HC's big announcement?!?

[Spriggan]

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=39991&frame=company

The Future Is Coming!

On July 7, at 4:00 PM PST (7:00 PM EST), WizKids will host a moderated chat to make several major announcements about the future of HeroClix. Every player will want to attend, and following the announcements there will be a question-and-answer session with James Szubski, HeroClix Brand Manager; Seth Johnson, HeroClix Game Designer; James Carrott, Director of Consumer Experience; and Jason Mical, WizKids’ Communications Manager.

This announcement will change the face of HeroClix, and is based on accumulated player feedback and suggestions as to how to make HeroClix better.

It is not HeroClix 2.0. In fact, it has very little to do with gameplay.

See you on the 7th!

I'm thinking it's one of two things

1) WK going to start their own superhero designs/expansion so all in house stuff like MK.

2) Video Game clix.  Not just CoH but Capcom, Nintendo, WoW an actual whole slew of VG characters.

[Spriggan]

some more on what it's not from BM on the WK forum.

It isn't about the CoV deal - we already announced that. The "official" press release will go out soon, with all of the "this is the way you get these figures" instructions.

Icons and its updated rules - I'll tell you most of the things you want to know about them now.

It is NOT cash prizes for tournaments. But you'll notice that the Director of Consumer Experience is part of the chat...

Nope, it's cooler than all that.

[Fellfrosch]

Wow, I'm intrigued. A huge change that's not a gameplay change? I think you might be right about the video game thing, though they did say that it's not an announcement about CoV, which could be the same thing....

I'm going to guess, given their little hint about the Director of Consumer Experience, that they're going to be doing some kind of project similar to WotC's "You Make the Card" that will allow players to help guide the design of sets and figures. Just a thought.

[Spriggan]

There's talk around boards of a new line of maps that will be announced along with this, though no one things that they are the "big" announcement.  Other ideas are:

Reversal of retirement
Theme packs with teams like X-men or generics

[Spriggan]

OK some things have been confirmed like maps (I guess WK is going to really be pushing new maps soon since the words "lots and lots" were used) and lots have been denied (smaller sets, on line play, reversal of retirement)

One thing that caught my eye were people talking about "recycling" where you could send in old retired clix and get new boosters, the baseball clix has already done that and I know that would make a lot of people happy.

Also larger boosters (ie more figs in each one) might look like a possibility.

3D maps are also getting a lot of discussion.

Or the possibility of Squirrel Girl into a clix.

Bro_mag has said all the details are about 2 pages long typed.

[Spriggan]

Here's some more

Indy. In booster form? Probably not. In another form? Odds are better than average.

Of course this is CoH clix and maybe seeing more besides the CoV ones that have been announced or some other type of non-booster box like a pre-con set with characters and maps.

There was also a reply to someone saying they cannot afford the game in it current structure and that they buy most their figs on e-bay for less, the BM reply was "I hope you tune in on the 7th" so there could be something price wise.  I know they changed to a new manufacturer with FF that has been doing a much better job at painting (or all the people that went to pre-releases said) so maybe this factory is also cheaper?

[Spriggan]

well only abou 25 minutes left, they're saying the announcement will take 15-20 minutes the there will be a 90 minute Q&A.

[Spriggan]

Not quite as cool as I'd hoped, basicaly:

Sets will all be themed based from events in comics (starting with the next marvel which will be Iron man based)

Uniques are easier to get (1 out of 3 boosters)

HC is getting the senarios that MK used.

A unique theme map for each expansion (only avalible via WK approved play.)

Map sizes are smaller (36x36 for starters 24x36 for theme maps)

people that buy cases from Local Game stores will get special LEs

Here's full list
http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=40052&frame=company

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

So we're going to get Countdown to Infinite Crisis clix? Or maybe some House of M clix. Nothing's really stood out from that series (House of M) so far aside from the Iron Man. I wouldn't mind seeing a rendition of Super-Man from the current comic "Lex Luthor" where he's portrayed as a rather villianous persona, from the eyes and mind of Luthor though. So it's a very darkly made Super-Man. Maybe we'll get some Vertigo stuff, like Preacher, Swamp Thing, or the Endless'. That'd be cool.

[Lieutenant Kije]

Well, I'd have to say that more uniques and less dupes is nice.  But the best news for me is an entire Iron Man themed set!  Sweet.  I think I will be saving up for that one.

[Fellfrosch]

I agree--it's not as ground-shaking as we thought, but more uniques and fewer duplicates is going to be very nice. The bricks sound cool, too, but I bet they'll be hard to get (since most of the people I know who play would want one).

[Spriggan]

Well I guess the big thing is they want to have more of these chats with people, and actualy there was better info in the chat transcript then the actual annoucement.

[Spriggan]

Well, I'd have to say that more uniques and less dupes is nice.  But the best news for me is an entire Iron Man themed set!  Sweet.  I think I will be saving up for that one.

Here's a synopious of the Armor Wars story I got from HC realms:
********
"Armor Wars" was a large story arc involving Tony Stark's (Ironman) realization that his technology was being used by numerous people without his permisssion. He then went on a crusade to shut down all copies of his technology. This brought him into conflict with a number of villains using armor(Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, etc) as well as the US goverment and Captain America. The last due to the Guardsment armor used to guard the Vault. I'm thinking the Vault could make a very good theme map.
***********************
I don't know if the story arc is in trade, but it came out about '86-'87 or so. Shellhead left the West Coast Avengers (who, by the way, still have no Mockingbird clix) to go on his Armor Wars crusade. Tony was in the Silver Centurion suit at the time, though he used a few other options as necessary. For instance, his black stealth armor was used to infiltrate the USSR and go after Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man.
******************

So that gives us a good idea who some of the big named figs that might be in the set.

[Fellfrosch]

Man, I loved Mockingbird.

[Spriggan]

Well if you buy a brick of Armor Wars ($96+tax) you get a LE plus gain the option of buying Dark Phoenix for $30.

edit: For Kije