Over the past 17 years, thousands of us have grown to love this crazy little game with plastic super heroes, flying across a paper map and teaming up in ways that we never thought were possible. We’ve been to tournaments, local events, and even the grandest stage in the land, but over time the game has started to lose it’s grasp on the community. How do we as a player base work to overcome such hurdles?

 

Rebuilding the game, we know and love, is a grossly undervalued part of what makes this experience so special. This is because it takes special people to go out of their way to push boundaries, take risks, and bring people together to help restore Heroclix to its former glory. Welcome one and all, to the Heroclix Community Spotlight.

 

 

Today we embark on a journey into uncharted territory. Since the birth of Heroclix, there has been but one official way to play: 300 Modern. Players must keep up to date with the most recent sets to stay relevant. Rotation hits every year, and when it does, many different unique, interesting, and fun figures are placed by the wayside to cut away the fat that can sometimes clutter the competitive scene. In theory, this should mean the game stays fresh and always exciting. While this may be true for some, not all of us can continuously fork over hundreds and hundreds of dollars to obtain the latest in super rares, chases, ID cards, resources, and equipment. Some people prefer to play Heroclix on a budget. Yes, my friends, today’s article, is about the pauper circuit.

 

Chris Cottrill was a pioneer with a vision. How can we play this game we have come to know and love, keep it competitive, but not break the bank every 3 months? Why not only play with commons and uncommons? While this idea is not unique to Chris, he has been the first to act on it officially and turn it into something more than a weekly play group session. Originally starting in the incredibly popular TCG Magic: The Gathering, pauper was an idea to limit the playing field to only the resources absolutely everyone would be able to obtain. This of course develops a unique living and breathing meta where playstyles must be altered to succeed.

 

With Heroclix, the resources are a bit more limited. We only receive around 14-17 commons per set. While this still means there are a decent range of available figures, it would be all to easy for a definitive meta to rise up as there are bound to be at least one or two commons that are more powerful than others. Because of this, Chris decided that adding uncommons to the mix was an excellent way to broaden the field and in turn, the meta, while still not forcing players to spend absorbent amounts of money to build their teams.

 

The official rules for the format are as follows:

  1. The build and legal sets follow the WizKids 300 modern legal list. – To see what those are, please click on the following link:
  2. Fast forces, starter sets, and primes are not legal in this format. This is to make sure some especially crazy interactions do not accidentally slip through the cracks (Looking at you vulture and hulk)
  3. Map bonuses, equipment and ID cards are legal. Please keep in mind that the equipment and ID cards and their call-in options. must be of the common or uncommon rarity just like the rest of the figures.

 

As you can see, there are some large similarities to modern legal as well as some welcomed refinements that have potential to bring some extra life back into Heroclix. One of the major concerns we hear of Wizkids’ that they proclaim repeatedly is that they do not want to hurt their sales by allowing non-modern legal plastic to be played. Well I think it is plain to see that by keeping the format at a 300-modern standing, this issue would not be a problem! I for one, know that I own at least 6 Moira McTaggert from X-Men: Xavier’s School, 12 Big Tony from Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls, and (Honest to God) 35 Giant-Girls from Avengers Infinity (Mixture of main set and Fast Forces). These figures do not take away from my purchasing of WizKid’s products! They enhance them! Because these commons and uncommons are so easy to obtain, I want as many as possible! And let’s be honest here, who hasn’t wanted to play a +30 Avengers theme team am I right? It’s fun and intuitive formats like these that can bring livelihood back into the game.

 

While I could speak all day on how I wish Wizkids would open their doors to a new concept once and a while, I think it’s time to move on to what everyone wants to know! What is the meta of this format? How does it run? Is the competition stale? Quite the contrary, and I think you will find that this format is full of just as much life as regular old 300 modern.

 

For the meta, it is along the lines of how you might expect. Common Cable from Deadpool and the X-Force, along with his entourage of Moira McTaggerts, other X-Men and free ID cards is certainly a force to be admired. But that does not mean this team is a be all end all. You see, the beauty of a format like this is the figures in the common and uncommon rarity are inherently designed to be a bit more on the simplistic side, and while this is not a full mold for every single figure, it does ring true for a fair amount of them. Teams that synergize well like the Sinister Syndicate with their new Sinister Six figures from Earth-X mixed in with taxis like Overdrive can really cause a big problem for figures like Cable who do not have any stealth busting tech. Incredibly large theme teams like avengers with their main set Giant-Girl can ensure map choice which can mean everything in a format that is limited by rarity. Figures that have never even been considered for a spotlight are suddenly coming out of the woodwork in glorious fashion. All because they do not need to fear a 6 penetrating Cyclops call-in from the other side of the map. My personal go to would be the common Molley Hayes from SWBW. Give her a stick or two, and have them all be carried by an Overdrive. If they refuse to deal with Molley for any reason, the next turn they are taking a TON of damage by a little 25 point monster.

 

Availability is something that needs no introduction. Unless we are talking about a desirable doubles like a Suited Henchman or Tribbles, most commons and uncommons can be found for $.50 to $1.00 apiece. This means you can construct a pauper team for under 10 bucks and still have a interesting and competitive team for the format. The most expensive thing I can think of are the maps, which are required to play Heroclix to begin with. There should be very little reason why anyone would not be able to get all the tools necessary.

 

Chris’s home store is the Rusty Scabbard in Lexington KY. Over the past several months they have piloted a Pauper Circuit consisting of Win a Maps that are leading up to an event to be held in Columbus OH the weekend of Origins Game Fair. It has been having a decent number of participants each time one of these events are held. Other Pauper Circuit events have been held in Morehead and Columbus. The more exposure these events experience, the better chance we have of making this a legitimate format.

 

What can we take away from this? Heroclix is a game of fellowship. It is constantly developing and evolving. But without an acceptance of change in all areas (The rules were a great example until the revamp in October of 2017.) the game cannot continue to thrive and draw in new players. Many state they prefer sealed over 300-modern and that is because you do not have to have every figure or worry about all of the extra game elements that are not present on the board. I believe that an additional format such as 300-modern Pauper could help to bring people into the fold and get more interested into travel and participation for Heroclix.

 

What do you think? Should pauper be a format that is brought into the fold of WizKids legality? Should you be able to play different formats at WizKids opens or side events at Nationals and Worlds? Would you like to host a Pauper Circuit event? Make sure to get in contact with Chris Cottrill and check out the links below to get involved and participate in this upcoming community. Don’t be afraid to hold a Pauper event even if it isn’t a part of the circuit. I’m sure your local venue will think it’s pretty great!

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HeroclixPauperLeague/ - Pauper Leage Facebook Page

 

Do you have a community story you would like to share? What should I write about next? Please feel free to reach out to me directly on facebook @lucasvanholland. Any methods we can employ to build this community will only ensure the success and future of Heroclix.

 

 

Until next time, have a wonderful week, and don’t you dare roll a crit miss!