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The series resumes, with new installments coming fast and furious over the next two weeks. Read the introduction to the series here and catch up on previous entries here.

E005 DIAL “H” FOR HERO

WHAT TO BRING: a few slips of paper or some tokens to keep track of powersets.
THE SETUP: Before the first player’s first turn, roll 2d6 and turn the dial a number of times equal to the result.
WHAT IT MEANS: There’s no way to know what powerset you’ll dial up at first. So don’t try to plan for it.
—
MORE SETUP: Once during a player’s turn, that player can choose one of his or her characters and an event currently showing on the dial. As long as the event is showing on the dial, all of the chosen character’s powers and combat values are ignored, and it is considered to possess the ability symbols and combat values and can use the standard powers indicated by the event. If damage is dealt to the character or the character is healed while it is using the powers and abilities provided by the event, the character’s dial is turned appropriately. All of the character’s ignored powers and values return immediately when the event no longer shows on the dial.
WHAT IT MEANS: Even your bystanders and other low-level pieces can become super-powered heroes, so it’s worth fielding some with powerless dials, since their natural powers and stats are ignored anyway until the power effect wears off. I recommend some of the oldest HeroClix pieces, ones with few powers but long dials.
Also note that you can add 1 additional “‘H’ for Hero” character each turn if you like, and there’s no rule against multiple characters choosing the same powerset (though there probably should be. Decide among your play group). Finally, each character still gets to keep its natural team ability.
—
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, roll 2d6. On a result of 2-5, turn the dial a number equal to the result.
WHAT IT MEANS: Low rolls means potential loss of the dialed hero. But since this is a nonstop dial, you may see your favorite powerset come around again.
—
This section functions as a mini-review of the Dialed Heroes.

COMETEER (red, slots a-d)

Wing            12 Force Blast
Fist            9 Quake
Defense            17 Combat Reflexes
Damage            2
Range            6 x 1

WHAT IT MEANS: Despite having range and knockback-generating powers, Cometeer is best in close with an effective 19 DV in melee. A good pick if you’re getting swarmed.

—

PLASTIC MAN (orange, slots b-e)

Boot            8 Plasticity
AV            10
DV            17 Super Senses
Dmg            2 Shape Change
Range            0

WHAT IT MEANS: Turns you into tie-up extraordinaire. Good Attack Value, too. Another good choice if already based, especially if you’ve got other shooters on the team.

—

CASTOR AND POLLUX (yellow, slots d-g)

Boot            8 Charge
Duo            10 Incapacitate
DV            16 Super Senses
Damage            3
Range             0

WHAT IT MEANS: The lone Duo character among the Dialed, Castor & Pollux are a strong offensive melee character. Charge, Duo Attack and Incap give them a lot of ways to deal hurt. Too bad their defense is a bit soft.

—

TOMMY TOMORROW (lime, slots c-f)

Wing            8 Running Shot
AV            10 Energy Explosion
DV            16 Energy Shield/Deflection
Dmg            1
Range            6 x 1

WHAT IT MEANS: Tommy is all-range, all the time. Don’t let him get into a boxing match. At least as a flier he can move about fairly freely and get an effective 19 DV in hindering terrain.

—

CHILLER (green, slots a-b, k-l)

Boot            8 Running Shot
AV            9 Incapacitate
DV            16 Barrier
Dmg            2
Range             6 x 1

WHAT IT MEANS: Another range specialist but not as good as Tommy. Chiller IS good for two-turns-in-a-row Barrier, at least.

—

THE MOTH (cyan, slots e-h)

Wing            9 Stealth
AV            10
DV            16 Energy Shield/Deflection
Dmg            1 Ranged Combat Expert
Range             0

WHAT IT MEANS: Moth is a mess. Stealth — assuming you’re using it right — makes Energy Shield/Deflection largely useless. Zero range value makes Ranged Combat Expert entirely useless. Avoid completely unless you’re running two or more Perplexers (or Contingency Plan) to give him a surprise shooting ability.

—

RAGNAROK, THE COSMIC VIKING (blue, slots f-i)

Boot            8 Charge
AV            10 Blades/Claws/Fangs
DV             18 Toughness
Giant            2 Battle Fury

WHAT IT MEANS: A bit soft-skinned for a towering giant, but you could do worse than this fellow with staggering damage potential.

—

FUTURA (purple, slots g-j)

Wing            11 Hypersonic Speed
AV            9 Telekinesis
DV            18 Super Senses
Dmg            2 Probability Control
Range             8 x 1

WHAT IT MEANS: Futura is so incredibly versatile that when you see purple on the dial, you should just automatically pick it if you can.

—

FERRONAUT (brown, slots h-k)

Boot           9 Leap/Climb
AV             10 Super Strength
DV            16 Invulnerability
Dmg             3

WHAT IT MEANS: The toughest of all the Dialed Heroes, Ferronaut can can get  up in a face and smash it.

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CADUCEUS THE HEALER (black, slots i-l)

Wing            7 Phasing/Teleport
AV            10 Pulse Wave
DV            18 Defend
Dmg            1 Support
Range            8 x 1

WHAT IT MEANS: Lookit all that YELLOW! This is the ultimate support dial — able to boost defense, heal or taxi away friends with ease. Ignore the 1 damage Pulse Wave unless you know you can hit a target on its later clicks.

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POWERHOUSE (grey, slots j-l, a)

Boot            8 Charge
AV            9 Super Strength
DV            16 Toughness
Dmg            2 Close Combat Expert
Range            0

WHAT IT MEANS: Powerhouse is an OK melee choice.

—

TIDAL WAVE (white, slots a-c, l)

Swim            9 Phasing/Teleport
AV            9 Incapacitate
DV            17 Barrier
Dmg            2 Shape Change
Range            4 x 1

WHAT IT MEANS: Not bad but not great.

—

SUMMING IT UP: “Dial ‘H’ for Hero” is a fun event dial that can actually be played at random with relative ease.
Next stop: the far future. Be here Monday!

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…and the number one figure of Hammer of Thor is the one who wields said hammer:
Thor
wing symbol
226 points
Team: none
Keywords: Asgardian, Avengers, Deity, Warrior
Range: 10 x 2
DIAL: http://wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/gallery/
STRENGTHS: Running Shot + 10 range, 2 targets and 5 damage. Indomitable means he doesn’t have to stop shooting just ’cause he has one token. Any questions?
Well, there’s also his opening 12 AV and 18 DV and uncounterable Super Strength trait (which means whoever bases him, trying to stop him from blasting will take even more damage from the heavy object he’ll be toting). He’s loaded with Invulnerability. He can deal 4+ damage on every click and has some form of move-attack for his first 2/3 of life. Ending with an AV/damage surge with Exploit Weakness is just horrible news for anyone basing him.
WEAKNESSES: Lack of Impervious is a bit unusual at his price point, and his dial is slender for the cost.
CARDS TO CONSIDER: FORTITUDE forces foes to dig through all those Invulnerability clicks. PROTECTED is the bargain alternative and is always good for Indomitable characters. Because he’s usually going to be fighting at extreme range, try CONTINGENCY PLAN to give his teammates and Minions timely stat boosts.
IN SUM: This is the Thor fans have waited for…one that lays down the hammer without being a low-defense damage magnet. Top piece of the set.
Now that the top 10 list is done, be here next week for those Honorable Mentions that just missed (or, in some opinions, should have made) the list!

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Read the introduction to the series here.

E004 52

Based on DC's year-long weekly series (thus the moniker "52"). I wasn't a fan.

TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, roll 2d6; turn the dial if the result is 9-12, and at the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Unlike the series that inspired it, this dial can move pretty fast, so don’t get too used to any one condition.
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A YEAR WITHOUT… (blue, slots A-D): At the beginning of each round, each player can choose a team ability. All chosen abilities are ignored until the end of the round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Avoid a team ability that is key to your strategy. Your opponents get to turn it off for the first few rounds of the match.
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ON THE TRAIL (Brown, slots B-F): Once during your turn for the duration of an action, one of your characters can ignore the effects of hindering terrain on movement, combat, powers and feats.
WHAT IT MEANS: Avoid Stealth. ON THE TRAIL allows an enemy to ignore hindering terrain’s effects not just on himself, but period. In conjunction with the next condition, cheap tie-up could really benefit from this to get next to enemy pieces.
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THE EVERYMAN PROJECT (orange, slots C-E): A character that has a point value of 100 or less that is using no other powers can use one of the following powers for the duration of an action: Blades/Claws/Fangs, Charge, Energy Explosion, Mind Control, Phasing/Teleport, Psychic Blast, Quake, Running Shot, Steal Energy, Telekinesis, or Willpower.
WHAT IT MEANS: Field cheap tie-up pieces. This effect will turn these stallers into dangerous attackers.
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RAIN OF THE SUPERMEN (black, slots F): All powers are countered.
WHAT IT MEANS: When damage reducers suddenly vanish, shots will be taken. Try to field high defense numbers over the powers in preparation for this.
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NEW QUESTIONS AND DEALS WITH THE DEVIL (gray, slots G-K): When a character is knocked out but before it is removed from the game, remove an action token from all friendly characters 3 or fewer squares from the characters that have one action token.
WHAT IT MEANS: Clustering your team a bit might be worth it to gain this slight second wind.
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WORLD WAR III (red, slots I-J): When making an attack roll, roll 3d6 and choose two of them to be the result of the roll. Damage dealt by critical hits is penetrating damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Three dice increases the chance of hits. This is also the dial-ending effect.
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SUMMING IT UP: This dial can mess you up at first if you like team abilities too much, but overall it’s not too hairy.
Next go-round we’ll ring up some more fun with the Dial “H” For Hero dial!

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Read the introduction to the series here.

E003 INFINITE CRISIS

Based on the 2006-2007 miniseries of the same name.

WHAT TO BRING: four extra SPECIAL markers.
THE SETUP: Before the beginning of the game, put four SPECIAL markers in squares of clear terrain as close to the center of the battlefield as possible. These four markers are the Machine; they are considered to be blocking terrain, but can’t be destroyed.
WHAT IT MEANS: You’ll see.
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TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Nothing special. :)
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BROTHER EYE IS WATCHING (Black, slots A-D): Once during a player’s turn, one of his or her characters can use Outwit if they cannot already use it.
WHAT IT MEANS: Unlike some event dials (I’m thinking of YOU, SECRET INVASION: ILLUMINATI), someone will actually get to use Outwit.
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ALEX LUTHOR’S MACHINE (yellow, slots B-E): All characters gain the Capture ability, but all characters modify their defenses values by +1 when they are the target of a capture attempt. Standard rules for releasing captives are ignored. Captives can be released only into unoccupied squares adjacent to the Machine; released captives are bound to the Machine: They can’t be given actions, are not considered friendly or opposing to any player, and cannot be targeted or damaged by any effect. If the game ends while this event is in effect, bound characters are considered to be eliminated and belong to their owner’s force.
WHAT IT MEANS: You should avoid One Man Armies and tentpoled builds; a successful Capture could get you a loss in short order.
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DESTRUCTION OF BLUDHAVEN (Lime, slots E-I): All elevated terrain is hindering terrain. If any character occupies hindering terrain at the end of its controller’s turn, deal that character 1 damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Stealth is a double-edged sword, since hindering is dangerous under this effect. Make sure any character in hindering has damage reducers. Also note that this effect is in force for the rest of the game.
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SMALLVILLE THROWDOWN (Green, slots C-E): When the result of any successful attack roll is doubles (other than two 6s), deal 1 additional damage. Critical hits deal 1 additional unavoidable damage.
WHAT IT MEANS: Doubles rule. No way to prepare for this. Just roll with it. (Get it? “Roll” with it?)
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PROGRAM: EARTH SPAWN (Blue, slots E-I): Once during your turn, one of your characters can use one of the following powers: Barrier, Outwit, Poison, Probability Control, or Support.
WHAT IT MEANS: No way to plan or build for this, either. In fact, it’s liable to screw up any number of plans for the rest of the game!
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DESTRUCTION OF THE MACHINE (orange, slot F): At the beginning of the round, all bound characters are immediately no longer bound and are immediately controlled by its owner and friendly to his or her force. Beginning with the second player’s characters, any characters that were bound to the Machine can immediately be given any action as a free action by their controller. After all formerly bound characters have been given an action (if any), remove the SPECIAL tokens of the Machine from the game and replace them with debris markers. The round then begins normally with the first player.
WHAT IT MEANS: Second wind! You may want to avoid building a big themed team so that you’re more likely to be the 2nd player and get the first free action here. But it’s only an issue if you get your character Captured.
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BATTLE OF METROPOLIS (Red, slot I): All characters can use Willpower. When the result of any successful attack roll is doubles, after the attack is resolved, deal 1 damage to any opposing character.
WHAT IT MEANS: Stealth and high defense values won’t necessarily save a character. Doubles will deal it damage regardless of where it is on the map. This is also the end of the dial, so you’ll be dealing with this condition until game’s end.
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SUMMING IT UP: Fairly straightforward dial. Just make SURE not to be too tentpole-heavy, lest it get Captured and force you to an early loss.
The next dial has the shortest name yet in HeroClix. Look for that entry late this week.

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Read the introduction to the series here.

E002 IDENTITY CRISIS

Based on the depressing 2005 miniseries that broke up the happiest couple in comics. Figures it's one of the harder event dials to build for.

This event dial is one of the reasons this series was written, as it cannot be played with certain teams.
THE SETUP: All characters are Unique.
WHAT IT MEANS: The “highlander” rule is in FULL effect. Leave the generic swarms at home.
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MORE SETUP: Before the beginning of the game, each player must choose one of his or her characters and secretly write the character’s name on a piece of paper.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is the Culprit, and this is why you can’t run multiples: it wouldn’t do to cheat and claim the Secret Invasion Spider-Man that got KO’d just happened not to be the one who’d make you lose on points. :)
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TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Straightforward progression.
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WIN CONDITIONS: THE CULPRIT REVEALED: When victory points are being totaled, all players must reveal the name of the character they wrote down. If that character survived the battle, its player receives additional victory points based on the character’s point value.
1-49 = 100 victory points
50-99 =  75 victory points
100-149 = 50 victory points
150-199 =  25 victory points
200+ =  0 victory points
WHAT IT MEANS: Survival points make a comeback in HeroClix! Try fielding some mid-cost but survivable pieces to be the Culprit…or avoid the potential loss by making it the heavy.
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MURDER! (Red, slot B): At the beginning of the round, each player (starting with the first player) chooses an opposing character. Deal the chosen character 2 penetrating damage. A character can be chosen and damaged by this effect only once.
WHAT IT MEANS: You’d better not field a character who’s too top-loaded with a power or powers you depend upon. By round 2, kiss those clicks bye-bye. (You may want to decoy opponents into hitting a character who gets BETTER on click three.)
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VOTE TO MINDWIPE (Black, slots C-G): At the beginning of the round, each player receives a number of votes to the number of characters he or she currently has in the game and must vote for only one of the following options: 1) All team abilities are ignored; 2) all feats are ignored; or 3) all characters gain Earthbound. The option that receives the most votes is in effect until the end of the round. If multiple options have the most votes, all options with that number of votes are in effect.
WHAT IT MEANS: Having those cheap pieces on the board could pay off here. Just be careful not to mess yourself up; it wouldn’t do to expose your Batman Allies by voting for option 1. In fact, it may wise to not field such crucial TAs at all. Also note that this condition is present the rest of the game.
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ONE AGAINST THE JLA (orange, slots D-F): If a character is attacked more than once in a round, modify that character’s defense value by +1 for each time it has previously been attacked during the round (+1 for the second attack, +2 for the third attack, etc.).
WHAT IT MEANS: Tentpoles probably get the most benefit from this effect, but it’s fine for anyone getting dogpiled.
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SUMMING IT UP: This dial is one you absolutely have to plan a little for in advance, since you can’t run your cheeseburger multiple OOTS Batman squad. And as said above, running team abilities like Batman Ally might not be a good idea.
(In fact, maybe you just shouldn’t run Batman at all.)  :)
You also have to be a little strategic in protecting your Culprit as well. You don’t want to telegraph its identity by playing too conservatively, but you don’t want to give up extra points either. What to do? WHAT TO DO?!?
Well, one thing to do is to watch this space this weekend for the next Crisis…an INFINITE Crisis. Between now and then, look for the 2nd part of a series of Agents of Atlas battle reports!

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Read the introduction to the series here.

E001 THE JUDAS CONTRACT

Based on the classic Teen Titans tale in which Terra (the blonde with the glowy hands) breaks Changeling's heart (he's the green kid). Poor guy's been unlucky in love ever since...and this was, like, 1984 or something.

And now we begin looking at the DC Event Dials, starting with those pulled as the non-figure element in the Crisis set.
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: This short dial will be done before you know it.
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SUSPICIOUS ALLY (Brown, slots A-C): At the beginning of your turn, choose a friendly character. The character is a wild card until the end of the turn. The character can use any other team ability it possesses, if any, but can use only one team ability this turn.
WHAT IT MEANS: Build in some offense-oriented team abilities on your team: Superman Ally, Avengers, Titans (natch) for your Suspicious Ally to copy.
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AMBUSH! (Red, slots C-D): When an attack roll is made, if the attack is unsuccessful but the result of the attack roll is doubles, give an action token to the target if it has zero or one action token.
WHAT IT MEANS: Willpower, Indomitable or Power Cosmic/Quintessence will defend against this condition, but it’s not going to break you if you don’t plan for this.
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BETRAYAL (Black, slots D-F): At the beginning of your turn, choose an opposing character. You can immediately give that character an action as a free action. For the duration of the action, the character is considered friendly to your force and opposing to your opponent’s force, and any of the character’s canceled powers return for the duration of the action. You can’t attack that character this turn.
WHAT IT MEANS: Whatever game plan you started with? It goes pear-shaped here when your opponent gets the effect of free Mind Control for an action. Keep your eyes open for unexpected openings.
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TITANS TOGETHER! (Green, slots F-G): At the beginning of your turn, roll a d6 for each friendly character that has one or two action tokens. On a result of 5 or 6, remove all tokens from the character. The character can be given action tokens this turn.
WHAT IT MEANS: A chance to press or recover whatever advantage was gained or lost during BETRAYAL.  This effect will be in force at the endgame once the dial stops turning.
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SUMMING IT UP: This E-Dial is pretty low-key. It will reward a wildcard abuse team (minus the wildcards) and characters who ignore pushing damage, but beyond that it won’t punish the average team build.
Next time we’ll look at another dial that inspired this event dial series: Identity Crisis.

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E100 PLANET HULK

It's more than just a trophy for winning the Mutations & Monsters tournaments back in Fall '07.

Read the introduction to the series here.


WHAT TO BRING: see “The Setup.”

THE SETUP: When building their forces, each player can also choose characters with a combined point value of up to 200 points per 300 points of the game’s build total; no character chosen this way can have a point value more than 40 points. These characters are reinforcements. They remain outside the game until called upon by the Rebellion effect.
WHAT IT MEANS: This event dial absolutely must be built for in advance. It’s one of the reasons I wrote this series of articles!
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TURN THE DIAL: Immediately after the resolution of a critical hit, and at the end of any turn in which a character takes 4 or more damage as a result of a single action, and at the end of each round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Despite the length of this dial, it will move fairly quickly.
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EXILE (Black, slots A-F): When a character is 4 or more squares from all other friendly characters, modify its defense value by +1.
WHAT IT MEANS: Field advance tie-up pieces to base enemy snipers and prevent them from attacking your team, or use the bonus to be aggressive with your main attacker(s) if that’s your style of play. Consider taking extra advantage of this effect by combining it with the LONER feat if you’re not running a keyword theme. Keep in mind that the Rule of Three will come into play and possibly nullify the defense bonus if an affected character has, say, Combat Reflexes or Energy Shield/Deflection. You’ll want to avoid running characters with powers or Team Abilities that require adjacency such as Mastermind or Justice Society if you want to use this effect.
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OBEDIENCE DISK (Cyan, slots B-F): All characters’ Willpower are ignored. When a character uses a special power, give it an additional action token after the action resolved (the extra token deals pushing damage normally).
WHAT IT MEANS: Absolutely avoid using Special Powers like the plague…unless the character has the Indomitable ability, Power Cosmic/Quintessence, or some other means of avoiding pushing damage other than Willpower. Even in these cases, this effect prevents you from getting the usual extra round of actions, so it may be better to forget about using SPs entirely. Strongly consider going with some old-school non-SP’d pieces in this game!
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GLADIATOR (Red, slots C-J ): Any character that can’t use or doesn’t possess Blades/Claws/Fangs can be given a power action to use Blades/Claws/Fangs as a free action, but the maximum result of the roll to replace its damage value with this effect is 4. If damage dealt to or taken by a character is not otherwise reduced, roll a d6 when the character takes damage. On a result of 4-6, reduce the damage dealt by 2.
WHAT IT MEANS: A character with high attack value but low damage potential would be good for this.
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ANARCHY (orange, slots I-O): When making an attack roll, roll 3d6 and choose two dice to be the result of the roll.
WHAT IT MEANS: More attacks will succeed during this phase, so if you’ve been biding your time, this is the moment to strike! If you’re running a themed team, you may want to use your bonus Probability Control rolls now, especially given the next condition coming up immediately…
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REBELLION (yellow, slots J-X): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player must choose a character from his or her Reinforcements and put it into his or her starting area. Once the character enters the game, it is considered part of the player’s force.
WHAT IT MEANS: Those extra 200 points of characters begin to enter the game and will remain until the end. If you’re running a themed team, your new Reinforcements have to match the keyword or they will break the theme when they enter and cause you to lose any unused bonus Probability Control rolls, so either A) build some or all of them into the theme or B) use up the PC rolls before adding the keyword-unfriendly pieces to the match. Also, build them to make an impact to the game. (I recommend Perplexers.)
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ALLEGIANCE (Blue, slots K-S): The first time (only) Allegiance shows in the slot, each player must choose a character to be the Leader of his or her force. Friendly characters adjacent to their Leader modify their defense values by +2. If the Leader of a force does not have an action token at the beginning of its controller’s turn, it must be given an action that turn.
WHAT IT MEANS: Because you gain a defense boost for adjacent allies, it might be prudent to build in a highly mobile Reinforcement piece to enter the game first to act as Leader. That way, it can immediately back up (and, perhaps, taxi out of harm’s way) wounded primary pieces.
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POSSESSED BY THE SPIKES (Green, slots N-T): Once during each player’s turn, one of his or her characters can be given a power action to use Mind Control as if its range value were 6.
WHAT IT MEANS: Pretty straightforward. No way to build for this; it adds an element of randomness to the late-game action.
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CHEMMING (Gray, slots T-X): When one of your characters has resolved an action, you can give the action token for the action to any friendly character that has zero action tokens and that is 8 or fewer squares away from your character and to which your character has a clear line of fire.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is Warbound-plus! The Indomitable (or Power Cosmic/Quintessence) character(s) you fielded for the OBEDIENCE DISK effect will pay off big here both as a giver or recipient of tokens. Willpower works, too, but you’re less able to plan for using it at this stage in the game. Also note that this is in force until the end of the game.
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ARMAGEDDON (Brown, slot X): At the beginning of each round, roll a d6. Deal all characters penetrating damage equal to half the result.
WHAT IT MEANS: Because this is a red-lined event dial, there’s no escaping this deadly effect. Regeneration might be helpful, but really, the best bet is to try to get as many KO points as you can before ARMAGEDDON does everyone in.
—
SUMMING IT UP: This long event dial is a blast. Aside from the Reinforcements effect, it’s not too unfriendly to most any team build you can cobble together. You just have to make sure you have enough cheap pieces in your collection to act as Reinforcements.
Since we’re going in chronological order, the next installment will begin reviewing the first DC dials from the CRISIS set. Look for it soon!

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E006 TIME BOMB

THE SETUP: Up to four time bombs can be played in this game. Beginning with the second player and continuing around the table, each player places one time bomb event dial in any square of clear or hindering terrain that is also 4 or more squares from all starting areas and other time bombs. If there is no square in which a time bomb can legally be placed, it can’t be played.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is the only dial so far that can be used in multiples, and, as such, is a tad more collectible than the rest.
—
MORE SETUP: A square occupied by a Time Bomb is considered to be hindering terrain. A Time Bomb can’t be moved or destroyed.
WHAT IT MEANS: You can’t do this. :)
It also means more squares for Stealthy figs to hide on! But note that occupying does not equal adjacency, so this character would not be able to defuse the Bomb (or, weirdly, even be affected by its detonation).
—
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, roll 2d6 and subtract from the result the number of other Time Bombs on the battlefield. Turn this Time Bomb if the result is 6 or more.
WHAT IT MEANS: The clock is ticking, but not at a predictable rate.
—
EXTRA WIN CONDITIONS: 30 additional victory points for each Time Bomb defused to the team whose character defused it.
WHAT IT MEANS: It’s another way to win. But since you may well spend many more points trying to defuse Time Bombs, it may not be worth it. You decide.
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CAN’T SMASH…WHICH WIRE TO CUT? (red, slots A-H): A character adjacent to this Time Bomb can be given a power action to make a close combat attack roll. If the attack roll is 14, this Time Bomb is defused and removed from the game. If the result is 11-13 or 15-17, turn back this Time Bomb once.
WHAT IT MEANS: You may want to field pieces with mediocre Attack Values. This is because, statistically, 7 is the median roll and you’re aiming for an exact result of 14. These characters should be cheap and devoted solely to your “bomb squad.” Also note that even most failing rolls will help keep the Bomb from reaching the next condition, DETONATION!
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DETONATION! (yellow, slots D-H): At the beginning of each players turn, that player rolls a d6. On a result of 1 or 2, this Time Bomb immediately makes an attack using Pulse Wave as if it had an attack of 10, a range of 8, and a damage value of 3. after the attack is resolved, remove this Time Bomb from the game.
WHAT IT MEANS: You’ll still want to field a defuser or two. Although the latest HeroClix rules prevent adjacent characters from making ranged attacks, the Time Bomb is not a character and would thus still be able to Pulse Wave. In this worst-case-scenario, having at least one defuser there would minimize the damage to other characters (or at least only sacrifice itself if the only piece in range).
—
SUMMING IT UP: Time Bomb is a simple, mostly unobtrusive event dial. More than any of the others, Time Bomb is like playing a Battlefield Condition.
That wraps up all the e-dials one could pull in Mutations and Monsters boosters. Next is the grandest one of all, the first Limited Edition dial: PLANET HULK! Be there!

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M+M E005 CIVIL WAR
Based on the 2007 Marvel Comics crossover, this dial is, in my opinion, just north of unplayable in the current game environment. Why? Read on…
THE SETUP: Before the beginning of the first turn, each player must declare his or her force to be either Pro-Registration or Anti-Registration.
WHAT IT MEANS: You get to choose to be either handicapped (Pro) or advantaged (Anti). This will become clear. Note that nothing here prevents both sides from picking the same affiliation.
TURN THE DIAL: Immediately when any character is captured, and at the end of a round in which any character was knocked out.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is a slow-moving dial for players with defensive styles.
STAMFORD EXPLOSION (yellow, slot 1): At the end of each player’s turn, that player chooses one of his or her characters adjacent to an opposing character and rolls a d6. On a result of 1, that character must immediately use Pulse Wave as a free action as if it had a range value of 12.
WHAT IT MEANS: This effect can [I]never happen[/I] in the current game environment since Pulse Wave, a ranged combat action, cannot be used in adjacency! Even when the dial was released, only flying characters (or boot speed characters IF based by a flyer) could still use Pulse Wave in adjacency.
REGISTRATION ACT (red, slots 2-10): All characters on Pro-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability, and they can also use the Capture ability, but they can’t release captives.
WHAT IT MEANS: Pro-Registration side pretty much gets the shaft. Any team abilities that served well in the early game are gone and replaced by the SHIELD ability, which is practically useless for this game unless you field characters with some sort of anti-Stealth Traits, feats or Special Powers. Being able to Capture without getting the points for it is also largely pointless thanks to the later BREAKOUT condition. The upside is that an aggressive Pro-Reg team may be able to win the game early with a combination of Captures and KOs. It’s a risk-reward ratio that may be worth considering, so field characters with Willpower/Indomitable and who can ignore terrain to best chase down the rebels. Plasticity could also yield dividends for Capture attempts.
REBELLION (blue, slots 2-10): All characters on Anti-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use Stealth, and move actions given to them don’t count toward their controller’s available actions for the turn.
WHAT IT MEANS: Essentially, they get the Batman and Avengers TAs, making the Pros’ SHIELD TA utterly useless. The free move also enables the Antis to outmaneuver the Pros. Anti-Regs will want to field fliers and auto-breakaway powers to help movement through hindering terrain. Ranged attackers are also important since being based risks Capture — and Phasing/Teleport or Plasticity are good guards against that, as well. One more tip: cheap sacrifice pieces, such as pogs, can speed up the slow-turning dial if key pieces do get Captured.
BREAKOUT! (orange, slot 10): All captives are immediately released.
WHAT IT MEANS: Any Pros who Captured early in the game will find themselves instantly tied up and the Anti-side will gain a hefty second wind. One more reason not to go Pro.
DETENTE (black, slot 10): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a 2d6. On a result of 10-12; the game ends immediately.
WHAT IT MEANS: The game may suddenly end at any time.
SUMMING IT UP: Civil War simply doesn’t work so well under the game’s current rules. The STAMFORD EXPLOSION will never go off unless the rules are changed. Players will never pick Pro-Registration if given an informed choice (unless they just like a challenge). And if the teams are small enough, the final slot may never be reached. Overall, although Civil War is fairly easy to pick up and play, it can be terrifically UN-fun for the sucker who picks Pro-Registration. But if both pick Anti-Registration, the spirit of the dial is lost.

At LONG last, I continue this series. (See the other parts here.)

M+M E005 CIVIL WAR

For the record: my head was with Iron Man. My heart, with Cap. And my middle fingers were up at Marvel for writing both JUST out of character enough to all but ruin the otherwise interesting premise.

For the record: my head was with Iron Man. My heart, with Cap. And my middle fingers were up at Marvel for writing both JUST out of character enough to mess up an interesting premise.

Based on the 2007 Marvel Comics crossover, this dial is, in my opinion, just north of unplayable in the current game environment. Why? Read on…

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THE SETUP: Before the beginning of the first turn, each player must declare his or her force to be either Pro-Registration or Anti-Registration.

WHAT IT MEANS: You get to choose to be either handicapped (Pro) or advantaged (Anti). This will become clear. Note that nothing here prevents both sides from picking the same affiliation.

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TURN THE DIAL: Immediately when any character is captured, and at the end of a round in which any character was knocked out.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is a slow-moving dial for players with defensive styles.

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STAMFORD EXPLOSION (yellow, slot A): At the end of each player’s turn, that player chooses one of his or her characters adjacent to an opposing character and rolls a d6. On a result of 1, that character must immediately use Pulse Wave as a free action as if it had a range value of 12.

WHAT IT MEANS: This effect can never ever happen in the current game environment since Pulse Wave, a ranged combat action, cannot be used in adjacency! Even when the dial was released, only flying characters (or boot speed characters IF based by a flyer) could still use Pulse Wave in adjacency.

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REGISTRATION ACT (red, slots B-J): All characters on Pro-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use the S.H.I.E.L.D. team ability, and they can also use the Capture ability, but they can’t release captives.

WHAT IT MEANS: Pro-Registration side pretty much gets the shaft. Any team abilities that served well in the early game are gone and replaced by the SHIELD ability, which is practically useless for this game unless you field characters with some sort of anti-Stealth Traits, feats or Special Powers. Being able to Capture without getting the points for it is also largely pointless thanks to the later BREAKOUT condition. The upside is that an aggressive Pro-Reg team may be able to win the game early with a combination of Captures and KOs. It’s a risk-reward ratio that may be worth considering, so field characters with Willpower/Indomitable and who can ignore terrain to best chase down the rebels. Plasticity could also yield dividends for Capture attempts.

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REBELLION (blue, slots B-J): All characters on Anti-Registration forces ignore any team ability they possess. They can use Stealth, and move actions given to them don’t count toward their controller’s available actions for the turn.

WHAT IT MEANS: Essentially, they get the Batman and Avengers TAs, making the Pros’ SHIELD TA utterly useless (except in conjunction with a Special Power or Trait to draw lines of fire despite Stealth). The free move also enables the Antis to outmaneuver the Pros. Anti-Regs will want to field fliers and auto-breakaway powers to help movement through hindering terrain. Ranged attackers are also important since being based risks Capture — and Phasing/Teleport or Plasticity are good guards against that, as well. One more tip: cheap sacrifice pieces, such as pogs, can speed up the slow-turning dial if key pieces do get Captured.

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BREAKOUT! (orange, slot J): All captives are immediately released.

WHAT IT MEANS: Any Pros who Captured early in the game will find themselves instantly tied up and the Anti-side will gain a hefty second wind. One more reason not to go Pro.

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DETENTE (black, slot J): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a 2d6. On a result of 10-12; the game ends immediately.

WHAT IT MEANS: The game may suddenly end at any time.

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SUMMING IT UP: Civil War simply doesn’t work so well under the game’s current rules. The STAMFORD EXPLOSION will never go off unless the rules are changed. Players will never pick Pro-Registration if given an informed choice (unless they just like a challenge). And if the teams are small enough, the final slot may never be reached. Overall, although Civil War is fairly easy to pick up and play, it can be terrifically UN-fun for the sucker who picks Pro-Registration. But if both pick Anti-Registration, the spirit of the dial is lost. Ultimately, like the storyline it’s based on, Civil War ends up being a self-contradictory mess.

EDIT (3/15/10): So at a friend’s suggestion, I played this event dial and picked Pro-Registration anyway as a challenge. Though the STAMFORD EXPLOSION condition was duly ignored (since neither of us were playing any Sharpshooter characters), a knockout came fairly early in the game to activate the REGISTRATION ACT and REBELLION effects. That’s when I learned the full power of even the nerfed Capture ability to instantly remove a heavy hitter from the board with a single hit. Because the Civil War dial is so long, a Pro-Registration can get a great deal of mileage from this ability. So this addendum to the article advises: Pro-Registrationers should field  Lunge-equipped Leap/Climb pieces with Combat Reflexes to act as captors. Anti-Registration forces should not tentpole.

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Next in the series, I’ll get off the soapbox and show you how to set Time Bombs…the harmless kind found in HeroClix, of course. See you then!

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M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE
Fast-moving, this E-dial is one of the simplest ones.
TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which any character was knocked out, and at the end of each round.
TOUCHED BY THE ENIGMA FORCE (cyan, slots 2-4, 6): Once during your turn when you make an attack roll, if the result of either of the two dice is a 1, you can reroll one die before determining the attack roll result. You must use the rerolled result.
WHAT IT MEANS: This first condition (which won’t be in effect until turn two), is nothing more than the Lucky Break feat, available once per turn. There’s no way to build for this, so don’t fret it.
UNI-FORCE (red, slots 5,7): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player rolls 2d6 and subtracts from the result the number of of his or her KO’d figures that have point values of more than 20 points. If the result is a 4 or less, that player chooses one target character on his or her force. Until the end of that turn, the target ignores its team ability and powers, has a range value of 10, and can use the Power Cosmic team ability and the following powers: Energy Explosion, Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Incapacitate, Outwit, Phasing/Teleport, Steal Energy, and Super Strength.
WHAT IT MEANS: This condition gives you a shot at turning one of your team into Captain Universe for a turn, your team build will make a difference one way or another. Field cheap sacrifice pieces over 20 points in cost (NOT less), because not only will they tie-up or bait the other force(s), if they’re KOed they improve your chance of rolling low enough to become Captain Universe. When you DO make the roll, give the Captain Universe powerset to a fig with good stats to make best use of them. Also consider one with some sort of Stealth and the Wing symbol. The former will keep it safe until the Uni-Force is active (and possibly protect it from an opposing Captain Universe) and the latter will give it the mobility to move and attack freely as CU. Don’t run a pivotal offensive team ability on your preferred Captain Universe candidate, though because the printed TA will be replaced with the uncopyable Power Cosmic ability until the end of the turn.
SUMMING IT UP: As stated in the outset, this dial is easy to pick up and play, regardless of your team build.

M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

I always found this cover to be rather hilarious.

I always found this cover to be rather hilarious.

Fast-moving, this E-dial is one of the simplest ones.

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TURN THE DIAL: At the end of any turn in which any character was knocked out, and at the end of each round.

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TOUCHED BY THE ENIGMA FORCE (cyan, slots B-D, F): Once during your turn when you make an attack roll, if the result of either of the two dice is a 1, you can reroll one die before determining the attack roll result. You must use the rerolled result.

WHAT IT MEANS: This first condition (which won’t be in effect until turn two), is nothing more than the Lucky Break feat, available once per turn. There’s no way to build for this, so don’t fret it.

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UNI-FORCE (red, slots E, G): At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player rolls 2d6 and subtracts from the result the number of of his or her KO’d figures that have point values of more than 20 points. If the result is a 4 or less, that player chooses one target character on his or her force. Until the end of that turn, the target ignores its team ability and powers, has a range value of 10, and can use the Power Cosmic team ability and the following powers: Energy Explosion, Force Blast, Hypersonic Speed, Incapacitate, Outwit, Phasing/Teleport, Steal Energy, and Super Strength.

WHAT IT MEANS: This condition gives you a shot at turning one of your team into Captain Universe for a turn. Your team build will make a difference one way or another. Field cheap sacrifice pieces over 20 points in cost (NOT less), because not only will they tie-up or bait the other force(s), if they’re KOed they improve your chance of rolling low enough to become Captain Universe. When you DO make the roll, give the Captain Universe powerset to a fig with good stats to make best use of them. Also consider one with some sort of Stealth and the Wing symbol. The former will keep it safe until the Uni-Force is active (and possibly protect it from an opposing Captain Universe) and the latter will give it the mobility to move and attack freely as Cap U. Don’t run a pivotal offensive team ability on your preferred Captain Universe candidate, though.  The printed TA will be replaced with the uncopyable Power Cosmic ability until the end of the turn.

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SUMMING IT UP: As stated in the outset, this dial is easy to pick up and play, regardless of your team build.

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Next, we’ll look at one that’s NOT pick-up-and-play. In fact, thanks to some rule changes since its debut, strictly speaking it’s not very playable at all…