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So you are saying that you think there WILL be others this year along with Ilrion? I hope so. But they could have showed boxes? If they want them to be in shops by the end of the year then they would had needed to show the buyers SOMETHING at the trade fairs. Take the Hobbit game for example, nothing other than promo box cover, but will still be ready for Christmas.

But you'll have to update them all with the series 7 bagpipers' kilt soon!

That would be great to see, maybe a competition to 'down'-date modern sets in a retro-castle style?! But back on topic. A nice build, would really fit in with the old falcon/crusaders stuff. I especially like the modular nature of it. Well thought out!

I think the general concensus is that the baddies are the skrulls, or a version of them. Whether they resemble anything to the comics remains to be seen. We all know characters go through revisions when appearing in movies (costumes, height, gender, race etc). Has anyone mentioned what the 'Play builder' mentioned on the boxes is? I'm guessing maybe a combination of comic strip and intruction booklet (for those old enough to remember fabuland booklets)??

In the comic strip that goes along with the heroica sets one of the final panels has this map: Which would imply that there are 3 more places to visit and subsequently 3 more sets have been planned (assuming that the volcano set at the bottom is Ilrion). Rescuing the King at this point is a bit odd, but as I mentioned before, I'm hoping the lack of heroica sets is more about not competing for shelf space with the Hobbit game at the end of this year. And hopefully we'll see some new sets in early 2013. Unless sales were dreadful and they are just cutting the theme short. But designers are planning these things months and years ahead so have probably planned out the remaining sets already.

I think the knight you are refering to (the microfig character at the centre of the box art) is actually the white priest/wizard hero (he has the same sun shape on this chest). The Prince character looks a navy/drak blue, the ranger was a medium blue. This would mean two new heroes (not including the King/Gold character in the prison area). BATTLE OF HOTH - I've had a look but can't find any release info for the USA, but would have thought it would be a major mistake to not release it over there! edit: spelling.

I hope this variation/introduction of the water symbol does mean that they have future sets planned. I guess a larger set was probably held back so as not to have competing products at christmas with the Hobbit Game. If you zoom in, he definately looks like a King, and the Fortaan comic mentions looking for one. If you view all sizes on the promo box art it the monster microfigs have a certain zombie look to them, and would tie in with the Catacombs theme. My guess would be that they are releasing a small set to keep interest and the theme running, whilst letting the hobbit game be the big seller in a similar market at christmas. Then hopefully see some new Heroica sets in 2013...? :P Assuming the element theme and the map/comic story line does indicate the intention of more sets. Look forward to seeing the hobbit game though in the meantime. And was hoping to see something more of the Mayan themed game at the toy fairs.

Here are some pictures of Ilrion courtesy of fbtb.net. Check out the rest of their photostream for photo's of... well, everything! Looks like this set contains new heroes - dark blue prince, white priest. As well as a Gold King, Zombies and Evil priest. Plus a green potion and potentially some sort of puzzle game mechanic (guessing from the water and gauge wheels?). http://www.flickr.com/photos/fbtbnet/sets/72157629297066201/with/6867889727/

I hadn't noticed that. Haven't seen any pics yet, most of the online buzz seems to be LOTR and Marvel. Though I'm sure this hobbit game will have lots of microscale goodness!

That's odd if they're the freebies, as I thought the official Iron Man had the giant bobble head. The one in that picture looks like the custom figs I've seen. Slightly underwhelmed by the Avengers stuff, think I'll be saving my money for LOTR stuff. Depending on the other part of the Captain America set will make or break whether it becomes a must buy for me.

Photos from New York toy fair... Called it! Well LotR rather than the hobbit. But micro hobbitses all the same!

That's a great representation, and nice colours. On a side note... How long would it take to upload a 100 hour video to YouTube!!

This is an interesting option to increase use of powers. I also found that they are rarely used, and wonder about adding another shield to the dice. Alternatively you could use a SP system similar to the health system rather than trading monsters 9as this would clash with the sceptre of summoning power, or my rule where monsters are traded for gold at the end of the level). If each hero had 4 SP on their hero pack they could either use one, or regain one per go. This would give the option of adding potions that allow you to use more SP or regain more SP.

Ah the old game of knifey spoony! (Reference within a reference, is that too meta?). Great film, great scene. Instantly recognisable! (And Dundee had the knife strapped to his back if my memory is correct).

Yeah similar to what I was trying to do. Forgot to mention a few rules that are similar to the link mentioned above. If a hero bought his own weapon (eg Barbarian bought an axe), on a shield roll he would deal 2 damage rather than 1. (But as previously mentioned, shield rolls were fairly infrequent. I would suggest maybe that hero could add an extra shield to his dice when purchasing his own weapon, as would also increase the chance to use his power). In my rules, due to the greater chance of gold, weapons cost 5, poitions remained at 4. We also played that you could pass monsters (not pass over/jump them) if there was space, but landing next to them meant you had to fight (or if they were blocking your route). Question: Should Heroes with 'Ranged powers (Wizard and Ranger) be allowed to use their power when rolling a shield in a face to face fight(when they posses their own weapon as it would give them a hit strength of 2)?. Seems odd that they wouldn't, but obviously would put the Melee heroes at a disadvantage as they have no ranged ability.

I finally got round to trying out my set of added rules (the basics of play and character abilities remain the same) so apologies for dragging this thread up from a few pages back... The map we were playing on was a combination of 2 sets of Nathuz with a starting area in a standard Draida Bay 9other than the addition of giant crabs. My added rules were as follows. Enemies had gold studs to the value of their strength on their heads. These also acted as lives, so a hit from a hero would would receive 1 gold, and the enemies strength would also decrease. Once defeated, the hero put the monster on their hero pack as normal, which could be traded in for 1 gold at the end of a level (in this case only between Draida and Nathuz). Bats and Crabs had strength of 0, so basically acted as roadblocks. Meaning on a roll of 1 or two, you still moved back one space, but didn't lose a life. Gold remained on the board but I removed all potions. Poitions could be found by exploring chests. Normal rolling applied but on a 3 you chose an actual lego chest, which may contain a potion, gold or both. This added more of an exploration element. Hero's were also looking for a brown path piece to complete the bridge to the middle island, which held the Sceptre of summoning. (Unfortunately my friend found it on his second chest). The game ended when one hero reached the exit (mainly because people were getting slightly bored, they weren't real lego enthusiasts...), the winner was the hero with the most points (gold collected plus one point for every dead monster. The sceptre was worth 10). THINGS I WOULD CHANGE: Heroes could buy weapons at any point (for 5 gold), but this was mainly pointless as they didn't feel like much opportunity to actually use them. Would suggest adding another shield to the dice. Or giving each hero their own dice, which could be altered as they bought extra weapons etc. My friend ended the game with 30points and we all had about 20 gold. Would suggest removing gold from general play, and only to be found in chests, and received when fighting monsters. I had added a Boss at the end (the Rock raiders cave monster) but I reached the exit (via the extra bridge, bypassing the monster, as I'd found the other bridge tile) so this didn't really get to be played out.

I doubt it. The toy fair version looked pretty finalised, and I doubt TLG would include drops of blood. Edit: 100th post. Woo!

The cave troll in the Moria set (at the back) looks great. And by the looks of things Legolas' hair goes all the way down his back, so no quiver :( Would really like to see a close up of the new horse soon!

Just read a report from the london toy fair on fbtb.net He reports "There was a Heroica game called "Ilrion Catacombs", set number 3874, which seemed to have a watery theme ... stated with an August launch date, but it wasn't demonstrated or shown to me in any detail. Looking at the box size, it looks similar to 3858 and 3859 ... so I would guess the price would be similar, so around £14.99, but this is purely guesswork." http://www.fbtb.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7156 Sounds small, about the same size as Nathuz and Waldurk, thought the pictures made it look bigger.

Very true! I'd forgotten about that one! Makes another licensed game not so unlikely...

The offical announcement was for LOTR sets in the summer, then Hobbit sets around the time the movies come out (December 2012 and 2013).

They're bringing out an advent calendar so wouldn't be suprised. Depends if their research told them that girls like games, as well as pink :P Now that they've produced their first licensed board game (The Star Wars Hoth one) who would like to see a micro-fig LOTR game?!! Micro-hobbitses!!

For those of us hoping for some more boardgame news from London Toy Fair prepare to be disappointed! Seems like Maya Mystica and Heroica Ilrion are slated for an August release but not much else (apart from the chicken one, Hoth, Mini-taurus and City Alarm that seem to already be released). Guess we can wait for photos from the upcoming toy fairs.

I would guess Dracula will, that seems to be becoming the normal thing for a lot of figs that are coming out now. With a less 'threatening' face on the other side.

Monsters are in the wild! Pictures via http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2012/01/24/toyfair-2012-lego-avengers-lego-lord-of-the-rings-and-universal-monsters/#.Tx6rcoFKS0N (image removed - if you want to see it you need to go to the guys blog)