by Ed Fortune
Wizkid’s Heroclix is always coming up with new ways to get you into the game, and given that it’s done the superhero thing in every possible way, it’s always fun to see how they lure gamers and collectors back into the hobby.
The DC Comics HeroClix: BatmanTeam-Up Miniatures Game is a little misleadingly titled. Technically, the release is Batman, but is this starter set for Heroclix? It has the words SCOOBY-DOO and TEEN TITANS GO! in huge letters, along with a box design that makes it look like it’s come out of a ’00s TV show.
And, of course, it’s filled with Teen Titan and Scooby Doo Heroclix. Now, Heroclix is a game that includes models for the likes of Starro and Galactus. And now you can include Scooby-Doo and the gang in these epic battles. Weirdly, this works really well; they’re balanced characters for the game, and it turns out Fred is an effective leader. Who knew?
The Miniatures Game box itself is very good; We get ten models, cards to run those models in different ways, custom dice, map tiles and comprehensive rules. Heroclix is a pretty straightforward skirmish game, with all the rules managed through the click base. It even has a campaign which explains why Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne are fighting Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast-Boy and Cyborg. And the models themselves are adorably goofy, the sort of thing you’d have as desktop toys if you don’t intend to play the game.
HEROCLIX: BATMAN TEAM-UP is also available in booster boxes; these are blind boxes with five models in them, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. In addition to more Teen Titans and Scooby Doo figures (such as those found in the starter set), we get Batman characters broadly inspired by the animated show and a whole load of Green Lantern adjacent models. Some of these are very cool, such as The Brain from Doom Patrol, a Green Lantern Batman or Sinestro Corp Scarecrow. We also get a load of Lantern rings and constructs. The rings are okay (they have game rules that boost existing characters), but they do feel like cheap cracker toys. And the constructs are very specific to certain types of Heroclix games and don’t require their own translucent plastic model. Which makes the boosters feel a bit padded out.
This is compensated for by how cute the Teen Titans and Scooby-Doo models are and how much fun they are to play on the table. And yes, there’s a Scrappy-Doo, and no, he’s not a villain. There is not, alas, a Scooby-Doo Green Lantern model, which we feel is a lost opportunity. A very fun set.
