Welcome to another column! Today, I'll be going over the X-Men lists brought by the players participating in MCP's second World Team Championship. I'll be going over character choices, notable inclusions for affiliated models, popular splashes, team tactics cards and scenarios.
Before I delve into the lists, I'd like to thank Nick Cork for pulling the list data together and making this endeavor feasible.
Leaders and Leaderships
First and foremost, let's go over the affiliation spread. Out of the 22 players bringing X-Men to Copenhagen, there's only one dual affiliated X-Men list, that plays both Professor X and Sam Wilson as an Avenger's leader. While playing only X-Men seems like the consensus, let's go over each leader's representation.
Storm stands as the most-played X-Men leader by a significant margin. Being in 18 lists total, she's also tied for the most represented model of the affiliation. X-Men Gold is the clear leadership of the Uncanny X-Men for the event, especially if you compare it to the 5 Professor X and 4 X-Men Blue. Out of these lists, Storm is the only leader available in 14/18 of the list she's in. In the lists with multiple leaders, she shares one of them with Cyclops, one with both Cyclops and Xavier and the last two with Xavier. X-Men Blue and Xavier stand as the only leader in 2 lists each (and the last Professor X list being split with Avengers).
Affiliated Models
Storm, sitting at 18 inclusions, is, the most popular leader of the affiliation, also being the most popular model played doesn't surprise anyone. With X-Men Gold being the de facto choice of leadership, her predominance shows just how strong of a leader she is for the X-Men
Domino (18) is another model that is not surprising for those who have played X-Men before. She stands above most of her peers as a very durable and very powerful model. Working well under every X-Men leader, she works as a resilient scenario model for Storm, an aggressive 3 threat for Cyclops, and a flexible, self-sufficient model for Xavier.
Nightcrawler (18), the last model tied for most inclusions, stands out thanks to his incredible mobility. He can also dish a surprising amount of damage with his spender. Much like Domino, his kit makes him well-suited to play under all 3 leaders. His mobility and disruption under Storm, his spike potential under Cyclops and a great round 1 enabler under Professor X thanks to BAMF!
Beast (17), from his release to the current meta, has always been a staple of most X-Men lists thanks to his flexibility and efficiency. Being fairly mobile and resilient with his 50mm base and defensive rerolls, he also brings one of the most inexpensive throws on a 3 threat making him a great generalist model under any of the X-Men leaders.
Shadowcat (17) like the other affiliated models with the same inclusion rate, just brings a lot of things X-Men list like; mobility, additional durability and the ability to pack a punch. With her long move, stealth and defensive tech, she can easily grab an extract and stay away from danger. With her attack suite she can punch fairly hard, especially when given extra power to use on her spender.
Logan, The Wolverine (15) is another X-Men model that historically has seen a lot of play. Even with the rotation of X-Ceptional Healing, Logan remains a solid model for scenarios X-Men typically like. He also brings solid displacement and mobility. I do think we're seeing fewer Logans than before the rotation, but he remains the second 4 threat of choice for the affiliation.
Now onto the lesser played affiliated models for the event.
I think affiliated models played somewhere between 20%-50% of lists are often there to serve a narrower or more specific purpose than their more popular counterparts. Some of these models like Iceman (10), X-23 (8) and to an extent Magik (6), enhance the usual 3 threats brought in most X-Men lists by either bringing alternatives for certain match-ups or answers to specific problems. All 3 of these models are fairly mobile but can also deal relevant damage, but not to the extent of the more popular 3's already picked.
The next group of models occupy a similar narrow function but this time on the other side of the spectrum. Rogue (6), Bishop (5) and Cable (5) are all solid brawlers, bringing a combination of displacement, terrain throw, mobility and resilience, giving their respective teams a more midrange option if needed.
The last one in that list; Xavier (5), being a leader, occupies a different function and either provide an alternative leader and game plan for their lists or leads one.
The last group of affiliated models I think falls into either a narrow niche, a subjective preference, or a concession of the team format.
Cyclops (4) provides another alternative leader for some of the lists he's in, or leads them altogether. He still remains the least-played leader and one of the least-played affiliated models.
Honey Badger (3), Jean Grey (3) and Colossus (2) I think serve similar purposes here. All 3 of these models are answers to some of the dominant affiliations and models available for the WTC. Honey Badger and Colossus are able to redirect attacks away from your relevant models, while Jean Grey helps protect and deny some of the mode prominent control pieces of the event like Thanos, Shang-Chi and many of the Web Warriors.
The last group of Emma Frost (2), Wolverine (2) and Psylocke (1) I think falls either into subjective preference, or team format constraints, as these models only see nominal play and either don't fill a particular niche or need of the affiliation.
The two notable exclusions are Angel and Gambit, both seeing 0 inclusions in X-Men lists registered for the event. Because his release was only 1 week prior to the original list lock for the event, I suspect Angel's exclusion has more to do with how recent his release is than the actual model himself. As for Gambit, being the worst affiliated 3 threat of an affiliation spoiled for choice like X-Men
Unaffiliated models
Doctor Voodoo (9) is the first and most popular splash for X-Men. With X-Men Gold being the main plan for most X-Men lists at the event, the inclusion of Doctor Voodoo doesn't surprise me. He brings one of the best extract steals in the game in addition to being fairly resilient. Storm's leadership helps offset his biggest weakness, his mobility, while he provides a way to steal extracts and brings a solid mystic bruiser. His ability to use the X-Men jump, possess a model and then double move away has always made him a force to reckon with and it's no exception here.
Pyro (8) is the second most popular splash for X-Men and occupies a similar function. Thanks to Pyrotechnics, he offers the ability to have multiple models drop their extracts and get moved away. His Firewall superpower also helps control certain models that X-Men has a hard time dealing with. He's also a model that benefits a lot from the extra power provided by leaders like Cyclops and Xavier, making him a solid inclusion for the affiliation.
Toad (6), being the prime scenario model for his threat level, complements most X-Men teams fairly well, and with only a few Brotherhood and Apocalypse players in the event, he was one of the prime candidates to be splashed by scenario teams like X-Men.
As for the next few models, I think they serve a somewhat similar purpose as the niche-affiliated models; they're included to solve certain issues, scenarios or models X-Men has a hard time dealing with Okoye (4), Crimson Dynamo (3), Hulk (3), Ultron, Metal Tyrant (3) all either makes X-Men models more survivable or bring an aggressive option for more brawly scenarios. There are some additional inclusion who fit a similar role to those models or pick higger on the list but appear in lesser numbers: Juggernaut (2), Lizard (2) and Rhino (2)
As for the rest of the models, I would be inclined to say that, much like the least played affiliated models, are included either by subjective preference or to fill a particular niche. The list of models seeing a one of inclusion are: Black Widow, Bullseye, Electro, Immortal Hulk, King T'Challa, Luke Cage, Miles, Sam Wilson, Spider-Woman, Sunspot, Winter Soldier, Thor Prince of Asgard, Venom and Wong
Team Tactics Cards
Keeping in mind that Storm and X-Men Gold are the most played type of X-Men lists, the first few tactics cards are extremely similar and are seen in the overwhelming majority of rosters.
First Class and Xavier's Dream (22) are both included in all X-Men lists of the event. First Class being one of the cards that defines X-Men's style of scenario play, opens up a lot of options for X-Men by letting them interact once for free, usually on round 1 where power is scarce. Xavier's Dream is one of the best defensive cards in the game, as it lets you reduce damage from any source to a minimum of 0 by paying power from your models.
Up next is Brace for Impact (21) and To Me, My X-Men! (21). Brace for Impact is the most taken tactics card for the whole event (at 182/210 inclusions!) and a staple of MCP since its inception. To Me, My X-Men is another extremely strong affiliated card that lets you reposition a model outside of their activation. The only list not including it is the only one bringing a dual affiliation to the table.
Children of the Atom (20) and Survival (19) are another pair of defensive cards. I think the inclusion of Children of the Atom is due to the recent rotation, where an important number of unaffiliated tactics cards were phased out and by contrast to the remaining cards, it gained a lot of value. Clearing all conditions and giving power to an affiliated model is a strong incentive to play more X-Men and enable them. Survival is one of the latest released cards and offers a strong tool against a tall attrition team by letting one of your models survive the first turn. It helps limit the impact of some of the very popular attrition teams seen at the event.
Cards after these become a lot more varied and subject to preferences or game plans. Gotta Get Some Air (9), Sacrifice (9), Pyrotechnics (8), Recalibration Matrix (8), Fall Back (7) and Instant Recovery (7) are all mostly defensive cards or cards that are more proactive in nature. Pyrotechnics being taken as many times as Pyro is a good indicator of the character's inclusion.
After Brace for Impact, the remainder of the restricted cards seem much more divided. Sacrifice (9) Fall Back (7), Indomitable (2) and Patch Up (2).
Cerebro is the least included affiliated Team Tactics Card that doesn't require a specific character. With Jean Grey, Professor X and Emma Frost all making appearances, it opens up options for those characters but is not a favorite.
The rest of the Tactics Cards are divided into character cards like Hold Still (4), Journey Through Limbo (4), Mental Domination (3) Do You Know Who I Am? (2), Faithful Companion (2), Headmistress (2), Mass Transit (2), Mind Wipe (2) and This is a Robbery (2) and a few generic tactics card not included above like Versatile Strategy (2) and Warpath (2).
The rest of the cards fit similar roles, but their respective models are few and far between or occupy narrower niches than the cards above: Crimson Dawn, Fastball Special, Heroes for Hire, Joint Effort, Jonathan the Unstoppable, Lethal Protector, Mind If I Cut In?, Monkey Brain is Lizard Home, One Below All and Wisdom of the Ancestor.
Crisis
Much like the Team Tactics Cards and affiliated models before them, the scenarios picked by most Uncanny X-Men players seem to follow a clear consensus. Mutant Madmen (20), Spider-Portals (17) and SWORD (16) are taken in the vast majority of X-Men rosters. Combined with First Class, the colloquially known ''Pay To Flips'' have been a staple of X-Men for as long as they've been in MCP. The rest of the secures see significantly less play but follow a similar pattern of being mostly scenario-centric with Cosmic Vault (3), Infinity Formula (3) Extremis (2) and Scoundrels (1). The last group of mostly brawly scenarios sees close to no inclusions with Mayor Fisk (2), Gamma Wave (1) and Intrusion (1) leaving Demons Downtown and Deadly Meteors included in 0 lists.
The extracts follow a similar pattern but have more variations to it. Paranoia (16) Skrulls (16) and Senators (15) are the dominant extracts followed by Spider-Infected (8) then Cubes (5). Most of these extracts have traits in common that fit an X-Men scenario plan. They're high-scoring, bringing 4 or more VPs to the board and are mostly non-stackable. With X-Men mostly splashing for models with extract steals or drops, trying to limit how many extracts a model can run away with plays into the affiliation's inherent limitations. The only one stackable here deals damage and gives power, in an affiliation with an important amount of Healing Factor character is notable. The rest of the extracts, much like the secures, are mostly attrition centric with Hammers (2), Montesi Formula (2), Alien Ship (1), Legacy Virus (1) and Research Station (0) is absent from most lists.
Overall, my impression is that most lists are fairly standard X-Men lists with some additional variations due to the nature of team tournaments. We see clear preferences in playstyle, leadership and model choices, as well as predominant team tactics cards and scenarios. Storm is clearly still the de facto leader and a high-scoring, scenario-centric plan is still the way she's played. This particular metagame seems to have settled on Sword as the third secure of choice and cements the ''Pay to flips'' as their preferred secures.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this piece and as always, don't forget to have fun!
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