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REVIEW: WizKids Marvel HeroClix Nick Fury Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Expansion Set
Covert Organizations Infiltrate HeroClix With Great New Figures...
Marvel HeroClix fans just got another big boost to their collections this month as we continue the unofficial summer of Avengers. It all started in April with the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie set and then continued with the full Avengers Assemble expansion set in May (see our review HERE) and the Age of Ultron Storyline OP tournament series running June through September. Now WizKids Games has capped off the fun with another full expansion featuring the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe with a focus on the covert organizations doing battle behind the scenes with Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
It’s S.H.I.E.L.D. vs. Hydra and so much more with figures from recent and current Marvel comics storylines, even more Avengers, and tons of brand new characters making their HeroClix debut. The Nick Fury set also features sub-themes of Invaders, Howling Commandos, and even characters from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show! Similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy (comics) expansion released last year, “Fury” has a ton of figures with lots of generics and alternate versions so you can build up your armies of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra agents. In the booster set there are no fewer than 25 common figures, 19 uncommons, 17 rares, and 14 super rares PLUS the inclusion of 5 chases, 15 Avengers ID Cards, and the brand new feature: the Hulkbuster Mk II Armor Assembl-A-Figure! Let’s start our look through Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the large collection of common figures.
So considering the name of the set, can you guess who appears first and foremost in the common slot? Of course it starts with the man, the myth, the legend: Nick Fury! This is the classic eyepatch version clad in his iconic blue and white uniform with a pistol at the ready. Serving alongside the boss are a plethora of generic agents from his covert organization with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Section Chief, S.H.I.E.L.D. Elite Agent, S.H.I.E.L.D. Infiltrator, S.H.I.E.L.D. Field Agent, S.H.I.E.L.D. Bodyguard, S.H.I.E.L.D. Recruit, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Paranormal Investigator. Unique characters in the hero business include Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, Eric Koenig, Clay Quartermain, Jimmy Woo, Sarah Garza, Alexander Pierce, and Agent May and Agent Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The heroes don’t even stop there, and the commons also bring players a new version of Bucky, the new Nomad, and the Prime figure of the character made famous on TV, Peggy Carter! However, it isn’t all sunshine in this first figure slot; the dark side offers the Hydra Recruit, Hydra Agent H, Hydra Infiltrator and Hydra Annihil-agent (both of whom are so cool they wear sunglasses indoors), and the Deltite LMD.
The uncommons in this set offer a few more generics with the moustachioed S.H.I.E.L.D. Cyborg, Hydra Field Agent, and Hydra Section Chief. Comic book S.H.I.E.L.D. members join the fun at this rarity level with the always popular shotgun-wielder Dum Dum Dugan, Contessa Valentine, Quake, Winter Soldier, and John Garrett (who also appeared on TV). The good guys continue with an infusion of characters from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show with Fitz, Simmons, and Skye! If you’re feeling particularly bad you can collect and play villains like the lightning-decorated Blackout, Hydra Doctor Locke, Blackwing, the gruesome Hive, fierce Man-Killer, winged Baron Blood along with the Baron Blood Prime figure, and Jet Black. Interestingly, this is the only standard rarity level without a Nick Fury figure!
Nick returns to headline the rare figures in this set with the gun-toting Nick Fury Jr. and he brings along with him Agent Coulson from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They get support from comics characters affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the form of the energy-wielding Druid, a new cyborg Deathlok, and the horrific Iron Nail. The rares really fill out one of the set’s sub-themes with a brand new collection of Invaders featuring Captain America knockoff U.S. Agent, the appropriately named Blazing Skull, patriotic Miss America, Marvel speedster Whizzer, Radiance, Spitfire, and two versions (one Prime) of the British hero Union Jack! Hydra sneaks in a few of its own members at this rarity level with the heavily armored Kraken, tentacular Viper, and Imperial Hydra sitting on his sweet throne, and Dr. Demonicus gets his first HeroClix appearance.
Nick Fury’s super rares harken back to the character selection of the previous Avengers Assemble set with a group of Earth’s Mighiest Heroes and some of the biggest names in comics... but with some twists. These aren’t your father’s Avengers but rather modern incarnations of heroes like the high-flying Captain America (Sam Wilson), the current and awesome Thor (Jane Foster), and an armored Hulk! There’s also an Iron Man standing in an armor bay that comes in two different versions (with facemask up and down), former Cap Steve Rogers, a wall-crawling Spider-Woman, and a sweet new diving Namor. Villains at this level include a trio of Hydra masterminds with Madame Hydra, the classic villain and Jimmy Woo arch-enemy Golden Claw, and the Avengers bad guy everyone loves to hate Baron Strucker. Like the last few sets this one brings players a new Squadron Sinister member along with his Prime Squadron Supreme version, in this case Nighthawk. And of course there’s even a Nick Fury in the super rares, a great miniature of his Original Sin look complete with the Watcher’s eyes!
It’s always exciting to see what WizKids is doing with the chases in new sets, and with Fury they’ve gone in a really cool direction. Before this set’s release (and September’s Age of Ultron Storyline Month 4 event) there were no Marvel HeroClix vehicles... but no longer. All of the chase pieces in this set are conveyances belonging to heroes or villains! On the side of good are the Avengers Sky-Cycle, Captain America’s Motorcycle, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Space Rig while the bad guys get even more powerful with Kang’s Time Chair and the Thanos Throne. All of these are single or double-based vehicles that fit in boosters and add great new options to your games.
Those are all of the “standard” rarity levels and items in your Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. boosters, but there’s even more! Just like in the previous expansion Avengers Assemble and the Age of Ultron tournament boosters this set inserts the cool new Avengers ID Cards randomly into boosters alongside your figures. The collection is already getting pretty big, and this set adds 15 new ones with Black Knight, Black Panther, Ms. Marvel, Quasar, Quake, She-Hulk, S.H.I.E.L.D. Priority Access, S.H.I.E.L.D. Field Agent Level 1, U.S. Agent, War Machine, Bucky Barnes, Moon Knight, Red Hulk, Spider-Woman, and Venom.
WizKids also introduced an entirely new element in this set, the Assembl-A-Figure/Build-A-Clix Hulkbuster Mark II! Just like any build-a-figure you need to collect the disparate pieces and attach them to make the colossal armor suit. It consists of five Hulkbuster parts (Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg, and Torso) that take the place of a figure in your booster and the chase Hulkbuster Mark II Base.
Even in a set stocked with agents, infiltrators, spies, and beaurocrats there’s still a great variety in poses in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a ton of excellent sculpts. WizKids continues to raise the bar in terms of detailing, musculature, weaponry, armor, environmental effects, heroic and villainous stances, and more. I always love it when you can tell the attitudes and characters of figures just by looking at them, and that’s exactly the case with figures in this set like the tough and watchful S.H.I.E.L.D. Bodyguard/Alexander Pierce, dual pistol-wielding Agent May, super muscular and defiant Man-Killer, Blazing Skull who looks like he’s answering the question “what’s your name” by pointing at his own head, the malicious and lazy slouch of the Imperial Hydra, and more. There are great sculpts throughout the set starting with the solid generic S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra figures and running through Nomad with his armored plates and waving hair, Dum Dum Dugan with shotgun and bowler, the lunging Winter Soldier with his cybernetic arm and submachine gun, the slimy and tendril-covered Hive, Nick Fury, Jr. packing muscles and weapons, the unique mechanical man known as Deathlok, Iron Nail with his intricately textured dragon form, Iron Man complete with armor bay, the armored Nick Fury with his sniper rifle and eyeballs, Madame Hydra with her dark costume and staff, the winged Captain America, and the twin Nighthawks launching toward the skies. No discussion of the sculpts in this set would be complete without mentioning two super rares that have become instant favorites; Thor is a beautifully powerful figure flying through the air in a column of lightning while the mighty Namor dives beneath the waves trailing a plume of water and a splash on the surface above him. All of the chase vehicles are very well sculpted, and the combined Hulkbuster Mark II figure is a sight to behold with its blocky, retro styling and sweet details like the rocket punch.
Again, you might think that with a set of spies and covert operatives the colors would be dark, with lots of blue-black. On the contrary, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is full of colorful figures with all different styles, and that includes the classic dark-clad super spies as well as brightly hued superheroes. Especially among the commons and uncommons there’s a great variety with sculpts used to represent both a generic character as well as a unique hero or villain in a completely different paint job. As with all modern HeroClix sets the artists at WizKids have done an overall excellent job at maintaining high paint application standards, and that extends to details like logos, weaponry, tech, eyes with pupils, etc. I always love checking out the uses of translucent plastic for everything from flying effects to energy blasts and more, and this set offers cool examples like Quake’s seismic power, the arcane energy of Druid, Whizzer and Spitfire’s speed trails, Blazing Skull’s head, the shimmering aura of Radiance, Thor’s lightning, Namor’s awesome water environment, and the mannequin and helmet of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Space Rig. The usual metallic paints highlight armor, weapons, and more like the cybernetic bodies of more-machine-than-man S.H.I.E.L.D. Cyborg, John Garrett, and Deathlok, Blackwing’s ostentatious costume, Iron Man (natch) and his mechanical base, the funky costume of Golden Claw, the underside of Captain America’s wings, and of course all of the vehicles and the Hulkbuster. Some of my favorite overall paint jobs in the set include the colorful adventuring gear of Clay Quartermain, Bucky with individually painted buttons on his jacket, Sarah Garza’s high-tech outfit, Contessa Valentina’s old school femme fatale getup, the practical but well done street clothes of Fitz and Simmons accented by perfect S.H.I.E.L.D. logos, the Hydra symbol making a bold statement on Doctor Locke’s shirt, the stars and stripes of Miss America contrasting with the Union Jack of... Union Jack, and of course the incredibly detailed super rares like Captain America and Steve Rogers.
What kind of mechanics, new and recent, can you expect to see when the figures of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. take to the battlefield? For starters, you’ll find some Improved Movement and Targeting, a Nick Fury trait that lets you play the first one at 65 points and more at 25 (and who can use Shape Change and swap) like we’ve seen on figures like Mysterio, vampire starting line shenanigans on both Baron Blood figures, and perhaps best of all a huge number of figures with Team Abilities (mainly S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra of course, but also Masters of Evil, Mystics, Avengers, Spider-Man, Defenders, and Power Cosmic)! If you like figures that can create bystanders you’ll love Fitz and his Hoverbots, Hive’s Parasites, the birds of Captain America, and especially Dr. Demonicus’ colossal monsters. The new vehicles have brought with them streamlined new rules (which you can read all about on HeroClix.com HERE) as well as a cool “Personal Craft” mechanic that allows the vehicle to be part of a theme team if its usual occupant is there too. The Hulkbuster parts are a new twist on an old favorite (in this case special items) by letting characters equip items for just a power action rather than having to make a relic roll. The S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra figures of this set share several named traits that let them work together and do incredible things, often with specific characters adding additional flavor or effects. These include Rally, Changing the World, Field Team Backup, Traitor (both ways), Cut Off One Head, Invade Your Territory, and Hydra’s Reach, and it’s worth noting that the two organization’s traits are diametrically opposed (as they should be). And lastly, some of the Invaders get in on the fun too with “Invade Your Territory” traits letting them move through opponents’ Barrier and Smoke Cloud and removing those terrain markers when they do so!
Next up let’s look at some of the cool, fun, and just plain bonkers special powers and traits that appear in the new set and really differentiate the figures. Some noteworthy traits (other than those mentioned above) include Maria Hill’s “Drop Zone” that lets her fly in a S.H.I.E.L.D. team, Nomad and Jet Black’s similar “Arnim Zola’s Son/Daughter, Raised/Inspired by Steve Rogers” giving them keywords from friendly characters in the family and stat boosts when adjacent to them, the “Duplication Expert” of Doctor Locke that damages enemies with the same name as one KO’d, the Prime Union Jack’s “The Webley or the Shiv?” layering Charge with Blades/Claws/Fangs on top of Running Shot with Improved Targeting ignoring characters, Imperial Hydra’s “Two Heads SHALL Take Their Place!” giving you the chance to bring more Hydra goons into the game when one is KO’d, the “Rapid Power Drain” of Iron Nail that applies combat value lowering tokens on adjacent enemies, and the already infamous Prime Nighthawk’s “The People Must Think For Themselves” that prevents opponents from increasing their combat values. A few interesting special powers that caught my eye were Sharon Carter’s “Espionage Training” giving limited Shape Change to adjacent S.H.I.E.L.D. allies, the standard power/team ability-canceling “Saboteur” of Peggy Carter, Nomad’s wicked “Serrated Shield” letting him use Blades/Claws/Fangs in ranged attacks, “Unusual D.N.A. in The Lab” used by Simmons to empower adjacent allies with Force Blast, Incapacitate, and Smoke Cloud, Winter Soldier proving he’s a “Deadly Sniper” with 10 range Outwit and Ranged Combat Expert, Druid’s “Magic Bullet” beefing up an ally with Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Improved Targeting ignoring and destroying blocking terrain, and “Researching the Hulk with S.H.I.E.L.D.” letting that character give Research tokens to S.H.I.E.L.D. allies that they can spend to use Outwit.
In addition to the full booster set as described above Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. has some additional products that Marvel players and collectors are going to want. First up is the S.H.I.E.L.D. Fast Forces pack with six figures and an exclusive 3D bystander “figure.” With sculpts from the main set and all new dials are Nick Fury, Jr., Agent Coulson, Agent May, Fitz, Simmons, and Skye, and where Fitz goes so follows H.E.N.R.Y. the holographic helper monkey! Each of the six figures can be played at 50 points making team building a snap, and May, Coulson, and Fury each have a 75 point starting line as well.
Also for sale alongside the booster set and Fast Forces is the Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Dice & Token Pack. These packs have been a huge hit with players, and this one brings you S.H.I.E.L.D. logo dice in black and silver plus heavy-duty poker chip-style action tokens with artwork of Nick Fury, Agent Coulson, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, Winter Soldier, and the Indestructible Hulk. Lastly, at participating brick and mortar venues only is an Organized Play kit featuring a Limited Edition Winter Soldier figure (same sculpt as the one in the main set but with a new dial) and a new double-sided map taking your games to the battlefields of Hydra Island and Nick Fury’s Safehouse!
The Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. set is available now wherever you buy HeroClix, and it’s already proven to be very popular with players and collectors for its huge selection of great inexpensive and effective generics, fun new characters added to the game, amazing super rares, cool chases, the Hulkbuster phenomenon, and more. It’s also bringing to the game viewers of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, which is pretty neat. And don’t forget to play in events at your local venue to get your hands on the Limited Edition Winter Soldier figure and to check out the new maps.
Visit HeroClix.com for even more info as well as downloads of rules and maps, and check Figures.com regularly as we continue our reviews of new HeroClix!
Review and photos by Scott Rubin
Review samples courtesy of WizKids Games
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