Today I’ll start a new series: Affiliation overviews for every affiliation currently in the game.
These articles will be structured in the same way and will include:
How to start the affiliation
What leaderships are available and what is their typical archetype
A quick rating of the affiliates characters and TTCs
potential future characters, especially leaders
an example Roster.
So let’s get right into it with first in the alphabetical order:
A-Force.
How to start the affiliation
Owning either core set is a good idea here, but not an absolute necessity. Both come with two good affiliated models. You have to start with She-Hulk as she’s your only leader option and comes with all the affiliated TTCs. Next up I would take a look at the Wakanda affiliation pack. Okoye is pretty much an every game piece here and Shuri is a good affiliated 3 threat. And then Black Panther and Killmonger are just good overall model, allow for an easy dual affiliation (something worth considering with A-Force) and the price of the 4 pack is just better than getting Shuri and Okoye on their own. After them it starts to get more to taste. Gwenpool and Squirrel Girl is a good A-Force box as both a good affiliated 4 threats.
What is their leadership and which Archetype does A-force usually play?
Defenders of Arcadia is probably my absolute favourite leadership in the game. It creates a tonne of free extra power and you have a lot of control over it. It only really suffers in match ups like Web Warriors or Kingpin Criminals where your opponent can manage to win without attacking your characters.
In terms of Archetype A-Force are pretty flexible. They probably can’t be a Type 1 (pure scenario) because of She-Hulks 6 threat but 2 and 3 are easy doable and despite not being the best at it the affiliated list makes a type 4 (pure attrition) game plan possible. Personally I would aim for a type 3 (attrition focus with enough pieces to play scenario against fightyer teams) build with A-Force.
Rating every affiliated TTC and Character
TTCs:
A-Force Assemble!
B. A solid card helping a defensive bunker stay on the board longer. Something you often want to do in A-Force.
Special Delivery
A. The effect of the card is simply fantastic but it can’t just be played blindly in round 1 for some early damage. She-Hulks health pool is a resource that has to be managed wisely in order to have any kind of success with this affiliation.
Stalwart Determination
A+. Indomitable for an entire round and every affiliated character? One of the best cards in the game.
Characters (22)
Angela (5)
C. Angela is an in affiliation safe grab and can be a Special Delivery target but… It doesn’t really come together as well as you’d hope. Angela is very good at hunting smaller characters which is quite opposite to She-Hulk.
Black Cat (3)
A+. One of the best 3 threats and overall models in the game. You should be getting her at some point. Her model is among the worst AMG has ever put out but you’ll use her a lot, especially when, like here, she is affiliated.
Black Widow (2)
A. 2 threats are just good at their job. If you have the OG core set she’s a good inclusion. But not good enough to get the Avengers affiliation pack I’d say.
Black Widow, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (3)
B+. Agent Widow is a good model that suffers mightily from being another Natasha Romanov. Both of her other versions are just more specialised in what they do which is why you’ll probably always pick them above Agent Widow.
Captain Marvel (4)
B. OG Carol has her best home here where you can feed her all the power she needs to be a menace.
Captain Marvel, Cosmic Avenger (5)
B+. Cosmic Carol can be an absolute beast and in A-Force people can’t use the usual play around of just ignoring her. She also has a Charge she can use with Special Delivery. Spicy but of course it is an expensive duo to play.
Crystal (3)
B-. Crystal is fast and a decent enough objective player but she also folds like a piece of paper.
Domino (3)
A. Domino is a premier damage 3 threat and always worth considering if she’s affiliated.
Gamora (4)
B. Gamora is a good, fast damage dealer. You are kind of spoiled for choices in the 4 threat slot which often leaves her the odd woman out but I wouldn’t fault anyone for giving her a shot.
Gwenpool (4)
A. Gwen is a ball of very good stats and excellent for the leadership in both ways. She’s tanky so she can create power for her teammates being attacked and she also spends power extremely well herself.
Medusa (4)
A. Another great affiliated 4 threat. Medusa brings movement tech along good control and decent offensive output.
Okoye (2)
A+. Okoye is basically an every game piece in A-Force. The typical play pattern with her and She-Hulk is having Jen taking the pling shots with her Bodyguard and Okoye taking the big hits that want to put She-Hulk down.
Scarlet Witch (5)
C. As much as I love Wanda as a character her MCP version has a hard time making lists for me. A-Force offers little to her and she offers little back. You don’t want to spend 5 threat on a back point sitter usually and it become even worse if your leader is 6 threat herself.
She-Hulk (6)
C+. While her leadership is fantastic and her Attacke Suite is good She-Hulk just folds under any kind of concentrated fire. Not having an injured side is an active downside for her and 3 physical is straight up terrible. Be prepared to play without your leader from round 3 if she ever gets incinerate. I think Jen needs a little buff, even if it was just an increase to 4 physical defense base.
Shuri (3)
B. Shuri is a very good back point sitter that offers rerolls and control.
Spider-Woman (4)
A. Notice a trend of A-Force swimming in good affiliated 4 threats? Jessica Drew may just be the most versatile of the bunch. She is fast with L move and a place, her spender drops extracts, Interrogate comes up more often than you’d think and she has interesting TTCs. She’s on top of my personal list of affiliated 4s.
Squirrel Girl (4)
A-. Probably the weirdest of the Bunch of 4s but a powerful one nonetheless.
Storm (3)
B. Since her buff (while her leadership was needed) Storm has become more of a decent option at 3 threat. She offers a long range throw and long range energy attacks which is never a bad thing to have in your pocket.
The Black Widow (4)
A-. Earth Mightiest Natasha is a fantastic extract carrier but fights pretty much directly with Spider-Woman for a spot and that battle is typically won by Jess in my opinion.
The Mighty Thor (5)
A-. The newest addition to the roster Jane Foster, who I adore in Asgard, has a good place here . She does have a charge and the leadership can fund her kit. She combination with She-Hulk is very expensive though.
Valkyrie (3)
B-. Brunhilde is a model that always just misses out on being in my rosters. Nothing is really wrong with her and the leadership helps her pay for her throw but she also has a lot of competition in affiliation.
Wasp (3)
B+. Probably an underappreciated model overall Wasp is great in A-Force specifically. She is extremely fast and can play the secure game like no one’s business while packing a surprisingly hard punch.
Who could join the affiliation in the future and maybe become their next leader?
Nico Minoru is the obvious pick here. Singularity herself maybe. Both were actual members of the A-Force in the comics (unlike a lot of the affiliated characters) and came the closest to actually leading the team.
Example Roster
Characters (10)
- She-Hulk (6)
- The Mighty Thor (5)
Spider-Woman (4)
Gwenpool (4)
Medusa (4)
Wasp (3)
Black Cat (3)
Domino (3)
Shuri (3)
Okoye (2)
Team Tactics (10)
A-Force Assemble!
Special Delivery
Stalwart Determination
Double Agent
Pym Particles
They Say Keep Your Enemies Close…
Brace for Impact (R)
Patch Up (R)
Recalibration Matrix
Survival
Secure Crisis
Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest (E, 15)
Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians (I, 17)
Intrusions Open Across City As Seals Collapse (C, 19)
Extract Crisis
Alien Ship Crashes In Downtown! (C, 17)
Deadly Legacy Virus Cured? (C, 19)
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership (J, 20)
Of course you could season this with splashes to taste. Anyone who likes extra power loves this leadership. Apex Predator is a prime candidate for example.
That’s it for our first installment of this series. I’ll update these whenever there’s news for the affiliation.
Cheers from Germany 🍻
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