The Absorbascon

Time for some Herclix maps, because, well, the renaissance of Heroclix is one of the many things I have to be thankful for.

And since the return of the real Aquaman is another we have to be thankful for, let's celebrate with some underwater maps. First I'll remind you of my original underwater map, Mercy Reef, which still looks at pretty to me now as the day I first got it.

More fun, however, is the "Ray Ship" map from the resident genius at Curious Lurkings. Vehicles In The Shape Of Things are one of the great glories of comic books and few are as glorious or enduring as a big sub shaped like a manta ray.

Now, Aquaman-related clix put out in the past have not been as thrilling as we deserve, either in quantity or quality. But that's beginning to change with the wonderful new Black Manta, the Aquaman and Mera figures from the Brightest Day pack, and upcoming DC75th Anniversary figures of Aquaman, Ocean Master, and Mera.

So I've been upgrading my Aqua-clix, finally putting my Aquagirl custom on a Teen Titan Aqualad dial, finding a new dial for my custom Fisherman (Marvel's Karnilla, if you're interested) and revitalizing one of my most popular introductions to the game...

FISHCLIX

I like my fish like I like my women: pretty, but deadly, pawns in my larger game.

My original fishclix had individualized "powers" suitable to their species, but were, in the final analysis, just one-click pogs. Well, such pogs are no longer au courant in Heroclix, so my new-style fishclix all sit upon Multiplex dials. This works well for a variety of reasons. First, they have leap/climb, which means fish can slip out an opponent's grasp. Second, they have that neat Multiplex special power that reduces any damage done to them down to one click as long as they are beside another fishclix. Third, with the Suicide Squad ability, they heal every time an adjacent friendly figures gets kayoed (which can be interpreted either as rallying or, well, just eating whoever got kayoed). This qualities make them just perfect for swarming the enemy and tying up their ranged combat fighters.

And where will Aquaman and his finny friends be deployed?

ATLANTIS

At first I was worried that the sea floor would be too boring and featureless a place. But by changing my concept of scale a bit, I realized that Atlantis's main dome (Poseidonis) would be large enough to constitute blocking terrain and the smaller domes (named for Atlas's mother and brothers) would serve as elevated terrain. Some thermal vents, vegetation and spawning areas, and a cold seep provide hindering terrain, with some outcropping as smaller blocking terrain. A few decorative touches (divers, some creatures, and a sub) and you have a surprisingly interesting little battlefield, whereupon you can fight to a finish or enact a scenario crafted around occupying the smaller domes.

I'm afraid the resolution here doesn't really do the map justice, but I'd be happy to send anyone the file who is interested.