WizKids Games HeroClix Review – DC Mr. Freeze Snowglobe, Iconix Dungeons & Dragons Den of the Displacer Beast and Marvel Captain America from the Ice

We’ve got a triple threat of new HeroClix to look at in today’s review, each from an entirely different world. From DC there’s a new exclusive single figure of everyone’s favorite cold-hearted criminal Mr. Freeze (Snowglobe), and joining the fantastic Iconix series are Captain America from the Ice from Marvel Comics and the Den of the Displacer Beast from Dungeons & Dragons! Whether you’re a fan of Gotham City stories, classic Avengers, or fantasy adventures and wild creatures, WizKids has something new and fun for you. Keep reading to find out what each of these bring to the tabletop and your collection, and check out all the photos!

DC Comics’ latest HeroClix release is an exclusive figure, though it’s not Iconix. Mr. Freeze has appeared in the game many times before, even representing his appearances in Batman: The Animated Series. This latest version continues the animated style but in a brand new way with the icy villain trapped in his very own snowglobe! Freeze’s box is pretty standard for an “exclusive” HeroClix figure, though to be honest, in the days of Iconix this format is looking a bit dated and plain. You can see the figure in his snowglobe through a window on the front panel, and 3D renders of the villain stand in front of a subtle ice background on the sides.

To bring this unique version of Mr. Freeze to life, WizKids has mounted the snowglobe on a 2×2 base, giving it heft and a powerful presence on the tabletop. The presentation is pretty great, nicely capturing the mad scientist standing on a snowy base; he wears his iconic animated-style costume with armored torso and tank on his back and carries a cold gun in his right hand. The dome over his head (complete with pale blue skin and red goggles) matches the one enclosing the ballerina in the snowglobe held aloft in his left hand. Honestly, the only thing that could have made this better is if WizKids could have made this a real snowglobe, but clearly that would have necessitated a different material for the outer globe and raised the price (and weight) considerably.

While Mr. Freeze looks great on your shelf or in your collection, he’s also a lot of fun in the game. You can play him at 175, 100, or 60 points, anchoring an Arkham Asylum, Armor, Assassin, Gotham City Underworld, or Scientist team. Freeze has the Batman Enemy team ability and three targets for maximizing the spread of his damage and effects. Dr. Fries can ignore elevated terrain while moving and destroy blocking terrain with improved targeting; his two traits give him the standard assassin “Target” scoring and provide benefits when allies are KO’d. Mr. Freeze spends most of his long dial focused on ranged attacks with powers like Running Shot, Sidestep, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Perplex, and Ranged Combat Expert along with a special power pairing Incapacitate with penetrating damage for his team. He’s protected by a progression of Impervious-Invulnerable-Toughness, while late-dial the Gotham City villain switches to brawling with Charge, Super Strength, Outwit, and the return of Impervious along with his highest damage stats.

Then there are two new Iconix sets, and they’re pretty awesome. We’ll start with the return of one of Marvel Comics’ most iconic heroes as seen in The Avengers #4 (1964) and Captain America From The Ice! The Iconix presentation is just fabulous, with distinctive art, backgrounds, and style featuring an icy theme and patriotic branding. An ice-encased Steve Rogers decorates the front panel, there are 3D renders on the sides, and the back shows off a couple panels from the comic book, while the inside of the front flap has more along with an image of the cover. As always, you can see the set’s components through the opposite window panel.

After wartime and post-war adventures, Captain America left the Marvel landscape in the early 1950s. A decade later superheroes were all the rage, and in the page of The Avengers #4 a mysterious figure in a block of ice was discovered to be none other than Steve Rogers, a man out of time but in the perfect place to help a world in need! This HeroClix Iconix set includes two game pieces, Captain America frozen and unfrozen. The first is a unique piece of physical blocking terrain on a “peanut” base topped with a translucent chunk of ice through which you can see a dark blue figure and Cap’s iconic shield. The hero fully returns on his own “unfrozen” figure, with Rogers standing at attention in his classic costume; he holds his shield up with his left hand and shreds of his army uniform decorate the hero just as they did in the old comic.

Captain America plays similarly to other versions of Steve we’ve gotten before. He’s 70 points with a 3 range and the Avengers and Defenders team abilities, and his fairly limited keywords of Avengers, Invaders, Past, and Soldier. He’s protected by “My Trusty Shield,” a trait giving him Energy Shield/Deflection and doling out action tokens to hit enemies. Cap starts the game fighting at range with Running Shot, Toughness, and two special powers giving him +2 to his attacks against enemies that share a keyword with him and a ricochet attack once per turn. Mid-dial he switches to Charge and Close Combat Expert, and rounds out his dial a return of Running Shot plus Precision Strike, Combat Reflexes, and Leadership. On the other hand, you can play Captain America in his frozen state with the terrain piece at 15 points. Every time a character in the game succeeds at using Leadership, click the dial once. On the fifth click numbers start appearing on the dial and count down; whenever this terrain is destroyed or you voluntarily destroy it, unfrozen Captain America comes into the game on the click number matching what’s on the terrain dial!

Last but certainly not least is a return to the fantastical world of Dungeons of Dragons and a journey into the Den of the Displacer Beast! Previously we checked out the fearsome Eye of the Beholder Iconix set (see that review HERE), the first D&D HeroClix, and it was awesome. It’s followed up by a creature that may not have as much general popularity and recognition, but for those in the know, it’s a big deal. Displacer Beasts are evil monsters resembling giant panthers… if panthers had six legs and a pair of tentacles ending in barbed pads! Their name comes from their ability to appear in a different location than where they are, making them even more difficult to face in combat.

The Den of the Displacer Beast Iconix box has a treasure chest theme similar to that of the Beholder, of course with fantastic artwork of the feline monstrosity tearing through the front panel. 3D renders of the Beast decorate the sides of the box, and the back panel features the other two items in the set. Open the front window panel to reveal D&D info on the titular monster, along with a window to see the set’s components. Inside the Iconix box you’ll find not just the Displacer Beast, but also a Mimic figure, a +1 Longsword treasure, and a bonus d20!

There have been several Displacer Beast miniatures made by WizKids and others over the years, but I’m hard pressed to remember one as dynamic as this HeroClix version that captures the feline monstrosity rearing up on its hind legs to attack. All of the classic traits are present from the mostly familiar form to the weird six legs and of course the iconic tentacles. The cat is fearsome with long, pointed ears and a ferocious snarl; I wouldn’t want to face it in my D&D or HeroClix game. Speaking of, the Displacer Beast is 125 of fury with two targets to share the pain. The “Displacement” trait gives the Beast permanent Shape Change that succeeds on a d20 roll higher than the attack value targeting it, and upon success you can place the monster up to two squares away. “Love of the Kill” adds Giant Reach:2 and a +1 to attack for each nearby enemy not on its top click. As you might expect, the D&D creature is entirely focused on close-ranged attacks with Charge, Flurry, Precision Strike, Blades/Claws/Fangs, Invulnerability, Toughness, Perplex, Outwit, and a little Battle Fury, along with four clicks of a special power granting Sidestep and Stealth AND Charge and Exploit Weakness if the Displacer Beast was placed since your last turn. The Displacer Beast has the Animal, Monster, and Mystical keywords and can be played at 50 points starting on click #6.

Everyone’s favorite killer treasure chest in disguise joins HeroClix with the Mimic figure in this set too. The monster is brought to life as a cute little treasure chest… topped by four weird yellow eyes and opened up to reveal a horrific purple mouth, long white teeth, and slavering blue tongue! Not only does it look cool, but the Mimic can be played in two unique ways. Add it to your starting force and 15 points get you a slow but very hard to remove annoyance for your opponent with Plasticity (the first two clicks including Probability Control on breakaway rolls), Poison and Blades/Claws/Fangs, Toughness, and Shape Change. Alternatively, you can include the Mimic on your Sideline; whenever an opposing character would pick up a terrain marker or equip equipment from the board you roll a d20. On a 10 or higher the Mimic replaces the marker or equipment, placed adjacent to the character, and on a 20 the Mimic has IMMUNE!

The +1 Longsword is the latest “treasure” item, represented by a sword stuck in a pile of gold coins. In-game it’s a 10 point “Sword” Equipment that’s Indestructible and has the qualifying keywords Brute and Warrior. When equipped it provides Close Combat Expert and Blades/Claws/Fangs, the latter further buffed by a +1 to damage! And last but certainly not least is the standard red d20 with white numbering.

When long-time HeroClix players like me talk about how the game really has something for everyone, a selection of figures like this really proves it. Whether you’re a comic book fan or an RPG player, love Marvel or DC, or just like cartoons (or anything else, really), there’s something in HeroClix for you. Mr. Freeze (Snowglobe), Captain America from the Ice, and Den of the Displacer Beast offer three unique ways to add interesting things to your games, as well as fantastic looking figures for your displays. All three are easy ways of getting exactly what you want without relying on blind box packaging and rarity schemes, though those are fun too in their own way. As someone who watched Batman: The Animated Series, played Dungeons & Dragons since junior high, and loves Captain America (see my reprint of The Avengers #4 in the photos), I couldn’t be more excited to add these exclusive figures and Iconix to my collection.

These three packs are available now wherever HeroClix is sold, Mr. Freeze (Snowglobe) MSRP $24.99, Iconix Captain America from the Ice $24.99, and Iconix Den of the Displacer Beast $29.99. Visit HeroClix.com for even more info as well as downloads of rules and maps, and stay tuned to Action Figure Insider as we continue our reviews of new HeroClix! If you don’t have access to a local comic book or game store at this time you can also order your HeroClix directly from the WizKids website.

Review and photos by Scott Rubin.

Review samples courtesy of WizKids Games.

TAGS: AvengersBatmanBatman: The Animated SeriesCaptain AmericaD&DDC ComicsDisplacer BeastDungeons & DragonsGotham CityHeroClixMarvel ComicsMr. FreezeWizKidsWizKids Games