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ADVANCE LOOK: WizKids Marvel HeroClix All-New X-Men Fast Forces Pack
Fun Set Of Past/Present X-Men + A Look At The New ClixFX Base Pack...
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Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of WizKids Games’ newest and hottest Marvel HeroClix set, the Uncanny X-Men! Last week we opened a brick of boosters (and even pulled a chase!) and if you missed it you can see the videos and lots of photos of the new figures HERE. Today we’re going to switch gears and focus on one of the ancillary Uncanny X-Men products, the All-New X-Men Fast Forces pack. As usual, the Fast Forces brings you six figures from the main booster set with all different dials for more options in your team building and playing experiences. There’s also a small bonus item in this set, as we’ll get to later. These kind of packs are designed for easy play right out of the box, and the All-New X-Men really achieve this with streamlined dials and modest point values. In the set are the original time-displaced X-Men Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Jean Grey along with their modern day teacher and advisor X-23. That set comes out next week at your local comic book or game store, and at the end of this article we’re also going to cover the brand new ClixFX Base pack which is currently available.
All Fast Forces sets come in the same basic packaging, easily identifiable on store shelves beside the standard boosters. The pack consists of a tall, clear plastic clamshell through which the six figures are visible. There’s a multicolored backdrop behind the tray of contents that looks like a comic book, and the artwork on the All-New X-Men packaging is from the incomparable Stuart Immonen on the book by the same name. Below the figures on the front panel is a small shot of the whole team rushing into danger, while the sides feature Iceman/Jean Grey/Cyclops and Beast/Angel respectively in the snowy mountains. The back panel combines the two side images into the full shot of the team.
What’s that, you don’t know who the All-New X-Men are? Shame on you! Okay, just kidding; here’s the lowdown. Back in late 2012 the X-Men were having a pretty bad time. This was the post-AvX world with Professor X dead, Cyclops leading a rogue, violent splinter group, and mutants feared and hated the world over (pretty much the usual). Hank McCoy, better known as Beast, recalls the halcyon days when he was a young mutant fighting for good in simpler times and journeys to the past to bring the original five X-Men to the present so they can see the mess and help sort it out with their modern-day counterparts. Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Jean Grey come to the present with the elder McCoy and promptly got into the thick of things. They decided to stay, trying to make a difference in this very different world. Along the way they picked up a number of mentors, among which the female clone of Wolverine X-23 made a lasting impression on the team and the high-flying Angel in particular.
The All-New X-Men pack brings you the main team plus X-23, and they look really cool. While the original X-Men wore versions of their “first class” uniforms when they first travelled through time, thanks to Magik they got new uniforms that are much more sleek and modern. All of them match though there are differing details like colors and accessories to match the characters. At its most basic the All-New X-Men uniform is a sleek, mostly white and black bodysuit with integrated reinforced panels and a belt buckle-like X-Men logo. Then there are differences like the color schemes, gloves/boots or exposed limbs, neck protection, and more. X-23 tears into her foes with a crouching slash, leading the way with her claws and rocking a red and yellow accented uniform. Jean and Iceman are the most serene looking of the bunch, both standing erect in their green and blue respective uniforms. Each one calls attention to his or her mutant powers with a subtle gesture; Jean raises a hand to her head as she unleashes her mental abilities while Bobby holds a cute but dangerous slush ball. The mighty Beast crouches in his orange suit with massive feet and hands exposed and his eyes covered by a matching visor. Cyclops and Angel have arguably the most impressive sculpts, the former unleashing a sweeping optic blast and the latter spreading his feathered wings to launch into the air. As you can see from the photos all of these figures are nicely bright and colorful, and there are some truly excellent paint details especially on their eyes and belt buckle logos.
When it comes to the game of HeroClix it can sometimes be frustrating to build a team of your favorite characters or comic book group when the points just don’t add up well together. Thankfully, Fast Forces packs like this one give you more alternates that are often specifically designed to work together. That’s very apparent with the All-New X-Men, as each figure is exactly 50 points! That’s right, grab all six figures and you’ve got a ready-made 300 point team. 50 point figures are also very handy for filling out larger teams, and they work exceeding well with figures from the main Uncanny X-Men set which features a lot of X-Men at 50, 75, and 100 points. In fact, the main set versions of these very characters are all 75 or 100 points. All six of the figures in this pack have the All-New X-Men keyword while the original five also have Past. Beast gets the additional Scientist keyword while X-23 adds Circle of Four, Weapon X, X-Force, and X-Men.
Taking a look at the dials, you’ll see that in addition to their point value all of these figures share the X-Men team ability. Also, the five original X-Men also share the “Time Locked” trait that prevents enemies from using Probability Control when the X-Men are attacking or being attacked (their main set versions have this trait as well). Cyclops is a strong ranged attacker and leader with a 7 range and a full dial of Force Blast plus some Energy Shield/Deflection, Willpower, and Leadership. The first half of his dial gives him Force Blast through a special power that lets him use it as a free action when he has no tokens, AND he can choose the direction of the knock back! With this special Cyclops can Force Blast an adjacent enemy right into the claws of X-23 and still shoot too. Meanwhile, Jean and Angel are fantastic support players here that excel in getting their friends where they need to be. Warren has Flight, a huge speed, and a full dial of Sidestep which is perfect for a taxi, and he’s protected by a bit of Energy Shield/Deflection. His second trait, “Swooping In,” even lets Angel or an All-New X-Men ally he’s carried make an attack after he moves at half speed! Jean is all about Telekinesis with access to it her whole dial and able to use it for free when she has no tokens via a starting special power. She also starts with Willpower to keep up the TK, and then switches to Super Senses.
Beast is the up close and personal of the original five X-Men, and this dial lets him do just that with a full run of Leap/Climb for positioning and Combat Reflexes for avoiding hits. He also has starting Perplex and late-dial Close Combat Expert for sticking his hits and dealing damage. Iceman is a versatile attacker and battlefield manipulator with a 6 range and two targets, a long run of Sidestep, starting Energy Explosion and Toughness, and late-dial Precision Strike and Barrier. And then there’s X-23, a character known for her ferocity and skill at slicing and dicing her opponents. At 50 points she may not have her whole bag of tricks, but there’s a lot packed in here. First off, she has Improved Movement that ignores hindering terrain, which is reminiscent of her X-Force days. Then X-23’s trait applies the included Slash ClixFX Base marker to an enemy she hits with a close attack; that poor victim takes one penetrating damage when given an action token, and removes the marker when healed or cleared. Her dial starts with Charge, Blades/Claws/Fangs, and Toughness that on the second click switches to Combat Reflexes. Then on click #4 she trades all of those powers for Stealth, Regeneration, and Exploit Weakness.
We touched briefly on the ClixFX Base marker that comes with X-23 above, but let’s dive into that new feature of the game a bit more with a look at the ClixFX Bases pack from WizKids. In a nutshell, these bases are designed to give a cool, visual representation of ongoing effects on your battlefield. The Bases pack brings you 11 assorted markers while some figures in the Uncanny X-Men set (and X-23 in the All-New X-Men Fast Forces) comes with their own. Other than some color differences there isn’t anything that yet makes the ClixFX Bases unique, so you can use whichever you like to represent special terrain, effects, etc. Each ClixFX marker has a disk at the bottom that’s slightly bigger than a modern “oreo” HeroClix base plus a sculpted vertical surface.
The Bases pack, which is currently available in stores, has the following markers: three Smoke, two Ice/Wall, and one each of Energy (with “Kirby Krackle!”), Slash (same as X-23 has), Web, Fire, Wind, and Water. They feature nice sculpted details and different colors, and they’re just fun little accessories to make your games more visually interesting and easier to keep track of various gameplay effects.
2016 is definitely shaping up to an amazing year for WizKids Games and HeroClix, and excitement is high for the Uncanny X-Men set and everything else happening this month and next. You’ll be able to get your hands on the All-New X-Men Fast Forces pack in just a couple weeks when it’s released alongside the main Uncanny X-Men booster set on May 4th. Meanwhile, you can pick up the ClixFX Bases pack right now to spice up your games!
Visit HeroClix.com for even more info as well as downloads of rules and maps and a Store Locator, and check Figures.com regularly as we continue our reviews of new HeroClix!
Review and photos by Scott Rubin
Review sample courtesy of WizKids Games
For hobby miniatures and all your gaming needs, including WizKids HeroClix, visit MiniatureMarket.com!
