Heroes' Beacon Monthly

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Words from the Editor(s)
In this issue expect to find... East Coast Comic Convention... X-Wing (again), coffee and TONS of events!

We met these awesome folks at ECCE! Check out their podcast here and this is the episode of Where Monsters Dwell when they talk about ECCE and the recent nonsense regarding Goyer's comments... sigh... The episode is over an hour and a half long, so set some time aside with a good drink and sit back for a ride! They are awesome! If you check em out, let them know we sent you!

Also, we are planning an auction for the end of the summer which will benefit Extra Life for the IWK! If you have items you would like to donate, please contact us or pass this along to your friends and family! Thank you so much for your support!

Expect to find us in your inbox the first week of every month!

GAME REVIEW

The Empire Wants You! // The Rebels Want You!

Interested in joining the crazy world of X-Wing miniatures? We wrote a review of the new X-Wing miniatures game last month, and most recently held our first X-Wing Tournament. With the upcoming release of the Wave 4 miniatures, there has never been a better time to get started!

What do you need to do to find out if you will enjoy X-Wing?

Heroes' Beacon hosts X-Wing games every second Monday (June 9th is the next event) and there are players playing games regularly. Ask if you can watch or take part. Heroes' Beacon also has a demo copy as well that can be used to play a small scale game and get a feel for it.

You can also find the X-Wing Miniatures Rulebook on the Fantasy Flight Games website as a free download. Read through it and see if you might be interested in trying it out.

Finally, take a look at some of the game reviews. You can find ours on the Heroes' Beacon website.

So if you do decide to play, what do you need to get started?

In order to play, you will need the contents of the Starter Box. The starter box includes 3 offense dice, 3 defense dice, a damage card deck, 2 TIE Fighters, 1 X-Wing, pilot cards, upgrade cards, movement templates, a range template, the rule book and tokens. Most of these you can buy without getting the box set (you can buy the dice separately or download the dice app, the rulebook is available online, ships can be purchased individually and you can buy 3rd party movement templates, range rulers and tokens) but you will still need the damage deck and buying the box is cheaper than buying three models individually.

Most tournaments require you to build a 100 point army, so you will likely want to pick up ships outside of the starter box. You'll probably want to limit yourself to Rebels or Imperials in order to save a bit of money. You could buy a second starter box as again, the three models in the box are cheaper than buying them separately but you will miss out on some of the pilot and upgrade cards that are available in the individually packaged X-Wing and TIE Fighter expansions.

If you are trying to figure out what you’ll need for a 100 point army, here are the point range for most of the ships -- from basic to decked out with upgrades (this may be off by a point or two and I don’t have reference for how costly the newest ships will be if you fully upgrade them):

Rebel Ships
YT-1300 (Falcon)- 27-70 points
X-Wing- 21-40 points
Y-Wing- 18-35 points
A-Wing- 18-35 points
B-Wing- 22-40 points
HWK-290- 16-30 points
Z-95 Headhunter- 12+
E-Wing- 27+

Imperial Ships
Firespray-31 (Slave I)- 33- 75 points
TIE Fighter- 12-20 points
TIE Advanced- 21- 35 points
TIE Interceptor 18- 35 points
TIE Bomber- 16-40+ points
Lambda Shuttle- 21-40 points
Imperial Aces TIE Interceptors- 22-35 points
TIE Defender- 30+
TIE Phantom- 25+

You can build an effective squad from any combination of ships. Practice and strategy will take you far regardless of what ships you decide on. Choosing a force based on looks isn't a bad strategy either! After all, the models themselves are quite nice to look at and look great on a shelf! It's not always easy for Heroes’ Beacon to get everything in stock due to demand, so you may even need to break your selection down to what is currently available.

Personal opinion -- On the Rebel side the YT-1300 (Falcon), X-Wing and B-Wing are good starting ships that allow you to get a decent punch and are fairly easy to fly. The HWK-290, on the other hand, is a nice ship but requires a fair bit more skill to capitalize on. For Imperials, the Firespray-31 (Slave 1) and TIE Fighters are all great beginner ships with the TIE Bomber being a good addition to start using missiles and bombs and expanding your strategy. This is, again, mostly my own opinion and based off of my own observations.

If you are curious about the pilot cards included in each set, there are a number of army builders and card lists available online so check them out. Afewmaneuvers.com has a great card list available for viewing in their forums.

Still undecided? Borrow from a friend or use a placeholder to see how the ship might play.

So you have my army list, now what?

Practice, practice, practice! Maneuvering effectively is one of the more challenging aspects of the game for new players. You'll want to practice moving your ships so that you don't collide with meteors or other ships. It’s not uncommon for even more experienced players to slam into obstacles and while the results can be funny and great fun you’ll probably want to avoid smacking into asteroids whenever possible. For quick reference, one unit of movement is the same length as the length of a fighter’s base. A 90 degree turn will put your ship somewhere directly diagonal from your current position.

When playing others, make it a point to study what they are doing and learn from their strategies! If an idea works well for them, steal it or plan a strategy to defend against it next time!

Once you are ready, find some friends and have some games, stop in at Heroes' Beacon, check for an X-Wing event at the store or post on the Heroes' Beacon Facebook page and ask if others want to play!

Shoot first, have a good time and remember...

Let the Wookie win!

Previews

Previews is the monthly catalog of all the comics and pop culture merchandise you can order. The catalog has 500+ pages of comics, books, apparel, figures, etc... If you are looking for something new or a great gift check here first.

Orders for items from this Previews are due by June 23rd and begin shipping in August 2014. Due to the unpredictability of the exchange rate prices are subject to change.

Upcoming From DC

Multiversity #1

Join writer Grant Morrison as he takes you through the biggest adventure in DC’s history. This cosmos spanning experience will introduce you to unforgettable characters from 52 alternate Earths from DCs Multiverse! Be prepared to meet the Vampire League of Earth-43, the Justice Riders of Earth-18 and the super-sons of Superman and Batman!

Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman #1
Superstar writer Gail Simone brings Wonder Woman to Gotham when Oracle calls for help after the entire Bat-Family gets sidelined. The villains of Gotham City get the surprise of their lives when Amazon warrior Diana Prince steps in!

Upcoming from Marvel

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1
Sometimes to serve justice S.H.I.E.L.D has to go out of their jurisdiction, but when their helicarrier shows up out of no where... IN SPACE... to take care of business they might find themselves over reaching.

Wolverine Annual #1
When Wolverine and Jubilee take Shogo on a camping trip in the middle of the wilderness what could possibly go wrong?

Upcoming Comics from more Publishers

The Strain: The Night Eternal #1 (Dark Horse)
The final chapter in Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogans novel series begins here! Two years after the Master’s plan succeeded and near apocalypse coated the world in darkness. As humanity despairs Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and an unlikely team search for the secret to the Mater’s demise.

Transformers: Primacy #1 (IDW)

Optimus Prime versus Megatron, Autobots versus Decepticons, legends will be made! The war that would define a planet begins in earnest and its revelations will shake the Transformers world to the core. The War for Cybertron has begun!

The Fade Out #1 (Image)

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips team up to bring an epic crime story unlike anything they’ve done before. Hollywood – 1948 a noir film stuck in endless reshoots, a writer plagued by nightmares, an upcoming starlets suspicious death and a maniacal studio mogul who will do anything to keep the cameras rolling set the stage for this ambitious series from the masters of Noir.

Steven Universe #1 (Kaboom!)

A boy and his friends live in a small beach community, who just happens to have magical powers and fight monsters on the side! Fans of Adventure Time and Sailor Moon will love this series.

Comics for Kids

Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse #3

The Tiny Titans seek the help of Billy Baston to build their new treehouse on Mount Olympus! But what happens to the Tiny Titans when they say Billy’s magic word? Check out this issue to find out! SHAZAM!

Upcoming Trade Paperbacks

Costume Quest (Oni Press)

Hot on the heels of the freshly announced video game this adorable Halloween themed graphic novel shows Klem and his pals are not the most popular Grubbins in candy-starved Repugia, but Klem’s hoping that will all change when he brings back a hoard of candy from the human world!

Bounty Hunter Code: Revelations of Boba Fett

The bounty hunter code is made up of two volumes The Bounty Hunter’ Guild Handbook and a recruiting booklet issued by Death Watch, a secret splinter group of Mandalorians. These volumes detail the skills needed to live beyond the law, little known history, philosophy, and gear of the Death Watch. A must have for all aspiring intergalactic Bounty Hunters.
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Toys, Statues and Novelties

Star Wars Black 6” Action Figures

This exceptional series features incredibly accurate design and high level of articulation. This set includes Boba Fett, Anakin Skywalker, Stormtrooper (Episode IV) and a Clone Trooper (Episode II) in Window box packaging.

Green Arrow New 52 ARTFX+ Statue
The latest statue from Kotobukiya features Green Arrow from the pages of the New 52. Beautifully sculpted in 1/10^th scale it is the perfect collectible for any fan standing over 7” tall!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Pop! Vinyls
Collect all your favorite characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in adorable 3 ¾” Vinyl form! Choose from Buffy, Willow, Angel, the Gentlemen, Oz, and Spike.

These are the faces of Heroes' Beacon

What is Ladies’ Night? It’s a night where ladies’ can come together to learn and/or play with fellow ladies’ in a welcoming environment run by our own Adelia Collins.

Why do you offer a Ladies’ Night? We run a ladies’ night, because I’ve been told many times by woman that they want to learn about a nerdy activity, but they feel too embarrassed to learn in a group with men because of fear of being made fun of for nothing being on the same level or being talked down to when being taught. We have created an event that is run by a lady for ladies of any learning level to come and play in a welcoming environment to help us build a larger community with the understanding that woman are and can be part of the community.

When is Ladies’ Night? Currently we are running it every other Thursday. So for the month of June it is on June 5th and 19th with the introduction being Introduction to none cape comics (we are reading Rat Queens) on June 5th and open gaming or discussion on the 19th.

What are some of the upcoming events? Some of our future events are: Magic the Gathering, painting, non-cape comics, social games, miniature games, Pokémon, board games, traditional superhero comics, advance board games, nerdy crafts, deck building games, and role-playing.

~Adelia

What is Between the Panels? It’s a graphic novel book club for people who have always wanted to get into comics, for old veteran’s to come share their knowledge of the comic world with others, and for a great discussion and sharing of opinions on the ideas expressed in the graphic novels.

Why do you offer Between the Panels? We started it because we have heard the phrase “I’ve been interested in comics, but I never know where to start.” So we’ve created an easy way for more people to take the plunge into graphic novels and to expand the horizons of people who currently read graphic novels.

Who runs Between the Panels? It’s a joint effort between Adelia Collins and Greg Grodin, who are our primary facilitators for the club. We also get title ideas from our members who can, if they want, help lead the discussion of the graphic novels as facilitator for the evening.

When is Between the Panels? Currently we are running it every other Thursday. In the month of June we will be discussing Grandville on June 12th and Sin City on June 26th.

What are some of the upcoming events? Some of our future titles are: Y the Last Man, Hellboy, Flashpoint, and The Watchmen.

This was my first non-Impossible Realities convention (which is coming up in September! Keep your eyes peeled for details!) and first non- RP related convention. I had this vision of an over-crowded space with too many people and no room to move- which was an issue in my head because I enjoy my personal space. I was so wrong. The organizers had everything set up brilliantly! Wide aisles, lots of room to move around and mingle, no dead ends and I brushed very few elbows. It was a really good start.

The doors opened at 9AM for the VIP ticket holders and 10AM for everybody. It filled up pretty quick and everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Everyone I talked to was really friendly and open. The organizers were just that- organized. They came around and made sure all the vendors were watered (they actually came around and asked if we needed water) and looked after. There was even a food truck right out front (and may I say that the food was really yummy!) so no one had to go far to hunt food if they didn’t want to.

There were a handful of guest artists- there was only one I was interested in and no doubt Chris will love to tell you all about the fan girling I did in front of Gisele Legace (Ménage a Three and Sticky Dilly Buns among others…NSFW or Children!)- but Steve and I also went to visit with Marco Rudy and we got in on a cool secret from when he did Final Crisis Aftermath Escape #1, so it was awesome.

So, I’m not a cosplayer and to be honest, while I have a growing respect for it, I don’t get it, but it was, without a doubt, one of my favorite parts of ECCE. There were awesome costumes and the people in them were fantastic! I became the unofficial photographer for Heroes’ Beacon since I seemed to be the only one willing to leap in front of wandering cosplayers and ask if I could take their picture. But I didn’t mind. It was fun and I got some good shots. I'll get them posted to our Facebook page soon...ish.

As my first away from home non-LARP convention, I would call it a rousing success! I had a blast- pretty sure we all did. The weather could not have been nicer and got to meet some awesome peeps. It was completely family friendly and had something like 1100 people in attendance this year! I would highly suggest checking it out next year, May 16^th, 2015!

Experience a Magic format where the intrigues begin long before the first spells are cast! Revolutionary new abilities impact every part of the play experience, starting with the draft itself.

The first-ever multiplayer-focused booster set has new Magic cards with new mechanics that enhance multiplayer play. Returning favorites from throughout Magic's history round out the set and cultivate an environment of deception and treachery. The Magic: The Gathering–Conspiracy set is designed to be drafted with six to eight players who then split into groups of three or four players for free-for-all multiplayer games.

Set Name: Magic: The Gathering–Conspiracy

Number of Cards: 210
Release Date: June 6, 2014
Three-Letter Abbreviation: CNS
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGCNS

And we are drafting it on Friday, June 6th in place of the usual draft format! Come on out and join us or contact us for details!

Our team is on a mission to save kids through games, and we need your help. Each of us has chosen our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital where thousands of children are treated each year, regardless of their family's ability to pay. These kids are facing scary stuff like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few. On October 18th, 2014, we'll be part of a huge international celebration of the social impact of gamers with Extra Life and it's our sincere hope that you'll find it in your heart to support us with a monthly pledge or one-time gift that will go directly to that team member's chosen hospital.

We are running a variety of events in store to support Extra Life. Please contact us for details and join us on this amazing journey.

Thank you for caring for our kids!

To join our team search for Heroes' Beacon

Coffee Flavour of the Month!

Island Coconut

A Limited Edition Seasonal treat. Take a quick trip to paradise! Indulge your senses with the lush aroma of sweet, creamy coconut. This Limited Edition treat is perfect for warm days and tropical nights.

Light Roast. Made with 100% Arabica coffee.

Available in boxes of 24, as part of a mixed box, single pods or brew a cup in-store!

Visit Us Online

Some final thoughts on this issue....

I am a slacker and this is hugely late! I apologize. I am trying to organize my time better, but I hope you enjoy it!

Again, we are still raising funds for the IWK Extra-Life event coming up in October! Contact us for details if you would like to get involved! Also come check out our weekly battles in store!

Until next month!

Tara