Heroclix Strategy: Ramblings on Ethics and Positioning

I'm only inspired to write strategy articles after particular experiences call certain strategic aspects to mind. This article stems from a mini-tournament where I fought wisely, if not bravely. Strategy prevailed and I won the tournament, and for my efforts was rewarded with a Limited Edition Wade Wilson fig. This would have been exciting, but I now have as many Limited Edition Wade Wilson figs as I have siblings. And I'm a Mormon. [editor's note: For those unfamiliar with Mormon families, let's just say that they take the biblical mandate to "multiply and replenish the Earth" quite literally.] But this is all mostly beside the point.

I have two points I want to make. To those who were affected, the first point may seem more like an apology for my actions rather than a discussion of strategic elements. By way of explanation, in this mini-tournament all of my victories came in the same way: I focused on knocking out a single opposing fig, and then retreated.

I was vociferously derided for doing this, which I expected. It didn't bother me at all, either. The derision served two puposes, I imagine: it helped my opponents feel better about losing, and it was a last-ditch effort to shame me into abandoning my tactics. The comments were mostly along the lines of "I can see how Tony Stark would run away--he's probably too drunk to tell where he is--but Captain America? Captain America running away? Oh, man, you're such a chicken..."

I pose the question, then: is running away appropriate/ethical Heroclix behavior? My answer to that is that it depends on the setting. If you're playing a multiplayer game with friends, or even casual one-on-one, where you're not limited by time or turn number, I'd say running away isn't the best thing to do. First, it's not very fun. Second, it tends to annoy your opponent. Third, in casual play it's about having a good time with friends and not so much about winning.

But in a tournament setting, where winning and advancing is more of an issue, and where you're limited to ten turns or fifty minutes, running away may be the best thing to do. Tournament games are about meeting victory conditions: knocking out more points than your opponent in a set number of turns. This may involve pummeling your entire opponent's team and fighting to the last man, but not necessarily. To go back to the mini-tournament, my team had three figs (U Iron Man, E Captain America (Ultimates,) and E Hawkeye (Ultimates)). By nature it's a fairly mobile team, with good ranged attacks, the ability to get close if necessary, and fairly decent damage. Its weakness lies in that if any one member of the team gets KO'd, the team is significantly more hamstrung than a team with more figs of lesser point value would be. In each game I played I had knocked out a single opposing fig by midgame, but by that time my opponent's remaining figs were fairly well set up to take my figs down had I remained. Which is why I chose not to remain.

The only reason I was able to win by running, mind you, is because of what I judge to be a tactical error on the part of my opponents, which I'll bring up later on. This illustrates the argument that running away isn't a strategy that you should build a team around, or count on in every game you go into. It might not be an option. It also reinforces the point that a tournament team and a tournament strategy needs to be flexible enough to handle a variety of situations. What will your team do if your opponent decides to run? This has to do with the second point I want to make in this article: the importance of position.

I think it is a fairly easy mistake to make to assume that Heroclix is a game about superheroes and villains, and that you play it by rushing in and duking it out with two-fisted, laser-blasting fury. (I say mistake in the sense that if you want to win it's a mistake. If all you want to do is rush in and duke it out--which very well may be the case--then it's exactly what you should do.) I have heard it said that Heroclix is basically chess with powers and abilities. Thus, the underlying strategic elements of chess apply, and position is one of these elements. There are three aspects of position that I'd like to mention: your position in reference to the board parameters and terrain, in reference to your opponent, and in reference to your own team.

Your position in reference to the board parameters and terrain is the most obvious of the aspects. Clearly it's important that you place yourself well as far as hindering and blocking terrain are concerned. What are your team's strengths and weaknesses? How do your powers and abilities interact with terrain? You'll want to consider how your team functions with regard to the given terrain on the board and place and move your figs accordingly. For example, it's generally more difficult for ranged teams indoors, while a team relying on brawlers might appreciate the protection from range that indoor terrain provides. Basic things like this. Also, controlling the center of the map is generally a good idea. It allows you quicker access to any corner of the board, makes it easier to flank and divide opponents, and limits their movement options. Of course, if the center of the map is a tangled mess of blocking terrain you may want to reconsider. But again, it all depends on your team.

Your position in reference to your opponent is crucial. The fundamentals here consist of knowing the opposing team's reach. You need to be aware of their range and any powers and abilities that might alter this (perplex, charge, running shot, telekinesis). Also be aware of the powers that can affect you with default ranges of ten (outwit, probability control, the Outsiders team ability). While I say you need to be aware of these things, you cannot let these considerations keep you from engaging. It's almost inevitable that you will place your figs in harm's way. You just need to make sure that you're doing so on terms that you set, so that the engagement can be dictated by you and not by your opponent.

Your position in reference to your own team is perhaps the least obvious aspect of position. This specifically concerns the individual figs on your team, and their position in reference to the other figs on your team. Unless you specifically design your team to have your figs work independent of each other, it's best to keep them in some kind of formation--whatever formation allows them to support each other not only with powers and abilities but with threat of force against opposing figs. If you isolate one of your figs you're asking your opponent to single that fig out and knock it out, which they will likely do as they can overwhelm the isolated fig without threat from other opposing figs nearby. For example, if you have a mix of melee and ranged fighters it's probably best if you get your whole team in position to attack rather than let your melee fig charge in at the first opportunity. This is the tactical error I referred to earlier: one opponent sent a V Kid Flash out to melee attack in advance of his other ranged figs, and the other sent a V Blade (Mutant Mayhem) out in the same way. Thus isolated, they were easily knocked out.

Exceptions to keeping your figs in formation (whether strict or loose) might include harasser figs or decoys--figures whose position in reference to the opponent is strategically more important than their position in reference to their own team.

The importance of position dovetails nicely with another important facet of team building: mobility. If position is important then getting to that position quickly and effectively is very useful. Flight, leap/climb, telekinesis, phasing, and the Ultimates, Superman Ally, and Serpent Society team abilities are all helpful here. In a tournament game mobility is even more helpful; the ten turn limit really places a premium on getting around quickly. Even so, I've played in many tournament games where the first five turns were taken up with jockeying for position (and they were turns well spent).

Well, I think I’ve rambled on long enough. Until next time! May you never have to click your figs down; but if you do, may they click smoothly.

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Written by Lieutenant_Kije on March 21st, 2005