Character Review: Professor X

Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, dreams of peaceful coexistence between Humans and Mutants and founded the X-Men as a force for good and to represent the best of what Mutants could hope to accomplish. Now, how is Professor X's incarnation in MCP? Let's take a look!

With a stat line of 2 physical and energy defense, Xavier is, at 4 threat, a very fragile character. Having 6 mystical defense helps against that particular attack type but makes him very susceptible to having buildings and models thrown at him. Sitting on a 50mm base, Xavier is a pretty mobile model thanks to that medium movement.

Psychic Dart is Xavier's builder. With R4 and 5 dice mystic, it has a solid range that can help make sure he stays somewhat safe. Root is arguably one of the best conditions in the game, and having it as a wild trigger is a very solid upside.

Mental Suggestion is Charles's first spender. At R3, it means, in order to use this attack, he somewhat has to be close to his target, but advancing them their speed if the attack deals damage provides an inexpensive option to displace most models.

Finally, Astral Duel is Professor X's last attack. At 3 power, R3, it scales against the target's defense and denies them dice modifications, which means it scales well against most models that would have high defenses and additional techs.

As the founder of the X-Men, Charles Xavier brings his own leadership to the affiliation. His School for the Gifted Youngsters helps move power around when your characters use superpowers. I won't go over it in detail, as I think it's deserving of its own article, but it's a strong and flexible leadership.

Professor's Guidance gives allied characters rerolls during their attacks and blocks, which helps give them a degree of consistency. Something to note, it is only once per turn, and that Xavier's tutelage doesn't help him with his attacks and defenses.

Telepathic Lock serves as Xavier's tool to mitigate attacks, by forcing your opponent to pay 2 power to attack him where he's vulnerable. This lets Xavier be more resilient early in the game, where power is more scarce and where the tax makes a bigger difference.

As an Omega-Level Telepath, Xavier is resistant to most forms of mental domination and is harder to displace. It's a welcome addition to his kit since he needs to take actions to move around the board.

Overall, Charles Xavier is a pretty interesting piece, with solid attacks and some control options. However, he does share the same weakness as other X-Men leaders of being a character that wants to be further away from the action because they're fragile and have long range attacks. I think he provides another solid option as a leader but am not sure if I would play him under X-Men Gold or Blue, as the 4 threat spot is pretty crowded even in affiliation.

Thanks for taking the time to read this piece and as always, don't forget to have fun!