u/Divis2Pax

Like the title says...which models did not get new stats? Not even Stamina points....curious which of my cards are still good, and don't know is mcpdb is updated yet

Took me forever to puzzle out a tiny little sprue with my Swamp Horror blister...seems liek two parts, one if apparently the end piece of one of it's rear tentacles....the other? seems like some kind of spike...I could probably live without knowing where it goes, but the perfectionist in me thought I would ask about it's placement

Best Wishes All

As I'm going through my boxes (and boxes, and boxes) of unassembled Warmachine models, I come across Totem Hunter....They have a metal sprue of three spikes or small blades. Looking at stock photos, I can't see anyplace that these would be positioned....any advice?

I was a bit perplexed with the announcement of "Maximum X-Men" coming in December to "replace" Avengers as the "big threat" Superhero team that the Avengers "used" to handle.

I'm a little stunned as "Doomsday" comes out in December and there won't be an Avengers title on shelf? Plus to make "Maximum" relevant, I'm assuming they need at least 6 months of stories of them handling "Avenger threats"....so does that mean no "Avengers" comic until late Spring?....with Doomsday in the rear view mirror

Now we all know it’s going to happen. Even if it’s the last models Asmodee makes, there will be Fantastic Four minis, especially with the movie on streaming and “Doomsday” on the horizon. And when the “faction” drops we all know all four members of the FF will be released day one. So this list will NOT include the low hanging fruit, but include other whos will fit the faction in my opinion

Ironically most of the “substitute” Fantastic Four members are alredy in the game…..Medusa, Crystal, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Storm, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk (though grey version), Ghost Rider (though Danny Ketch version), even Iceman!….you would think I wouldn’t have a lot left to work with….well read on….

1.) Ms.Marvel II/She-Thing (AKA Sharon Ventura, First Appearance: Thing #27, September ‘85; Joined Fantastic Four #306, September ‘87) Originally Ben Grimm’s girlfriend after Johnny Storm “stole” his ex Alicia Masters (looong story) Sharon was a stuntwoman/wrestler who went under the same Power Broker treatment that gave U.S.Agent his super-strength and became the new Ms.Marvel while Carol Danvers was going by Binary. After she joined the Fantastic Four she was mutated into a slightly more curvy version of the Thing (who was also mutated into a more “spiky” version og himself). After various ups and downs, it was recently shown she can transform between her normal form and her “She Thing” form. This makes for an interesting power set, he original self had only Spider-Man level strength, but acrobatic on par with Captain America (according to She-Hulk) a fast moving, hard hitting tank (say only able to throw size “3” objects, and defenses of “4” with no damage reduction)….but flip her card she becomes slower, but more “tanky” throwing “size 4” and reducing damage by. Likewise give her a tactics card with Ben Grim, possibly like the team up card Hulk & She Hulk share. As for other affiliations, The Grapplers (deeper roster than you might thing, adjunct to Criminal Syndicate), Hypothetical “Frightful Four” affiliation, A-Force, and possibly the Avengers proper

2.) Lyja The Lazerfist (AKA Laura Green; First Appearance: Fantastic Four #357, October ‘91; Retconned (as Alicia Masters/Storm) Fantastic Four #265 April ‘84) Those darn Skrulls. See, during “Secret Wars” The Thing realized he could shift back and forth between his human and rock form while on Battleword and as a result decided to stay behind after the the historic limited series ended. When he came back, he was shocked to learn his long time girlfriend had ended up married to Johnny Storm. This is why he was involved with Sharon Ventura for most of the 80’s through the early 90’s. After the big “big reveal”, Skrull agent Paibok (get it?) gave Lyja an implant that allowed flight as well as energy blasts and became “the Lazerfirst”. Lyja still pops up from time to time, mainly to show how she still hasn’t “gotten over” her love of Johnny Storm, sometimes going as far as to attempt to sabotage his relationships. The last time I believe she was seen was as part of the “Future Foundation”; For abilities, nothing too complex; Give her a “Shapeshifter” ability similar to Mystique and possibly even Stealth. Add Flight as well as a decent energy attack (possibly range 4). You might even give her an ability to ignore Stealth, attributed to the years she pretended to be “Alicia” where she learned to get around with contacts that made her blind. Affiliations are easy but short Fantastic Four/Furure Foundation. Hypothetical “Skrull” or “Frightful Four” affiliation, and it could be a stretch, but Criminal Syndicate or A-Force are possibilities

3.) Huntara (AKA Tara Richards, First Appearance: Fantastic Four #377, April ‘93) Ok before I start, google Huntara (Marvel)….yeah you can get a pretty clear idea that Marvel was raiding Angela’s closet when they created her (which makes her a bit redundant nowadays) She initially appeared to set up the “Fantastic Force” comic and after that series ended she was pretty much forgotten after the Onslaught/Heroes Reborn event of the 90’s. So who is she? The timelost “possible” half sister of Reed Richards her existence was mainly to serve as a tentpole for the “Fantastic Force” comic. Your basic “warrior woman in a land she doesn’t understand” with the added wrinkle of being related to the classic FF. So what can she do? Well she’s a basic “tank” type...strong, tough, master of hand-to-hand combat, ect; ect; She did have the ability to create a “psionic scythe” a weapon that could attack others mentally (a mystic attack, like Magik’s psi-sword), and can allow her to teleport herself and others (placement effect) For affiliations beyond Fantastic Four/Force, there’s a possible Frightful Four (Criminal Syndicate?) and stretching a bit to also include A-Force

4.) Psi-Lord/Tattletale/Powerhouse (AKA Franklin Richards, First Appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #6 November ‘68, As Tattletale, Power Pack #17 December ‘85, As Psi-Lord. Fantastic Four #376 May ‘93 As Powerhouse Fantastic Four #2 (Legacy #647 September ‘18) Gotta love that sliding time line. Franklin was literally born in the comics just 6 years after Spider-Man’s debut, and despite being in comics for 58 years he’s currently roughly 14 or 15 years old. Originally considered to be an example of a “final evolution of mutantkind” he’s recently been retconned out of his mutant “status”. His first superhero identity was as “Tattletale” a member of Power Pack. At this time he had the ability to manifest a visible astral form of himself as well as sometimes having prophetic dreams. As “Psi-Lord” he was artificially aged by time travel by his father Nathaniel Richards to his late teens gaining telepathic and telekinetic powers for his tenure in “Fantastic Force” before being de aged just before “Heroes Reborn” but still slightly older….maybe in his “tweens” (Though a telekinetic version of “Psi-Lord” was part of the “Fantastic Five” in Marvel’s MC2 line. Nowadays he’s in his mid-teens (14-15) and going by “Powerhouse” though he now has his full cosmic power….but only one day a year, for the other 364 days he’s just another “super-smart kid”. So how to put him in the game? For“Tattletale”, make him a “2” threat (if at that), with “1” and “2” defenses, give him an “indestructible” ability where he cannot be harmed but is “pushed” (the pushed position is where he was “all along”) but this ability is only active if he only took move actions during his turn. “Psi-Lord” is easier, basic telekinetic punch/mystic strike attacks with force field and telekinetic “throw” ability (nothing new, but something the FF really doesn’t have) As “Powerhouse” it’s probably best to make him a single minature with his sister Valeria/Brainstorm with annoying abilities that allow them to place characters of move objectives around. All three could have a high power cost “cosmic powers unleashed” ability on their injured side that’s difficult to activate (though this might be better represented with a tactics card) For affiliations, there is Power Pack (possibly part of a New Warriors sub-faction due to the limited membership, and possibly even the X-Men...mutant or not, he did have an intest in the mutant nation of Krakoa, and was one of the “New Mutants” during “Days Of Future Past”

4.) Vibraxas (AKA N’Kano, First Appearance Fantastic Four #391, June ‘94)….Yeah I think we need more Wakandans. Surprisingly on a nation that is centered around the deus es machina metal of “Vibranium” I’m surprised that Klaw is the only other character to come out of that country with vibrattion/sound powers. He hasn’t been seen much since Fantastic Force. Haughty and arrogant, he somehow came to the states as a teen unaware that racial prejudice was a thing….so there’s that. Now that Wakanda has gone “intergalactic” he apparently has been key in activating Wakandas “vibratoinal teleportational platforms” For Powers, a basic “vibratory blast” physical attack with a possible stun effect, as well as an area effect field as his secondary attack. While he doesn’t have the ability to teleport in the comics, to represent his connection to the “teleportational platforms” a placement effect, maybe even with a tactics card so he can use it offensively. And while it’s a trick you normally only see at DC, he can also vibrate his molecules to be intangible. While this is hard to simulate in Crisis Protocol terms, I would do something like giving him double the protection while in cover. As far as affiliations, the easy alternative is Wakanda, giving the faction some additional ranged support

5.) Devlor (AKA “Devlor The Deadly”, First Appearance Fantastic Four #391, June ‘94) Oh boy….Devlor. What are we going to do with you? Because every 90’s super team need a big strong “tank” on the team they added Devlor almost as an after thought. He is an Inhuman, so there’s that. And he has the ability to change into a “normal” human form...but I don’t think that warrants an “alternate form” model. To be frank, like Huntara, Devlor has been more of less forgotten about since Fantastic Force ended (other than the time he interviewed to be a nanny for Luke Cage/Jessica Jones kid.) So Devlor would be stuck at a threat level “3” or even “2”...with basic tank abilities (high damage, damage reduction and throwin...perhaps only objects up to “size 2”. To make him unique maybe give him the ability to alter his own size modifier, but in the end the most unique thing otherwise would be his affiliations, namely other the Fantastic Four he can of course be added to the Inhumans faction

6.) Agatha Harkness (no other AKA; First Appearance Fantastic Four #94 January ‘70) So Agatha...never an actual member of the team, but for pretty much the entire 70’s and a chunk of the 80’s the “only” place to find her, making her a fit for the “Fantastic Four” more than Ronan The Accusers place on the Inhumans and Guardians Of The Galaxy. A witch from Salem who lived as the governess/nanny for Franklin Richards she later tutored Wanda Maximoff in “real” magic when it was decided to have her move away from being “just” a mutant. Originally a sterotypical “witch” who often appeared as wizened old woman she had died at least twice, and thanks to Kathryn Hahn’s portrayal on Disney+ now appears as a healthy middle aged woman. In Crisis Protocol, magic characters are difficult, how do you showhorn a wizard who can do “anything” into half a dozen abilities on a character card? Like Baron Mordo and Ancient One it might be better to take after the MCU version. Giving her the ability to add conditions which make it difficult to use abilities, or the ability to “steal life energy” perhaps by letting Agatha steal a life point for every skull rolled on an attack roll over a certain threshhold, or “booby trapping” an ability so it feeds Agatha the energy cost if unsuccessful. For affiliations Agantha would also fit in a Convocation group easily, as well as a hypothetical “Strange Academy” or even the “Daughters Of Liberty” faction

7.) Impossible Man (AKA “Impy” First Appearance Fantastic Four #11 February ‘63) You can’t tell, but I’m rubbing my temples right now between words, Did you know that Fantastic Four #11 was not only the worst selling issue of FF to that point, but it caused them to bury “Impy” for over a dozen years. A hyperactive attention seeker with near limitless shapeshifting abilities (with the rare often forgotten limitation that all transformations are purple/green) He’s been both a rival for DC’s Mr.Myxlplyx and being the same entity in different stories. Super annoying in a “not Jim Carey Mask, but Jamie Kennedy Mask” kind of way, he still became an “associate member” of the Fantastic Four for about a year and a half in the 70’s. Of course it’s almost “impossible” to build him in Crisis Protocol terms. He’s a shapeshifter, true, but rarely for reasons of “stealth”...meaning while he has impersonated others (including Sue Storm, with her powers), typically he will transform what is needed...turning one hand into an Iron Man gauntlet or Mjolnir without transforming into Iron Man or Thor. Able to shapshift his body, gaining whatever powers he wants, duplicating himself, or regenerating from death, he pretty much has whatever powers the creators want to give him.Whatever those abilities might be, give him a high threat level, but also a crutch where he can lose actions from “being distracted”…possibly by rolling too many blanks on a roll. Affiliations are limited as he’s not really a “team player”. Other than the Fantastic Four he was part of the Lethal Legion (Masters of Evil) on the “Superhero Squad Show”…. But think we can ignore that

8.) Human Torch III/Nova II (AKA Francine “Frankie” Raye, First Appearance Fantastic Four #164 November 1975) So good ol’ Frankie. Originally she was just a one-off love intrest for Johnny Storm but couldn’t handle him being the Human Torch. About five years later it was revealed her stepfather created the original synthetic Human Torch and exposure to leftover chemicals from that creation gave her “Human Torch” powers as well. If I recall, she had greater endurance, while Johnny had greater power (a dynamic I think was shared by Northstar and Aurora) She didn’t stay in this role for long as Galactus needed a new herald and being part of the “he’s not evil, just hungry” camp she volunteered as Nova since Richard Rider had “retired” at the time. Her life as Nova was kind of uneventful...a brief romance with the Silver Surfer before being killed by the new herald Morg (Rider was back) but later resurrected. Nova never really did much except flutter around Galactus like Tinkerbell, but she WAS a herald, if only one of the weaker ones. I’d put her at a threat of “5”. She never did much with the power cosmic, so just give her some high level energy attacks and some speed/charge ability, and maybe add a “throw” ability to remind us she isn’t just a “high level torch” Not too many other affiliations, I wouldn’t mind a hypothetical “Heralds” list, but I suppose she would fit on a Guardians of the Galaxy roster as well. She was also a member of the all-female “Fearless Defenders”, but in practice they were more like A-Force

9.) H.E.R.B.I.E. (AKA Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-Type, Integrated Electronics; First Appeararnce (in comics) Fantastic Four #209, August ‘79) OK, for the millennials out there...Herbie was an “addition” to the Fantastic Four in the 1978 cartoon replacing Johnny Storm as he had been optioned for a possible solo media role (not because kids would set themselves of fire emulating him) HERBIE’s creation was actually the last work Jack Kirby did for Marvel. he showed up briefly in comics less than a year later, but never really made a mark until recently. Appearances in Marvel Rivals, Fantastic Four: First Steps, he’s probably the most likely on this list to get a plastic release. Usually seen as a “new” Nanny over Agatha Harkness, Herbie had a Dyno-Mutt/Inspector Gadget ability to pull out whatever tool was needed for the story, including lasers and electrical blasts. So I would recommend an attack that can vary from energy or physical, and have him be the team “healer” in his role as a “nanny”; As a less-than-serious character not too many affiliations, but he was part of the “A.I. Army” a group of articial beings fighting for equal rights ala Star Trek’s Data

10.) Miss Thing (AKA Darla Deering, First Appearance: Marvel Now! Point One #1, October ‘12) The newest “new” Fantastic Four member, Darla was a teen pop star grown up and a love interest for Johnny Storm….sigh, just like Lyja and Nova. What changed here is the FF needed “backups” while they were on a mission, and Johnny, procrastinator he is, gave one of Ben Grim’s “Thing Exoskeletons” that Ben Grim sometimes used when he was unable to change into the Thing. This only lasted as long as Allred’s “FF” series, She later showed up in Ant-Man’s comic as his ex. Abilities are a bit difficult as she’s “yet another tank”. But I would lean into her Pop Star/Influencer role….give her the ability to switch objective holders, or push foes toward her (“fans”) with the added durability characters like Toad and Back Cat don’t have. The only other affiliation would be A-Force of course, but there are lots of “super singers” in the Marvel Universe...Dazzler, Lila Cheny, Luna Snow who could make an “Entertainer” faction

That's my "next 10". I purposefully tried to avoid "Fantastic Force II/New Defenders" because no matter how cool Hitch and Millar tried to make them, they were a result of a story that needed characters, not characters that needed a story, And as far as their impact, looks and powers I don't think they would be idea for plastic. As for what leadership abilitie(s) I would give them an ability that allows affiliation members to either "take the hit" if within a certain range of a character thats being targeted, or gain energy if the "family" member takes damage

As always, glad to hear your thoughts!

“The Next Ten: The Brotherhood”

Ok, So last week I did my thoughts on what the “Next 10 X-Men” might actually be, so this week we are going to go with their opposite number in “The Brotherhood” So here are the next 10 members who have not been made into plastic yet. Note that this list is done by list of publication, not popularity or “retconned” characters who were made members in the past

1.) Mastermind (AKA Jason Wyngarde. First Appearance X-Men #4 March ‘64, Joined X-Men #1 March ‘64 (presumed dead before Age of X as of Uncanny X-Men Annual June ‘93) The original Mastermind is a bit of a tough sell. His daughter Regan has already made it to plastic, and has him beat in power level, affiliations, and to be frank, appearance. My wish to include him is mainly so I can complete the “original” Brotherhood lineup. That being said, his influence during the “Dark Phoenix” saga makes me believe he has earned an appearance, even if it’s just with abilities that were left on the cutting room floor for Lady Mastermind. For example, Masterminds illusions are so believable that they affect you even if you know they are illusions...for example even if you know a phantom wall is fake, you still can’t bring yourself to walk through it {root condition}, or if you are stabbed with an illusionary sword, you still feel the trauma “mystic attack with stun}. His classic brown suit is probably too boring, I would cast him in his Hellfire Club outfit, and like his Daughter make him a member of the Hellfire Club as well as Brotherhood (He was also a member of Factor Three, essentially the Brotherhood sans Magneto)

2.) Unus The Untouchable (AKA Angelo Unuscione/Gunther Bain. First Appearance X-Men #8 November ‘64, Joined Amazing Adventures Vol.2 #12 May ‘72) Unus was a classic X-Men foe, but really kind of forgettable. His main power was an “impenetrable” force field who is usually defeated by “overloading” the forcefield in some way usually preventing him from breathing and knocking him out (and once even killing him by suffocation). He made his first appearance as a professional wrestler facing off against the Beast when he himself decided to be a wrestler instead of an X-Man, and to be honest he hasn’t really done much….he usually shows up as a background character getting killed or defeated to “up the stakes” of a story (killed by alternates of Iceman and Thor, as well as the “Noir” version of the Brotherhood), but nowadays the “beat the unbeatable foe” trope has been taken over by Juggernaut. As for powers, give him a high physical/energy defense, possibly with each “wild” counting as two successes. You could even give him a “Dark Dimension” type ability where if he gets too much energy he is “overloaded” and gets the stun/root condition. His powers were mainly defensive...maybe give him a “takedown” ability allowing him to stun opponents to reference his wrestling days, and perhaps a push/throw ability based on the number of skulls rolled when an opponent attacks. As far as affiliations, the Brotherhood, and the Magneto-less Factor Three are it

3.) Lorelei (AKA Lani Ubana First Appearance X-Men 63 December ‘69, Joined Defenders #15 September ‘74) Well first up, I know there is an Asgardian character with the same name who was the sister of Amora the Enchantress who uses more…conventional mean of controlling men. This Lorelei is something different. One of Magneto’s “Savage Land Mutates” (artificial mutants created by Magneto in the Savage Land) Lorelei is one of the few who has done things away from the group (In fact, most of the Mutates I would probably just stick on a Warriors Three/Wrecking Crew multi-base). Lorelei has two powers...first is the ability to control men with her voice, that’s a little problematic as there are no identifiers for gender in Crisis Protocol...then again we don’t have identifiers for things like Robots, but Ultron is still vulnerable to mystic attacks/move effects. So I would just give her basic “mystic attack with move action” ability….it’s weird, but in some appearances she is also given animate hair like Medusa, so you might give her some Medusa-like physical attack with the root condition. Lorelei’s had few appearances, and fewer with the Brotherhood. Other than a hypothetical “Savage Land Mutates” faction your pretty much set

4.) Alpha, The Ultimate Mutant (AKA: None, First Appearance Defenders #15 September ‘74, Joined Defenders #15 1974) Argh ok, talk about your deep cuts. A “mutate” accelerated to the pinnacle of mutant evolution (a la The High Evolutionary) Alpha was kind of a macguffin Magneto thought he could use to “rule the world” originally a 10 foot tall tank who sometimes created reflexive force field, His mind later evolved to give limitless psionic potential…essentially magic...his Marvel wiki says he can manipulate earth/rock, and manipulate biology to “de age the Brothhood. Surprisingly he has popped up again every so often, mainly in “flashback” stories. He can essentially be a a threat “5” give him telekinesis (through size 4 objects, maybe even 5), create force fields (defense bonus costs energy)….to keep him from being “too” powerful give him the ability to heal others, as the sole Brotherhood “healer” it will be too tempting to keep him healing allies rather than being on offense. With his few appearances the Brotherhood would be his sole affiliation

5.) Mutant Force/Resistants (AKA Byron Calley, Ned Lathrop, Peter Quinn, Randall Darby; First Appearance Captain America Annual #4 1977) Technically an “official” Brotherhood created by Magneto the “Mutant Force” has had little appearance in the “X-books” showing up in places such places as Captain America and the Defenders. The Defenders went through a rebranding period in the 80’s-90’s as “The Resistants” an apparent pro-mutant organization with new identities secretly backed by the Red Skull (assumably to give mutants a bad name) The Mutant force was Burner/Crucible, Lifter/Meteorite I, Peeper/Occult, Shocker II/Paralyzer….the Mutant Force also had Slither who was never part of the Resistants as well as characters such as Quill, Mist Mistress, Mentallo/Think Tank and Rust who were only resistants members. Since the “core four” never appeared apart to my knowledge, and were each something of a “power on a stick”. I would put all four of them on a single base, giving the controlling player four abilities...Burner would have a flame blast, possibly as a beam attack that add the burning condition, Shocker a longer ranged attack that inflicts stun, Peeper a range “5” attack that ignores Stealth, and Lifter the ability to throw Objects up to size 3, I would also give them flight as Lifter would often carry the team on a flying piece of rock using his gravity control powers (I think their Resistants look would be more distinctive than their Mutant Force unitards). As they were never really incorporated into any larger groups I would leave them just with the Brotherhood, though they did work for hire vs. the Defenders and were catspaws for the Red Skill, so possibly also Criminal Syndicate

(I just noticed….they have a Quill on the group and a Peter “Quinn” but assuming no Guardians Of the Galaxy Connection

5.) Vanisher (AKA Telford Porter, First Appearance X-Men #2 November ‘63; Joined Champions #17 October ‘77) The second oldest X-Men villian after Magneto (and it’s considered unlikely “Telford Porter” is his real name) Vanisher is really an uncomplicated villian...he’s out for himself and usually that means a quick buck...rarely does he worry about things like mutant politics. He mainly serves as a plot device, ferrying others from one locale to another. Unlike characters like Nightcrawler, there is no puff of smoke, or “beam out” effect, he simply….disapears. To make him more than a one-trick pony, his teleportation power should be able to allow him to take one other character with him (though of course with a higher energy cost) and give him “L” movement. He doesn’t have much in the way of offense, but often carries an a number of energy blasts and gas guns (a simply range 3 energy attack). And while it may look goofy his off the rack costume that makes him look like a Vulture reject would likely be more model-worthy than his black catsuit. Being an “out for himself” character, he has been part of many other groups….the Fallen Angels (New Mutants), a conscripted member of X-Force, A past member of Factor Three (again), the “New Enforcers” (Criminal Syndicate) and O*N*E* (S.H.I.E.L.D.)

6.) Destiny II (AKA Irene Adler/Darkholme, First Appearance/Joined Uncanny X-Men #141 January 1981) Yes, Nightcrawler’s mom is not the first Destiny, The original was a semi regular villain who fought the Sub-Mariner for a year in the late 60’s. This Destiny was the lover of Mystique during a time where you could only hint at their relationship (She was also the literary Irene Adler that featured in the “Sherlock Holmes” novels). Killed by Legion in the late 80’s, Destiny’s death was a touchstone of X-Men history for over 30 years before she was resurrected during the age of X in a youthful body and married Mystique (and was revealed to be the birth mother of Nightcrawler….making Mystique his Father, a situation I still find…weird. It’s hard to simulate “seeing the future” in Crisis Protocol terms without it simply playing like another characters lucks ability. My recommendation is to allow an ability that allows Destiny to “pair” her activations with an enemy character during a single activation, possibly even during an enemy activation (though this could be confusing if not unbalancing)...or give her the ability to add/subtract dice to an ally/enemy’s roll. For offense Destiny has used a variety of generic ranged weapons, but hwile she has regained her youth, historicly she has been an elderly person, so I would reduce her physical defense to “2” and give her only “S” movement

7.) Spider-Woman II/Arachne II/Madame Web II (AKA Julia Carpenter {‘nee Cornwall}; First Appearance: Marvel Super-Hero Secret Wars #6 October ‘84; Joined Uncanny X-Men #206 March ‘86) Ok taking a bit of a curve here, Julia Carpenter was never a member of The Brotherhood, and was never even a mutant, but she WAS a member of Freedom Force under Mystique (which is Mystique’s Team Leader ability) Julia got her Spider-Woman powers by artificial means by Val Cooper (government head of Freedom Force and later X-Factor) Her silver and black costume made Spider-man believe he subconciously used it as a basis for his symbiote/venom suit. She joined Freedom Force for a short time, but later “betrayed” them by freeing the Avengers who were imprisoned on false charges before joining the West Coast Avengers and later Force Works. Changing her name to Arachne (Jessica Drew’s original name since Drew was in Bendis’s Avengers) She was later given Madame Webb’s psychic powers as well as her blindness as the “new” Madame Web. I would go with the original Spider-Woman identity as it’s a more iconic look (heck it’s the version Sydney Sweeny played), and the role of “blind psychic woman” is already taken on this list by Detiny….besides I think she recent lost those powers but kept her blindness. As for powers, pretty basic...super strength (thrown objects) wall crawling and leaping, her main noteworthy ability was creating “psionic webs” that she could string up between objects (area effect with Root and possibly stun condition), you may thrown in a “psychic ability” as an Easter Egg nod to her Madame Web persona) But if we are going with Easter Eggs I wouldn’t mind a tactics card she could use with Iron Man (they were married on the ‘90’s Iron Man TV show. For Affliations, add Web Warriors, Avengers/Force Works, A-Force, Omega Flight, and The Comission On Superhuman Activites (S.H.I.E.L.D.)

8.) Spiral (AKA “Ricochet” Rita Wayword) (First Appearance Longshot #1 September ‘85; Joined Uncanny X-Men #199 August ‘85) That can’t be right….her “first appearance” happened a month after she joined Freedom Force? Guessing either the sites I do my research are incorrect or it’s the difference between cover dates and publishing dates...oh well. Personally I would LOVE a Spiral miniature, as I’m a fan of models that have unconventional body types. Spiral traditionally had six arms...one fully cybernetic, the other half-and-half, though recent depections have shown her with both more and less cyborg parts. Outside of Freedom Force, Spiral is mainly known as a foil for Longshot and henchwoman for Mojo. However she also ran the “Bodyshop” providing cybernetic parts for Lady Deathstrike as well as Reavers members Cole, Reece & Macon, Secondly she is also a magic user of some skill even be considered for the role of Sorceror Supreme once. For her Crisis Protocol stuff it comes down to her extra arms, sometimes weiding blades, sometimes some epty making esoteric hand motions (basic attack, with default bleed, and multiple flurry options on “wilds”). For her magic user side she mainly used it for teleportation (placement effect) And canceling others powers (she once with preperation canceled the powers of 10 Avengers at once), for that a mystic attack that inflicts hex, judgement (or both!) would probably be the closest aproximation. You could also throw in some healing to represent her “Bodyshop” side hustle. As for affiliations, her time as a henchwoman with Mojo is closest to Criminal Syndicate, She was recently in X-Force, and would LOVE to see her in Convocation

9.) Crimson Commando I (AKA Frank Bohannan, First Appearared Uncanny X-Men #215 March ‘87, Joined Uncanny X-Men #223 November ‘87) Well here’s an odd one for me., See The original Crimson Commando was practically a mutant Captain America. Like Cap, his abilities made him the peak of human potential during World War II (a retcon) Who found himself a “man out of time” in the modern era. There are a couple of differences though. First he lived through the decades (no suspended animation) and while his mutant gene slowed his aging like Magneto, the years were definitely taking their toll, secondly, no Vibranium Shield, “CC” used a couple of knives bothe in hand-to-hand and throwing. Another difference is while Cap struggled to adapt, CC refused to….wanting to take the fight to the communists post WWII but denied by the government, he and his fellow World War II Mutants Stonewall and Super Sabre decided to go to war wagainst crime and the decay of American culture. Their plan was to capture criminals and let them go on their ranch to hunt them down in their version of justice and they did this for years before stopped by Storm and Wolverine and inducted in the Suic-,sorry Freedom Force. CC kept swinging back and forth...trying to be a hero, who wishes he was playing with grandkids, to a villian terrified of his mortality and what was wrong with “his” America. Frank’s life took a turn during the “end” of Freedom Force whiel on a mission in the middle east he stepped on a Land Mine taking serious damage particuarly his legs and only escaped thanks to the help of Avalanche. The government rebuilt him as “Commando” a typical 90’s cyborg with a cannon for an arm but still sporting a ponytail. CC died after M-day, apparently losing his mutant health made him incompatible with his cyborg parts and he resorted to kidnapping Hope Summers to force her into giving him a “cure” but is killed by Wolverine. Resurrected during Age of X, he’s gone the Red Hulk route and is now heading the government group O*N*E* saying the mutant nation of krakoa can’t come crawling back to America now their grand expierment ended (which I admit he’s kind of right, but is a bit of jerk about it) For powers it’s hard not just to go “full cap” give him “4”s in defense, and a couple of attacks based on his knives, possibly with flurry. He once was able to “empty his mind” against telepaths like Psylocke which I would recommnd as giving him a couple extra mental defnese dice at the cost of energy. As for affiliations the only other one I would recommend is SHIELD (as head of O*N*E*)

10.) Stonewall I (AKA Louis Hamilton, First Appearared Uncanny X-Men #215 March ‘87, Joined Uncanny X-Men #223 November ‘87) Well, this will be short. Joining the team just a few pages before Super Sabre, Stonewall died a little after 3 years after his debut, electrocuted by Donald Pierce during the “Attack On Muir Island” that also resulted In the death of Destiny. He was a bit superfluous, taking the role of “tank” on a team that already had the Blob. Like The Blob, Stonewall had the ability to manipulate his “personal gravity” making him unmovable, but he also seemed to have an ability to “push back” Like when the Blob failed to push him back and fell backward in the attempt. Make Stonewall a “3” threat, 4 physical defense, 3 energy defense (he was electrocuted after all), make him immune to being placed, and give him an ability that allows him to push an opponent in “2” range back “S” when defending vs. a physical attack. A short tenure makes it hard to give him any other affiliations, though as a WW II hero, like Namor, Cap and Jim Hammond, he could possibly be placed in S.H.I.E.L.D)

Whew, another Top Ten...let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations for the next Affiliation!

Wow, been forever since I did one of these. A couple years back I did a series of posts imagining what the "Next 10" of various factions would be. Rather than do the most popular or even likely characters I tried to do it chronologically. However my efforts kind of died off, mainly because I would often leave a long post half finished at night and come back in the morning to see a Windows update delete all my work.

But in the last two years, a LOT of models have been release with more on the horizon. As the title says, with the X-Men we have gotten MANY: Angel/Archangel, Professor X, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Bishop, Gambit, Rogue as well as upcoming Jubilee and Phoenix releases.....but there are still many more to go, so with that being said, here are my updated "Next Ten for the X-Men" (some of it repasted...saves time, and less likely to be lost!

1.) Mimic (AKA Calvin "Cal" Rankin; First Appearance: X-Men #19 April '66; Joined X-Men #27 October '66) One of the few X-Men who were not a mutant (along with Longshot and Juggernaut)...even though I think they retconned that for the sake of convenience during “Age Of X” Mimic has the ability to copy the powers of up to five others at a time, but only at half strength of the original users (depending on the version he could keep the powers indefinitely, have to remain with range of the originals, or was "locked" into keeping the original five X-men's powers) The Mimic originally blackmailed his way onto the original X-men but quit due to guilt and was thought dead for years from radiation poisoning from trying to mimic the Hulk. But has been in the "X-verse" for some time now. Mimic could be a fun character...give him a watered down power from each of the five core X-men, plus a power or a tactics card that allows him to mimic a power on someone else's card in range and I'm sure he's be super-popular. Not too many other affiliation options. Just the X-Men, the Brotherhood (briefly) as well as Norman Osborn’s short-lived “Dark X-Men” and the popular version that was on Morph's "Exiles" team for years

2.) Changeling/Morph (AKA Kevin Sydney; First Appearance: X-Men #35 August '67; Joined {revealed:} X-Men #65 December '69) Who? Yeah even hardcore X-Men fans usually need to wiki this guy if they are less than 20 years old. The Changeling was a silver age X-Men villain with Mystique-like shapeshifting abilities. He later reformed behind the scenes, and when Professor X "died" it was revealed ("Surprise!") to really be the Changeling as a reformed X-Man. That was it for almost 30 years when Changeling appeared and apparently died in the classic '90s cartoon, this time under the name "Morph" (“Changeling” was being used by DC’s “Beast Boy”)...launchpadding off the success of the show, Morph then appeared in the "Age of Apocalypse" with expanded powers like a cross between Plastic Man and the Jim Carrey's Mask (which had a number of clones back in the day, remind me to talk about "Halloween Jack" sometime). And a version later becoming a mainstay of the popular "Exiles" comic (Who was a a member of the Avengers as well). Morph has been "reborn" in a way with the popularity of the new "X-Men 97" cartoon, with slightly different powers. While the O/G. version just had Mystique type shapeshifting, and Exiles/Age of Apocalypse was more versatile "plastic Man" shapeshifting, the new cartoon version gains the purely physical abilities of those he copies....Quicksilver's speed, Colossus durability, Angel's flight, or Spiral's six arms...though he apparently can’t mix and match to create entirely unique forms. So that being said, the "new' Morph is probably too versatile for Crisis Protocol, and the original is probably too basic compared to super-spy Mystique, so I'd go with Age Of Apocalyse/Exiles

As far as other factions, the Exiles version was a member of his universe's Avengers as well as the Exiles, and the original was part of the mutant group "Factor Three" which fits in nicely with the Brotherhood

3.) Polaris (AKA Lorna Sally Dane; First Appearance: X-Men #49 October '68; Joined X-Men #60 September '69) Polaris is a little difficult. Originally the “daughter of Magneto”...then for decades she wasn’t, and then when the MCU require Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to be distanced from Magneto, she was made Magneto’s daughter again. Essentialy “Magneto Lite” you can strip Lorna’s powers down to fit a threat level “3” or “4”. There was also a convulted story with a character named “Zaladane” which on a couple of occassions stole Lorna’s powers, leaving her (with some reason) super strength and invulnerability. To make her more unique to Magneto I would make this super strong verion her “injured” cardside. It’s also worth mentioning that as Havok’s longtime love intrest I would add a tacttic card in the form that Lorna can “redirect” Havok’s attack to hit targets behind cover or line of sight. As far as Affiliations, she can also be part of the new X-Factor affiliation, or even the Brotherhood (as one of the Acolytes oras a Malice-possessed member of the Marauders….long story) or the Starjammers (Guardians of the Galaxy affiliation?)

4.) Banshee (AKA Sean Cassidy; First Appearance: X-Men #28 January '67; Joined Giant-Sized X-Men #1 July '75) Ok we made it to the 1970’s and the big one! Giant Sized X-Men #1! Banshee got a bit of a raw deal, he was part of the “New X-Men” alongside Storm and Wolverine and actually stuck around for a couple of years unlike Sunfire or Thunderbird only to be phased out of the comic during a story where he “overtaxed” his abilities. A “Sonic Screamer” I would treat Banshee as a “flying bomb”….flight, charge with an area effect attack on top of a basic ability that has the stun quality. If it doesn’t make his threat too high, I would also give him the ability to ignore stealth (but keep the range of his attacks to a short “3”). As a former romantic partner of Emma Frost, I wouldn’t mind a tactics card to reference this period. As far as affiliations, besides the X-Men he did spend time as a government agent (S.H.I.E.L.D), A Horseman Of Apocalypse, Factor Three (Brotherhood) and Generation X (New Mutants)

5.) Sunfire (AKA Shiro Yoshida/Yoshida Shiro; First Appearance: X-Men #64 January '70; Joined Giant-Sized X-Men #1 July '75) One of the shortest tenured X-men, Sunfire only joined the “all new X-Men” as debt to Xavier and left right after and appeared mostly as the “token Japanese hero” whenever a marvel hero went to the country. Power-wise he’s a less complex version of the Human Torch, but more basic...in other words he can fly and shoot fire/plasma, but can’t do other “tricks” the Torch can (shape or asorb flame for example) It is shown that he shoots “solar energy” including radiation and possibly other form of energy like UV rays. He’s also trained samurai and has martial arts skills Johnny Storm doesn’t possess. So I can see him having the “martial arts” ability as well as the poison condition added to his attacks. As the Horseman “Famine” he also had thte ability to use light to create seizures that induce Hunger….random, and best saved for a tactics card if at all. He has some interesting Affiliations besides X-Men...there is the aforementioned Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as well as being an Avenger (as part of the Uncanny Unity Squad), He was also briefly a member of the all asian “Agents of Atlas” which seems to evolved to Tiger Division (a Korean SHIELD but seems to be admitting more pacific rim characters) Most surprisingly he was also a founding member of “Big Hero Six”...though the movie replaced him with fire-breathing mascot “Fred” (I am curious if people would want a miniature in his classic look, or his “Age Of Apocalypse/Famine look)

6.) Thunderbird (AKA John Proudstar; First Appearance: Giant Sized X-Men #1 July ‘75 Joined Giant-Sized X-Men #1 July '75) Fun history fact. Marvel editorial told Chis Claremont that Thunderbird was too similar to Wolverine (angsty, close combat fighters that thrive in the wilderness) and required Claremont to kill off one or the other. And it was actually at the “11^(th) hour” that Clarement made up his mind who would get the axe. 100 issues later th introduced his even more angsty brother James who had the same powers as “Thunderbird II” and later “Warpath”. That’s comic for you, create a sibling with a slightly different name and the same powers it’s like the original never died. That being said, over the years his brother Warpath became a more powerful “Tank” type character. Cable described Warpath as being similar to a “young Colossus” who could lift 70 tons. While the official handbook of the Marvel universe had John lifting only 2 tons and being able to run at about 35mph. John was recently resurrected during the “Age of X” event and Marvel seems to have plans for him. As far as Crisis Protocol, he can simply be a low 2 or 3 threat...strong and fast, maybe with a “tracking ability” that allows him to move after opponents. But just like Changeling/Morph and Mimic, a version of John was also a member of the Exiles….a former Horseman of Apocalypse who could become a larger and more powerful form capable of beating a (weakened) alternate universe Hulk. SO Affiliations...616 John hasn’t been in that many books because of his Resurrection, so really there is just X-Men and X-Force, though the alternate version can also be a member of the Exiles and Horsemen of Apocalypse

7.) Phoenix/Prestige (AKA Rachel Anne Summers; First Appearance: X-Men #141 January ‘81 Joined X-Men #193 May '85) So...Rachel Summers….is a thing. See everyone knows the famous “Days of Future Past” storyline where Sentinels rule and have exterminated most mutants. Rachel (the daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers) used timey-wimey time travel to go back in time to try to stop her future from happening and was then stuck in the 20^(th) century. This was the inbetween time that Jean Grey was thought dead. So the time was ripe for a red headed flame-bird psychic to join the X-Men. This was a weird place to be because after Jean came back there was the whole Madelyne Pryor thing which evolved into a Cable thing, and rachel just became kind of redundant. That being said she was not “the” Phoenix but had access to a chunk of it’s power in the form of cosmic telekinesis/telepathy. So you can probably start by taking a slightly watered down version of OG Phoenix’s card just like Magneto/Polaris. Beyone a threat reduction you can also wedge her Into affiliations that original Phoenix was not a part of...Excalibur and the “Age of X” X-Factor. She was also one of Mojo’s prisoner/performers, and a mutant hunting hound in the Sentinel rules future (though she was also a New Mutant there...future girlfriend of Franklin Richards...and had a son named Hyperstorm….it was the 90’s)

8.) Longshot (AKA None; First Appearance: Longshot #1 September 1985; X-Men Annual #10 January '87) The Second (or first) non-mutant to join. Longshot was a part of the “Outback Outlaws” era of the X-Men in the late 80’s early 90’s. Writers never seemed to know what to do with him...from being woefully naive, the overconfident to arrogant. His abilities can be summed up pretty easily...super agility and leaping (wall-crawling), super luck (can be done a number of ways using Domino as an example) and using a number of cleaver like throwing blades (ranged physical attack, maybe doing a minimum of 1 point of damage regardless of defense due to “luck”. He has bounced around affiliations….X-Factor as well as the Exiles (wow a lot of people on this list)...I should point out that it wasn’t an alternate Longshot, but the original who joined. He was also a member of the “New Excalibur” in the post decimaton era

9.) Dazzler (AKA Alison Blaire; First Appearance: X-Men #130 Febuary 1980; X-Men #214 Febuary '87) Everyone sees the 70’s as the decade of Disco...whihc is kind of sad why Marve’s disco sensation was created at the start of the 80’s. Part of planned media blitz that would involve tv shows, movies albums and the like. The plans behind Dazzler never crystalized, a 42 issue series later ended with Dazzler joining the tem in time for the “Outback Outlaws” era and afterwards her apperance in comics became mostly background (especialy with Marvel Rivals now having Luna Snow as the resident popstar) Her powers revolve around absorbing sound and turning it into light, offensively in the form of flashes of light, laser and solid-light force beams…...a laser can be a simply range 5 attack, a force beam another blast with the push effect. A flash can be her “Dazzle” attack which overloads an opponent optic nerve “dazzling” them (a mystic attack with the stun effect)….her stats would be basic (3 defense, threat level, and 5 Health)...possibly with an “L” movement if it’s during the “roller skate” era. It would be interesting to add something to represrnt the absorb sound effect, possibly a power or other tactics card that prevents leadership abilities from affecting a target. (as fas as her ability to resurrect herself...it’s so obscure I think it can be overlooked) As far as affiliations go she was part of “New Excalibur”, the post “A vs. X” SHIELD, A-Force (they need more members), and I kid you not….The Heralds of Galactus

10.) Forge (AKA Daniel Lone Eagle; First Appearance: X-Men #184 August 1984; X-Men #255 December '89) Closing out the 80’s is Forge (His real name as Daniel Lone Eagle has been confirmed by writers, but not in print). Forge was the second love intrest for Storm (if you count a brief flashback with Black Panther in 1980) On the surface Forge’s ability is the ability to build almost any device without knowing how….the means and method just “come to him”, a genius inventor even without his mutation, he has other things of note, a bionic leg as well as a bionic hand (well he used to, he later grew his hand back), he also has a mystic background, maybe not to the extend he can cast fireballs and teleport, but it’s there. He also built a gun that could suppress a mutant’s powers, reversed engineered by ROM:Spaceknight. So for abilities, I wouldn’t give him any “real” abilities based on his magic, but maybe a significant mystic defense of 4 or 5. His “Neutralizer” shouldn’t really suppress powers in the game (too powerful) but it could reduce the number of power point a target has, maybe with an added stun effect. As far as affiliations he was a part of the post Peter David X-Factor, and recently was a part of X-Force. I would also like to see him in Convocation, just to broaden the kind of characters that can be chosen

We already have big jump on the 90’s...the next three were Gambit, Jubilee and Bishop….then things get...weird….clones, mixed on consciousness, and edgy characters like Marrow and Maggot

Always glad to hear your thoughts!

Hey, for Blue Marvel's final part "B10" does it actually attach to the model, or is i just glued down separately from the core model?

https://cdn.svc.asmodee.net/production-amgcom/uploads/2026/01/CP129_CrisisProtocol_Assembly.pdf

Hey as far as the wiry debris on the back of the model (not the girders that fit into the base) Is there a tab, or part it's supposed to fix to? Or is it simply "stick it anywhere that looks good"?

Quick question; Not seeing "Bloody Barnabas" as an available warlock for Blindwater Congregation the app, Just "Barnabas, Lord Of Blood", "Maelok The Dreadbound", "Calaban The Grave Walker", "and "Jaga Jaga, The Death Charmer" are the only four warlocks available

Was curious how much trouble/how easy is it to get fixed miniatures from Steamforged? I understand that the resin they use is a bit brittle

So far I have a Trencher commando unit, a couple are just the wrong pose, but one has a broken barrel, I also got the Old Umbrey starter and on of the chosen of the Witch has a broken off index finger (minor, but annoying)

I also had a class Orboros Than Blood Pack where I simply didn't get one of the right (bow) arms since that was -pre-steamforged, am I just S.O.L in that regard? (have a ton of old Warmachine stuff I'm working through)