HeroClix World - We Need To Talk About Spiral

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We Need To Talk About Spiral

Eric Schaen (09/16/2013)

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HeroClix World: We Need To Talk About Spiral
Broken. Cheesy. Underpriced. These are words used to describe characters or other elements that disrupt game balance. The latest offender to follow suit comes in the form of the dimension hopping, six armed guardian of the Mojoverse, Spiral.

OK, let’s see what all the fuss is about:

HeroClix Spiral Dial

Standard Powers: Phasing/Teleport, Pulse Wave, Energy Shield/Deflection, Probability Control, Combat Reflexes, Shape Change, Charge

At Just 106 points, Spiral offers a superb blend of support and attack capabilities. Thank goodness WIZKids/NECA had the civility to make her a unique figure. Could you imagine the horror of playing in larger formats with multiple Spirals? Yuck!

Alright, let’s get to the gist of this matter; namely her special power Dimensional Portal.

It states:

DIMENSIONAL PORTAL: Give Spiral a double power action, remove all Gateway markers from the map and place 2 Gateway markers on the map. Place one in an adjacent square and the other may be placed in any square on the map. Friendly characters may treat squares with Gateway markers as adjacent to each other for movement purposes.

Um… yeah, that’s quite a neat trick lady. It’s no great secret that in heroclix (and other games) the alpha strike can have a major bearing on the outcome of a match. That’s the issue here; Spiral lays waste to game fundamentals such as positioning, tempo, map choice and overall strategy. Spiral practically guarantees the alpha strike for her team. Sure, there is always the potential for that attack to miss, but don’t forget, this nasty little vixen comes equipped with Probability Control. So with a little preparation, Spiral can grant her teammates two chances at landing that big hit.

Editor's Note: Alpha Strike refers to making a big/powerful opening attack, typically on your first turn. Such attacks are often so devastating that the opponent cannot recover.

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Your Comments:

in order to use that trait she needs to make a double power action(without willpower or indomabl) she takes a click of push after each use. which leaves her completly vulnerable and open for attack outwit her PC and charge her with blades and she is rendered useless lmao broken no!! waste of points yes :P

Posted by: decoder on 1/27/2014 9:45:29 AM

I love Spirals sculpt and saw her in the xmen cartoons. I want to play her sometime but I would not use her portal special so that everybody I play is happy. I only play comic accurate neat teams wether weak or strong because the are fun to play as and against, every person I've played against liked my team and reccognized it, people like comic book teams, and when I win games I can feel I earned that win not my over powered buffed up guys. I play the objects only with the characters they are trade marked for and never played a resource dial. I've won whole tournaments and usually win 2-3 games and get compliments from players so I am happy and those I play are happy cause our games last giving us both time to become more familiar with our pieces we pay good money for and have fun doing so and that is what it is all about.

Merry Christmas and Happy gaming!

Posted by: bizmanlance on 12/19/2013 1:08:36 AM

@Kano: No. Markers are not treated like objects (unless the card explicitely says so).

Posted by: The Le on 10/23/2013 8:27:34 AM

Can you attack and destroy the Gateway marker on the map like other objects.

Posted by: Kano on 10/23/2013 7:10:55 AM

As usual, the real question is "when they created Spiral's power, why didn't it cost more?"

The character does what she is supposed to do. If there is a problem, it lies with her cost.

Posted by: Kragnorak on 9/25/2013 1:21:23 PM

As a strategic point of view i think Spiral is way off. Her ability changes the whole map control concept at a ridiculous value of 106. Sniping support caracters becomes so easy with a ranged team. Hope they balance it out.

Posted by: Ben on 9/21/2013 12:00:02 PM

I like the ability Spiral has. I think it is very comic accurate. And that is the unique feel players have requested for characters. It is also exactly what special powers are for. At the same time, it is game breaking and needs to be tweaked. I remember during the Batman / No Man's Land events that Big Barda was on everyone's team because of her crazy power. I never got one and had to deal with it every time. This feels similar except I have one.

Posted by: superfriend on 9/19/2013 7:50:38 AM

For comic book accuracy I would say spiral is dead on. And I wouldn't want to play a shadow of a superhero or a shadow of a super villain. I mean who would like to play a superman with out flight super strength, imperv, sup TA, hypersonic. Or a spidey with out super senses, improve move or leap and climb. Wolvie with s**tty attack stats with no blades and claws and no regen . I think the best way to limit her power would be if the friendly character that uses the portal can only go though one per turn. In other words the character can't hyper sonic through attack someone then go through the portal again and end in their starting area in one turn.

Posted by: Joe Gonzalez on 9/17/2013 3:51:14 PM

I think she's a good character, one thing is that she takes damage when she dose her portal power, and that it says friendly characters may treat squares with gateway markers as adjacent to each other for movement purposes not line of fire.

Posted by: Mr J on 9/16/2013 5:19:49 PM

I've play against Sprial 6 times since the set release and defeated her and the cheesy team she was played on 4 outta the 6 times. As a Fanboy of Comics and clix, I feel she is current comic accurate. Not to say she is isnt broken or won't be overly abuse by certain clix players, but a good clix player with a good team can beat a cheesy opponent 8 outta ten times. Of course the problem is more so the player using Sprial then the actual figure itself.

Posted by: I guess on 9/16/2013 1:36:12 PM

This is a game issue I agree, but I still hate Stealth more.

Posted by: Dax on 9/16/2013 1:21:15 PM

I say just slap a "Only Spiral and characters that share a keyword with Spiral can use the portals" on to the wording and it's all good.

Played a 400 point Freedom Force team with GSX Mystique, Pyro and Blob as well as SI Arachne and MM Val Cooper pog. It did pretty good, but it wasn't broken. It's broken when you have things like H4H Ghost Rider with Utility Belt jumping through and wrecking your team before the games started that's an issue.

Another option one of my players suggested is that there be a penalty to stats if characters go through. Maybe that they can only go one way in a turn, so no through, attack, then run back through.

Posted by: Puuka on 9/16/2013 11:12:43 AM

It's actually even worse if you combine Spiral with a hypersonic speeder. Run through the portal, smash/blast, run back through. You never have to leave your starting area to attack anywhere on the map and flee back. I've faced a team: Spiral, Hope and Phoenix 5 Cyclops. On his second click, Cyclops has hypersonic speed, and outwit. Given that he and Hope can use both of those powers, it was a bloodbath.

Posted by: Jimmy Jack Jericho on 9/16/2013 10:21:58 AM

She is a powerfull character, and she dose have a pretty strong dial. I think her specials is what makes her powerfull.

Posted by: The Amazing Jakester on 9/16/2013 9:15:45 AM

I played against here and guess what. My opponents team won.

Posted by: Iron Can on 9/16/2013 9:02:14 AM

Ok, I'm totally a guilty party here, as i've used Spiral on my x-force team 3 out of 4 tourneys i've been in since WatX came out. I pretty much include her in my teams so that I don't get rolled BY her. Yes, this is a broken figure. Have I won hands down? No, but Spiral has presented a definitive game changing element? you betcha. I do believe she needs tweaking, bare minimum making the portals work both ways.

Posted by: Arcainum on 9/16/2013 6:37:08 AM


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