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 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.

M+M E004 CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

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.

M+M E003 UNLIMITED CLASS WRESTLING

Another nonstop dial, Unlimited Classs Wrestling, more than most, radically alters the usual HeroClix game with numerous extraordinary conditions.

Yeah, it's clobberin' time, all right.

WHAT TO BRING: a few extra Special tokens.

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THE SETUP: Before objects are placed on the map, place four SPECIAL markers on the map so that they mark the outside corners of a 6-square by 6-square area containing as much clear terrain as possible as close to the center of the map as possible; this area is the Ring. Objects can’t be placed in the Ring.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is the main field of battle. Fighting can still go on outside the Ring, though, so don’t get complacent. Immobile objects might be good to play.

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MORE SETUP: Each player chooses one friendly character and places it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring; this character is his or her wrestler. A wrestler can’t leave the Ring, and treats the edges of the Ring as if they are walls that can’t be destroyed. When a player’s wrestler is knocked out or eliminated, that player must choose a friendly character outside the Ring and place it in an unoccupied corner inside the Ring as his or her new wrestler. If a character is carrying an object when it becomes a wrestler, it drops the object in the nearest unoccupied square before being placed in the Ring.

WHAT IT MEANS: Try using Wrestlers with high natural damage value as opposed to reliance on Super Strength. No objects can be placed or brought in the ring except by special means.

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STILL MORE SETUP: No ranged attacks can be made by any character.

WHAT IT MEANS: Snipers should not be included on your team…you’ll only be wasting points! One exception/loophole: The Laser Turret special object is not a character, so it may still make ranged attacks!

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TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each turn, turn the dial once or a number of times equal to the number of wrestlers knocked out or eliminated during the turn, whichever is more.

WHAT IT MEANS: This dial moves quickly if you have a lot of players or a lot of short-lived Wrestlers, so stay on your toes, especially if you’re trying to dodge the FAIR FIGHT and DISQUALIFIED! conditions.

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FAIR FIGHT (cyan, slots 1-5, 10-12): If any character that isn’t a wrestler is given an action that would affect a wrestler, affect any square inside the Ring, or move the character into or through any square of the Ring, give the character an extra action token after the action resolves.

WHAT IT MEANS: This effect will be in play most of the time. Get around it by fielding non-Wrestler figs with some ability to avoid pushing damage in conjunction with Perplex, Telekinesis or Outwit. This way, a non-Wrestler can help his teammate in the Ring without penalty. Even better: use a non-Wrestler with Contingency Plan. It’s not an action, so the FAIR FIGHT condition won’t hurt, and your team is unlikely to use all its action allotment. There may also be some Special Powers that might get around this condition.

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POWER BROKER (red, slots 4-11): A wrestler can use Exploit Weakness and Flurry if it does not already possess either or both of those powers. After the resolution of an action in which an wrestler uses a power from this effect, deal the wrestler 1 unavoidable damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: This phase can cause a lot of damage, either via unavoidable clicks from its bonuses or penetrating damage from the enemy. Pick a Wrestler with a pushable dial who stays strong well into the dial. Also consider Fortitude on your Wrestler because POWER BROKER grants Exploit Weakness. Otherwise, don’t rely on damage reducers above high defense values on your Wrestler.

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DISQUALIFIED! (black, slots 3-5, 10-11): At the beginning of each player’s turn, he or she rolls a d6 for each character in the Ring who is not a wrestler and has two or more action tokens. On a result of 1 or 2, the character is immediately knocked out.

WHAT IT MEANS: Eventually, non-Wrestlers CAN enter the Ring to (illegally) aid the Wrestler. But it’s really risky. So try using a non-Wrestler with Hypersonic Speed or the Move and Attack ability. When someone can rush into the ring and get out in the same turn, there’s almost no risk of the instant KO condition of DISQUALIFIED!

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SUMMING IT UP: While UCW is another dial that really rewards a prepared build, it’s one that tends to nerf most figures equally rather than targeting one group specifically. And anything that stacks the deck a bit more in close combat’s favor is a good thing in my book!

Next, we’ll look at a much simpler dial. (Cosmic power tends to make problems go away.)

E002 EVOLUTIONARY WAR

I actually much prefer this image to the one actually used on the dial's card. More "MU-WHA-HA-HA" = much more awesomeness

WHAT TO BRING: A current Powers and Abilities Chart (PAC) is mandatory for the GENESIS CHAMBER effect later in the dial.

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TURN THE DIAL: At the end of each round.

WHAT IT MEANS: Straightforward. Note, though, that this dial is nonstop; that is, it doesn’t have a red line to signify  an endpoint. So it can continue until the last KO or time is called.

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PURIFIERS (black, slots A-E): At the beginning of each round, each player can declare a special or standard power. All declared powers are ignored until the end of the round.

WHAT IT MEANS: You want to be careful of fielding powers that are key to your early strategy, especially those shared by multiple characters. PURIFIERS will enable opponents to nix them entirely. And note that the powers are ignored, not countered. This means that even team abilities that grant use of certain powers aren’t immune; if a player chooses Stealth, then Batman Allies are suddenly left exposed. It also means you’ll want to pay attention to pure stats over powers when team building. Note, however, that Traits are immune to this effect.

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RESTORATION (cyan, slots D-G): At the beginning of each round, remove all debris tokens from the map. All destroyed walls are no longer destroyed. All clear, grounded, outdoor terrain is hindering terrain. Each player can choose a friendly character that occupies an opponent’s starting area and heal it of 2 damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: Suddenly, there’ll be a lot of hindering terrain for Stealthy characters (assuming they survived the early game and the brief overlap with PURIFIERS isn’t still nerfing them) to hide in and fliers, Phase/Teleporters and Leap/Climbers to move freely over and through. High-speed characters might be a boon for this segment of the game for getting the free healing in enemy starting zones.

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GENESIS CHAMBER (red, slots H-L): Once at the beginning of each player’s turn, each player can choose a target friendly character and declare a combat value (other than range); if the target possesses a standard power of the chosen value, ignore that power until the end of the turn. Then each player who chose a target rolls a d6. On a result of 1-3, the target can use the standard power on that combat value on the PAC that occurs immediately before the ignored power, until the end of the turn. On a result of 4-6, the target can use the standard power of that combat value that occurs immediately after the ignored power, until the end of the turn. (The first standard power of a particular combat value on the PAC is considered to be immediately after the last standard power of that combat value.) At the end of the turn, deal the target 1 unavoidable damage.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is an entirely optional effect that you should be very careful about using! Basically, you get to swap a power on your dial for one before or after it on the Powers & Abilities Chart (PAC). But it’s 50/50 which you’ll get, and the character takes a click either way, so don’t give up a sweet click for this effect. Moreover, you can do this at the start of both YOUR and an OPPONENT’S turn.  Here’s a guide:

On YOUR turn:

Never use GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Phasing/Teleport
Charge
Mind Control
Hypersonic Speed

These will stick you with useless (for offense) or far-inferior (for the circumstances) powers.

Always consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Earthbound
Stealth

In this circumstance, the powers you gain will be much more useful. Make sure it’s a click you can afford to lose, though!

Maybe consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Plasticity
Force Blast
Incapacitate
Smoke Cloud
Poison
Mastermind
Exploit Weakness
Perplex
Leadership

You might get a better power or at least one of equal worth. Again, beware of the self-damage you’ll take regardless.

On ANOTHER’S turn:

Never use GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Phasing/Teleport
Charge
Plasticity
Force Blast
Hypersonic Speed
Stealth
Running Shot
any Attack power
Toughness
Mastermind
Impervious
Invulnerability
Battle Fury
Exploit Weakness
Perplex
Outwit
Leadership

Either the new power is useless on defense or simply not worth the click you’ll be sacrificing.

Maybe consider using GENESIS CHAMBER on:

Earthbound (but ONLY to take the click and get OFF Earthbound at the end of the turn without taking a token)
Super Senses
Defend
Barrier
Willpower
Regeneration
Enhancement

…You might gain a power that could help avoid or reduce big damage. Check out the PAC carefully in relation to your current circumstances. (For example, choosing Barrier will land you either Energy Shield/Deflection or Mastermind, so checking if you have any potential fodder adjacent or are in danger of being shot is key before making the swap.)

Any power not listed here is probably not a good risk to use this effect on. And note that you absolutely can’t use it on Special Powers.

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SUMMING IT UP: Evolutionary War is a simple, straightforward event dial…mostly. But the last condition, GENESIS CHAMBER, is so byzantine to figure out in mid-game that players may opt to ignore this optional element completely. This is a phenomenon that afflicts many event dials, as further installments of this series will demonstrate.