked last click.
The Weird comes with three keywords, the generic Cosmic and Mystical along with the headlining Stormwatch. That last one is a relatively new addition to the game and puts him in good company with Trinity War’s Martian Manhunter, the Flash set’s Jenny Quantum, Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, Midnighter, and Engineer plus Spartan Warrior Spirit from Streets of Gotham. The aforementioned Trinity War set had a ton of new Mystical characters for the Weird to play with along with other great recent figures like Etrigan, Black Witch, and Solomon Grundy. Lastly there’s no shortage of powerful and effective Cosmic figures to ally with the Weird.
So there you have it, the first reveal of a WizKids 2015 Convention Exclusive HeroClix figure! The Weird will be available in major tournaments this season starting with U.S. Nationals in Glen Burnie, MD the weekend of April 11-12. Get all the information on this event at the WizKids Nationals page HERE.
Also, be sure to check out the rest of the 2015 Convention Exclusive figures (DC’s Animal Man, Adam Strange, Brainiac’s Skull Ship, and Felix Faust with d20 plus Marvel’s Spider-Ham, Loki Agent of Asgard, Ghost Rider, Kree Supreme Intelligence, and Doctor Strange with d20) in WizKids’ big announcement HERE.
Stay tuned to Figures.com as we’ll be bringing you more first looks at some of these 2015 Convention Exclusives! Which ones are you most interested in seeing? Tell us in the comments section below.
Review Sample Courtesy of WizKids Games
Photos and Review by Scott Rubin
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