Wow, Wizkids goes to prove that yet again, they kick ###.

They do something to improve our enjoyment of the game, screw up a little bit (while still hitting their target), and decide to go the extra mile to make up for it.

Frankly, I don't think they have to do this, but they are, and I'm loving them for it.

All Power to ya, wizkids!

I really like SRs.

I love the chance of getting them in boosters.

but I agree that they should be different Sculpts/dials than the prize support LEs... and that they could look the same in that case and it wouldn't matter.

If you'rre going to make extra rare peices, make them worth having and make them rare. that's the point right? I don't really go after LEs or SRs with the "el Cheapo" LE power. I like the "smidgeon stronger" LEs. the SRs should be those. the LE prizes should be the Economy peices. those are the players that like that kind of thing.

but please.. no more econmy wusses that were already cheap to start with!

but Keep the SRs.

Wow, that's more than fair

Glad to see the mods are all about removing the flamer posts............



.............and the ones who proved how stupid those people were.

so why do we have to wait to hear about the Indy Expansion set?

I hope that is the big announcement!!!!

I want a BloodRayne character in clix form!!

SWEET!!!

so are the paint jobs really any better???

wes

You'd better keep your eyes on me!

I agree with those who feel the elimination of SR pieces is a sad thing. Even for those people who won LEs, having a SR version meant you could leave them in the box, and still play with the stats, using the SR. And especially considering that you could get the SR versions of some hard to get LEs, like from premiers (which I cant often go to), it was a good balance factor for the travel challenged.

The Rke. Vulture that was pulled in a booster in Philly looked more detailed than any Masterpiece figure I've ever seen.
Not sure if that says anything, but they definitely look a lot better.

Dropping SRs is still IMHO a poor move. Better, but still dial-identical SR/LEs should have at least been something to explore before ditching the program. From the look of the venue prizes announced so far it appears they're afraid of testing that, though, which is why we've yet to see either Kurt Wagner or Sue Storm mentioned as prize LEs. (At least not that I've seen.) Presumably they'll slip those in in the thick of the Galactus give-away period where they can better ignore it.

That said, a tip of the marketing chapeau to Wizkids for burying the formal SR-elimination annoucement under both word of the production mistake that came from changing factories for better paint jobs (as if this was something that could not be fixed for future sets and so was a real factor in the decision) and the announcement of potential bonus prizes for first place and Fellowship winners.

Having seen the new set (at WWE), I am among those who saw that the new paint jobs do look great. However, I'm still going to be bothered by both the loss of value in a random buy of boosters once the SRs are no longer a part of the plan and the thought that we may be headed back to the days when the best versions (uniquely playable dials) of some characters will be the LEs. The combination is a slap in the face for those of us who like the characters, the game (though not in all respects) and who have spent money at the case level but don't find themselves with the time nor inclination to play at venues often. I had accepted it during the first couple years of the game, but having had them placed within reach for three sets, the move very much feels as if I'm having something taken away from me. My incentive to buy into a new set is about to be reduced. A return to 4-clix boosters (if that's what's - hopefully - in the cards for most future sets) will likely be a shiny enough object to distract the easily-distracted, but it won't negate the fact that removal of SRs reduces the interest of any thinking person in buying many/more boosters.

One has to almost admire the two-faced nature of those who simultaneously decry the SRs as worthless while in the next breath claiming that they devalue the LEs. Those statements mark their speakers' motives as being proifit; they're either those who receive LEs as judge/envoy compensation or players who have a side-business going from their winnings at venue play.

Wizkids listened to people who both wanted the easiest and strongest option on the table for attracting players to venues (which, as noted above, is IMHO an overkill move), and wanted their own swag to be all the rarer and therefore all the more valuable on the secondary market.

I get the distinct feeling that you don't work for Wizkids and have no clue what they have planned for the future....

I've never claimed to work for Wizkids, and aside from speculations (which, in my case, have often been better than "clues") I only have what they tell us about what they plan to do.

They've told us they plan to remove SRs from the boosters. I consider this to be - from the perspective of someone in my position as a fan who doesn't go in for much venue play, and perhaps from their position as a company (if it means that people like myself will now have fewer reasons to buy boosters in quantity) - an ill-considered move.

I speculate that it will do, at least in the short term, what they intend it to do: Increase attendance at venue events. I also speculate that they could have gotten much the same result without slapping people such as myself in the face by simply raising the uniqueness of the SR/LE dials. I have never been presented with anything resembling convincing evidence that the SRs were present in such abundance that they would have much impact on the venue scene if the prizes were generally useful pieces.

I speculate that they will eventually put something like Super Rares back into boosters, though they will be different (in terms of dials, at least) from the prize LEs, which will be accepted by many as a good substitute. It will be better than none at all, but much will depend upon the relative playability of the SRs and LEs. If the LEs become the place form the future clix of the Clint Barton, Kurt Wagner, Rupert, Jane Foster etc. are released and the SRs (or whatever they're called) are of the Slade Wilson, Capt. Nathaniel Adam stripe it won't be much of a compensation.

They might mix things up in other ways. Even changing the size and contents of boosters isn't entirely out of the question, but the above covers what I consider more likely. The shift towards the "collectible case" approach (smaller set size) makes me think they're not going to change the size of the boosters anytime soon.

Wizkids is not some evil entity, nor a particulaly foolish one. It's in their best interests to make as many people happy as possible in the long run. With that in mind, no decision is set in stone and anything said and done today could be undone a year from now. These aren't vows made over the grave of their murdered parents. They're simply business decisions. If they don't work they'll try something else.

In this case, I see the planned move as a misstep, due in part to WK listening mostly to envoys and judges, many of whom were looking for the easiest, strongest solution to make their events special again, and at least some of whom had their own best interests in mind above everyone else's.

I do understand that healthy participation at venues is good for the game as a whole, because it keeps the shop owners engaged and promoting the product, and the combination creates an atmosphere where new people will get the feeling that they're missing out on something and will decide to give Heroclix a try. My point is simply that they could do this without eliminating SRs in their current form as differently-packaged mirrors of the LEs.

All of the above is really meant for those actually looking for a different perspective on the issue, not the cheap-shot artists who aren't interested in listening.

Well SR's were not considered U's for booster purposes anyway (as far as MM and Legacy were concerned) So you were not losing a U at all, but now you have even less incentive to buy a booster b/c the booster that once held an LE now holds nada.

I liked the SR's in boosters. I thought it was nice of people who were not into or unable to participate in the tourney scene, without having to go the ebay route...and it was a BIGGER incentive to buy a case.

I think people missed the point of the Super Rare. Wizkids wants us to feel special about pulling one out of a booster. Instead that specialness was lost very quickly. How can I feel good about pulling Clarice Ferguson for the 5th time? or Tandy Bowen for that matter? worse yet (based on rarety) Dr. Bruce Banner? The LE's and the SRs were just not special anymore. There was no reason left to go "wow". Personaly I think the average of SRs to a case should have been dropped to 1 per case. I'm sorry for those of you who buy a case and will no longer be pulling an SR (We have excellent trading forums and eBay. Not trying to sound callous), but I'm happy that when people come to play at my venue they get to walk away with something that is special once again (have you heard about people throwing Mutant Mayhem LEs back at judges?, ITS TRUE!).

Your players need something more special than a fun time playing HeroClix?

Truth be told, you can have a fun time at home too, but it is a tournament, not just players playing a few rounds of clix and going home. They feel that it's more worth their time to come out instead of staying at home if there's something special to play for. Personally, I love this game, the weekly tourney (if I'm not running it) is about my only chance to play, and I'm there each week. The people who play just to show up and play are in the minority though. For everyone else, they play to improve their geek-esteem or whatever.