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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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Godwin |
Blizzard was a REV in the original Infinity Challenge
set, but I don’t know if he is in the Universe set or not. I have the
Experienced version and have used him a couple of times, but lets take a
look at all three.
Rookie Blizzard comes in at 35 points and is not affiliated with any team.
His Speed of 8 is pretty decent and with Running Shot he can cover 4 squares
before he has to fire. With his range of 8 this means he can cover 12
squares, but most likely you won’t use him for basic ranged attacks. For 1
he has Pulse wave which works in a radius around the figure (equal to half
of his range) and for 2 his Damage value is never higher then 1. His Attack
of 9 is nice for a 35-point character, but it plummets to 7 on his second
click. He does have Barrier, which is useful for protecting your figures, or
slowing up your opponents, but you cannot use Barrier and Running Shot
together. So basically if you want to be offensive with this guy its Pulse
Wave or nothing.
The Experienced Blizzard goes up to 46 points and gains the Sinister
Syndicate ability. His starting Attack goes up to 10 and his starting
Defense goes from 15 to 16. With Sinister Syndicate it’s handy to share that
10 Attack with other figures. His Attack still plummets to an 8 on his
second click so don’t push him.
The Veteran goes up to 53 and gains the Masters of Evil ability. Since this
guy is a ranged combat style of figure this ability is pretty much
worthless, but if you try hard enough you might find a use for it. His
starting Attack goes up to 11, which is potent for a figure of this cost,
but again it drops 2 on his second click.
Overall even though Blizzard has some limits I like using my Experienced
because his combo of powers gives him some unique gameplay that adds variety
to games. I like the Experienced the best because I can use the Sinister
Syndicate ability to give another figure an Attack of 10. Put Blizzard one
square ahead of the other figure. When your opponent moves closer use
Running Shot to run ahead and blast with Pulse Wave. This way you move 4
squares forward and Pulse Wave won’t reach your other figure. This power is
also a good way to cut through Impervious and Invulnerability. If you like
the Pulse Wave, Barrier combo you might also try Avalanche. He doesn’t have
Running Shot, but since he is cheaper he is easier to use as a support
piece.
Reviewing this figure reminded me of one thing. Just because a figure may
not be tournament worthy doesn’t mean he isn’t fun to play with. I like
Blizzard because he adds some variety to my friendly games and I do weird
combos like carry him with Invisible Woman and drop him in the middle of my
opponent. Remember it’s just a game and its not always just about winning.
Ok yes it is so forget everything I said.
Overall Score: (Out of 10. Score of: 4 = horrible, 5 = below average, 6 =
slightly above average, 7 = great, 8 = outstanding)
Rookie Blizzard – 6.5
Experienced Blizzard – 6.5
Veteran Blizzard – 6.0
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Majinxstar |
Its Masters of Evil Week! Today we are looking at Veteran
Blizzard from Infinity Challenge. He's retired from most tournament play,
but in his day he was a viable threat. He may not look like it with the one
damage, but he was a pain to deal with. For 53 points he has an 8 range with
a running shot movement of 8. This means he has 8-12 squares to put a
hurting on almost anyone like KC Supes. How you ask? He has pulse wave and
that means he can ripe right through any defensive powers you might have.
Tack on a couple of perplexers he can do 4 damage in one (running) shot and
anyone short of the hulk will be hurting after that. He has a starting 11
attack with pulse wave, and 16 defense with barrier. Not only can he blast
you, but he can make it so the rest of your guys will be safe from harm with
his walls of ice. In recap we have 8 move with running shot, 11 attack with
pulse wave, 16 defense with barrier and 1 damage that can easily be
perplexed. A great secondary attacker/defender for any MOE team or just any
team.
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vizier_usa |
Blizzard REV
My basic format is: 1) some basic background info on the character (this is
a game based on comic books after all, and 2) a review at each of the
pieces, including the clicks, powers and some tactics and strategy.
Background: Ah, Blizzard. One of the more obscure names from Marvel s
pantheon of middle-ranked stooges.
Up until the early 90s I still remember him popping up somewhat on Iron Man
and to get his behind kicked as the flavor of the month villain. Anyway, the
guy was really nothing special, and as you can tell from the name, he
basically had ice powers, like a Frosty the Snowman gone bad.
Clix Info:
Rookie
Point Value: 35
Range: 8
Ranged Attacks: 1 Powers
Speed: 8/6/5/4/4 Running Shot
Attack: 9/7/5/4/4 Pulse Wave
Defense: 15/14/13/12/11 Barrier
Damage: 1/1/1/1/1 None
Experienced
Point Value: 46
Team: Sinister Syndicate
Range: 8
Ranged Attacks: 1 Powers
Speed: 8/6/5/4/4/4 Running Shot
Attack: 10/8/6/5/5/4 Pulse Wave
Defense: 16/15/13/12/11/11 Barrier
Damage: 1/1/1/1/1/1 None
Veteran
Point Value: 53
Team: Masters of Evil
Range: 8
Ranged Attacks: 1 Powers
Speed: 8/6/5/5/4/4 Running Shot
Attack: 11/9/7/6/6/5 Pulse Wave
Defense: 16/15/14/13/12/11 Barrier, Energy Deflection
Damage: 1/1/1/1/1/1 None
The Review:
First Thoughts:
I started Heroclix after a lot of pieces and tactics went out of vogue, and
Blizzard here was one of them.
One of the main reasons was the new ban list, which officially retired
Blizzard from tournaments. After looking at his stats I can kind of
understand why they might do that, but still it s not exactly a broken
piece. Of course, the ban list also ended the careers of a number of other
pieces that didn t deserve it, and didn t cover some pieces that should have
been banned, but that s a topic for another discussion.
Strengths: Pulse Wave and Barrier are the names of the game here, no
question. With starting Attacks Values of 9, 10 and 11 respectively for REV,
Blizzard was, and still is, a good ranged secondary attacker with Pulse
Wave, especially with his 8 range, along with Barrier to keep anyone from
shooting you back.
At his point cost of 35 through 53, you could probably fit him into most
teams without much effort. The only comparable piece I can think of with a
similar set of powers would be Vet Avalanche, which costs 32 points, but
doesn t have Running Shot (No lost there ) and starts with an 8 AV (Much
bigger consideration). The high AV was probably why Blizzard got banned,
since he was such a cost-effective figure for what he could do.
Weaknesses: You re not going to be using Running Shot all that much, unless
you Perplex, but then why would you Perplex someone with 1 damage, anyway?
Especially with the new Rule of 3, which basically means you might do 4
damage. Then again, high AV makes anyone look good, so conceivably that
might be a good idea, but remember that to use RS, you have to do it at the
end of the move, which means more often than not that you re moving toward
your target, not a good idea most of the time when you have no Powers on
defense to
modify damage.
Opportunities: Old school tactics with Blizzard was basically a combination
of either taxiing or using Telekinesis to place him in range to (ideally) a
group of figures for some PW, following up with Barrier to keep the brick
you just punked for a click from totally ripping your head off the next
turn. The Sinister Syndicate ability for the Experienced piece actually made
him the focus for a number of SS themed teams a while back, with the high AV
and the transfer rule about sharing AV between figures, so there were a
number of team formations you could make to take advantage. Unfortunately,
the Masters of Evil TA had far less synergy with for the Veteran figure,
since you had to be adjacent to an opposing figure and Blizzard is anything
but a close combat piece.
Threats: Oddly enough, not many that I can think of.
Blizzard has decent, not spectacular stats for Defense, starting at 15 for
the Rookie and ending at
16 + Energy Deflection (YAY!!) at the END of the dial
(BOOO!!) with the Vet, so basically one good hit from anyone basically takes
him out of the game. Since his powers are all front-loaded, if he gets
based, his goose is pretty much cooked. However, if he gets hit from range,
his dial is actually deep enough for him to absorb a hit for 3 or even 4
damage, and still limp (remember, his movement takes a BIG drop after one
hit, like all his other stats) back to a medic for some TLC, which
conceivably happens a lot since you should be using him at range. Since his
Defense drops so fast, more often than not he ll be back on his feet in no
time. Sort of like Firelord syndrome, but I digress.
Conclusion: A good piece to use if you play intelligently, which is at
range, and if possible using the TA. Since he s been exiled to casual games,
why shouldn t you use him there? The rookie would be the most usable mainly
because of his cost, but it shouldn t be too hard to find space for a figure
in the 40-50 pt range with 10-11 AV.
Oh, introducing the Point Scale (Ta Dah!!) for those people who absolutely
must have a scale: 1 = You know, Heroclix actually makes for pretty good
paperweights, 2 = Well, there are always theme teams, some obscure statue of
liberty play somewhere specifically designed for this figure, etc., but no .
3 = Ok, average figure, you ll use it or not, but don t be surprised if you
see it in play, 4 = Good figure, useful in many formats, great combination
of abilities, but won t win you the game, 5 = So broken you ll need to tape
it back together with super glue.
Blizzard REV: They re basically the same figure, more or less, with the only
differences the incremental changes in stats, as well as point
consideration, so I ll be nice on my first review and collectively give them
a 4.
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