Your first month of HeroClix

HeroClix looks complicated from the outside. It isn't. The dial mechanic clicks in your first game, and by week four you'll be building teams and arguing about point values like you've been playing for years.

By Colin B. · Published June 10, 2026

a man sitting at a table playing a board game

Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash

HeroClix has been around since 2002 and still fills tables at game stores every week. That staying power comes from the same thing that makes it seem overwhelming from the outside: depth. But you do not need to understand all of it on day one. You need to understand about three rules, and then you can play a real game tonight.

What you actually need to know first

Every HeroClix figure sits on a rotating plastic base called a clix dial. The dial shows four numbers in the visible slot: speed (how far the figure can move), attack (rolled against to hit), defense (the target number your opponent needs to beat), and damage (how many clicks they take if hit).

When a figure takes damage, you click the dial that many times. New stats reveal themselves, usually worse, sometimes with a new special power activating as the figure gets desperate. When you run out of clicks, the figure is knocked out and removed from the map.

That is the core of the game. Everything else is detail.

two men sitting at a table playing a board game — Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash

The Power and Ability Card

Powers are shown as colored circles on the dial. Blue is movement powers, red is attack, green is defense, purple is damage. Each color has a set of named powers tied to it. Charge, Running Shot, Flurry, Outwit, Perplex, Probability Control: these names sound intimidating until you download the Power and Ability Card (PAC) from the WizKids Rules Center and realize there are about 30 of them total, and most are simple.

Print the PAC or keep it open on your phone during your first few games. After five sessions, you will have memorized the ones that show up repeatedly and the rest will feel familiar from context.

Your first game: ignore team building

Open your starter set. Play with whatever figures come in the box. Do not worry about point values, keywords, or team abilities. Pick figures you think look cool, put them on opposite sides of the map, and play.

Your only goals for game one:

Move figures toward each other using their speed value
Make an attack roll (2d6 plus your attack number vs. their defense number)
Click the dial when hits land
Remove a figure when it runs out of dial

That is a real HeroClix game. Team-building strategy, terrain manipulation, power combos: those emerge naturally over the next few weeks. Force them in week one and you will overwhelm yourself.

Week two: learn terrain and team building

The double-sided map in your starter set has different terrain types marked on it. Clear terrain is normal movement. Hindering terrain (dots or bushes) costs extra movement and gives hiding figures a defense bonus. Blocking terrain (walls, buildings) stops movement and line of sight. Elevated terrain (rooftops) grants a bonus to ranged attacks.

Terrain matters more than people expect. Funneling your opponent into a corridor or using hindering terrain to break line of sight is half the strategy in competitive play.

Team building: most organized play uses a 300-point format. Each figure has a point value printed on its card. Build a team where the total is exactly 300 or less. Your starter figures are designed for this format. Themed teams (figures that share a keyword like “Avengers” or “Gotham City”) unlock special team abilities that add passive bonuses throughout the game.

Week three: find organized play

Most game stores that carry WizKids products run HeroClix organized play events through the WizKids Event System. Show up. Tell them you are new. The HeroClix community has a reputation for being welcoming to beginners, partly because the game has a long history of players who remember learning the hard way.

Organized play events use formats called Sealed (you open boosters on the spot and build from what you pulled), Constructed (you bring a pre-built team), or Limited. Sealed is ideal for newcomers because everyone is working with fresh figures they have never played before.

The singles buying approach

Here is what most guides skip: you do not need to gamble on booster packs to build a specific team. Every HeroClix figure also sells individually (these are called “singles”) through secondary market sites like TrollAndToad, CoolStuffInc, and HeroClix Direct. Common figures cost $0.50-2. Uncommons are $1-5. Most rares land in the $3-15 range.

If you see a team concept you want to run, price out the singles first. You will almost always pay less than the expected cost of randomly pulling those figures from booster packs. Boosters are fun and the collectible element is real, but they are not the efficient route to a specific roster.

Ready to gear up? The HeroClix gear guide covers starter sets, the best maps, storage solutions, and which boosters are actually worth buying.