Heroclix overview 2015

After a few years of trying only to keep up with the Fast Forces/Starters and some of the smaller sets, I actually was able to complete some more old sets - Fantastic Forces, Collateral Damage, and Avengers. I also completed the Pacific Rim and KA2 gravity feed sets.

I’ve picked up a few figures and am now close on Ultimates (3+4), Mutant Mayhem (3+5), Legacy (3+5), Armor Wars (10+0), Sinister (7+1), Supernova (6+0), Origin (9+0), Mutations & Monsters (1/5), Crisis (0/9), Secret Invasion (0/2), Arkham Asylum (0/5), Hammer of Thor (3/8), Brave and Bold (8/7) and Batman Classic TV (5).

I have all of the current Fast Forces set but I am still missing the AVX – X-Men starter. I still need the older larger figures - Spectre, two Fooms, and both of the Phoenixes as well as the original Manhattan and Galactus but have been picking up a lot of the new individual bigger figures and sets.

I have picked up a few boosters from various sets, and a bit of the gravity feed sets but Neca has churned out another 7 sets in 2013, 5 sets in 2014, and 4 sets in 2015. They do seem to be calming down with the regular sets but they had 17 Fast Forces sets in that time as well as a bunch of special sets and gravity feeds. I am looking forward to the TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) set – I may have to get a brick of that when it comes out later this year.

Right now I need 1570 Heroclix figures. That is an astounding amount. But over half of that was in the last three years. 329 were added in 2013, 268 in 2014, and 257 in 2015. The sets were pretty evenly distributed between Marvel and DC with 9 new Marvel sets and 7 new DC sets. I now need 877 Marvel figures and 693 DC figures. My REV total is now 1190 and my Unique/SuperRare total is 331 plus 36 Giant figures and 13 Team bases. The more interesting number is that I only need 78 WizKids figures (42 REV and 36 Uniques) and 1492 Neca figures (1148 REV and 295 Super Rares).

With Strikezone no longer carrying figures before the additions of cards (Avengers and Justice League) from 2007 and the dollar doing poorly, I’m not sure how much I will be able to work away at these. I’d like to finish another 4 WizKids sets and maybe 2 Neca sets as well as keep up with the Fast Forces sets. I also just got an email from Miniature Market saying that they are blowing out all of their Heroclix so there goes another source.

I was also able to get the Monsterpocalypse Voltron set, and a lot of the 40K codices. I might try to complete some of the Monsterpocalypse figures I am missing. I will have to see if some of the local places have any of the pre-Neca figures to help complete those sets otherwise I might have to go back to checking ebay.

My top 10 games of 2015

Inspired by The Dice Tower and their top 10 lists, I put together my top 10 games for 2015 as well. Note that these are games that I have played for the first time in 2015 not necessarily games that were released in 2015. With all the games that I already have, I got another 110 games plus expansions last year. Some were gifts, some were purchased at the thrift stores and conventions, some were from Kickstarter, and some were new.

The new games were A World Aflame, Assassinourm: Execution Force, Axis & Allies: 1914, Axis & Allies:D-Day, Bring Out Yer Dead, Batman The Miniature Game, Camel Cup, Cash ‘n’ Guns 2nd ed., Colt Express, CN Fluxx, Dead Money, Deadwood Studios, Don’t Take My Word, Dust Tactics, Dux Bellorum, Escape From Elba, Fight City, Fighting Sail, Fish Cook, Fleet Admiral, Frag: Gold Edition, Frag: PVP, Iota, Just Desserts, Kill Doctor Lucky, King of Tokyo, Love Letter: Batman, Magic the Gathering: Arena of the Planeswalker, Monsterpocalypse: Voltron Defender of the Universe, Nanuk, Of Gods and Mortals, Ronin, Save Doctor Lucky, Scoville, Sheriff of Nottingham, Spree, Star Trek 5 Year Mission, Star Wars Risk, Straw, Survive: Escape from Atlantis, Sushi Go, Ticket to Ride Europe, Uncle Happy’s Train Game, Veritas, and Winner’s Circle.

The ones I picked up not new were 1313 Dead End Drive, 4000 AD, Ablaze!, Admirals, Air Charter, All My Children, Avalanche, Battleship Live, Beat the Parents, Blink, Blue Line Hockey, Boom-O, Blurt Card Game, Cannakeena Caper, Chief Herman’s Next Big Thing, Cineplexity, Clue 24, Clue DVD, Conspiracy, Davinci’s Challenge, Daytona 500, Disney’s Treasure Planet, Dixit!, Double Crossing, Electronic Mall Madness, Exago, Gambler, Hangman, High Hand, Hordes: Primal, Jungle Speed, Kuuduk, Last Chance, Lord of the Rings Strategy Game, Malarky Card Game, Manga Manga, Master Labyrinth, Mine a Million, Overboard, Probe, Risk Transformers, Rubik’s Magic Strategy Game, Scrabble Express, Scrabble Up, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, Smess: the Ninny’s Chess, Starship Troopers, Stay Alive, The Honeymooners Game, The Hunger Games: Training Days, The Incredibles, The Inventors, The Perilous Parlor Game, There’s a Moose in the House, Treasure of the Lost Pyramid, Tuf, Upwords, Ur: The Royal Game of Sumer, Vampire Hunter, Warmachine Prime: Remix, Warzone, Wide World, and Win, Lose, or Draw, Yahtzee: Free For All.

A lot of these did not hit the table this year. Some games from previous years were finally played.

Games that I played for the first time that did not make my list were:
Back to the Future, Bring Out Yer Dead, Dixit!, Exago, Frag Gold Edition, Iota, Jungle Speed, Just Desserts, Overboard, Pit, Quiddler, Star Trek 5 Year Mission, Straw, Ticket to Ride , Tsuro of the Seas

The ones that just missed my top ten were:
13 – Pandemic – We were finally able to play this. You play as scientists trying to stop outbreaks. We lost, of course, but found it interesting enough that we will need to try this again. It seems like it could suffer from an alpha gamer leading everyone but that might be what is needed to be able to beat it.
12 – Get Lucky – A very simplified version of Kill Doctor Lucky. Once we realized that most of the text on the cards could be ignored this went better.
11 – No Thanks – A very simple game with very simple rules. It is very easy to teach, and one game usually leads to a few more. It has a nice level of thought for how quick it is.

10 – Love Letter: Batman – It only has one rule variation from the regular Love Letter but that change greatly improves gameplay. It doesn’t hurt that the retheming makes this game more palatable to our group.
9 – Wits and Wagers Family – a trivia game where you do not need to know the right answers yourself. As long as you are able to pick out the best answer from those supplied by the other players you can still win.
8 – Colt Express – It has simplified programmed movement – most of the time you can see what the other players are planning. You play as western bandits robbing a train. Plus the 3D train model is really cute.
7 – Resistance – I was finally able to give this a try. It is a good intro to hidden role games and it plays well for larger groups. It wasn’t as complex as it seemed – we were able to pick it up very quick.
6 – Camel Cup – A race game where you are wagering on which camels are in the lead in each leg and the overall outcome of the race. It plays fast with up to 8 players and hits a lot of the same buttons as Circus Imperium. It seems quite simple but does have a bit of strategy in it.
5 – Daytona 500 – This is an older race game. You bid on cars each race based on your cards and play those cards to move them. However, most of the cards will also move the other cars as well. This would have been higher if it allowed more than 4 players.
4 – Scoville – You are pepper farmers planting, harvesting, and selling peppers as well as making chili recipes. The set up and play appear very complex but it actually makes a lot of sense as you play through it. It seems to have a lot in it with many different options of play to lead to victory.
3 – Sushi Go – a simple, quick little game. It easily deserves the reputation it has as a fun, quick, little card game. It’s also a good way to introduce people to card drafting.
2 – Cash ‘n’ Guns – second edition – You are mobsters dividing up the loot after a heist. This allows up to 6 players and plays very quick. The foam guns are fun and went over very well with our group.
1 – Survive:Escape from Atlantis – This game can be brutal. You try to get your islanders to shore while sinking other player’s islanders. It fits in to the mood of our group and allows up to 6 players with the expansion. We played this one early in 2015 and nothing else we played was able to top it.

Figure Painting Total 2015 - plus overall Total

In December my order from Miniature Market came in for more scenery/accessories from the Batman Miniature Game.

Joker’s Gas Canisters Objective Marker - 2
City Bill Board Set 1 - 2

December figures bought – 4
December figures painted – 0


This increases my total for 2015 to the following:
Disney Fairies for Fairy Meat – 14
Warhammer – Island of Blood boxed set – 74
Frag PVP figures – 5
Arcane Legions – Egyptian Cavalry – 15
Assassinorum: Execution Force - 23
40K Necron Command Barge/Annihilation Barge – 2
40K Necron Battleforce – 31
ST Light Armored Troopers – 20
BM GCPD van – 1
BM Joker’s Gas Canisters Objective Marker - 2
BM City Bill Board Set 1 - 2
Wagon and horses - 3

Running total 2015 – figures bought 192, figures painted 0

I didn't pick up any figures in 2014. So with my totals for the time that I have been keeping track leaves the following sad truths:
Running Total – overview

Final total 2009 - figures bought 331, figures painted 0
Final total 2010 – figures bought 99, figures painted 0
Running total 2011 – figures bought 536, figures painted 0
Running total 2012 – figures bought 46, figures painted 0
Running total 2013 – figures bought 63, figures painted 0
Running total 2015 – figures bought 192, figures painted 0

Overall – figures bought 1267, figures painted 0

Books read - September - December 2015

Sept
Tannhauser: Operation: Night Eagle by Blaine Lee Pardoe
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Tannhauser: Enigma by James Swallow
The art of intrusion: the real stories behind the exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers by Kevin Mitnick & William L. Simon
Time Life Books: The Old West – The Gamblers by Time Life Books
Indianna Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Annual 2009 by Pedigree
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry
Dust Tactics by Paolo Parente

Oct
Warhammer 40K: Apocalypse (2012) by Jervis Johnson
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Heroes: An Insiders Guide to the Award-Winning Show by Titan Books
Warhammer 40K: Stronghold Assult by Games Workshop
Warhammer 40K: Escalation by Games Workshop
Batman Miniatures Game by Knight Models
Final Jeopardy: man vs machine and the quest to know everything by Stephen Baker
Looking For Alaska by John Green
Cosplay – The Fantasy World of Role Play by Lauren Orsiri
Codex Dark Eldar (5th edition) by Phil Kelly
Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!: Cartoonist Ignores Helpful Advice by Scott Adams

Nov
Warhammer 40K: Apocalypse Reload by Games Workshop
Batman: A Visual History by Matthew K. Manning
Films of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Baird Searles

Dec
The Greatest Movie Car Chases of All Time by Jesse Crosse
The Disney Book: A Celebration of the World of Disney by Jim Fanning
Warmachine Prime Remix by J Michael Kilmartin, Douglas Seacat, Jason Soles, Bryan Steele, and Matt Wilson
Hordes Primal by Matt Wilson and Jason Soles