How to start the affiliation
PSA: If you want to get into this game for a low money investment. This is the wrong place sadly.
You have to start by swallowing the price tag of the Logan, the Wolverine and Sabretooth, Apex Predator rivals panel. It’s very expensive but here at least the terrain is fully usable, it comes with TTCs you absolutely need and both characters are really good and often splashed in many other places too. Next up I’d grab X-23 (leader option) and Honey Badger. The new Maverick and Weapon X (the character, who is also a leader option. Don’t worry, there’s a TTC with (almost) the same name too, so that surely won’t confuse anyone…) pack should also be high on your priority list. And then you’ll have to swallow another big price tag because a character pack randomly comes with terrain in Deadpool and Bob, Agent of Hydra (unaffiliated). At least the taco truck is a good size 3 terrain piece. Cable (unaffiliated) and Domino is the last pack for the affiliation.
What leaderships are available and what is the typical game plan
So you have four available leaders (one of them unaffiliated) but only one leadership. Is it good at least? Not really? Importantly it has two parts: while only affiliated models can benefit from the additional defense dice, splashes that daze or KO do trigger gaining a Memory token.
Now only fairly recently it was ruled, that, since the memory tokens are placed on the character and not on the leadership card (which would be more sensible) the leadership can’t be used or triggered when your leader is dazed. I have a full article about it here:
Seeing as the affiliated models are mostly claws-for-hands people WX is more of an attrition affiliation. Leadership and the very prevalent Healing Factor make it more of an “fight and outlast them” faction than a glass canon one.
Who could be added to the affiliation in the future, especially as leaders
I have really no idea here to be honest. A Wolverine version of Laura Kinney would be my only guess. Silver Fox maybe.
Update: I was told I committed a crime by not mentioning Weapon H here. I know he has a very cool looking mini from (I think) Trident studios but that’s really all I know about the character 🤷
Rating every affiliated TTC and Character
Team Tactics (5+1)
Are You Sure You Want To Remember?
C+. Yeah I really don’t like the leadership, sorry.
Call The Pack
A. It is very conditional but “free” movement is always great and this can move multiple of your models.
Dossier
B. Creates a fun and thematic mini game for the character you played the card with. The danger in that is that getting the Dossier back might require you to in a way they might be detrimental to your overall game plan. Also: Don’t bring the card if your opponent has Ant-Man or Wasp who can just drop the token on their board edge, effectively killing the card.
Implanted Memories
C-. It is a Baron Zemo like Counter Strike for a TTC slot of which you’re already a card down for your leadership. It does count hits, too but every Skull hurts your character. No thanks.
Weapons Stash
B. Gaining Cover on a secure is a good effect and adding two dice to an attack can be helpful too.
Instant Recovery (unaffiliated)
B. While it’s nowhere near the power level of X-ceptional it’s still a good card here where 7 of 8 affiliated characters have Healing Factor.
Characters (8+1)
Deadpool (3)
A-. Aside from dying rather quickly on his front side, Deadpool is just a great, mobile, damage dealing 3 threat.
Domino (3)
A-. Domino lacks mobility but is surprisingly tanky and has enormous damage output.
Honey Badger (2)
B. Gabby is decent to just throw into the enemy and take some hits while hopefully helping your other claw people get more damage through with her pseudo Incinerate bubble.
Logan, the Wolverine (4)
A-. Logan is one of your leader options and a great, mobile, killing machine. He needs to be on his own to really get the most out of him, so maybe don’t being him on central fighting secures.
Maverick (3)
A-. Bonus points for being a German 😅 Maverick has good damage output, mobility throw hit and run and his reactive S moves and brings a unique anti Healing Factor (and some other versions of removing damage from themselves) tech, as well as Healing Factor himself. What he lacks is any tech to actually survive attacks against him outside of his base 3/3/3 stats and 5/5 health.
Sabretooth, Apex Predator (4)
A-. Apex is a fantastic all around killing machine with action economy through primal pounce, a throw on top of it, good defensive stats and Healing Factor as well as great attacks. What he needs is power to really use his kit and WX doesn’t really help him with it.
Weapon X (3)
B+. Threeverine has the highest damage potential of the 3s available here but pays for it by not being able to pick up, interact with, or secure Extracts. He is a leader option, but probably wouldn’t be my pick unless he’s the only option. Healing Factor 3 means he’ll really punish the opponent for not putting him down, but he doesn’t have any means to stop that in the first place.
X-23 (3)
A. Laura is going to be your every game piece and more often then not the leader for you here. Just a great all around damage 3 threat.
Example Roster
Characters (10)
Deadpool (3)
Domino (3)
Honey Badger (2)
Logan, the Wolverine (4)
Maverick (3)
Sabretooth, Apex Predator (4)
Weapon X (3)
X-23 (3)
Werewolf by Night (5)
Shadowland Daredevil (4)
Team Tactics (10)
Are You Sure You Want To Remember?
Call The Pack
Dossier
Implanted Memories
Weapons Stash
Brace for Impact (R)
Sacrifice (R)
Gotta Get Some Air
Happy Birthday, Runt!
Phases of the Moon
Secure Crisis
Infinity Formula Goes Missing! (B, 17)
Intrusions Open Across City As Seals Collapse (C, 19)
S.W.O.R.D. Establishes Base on Moon‘s Blue Area (G, 15)
Extract Crisis
Paranoia Pummels Populace! (K, 16)
Struggle For The Cube Continues (F, 17)
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership (J, 20)
The idea here is to use the Healing Factor models to models to basically ignore the damaging extracts and use wider spread secures to outfight the opponent in 1:1s which is where I think the factions biggest strength lies. Werewolf by Night fits the theme in being a 5 threat with Healing Factor while Shadowland Daredevil brings Grunts to trigger the leadership more reliably.
That’s it for today. Next up: Web Warriors
Cheers from Germany 🍻
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