PUBLISHER: WIZKIDS | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Let’s be blunt, Spider-Man has some of the best villains in the Marvel Universe. Green Goblin, Venom, Mysterio, the list is long and kind of awesome. As you might expect, this new range of Heroclix blind boxes focuses mostly on Venom-themed bad guys, but we also get the likes of Prowler and Tombstone in for good measure. There are also Spider-Verse models, so expect to find models such as Spider-Man 1776 in the box. That’s Spidey dressed as an American revolutionary, looking like he’s about to yell that the British are coming. Marvel Heroclix: Spider-Man And Venom Absolute Carnage bundles a lot of silly fun into one place.
One of the cool additions to the game is the secret identity mechanic. This allows you to start the game with a weaker character (such as Harry Osborn or Eddy Brock) and then, at a key point, replace the model with something super-powered. This is very much in keeping with the comics; Peter Parker has always been awful at figuring who various villains actually are.
The pre-painted models are well sculpted, robust and all come with their rules attached. Heroclix is a game where most of the mechanics are the models ‘clix’ base, and you use a handy card to figure out what the model can do during the game. They aren’t many surprises here; Spider-Man is clever and fast, Venom is strong, Carnage is brutal and Green Goblin throws bombs. Though the latter does get its own ‘bonus model’, so you can have those bombs lying around the battle map in you want.
We get a lot of Venom and Venom-inspired models in this set. Ever wanted a version of Groot, Doctor Strange or Captain Marvel covered in the Venom symbiote? This set has you covered. They’re fun to use in the game as well.
If you don’t like blind boxes but still want to grab some of the new Spider-Man clix, then Wizkids also do a Fast Forces blister, which gives us Spider-Man, Venom, Black Cat, Carnage, Mysterio, and Ghost-Spider in one place. It’s not quite a starter set (unlike the Heroclix Battlegrounds: Avengers Vs Masters Of Evil or Cosmic Clash sets). Instead it’s six key models and the goldfish bowl on Mysterio’s head is sort of cool. You can also get a Dice and Token pack, which contains two Spidey-themed dice and six poker chips inspired by the range.
As one would expect, this is a slickly produced range of models and if you’re a gamer who’s also a Spider-fan, worth checking out.
