Heroclix has been around for 15 years. In that time, we have had the game go from 200pt “standard” tournaments to 300pt tournaments, from everything being legal to having a rotation/retirement system which introduced the idea of Modern Age. That has been the norm for quite some time now, and there have been many, many sets and game elements that have been released over the years to “spice” up the game. It has been successful, more or less, but the main question many players have is how certain pieces from years past hold up to current standards, or how certain game elements would interact with the newer game elements and/or figures. When the ROC was introduced, we added a couple of layers to the formats, to have players try and enjoy the older formats that aren’t supported anymore (or sets, for that matter). We have been careful on what is allowed because, as we all know, in all games, the larger the pool of options are, the more there is a chance of unbalancing the game itself. That is why we have been doing ROC Limited formats, which allow players to play older sets, but not allow the truly “broken” things, or potentially broken interactions happen, since there hasn’t been enough time to check and test the format.
The Modern Age format currently is quite STALE, if you look at the ROC events leading up to Worlds, and Worlds itself. It’s either Jakeem or Goblin King, all day, all the time. With the new Watchlist erratas, it could inject new life into the format, and when the new rules roll out, it will be much better (hopefully). In its history, once the format is “solved” it becomes boring again. Let’s take a look back a bit. 2011, Nightcrawler and Metron ruled the format. So much so, that WK decided to retire Web of Spider-Man a year early because of the little elf. The Heroes For Hire/Team Base metagame back in 2013 (along with the GCPD Cruisers) was probably the worst format I can remember. That was the birth of the Watchlist, and there were slew of changes that came out of it, and made the format amazing again. 2014 was the Iron Pharaoh/Fantomex era, and 2015 was the Faust era, and both were Watchlisted. The point is Modern Age formats get out of hand and WK has to reign in it, which is a good thing. However, that’s once a year and for months at a time, players are playing in boring metagames and attendance dwindles. Having a different format changes A LOT.
The ROC U.S. Cup will have a Main Event format unlike any other. Since it is the 15th Anniversary of the game, I feel it is time for the game to have an “eternal” format, one that will not change, but continue to grow. In other games, eternal formats are the most popular as your pieces will most likely never be retired/rotated out, which means you get to play more of your collection, and you won’t have to sell/dump your older sets when it rotates out. Heroclix does not have one, or at least, a balanced one. The only time a game element won’t be legal if it is on the Ban List, otherwise, your collection from now on will be legal in this format. I have spent time consulting with some of the best players in the game to give their feedback on what elements need to be banned in an eternal format to keep things balanced. We decided that to expand on the ROC Age format, as that includes Indy sets (which have been neglected in the past), and to keep it at 300pts, which is the Wizkids standard. Just going through some crazy combinations with other players got everyone excited about the possibility of potentially ENDLESS archetypes, which is a breath of fresh air. Instead of playing just 1 or 2 types of teams, it can be dozens upon dozens! ROC Age Limited has been exciting in the few formats it was played in the ROC Circuit over the years, and now is the time to take the restraints off, so to speak. Keep in mind that all sets from Superman 2011 and onward are legal. It’s basically when WK started the “oreo” base, and anything and everything is legal in the format (from Superman 2011 to present), with the exception of the Ban List (as mentioned before). Below is the list of elements that are banned for ROC Age play (though this is different that Limited). This can and will change as the format develops and evolves, so this list will be updated when the time comes. The Map List will always follow the current WK Map List in addition to ROC/Grid Reality Maps.
The following Game Elements are banned from 300pt ROC Age tournaments (updated: July 2017):
*Orange Power Battery
*Team Bases
*Felix Faust
*Copycat
*Jakeem Thunder
*Zombie Super Skrull
*Juston Seyfert
*Morphing Jar
Orange Power Battery
Probably the most imposing of all the Power Batteries, the Orange Power Battery made for a negative play experience. Being able to prevent basic Heroclix aspects such as Flying/Carrying or even traversing terrain is something that is too strong for the game. Add that to being able to turn off basically any power, and the Orange Power Battery is not balanced in any format. The only other Power Battery worth considering was the Green Power Battery, but in the end, we felt in a format where free actions can and will reign supreme, the Green Power Battery could be a could countermeasure, and to keep things, “in check,” so things don’t get too out of control as the format develops.
Team Bases
Extremely long dials, incredible Solo Adventure pieces, and the ability to bring out essentially double your point total is a recipe for disaster. Zombies was the main culprit here, with Super Skrull and Magneto coming into play on top of an insanely long and strong Team Base dial. The X-Men, Justice League, Hellfire Club, and even the New Mutants Team Bases just added more potency, so we just decided that Team Bases should just be nixed to avoid any balancing problems.
Felix Faust
I don’t think we need to talk about this any more than we already have. The ROC was first to Ban him, and WK is following suit by retiring the figure early, so it’s safe to say this is a no-brainer.
Copycat
Along with Highfather, Copycat completely changes how you approach the format and how you build your team. Copycat prevented entire strategies and cut off basically half (or more) of any given format. The problem is the switching of the characters because you weren’t able to play with your figure (not to mention it completely ruins your strategy to an extreme degree), and along with Faust, is one of the most negative play experiences one can have in all of Heroclix. Highfather has similar characteristics, but for one, you get to keep your piece on your side, and the second, with other strategies to utilize your largest point figures (ie, ID Cards, which most players already do), Highfather’s huge restriction won’t hurt many strategies, and it isn’t that hard to damage him from an attack nowadays.
Jakeem Thunder
Quite bluntly, Jakeem is too efficient for the point cost. Great stats, long dial, good power set, and the ability to pick two powers is too good for only 140pts. The fact that it isn’t a free action to choose his powers makes him immune to control aspects like Green Power Battery. With all the Resources/Entities at his disposal in ROC Age, he will be too strong to take down, moreso than he already is now!
Zombie Super Skrull
Imagine Jakeem Thunder, but better. The previous king of a format, Super Skrull had some balance in that his powers were free actions, and the format he was in at the time had many free action limitations. However, even then, with all that anti-free action stuff, Super Skrull still dominated the format. Never mind the fact that he gets to pick 4 powers and has a long dial, it’s the fact that he gets to come back to life and bring opposing characters back on his side(!). It was nigh-impossible to KO this zombie, and for only 170pts, like Jakeem, he is too strong and too efficient for any format.
Juston Seyfert
Almost any good Robot can be played with Juston, which is great, however, the main problem here is that his power isn’t an attack to get the extra action, like Mole Man or Black Talon had to do. At least with them, there was a chance of missing the attacks. Not only that, but Juston’s robot gets to move and attack for only a power action. Then, the robot can do its own action. Juston’s power can get around anti-free action things because the attack is part of the movement, which is different than Mole Man/Black Talon. Add to that the fact that the robot can then do its own action, and you have a super alpha striking-robot that get across the board with no drawback. Heroes For Hire ATA got put on the Watchlist (and nerfed) because it basically does the same thing that Juston can do, so it makes sense to put Juston on here, too.
Morphing Jar
The obscure YGO piece is here for potentially broken interactions. Anytime you can move whole forces to starting areas in one go, and for a mere 50pts, it’s something that needs to be looked at. Even though this hasn’t been seen as much because it is a YGO, feedback from players that played in ROC Age events was that this was too unbalanced for 50pts.
Other Considerations
There were many other candidates, and will certainly be on our own internal Watchlist to see if anything breaks the balance of the format. The top ones were Ultron Drones (30pts) and ID Cards, Kyle Rayner (180pts), and Shredders Elite pieces. We are excited to see where this format takes the game and the creativity this format provides to all the team-builders out there. We will be sure to keep an eye on this as the format grows and forms in its initial tournaments. See you all at the U.S. Cup where this will be the Main Event format!
