Hey there ‘Clix Community! Any article about in-store play has an obvious place to begin: thanking the tournament organizers and store owners that provide space (in-person and on their schedule) for HeroClix. We know it takes time and effort, and we appreciate that effort is focused on the game our fans enjoy. HeroClix is at its best when someone has created a fun and welcoming environment for players to gather and roll some dice.

One of the core elements in preparing HeroClix events is deciding what they’ll be like – is it 300-Modern, or is it something special? We’re excited to kick-off a new series where we highlight ideas that stores submit to us. We know each community is unique, so it’ll be up to you to find what works best for your local group. Hopefully that task is easier when you’re not developing that answer from scratch.

Today we are highlighting how HeroClix League Play has worked at some stores. One of the challenges gamers frequently grapple with is finding a time that works for everyone. The beauty of HeroClix League is that you don’t need everyone to show up on the same night or afternoon, as long as two people can agree on a time to meet up at the store, a game can happen. Start by establishing a time frame for how long the league season will last, like 1 month or 6 weeks. Some stores might prefer to set a total win count (i.e. – first to 12 wins).

In HeroClix League all players will start on the same starting line on a tracker board. This can be a physical board where everyone’s rank or position is shown in the store, or it can be tracked digitally or displayed online if that works best for your players.  Players will challenge each other to games and gain points that will advance them along the tracker. When the established time has elapsed, or a player gains enough points, the League ends and a new one can begin. The League winner is usually awarded a prize for their victory that season. Some play groups also award prizes to other players such as the player who played the most games or the player who was the most fun to play against that season.

Some stores add a little bit of flavor to a HeroClix League by drafting figures and game elements, meaning only the person that chose that piece first would get to use them this season, or awarding additional victory points for each challenge you make regardless of whether you win or lose. Another possibility is disallowing figures that have won the previous league. One of the most fun things about HeroClix is its customizability, so find what works best for your players and give it a shot. As an example, here is a sample league your store might like to adapt for their own:

One the first day of the league, players take turns drafting from a pool of all Modern Age HeroClix characters and objects, until each player has a list of 20 HeroClix game elements. A game element drafted by one player can’t be used by another player. Players can only use the game elements they drafted to construct their teams, and all game elements are considered unique.

At the start of each week, players gain the ability to issue a challenge to anyone in the league. A challenge needs to be issued publicly, such as on a social media page run by the store for tracking the league. Once a challenge is issued, players have two weeks to play the challenge match and report the results to the judge, or the challenged player receives a loss by default.

Points are awarded after each match as follows:

• The winner of each match gets 2 points.
• The player who issued the challenge gets 1 point, if the match was played.
• If the player who won had less points than their opponent before the match, they get an additional point.
• At the end of the week, the player who played the most matches (or is tied for the most matches) gets 3 points.

Once a player has 50 or more points, the league ends. Whatever prize was agreed upon is awarded, and a date is set to draft for the next league!