Monday, October 30, 2006

Marvel Attacktix Spoilers: Venom

Marvel Attacktix: Venom #M1-14

Marvel Attacktix Venom

ATTACKTIX CLASS: Warrior
MARVEL CLASS: Sinister Syndicate
POINT VALUE: 30
BASE SPEED: 10
DEFENSE: Large Base
SPECIAL POWER: Recruit (Sinister Syndicate)
SPECIAL POWER RATIO:
ATTACK TYPE: Striker (Claw Uppercut)
RARITY: Booster - Super-Rare


Brett's Notes:
Venom is now a classic Spider-Man villain, but I remember well his first appearance back around Amazing Spider-Man #300. However, I worked on this version with a more current storyline in mind...Eddie Brock, Venom's human host, had cancer, and he raffled off the costume to the highest bidder. After a short stint possessing a mobster's son, the suit ended up in the Scorpion's hands, making him the new Venom. I wanted to tie this to one of the games foundation powers, Recruit, allowing Venom to either summon in a "new" version of himself, or possibly represent the symbiote being defeated, but the underlying villain being revealed in his stead. Being a bigger and stronger (though probably not smarter) version of Spidey, Venom gets a solid defense with a large base, and average speed of 10, and the Warrior class which allows him to interact strongly with existing figures.

Joe's Notes:
Venom is definitely a classic Spidey villain, and with Spider-Man 3 around the corner, he will be a very popular figure. The Uppercut attack is one of my favorites, and Venom has a lot of power. Star Wars fans will be familiar with this attack from the Series 3 Chewbacca. Venom's larger base and massive size makes him very difficult to defeat with ranged attacks, as bullets deflect off his chest and back. Venom's Recruit ability limits him to working only with Marvel figures, however it will become more dangerous and new series are released. He is a bit slower than Spider-Man, but more than makes up for that with his sheer power and size.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Attacktix Storage Solutions

If you're a collector/player of Attacktix you may have a major problem: storing them. As more series came out, with new licenses, I found that Attacktix were slowly taking over my home. I have tried several forms of storage to get them in some sort of order. In this article I'm going to discuss various methods of organizing, transporting, and storing your attacktix. Each method has pros/cons that I will delve into at length. I have referenced ways other people have stored their Attacktix, as discussed on the JoeAttacktix Message board. Feel free to comment on your own storage solutions and I can revisit the issue in the future, as there is no 100 percent perfect system to store these figures yet.

Method #1: The Ziploc Bag -
stuff as many as you can into bags and label with a sharpie!


Pros: Cheap. Clear plastic and easy labeling makes it easy to organize your figures and find them. They're small, stretchable, and easy to stack into a larger container.

Cons: Ziploc bags will break down plastic figures over time. You will recognize this by a greasy film on your figures.
Evidence: I emailed Ziploc asking them if this was true. Their response: Items can be stored in ZIPLOC(r) Bags for one to two years; but for longer storage or storage of collectibles, we recommend to use a storage case meant for this purpose.

Conclusion: For short term storage Ziploc is a good option but you can't keep your figures in them forever. Bags made of Mylar (i.e. comic bags) can be used but they aren't resealable. I did an extensive Google search to find large, sealable, Mylar bags with little success.


Method #2: The Duffel/Gym/Tote Bag


Pros: Convenient for travel, usually have handles. Cloth, won't break down figures. No one will know what you got in the bag if you're a bit shy about your addiction to the game.

Cons: Figures get jumbled up in the bag (especially at the bottom or corners). It probably will feel like you're going fishing when you try to find that figure you really want. Organization is out the door unless you have multiple bags INSIDE the duffel.

Conclusion: This method is best for smaller army transport or if you have a smaller amount of figures. Best used in combination with another method (plastic bag or mesh bag).

Method #3: The Star Wars Battle Case by Hasbro -
holds 12 figures, retails for $15-$20.


Pros: The battle case is sturdy, stacks well with other cases, and is great for display. The inner compartment that holds the figures pulls out like drawers. Can be easily organized.

Cons: Each case only holds 12 figures. Who really only has 12 figures? At $15+ each, that can get expensive to hold all your armies. Certain figures, especially Transformers, don't fit very well and the drawers won't close without some manipulation. While the battle case is still available at many retailers it is no longer in production and no plans for future battle cases for other series is planned.

Conclusion: A good way to store smaller groups of figures. I use the battle cases to hold my favorite, most frequently used Attacktix. Others use them for display purposes.

Method #4: Trash Bag/ Smaller Grocery Store Bag - take all your Attacktix and throw them in a giant bag! Or use smaller plastic bags you get from buying groceries. I am ashamed to say my husband used this method quite a bit in his early Attacktix collecting days.

Pros: Cheap (free if you use small grocery bags)! Easy to carry.

Cons: No organization whatsoever and it will be hard to find the figures you want. You look ridiculous carrying a trash bag over your friends' house. Someone may throw out your Attacktix by accident. Plastic can puncture and Attacktix may fall out.

Conclusion: A temporary solution to a house overrun by Attacktix. Not recommended for long-term use. I began cringing when I heard all the figures grinding together in the bag and worried some were going to get broken.

Method #5: Small, Homemade Cloth Bags -
this was suggested and done by Malform & Yodabreaker on the Attacktix message board.
Easy to make with fabric glue, yards of fabric, and a drawstring.

Pros: Customizable and great for organization. Your figures will experience no breakdown, as fabric is breathable. Look very cool and are extremely unique.

Cons: Requires a time commitment to make. Some home economics skills are going to be needed. Since the bags aren't transparent you will have to "dig" to find the figure you want or have to empty out the bag completely.

Conclusion: If you are good at crafts and don't mind buying some materials, this is a great method to store your Attacktix. Still, if you have every Attacktix ever made you're going to need a lot of them and that adds up to a bigger commitment than I was willing to give.

Method #6: The Mini-Mesh Laundry "Delicates"Bag.
This is my current extra Attacktix storage method.

Pros: Bags are small and great for organizing different factions and armies. You can see through them so you can find the figures you want quickly. Won't break down figures. Very inexpensive at approximately $1/bag. Don't have the ugly stigma of a grocery plastic bag, plus they have a zipper for closure.

Cons: They are hard to travel with if you bring more than 1 or 2. Plus, everyone will know what you got in the bag if you're shy. They don't have any sort of handle on them so you will have to put them in another bag (method #2). Depending on the mesh, light sabers or other parts may protrude out the holes.

Conclusion: If you're lazy and don't want to make your own bags this is an excellent cheap method of organizing your Attacktix. Great if you travel a lot with your armies and want to just throw them in a duffel and go.

Method #7: A Tackle Box or Plastic Container
-
any kind of box actually, be it a cardboard one, a plastic one with a lid, or the kind with the drawers that come out.


Pros: Great organization depending on the container. Tackle boxes are great for travel but you will need to customize the inside to keep figures organized.

Cons: Finding the perfect container can be a pain. It can't be too deep or the Attacktix on the bottom will be neglected. The plastic containers with drawers are great but are moderately expensive and not the easiest to travel with long distances (you may have to tape up the drawers). Stackable drawer types change frequently so when you go back to buy another you may not be able to find it.

Conclusion: This is a great way to store Attacktix in your home. If you primarily play in your own house, drawers may be the storage solution for you. If you prefer to travel, tackle boxes are great but you will have to do some work to keep things organized.

Method #8: Display Them All!
Put all your Attacktix on shelves.


Pros: Great organization, snazzy presentation.

Cons: Expensive, takes up a lot of space, no way to travel with your displayed collection (all battles will have to be at your house). You will frequently have to dust and clean your Attacktix, which is quite a lot of work.

Conclusion: If you're primarily a collector and you have a maid, this is the storage solution for you.

Figures from the collections of Yodabreaker, Yaggleberry Finn, hbking, and Joe Manzo

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Tournament of Attacktix October 28th in Michigan


Full details can be found here


Please visit this tournament sponsor: CCG Armory

When:
October 28th, 2006 @ 2:00pm


Where:

AmeriSuite of Utica 45400 Utica Park Blvd, Utica, MI 48317
Tel: (586) 803-0100
Fax: (586) 803-0102
Click for map


How Much:
$2 to get in... additional fees may apply per event.


PRIZES

CCG Armory has provided Attacktix Boosters for Prizes!
17 limited edition tournament figures up for grabs.
Prizes also available if you beat Webhead!

SEE MARVEL ATTACKTIX!
Brett (Webhead) will be showing off the new Marvel Attacktix.He will be Gunslinging! Beat Webhead and win a Super Rare, Chrome or Tournament Figure!)

EVENTS
All entrants will have access to the following:
100 pt single elimination tournament (Prize: T6 Boba Fett)
5 mega tournament (Prize: Custom superflytnt turret)
Door prizes (T6 Boba Fett , T8 Han Solo & Boosters from CCG)

We will be holding 2 single elimination tournaments and giving away 2 tournament sets (T6 - T10). Prizes for these tournaments will be: 1st place T6-T10. 2nd place T7 Luke. 3rd place T10 Stormtrooper. A $10 entry fee will get you into both of these tournaments.

We will still be having the pink slip tourney and the booster showdown. To enter the booster showdown, due to the lack of interest, please bring two unopened boosters from series 4.

Thanks to Hasbro, Webhead and CCG Armory for providing prizes!

www.ccgarmory.com

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Attacktix Intergalactic Showdown Commercial Airing on Cartoon Network

I have captured the latest Attacktix Commercial, featuring the Star Wars vs. Transformers Intergalactic Showdown figures. I taped this off the television, so the lighting and sound is poor, but I am sure Hasbro will add it to Monkey Bar TV very soon. Until then Joe Attacktix's You Tube video is the only place to see it online. Enjoy!



Be sure to check out more Attacktix videos here!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Marvel Attacktix Booster and Mega Images from Hasbro

More pictures released. They cover the Booster box art, the Mega packs, and then some of the figure out of package. I can not wait for the first sighting of these in stores!



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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Marvel Attacktix Spider-Man Origins Starter Set - Preorder at Entertainment Earth

Entertainment Earth looks like its the first e-retailer to take preorders for Marvel Attacktix. They are showing the Ghost Rider Starter Set and the Spider-Man Origins Starter Set.

Previously, SDCC described the Spider-Man Starter Set as a Wal-Mart exclusive. However, this may only pertain to brick and mortar stores, and all online stores may carry it.

No matter how you look at it, the good news is Hasbro has released images of the Origins Starter and the Spider-Armor Spider-Man looks incredible!


Marvel Attacktix - Spider-Man Origins Starter Set

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Transformers Attacktix Series 2 Images from BotCon 2006

There were only two new sculpts in the Attacktix BotCon display that have never been seen before: G1 Megatron and G1 Optimus Prime. Previously seen, but unreleased, versions of Arcee and Strongarm were also on display. A repaint of Series 1 Megatron gives us Galvatron, a figure that was supposed to appear in Series 1 with a Battle Case. The Transformers Battle Case has no current plans for release.

Check out all the picture here



Monday, October 02, 2006

Attacktix Tournament at BotCon: Diary of a Winner!

By: Stephen Benning aka YodaBreaker

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get to sleep until 11:30p the night before (had to pack, then had to print out the e-mail confirming malform, superflytnt, and me would be part of the "press team" for the conference - right before drifting off to sleep!). Thus, I was going on about 5 hours of sleep after waking up at 4:30a and getting showered and dressed. I ran to work to get my voice recorder for the interviews I hoped to do, so I was out of Nashville by 5:30a. After about an hour and a half of driving, though, my eyes were seeing double, and I couldn't get the two road percepts to integrate no matter what I did, so I pulled over for a 15-minute nap. However, I still planned on being there at about 9:00a, which would give me an hour and a half before the tournament to conduct interviews and talk to the contestants.

What I'd forgotten is that whereas Tennessee is in the Central time zone, Kentucky is in the Eastern time zone - an hour ahead! Because of traffic, I didn't end up getting there until 10:15a, right when the sign-ups were ending! As a consequence, I was an odd man out on the brackets, and I had to wait a while to see if anyone would show up for me to play. I thought that superflytnt and his fam might help solve the situation, but they were unavoidably detained, so I bided my time nervously, hoping I'd get to play. I think I was the 19th contestant, though one of the brackets ended up totally empty, as the two brothers that signed up to play actually didn't (at least, from the official brackets, as far as I could tell)

I turned out to be the "second chance round" for a couple of people, who were kind enough to let me play them for the chance to advance. I played profanicon's boyfriend in the first round, and he seems to be ever much the kind and gentle soul she has described him to be. malform graciously played me in the second round, and I highly recommend his company to anyone fortunate enough to share his friendship. My teams consisted of grabs for S4 Vader, then as many Wickets as possible, then a Logray (if still available), then Starter 4 Greedo, then other 10-point launchers, then maybe Starter 4 Han, then Starter 4 Chewie if there weren't any more 10-point shooters available. My first-round bin didn't have an S4 Vader in it, so I made do with lots of 10-point launchers, along with a Wicket and a Logray, I believe. In the second round, people started taking what they wanted from other bins, so malform and I did, too. I favored Wickets, and I believe he liked Greedos.

I prepared to do the same sort of "grab your favorites" for the final three-way round robin (which we sort of improvised on the fly, in conjunction with the tournament staff, because of the odd brackets), gathering up all the Wickets I could. However, the tourney organizers stated that they still wanted to have random draws from single bins, so the Wickets were dispersed among four remaining bins, as were the figures that others had gathered up. Fortunately, they picked the bin that had three Wickets in it for the final tournament matches, along with an Armored Vader.

In the first round of the championship round robin, I played thecasualoblivion. I believe he won the right to draw first and to take the first turn. I can't recall what team he picked, exactly, but I favored S4 Vader, two Wickets, and a Greedo, I think, with some 10-point launchers rounding out the mix. A strike from Armored Vader sent most of his team off the playing field (as he grouped much of it into a single formation on his first turn), and it didn't help matters any that Vader came up white and hence recovered when he was knocked down. I believe that he had a Starter 4 Han and Logray left at the end. I shot down Han on the second attack of my turn, but he was white, and Logray saved him. However, I think I was just left with too many figures to be dealt with effectively.

In the next championship round robin match, I played Cona Chris. I think I won the right to draft first; consequently, I asked him to take the first turn, since I had the advantage in the draw. Again, I loaded up with S4 Vader and 2 Wickets, with some supplemental launchers taking their place in the rear guard. Vader and Wicket led the charge again, but Cona Chris had his six figures in three groups of two figures. S4 Vader's strike curiously took out only one of the two figures in the middle, but Wicket took out both of his targets in the rightmost group of figures (from my perspective). He consequently knocked Wicket and Armored Vader to the ground, and both were black. He spread his figures out into singletons, which made it much more difficult for me to pick them off (and I believe he was left with Starter 4 Han and Chewie at the end, after I picked off another figure whose identity I can't recall). He picked off a couple of figures of mine in the interim, though I remember having a Wicket left at the end. When that last Wicket took out Starter 4 Han and Chewie, Chewie was white and Han was black; because the attacker got to choose the order of special power activation, I chose to have Chewie activate first (which didn't help him at all, because there were no Specialists in his defeated pile at that moment), then Han.

Thus, I was permitted to play the Attacktix game designer (whose first name was Bill; I can't recall his last name). He had a spiffy silver case with the Attacktix logo emblazoned boldly on the front and a three-dial combo lock to protect its contents from prying eyes. He said that his team was stored there, and that I would get to keep that team if I won. I was thinking that I'd rather have the case, as it looked like it'd be quite a lovely thing to use in transporting my favorite figures, but I was OK with the prospect of winning some new figures :)

His mighty team consisted of a chrome robot Super Optimus Prime, chrome Landmine, and three Mini-Cons (one chrome), with a chrome vehicle Super Optimus Prime and two Mini-Cons in back-ups (I insisted on playing with back-ups, as a usual tournament game would). He also had a chrome Hot Shot and black-based Omnicon in the case, which had holes for the figures and their projectiles drilled the night before by an intern into some foam core, he said. I asked why he didn't put the vehicle form of Super Optimus Prime in first, and he said that he just liked the robot form best.

He said I could use any team I wanted and could assemble from all of the figures in all of the bins. Well, there were 9 Wickets total across all of the bins, so I just had to use them; I also put an Endor Scout on my team to make it thematically apropos, at least :) He groaned and commented that he was afraid he was going to face a team of all Ewoks; I offered to replace 4 Wickets with an Armored Vader, but he demurred.

I asked him to go first, and he proceeded to group all of his figures up around the starting line, shifting them to the right corner of the playing field. Even on the starting line, my Wickets' interleaved clubs were able to stop assaults from Super Optimus Prime and a Mini-Con, though Super Optimus Prime's blast made the two targeted Wickets wobble back and forth a good deal. Because he had no strikers on his team, I formed my team into three Backwards Tripods (two figures in front, one in back); the middle formation had the Endor Scout in the rear. I took a potshot at a Mini-Con with the Endor Scout but didn't really budge it.

On the second turn, he kept his team formed up, continuing to move toward the right corner of the playing field. This time, Super Optimus Prime's shot didn't even faze my grouped figures, nor did the Mini-Con's. It was time for a Wicket from the front of the right formation to advance. His mobility surprised the Hasbro rep, but I took aim at the formation headed by Super Optimus Prime and struck. I knocked Super Optimus Prime and a Mini-Con off the table, and Landmine and another Mini-Con were additional casualties of the mighty Ewok's barbaric power! Super Optimus Prime and the two Mini-Cons were black, but Landmine was white, allowing the remaining Mini-Con to dispatch Wicket with ease (who turned up black).

At this point, I got a little too exuberant and thought it was my turn again. I moved my Wicket, and he reminded me that I had to move everyone I wanted to move before attacking. Sheepishly, I returned Wicket to his place in the two-figure right formation, then shot a glancing blow from my Endor Scout to his Mini-Con, which yielded no appreciable results.

He then started backing his Mini-Con up, and I believe he shot down one of the two remaining Wickets in the right formation with his Mini-Con. I moved the Wickets of the middle formation over to the lone remaining Wicket in the right formation, and I moved the entire left formation to cover the Endor Scout. However, because I'd blocked the Endor Scout's line of fire, I declined to attack. Backing his Mini-Con to the farthest point on the right corner of the playing field, he shot a final valiant blast from his Mini-Con into the right formation of Wickets (which unfortunately had no effect) before one of the rightmost Wickets advanced and knocked his last Mini-Con off the playing field.

He handed over the missiles and figures from the case and his team, and malform and I then asked if we could interview him for JoeAttacktix.com. However, he had to dash off, and I didn't see him again for the rest of the day, so I couldn't interview him. Apparently, he left the convention early, because when I asked for him this afternoon at the Hasbro booth (not having realized I'd already played yesterday the game that was scheduled for today at 1:00p), they said he departed early this morning, and no one else representing the Attacktix line was there for me to interview.

Here's a pic of Team Hasbro, arrayed proudly in my office :) The front row comprises the figures he used, and the back row comprises the figures that were in backups and in the case.

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After the tournament, I got to talk with Cona Chris for a bit, and I saw him at the food court later on, too. malform and I stayed at the Attacktix tables for a while, and he handed out the awesome JoeAttacktix business cards he'd printed up. After the action died down there, we cruised once through the dealer's room and took longing ganders at the new TF Attacktix at the Hasbro station. Once superflytnt and his family arrived, they, malform, and I all had lunch together, and then we cruised around the dealer's room. I was amazed at superflytnt's boundless energy as he wheeled his daughter around in her stroller, leaving malform and me to gawk at the merch. He was looking for a World's Smallest Transformers Soundwave, and I was on the lookout for Stargate SG-1 figures for my wife. Fortunately for me, a guy was hawking his lone SG-1 figure: Black Ops Jack O'Neill, which my wife really wanted. After a quick call to my wife, I snagged the Jack doll for $5! I was amazed that one vendor was selling empty boxes for $20, and they seemed to have a surprisingly large amount of GI Joe and Masters of the Universe merch there. Now I know what to do with the old toys of mine that my parents will be bringing me ;)

We three were on the lookout for earlier series SW Attacktix, as there were four dealers that had TF Attacktix on display and for sale (mostly starter sets, Megas, and the IG Showdown pack). However, our first trip through yielded no luck. We went out to our respective cars for some trading action as it started raining, and then superflytnt left with his family. Knowing that malform needed a black-based KAM, I brought him one from home; superflytnt ended up giving him an IG-88 and Tion Medon, which made it rain both Attacktix and raindrops on malform!

malform and I then went back in to play a few games of Attacktix, using the figures that Hasbro kept up. To work on my shooting game, I played malform with teams that had no strikers on them, and I soon saw how badly my shooting game needed work! He trounced me on the second of the three games we played. The third game was one in which we both tried out the Omega Supreme. I just wanted to play with it, and malform wanted to see if he could successfully toss some of his figures into mine. It turned out that Omega Supreme was good for tossing figures into the air, but not so good at a carefully aimed toss of figures into one another. I found out that one Omega Supreme can take out another pretty nicely, though. After we played our games, we helped introduce a young lady who'd been watching us play to the game. She had some dang good aim after a few turns, and she quickly picked up just how advantageous formations were in a shooter's matchup. She didn't quite get the hang of striking; then again, neither did I for the first couple of weeks that I played. I made sure she had a winning experience, and she seemed to be quite interested in the game. I hope she makes her way into our community, with the help of malform's cards!

malform had to leave, so I bid him a fond farewell, then hit the dealer's room again. This time, I spied a clear bin of Attacktix, of about the size that was used to hold figures in the tournament. However, this bin had NIB S1 and S2 SW Attacktix for $2 each! I snagged myself an S1 Emperor, Tarfful, and Grievous Bodyguard, along with two S2 Destroyer Droids - I couldn't believe my luck! The TF Attacktix were selling fairly well, though at sometimes inflated prices.

After I came back for the Sunday 1:00p that ended up having already been played, I was able to talk to profanicon and her boyfriend for a while, along with another guy from the convention who helped out with the tournament. That guy said he hadn't gotten into the Attacktix line because they didn't transform, but after seeing how the game was played, he got much more interested. We talked about the oddities of Target pricing and inventory control - and how we'd each used them to our respective advantage at times, profanicon said that she and her boyfriend hadn't been terribly interested in SW Attacktix - until playing in the tournament! She then said they wanted to get a bunch of the older series, and I recommended Series 2 highly. I hope she and her boyfriend can find what they need through these boards, and I also hope that the laptop we discussed can be rehabilitated!

I took a final trek through the dealer's room with about an hour to go before it closed. I saw that the TF Attacktix were starting to fall in price, and that most of them had been sold off. I got the last TF starter set (sans bonus figure) from a vendor for just $5, and I managed to snag an Omega Supreme and Crumplezone for $10 from BigBadToyStore.com! The loose TF Attacktix from the people I got my SW Attacktix from the day before were overpriced at $3 per rare and $5 per super rare, so I passed on them; they'd sold out the SW Attacktix by then (probably at the $1 per figure they'd said they were going to charge at the start of Sunday).

All in all, it was a really interesting experience. There weren't as many costumes as I was used to seeing at such conventions; then again, it's much harder to make a TF suit than a Jedi robe or a Star Trek uniform. The custom TF figures that were entered in the art competition were astounding, especially the 5' Devastator, complete with rotating dump truck cylinder. I was quite happy to meet a number of new people from the boards, though I wish I'd been able to meet notpicard and safarisuz, too. I was amazed at how much people were selling old TF figures for ($10 for the smallest little figures to>$100 for big'uns like Metroplex that I had in my childhood). I was also surprised at how many pleasant memories from my childhood that seeing all of the old TF toys brought back for me. Though I'd have never thought I'd have ever gone to a TF convention, I'm so glad that I did - thanks, Joe, for letting it happen!

To find out more about the the BotCon and members mentioned above, check out the Attacktix Forum!