Avengers Vs X-Men - HeroClix Figure Review: Scarlet Witch

Wanda's most expensive HeroClix version to date also has the one thing most people will be talking about - the team ability siphoning trait that acts as a foil to everything from Power Cosmic to her own mystics TA.

It's hard to see beyond such an altering game effect, but the Scarlet sister has more going on.

At her most expensive investment she has the best defense, with Stealth and Energy Shield giving her extremely good chances of dodging a ranged attack. Two more clicks of life may not seem like much, but it will most likely mean an opponent is going to take at least two clicks of feedback damage dealing with her.

Better still, Psychic Blast and Sharpshooter is going to be a nasty pairing as she won't be shut down by base contact and when not based will be able to shoot around opponents to prioritize targets.

That said, most people are likely going to field the lesser version piece for the support prowess - Perplex and Probability Control is just too good of a combo to pass up over the 150's plain blue reroll. Add the TA canceler and you've got a great support/nerf piece worth an otherwise hefty investment.

Wanda's combat values may not been needed much in the earlier, 300 to 400 point grudge matches of the AVX events, but you can bet the Witch will make appearances later in the series, as bigger totals will mean more Power Cosmic Phoenix Force figures.

Avengers Vs X-Men - HeroClix Figure Review: Magneto

How do you rate a figure like Magneto that could arguably take on all the Avengers by himself?

Time and again, Magneto has run afoul of the Avengers - and his family ties with the team run deep. Magneto was the centerpiece behind the team's original X-Men vs Avengers event back in the 1980's, so it's no wonder that the master of magnetism has returned to trouble earth's mightiest once again.

In terms of HeroClix, it would be easy to design a 300 to 400 point powerhouse - the GSX SR, the Marvel 10th anniversary Rare, and even the WaX Prime all make for great tentpole versions of the Brotherhood founder, but the Starter set delivers something in between tent pole and team player.

It's interesting seeing a version of Magneto that defers to Scott Summers. Full of free action powers, this former Brotherhood founder is one of the few figures that stands out as being a far better investment at his most expensive starting line. 

It's hard to go wrong with better attack, defense, and damage capabilities. Invincible is a pain to hammer through, even more so with the XTA to back it up and heal any damage that just occurred. He starts to drop like a stone on click 5, which is another reason to spend the 50 points for an upgrade - one good hit on the 150 is going to push him past Invincible and Pulse Wave immediately where he'll pick up Outwit. 

Outwit and Enhancement make for good team support, but players will want more than just support from a 150 point Investment. Free Action force blast leads to some fun scenarios - blast an opponent away from the master of Magnetism, then target them with a ranged combat attack and cause even more knock back while making the best of the ES/D trait.

The other big problem with the shorter dial version is the lack of synergy among many of his powers and abilities. For instance - you want to have figures adjacent to use Leadership, Enhancement, and the XTA, but you won't want friendlies around when Mags decides to Pulse Wave.

It's good to have options, and the mutant magnet provides plenty, but he'll really see return on investment at the 200 point starting line.

Avengers vs X-Men Overview

Pick a side - any side will do. 

In the Avengers vs X-Men HeroClix event WizKids, makers of HeroClix are asking players to take a stand with one of the two teams based on the popular comic story arc. Will you side with the Avengers, who fear that the cosmic Phoenix Force may consume the earth, or will you stand with the X-Men as the defenders of mutants who have been persecuted and are now an endangered species?

With the event release both sides have a starter pack featuring 6 figures that played a key roll in the storyline, but does any one side have an advantage?

Some might say the X-Men have an edge, especially if the Phoenix Force resource dial is used for comic accurate play and only allowed to be equipped to mutants. The Phoenix 5 chases just released in the recent Wolverine and the X-Men set are also power houses - nearly 300 points of Power Cosmic, traits and special powers that will give Tony Stark a run for his money.

The Avengers are no slouches either - with several big bruisers of their own (Thors, Hulks, Iron Men) they can dish out as much damage as Xavier's former schoolchildren. Scarlet Witch can effectively shut off the Power Cosmic, and the Earth's Mightiest Heroes may have more allies than Marvel's mutes. 

So let's take a look at a few game mechanics that might give one team an edge over the other.

KEYWORD SELECTION:

In terms of game play - one team clearly stands out over the others for team building options: The Avengers have plenty of keyword company counting just from Chaos War with a total of 66 figures available as broken down.

Characters with the Avengers Keyword (main sets only)

Invincible Iron Man: 6

Thor: TDW  2

Wolverine and the X-Men: 1 (Havok)

Iron Man 3: 7

Amazing Spider-Man: 8

Marvel 10th: 9

Chaos War: 33

Total: 66

Meanwhile the X-Men have only 1 real big set to draw from (and unfortunately the upcoming Days of Future Past set won't be released before the end of this tournament cycle). 

Characters with the X-Men Keyword (main sets only)

Invincible Iron Man: 2

Thor: TDW  0

Wolverine and the X-Men: 29

Iron Man 3: 0

Amazing Spider-Man: 2

Marvel 10th: 10

Chaos War: 2

Total: 45

The X-Men have nearly no presence in Incredible Hulk or Galactic Guardians, while the Avengers movie set has almost nothing but these Keyworded heroes. This gives the Avengers a distinct advantage in team build formations by the sheer number of options - nearly double that of the X-men when you add in the GG, IH, & AVM sets.

TEAM BUILD OPTIONS

If that weren't enough - the Avengers have a number of lower point filler pieces that the X-Men can't compete with - 25 point Mockingbird, 35 point Black Widow, 48 point Rick Jones, 33 Point Don Blake, and so on. If this was to be a fair fight, then judges should maybe consider including the GSX figures in X-Men builds for some events, which would be a big injection of options for the X-crowd.

The Avengers also corner the market on point filling ATAs - with 4 options based off their existing keyword. The X-men however, have no ATAs for their keyword and must skirt the edges of other Keywords like X-Force or New Mutants to fill out teams.

Do the X-MEN stand a chance?

it looks like the deck is stacked against them, but looks can be deceiving, and the X-men have a solid history as Marvel's scrappy underdogs. One advantage the X-men have is their team ability. It may not seem like much, but the ability to heal a click is a much better value than a free move action, especially considering the length and point cost of some of the newer dials.

Despite being underdogs, the X-men have a lot of versatility in the power sets available to the characters on the team. Figures like Legion and Hope Summers have a great synergy when used in constructed, and then there's the big daddy mutants like Magneto, and the Phoenix 5.

One other advantage the mutants have is access to Team bases - specifically the Strike Force Gold & Blue should provide some advantage, even with the newer changes to multiple attacks per game. 

It’s too early to count out Marvel’s Merry Mutants, so we’ll just have to take a closer look at the starter figures and the resources available to them throughout the event.