10.2006 Hero Pax 4: Mediterranean Theater of Operations / Heroes 4: Grudge Match

Alternative Titles/Edition History:
1st Edition, 2006; 2nd Edition (Heroes 4: Grudge Match), 2017

Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (1st Edition, 2006; 2nd Edition, 2017)

Product Type:
Scenario Pack

Country of Origin:
U.S.A.

Contents:
1st Edition: 12 scenarios (10 themed scenarios, plus two "bonus" scenarios) on cardstock

2nd Edition (Heroes 4: Grudge Match): ? scenarios on cardstock

The fourth and last in the Hero Pax series (whose admittedly weak series “theme” is that every scenario contains at least one hero counter in it), a series that has produced some of the best Critical Hit scenarios in recent years, takes as its theme the “Mediterannean” (as it is spelled on the cover) theater of operations.

However, of the 10 themed scenario, only one of them, HP27 (Last Ditch Ridge), is a desert scenario (although, despite using a desert board and some desert terrain rules, it takes place at Anzio). Other scenarios are set in Italy, Syria, the Dodecanese, Tunisia, Sicily, France, and Algeria. Four of the scenarios are designed by Dave Lamb, but the pack also features scenarios by “Macca,” Mark Pitcavage, Chas Argent, Pedro Ramis, Glenn Houseman, and Scott Holst.

As is standard for the series, the scenarios of Hero Pax 4 are all smallish in size and quite suitable for tournaments. Not surprisingly, given their design history, the smallest scenarios are those by McCloskey and Ramis. One nice thing about the pack is that six of the scenarios feature Italians; one scenario even features an Italian 10-3 leader! The Italians are so often under-represented in ASL that their appearance here is quite refreshing. The Vichy French also show up a couple of times.

In addition to the 10 Hero Pax scenarios, the product includes 2 “bonus” scenarios. One of these is the East Front scenario Brandenburger Bridge, which Critical Hit seems to reprint every other month (although it is a good scenario). The other is a new scenario, Scots at a Standstill, which actually fits the Hero Pax theme, as it takes place on Sicily (and even features a hero).

Like its predecessors, this pack is worth getting.

2nd Edition (Heroes 4: Grudge Match) Comments: In 2017, Critical Hit renamed and re-released the four Hero Pax products under new names. The contents are the same–8 scenarios each, although Critical Hit claims that “all known errata [is] input, and freshend [sic] up with the artwork that we’ve had commissioned in the interim, plus other color flourishes.”

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