How to start the affiliation
You first pick up Sentinel Prime MK4 and the regular MK4 Sentinels. Afterwards you grab Cassandra Nova and Jean Grey (unaffiliated). And that’s (sadly) your entire affiliation right there. You should definitely own a core set (I would really recommend that regardless of affiliation) and you can think about some splashes immediately for Sentinels since you can only fill four roster slots with your affiliated models. I would definitely take a look at: the Wakanda affiliation pack especially for Okoye but the other three (Black Panther, Killmonger and Shuri) are all good overall splash characters to own. Taskmaster (Rouge Agent) and Punisher as well as Winter Soldier (Rouge Agent) and Vision also have to be in consideration since you really need one Rogue Agent to make the math on squads work.
What leaderships are available and what is the typical game plan
Mutant Hunters is… probably not why you wan to play Sentinels. Gaining power for dazes is not nothing but it doesn’t help you get there and for some reason doesn’t work on KOs which is a real bummer.
So the leadership does support a more aggressive play style but your affiliated model kind of don’t. What Sentinels are best at is blocking up Secures, pulling enemies of theirs and trying to survive. I’d say a type 2 game plan is where I see them most. They lack any kind of reliable extract play without splashes so that’s a bit problem for going full scenario and they can’t really hold up in a fist fight against more aggressive teams either.
Who could be added to the affiliation in the future, especially as leaders
Nimrod. Will Shick teased us all when he said since Nimrod is on a TTC now he has to be in the pipeline right? We can pretty reliably expect Nimrod to be in the game at some point. But we also know Abomination was supposed to be in the first release wave of the game and releasing Mephisto took almost 5 years so being in the pipeline doesn’t mean it’s going to be soon…
Omega Sentinel would be another famous addition to the team. Besides her Bastion of X-Men 97 fame as well as various other Sentinels MKs could be future members here. Any addition would be greatly appreciated because as is this is barely an affiliation to be honest.
Rating every affiliated TTC and character
Team Tactics (4+1)
Directive One
A. Marked for Death has been rotated out and this card is that on steroids. Especially against Web Warriors this more than worth its cost.
Efficient Machines
B. The effect is pretty strong turning on another success for the Sentinels but Cassandra is already rather power starved and range 3 around her small base isn’t exactly a huge area of effect.
Online and Operational
A. Be sure to use the updated version from AMGs website or Jarvis Protocol. Now the card is very good. Flipping an injured MK4 back to it’s usable front side is absolutely worth the now only 4 power and you don’t drop extracts anymore either.
Scrap Metal
B-. Exploding your destroyed Sentinels is fun an thematic. Just be careful that it hurts your allies as well. The automatic AoE stun is probably the best effect here. It is always the question if you want to bring cards that only trigger on your own KOs which you obviously don’t want to see at all during the game.
Under your skin (technically unaffiliated)
B. This card turns one of your splash characters into a Sentinel for the game just like Bastion does in X-Men 97. Sadly this doesn’t help you make affiliation in Squad building. It only gives you flight and immunity to bleed and poison. Which honestly isn’t nothing. Black Panther is a good target for this for example.
Characters (4+2)
Cassandra Nova (5)
B-. Cassandra has a cool kit which she struggles to fund and she lacks action economy. There’s a place she really shines. It isn’t here sadly. You still have to include and play her a lot so better get comfortable playing around her weaknesses. If she’s good, she’s great though.
Sentinel MK4 (4)
C+. The biggest weakness of the faction is that the MK4 Sentinels simply aren’t especially good 4 threats. They are OK on their front side and kind of terrible on their back side. They really need an update from AMG to make them more viable. Even an increase to 4 physical defense would help a lot. As is be very careful to not have them taken out by terrain throws and simple weight of physical attacks quicker than you can imagine.
Sentinel MK4 (4)
Wait didn’t we cover this one just a second ago? We did but uniquely in the game you can bring two of these guys. The problem is that, aside from it looking awesome on the table, it isn’t especially desirable to do so.
Sentinel Prime MK4 (5)
A-. Your leader is your best model by a large margin and is even good enough to be splashed into other places. He has the same 3 physical defense problem but he remains useable on his backside and has more total health. His reroll bubble is also kind of more important than his actual leadership.
Taskmaster (3) Rogue Agent
A. I love Taskmaster (in the game and in the comics). He plays the secure game very well and can hold down a side on his own. My personal preferred Rogue Agent.
Winter Soldier (3) Rogue Agent
B. Since his nerf in 2023 (he’s the only character that has had three different stat cards so be sure to use the correct one) Bucky is more of a tech than an every game piece. It’s still useful to have him in the roster to hold down a home point and he’s great with a Hammer.
Example Roster
Characters (10)
Cassandra Nova (5)
Sentinel MK4 (4)
Sentinel MK4 (4)
Sentinel Prime MK4 (5)
Taskmaster (3)
Winter Soldier (3) (could also be Shuri, but you rely even more on Taskmaster then)
Okoye (2)
Ultron, Metal Tyrant (5)
Vision (4)
Black Panther (4)
Team Tactics (10)
Directive One
Efficient Machines
Online and Operational
Scrap Metal
Under Your Skin
Mental Domination
Wisdom of the Ancestors
Brace for Impact (R)
Indomitable (R)
Recalibration Matrix
Secure Crisis
Mayor Fisk Vows To Find Missing Witnesses (H, 16)
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)
The Montesi Formula Found (E, 18)
That’s it for today. Next up: Servants of the Apocalypse
Cheers from Germany 🍻
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