Sentinel: Omega:
Sentinel takes two less damage from characters with the X-Men affiliation that it is engaged with.
How this card works: Sentinel needs to block or be blocked by one or more X-Men characters to trigger his ability. The damage reduction will reduce any damage from those characters, even if it is non-combat damage. The two damage reduction is once per character per instance of damage. That means that none of the X-Men engaged with Sentinel can damage it at all without dealing three or more damage at once.
How to maximize this card: Play against X-Men. Sentinel: Omega is a straightforward card. He has the stats of a battering ram and an ability to back it up. You should be attacking with him every single turn. He can be blocked by any number of Beasts and can go head to head with Colossus. You’ll need to do more than KO characters to win though. Thrown Car can help send Sentinel’s high attack values through to your opponent. Thinning the board with Hulk: Green Goliath or Toad: Tongue Lashing plus some activations of the Relentless Global might do the trick as well.
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Where this card belongs: Typically, a 6-Cost card can splash a mid-ranged team, but battering rams like Sentinel are better in numbers. Therefore, it shines more in a late game oriented team. With some dedicated use of Professor X’s Global, building a Sentinel army is not out of the question. If your opponent’s strategy depended on clearing your board with damage, they’re out of luck. However, if you don’t like the idea of running Sentinel alongside the founder of the X-Men, you will want to invest in a lot of cheap characters. Sentinel if nothing else, will always be absorbing a block. If you are simply buying more characters than your opponent, then that block will mean one of your other characters is unblocked. Cheap characters also double as ramp for Sentinel because they have double energy sides. The Sentinel program can’t always depend on government grants.
Kitty Pryde, On a Mission:
You may spin down a friendly character with the X-Men affiliation to give Kitty Pryde +2A and +2D until the end of your turn (you may use this ability any time you could use a Global Ability).
How this card works: You may do this as many times as you are able to in either the main phase or attack phase after blockers are declared. The buffs take place before damage is resolved in the combat phase and clears after damage clears in the cleanup phase. The same die can be spun down multiple times if able.
How to maximize this card: The potential of this card is directly correlated to the number of X-Men you use with it. This card is great for getting more damage out of cheap characters that don’t have much change in their stats as they level up and down. You will need your characters to be above level 1, but since they are easier to knock out at level 1, you’ll be rerolling your X-Men often. If you plan to declare an attack with Kitty, you should always wait for blockers to be declared before buffing her. If she’s blocked, just let her KO since two of her character sides have no fielding cost. This way, you don’t waste any of your other characters’ levels on a chump blocker. If they leave Kitty unblocked, you can deal massive damage. Leveling Beast or Professor X down a level is often trading zero attack power for two. Kitty Pryde really shines when the X-Men characters you level down can benefit from being a lower level.
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Where this card belongs: This card is amazing with a number of X-Men characters, especially mask energy ones. This means that Kitty Pryde will be finding her way into a lot of mid to late game control teams. Low cost X-Men like Beast and Gambit are good for keeping up a supply of buff fodder around for Kitty. Beast also has some fairly terrific abilities tied to the burst symbol on his level 1 side. Storm and Psylocke benefit from being level 1 because they like getting KO’d in order to use their powerful “When Fielded” abilities again. Both of their level 1 sides have only 1D, so even Sidekicks will KO them. Cerebro, Cybernetic Intelligence adds yet another powerful “When Fielded” knock out ability to your X-Men. Forcing your opponent to declare attacks by using Mr. Fantastic, Phoenix, or Toad is a great way to really make sure you can block with Beast or KO Psylocke. If you attended a Dark Phoenix Saga OP event, those attacks will also activate the healing ability of Marvel Girl, Humanity. It’s a match made in heaven since Marvel Girl doesn’t heal if she’s level 3 and Kitty Pryde needs high level characters in order to buff herself. After all these control abilities clear a path for her later in the game, Kitty Pryde steps away from her support role and can take a chunk of your opponent’s life with just a couple buffs.
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Wolverine, Wanted
Wolverine may attack a character with the Villain affiliation in the field instead of your opponent (he may be blocked normally).
How this card works: When Wolverine, Wanted is declared as an attacker, his target is declared as well. His attack can be targeted either at the opposing player or an opposing Villain character. That Villain character may still block a different attacker. Regardless of what he targets, characters may block Wolverine to prevent him from dealing damage to his target and if unblocked, he will go to the Used Pile.
How to maximize this card: Play him against Villains that want to stay on the field. Wolverine, Wanted should be approached much in the same way one would approach a typical control or removal card. His very high attack stats mean there aren’t very many characters that will survive if they’re in his sights. Combined with Takedown or Iron Man’s Global Abilities, even non-Villain characters can be potential targets. Since he goes to the Used Pile when unblocked, cards that retrieve him are good for getting more use out of him. Alternatively, you can simply thin your bag by fielding all your Sidekicks or using Professor X’s Global Ability. Lastly, reducing the number of blockers your opponent has will help guarantee Wolverine gets his man.
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Where this card belongs: At 6-Cost, Wolverine goes well with a mid-ranged anti-Villain team. His high attack stats make him an offensive threat that goes well with a lot of mid-ranged strategies. One misstep from your opponent and Wolverine will just slash a chunk of their life away. Late in the game, Wolverine can transition into control when it becomes clear that the enemy’s defenses are a bit too sturdy. This flexibility is Wolverine, Wanted’s greatest strength and he’s even more flexible when you use Iron Man or Takedown. Cheap mid-game cards like Quicksilver, Villainous and Human Torch, Johnny Storm will make sure a Sidekick won’t keep Wolverine from his target. This Wolverine is also one of the best cards to run with the Imprisoned Basic Action. When forced to attack, you can just have Wolverine target a character rather than deal damage to your opponent. When you are ready to deal damage to your opponent though, Wolverine should make that damage lethal.
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