PUBLISHER: WIZKIDS | RELEASE DATE: EARLY NOVEMBER
One of the key features about the Marvel Heroclix range of games is that the models are approximately the traditional 28mm scale, so your average hero is pocket-sized and you can transport a bunch of them in a small box. The thing about the Marvel Universe is that it features characters that are much, much bigger than person-sized. Galactus, for example, is a giant alien being who wears a huge, winged helmet and purple pants. In the comics, he’s meant to be 28ft tall and weigh over 18 ton. He also eats planets and apparently Earth is very tasty. So of course, Galactus has his own HeroClix model.
Marvel Heroclix: Galactus The Devourer is over foot tall. Like many of the new clix models, he’s in a dynamic pose, specifically firing a great big bolt of energy out of one hand whilst building up more power in the other. The big purple planet eater has a shiny and comprehensive paint job and he looks extremely angry. The detail is very nice and he looks like he’s leapt out of the pages of the Fantastic Four, ready to eat your gaming table. Out of the box he comes with a his iconic ‘space hat’ attached, but you can remove this and replace his head with an even angrier version. Galactus’s second head is bald and has cosmic energy pouring out of his eyes. (We found it fun to use the spare head as a game token). The energy blast is also detachable. It’s a weird spikey looking thing so be careful when handling it.
The model itself looks very nice and yes, it’s the sort of thing you can stick on your shelve and impress fellow Marvel comics fans with. It even comes in a nice display box for that exact purpose. Game wise, it’s presence on the table completely changes the game; it’s your heroes versus Galactus, changing the scenario quite a bit. Rather than leaping around against each other, your team of Heroclix has to defeat the world devourer before he eats you all. We had a lot of fun throwing Spider-Man, The Avengers, The X-Men and of course The Fantastic Four at Galactus. Every time we did, we had lots of fun.
Rules wise, Galactus has a few good tricks up his cosmic sleeves. Not only does he have two ‘clix’ dials worth of cool powers, he has extra dials for other special abilities. His Elemental Converter dial essentially means that Galactus heals when an opponent is KO’d and that the edges of the map are being consumed by energy meaning that your heroes can’t hang around the corners of board without a risk of being eaten. Galactus also has a Herald dial; you can make an existing clix figure your ‘Herald’, gifting it cosmic powers. And that’s in addition to the usual traits such as Force Blast, Outwit, Penetrating Blasts and Impervious. In short, this model makes Heroclix into a new game, and it’s a lot of fun to play.
Marvel Heroclix: Galactus The Devourer isn’t the first time Heroclix have made a Galactus model, but this new set shows exactly how far the range has come. Previous attempts looked a bit flat and were a bit over-powered. This is a much nicer model and plays in a heroic way, it’s one of those game variants that make for memorable moments and reminds you why you enjoyed super-hero comics in the first place.
