The fact is that we like the intrinsic value of our figures and cards. More importantly, but we actually want to spend money on HeroClix. That’s exactly how a collectible game works! We’ve all spent a great deal of time, money, and energy on this game and have a great deal of pride in our collections. Retroactively de-valuing our collection is a slap in our faces.

On the other hand, I can see why NECA/Wizkids is doing this. Miniatures are what NECA does well, not cards (which is Topps' domain). And so focusing just on figures allows them to concentrate on what they do best. And this would certainly make it easier for new players and old ones to finally use that card they've never owned. But that's the crux of the problem - by having a critical non-collectible element in the game, it cheapens the entire game system. When I build my collectible team with the Armor Piercing Feat that I aquired legitimately, I feel cheated when my opponent arrives with four copies of the same feat that he simply "printed out".

For heavan's sake, we've had Feats and BFCs in our boosters since 2004. That's five years of collectible product whose value has dropped like a rock with Print and Play. If Wizkids wants to remove cards from the future HeroClix, that's fine, but Print and Play is a terrible means to that end.

With Print and Play in effect, there are two possible scenarios for the future.

(1) Physical cards will no longer be in future boosters (or prize kits), only printible ones. As I said before - we love to own cards and we love to spend money on them. That's how a collectible game is supposed to work. We've had cards for five years now, so this is a very poor option... and I certainly don't want to be forced to use a printer to complete my collection.

(2) Cards will still be in future boosters and/or prize kits. This is an even worse idea. We're spending $12.00 on a booster, so why would I want to receive a Feat that has no intrinsic value within the game system? It's a collectible game, but why the hell would you give me something that has no trade value what-so-ever?

You should have seen the look on the faces of my players this past weekend when I offered the RUNAWAYS feat as an extra prize. It certainly doesn't help that the cards they won in previous tournaments are practically value-less. I certainly have no intention of buying a booster of 5-figures and a worthless card, and Venue owners should be weary of spending $17.00 on a prize kit that contains more worthless cards.

So what's the solution? Simply put, they should eliminate the Print and Play policy at the tournament level. It's a bad concept for a good game. If Wizkids really wants to open up the game to more people, they should reprint the cards and offer them for sale on their website or bundle them for retail sale. There's no reason Wizkids can't create new versions of these cards without the images -- this would eliminate the need to pay royalties for the images, and printing paper is dirt cheap. This would also be a great way to errata older cards. Sure the "eBay dollar" value of the cards would drop significantly, but it would restore the intrinsic HeroClix-eco-system value of these cards, and who wouldn't pay $5.99 for a pack of cards that included a new Fortitude, In Contact With Oracle, or Armor Piercing?

If reprinting / bundling is not an option, then Wizkids should return to the old business model and give us cards in boosters or just prize kits (or both). Print and Play should still be eliminated at the tournament level.

That being said, I am not totally opposed to Print and Play. It should be allowed for unsanctioned casual games -- in fact, this should be put directly into the rulebook. Many people already do this in their home-brew games. But at the tournament level, Print and Play just acts as a proxy and it shouldn't be allowed.

This solution would still allow players to print what they want while bringing "card collectibility" back into the system, thereby strengthening the game system and entire product line as a whole... and players will come out in droves to spend money on this game.

It's not too late to make it work.

edit: It's a funny thing. After thousands of page views, absolutely no one noticed the problem with the REPULSOR SHIELD image to the right. This is a modified fake feat. While this is not part of my arguement against Print and Play, it's something that each and every one of you should be aware of. Since no one caught it, it means it can be easily exploited.