Hello and welcome back!
As we are getting near the end of 2024, I wanted to do something special to wrap up the year. So I reached out to some of the most experienced X-Men players out there to do a retrospective on the X-Men in 2024. In this series, I'll be asking open questions about characters, Team Tactics Cards the state of the game and what's coming on the horizon. In today's article, I have the pleasure of hosting Horeath!
Section 1: New Leadership
In 2024, the Uncanny X-Men recieved, with the release of Charles Xavier, a brand new leader to supplement Storm and Cyclops. What are your thoughts on this new leadership and how it fits in the overall affiliation?
I really like it. Using the original storm leadership, X-Men became all about taking the advantage on extracts round 1, and forcing the opponent to play catch up. The changes to her leadership made this slightly harder, however Charles' leadership have unlocked a bunch of new options for "round 1 shenannigans". It also had great play mid-late game, with the right characters, allowing you to get power where you need it. I've found Rogue has always been a solid 4 threat, however with Charles, she has the power to feed her abilities, and has become a must take. It's great to see a classic character become stronger in game!
Section 2: Character reviews & team tactic cards
X-Men received a lot of new characters and team tactic cards in 2024. What are your impression of them, what they bring to X-Men and their place overall in the affiliation?
Professor X
He is my "go to" leader for extract crisis. He offers the round 1 plays, however offering rerolls for crucial time can't be understated. As a 4 threat, outside his leadership, he has modest impact on the game, although if he does get a little power, his "mental suggestion" can win VPs by moving an opponent off a secure. Overall though, as a 4 threat, you get more out of most other's in the affiliation. I wouldn't take him without being my leader! X-Men love Pay to Flip secures, and his weak defense line makes many Pay to Flip objectives not exactly friendly for him, so if you like them, having a backup leader is a good play.
Bishop
My first thoughts on Bishop weren't great. However I've found him a nifty niche piece in a number of circumstances. Having an affiliated model with a size 4 throw is certainly helpful, and he does enjoy getting fed power from Charles' leadership, and "yeeting" big nasties away each round. His auto incinerate has helped me linking him up with Pyro for a big round handing around the incinerate, then popping Pyrotechnics.
His defensive tech is a little random, and can't be relied on, however his innate immunities are great. Overload makes him a sad panda though, as he often has a bunch of power from taking the damage that flips him, and he then takes 20% of his health when he flips.
Nightcrawler
Early contender for best new piece. I'm sure all X-Men players have enjoyed "flurry of blows" popping multiple times to do excessive damage from a single attack action. He is surprisingly survivable as well, with Acrobatics, Invisible in Shadow, and the classic X-Men 4 physical defense.
I've found his Mass Transit card great fun, especially on narrow secures, or mutant senators, where I can set up a lot of double taps, and really get some attrition happening. 5 dice swings aren't anything special, but when most of your team is double tapping round 1, stuff eventually dies.
Iceman
Really frustrating for your opponent. Slowing and chip damaging people who end actions nearby means Iceman can put a real mental strain on your opponent as they decide to play around his aura, or simpy cop it. Sometimes he does silly things damagewise, but most of his utility comes from a beam gainer, along with his 2 superpowers. I take him regularly, and his ability to set up other pieces for impactful activations with ice slide, or using the same power to protect a crucial piece you don't want to activate just yet mean he almost always adds to the squad.
Shadowcat
I love Kitty in the comics, and her ruleset looked great at first. However she's fallen out of use for me. He defensive buff is nice, but she can struggle to generate her own power, making her reliant on Prof leadership. Defensive dice are also higher variance than offensive dice, making +2 worth less than they are of offense. I feel her biggest asset is her long move, and I enjoy running her with Storm on extract missions. But in competitive play, I tend to run Prof on extracts, so I just don't need her.
Angel
This guy! Oh what a piece!
Initially, he was the opposite of Kurt, an early contendor for most rubbish new piece. However, giving him a run, I have changed my mind.
Flyby gives him surprising mobility, and both airlift and hostile takeover massively impact games. A beam gainer means he can power his abilities even if his (underwhelming) 4 dice physical attack doesn't hurt anyone. I often run him and Iceman together, for crazy amounts of out of action mobility. Also, his size 3 throw on the spender isn't rubbish either.
Cerebro
Mind Wipe
This is a cool and nasty trick. Ending ther activation gives you a window to deny an opponent the change to pick up an extract, and potentially get it back yourself. Definately a solid card to play. Finding a space 3 power on prof though can be though.
Xavier's Dream
The pick of the bunch. A "must pick" card. I jokingly call it "fair and balanced", but it is super frustrating for people to play into. Important to note, it can be any allied character, and even non-xmen can pay for it. Very handy. The later you can hold it, the more impactful it is, however sometimes you burn it early to deal with a spike of damage, or to hold on to a lead.
Section 3: Current place in the meta
How impactful have you found the new leadership to be for the affiliation?
I would say massive. I've taken new models I hadn't run before, or run often, to take advantage of the leadership. I think Prof works well with some existing "strong" splash pieces like Beta Ray Bill, and some old classics like Jugs. It has really opened by extract play for me, and given me an option aside from Storm.
I also love that there are models who haven't got a heap of play, like Rogue, who have benefited so much from the leadership that they now see substancial table time.
I also love that there are models who haven't got a heap of play, like Rogue, who have benefited so much from the leadership that they now see substancial table time.
How have you found the new models impact your list building and how you approach the affiliation?
If you look over my notes on the individual models, you'll notice a few make my list more often than not. They include Bobby, Warren and Charles in particular. There is definately a consideration for most of the models (based on your preferred path to victory). I'd also say models like Bishop and Kurt alsooffer variety in playstyle. You don't HAVE to play control, and can lean into an attrition playstyle if you desire!
What would you say is the biggest gain X-Men made this year and why?
Charles' leadership. I just love setting up and working on round 1 plays, from Mass Transits, double Airlifts, to Rogue power draining to take Brace offline, then dumping a size 4 on someone. Being able to turn on wierd and wonderful plays early keeps your opponents guessing.
Outside of the releases, I think removing "Eyes on the Prize" has really helped X-Men. We have 3 easily accessible "safe extracts grabs" from the centreline (Storm "hop", "To Me, My X-Men", and Cable) which really solidifies this playstyle, even if you don't bring Storm.
What would you say is X-Men's biggest loss this year and why?
It's not so much a "loss" as a lost opportunity. I am sad that Roberto isn't affiliated. Given his associated role in X-Men '97, I'd love to see him in the team, and his flares rule would be awesome with Storm leadership, Cyclop's "Field Leader", and cards like Headmistress and To Me, My Xmen. I'm also a little sad we haven't seen Jubilee yet. Biggest loss overall though is easy. It's a name you shouldn't forget, mon ami....
I would like to thank Horeath for taking the time to answer my questions and give feedback on what's been a pretty busy year for the Uncanny X-Men. I'd also like to thank you for taking the time to read this article and as always, don't forget to have fun!
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