What if… the Runaways became the Young Avengers? What if… Spider-Man never became a crime-fighter? What if… the Punisher had become an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Find out with Marvel HeroClix: 15th Anniversary – What If?

Marvel Heroes in their various incarnations come together for the Marvel HeroClix: 15th Anniversary - What If? set. This brand-new booster set features characters from the popular What If… comics in the Marvel Universe, providing some interesting combinations of powers and character mash ups! Some of those combos include Iron Man as the Sorcerer Supreme instead of Dr. Strange, The Punisher becoming the Iron Punisher, and Captain America possessing Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjolnir. The What If… stories are based on what the Marvel Universe would look like if different events occurred from the regular continuity, resulting in new ways to see your favorite characters. With so many alternate storylines, Marvel HeroClix: 15th Anniversary – What If? provides unique gameplay for both sealed and constructed play!

Let’s start off with a few previews of some of the characters in this set! First up, we have a character featured in “What If… Captain America had formed the Avengers” — Iron Punisher! The story explores what would have happened if Captain America were unfrozen and formed the Avengers, himself. In parallel, The Punisher, who had been serving S.H.I.E.L.D. with a suit designed by Tony Stark, was selected as an Avenger for Captain America’s team.

Iron Punisher has some unique things going on with his dial. His trait, From an Alternate Earth, is active when Iron Punisher is on your sideline. You may grant a friendly character named Iron Man or Punisher that is equal to or has more points than Iron Punisher (100 points or more in this case) a free action to replace that character with Iron Punisher on the same click number. This can potentially turn the tide of a game, offering flexibility up front if Iron Punisher is a better match for an opponent than an Iron Man or Punisher that you might be using. Test it out by switching your Iron Man or Punisher after taking a hit or two and gain the great stats of Iron Punisher’s dial. Iron Punisher also has ‘7’ clicks, so you might even get an extra click or two depending on how many clicks the Iron Man or Punisher that gets switched out has. Iron Punisher will be a staple for any team using an Iron Man or Punisher that qualifies to swap out with this trait.

For the rest of his dial, Iron Punisher has extremely solid combat values, starting off with an impressive ‘12’ attack with Penetrating/Psychic Blast, ‘18’ defense with Invulnerability, in addition to Running Shot with the Flight symbol and a range value of ‘6’. Later on in the dial, Iron Punisher has Precision Strike, Toughness, and a special damage power called Did We Free America? This power activates when Iron Punisher KO’s an opposing character, and it gives a friendly character plus 1 damage until your next turn. This can result in some interesting combinations for characters with Flurry or ways to attack multiple times, even if they’re all the way across the map. For keywords, Iron Punisher has Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. as non-generic keywords, in addition to Armor and Soldier as generic keywords. Iron Punisher is a solid attacking figure for any team.

Next up, there’s Captain Britain Iron Man! He was featured in What If… X-Men #1 in 2006, where  Captain Britain, garbed in a suit of Iron Man armor, joins the Defenders fighting against villains. The battle resulted in Captain America wielding Thor’s hammer to alter the entire alternate universe.

Like Iron Punisher, Captain Britain Iron Man has the From an Alternate Earth trait, however, he can be replaced with characters named Captain Britain or Iron Man. This has the same type of flexibility with an even lower point cost than Iron Punisher. Captain Britain Iron Man has two point lines that he can start the game on, ‘70’ or ‘55’ points. However, these point values don’t result in him starting at two different starting lines, rather, he has access to a different defense power at each point value. As you can see on his card, the special defense power Enhanced Polymer has a point value underneath each special defense symbol. At 70 points, Enhanced Polymer allows Captain Britain Iron Man to use Impervious, and at 55 points he can use Invulnerability. This is another interesting way to utilize your characters in HeroClix, and we will likely see more powers with different point values in the future for more flexibility when building teams (hint, hint).

For the rest of the dial, Captain Britain Iron Man starts off with ‘9’ speed, ‘10’ attack, ‘17’ defense, and ‘3’ damage, with Flight, Indomitable, and a range value of ‘6’. He has a special speed power called Sacrifice Everything for this Fight, which allows him to use Running Shot. He can use it normally, or as a free action if he has two action tokens, but he is dealt 1 unavoidable damage after actions resolve, and he doesn’t remove his action tokens at the end of the turn. This can be a flexible way to attack, even on a turn when he’s pushed, especially if you have access to someone who can heal Captain Britain Iron Man each turn as this power only appears on his odd numbered clicks. Sacrifice Everything for this Fight can even be activated during the turn that he pushes to use a regular attack or Running Shot and dish out even more damage. The rest of his dial has regular Running Shot and Energy Shield/Deflection. For keywords, Captain Britain Iron Man has Defenders as well as Armor for themed team building.

We hope you enjoyed this first look into the Marvel HeroClix: 15th Anniversary – What If? set, coming to Friendly Local Game Stores this summer. There will be many great ways to incorporate the figures in this set with those from Marvel HeroClix Avengers/Defenders War. It will be a great set to use in sealed games to fight for the Dormammu or Merc Jet Colossal Figures in this summer’s Colossal Organized Play Events! Visit the WizKids Info Network at WIN.WizKids.com to find Organized Play Events at Friendly Local Game Stores near you!