Thanks to the generosity of Anup at Wizkids in Milton Keynes we were offered the opportunity to host a Marvel Sinister© Pre-release event in Middlesbrough, so of course I snapped his hand off. With the release of the swanky looking set less than a week away it was a perfect opportunity to get a sneak preview of the set for most of our players or another look for those of us who had attended the event at the Nationals in Loughborough earlier this month.

The format for the pre-release was exactly as a Marquee with a 300 point force build total from three sealed boosters and to keep interest high and make it a full day of gaming I added a semi-final, so the top 4 players from the Swiss Rounds could keep competing. This guaranteed some 1 - 2 records would qualify so made the second round matches a bit more intense and interesting than when it's a straight final after three rounds.

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Full teams (not full booster pulls as I am far to idle to do that) for the event were as follows ... bagsie lime green for my colour ...

Steve Date (Two Words For YOU "4 Damage!") Wolverine (U), Mach 4 (V), Hydro Man (E), Falcon (E)

David Hansell (Baron Strucker's Party People) Baron Strucker (U), Swordsman (R), Nighthawk (R), Valkyrie (R), Mockingbird (E), HYDRA Officer (V), Mach 3 (E), Dallas Riordan (Pog)

Craig Woolnough (Too Lazy To Come Up With A Name) Daredevil (R), Indomitable, Wizard (V), Spider-Man (R), Jessica Jones (E), Sgt. Tork (Pog)

Martin Teece (Arch Enemies United) Electro (V) Heightened Reflexes, Kraven (V), Vendetta, Speed Demon (V), Techno (E), Kraven (R), Jessica

Simon Swinbank (Sinister 6 (O' Doom)) Scarlet Spider (U) Pummel, Wizard (E), Bullseye (E), Mockingbird (E), Vlakyrie (R), Jamie Madrox (Pog)

James Phoenix (£15 Mix Up) Arkon (U), Beetle (E), Multiple Man (R), Rhino (E), Vendetta, Bullseye (E), Indomitable, Ground Zero

Alec Barrett (Hold & Hit) Pulsa (V), Meggan (E), Valkyrie (E), Paste Pot Pete (R), Paste Pot Pete (R)

Paul Crosby (Magneto Reincarnate) Black Bolt (U), Wizard (E), S.H.I.E.L.D. Sniper (E), Swordsman (E)

Stephen Hunt (Fear The Earthbound Charcoal!!!) Charcoal (U), Valkyrie (E), Pummel, Falcon (R), Electro (V), S.H.I.E.L.D. Sniper (E), Sgt. Tork (Pog)

David Smith (Shocks, Swords & Shields) Deathlok (E), Electro (V), Valkyrie (V), Nick Fury (U), S.H.I.E.L.D. Sniper (E)

Paul Spencelayh (Brick O'Von Doom) Rhino (E), Photon (E), Forge (U), Swordsman (E), HYDRA Technician (E)

Sean Harte (Sinister(ish) Six) Arkon (U), Spider-Man (R), Vault, Daredevil (E), Multiple-Man (E), Jack-O-Lantern (R), Beetle (R)

Oh my goodness that's a colourful section!

Having opened their three boosters each, most of the players here are concentrating on building their 300 point teams, Martin however seems more interested in demonstrating his evil grinning techniques for the benefit of the camera ... nice!

Not a bad turnout today for short notice and a Sunday morning!

Dave Smith's pull of Nick Fury made him the favourite for my money as I had seen Fury's effectiveness at Loughborough ealier this month. David's "Shocks, Swords & Shields" were drawn out against Martin's "Arch Enemies United" for their game, it's the next best thing to drawing Ste Date I suppose. Funnily enough, speaking of Ste Date, poor Martin had a very deja vu type result that was almost as if he were playing Ste Date. Suffering badly at the hands of the stealthed Fury and his ample ranged support from S.H.I.E.L.D., Deathlok and Electro Martin managed only to KO the S.H.I.E.L.D. Sniper for 22 points before he was wiped out. On the plus side (scant consolation I know but I am trying) most other players didn't fair much better against Dave later in the day either, though I can say I took him down more than most with my hideous come and get me tactics. Anyway Dave won convincingly, I'll stop wittering about later until I get to talking about what happened later.

David Hansell's "Baron Strucker's Party People" was perhaps the team I was most envious of today with Strucker and a fat Hydra in his line up. His first opponent today was Craig and his nameless squad (taking a page out of Liam's 'Book of Heroclix Team Names') with a tasty Daredevil and hmmm, ok an average looking bunch of no hopers. David Hansell's first sealed event showed that it's not just constructed that he has got the knack with as he coasted to a neat victory despite very little in the way of KO's. As time was called Craig had managed to KO Valkyrie whilst David had done for Kraven and Sgt Tork. So Dave's 55 KO's plus remaining 256 beat Craig's 44 KO's plus 227 remaining and Dave had the win.

Paul Spencelayh, travelling with Craig and myself from Hartlepool for his first foray into the world of sealed booster play (in Heroclix at least) saw his "Brick O'Von Doom" come up against Simon Swinbank and the "Sinister 6 (O' Doom)" as the two teams of Doom faced off. Incidentally it was also Simon's first sealed event so both players were venturing into the unknown on the new set. Another less than close one here with both players going all out to attack in this tense thriller rather than tentatively prodding the opposition and looking for weak points. Bullseye, Mockingbird and Jamie Maddrox couldn't last the distance for Simon and their combined KO's gave Paul 80 points, in the meantime Paul lost his entire force as the Scarlet Spider drew them into his web and caught them like flies. A great start for Simon, but Paul would have to work hard to recover from this poor foundation.

Alec Barrett's "Hold & Hit" made their debut battle against the impressively named "£15 Mix Up" of James Phoenix. This was one of those matches that might still be going on now if there wasn't a 50 minute time limit. At the end of the round as time was called only Alec had managed to achieve a KO and he only took out Arkon (though that guy does take a bit of taking out) so pulled off a narrow win on points. No KO's for JP meant he lost narrowly but did at least manage to clock up 214 points.

Guess who managed to draw themselves against a Black Bolt for Round One then! Oh that would be me. I really thought my goose would be cooked by the man with the antenna as this game got underway. Having the corridor of death to contend with and playing Black Bolt in a fun way rather than a deadly way, Paul's initial engagement was a Running Shot with Pulse Wave and spreading the damage allowed me to go "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh KILL HIM!" and I did. Spider-Man and Beetle were unable to last the distance as "Magneto Reincarnate" rallied, but it was all too late and they were exterminated like the vermin they could have been if they were rats. What am I talking about? Anyhoo played won one, won one to the mighty "Sinister(ish) Six".

JP and Alec contest their first round clash in the Prison's 'Corridor of Death'

The 'Battle of the Stes' rages again, seems like a while since the last one

Craig is in deep thought over his next move, but gets hammered so he may as well have not bothered thinking about it too deeply (LOL!)

Round two as ever saw the players paired according to performance in the earlier round and strangely my demolition of Black Bolt & Friends meant I was paired up with Ste Date's "Two Words For YOU "4 Damage!"" so this time I would face Wolverine and Co. Having waited for Wolverine to lead the charge, due to Hydroman providing everyone with 17 defence (making Falcon's defence 19-20 from range due to Energy Shield/Deflection and hindering terrain) I was surprised to see him lead a charge alone past Arkon and the front-line and move in to size up a Charge on Spider-Man who was slightly separate from his team-mates. Spider-Man though had entirely different ideas as he used the Heavy Object he was holding to great effect and scored a Critical Hit for a total of 6 damage all told. Wolverine didn't like that. He was finished off before he had a chance to Regenerate and after a series of good dice rolls the rest of his pals were also KO'ed, but not before Beetle and Jack-O'Lantern were defeated.

David Hansell's tight win in round one scored him a second round match with the only remaining first round winner, being Alec's "Hold & Hit". This gave David the perfect opportunity to stride on from his good base and it was an opportunity he wasn't going to miss out on. Faced with the dual Paste Pot Pete menace, David shirked his fear and attacked with his Strucker lead force ... "Hail Hydra!". Losing Swordsman, Valkyrie and Mockingbird in the relentless charge, David managed to take victory whilst preserving the meatiest chunk of his force and ended the round 2 - 0 and with 835 points already collected for his "Baron Strucker's Party People". Alec's semi-final chances were reduced but not elliminated, but he would have to score a big win in round three and hope other matches went his way to stand any chance of progression.

Top loser from the first games was Craig Wollnough and his nameless naughties, his next opponent was James Phoenix and the "£15 Mix Up". Arkon and the rest of the lucky bag did JP proud this round as they stalked their prey and struck fast and hard. Once again using his Ground Zero BFC Rhino, Beetle and Bullseye made up a Sinister Three and with Arkon and Multiple Man they certainly proved worthy inclusions in JP's team. Craig was by now beginning to regret the exclsuion of Hydro Man from his numbers (why exactly did you do that again?) and once again his absence was rued at the game's conclusion. JP pulled a win out of the bag as he scored 284 KO points and retained around half of his force. Craig was 0 - 2 and staringy longingly at Hydro Man around this time.

Launguishing lower down the order than we usually see him was the Huntmeister and his "Fear The Earthbound Charcoal!!!", this match he would be facing Paul Crosby and the might of Black Bolt and the rest of "Magneto Reincarnate". Black Bolt's Teesside debut hadn't gone well and his second outing was if anything even worse as the Huntmeister cruised to a whitewash to pull himself right back into the frame for the semis. Paul could at least console himself with the fact that he had pulled the most sought after figure in Sinister before the set was even released and he would have a Purple Ring Unique to follow too ... though he wasn't going to get one of the early choices by the looks of things.

Paul Spencelayh's "Brick O'Von Doom" looked to make amends for their first round crushing defeat by tackling Martin's "Arch Enemies United" in their second game. Martin who suffered a similar crushing loss first time round was banking on Electro and Kraven to do the damage to get him back on course, but although he had some heavy hitters the lack of numbers may have made this a difficult task. Paul managed a massive turnaround from his earlier game as another whitewash ensued putting Paul right back in the reckoning thanks to the four places of progression rather than the usual two. Unfortunately it was another bad day for Martin and his chances of qualification had already slipped away, he would have to play for pride in his Round Three game.

Craig loses again and pines for the absent Hydro man who sghould have been selected for his team in everyone's opinion but his ... D'OH!

"Lose and it's over" ... as two first round losers play to avoid a second defeat

David's winning in Round One came with a price and he had to resort to sucking his thumb in Round Two ... if he goes on to the semi-finals will we see him take up a full foetal position for his important game? The pressure, the pressure!

The only other player on 2 wins was David Hansell, so a win for "Baron Strucker's Party People" against Stephen Hunt's "Fear The Earthbound Charcoal!!!" would also book him a place in the semis. Having somewhat other ideas, the Huntmeister was not here to just make up the numbers and used his assortment of newly acquired plastic to put a dent in Dave's hopes almost as much as the one that would appear in his own pocket when he put his car in for MOT a little while after this event. David managed only 59 points this game as hit the Hunt brick wall and could only remove Sgt. Tork, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Sniper and Falcon from play before he was wiped out. In doing in Dave's chances, Hunt also went 2 - 1 and claimed a good score so put himself in the frame for progression, not to metion pretty much guaranteeing me a spot in the last four. Whooohooooo!

With David's catastrophic fall from grace the next best placed players had the backdoor thrown open to them to progress into the last four so Paul's "Brick O'Von Doom" and JP's "£15 Mix Up" were in a real crunch game here. Paul took this opportunity to unveil his ruthless killer streak as he inflicted JP's worst defeat of the day upon him in a complete whitewash. Paul's final scorecard showing 2 - 1 and 1236 points was good, but would it be enough to squeeze him into fourth place ahead of Ste Date?

Ste Date's final match saw him take on Simon Swinbank and the "Sinister 6 (O' Doom)" looking to win and win well to finish with a top four spot and thus reach the knock out stages. Simon's Scarlet Spider lead minions were also looking to finish with a 2 - 1 record but didn't quite have the experience to pull it off. Wolverine and his trio of annoying companions took the win but not before Hydro Man and Falcon were battered and bruised. The loss of these two protagonists cost Ste 103 points and left him finishing the Swiss Rounds with 1053 points to back up his 2 - 1 score. Unfortunately for him he was just outside the top four due to Paul Spencelayh's big win.

Craig Woolnough was hoping that his group, lacking in name, could at least end the day with a win under their belts and in order to acheieve this they would need to triumph over Alec's "Hold & Hit". Alec with one win already was aiming to finish in the top half of players by scoring a second win, but things didn't go too well for Pulsar and the Paste Pot Pete twins in this one. Despite 147 points of KO's from doing for over half of Craig's team, Alec's team just didn't function as a cohesive unit and Craig's remaining force wiped them all out in some sticky situations. The win allowed Craig to leapfrog Alec in the standings and end the event on an almost respectable 1 - 2 and 861 points.

Rounding of the third set of Swiss Rounds were Martin's "Arch Enemies United" competing against Paul Crosby's Black Bolt fuelled "Magneto Reincarnate" to avoid the wooden spoon slot. Black Bolt finished off a thoroughly miserable day with another whitewash (against) to end on 0 -3 and a very meagre 89 points all of which were scored against me in his oppening bout. Who'd have thunk it eh? The plus side of this for Martin was that his win and 597 points jumped him from last to tenth place, not an outstanding or noteworthy leap, but it stopped him finishing dead last.

Pepsi Max was the order of the day for several players and here Ste Date's caffeine induced concentration levels help him win out against Simon's Pepsi-less assault

The Huntmeister does his 'thang' again and defeats David Hansell to ensure he gets a place in the last four. Damn you ... will you stop winning! (Just kidding)

Paul Crosby plotting Black Bolt's latest downfall, whilst Martin hides and practices his evil grinning technique for later

The other semi-final encounter was a somewhat more frivelous encounter as I took on Paul Spencelayh and his "Brick O'Von Doom". Early bad dice rolls from me, which isn't unusal but today was something of a rarity, saw Paul get a very promising start as he took out Jak-O'Lantern fairly early on and was looking in a strong position to clean up. A recovery started as Arkon began to find his earlier form and took on Forge, with Photon annoyingly running in for Hypersonic Attacks from another room every other turn. A great battle saw Rhino and Swordsman fall as they took on Daredevil, Beetle and Multiple Man. After some more toing and frowing, Arkon got the run on his remaining opponents and there was only him Photon and a badly hurt Hydra Technician remaining. Running to base the opponents to prevent them healing Arkon proved too hard to handle and soon Photon also fell leaving only a battle damaged HYDRA between him and the final. Feeling cunningly sporting and evil in equal measure I decided to rest Arkon for the remainder of the game. This meant the Technician needed a nine and then a ten to hit me and remove my last two clicks of health (and thus win the game) whilst a critical hit would win it outright and a critical miss would see him KO'ed as he was on his last click. After many a miss for about five minutes the Hydra came good and saw of Arkon's challenge ... that very Technician is now painted with a recognisable shoulder patch and has pride of place in my Hydra force, Paul even made me keep the blue rubber ring he was wearing on him!

So the final saw double champion Dave Smith take on Paul Spencelayh in his first ever final. Paul's excitement wasn't extinguished as Dave tore through his squad to inflict Paul's heaviest defeat and his biggest win of the day (a whitewash) and he was still buzzing at the end. For the good spirit and sportmanship shown in reaching and playing through the final Paul was deservedly awarded the Fellowship Prize of an LE Polaris and Dave was also rewarded for his fine win with the same prize. The other players chose a Purple Ring LE in order of their final placing (though some prefered a tournamnet legal piece so traded them later) and everyone got to take home one of the new maps.

Have you guys never heard of chairs then? They are the things you sit on for games

Yet another savage beatdown (not trademarked by VS) in the 'Corridor of Death'

During the Battle Royal we managed a 3 leg unit Stiltman ... look out for more to come in the future once the set is officially released though!

A great day was had by all, and we all went away with a Unique an LE (or more) and a wodge of as yet unreleased figures. Many thanks to everyone who played, congratulations to those who won and a special mention to Anup for letting us host this event ... a first for the town. Big thanks as ever to Sam too for letting us use the centre. Now if England can just win the day will be rounded of very nicely indeed.

The sets not even released yet and we can make him "THIS BIG"!

The final placings after the Three Swiss Rounds were ...