Click, Push, Click, Push- Enter Da Noob

Me and Bettygeek gettin our Clix and swerve on

So many of my close friends/fam and regular C&D readers know that a shitload of my extracurricular time has been sucked up by the gaming phenomenon known as Heroclix and in my case, Herocrack.

For those of you not in the know-- Heroclix is a turn-based, table-top gaming system that has been around for over a decade-- focally centered around the comicbook universes of DC and Marvel-- but has also gotten into other nerdery worlds like horror, videogames, movies and so on.

Main goal in this shiz is search & destroy. The fun part is talking shit and watching some peeps sulk in their attempts to not lose their fave characters. And with that in mind-- despite my noob status-- #1 priority is always stomping the heart, or as Miyamoto Musashi calls it in The Book of Five Rings- "making a collapse (in your opposition) when their rhythm becomes deranged"

Yes, this a strategy game afterall so who better to reference than Musashi or of course Lao Tzu (Art of War). Okay enough with getting all tantric (yes, I know I am stupid and not using this term right). Heroclix makes use of a dope little sculpt of a character on a dial that keeps track of its power & abilities (PAC), along with a card that explains more of the characters attributes in detail. Here is one of my fave go to pieces of late that has helped me in my first, few actual tournament experiences.

Artwork courtesy of Wizkids

First off, a heartfelt middle finger to my homie, Gage, another regular of Comics Conspiracy, along with Ryan, Scott and Bryce that initially sucked me into this awesome addiction.

And mad love to Geek Pinata, Soonirvana (both pictured to your right) Toby and Betts for helping me struggle with my problem by taking in the mad, geeky fun and actually jumping on the clix-life themselves.

Trey went as far as spending hours on YouTube tutorials-- taking notes and all-- to help lead the crew with deciphering some confusion / individual interpretation of rules of engagement, lines of fire and etc.

After a few months of taking turns chilling at eachother's pads, beating down one another's top pieces and what not-- I took the plunge into playing at a few of my local gaming shops. This came at perfect timing with the release of the brand, spanking new Heroclix set, The Incredible Hulk, which was released this Wednesday and of course involved thematic tournaments for a chance to win some exclusive pieces for the high score winner.

Of course, I had no hopes of winning shit being that I still was working on getting the flow of the game, memorizing PAC and limited to the few strategies I had under my belt-- let alone playing against some seriously, formidable comp (one of the cool guys pointed out that 2 cats playing were National champs--hwwaat?!) The shops I hit up were Game Kastle (Heroclix nights on Wednesdays) and the other, Legends (theirs is usually Tuesday or Thursday).

Both shops were dope, comfortable and surprisingly helpful in supporting my noob-ness, though some of the players were straight up on saying they wouldn't be giving me the same leeway in the next few weeks. Ha!! Love it!! Those same players after the first few rounds of tourney play were kicking my ass, but I still got some good rolls/hits in too and went as far as telling em to "click it"! Effing awesome.

If you are in the Bay Area, Game Kastle is one of the more competitive spots to play, so you get exposed to a lot of different strategies-- Legends is still formidable but a lot more comfortable and laid back and I heard that Gaming Collection & Toys was chill on Saturdays.

Expect more coverage soon on some of my clix-life that could hook you in too if you are a fan of comics, gaming and just relaxed, chill shit-talking. Heroclix is super-accessible, fun and right now is one of the best times to start playing with new sets coming out through the next months that have some of the sickest, comic-accurate sculpt designs, playability and oh shit, the nationwide tourney for Infinity Gauntlet starts in a few weeks yo!

As I continue playing and learning I will share some of the illest strategies, team combos, top pieces and most hilarious shit-talking I have heard while playing or experience through some of my fam. Here are some of our other go to pieces that we have been bustin' in our match-ups: