Monday, August 17, 2009
Hammer of Thor
Back to the set list
Back to the set list
No new info here. This is just my looking over the set list we're expecting so as to get myself back up to speed after this long, long dry spell of new sets.
With the set likely due out around Thanksgiving (that's the U.S. one, in late November, not the October celebration our neighbors to the North have) I wanted to drag out and dust off the set list as we understood it to be for this set months and months ago.
So far all confirmed info's backed it up, and indications are that since this set was all but produced at the time Wizkids was shut down by Topps the new owners are starting things off by essentially flipping the switch on the process. That they're apparently also aiming to produce Brave and the Bold (roughly next February) - the set originally planned to follow HoT, this line of thought has so far stood up.
We don't know how the new owners will be dealing with many things, including whether they'll continue the Buy It By the Brick mail-away piece promotions. If they are going to do it, it seems unlikely they're planning on using the Thor's Mighty Chariot for that as they've sold them directly at Comic-Con International and GenCon so far, and people can buy them from Amazon.com. If you don't go via that link, be careful not to just casually search for "Chariot of Thor" or somesuch, because another store is one of those selling items through Amazon and the wrong search could bring their ad up instead (my frist stab did), which would be the same piece for $34.99 instead of $19.99. I ordered mine last month, but the order's bundled with a book that' isn't due out until next month, so I'll see mine in late September, which is fine with me.
Anyway, the Hammer of Thor list as best we know it, with some parenthetical notes where I thought they might be helpful) is seen below.
I've done some color-coding.
In green are those directly to do with the set's titular character, Thor.
In red are Runaways -- a series of characters I know virtually nothing about.
In blue are Agents of Atlas.
In orange are the Guardians of the Galaxy/Infinity Watch "cosmic" heroes and villains.
In purple are Thunderbolts-related characters.
Common
#001 Bug (The Micronauts/Guardians of the Galaxy)
#002 Kingpin
#003 Asgardian Warrior
#004 Valkyrie (AFAIK this will be a generic)
#005 Hand Ninja
#006 Rock Troll
#007 Jimmy Woo
#008 Fire Demon
#009 Pip the Troll
#010 Malekith
#011 Marvel Boy
#012 Enchantress
#013 Thor
#014 Bi-Beast
#015 Phalanx Soldier
#016 M-11
Uncommon
#017 Balder
#018 Fandral
#019 Chase Stein
#020 Karnilla
#021 Ulik
#022 Moonstone
#023 Beta Ray Bill
#024 Namora
#025 Starlord
#026 Pluto (Okay, I know he's from the Greek pantheon, but he first came into Marvel comics via a Thor tale.)
#027 Moondragon
#028 Rocket Raccoon
#029 Gorilla Man
#030 Owl
#031 Ronan the Accuser
#032 Daredevil
Rare
#033 Sif
#034 Hogun
#035 Loki (This is the newer, female form.)
#036 Heimdall
#037 Songbird
#038 Venom
#039 Surtur
#040 Captain America
#041 Molly Hayes
#042 Phyla-Vell
#043 Penance
#044 Airwalker
#045 Karolina Dean
#046 Fenris (This is the Asgardian creature, not the offspring of Baron Strucker)
#047 Nico Minoru
#048 Spider-Man
Super Rare
#049 Ultron
#050 Hela
#051 Odin
#052 Venus
#053 Seth (a character based on an Egyptian death god)
#054 Loki (classic look.)
#055 Valkyrie (This is the Defenders character, who - nonetheless - draws on Asgardian magic and certainly theme. I'm expecting her to be on flying horseback.)
#056 Destroyer
#057 Thor and Loki
#058 Gertrude Yorkes and Old Lace
#059 Volstagg
#060 Kurse
If they stuck to what had seemed to be the most recent standard operating procedure then we'd expect two of the conceptually wretched chase pieces, neither of which I have any idea about.
Looking at all the green this set's striking me as perhaps the most focused one yet, which may work against it for many.
Looking at where the red shows up, it appears that part of the plan was to pull Runaways fans deeper into the set as they chase the team. The first doesn't show up until the Uncommons -- still fairly easy to pull - three more among the Rares and one among the Super Rares. Hey, maybe one o both of the chase pieces will turn out to be a missing team member from that group? As best I can tell their line-up also includes Victor Mancha and Klara Prast. Well, that's one of many "we'll see" elements...
I generally like the list, especially including the generics. The Runaways characters aren't any I have a personal interest in, so maybe that'll work to my advantage if it comes down to trades, since one of them is a Super Rare. Among the Asgardians I can't say I'm especially excited about the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg) nor Heimdall -- seeing them generally just as supporting players, though I know I'm doing them some disservice in that.
Back before the summer a list of playtest dials emerged. With the caveat that many of them were very obviously still in need of changes and so shouldn't be what we'll expect, here's a link to those dials.
As a promotional item, Neca/Wizkids produced some "Mystery" cards that they began putting inside the Chariot Thor boxes, each one a mostly blank character card with s Special Power described on it, leaving it to the holder to gues which character it will be associated with in a Clix set. The ones that have been reported match up (albeit in one case the text was altered to improve the version we'd seen leaked earlier) further confirm much of what we know about the set list.
That's enough for now.
Labels: Hammer of Thor, Heroclix, Wizkids
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Saturday, November 15, 2008
Should I Care?
Or, more accurately, should I be bothered?
In the wake of Monday's announcement by Topps (see previous entry) we've seen a great deal of activity from a fairly new front and backed by the fans. I remain too much in the dark, lacking information we're simply not going to have access to out here, but I'm trying to make sense of it and get some thoughts out.
The short form: Heroclix's final Brand Manager, Jake Theis, took up the banner of a Save Heroclix front. The thrust of the action is to form a company and make a bid to take over the property from Topps. He quickly set up a blog and began accepting donations (clearly solicited as such, not intended to be actual investments and completely, clearly un-refundable) to get the ball rolling. By the end of the work week the foundation of a new company, Pinata Games (apparently sans tilda over the "n") was laid. By Thursday the 13th they apparently bought the pinatagames.com domain, though so far they haven't done anything with it. At the pace they've been going, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see that change radically within the next few days.
The more detailed story as told by the insiders via blog posts can be found at their current website: Save Heroclix. Go there, go to the bottom and click on the last page to start reading from the beginning.
Anyway, my thoughts are as follows, and as I'd essentially posted on one of the fan sites early this morning:
It does seem contrary to reason that - if the product's been truly financially successful - Topps would pull the plug on the line if all of the sculpts, dials, etc. have long since been completed for a new set. Granted, it isn't as if poor or short-sighted decisions are unfamiliar territory in the world of business, and Topps may have simply decided that in the short term this would make an excellent fourth quarter tax write-off, though letting the brand/product line simply die would seriously erode the market value of what they bought.
It may be simple paranoia, a result of having felt "taken" too many times over the years, or the natural emotional reflexes born of just coming out of a roughly 24-month round of political campaigning, but there's a nagging sense of being played, possibly by more than one party.
If Topps does plan to jump back in, release Hammer of Thor within the first quarter of 2009 as originally planned, and continue Heroclix letting this fan tumult garner some extra attention for the line could work for them - though I wouldn't suggest letting it go too long.
I'm also concerned that Pinata Games could turn out to be more of a bit of opportunism than anything else. Indications are, based largely only on the speed of activity we've seen this week, that the new gaming company being formed on the focused good will of fans of a particular game wasn't a plan that just appeared from nowhere as the week progressed. There's an expectation that some other game or games is waiting to be pulled out of hiding as the "alternate" product for Pinata if no deal is forthcoming from Topps/Topps decides to move ahead with Heroclix on their own, sans the Wizkids brand. There's nothing wrong with that, but if things roll that way I'll likely always believe that that was the true, root intent behind this -- to start a gaming company -- and that the Heroclix situation simply provided an avenue to accomplish it more smoothly and quickly than would have been possible had he just decided to try to launch a company from a cold start. Especially in this economic climate, imagine how difficult it would be to pull cash and goodwill together - nevermind at this breakneck pace - if it was being done as just another business start-up.
I could see a scenario where it's to both Pinata and Topps' benefit for things to play out this way.
Jake gets a lot of good will, a marketing splash and start-up capital for a new company while simultaneously re-focusing fan interest in Heroclix - which will help draw more attention to the game, Meanwhile, Topps gets the opportunity to dissolve Wizkids if they found the last encumbrances of that company and its contracts to be a problem/burden, then either have a re-sweetened product line if they decide to come back in in "response" to the outcry of the fans/market to carry the game forward, potentially with (at least in the short term) less of a tendency for the fans to complain if there are further changes, say, to how Approved Play (or whatever Topps chooses to call it, if anything) is run. Oh, sure, some will hardly pause to draw a breath before complaining -- we're the Internet age, after all -- but I expect enough will jump on the complainers with "Dude, shut up. We almost lost the game completely. Enjoy the new sets or leave." We've already seen a great deal that over the history of the game even in the absence of the scare of a shut-down.
I suppose the end result is all that really matters - the fans are responding because they want Heroclix to continue, and if it does then to some degree it's ::ahem:: Mission Accomplished (will we ever be able to use that phrase again un-ironically?) - but I at least wanted to get some of these thoughts out as they've been persistent. I also wanted to get all of it down for my personal record.
While it'll likely only provide Pinata a better launch platform (and, hey, good for them) since they'll run straight press releases as articles, in hopes of shaking more details out and possibly forcing more hands I contacted Milton Griepp of icv2 (where I'd first seen the Topps announcement as an early afternoon newsflash on Monday) the other day to make sure he had all the particulars on Pinata's start-up, the Save Heroclix effort, etc. Milton got back to me early Friday afternoon to thank me for the heads-up and let me know he'd reached out to Jake and will be doing a story on his efforts and, presumably, the situation in general. Confirmations today let me know this will definitely be part of Monday's industry news.
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Or, more accurately, should I be bothered?
In the wake of Monday's announcement by Topps (see previous entry) we've seen a great deal of activity from a fairly new front and backed by the fans. I remain too much in the dark, lacking information we're simply not going to have access to out here, but I'm trying to make sense of it and get some thoughts out.
The short form: Heroclix's final Brand Manager, Jake Theis, took up the banner of a Save Heroclix front. The thrust of the action is to form a company and make a bid to take over the property from Topps. He quickly set up a blog and began accepting donations (clearly solicited as such, not intended to be actual investments and completely, clearly un-refundable) to get the ball rolling. By the end of the work week the foundation of a new company, Pinata Games (apparently sans tilda over the "n") was laid. By Thursday the 13th they apparently bought the pinatagames.com domain, though so far they haven't done anything with it. At the pace they've been going, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see that change radically within the next few days.
The more detailed story as told by the insiders via blog posts can be found at their current website: Save Heroclix. Go there, go to the bottom and click on the last page to start reading from the beginning.
Anyway, my thoughts are as follows, and as I'd essentially posted on one of the fan sites early this morning:
It does seem contrary to reason that - if the product's been truly financially successful - Topps would pull the plug on the line if all of the sculpts, dials, etc. have long since been completed for a new set. Granted, it isn't as if poor or short-sighted decisions are unfamiliar territory in the world of business, and Topps may have simply decided that in the short term this would make an excellent fourth quarter tax write-off, though letting the brand/product line simply die would seriously erode the market value of what they bought.
It may be simple paranoia, a result of having felt "taken" too many times over the years, or the natural emotional reflexes born of just coming out of a roughly 24-month round of political campaigning, but there's a nagging sense of being played, possibly by more than one party.
If Topps does plan to jump back in, release Hammer of Thor within the first quarter of 2009 as originally planned, and continue Heroclix letting this fan tumult garner some extra attention for the line could work for them - though I wouldn't suggest letting it go too long.
I'm also concerned that Pinata Games could turn out to be more of a bit of opportunism than anything else. Indications are, based largely only on the speed of activity we've seen this week, that the new gaming company being formed on the focused good will of fans of a particular game wasn't a plan that just appeared from nowhere as the week progressed. There's an expectation that some other game or games is waiting to be pulled out of hiding as the "alternate" product for Pinata if no deal is forthcoming from Topps/Topps decides to move ahead with Heroclix on their own, sans the Wizkids brand. There's nothing wrong with that, but if things roll that way I'll likely always believe that that was the true, root intent behind this -- to start a gaming company -- and that the Heroclix situation simply provided an avenue to accomplish it more smoothly and quickly than would have been possible had he just decided to try to launch a company from a cold start. Especially in this economic climate, imagine how difficult it would be to pull cash and goodwill together - nevermind at this breakneck pace - if it was being done as just another business start-up.
I could see a scenario where it's to both Pinata and Topps' benefit for things to play out this way.
Jake gets a lot of good will, a marketing splash and start-up capital for a new company while simultaneously re-focusing fan interest in Heroclix - which will help draw more attention to the game, Meanwhile, Topps gets the opportunity to dissolve Wizkids if they found the last encumbrances of that company and its contracts to be a problem/burden, then either have a re-sweetened product line if they decide to come back in in "response" to the outcry of the fans/market to carry the game forward, potentially with (at least in the short term) less of a tendency for the fans to complain if there are further changes, say, to how Approved Play (or whatever Topps chooses to call it, if anything) is run. Oh, sure, some will hardly pause to draw a breath before complaining -- we're the Internet age, after all -- but I expect enough will jump on the complainers with "Dude, shut up. We almost lost the game completely. Enjoy the new sets or leave." We've already seen a great deal that over the history of the game even in the absence of the scare of a shut-down.
I suppose the end result is all that really matters - the fans are responding because they want Heroclix to continue, and if it does then to some degree it's ::ahem:: Mission Accomplished (will we ever be able to use that phrase again un-ironically?) - but I at least wanted to get some of these thoughts out as they've been persistent. I also wanted to get all of it down for my personal record.
While it'll likely only provide Pinata a better launch platform (and, hey, good for them) since they'll run straight press releases as articles, in hopes of shaking more details out and possibly forcing more hands I contacted Milton Griepp of icv2 (where I'd first seen the Topps announcement as an early afternoon newsflash on Monday) the other day to make sure he had all the particulars on Pinata's start-up, the Save Heroclix effort, etc. Milton got back to me early Friday afternoon to thank me for the heads-up and let me know he'd reached out to Jake and will be doing a story on his efforts and, presumably, the situation in general. Confirmations today let me know this will definitely be part of Monday's industry news.
Labels: Heroclix, icv2, Jake Theis, Save Heroclix, Topps, Wizkids
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Monday, November 10, 2008
Wizkids -- No More!
Here's the press release today, in this case taken from their Blog site, though it initially came to me via icv2:
Over at HCRealms they're obviously going apeshit, as their server's being bombarded - periodically, beyond its capacity. Attempts to go launch Wizkids' own forum platform results in a "No web site is configured at this address." error.
Heroclix reportedly remains a profitable product line, but apparently Topps wasn't willing to continue supporting it. Why the rat bastards bought it in the first place eludes me, but who knows? The people who made that decision may be long gone by now.
Speculation's running rampant. Some have posited that this is a move by Topps to nullify the exclusivity deal with Diamond so that they'd then be free to either sell the other contracts and business. Whether or not Wizards of the Coast, Privateer Press or one of the other gaming operations would be interested in buying it remains up in the air. Whether or not anything for the Hammer of Thor expansion has actually been made beyond the prototype stage is also unclear.
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Here's the press release today, in this case taken from their Blog site, though it initially came to me via icv2:
News from Topps…..
November 10th, 2008 by wkadmin
The following announcement is being released from Topps today. We’re all in a bit of shock and at a loss for words right now.
——–
The Topps Company announced today that WizKids will immediately cease operations and discontinue its product lines. Scott Silverstein, CEO of Topps, said “This was an extremely difficult decision. While the company will still actively pursue gaming initiatives, we feel it is necessary to align our efforts more closely with Topps current sports and entertainment offerings which are being developed within our New York office.”
Upon notifying our partners, Topps will immediately pursue strategic alternatives so that viable brands and properties, including HeroClix, can continue without noticeable disruption. To that end, WizKids will continue supporting Buy it By the Brick redemptions for Arkham Asylum, and the December Organized Play events for HeroClix.
For consumer announcements, please refer to www.wizkidsgames.com over the coming days for further information.
Over at HCRealms they're obviously going apeshit, as their server's being bombarded - periodically, beyond its capacity. Attempts to go launch Wizkids' own forum platform results in a "No web site is configured at this address." error.
Heroclix reportedly remains a profitable product line, but apparently Topps wasn't willing to continue supporting it. Why the rat bastards bought it in the first place eludes me, but who knows? The people who made that decision may be long gone by now.
Speculation's running rampant. Some have posited that this is a move by Topps to nullify the exclusivity deal with Diamond so that they'd then be free to either sell the other contracts and business. Whether or not Wizards of the Coast, Privateer Press or one of the other gaming operations would be interested in buying it remains up in the air. Whether or not anything for the Hammer of Thor expansion has actually been made beyond the prototype stage is also unclear.
Labels: Heroclix, shutting down, Topps, Wizkids
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