In this edition of Casual Digest, we are going to look at a 500 point X-Men theme team from X-Men The Animated Series. This was my favorite animated series of the 90’s and maybe of all time. As soon as I start thinking about it, I hear that iconic theme song in my head. X-Men The Animated Series: The Dark Phoenix saga set gave us some great versions of the characters that should be a lot of fun to field. Lets look at the roster from the beginning of the series.
First up we have the team field leader, Cyclops. Cyke has a solid 70 point dial.
His Commanding Leader damage power is great providing Leadership as well a way to help get one of our X-men into battle. I think Wolverine or Rogue would benefit most as they will be our main close combat characters and could use the help closing the gap.
Just like in the show Jean and Scott benefit from being close to each other. Cyclops can modify one combat value +1 just from being adjacent to Jean Grey at the beginning of the turn. I love the versatility there allowing you to boost any stat you need.
Jean definitely plays a support role on the team. Not yet commanding the power of the Phoenix she will be in the background boosting Cyclops and lending Toughness to her teammates with her Force Field Protection power.We want to keep her on that top dial as long as possible because every member of the team besides Rogue benefits greatly from the toughness. Telekinesis will also be great help getting the team in position. Jean also benefits from a much needed stat boost from being adjacent to Cyclops.
As usual Wolverine wants to get in close pop the claws. Starting 12 attack will make sure he hits but he is dependent on blades for his damage so his output will vary. The reason I really like this figure is the trait. I love when they get stuff like this right. A very accurate power for the character. Wolverine can sniff out any opponents with his heightened senses and when they are within 3 squares of him they can’t use Stealth or Shape Change. The team does not have any Improved Targeting: Hindering or Battle Fury so this trait is going to be incredibly helpful.
Beast will also be playing a support role on the team with his special Perplex that will allow him to modify a value by +2 except damage if the character shares a keyword. Since this is an X-men team he will be able to do that to all of our other characters. Otherwise Hank isn’t going to be doing alot offensively but could potentially tie someone up with his 17 combat reflexes.
I chose the Storm from the XDPS Fast Forces over the main set because I think she brings more to the table offensively with Running Shot, Energy Explosion and a higher starting attack value as well as providing a second source of leadership. Also since the X-Men are thematically battling Sentinels the traits from the Fast Forces will come in very handy. Storm will grant all friendly characters with the X-men keyowrd the Mystics team ability when attacked by characters with the Giant or Colossal symbol. This will be a great help when any giant robots or monsters are beating down the door of the Xavier School.
Rogue will be up close and personal with the enemy punching them in the face with southern charm. She has the best reducers and highest printed damage on the team and once in combat traited Steal Energy should help her outlast the opposition.
I went with the Fast Forces version of Gambit. I feel this version is just supperior to the rare version from XDPS. This Gambit has Psychic Blast over energy explosion providing the team with some much needed penetrating damage and he can also support our range attackers with Enhancement. Top it off with the Hunted And On The Run trait providing Probability Control against Giants and Colossals and the Cajun is providing a lot of value.
I chose to go with Jubilee from the Fast Forces. This version has pulse wave and it can be very useful even with the low damage output. The Hunted And On The Run trait provides the team with Shape Change and in combination with the traits from Storm and Gambit the team should have great protection from Giant and Colossal figures.
Finally we come to Morph, who didn’t fair so well in the two part opening episode. Morph is a great tie up and disruption piece. Plasticity and his Let Me Borrow That Face trait which grants Shape Change and allows him to pick the new target if successful, possibly making the opponent attack their own characters is a great combination. It forces the enemy to either risk attacking or breakaway neither of which will easily be successful. Morph also provides another source of Perplex to the team and outwit on his back dial.
Just seeing all these characters together on the map is a nice dose of nostalgia for me and sure many other fans of the show. I think all these figures have good synergy and give plenty of options on the battlefield. I can’t wait to play them against a squad of Sentinels. Remember to have fun!
